"...The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7bThe dialogue on the subject of race in this country is still too predictable and overheated. I believe we have made some headway on this issue, but we still have a long way to go. This is true not only of our country as a whole, but also of our churches as well. Sadly, some of the most segregated institutions remaining in our land are our churches.
There are reasons for this of course, not all relating to prejudice. Most people that worship together do so because of several factors relating to music style, heritage, culture, type of preaching and denominational preferences. Race usually plays a role in where we worship only in the sense that we like to worship in the style, heritage, culture and even language we are familiar with...and there are definitely ethnic and cultural differences in worship. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, I do think however, that we miss out when we fail to stretch ourselves with respect to our worship environment.
When I was pastoring I always wanted our church to be as multicultural as possible. We were not as successful as I wanted to be, although we did improve. In our small town, there used to be very real issues dealing not only with race, but class as well. Being an agricultural community, you had the farmers and the laborers and not many others in between. The farmers had their churches and the laborers had their own. Other than work and school events (such as sports) the two groups didn't really spend much time in mutual activities, let alone worship together.
When I moved to Wasco I counted at least 35 different churches, most of which could be classified by either their denominational/theological or cultural/ethnic distinctions. A few denominations actually had an "English" church and a "Spanish" church in town (this was true of many other surrounding communities as well). To be fair, there were real language barriers that were not so easy to overcome in order to accommodate a blended service. Still, I believe there was some racism or classism at play.
I remember a very infuriating conversation I had with some of the leaders of a denominational church in town. The very "white" congregation had dwindled down to a few families so they had decided to dissolve. The members were going to go to the denominational church in another community a few miles away. They would give the buildings back to the denomination so they could use it to start an "ethnic" ministry. I took that to mean that they would start a Spanish language congregation. Not really. They wanted to use it to start an English speaking "Hispanic" church! "Why can't the "English speaking Hispanics" attend an already established congregation in town like every other English speaking person???" was my incredulous response. I don't think it ever occurred to them that quite possibly the reason their congregation had to dissolve is that they hadn't considered reaching out to the "English speaking Hispanics" in town while their church was still in existence! Maybe then they wouldn't have had to close their doors!
Another thing that bothered me was the reverse segregation that often occurred. For example, African-Americans were expected to attend "their" church in town. On several occasions, we had an African-American family attend our congregation and express an interest in joining, but later they would tell me that while they would like to join our church, they were pressured to go the black church. I had a good relationship with the pastor of that church, but he also emphasized to me on more than one occasion that his "folks" should go there.
This was all so disappointing, especially in light of the clear teaching of Scripture.
"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28
"Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly." Leviticus 19:15
"To show partiality is not good—"Proverbs 28:21
"Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right." Acts 10:34-35
"For God does not show favoritism." Romans 2:11
"My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism." James 2:1The Greek word for "favoritism" has been variously translated as partiality, discrimination, or prejudice...it literally means "a receiving of the face" and it came to denote a biased judgement based on external circumstances such as rank, wealth or ethnicity. It involves a disregarding of the intrinsic merit of the person at whom it is directed. The noun form of the word is plural and speaks of "acts of partiality or favoritism" so it encompasses every way in which favoritism can be shown. James is saying that all acts of partiality are inconsistent with our identification and position as believers in Jesus.
I look forward to the day when our churches are less segregated, when they are less a reflection of class and race and status, and more a reflection of our unity in Christ. I look forward to the day when believers in the glorious Lord Jesus Christ, refuse to make judgements about people based on their outward appearances and external circumstances and instead look to see everyone as a human being made in the image of God.
What's a man's worth ?
Does anyone know
Is he measured by riches,
By friend or foe?
Can we tell by his virtues,
His station in life?
His accent? His color?
His peace, or his strife?
The length of his hair,
The shape of his nose,
His smile or his handshake
The cut of his clothes?
What's a man's worth?
We turn to our guide
And Christ gives his answer
"For each man I died."
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