Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church: Mandate, Commitments, and Practices of a Diverse Congregation

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Introduction

A ship in a safe harbor is safe, but that is not what a ship is built for.

—William Shedd

It was the spring of 1993, and I had two options. After ten years of full-time ministry as a youth pastor, two dynamic churches had each invited me to join their staff teams to oversee student ministries.

Antioch Bible Church was a growing and diverse congregation led by former NFL linebacker, Ken Hutcherson. I had heard of Ken’s ministry for years and was honored by his enthusiastic invitation. Located in Seattle, Washington, the ministry was just two hours south of my wife, Linda’s, hometown of Bellingham, and accepting the job would keep us in the western part of the United States. In addition, I had friends on staff and knew there would be great freedom to design a ministry as the Spirit leads. Quite simply, there was nothing not to like.

Fellowship Bible Church, on the other hand, was located in Little Rock, Arkansas. Arkansas? I’m not kidding—Linda and I had to get out a map just to find the state! Robert Lewis, the pastor of this equippingoriented church, was like Ken, an inspiring leader, and the people we met on our first visit epitomized Southern charm and hospitality. Yet visions of Hee Haw danced in my head:

Won’t ya’ whisper me something sweet, Jimmy Bob? Sho’ will, Effie Mae. Nice tooth!

I pictured the Hatfields and McCoys feudin’ in them th’ar hills and ticks and chiggers just waiting to embed themselves in my body; I imagined eating grits in the morning and chitlins at the church potluck and cheering for a university whose mascot’s a pig. I don’t know, man. I’m from Phoenix!  

Ironically, my mother, Dorothy, was born and raised in Arkansas but had somehow managed, as I once heard someone say, to survive and make it out of there. Some fifty years later, was God now leading me back to her people?

Now at that time, I was nowhere near where I am today in terms of understanding the biblical mandate for the multi-ethnic church. Indeed, I was largely unaware of Christ’s vision for unity and diversity within the local church, unity’s intended purpose, the pattern of the New Testament Church, the prescriptions of Paul, or the commitments to oneness that can lead the local church back to a place of prominent influence in the community. The fact is, I had no earthly idea that a diverse church was anything more than flat-out cool. I only knew that Antioch was integrated and Fellowship was not; somehow, that bothered me.

During the interview process, I asked Robert if he would ever hire an African American to serve alongside him. He told me that he would be open to doing so but not because of the color of the man’s skin. Rather, he would hire such a man only if the potential candidate was qualified and if, of course, there was a need. In other words, he would do so only if the applicant was, in fact, the best man for the job. I remember thinking, Good answer, though honestly, I couldn’t say why.

One day as we neared our decision, Linda was in the next room and I was thinking out loud: "I don’t know, Linda. I like the fact that Antioch is a diverse church in a large city out West. I mean, after all, Little Rock is so much smaller than Seattle, and it’s in the South—a long way from our families. Think about it! It’s a city infamously associated with racism. In 1957, Central High School was forcibly integrated,[1] and the schools are still controlled by the federal courts. Is this really where we want to raise our kids?"

In response, Linda leaned her head around the corner and said, But who knows, Mark? Maybe God will use you to change things.

Yeah, right, I flippantly replied. I’m not even from the South—an outsider—and I’m going to change several hundred years of racial prejudice and segregation?

Well that was it; we never discussed the issue again. Soon after, though, Linda and I did sense a strange but certain call to Arkansas, and in the summer of 1993, I accepted the job at Fellowship. So we moved our young family to Little Rock, home of the Hogs[2] and to (then) President Bill Clinton[3]—a place of terribly humid summers and an exciting new challenge of turning a youth group into a student ministry. It would be many years, however, before either one of us would begin to realize just how profound Linda’s words that day really were.

Branching Out

By the spring of 1997, our family had been in Little Rock nearly four years. Fellowship Student Ministries was growing healthy and strong, and with the addition of staff, I had more time to be involved with other youth leaders throughout the city. Together, we had established a local network of youth pastors who, by this time, were meeting monthly and enjoying genuine relationships of friendship and trust.

There was just one nagging reality: virtually the entire group was White.

