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BY CYNTHIA BURKERT

"We do what feels 'natural' - but being Christian means to embrace the super-natural!" Mark DeYmaz told a group of pastors and laity September 17 at Christ-Ballenger Creek, where two Frederick, Maryland, congregations - Christ  and Jackson - currently worship.  The consultation with DeYmaz was offered to church leaders on the forefront of the movement to challenge single-ethnicity churches as the norm in our denomination. 

Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas in Little Rock, which DeYmaz and his wife Linda founded in July 2001, describes itself as "a multi-ethnic and economically diverse church where significant percentages of Black and White Americans, together with men and women from more than 30 nations, currently worship God together as one." 

DeYmaz was talking about music, but his natural/supernatural contrast might apply to any of the things that divide our churches along ethnic and class lines, including language, worship practice, and preaching style.  

The future of the church is multi-ethnic, he asserts, not because of the changing demographics of the United States, in which right now over 48% of children under age 5 are non-white; not because the church is a place to pursue racial reconciliation; not because one in 7 marriages are inter-racial; and not because we are called to build bridges to the community.  The future of the church is multi-ethnic because "it is biblical and it is right."  

Leaders were reminded that the church is called to BE the community, ethnically and economically diverse, reflecting the kingdom of heaven and the image of the early church described in Ephesians 1:15, with "love toward all the saints", fulfilling Jesus' prayer in John 17 "that they may be one."   The larger community around us is watching, and in an "age of authenticity", if we are to reflect what we say we are, we have a "credibility problem" if the church is not multi-ethnic. 

DeYmaz points out that "Paul gave his life for the ramifications of the Gospel:  gentile inclusion in an all-Jewish church," citing Acts 21: 27-29 and 22:21-22.   He makes it clear that church growth per se is not the goal of the multi-ethnic church.  "If the measure of success is just how big your church is, Jesus was a horrible failure." 

DeYmaz outlined seven "core commitments" of the multi-ethnic church which are explored in his book, Building the Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church:  Mandates, Commitments and Practices of a Diverse Congregation (Jossey-Bass, 2007): 

1. Embrace Dependence - with prayer, patience and persistence because "you can't think it" (the multi-ethnic church) into being
2. Take Intentional Steps - "a middle ground between quotas and wishful thinking"
3. Empower Diverse Leadership - taking care that the church models what it says it believes
4. Develop Cross-Cultural Relationships - "trust is not a commodity you can assume"
5. Pursue cross-cultural competency - through training and practice
6. Promote a spirit of inclusion - "evidence of an attitude" reflected in communications, including signs, bulletins, banners (even simultaneous translation for non-English speakers is employed at Mosaic)
7. Mobilize for impact

The challenges of building a healthy multi-ethnic church occur on many levels:  personal ("you may lose friends"); theological ("you gotta know your stuff!"); practical ("how we do what we do"); philosophical (the "whys" of what we do, including church traditions that may be unfamiliar to some and need explanation); relational (the danger of offending, and being offended - for which DeYmaz prescribes patience, humility and forbearance); and spiritual ("You will do battle with forces of evil, which are devoted to division!")

In a question and answer session over lunch, DeYmaz took on the practical issue of worship music, urging participants to "demonstrate the heart of the church in every service, no matter the style." He noted that few music and worship leaders can be truly proficient in a variety of styles, and recommended not trying for a complete blend in every service.   Mosaic employs a "major/minor" approach to worship music, in which gospel may be the major music style, with traditional hymns as the minor in one service; in another praise music with a band will be major, with gospel as a minor note; or traditional music with either gospel or praise as the minor note.  What is ultimately important is that "whoever is up front and involved is mixed, to show your heart and commitment." 

While the reality may be that "the church is the Sleeping Giant" - the only place in society where segregation seems to be accepted - "the church is in the business of dismantling systemic sin." Noting that people tend to socialize with the same people with whom they worship,  DeYmaz reminded participants,  "Just preaching the Gospel doesn't get it done.  Relationships will change society."