pat loughery

I blogged a bit about race here last week as I began to read “United by Faith: The Multiracial Congregation As an Answer to the Problem of Race”

I’ve just finished Section 1 of the book, and rather than rushing onward (grad school reading pace is so different than real reading pace) :), I want to take a few minutes to blog a summary of each chapter. Well, not chapter so much as chapter grouping which is 2-4 chapters.

Section 1 is “Biblical Antecedents for Multicultural Congregations”, aka “This is not a new idea”.

Chapter 1 – Racial inclusiveness in the Gospel stories

The culture of the first century Roman world experienced race and culture differently than we do. American history comes from a colonial expansion which decimated indigenous populations, and transported and enslaved millions of people, creating a racial hierarchy that placed people with white skin and European ancestry in a superior position, and relegated people of color to inferior positions. The world of Jesus had similar distinctions that produced discriminations. From the Jewish perspective, many of these grew from the oppression that the Jews had faced at the hands of Gentile nations. (p.11)

Jesus’ life and ministry spoke to issues of cultural and racial divides. In fact, the very stories told by the Gospel writers – carefully selected to illustrate the Jesus story – illustrate this issue very specifically.

Two of the Gospels begin with stories of Jesus’ birth. Luke calls attention to the inclusion of the shepherds (universally despised in this society) as primary historical witnesses of the birth event, and the prayer of Simeon at the temple over Jesus in Luke 2:30-32 tells of Jesus’ ministry as “a light for revelation to the Gentiles” as well as “for glory to your people Israel”. (p.13).

Matthew’s Gospel includes the story of the Magi coming from Asia to pay respects to the infant Jesus, which also alludes to the inclusion of Gentiles in the salvation story. And Matthew describes Jesus’ early life in Egypt, expanding Israel’s savior beyond its national boundaries and fulfilling Hosea 11:1 in Matthew 2:15. (p.13)

Luke bookends the Jesus story in Luke 24:47, as does Matthew in 28:19, confirming that the Gospel is “for all nations”. (p.14)

The time span of Jesus’ ministry written in the four Gospels also point to stories of racial inclusiveness.

The Gospel writers wanted it to be known that Jesus was raised in an environment that maintained his own Jewish cultural and religious identity yet was enriched by the influence of various Gentile cultural elements. This prepared Jesus for a ministry that was radically inclusive. (p.15)

Jesus’ close-knit circle of disciples was radically inclusive, containing both a tax collector (a collaborator with the Roman empire) and a zealot (dedicated to violent overthrow of the empire). (p.15-16) His close followers also included many women.

Jesus demonstrated willingness to include outcasts by speaking with them, eating with them and touching them in contrast to Jewish purity regulations. These decisions were not simply acts of kindness, but were radically inclusive, highly political acts that demonstrated the expansion of the story of God beyond the Jewish nation to become “a house of prayer for the nations”.

Chapter 2 – Racial inclusiveness in the early Christian congregations

The transition from a fellowship of believers who followed Jesus in his earthly life to the post-crucifixion era marked its transition point at Pentecost. On that day, the Jerusalem church grew from 120 Galilean Jews to over 3,000 multicultural, multilingual Jews (Acts 2:41). (p.22)

The church was multicultural and multilingual from the first moment of its existence. (p.22)

However, the inclusiveness of the early church was not without conflict and struggle. The early church in Jerusalem was on the verge of ethnic conflict described in Acts 6:1-6. The complaint that widows from Palestine were being favored in daily distribution of food over the immigrant widows (Greek speaking Jews). Rather than dividing into different ethnic congregations at this point, the apostolic leadership made a definitive statement about servanthood and inclusivity by appointing Greek-speaking leaders to oversee this social service, empowering the disempowered community.

As Christianity expanded beyond Jerusalem, the reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) continued to be the model for the church’s growth. The church in Antioch of Syria was the first such church. The city of Antioch was a world-class city with world-class problems: extreme poverty, homelessness, crime, ethnic strife, race riots. (p.27). The Antioch church continued the inclusive practice of Jesus by selecting an ethnically diverse leadership team. Paul and Barnabas were fluent in Jewish traditions but were raised outside of Palestine in Greek culture. Manean grew up in the household of Herod Antipas, who beheaded John the Baptist and interviewed Jesus during his trial. Lucius of Cyrene came from North Africa, and Simeon the Black was likely a black African. (p.28). The congregation included Jews fleeing persecution in Palestine alongside Gentile converts.

The Antioch model of church planting was used throughout the Mediterranean region. The churches in Corinth and Ephesus included Jews and Gentiles, people with names of Greek, Latin and Jewish origins. (p.32-33)

The growth of the multiracial and multicultural church posed challenges to unity.

Paul often reminded his congregations that there was no Jew or Gentile in Christ (Romans 10:12; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 2:11-26; Colossians 3:11)

Paul had to fight for the inclusion of Gentiles into the new community without forcing them to be culturally Jewish (Galatians 2), to the point of challenging Peter that requiring converts to become culturally Jewish compromised “the truth of the Gospel” (Galatians 2:14). A summit on this issue between leaders in Jerusalem and Antioch is recorded in Acts 1:1-31.

It is most important to note that during this phase of church expansion, the church leadership “chose not to take what seemed the pragmatic course of action, that of ‘founding a separate and entirely Gentile church’” (p.35). Unity in the church did not happen in an abstract universal sense focused on doctrine, but must also include intimate relationships, to the point of sharing meals together. In this culture, sharing meals spoke of agreement, peace, friendship and brotherhood, not merely food. But we must recognize that this commitment to unity came at a cost and with sacrifice by all involved. (p.37)

Ultimately, the unity of the first-century church was the result of the miracle of reconciliation – a conversion from their ethnocentrism to the intention, practice, and vision of Jesus. (p.37).

Next up: Section 2, Multicultural Congregations in the United States