My initial inquiries concerning the lack of African American involvement in the network yielded somewhat resigned and stereotypical answers. I remember hearing that student ministry was not as much a priority in the ‘Black church’ as it is in the ‘White church,’ and that "the ‘Black church’ just doesn’t view youth ministry the way we do. Economics, too, were cited as a contributing factor. Someone said, Since ‘Black churches’ don’t pay their youth pastors, volunteer leaders might not be able to meet with us during the day."

No matter the cause, I was becoming increasingly troubled with the status quo. So in April of that year, I decided to do something about it. I invited eight youth workers, with whom I had become acquainted through the years, to gather for a morning of prayer and discussion. Significantly, four of them were White and the other four were Black. My sole motive for meeting was to determine the cause for the lack of African American involvement in our network and, hopefully then, to resolve the situation.

Sponsored by Bank of the Ozarks’ president, George Gleason, and hosted by Greg Murtha, one of the bank’s employees, the meeting was both enjoyable and productive. In the quiet seclusion of a warmly decorated log cabin at the Oasis Retreat Center, the guys who came that day shared honestly and from the heart. For instance, I learned that the many African American youth leaders in the city at the time were, in fact, bivocational, and this did make it difficult for them to participate in network meetings held during the day. However, it was not at all true that Black churches didn’t pay their youth pastors or that youth ministry was somehow less of a priority in the African American churches. How wrong it is to assume such things, one of the African Americans said, simply because we don’t necessarily approach it the way that you do.

Toward the end of our time, we all agreed it was important to pursue greater understanding and cooperation. We then asked ourselves what might be done to get more African American youth workers involved in the local network.

First, someone suggested that we invite former pastor and the (then) current governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, to a kick-off meeting in the fall and to address the importance of our network. We reasoned that such an event, attended by the governor, would surely draw a crowd.

Someone else brought up the fact that in just five months, the city (and, indeed, the nation) would honor the fortieth anniversary of the integration of Little Rock’s Central High School. The president of the United States, the Little Rock Nine, and many other dignitaries would likely be in town for events that week. We were brainstorming, when another person suggested that a rally of youth groups and leaders could be planned on the capitol steps that would not only bring us together but also would provide a platform to declare, Racism is, ultimately, a spiritual problem.

Next, we likened the passing of the forty years since the crisis at Central High to Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness. Through such an event, we could stand together in declaring the dawn of a new day. Oh yeah, baby, we were on a roll!

Finally, Greg mentioned that he had a connection with the manager of DC Talk, a band that, at the time, was one of the most successful groups in Christian music. DC Talk was diverse[4] and quite naturally had a personal interest in such matters.[5] Perhaps, we wondered, the band could come to the city around this time and in some way be involved with us in making such a statement. Greg said that he would draft a letter and ask the governor to personally extend the invitation.

In leaving that day, we all shared the feeling that great progress had been made. Indeed, we looked forward to building a stronger, more diverse network in the future and to an event in September that might address even broader issues. Yet by the end of June, none of us had spoken again to anyone else about it.

Nevertheless, we met again on July 2nd at a local restaurant to see just what, if anything, was possible. As the smell of Petit Jean Mountain ham permeated the air of the breakfast hotspot, we gathered together, not expecting much. No news since April probably meant bad news in terms of any significant advance of the ball.

But God knew better.

Greg was the last one to arrive that day, bounding in with incredible news. He told us that he had just heard from his connection. DC Talk had not only received the governor’s letter but, in fact, desired to come! And not only that, Greg said, but he told me that they want ‘to bring some friends’ with them.

What friends? someone asked.

Oh, just people like Billy Graham, Evander Holyfield, and CeCe Wynans, Greg replied, doing his best to mask his excitement. And one more thing, he said. They want to come for free!

To make a long story short, the Racial Reconciliation Rally was born that day, and on September 19, 1997, at the River Market Amphitheatre in downtown Little Rock, a wonderfully diverse crowd of nearly fifteen thousand came to be a part of the truly historic event which, in addition to those mentioned earlier,[6] included the involvement of two members of the Little Rock Nine, Pastor E. V. Hill from Los Angeles, pastor and evangelist Miles McPherson from San Diego, and the band, Grits. The mayors of Little Rock and North Little Rock also came, as well as the governor of Arkansas, congressional leaders from three different states, and a large number of pastors representing churches throughout Central Arkansas. And we did, in fact, make a statement. The next day, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette quoted an African American pastor in a big, bold headline: I Believe the Walls Have Come Down!

