Churches, the Last Frontier for Race Relations – Part 3

Let’s say that we finally solve all the problems of race relations in the church.  Everyone feels completely comfortable with each other.  There are equal representations of black, white, Hispanic, and Asians.  Socio-economic classes and ethnic cultures do not divide us but unite us.  What songs shall we sing to celebrate the great work of Christ to bring every tongue and tribe together?  And how shall we sing those songs?

Music defines cultures and people groups.  Jamaicans have Reggae, Latinos have Salsa, and Americans have Rock and Roll.  What is music?  It’s a language that we all know.  It is beauty made audible.  It’s the heart reaching to the mind.  It is heaven’s gift to mankind.  We cannot escape music, for it plays in the background of our lives.  I heard a professional opera singer tell me that singing is nothing but sustained speech.  Singing makes music communicable.  Yet part of the paradox in the uniformity of music is its diversity of voices.  We each have our own voice, and we all want to be heard.  If the church of Jesus Christ is to ever be a place where race meets grace, then this paradox of unity within diversity must coexist and coalesce, there is no either or. 

Churches split over this very issue.  What style of music speaks to the broadest group of people?  This issue becomes especially difficult if your congregation represents many cultures.  Do we allow drum, clapping, and self expression and sacrifice the comfort of some of the congregation’s members?  African Americans don’t feel comfortable in an all white PCA praise and worship service because everyone seems so subdued and fears spontaneity.  White Americans feel uncomfortable in multi ethnic PCA churches because there isn’t a sense of order, structure, and consistency of theme within praise and worship services.  And both white and black Americans feel uncomfortable in a Korean PCA church where everyone is singing in another language!  What is the ultimate answer to put all worries to rest when it comes to race relations and church music?  Do we have to give up our cultural musical heritage in order to sing next to someone who looks different than me?

First let me say that the object of our worship (God) does not have a preference of worship style, as long as it is directed to Him and brings His Son, Jesus Christ glory.  Scripture teaches us that Jesus is highly exalted above all things.  Philippians 2:9-11 says, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  We would do well to exalt Jesus as Lord in our praise and worship services and invite others to do the same.  When it comes to the proper style of music in a worship service, the exaltation of Christ should guide our focus with the utmost humility.  I must say it again; the exaltation of Jesus Christ should guide our focus with the utmost humility. 

Worship is not about us, for we are the worshipers.  Worship is about God.  We sing to God for God’s glory and our enjoyment.  How do we do this?  Well, I believe we must do it with a heart of love…and not just any kind of love, but Christ’s love working in us.  Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”  Loving our neighbors must be our next priority in the worship of God.  We cannot worship God fully until our neighbor has been loved completely.  So let’s change our question from what style is the best style for race relations in the church to, how can we honor God (Father, Son, and Spirit) and respect our neighbor when choosing which type of songs to sing and what style to sing it in?

Some might argue that classical music is the best style for worship services because it is timeless and reaches a broad group of people groups.  I agree that classical music is timeless, but I do not believe that it resonates with every culture in the same way that their indigenous style of music does.  I mean think about, I grew up in the Bahamian culture where the junkanoo and calypso rhythm dominated every aspect of music.  If you want to communicate to the heart of a Bahamian, play some junkanoo music and give them a whistle…then WATCH OUT!  Cuz dey ga break it down bey! (Bahamian slang)  One cannot impose their own cultural style of music on everyone else and expect for them to enjoy it like they do.  One cannot assume that their particular cultural style speaks to the heart of everyone.  I like classical music, but that doesn’t mean that every Bahamian will like it, especially in a worship context.  I also like Bahamian junkanoo music, but that doesn’t mean that everyone in my church in Chattanooga will like it.  Again, I revert to my aforementioned point about honoring God and respecting our neighbors when it comes to this topic. 

If one’s church is a missional church trying to reach out to other cultures, then that church should be sensitive to the cultural styles of music represented in the congregation.  If one’s church is not trying to reach out to other people groups, but is focused on their own cultural traditions (most churches are like this) then they shouldn’t feel forced to have music that does not resonate with their members.  For example, a white church should not feel guilty if they don’t have hard core, foot stompin, black gospel music; and similarly, a black church should not feel guilty if they don’t have Handel’s Messiah every Christmas with a full orchestra.  Please don’t miss the point though.  I do encourage churches that are homogenous to branch out to other people groups, especially if you are a missional church that seeks to be cross cultural.  But not all churches are missional, cross cultural churches…I’ll deal with that issue in my next blog :)

Churches, the Last Frontier for Race Relations – Part 2

Pastor Rodney Woo of Wilcrest Baptist Church in Houston, TX who is half Chinese and half white, grew up in a black neighborhood, went to an all white church and married his Hispanic childhood sweetheart said in an interview with PBS, “When we started a lot of people were going, ‘Ah, this is making me feel uncomfortable.’ Whether the kids were in the nursery together, or their kids were in the young group, a lot of parents were fearful that their kids might start dating somebody that was a different race.”  This is a fear among many church members that wish to minister to the community around them, particularly if that community is Hispanic, African American, or lower class whites.  It is a fear of racial and cultural proportions.

