Is Your Church Color Blind?
Both of my sons are colorblind. And I confess I love it because they see differently than I do. I am just blind, but at least my vision is becoming more Christ-focused when it comes to color.
They can discern green from red or brown from blue, but when it comes to human beings, they just don’t see the way I do.
When I ask them for a physical description of a friend they are speaking of, it invariably begins with a phrase like “they have curly hair” or “they’re taller than I am” or “they wear glasses.” To be completely honest, when I describe a person I too often find myself starting with different labels, tagging someone as Asian, Hispanic or Black. My sons Ethan and Spenser, never start a description with those labels.
They tell me they think racism is ridiculous, and when they hear racism coming from the mouths and see it in the actions of some of our older family members, it gnaws at their hearts. It gnaws at my heart, too, but it’s the pain of a recovering racist, not the pain of a heart that has never validated racism. But that’s my story for another day.
I think their colorblindness is a sign of progress. A sign of the times. A sign churches need to pay close attention to if you are going to succeed in Young Adult Ministry.
Let me give you some statistics from a newly published book called Generation We, which does an exhaustive study of today’s 18- to 29-year-olds. It’s an interesting book, but let me forewarn you: the authors of this book don’t look at this generation through a Christian lens, but instead through a political lens, so read it with discernment. You may pick up some of that from the video I’ve posted below.
The statistics are eye-popping. This generation is the most diverse in American history. Hispanics make up 18 percent of the population, blacks are 14 percent, and Asians number five percent of this generation.
82 percent of White 18- to 25-year-old Millennials in 2003 disagreed with the idea that they “don’t have much in common with people of other races.”
95 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds said they approve of Blacks and Whites dating, and 60 percent of this age group said they had dated someone of a different race.
These are some of the secondary reasons Threads just released the Bible study Red Revolution, a message about seeing the world through the lens of Christ. This view of our world is essential to successful Young Adult Ministry in any church.
Why? Because Jesus Christ taught us to love and reach out to all nations without boundaries. So, let’s be honest for a minute and let me ask some tough questions:
Is your church really ready for complete racial diversity, or are you still living in a church culture that maintains Sunday morning as the most racially divided hours of the week?
Do the people at your church have trouble treating people in interracial marriages like every other couple who walks through the doors of your church? Do you really subscribe to 1 Corinthians 6:14-18 as THE litmus test for marriage?
Would it cause a stir if a Black college student began dating the White daughter of a deacon in your church?
Would it be a problem if an Asian young woman who was adopted by a family in your church many years ago grew up to marry a White young man she had been friends with since they began attending church together in the first grade?
If any of these questions cause sweat to break out on your brow, it’s time you started changing the culture in your church. If you don’t, you won’t get far in reaching today’s Young Adults. They’re colorblind, and they are searching for the genuine love of Jesus Christ in today’s churches. It’s a love without racial boundaries. If they don’t find it, they will be gone before you can even begin to describe them.
About the Author
Jim Johnston has worked in a variety of roles, ranging from marketing to publishing to Internet development. Prior to coming to LifeWay, he worked as a reporter and editor for the Montgomery Advertiser and also as an adult-in-missions editor at the Brotherhood Commission in Memphis. Jim and his wife Tammy have been married for 23 years and have two sons, Spenser, 17, and Ethan, 10.
There have been 6 replies so far
Wow! Thanks Jim for your unapologetic honesty and truth. I especially appreciate that you have a holistic view of a church, pointing out that race reconciliation isn’t something that just has to happen within the young adult ministry bubble of a church. I wouldn’t envy a pastor trying to support a young adult ministry and at the same time can’t preach interracial marriage as a beautiful, biblically sound marriage from the pulpit.
To the observation of your sons, I think some youth who aren’t minorities have a tendancy to avoid using race as descriptors (“the white guy”, “the black guy”) more out of a concern to appease the PC nature of their elders/superiors (that it’s somehow, “not nice” to call a black man a black man). More and more though I think young adults are shedding those constraints and acknowledging that they aren’t color-blind at all. Only now colors aren’t seen as a bad thing. We’re discovering that seeing, acknowledging, appeciating, and then celebrating all the colors of God’s creation is so much more satisfying than pretending everyone looks the same so that they are treated equally. Young adults, I think, hope to be able to treat everyone equally with respect and still celebrate our different appearances. We think we can have it both ways and I altruistically and whole-heartedly agree. Part of being “authentic” is to be able to say, “she’s the asian-looking girl with red hair” and that not being a bad thing.