Lasting Impact

The rally in 1997 was, indeed, a significant event for the city. And through my own involvement, I became much more aware of lingering prejudice and systemic racism still deeply embedded within our society and, yes, within the local church. But I still did not fully understand the complexities of the situation: for example, how the segregation of the local church contributes to the perpetuation of such problems, what the Bible might have to say about it, or what such understanding would ultimately mean for my family and me.

Over the next few years, I began to look at my own local church through a new grid, wondering why, it seemed, the only minorities there were janitors, or why the best man for the job always looked like us. Soon, I was no longer content to build a bridge to the community. Increasingly, I wanted to be a part of a church that was the community.

So in the fall of 2000, my eighth year at Fellowship, I prepared my résumé, made a few calls, and wondered what might happen next.

That’s when I met Precious.

Precious Williams was a hairstylist at Super Cuts in Little Rock, and I had recently begun having her cut my hair. She was close, the cut was cheap, and I particularly enjoyed talking with her about racial attitudes in the South. As an African American who grew up in Little Rock, she was a valued resource and person of genuine warmth. Indeed, I not only learned much from Precious, but that fall God used her to change my life.

I remember sitting back in her chair one day and initially enjoying lighthearted conversation. At some point, however, we began talking about racism and, in particular, the segregation of the local church. I asked Precious if churches in Little Rock had always been segregated and what it was like for her, growing up in such a place. Had it affected her spiritually? Had it shaped her view of Christians, of the Church of God?

Now I honestly do not recall all that she said in response, but I do remember what I asked her next (and, incidentally, in no way thinking of myself or my future). I said, Precious, do you think there is a need in Little Rock for a diverse church, one where individuals of varying backgrounds might worship God together as one?

Her answer was no surprise.

Oh, yes, Mark, she said, in a quiet but hopeful tone.

She then went on to describe what she thought such a church might be like—what it would mean for the community—and to say that she, indeed, longed for the day.

Closing my eyes, I pondered her words, and with her hands skillfully shaping my hair, I soon relaxed nearly to the point of slumber. What she said next, however, shook me to my core.

Mark, do you ever think it could happen here?

Now in the precise moment that Precious spoke these words to me, I experienced two remarkable things. Physically, I felt a very powerful rush of heat pass through my body—the same terrifying sensation you feel when someone scares you in the dark! Spiritually, however, something even more remarkable occurred.

For though I had heard with my ears—Mark, do you ever think it could happen here?—I simultaneously heard with my heart—Mark, would you consider doing it here? And immediately, I was transported in my mind to Acts 16 and to a time when God used another individual to issue a similar invitation to a man at the crossroads of his life. It was my own Macedonian moment!

So right then and there, I clearly heard the call. I wondered, How should I respond?

Still shaking from the experience with Precious at Super Cuts and with a noble vision now birthed in my heart, I rushed home to share my excitement with Linda. What if we stay in Little Rock and start an Antiochlike church right here? I proposed enthusiastically.

Her response, however, was immediate and decisive.

Are you crazy? We’ve spent two years in Germany and now eight years in Little Rock. And our children are growing up apart from our families. Don’t you want them to be around our parents, their aunts, uncles, and cousins out West? Isn’t it time to go home?

Of course, Linda wasn’t against the idea of such a church. In those days, she was just hoping that God would, finally, lead us home. The truth is, I also longed in my heart to return to the West. Consequently, I walked away from our initial conversation thinking there was no way that I could ever attempt such a thing without Linda’s full support. Fortunately, we would keep talking and praying about it together.

In the coming weeks, I found my initial excitement quickly morphing into intentional pursuit. Increasingly, I found myself envisioning a multi-ethnic church and considering the significance of such a work in a city through which the very roots of the civil rights movement run deep. I began to ask myself, as I had of Precious, Is there a need? Is this the time? Am I the guy?

