Multicultural priorities
Ethnically mixed churches that honour and express human diversity are worth working for.
Christianity is multicultural by its very nature. But working this out in practice is a greater challenge than we often recognise.
by Tyler Horton
In a recent interview with Premier Christianity, Dr Selina Stone expresses her concern that building ethnically mixed churches is “just not a priority for lots of people.” Dr Stone, lecturer in Theology and Ethics at the University of Edinburgh School of Divinity, is up front about her discouragement in this area:
I’m more than happy to rally the Black and Brown people to say: “Let’s build multicultural churches” once there is a good cohort of white people who actually want to do the work of building those churches, but I don’t believe that’s what we have.
The claim that it is white people in the UK who are especially unwilling to work at building multicultural churches is somewhat provocative, and I imagine some will react against it. But before any of us follow the reflex to say that majority non-white churches also have work to do in this endeavour, we should start by giving serious consideration to the fact that she may well be right. After all, the history of majority white churches accepting and integrating non-white people in the UK is not always encouraging.
Christianity is multicultural by its very nature, and multicultural churches are one of the clearest expressions of the power of the gospel which breaks down walls and makes peace (Ephesians 2:13–14). Ethnically mixed churches that honour and express human diversity are worth working for. The prejudices and challenges that stand in the way of this goal, which mean that it is just not a priority for lots of people, must not be allowed to stand.
I want to point out two resources for those who are looking to shape churches that are more multicultural. Both are connected to the Converge 2025 conference that several of the Acts 11 team members recently contributed to.
First, we need to recognise that Christians have access to resources that no one else has. My talk at the conference, “The Bell Tolls: Asylum Hotels and Christian Perception,” had two main points:
- Christians can see what no one else can see, and
- Christians can be seen doing what no one else can do.
We are those whose eyes have been opened by God and among whom the love of God is perfected.
When we are confronted by problematic issues, like the current crisis around asylum-seeker hotels, we can take courage from the fact that our prospects are not determined by our past. Rather, they are animated by the possibilities of grace. Working out the multicultural nature of Christianity is often a greater challenge than we recognise, but we have to remind ourselves that in Christ we have resources which are fully sufficient to meet all that he is calling us to.
Second, I would point you toward the organisation that hosted this conference. Intercultural Churches aims to help churches create spaces where everyone feels valued, building relationships across cultural boundaries and promoting unity.
Besides events like the Converge conference, they also offer training sessions and other resources to help build truly multicultural churches.
We had a fabulous time with those who gathered, and I was particularly encouraged to meet several people who came not because they are church leaders, but simply because they wanted some help after recognizing that their church has room to grow in this area.
Do be sure to have a look at what Intercultural Churches have to offer, and, consider joining the network yourself!
Dr Stone is in a far better position than me to evaluate the state of the church here in the UK. So, when I hear her say that there isn’t a good cohort of white people ready to do the work of building multicultural churches, I’ll not set out to contradict her statement.
Her insights in this interview have reminded me that building multicultural churches is more difficult than we often think but we can join with others who recognise that by the power at work within us, God is able to do more than we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20–21).
As Dr Stone goes on to say in the interview, truly multicultural churches are the dream. What calling lies on us to help see that multicultural churches flourish? What needs to be sacrificed for this vision to come to pass?
