UNideal Church Ideals (pt 3 of 3): Homogeneity is God’s Plan
This post is part 3 of 3 of the series on UNideal church ideals. If you didn’t read part 1 and part 2, I’d encourage you to check it out. Without further ado, here’s another UNideal church ideal.
“God doesn’t see race.”
At the risk of my views being misrepresented, I think it’s pretty important to start with this disclaimer.
I will wholeheartedly admit that I think most of this argument is speculative; however, I’m hoping you’ll see how it ties in with the previous arguments I made in part 1 and part 2 of UNideal Church Ideals. I welcome different views, as I don’t think this argument is black and white, no pun intended.
***At various points in the following discussion, I use “race” and “nationality” interchangeably. Although they’re not the same thing, here, either serve to make my point, because they both undermine the notion of homogeneity as God’s plan for the church. Feel free to let me know if you think otherwise.***
Okay, now that we’ve covered that…
I don’t think I subscribe to the idea that God doesn’t see race. To me, it’s one of those fluffy statements that sounds really good, in theory, but doesn’t actually hold much weight. In some ways, per comments I’ve made earlier, I think it reinforces a “colorless” world view, and I don’t think that stands to benefit those in minority groups very much (if they benefit at all). I think about scriptures like Psalm 139:13 that talk about God knowing me before I was even born… while I was in my mother’s womb. Heck, He even knew me before that! Matthew 10:30 says He even knows how many hairs I have on my head… I don’t even know that! My point is God knows us intimately and knows us fully. Nothing about who I am was by coincidence. Beyond that, Jews and Gentiles are discussed at length in the New Testament. God saw Jews and He saw Gentiles. He loved them both, and Jesus would ultimately die for them both, but let’s not pretend God wasn’t aware that Jews were Jews and Gentiles were Gentiles, because that doesn’t seem to be the case. I think God knows my race, and I think God knows my nationality. I think it was all very much intentional, like everything else He’s done since the beginning of time.
If I believe that I’m fearfully and wonderfully made by God (Psalm 139:14), and that I’m God’s masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10), why on Earth would I assume that God sees us all exactly the same?
Do you think Picasso sees all his pieces of art the same? Do you think Michelangelo sees all his pieces of art the same? Do you think Michael Jackson sees all his artistry the same way? Probably not. How much more so with God then… I would venture to say that with all the intricacy and complexity that is creation, it is a great disservice to imply that God doesn’t note the unique differences amongst us, race included.
Matthew 28:18-20 is a very well-known portion of scripture. When Jesus said go make disciples of all the nations, He wasn’t just blowing hot air. He meant it. As I mentioned in a previous post, up until the Book of Acts, the church was mostly Jewish, but Jesus’ plan was always bigger than that. We truly serve a multicultural God, and the bride of Christ is multiracial. I’ll highlight with an anecdote. In 2014, I was studying the Bible with a young man from Georgia State University. At the close of our Bible study, I ask him to pray. He was an international student from the Ivory Coast, where the official language is French, so when I ask him to pray, he instinctively prayed to God in French. In that moment, him praying in French meant everything to me.
An important truth clicked in my mind: God literally understands every single language on the face of the planet. ALL OF THEM. Every single one. All 6,500+. No matter what dialect I choose to interact with God, he understands. If none of this mattered to him, we would all speak the same language. The reason we have all these countries and all these languages is because in our differences, we all reflect the full beauty and intricacy that is God’s creation (sure, there were politics and money involved, too, in drawing up country borders, but we’ll save that for another discussion). We’re all so different, and yet, we all somehow reflect God, because the Bible says we’re made in His image. ALL of us. All 7.2 billion people around the globe and all the nationalities and cultures they represent. If we were all the same race, spoke the same language, and had the same color skin, statements in the Bible like “Go make disciples of ALL nations,” wouldn’t be nearly as meaningful.
In fact, I might go as far as to say if we were all the same race, spoke the same language, and had the same color skin, a statement like making disciples of all the nations would be a bit empty… you might as well just say, “Convert every human being.”
Speaking of French, the differences we have in the church advance the Kingdom in important ways. When I was in Philadelphia, I had a number of friends in the church who had French as their first language, or knew it very, very well. In a city like Philadelphia, with a large African and Caribbean population, this was a valuable asset. I continuously joked with my friends that we needed a French ministry, where we can read the word, sing worship, and testify to the goodness of God, all in French. Maybe they thought I was kidding, but I was actually very serious about it. Cameroon. Senegal. Ivory Coast. Sierra Leone. Togo. Rwanda. Haiti. Our French ministry would have consisted of probably about 50 people, from 9 or 10 countries. It would have been dope. And I think God would have been pleased.
As for me, unfortunately, my French isn’t so good. Nigeria isn’t a francophone country. But you better believe I’d be praying for this awesome group.
Do you think, even for a second, all of that is coincidental? 50 people, from 10 different countries, all of them African or Caribbean, with French as their first language (if not bilingual), in a city of predominantly black people (many who are African or Caribbean)?
You think God didn’t know what He was doing when He worked that out? You think when God said make disciples of all 190 nations, he didn’t have something like this in mind? Guys, we’re different. And that’s a great thing. It works well for advancing the Gospel. Personally, I think this was always God’s plan. I don’t think His plan was for us to minimize our differences and pretend the church is this homogenous group of people that are all really similar. You probably can’t preach a sermon in French. So clearly, God doesn’t expect that of you, the way he would if you perhaps were fluent in it.
I think God knows your nationality and I think he knows your race, too. Somehow, I think those are part of God’s awesome plan for you.