Soon I was posing these same questions to pastors and spiritual leaders throughout the community. In so doing, it was my intention to survey a wide diversity of leadership both in and outside the local church and to look for wisdom in the counsel of many. Toward that end, I spoke with individuals representing large and small churches, as well as with those working outside the local church in other Christian ministries. I spoke with leadership in the suburbs and in the inner city, and, of course, I spoke to those of different cultural background and economic means.

In those days, I prayerfully confided in the Lord that I would have little confidence in moving ahead with such an idea unless every person I asked answered Yes! to all three questions. Planting a church would be hard enough, but planting a multi-ethnic local church would be even harder. Beyond that, to think that it could happen in Little Rock seemed outright impossible!

As God would have it, however, not one of the individuals I talked with was anything less than positive. In fact to a person, they all agreed that the need was great, and it was long past time to establish such a church. And as one well-respected African American pastor told me privately, If anyone can do it, Mark, I believe you can. And if you do decide to go for it, you’ll have my full support. Talk about empowering. I was inspired!

By this time, Linda had become fully engaged in the vision, having opened herself in prayer to God’s will, in spite of her initial reaction. Returning to Little Rock from Seattle after a visit with the leadership at Antioch, she wept as our plane flew over Mt. Rainier, knowing in her heart that God was speaking—calling us to walk by faith beyond our own understanding, experience, or abilities. Was it mere coincidence that when she opened the one magazine she had purchased just before boarding the plane, there was an article about the historic events of 1957 at Little Rock’s Central High?

So on May 17, 2001, Linda and I responded in prayer to a very specific call of God on our lives. That day, we committed ourselves and our family to a journey of faith, courage, and sacrifice that would lead to the establishment of a multi-ethnic and economically diverse church in the heart of Central Arkansas—a church founded in response to the prayer of Jesus Christ for unity and patterned after the New Testament church at Antioch (Acts 11:19ff.)—a church for others, for all people, a church we called Mosaic.

Who We Are

Now to be clear, this is not a book about the church Linda and I planted. Yet at the outset, it will be helpful to understand what I believe this church, as well as the emerging Multi-Ethnic Church Movement is (and must be) all about. And to do that, I will be providing many examples from Mosaic throughout these pages.

Toward that end, consider for a moment the vision statement of our church:

Mosaic is a multi-ethnic and economically diverse church founded by men and women seeking to know God and to make Him known through the pursuit of unity, in accordance with the prayer of Jesus Christ ( John 17:20–23) and patterned after the New Testament church at Antioch (Acts 11:19–26; 13:1ff.).

Notice from this statement that our church was founded for two primary reasons: to know God and to make him known. For us, the pursuit of unity is merely the means for accomplishing these ends.

Who We Are Not

To avoid any confusion of purpose, we have not only written a statement concerning who we are but also a statement concerning who we are not. It reads:

Mosaic is not a church focused on racial reconciliation. Rather, we are focused on reconciling men and women to God through faith in Jesus Christ and on reconciling ourselves collectively with the principles and practices of local churches as described in the New Testament.

Through this second statement, we make clear that our church is focused on two primary works of reconciliation: first, on reconciling men and women to God through faith in Jesus Christ (evangelism) and second, on reconciling a local body of believers with the principles and practices of the New Testament local church. Some may be surprised that racial reconciliation is not our primary focus. Rather, it is for us a most wonderful and supernatural by-product of these two a priori works of reconciliation. And I believe the differentiation is important.

First of all, the term racial reconciliation does not adequately convey the biblical underpinnings of a healthy multi-ethnic church. In addition the term today means different things to different people, who use it at different times and for different purposes. For instance, the National Organization of Women (NOW) has characterized Promise Keepers’ commitment to reaching beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity,[7] as a myth. In so doing, NOW states,

While the Promise Keepers claim to want to end racism, they are only giving lip service. They are not working to end the institutional racism in society today, but are working on programs of racial reconciliation through personal relationships.[8]

In other words, so-called racial reconciliation, at least to NOW, is not enough. Such is just one example of how the term today is somewhat nebulous.

