By Bob Turner
Challenges to the oversight of the Lord’s church seem to be unlimited when it comes to the role of elders in the twenty-first century. One of the most pressing challenges involves the multicultural changes occurring within our country. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation indicates that 49,632,000 people with a Hispanic background now live in the U.S. By the year 2050 this number is expected to double contributing to more than 30% of the countries population base. The Asian population of this country is nearly 14 million people, also expected to double by 2050.[1] The U.S. Census Bureau reports that both the Hispanic and Asian communities experienced the largest increase in population of the last decade, a trend expected to continue into the decades ahead.[2]
Additional figures show an increase in population from numerous African, European, North and South American countries. These figures continue to point us in the direction of multicultural changes at an exponential rate. The result of these figures helps point us in the direction of seeing the influence of such changes within the church. Witnessing and anticipating these changes should alert us to the need for preparation regarding the role of shepherds within the church.
Among the multicultural changes connected to the racial environment of our country, the last half-century has also seen a great shift from rural to metropolitan areas. This shift has resulted in larger, yet a more dysfunctional spiritual family identity for the church, as opposed to smaller, rural congregations with a closer spiritual family atmosphere. We have achieved greater numbers per body, but we are less familiar with everyone within the body, thus the incredible challenge of more sheep per shepherd.
These are only a few cultural developments facing our country. Because these developments exist, what specific areas should be considered by shepherds in the midst of such cultural challenges? While we could never exhaust the possibilities, let us examine a one major consideration for the sake of this article: evangelism. The social, economic, educational, and ethnicculture of this country has and continues to change. As evangelism is related and connected to all four areas, one primary area of concern for shepherds needs to be in planning for the ethnic changes shaping the new culture of this country and how the church can reach out with the Gospel of Jesus and shepherd those who become Christians from different cultural backgrounds.
Evangelism is a subject churches have discussed for centuries of time. How can God’s people best fulfill God’s mission of taking the message of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world? In evangelistic circles it is common to hear someone say, “Any method will work, if we will just work the method.” While I wholeheartedly agree, there are several questions we need to consider with a sense of gravity. These questions are not the type of questions that make me feel comfortable, nor should they allow anyone to feel comfortable.
First, are we ready to go where people are most receptive? Far too often our outreach is focused on people who are just like us. We want to reach out to those who look, talk, smell, dress, and live like we do. Scripture and history reveal challenges within the church as a result of different cultures in the same body. Reading through sections of Scripture like 1 Corinthians, Romans, and Ephesians, provide several examples of needed integration within the Lord’s church, because “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for we are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).
Historically, not much has changed over the past twenty centuries. The problem of culture continues to create problems for elders shepherding God’s church. The challenge for elders within the church is creating an environment where people from different cultural backgrounds belong and feel accepted. Creating this kind of environment leads to another question.
Second, will people who visit our assembly from various cultural backgrounds feel as though they belong and fit in? Would they be comfortable? To answer this we must not think about the situation as we want it to be, or as we might assume it is in our mind. There must be an honest examination of the perception by those who are visiting the church for the first time. We need to be careful to avoid creating an atmosphere described in James 2 where distinctions are made (often unintentionally) between people we see who appear to be like us physically and those who do not have the same appearance.
Several congregations have been instrumental and successful in starting a Hispanic or Asian ministry, or perhaps another designated group. While this approach has been helpful and beneficial in a number of areas, elders can find themselves challenged in shepherding the souls of two (or more) distinct cultures. As elders shepherd these souls and work to integrate various cultures, perhaps it would serve well to develop opportunities for worship, fellowship activities and service where all cultures are able to have time together to learn more from each other as one body serving one God.
Third, are shepherds prepared, and are they preparing the congregation, for the changes that will occur through evangelizing people of other cultures? Along with recognizing physical differences, often creating physical needs, there are going to be worldly issues to be addressed. When there are immoral, financial, mental, and family problems in the world, we should know they also exist within all cultures. Therefore, when we share the Gospel with people of other cultures, those problems will need shepherding.
One consideration is for elders to equip themselves with a deeper knowledge of the cultural changes occurring in this country, their own cities and, more directly, within their own congregations. We understand that to be forewarned is to be forearmed. One of the saddest commentaries on the growth and development of the church takes place when leaders simply wait until the problem occurs before deciding how to deal with the problem. If elders are going to help the church handle the cultural direction of a globalized world, then plans need to be established and implemented now, because we will find it is already here.
The knowledge of culture begins with an understanding of each individual’s national culture of origin. However, it also involves knowing the differences in moving from their original culture to a new one. Knowing the cultural background of people will help explain specific beliefs, habits, and practices. Knowing the cultural background also provides an understanding of how to address physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual areas of need.
The solutions to these questions and situations are never easy. The more we learn about diversity of culture, the more complex the solutions become. However, if shepherds are working to plan for and implement ways to address the cultural changes and challenges that exist, then matters of translating, helping address felt needs, and emphasizing God’s plan for the church will move the church forward in growth.
We need to be careful that we do not allow the cultural changes of our country to create a nationalistic segregation and designation within the church where God did not intend them to exist. Paul clearly identifies the cross of Jesus as the agency through which the barrier separating nationalities was removed (Ephesians 2:14-16). If the purpose of the cross was to remove this barrier, then we should not allow these barriers to exist today. While it should be obvious, the ultimate goal is unity. Uniting Christians in one body is essential, whether Hispanic, Asian, European, Canadian, African, American, or any other national culture.
It should be emphasized that we cannot wait for these changes to occur. They are here now! If the future development of this country is even close to the statistical information presented, we are going to see cultural changes affecting either the growth or decline of the Lord’s church. We must be planning with a priority upon how to address these changes. If we do not, we will miss an opportunity to fulfill a vital area of God’s mission.
[1] http://facts.kff.org/chart.aspx?ch=364
[2] http://2010.census.gov/news/releases/operations/cb11-cn125.html