Here’s the thing though, people. As great as all this is, none of it matters in a (mostly) homogenous church. The very idea of a French ministry implies there are people present who don’t speak French. You would never, ever see a “French ministry” in a church in Senegal. You want to know why? Everybody speaks French. It would be completely unnecessary. You would never, ever see a “French ministry” in a church in Togo. You want to know why? Everybody speaks French. It would be completely unnecessary. America finds itself in a unique situation. We literally have people here from all over the world. LITERALLY, AMERICA IS PROBABLY HOME TO PEOPLE FROM ALL 190 COUNTRIES. And I don’t think God is ignorant of that. Because America is so diverse, I think God see’s this as a great opportunity for people of different races and nationalities to worship Him under one roof. With all of the division in the world, we actually have the opportunity to show the world what it looks like for people of different races and nationalities to come together and love each other.
In fact, I think America, and other countries that experience a similar level of diversity, are called to lead the way in building multiracial, multicultural congregations. If God is looking at the church Sunday morning, I think he’s very interested in race. I think it’s part of how He sees our heart in taking the Gospel to every corner of the world. Every nation. Every ethnicity. And every race.
There are socioeconomic implications, too. In 2011, a study found over 80% of the world’s population lived at or below the US poverty line (let me know if you can find a more recent study). My intuition is most of those people DON’T live in the western world. If I had a breakdown of that data, I think it would probably show me that a disproportionately large number of that 80% living below the poverty line is from Asia, Africa, Latin America, or the Caribbean. Hear what I’m saying: Europe has lots and lots of poor people, too. But Europe, as a whole, has a far higher standard of living than most of the world. And the Bible says to him whom much is given much is required (Luke 12:48). So, yes, I think God is very aware of that… He has high expectations for people given a lot, and vice versa.
So, when God is looking at the poor around the world, you don’t think He notices any meaningful patterns? I think God is brilliant. I think He absolutely notices meaningful patterns… everything we notice, and then some.
Isn’t that why the Bible talks about widows and orphans? I think God understood that life was hard for everyone, but THESE particular groups of people tend to experience a cycle of suffering/poverty.
If I’m a Christian in the wealthiest country in the world, ie. America, and there’s a Christian in Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, I would venture to say that God probably has higher expectations of me. If I’m a Christian in Europe, as opposed to being a Christian in the Caribbean, I would venture to say that God has higher expectations of me.
No, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say it’s a Biblical principle. That’s the vibe I get, at least, when I look at the parable of the talents (Matthew 25). I have amenities and luxuries in America that most of the other 7 billion people in the world couldn’t even dream of. We could probably say something similar for most of the Western world.
If God is looking at the world HE created, you don’t think He’s going to be able to connect those dots? Come on, give Him some credit.
If you don’t believe me about the amenities and luxuries that come with being in America, hop on a plane and go somewhere. There are 190 countries in the world; pick any country you’d like. In most cases, whatever country you choose to go to, your standard of living will go down.
This world has plenty of socioeconomic complexities, but I don’t think God is ignorant to any of that. So, if he knows everything else, tell me again why you think He doesn’t see race? It just sounds like a shot in the dark.
My opinion: to say God doesn’t see race just seems fluffy and empty to me. I think what we mean to say is, “God loves everybody, no matter their race or nationality.” But that’s not the same as, “God doesn’t see race.” I totally get it… race is a messy topic. And it’s really deep, too. I think we have these UNideals to make people feel more comfortable in church, but I stand by my initial position… this is damaging, colorless rhetoric. That serves as the perfect Segway.
Why is this an UNideal church ideal?
I think talking about race makes a lot of people feel uncomfortable, and understandably so (myself included, even as a black man). There are a lot of emotional and frustrated people. It could seem like the best way to deal with this is just by getting rid of it (race) entirely. I totally get it. Or I think I do, anyway.
I think we can project that and say, “I don’t want to deal with this race stuff, so I’m assuming God doesn’t want to get caught up in it either. He probably doesn’t even see race, because He loves us all equally!” If you look at what I wrote though, there’s a break down in the logic. I’m of the school of thought that all of our differences reflect the beauty of God. After all, we’re all made in his image. All 7 billion people on the face of the planet, and the billions of people who came before us, were all made in His image. If we’re all fairly similar, ie. one, big group of homogenous churchgoers, I think that’s a lot less interesting of an accomplishment. But I think the fact that we’re all different, race included, makes it astonishing that God is reflected in all of us.
Who else but God would bring so many different kinds of people together? Why else would the Jew be interacting with the Samaritan? Why else would the Israelites, all of a sudden, take more interest in the Gentile community? Fast forwarding, today, church pews have black people, and white people, and Hispanic people, and Asian people. I can’t help but feel God’s plan was always to bring different kinds of people together.
Certainly, a God who knows us intimately and has been intentional about the order of the universe since day one knows the color of our skin. Beyond that, there was a considerable part of Jesus’ ministry that was focused on the “harassed and helpless”, whether it be the widows, the fatherless, the poor, the lepers, or the like. Life is hard for everyone, but because of how history has transpired, and the institutions we’ve designed to serve humanity, there are certain people that have been living in hardship for centuries. And race does tend to be highly correlated with a lot of these things… like level of education… like income… like access to healthcare… like access to drinkable water… etc.
And that’s not an isolated phenomenon. That’s true for the US, just like it’s true for Canada, just like it’s true for sub-Saharan Africa, just like it’s true for the West Indies, just like it’s true for Southeast Asia. Again, many of the socioeconomic difficulties are correlated with race. In light of all this, yes, I think God sees race, because it manifests in important ways when we observe hardship in the world around us. But again, I’m open to perspective, as I don’t think this UNideal church ideal is black and white (no pun intended).
That brings this series to a close. Just some random thoughts. Feedback welcome.
Nnamdi