Of course, we should not at all deny the value of personal relationships in helping us to move beyond lingering racism at an individual level, or even the part relationships play in addressing systemic issues still plaguing the United States today. But make no mistake—it is my sincere hope and belief that the emerging movement to establish multi-ethnic churches throughout the United States and beyond will have the effect of dismantling institutional racism within the local church through the application of long-forsaken New Testament teaching concerning its very nature and calling.

At Mosaic, therefore, we believe that when men and women of diverse backgrounds are one with God individually, they can and should walk together as one in and through the local church, all for the sake of the Gospel! Indeed, this is the vision of Christ for the local church. It’s about evangelism and discipleship—simple as that.

What It’s All About

Such understanding is foundational to the coming ethnic and economic integration of the local church and is essential, too, for those who will lead the way. For we who dare to chase the dream must be fundamentally informed by the Word of God and not by shifting cultural trends and attitudes, by globalization, or by politically correct thinking.

In other words, the desire to establish multi-ethnic churches like Mosaic must not be rooted in the fact that Tiger Woods is biracial and, therefore, representative of the changing face of America or, for that matter, in Rodney King’s emotional appeal, People . . . can we all get along?[9] Nor should we pursue the multi-ethnic church simply because the neighborhood is changing, because the increasing diversification of certain states has rendered them Majority-Minority,[10] or because projections indicate that the entire nation will be so classified by 2050.[11] Certainly, this is all well and good, making conditions favorable for our attempts. Yet in order to build a healthy multi-ethnic church, planters and reformers alike must be rooted in an understanding of God’s Word and his revealed will for the local church. We must find our inspiration in none other than Christ himself, who calls us to be one so that the world would know God’s love and believe ( John 17:23). The very success of our efforts and, indeed, the emerging Multi-Ethnic Church Movement, depends upon passionate individuals getting this right.

In our case, such understanding led to the conversion of some fortythree individuals within the first eighteen months of Mosaic ( July 2001 to January 2003). This included men and women from seven different nations in a city where internationals have come to dwell in increasingly significant numbers.

Amazingly, our first convert was a thirty-two-year-old Muslim man from Saudi Arabia just three months after the horrific 9/11 attacks. The public testimony of faith he shared at the church just three weeks following his conversion led that same evening to the salvation of a university student from Japan and, in the days following, to the conversion of a twenty-four-year-old Australian woman, as well as a man from Mexico in his mid-forties.

I report such things not in any way to boast but simply to demonstrate the power and potential of the multi-ethnic church to advance the Gospel in remarkable ways. This, then, is the primary focus of our church, as well it should be for all churches seeking to reflect the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Purpose and Intent

This book covers the most fundamental truths concerning the multiethnic church that I have learned to date. And let me make one thing perfectly clear from the start: pursuit of the multi-ethnic local church is, in my view, not optional. It is biblically mandated for all who would aspire to lead local congregations of faith.

Beyond this, I want you to know that it is quite possible to establish such churches in the twenty-first century. Indeed, if pastoral leaders are willing to be informed more by the New Testament than by the latest, greatest wisdom of man, that is, if we are willing to work to build his kingdom on earth and not our own, then God will come through! Yes, Faithful is He who has called you, that He will do it (2 Thessalonians 5:24).

Therefore, in Part One (Chapters One, Two, and Three), I provide a theological foundation for the biblical mandate. In Part Two (Chapters Four through Ten), I discuss the seven core commitments of a healthy multi-ethnic church. Finally, in Part Three (Chapters Eleven through Thirteen), I provide three examples of local churches that model understanding of the mandate and commitments through church planting, revitalization, and transformation. In so doing, I share why I believe the homogeneous church will grow progressively irrelevant in the years to come, as the message of God’s love for all people is otherwise undermined by its own segregation. Beyond this, I will demonstrate the critical importance of getting this message right, both in principle and practice, if the Gospel is to prevail in an increasingly diverse and cynical society.

To do so effectively, the book is peppered with real-life stories of passion, prayer, and peace—stories that are drawn from my own experience as a multi-ethnic church planter. In addition, Chapters One through Ten each include a testimony of conversion or otherwise significant story of life change that we have been privileged to witness at Mosaic—stories that demonstrate the power