Now that America is becoming more multi-cultural, communities reflect immigrants from the Caribbean, Africa, Mexico, Central America, and Arab countries.  These communities are usually in the heart of the city, and are generally more impoverished communities than the surrounding suburbs.  Inherent in racial tensions is the sense of classicism, you can’t escape it.  In the modern world, the poor are mostly people of color that are brown and black.  Please do not get me wrong, there are many poor whites in our communities as well, and they should not be neglected; yet my point is this: if we can overcome our racial prejudices, then we will be able to abandon our cultural prejudices.  Race, I submit is a more powerful source of contention because it is easily identifiable.  One can readily tell if someone is black or white; it isn’t easy to tell if that black or white person is Bahamian, Salvadorian, Czech, Norwegian, Nigerian, or Australian.  Culture is not as easily identifiable, granted language differences is a major factor too.

The fears that exist in Pastor Woo’s church are natural fears.  No one should be ashamed about their concerns for their children.  Who will my children marry?  Will they take care of them?  Will they love them?  Will they be safe when they are away from the confines of our home?  All of these questions present legitimate fears.  But at some point every parent has to come face to face with these fears whether their children marry someone of a different race or the same race.  The first step to overcoming fear is to admit that you have them.  When we admit our fears, we realize how far we need to come to overcome them.  After we admit and identify our fears, we need to eventually face them.  Part of facing our fears is giving up a sense of control.  We must surrender our instinct to run away from our fears and trying to prolong the inevitable.  I John 4: 18 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear…”

God has placed His affection upon His people.  Consequently, there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God.  Since this is true, we have nothing to fear because we know that God is sovereign above any fear we may possess.  His love frees us!  For freedom Christ has set us free.  Now that we are free, we, by Christ power are freeing agents of grace.  God has called us to preach the gospel to the poor, the widow, the orphan, the prisoner, and anyone who is held captive by sin.  Our children get front row seats to God’s magnificent work in our lives.  As parents, we are teachers and mentors of the next generation.  If our children congregate with other children of different races and one day fall in love with one of them, then we should not be afraid.  Our greatest fear should not be whether or not my child marries someone of a different race, yet our greatest concern should be whether that other child is freed by the gospel and is able to love your child with the same love that Christ has loved them.

Churches, the Last Frontier for Race Relations – Part 1

Dr. Michael Emerson, Professor of Sociology and director of the Center on Race, Religion, and Urban Life at Rice University, said in an interview with PBS, “We do not have an American culture. We have a white American culture and a black American culture. So when those two groups try to get together, [it’s] very difficult because they each feel like they have the right to their culture.”(http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/july-31-2009/interview-with-michael-emerson/1736/) 

What an insightful statement!  As I look at what it takes for PCA churches to reach out to African Americans in their communities, I realize that there is a formidable barrier that has been in place ever since the founding of this country.  Black and White Americans have a long and painful history of racism and distrust of each other.  Even after the Civil Rights Movement, race relations are still not what it should be, especially in the church.  We have elevated our ethnic cultures above the place of God.  The cultural expression of theology has been made more important than theology itself. 

If the church is ever to be one as Christ is one with the Father and the Spirit, then some serious changes have to be made.  Because of globalization, cultures are finding a common language to communicate with each other.  We are all users in the World Wide Web.  And so, to maintain a sense of cultural identity in a globalized market that seeks unilateral consistency, we hide are cultural biases, traditions, and expressions in the one untouchable place, the church.   

Businesses pride themselves in innovation and diversity.  Schools receive government grants on the amount of ethnically diverse students that attend, and boast about it on their websites.  Collectively there is a sense that we must reflect diversity in order to be on the cutting edge so that we can market to each other. Individually, however, there is an heir of sanctity to our own cultural identities.  What is the church to do amidst such obstacles?

First, let me suggest prayer.  Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us…”  What is the power that is at work in us?  Well, Romans 8:11 answers this question in this manner, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”  So, to my brothers and sisters in Christ, I ask this one final question, where is our faith?   

Prayer gives an opportunity for the Triune God to flex His eternal muscles and make a public spectacle of all principalities and powers that seek to wreak havoc upon the kingdom of God by dividing and conquering.  We must understand that a house divided against itself cannot stand.  Let us stand as one in Christ, united by a common faith that is able to withstand any prejudice and divisive scheme.