Question #1: Best-intentions aside, I don’t think race reconciilliation is practical if there is no affirmative action taking place in the hiring process of a church that has been historically white (and perhaps the opposite is true for a historially black church). So, asking a devil’s advocate question, is there a way for a church to continue hiring pastors and other leaders that look just like them and reasonably expect their congregation to somehow become more diverse?
Question #2: Did Moses (a jew) marry a black woman according to Numbers 12:1? :)
1 | Benny
Tuesday, November 11, 2008, at 12:21pm
Benny, Good thoughts and observations.
Perhaps our younger generations do clearly see and celebrate differences. They just don’t dwell on them in an unhealthy way. Great point.
As to your questions
1)I would like to avoid calling it affirmative action, but the answer to your question is yes, I think churches need to enlist leaders (volunteer and paid staff) around the communities of people they are seeking to reach. If I am a seeker, I am more likely to join a small group if there someone like me leading or facilitating that group. I am also more likely to come back to a church if someone who looks like me is on the platform during the worship service (leading worship, singing in the choir if you have one, making announcements, praying, bringing the message or receiving decisions.)
2) From my reading of Scripture and commentaries associated with it, Moses indeed married an Ethopian woman. He also was criticized by Miriam and Aaron. So this issue has been around for quite a while.
Really important point here. Many will quote Old Testament scriptures that allegedly prohibit interracial marriage. I don’t see that at all. What I see is God prohibiting marriages where the followers of Yahweh unite with followers of other gods. It’s not about race. It’s about allegiance to the one true God, which lines up completely with 1 Corinithians 6:14-18.
2 | Jim Johnston
Tuesday, November 11, 2008, at 12:38pm
Actually, Christians never cease to amaze me in their ability to misquote scripture to justify their own bias. My church is located in rural south Georgia. Mind you, we are a loving congregation; however, many remain resistant to change (and I do not mean only the older generation). The thing that I have the most difficulty understanding about their rationalization is that many are perfectly fine with marriage between a white man and an Asian (we’ve had those in our church) or even Hispanics (though those are frowned on); but, based on conversations that I hear and remarks that I’ve heard from people, the first black/white couple will definitely be trail blazers. I hope they are deeply in love when it happens (with each other and Jesus) because they’ll need to be strong. I’m already praying for them!
3 | baskingintheson
Thursday, December 4, 2008, at 7:51pm
We all tend to use the Bible to justify our sinful behavior at times. The problem in many areas of the country is that racism has been handed down from generation to generation. It’s very difficult to overturn, but it’s happening. I am looking forward to the day when we can truly ONLY look at each other through the lens of our Savior. Thanks for posting.
4 | Jim Johnston
Friday, December 5, 2008, at 9:42am
Jim,
Thank you for your thoughtful reflection on race in the church. It is no secret that the overwhelming majority of churches (I think about 96% according to a statistic I heard recently), and those that do foster diversity are often unicultural (meaning that despite being of different races, there is a high level of consistency in terms of style of worship, dress, content, etc.).
I just wanted to caution you about the use of the terminology “color blind.” I am a white man, but I am married to an African women, and we live in a predominantly black area of NYC.
I raise this caution mainly because not thinking about race (ie color blindness) is in fact part of White Privilege - those “rights” enjoyed primarily, if not exclusively, by whites in this country.
For example, how often do you wake up and think to yourself, “I am a white man.” For most of us, the answer is probably seldom or perhaps never. But for many black, Asian, Latinos, and other non-whites, race is a fundamental part of their identity and self-understanding. I am amazed to hear accounts of our black brothers and sister who wake up everyday acutely aware of the fact that they are black - and rightly so, because as unfortunate as it might be, for many people RACE has played a significant role in their life experience.
The following is a list of suggestions to counter racist tendencies within a faith community:
[General Commission on Religion and Race]
I am very hopeful for the future of this country, and for the future of the Church universal. We need more people like you, Jim, who are willing to speak out against racial exclusion,particularly in the church. In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave not free, male nor female - we are made one in Christ Jesus!
5 | Jacob Lange
Wednesday, December 10, 2008, at 1:08pm
Jacob, Thanks a ton for your post and for challenging my use of the term “color blind.” I understand completely your rational, and I confess I do not wake up and think to myself, “I am white man.” You make great points and I really love your nine suggestions to counter racism in the church.
6 | Jim Johnston
Thursday, December 11, 2008, at 2:25pm
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