pat loughery

United by Faith
by Curtis DeYoung, Michael O. Emerson, George Yancey, and Karen Chai Kim
Oxford University Press (2003)
222 pages

Description of the Book
Christian congregations, when possible, should be multiracial. Multiracial churches are defined as those in which no one racial group accounts for more than 80 percent of the congregation. When congregations are multiracial and integrated, the full family of God is represented in a way that is prophetic.

Interpretation of the Book
There are four sections to the book, each with multiple chapters. The first section looks at Biblical evidences for multiracial congregations, from the Jewish nation through the ministry of Jesus and the early church in Acts and the epistles. The second section examines the history of multiracial congregations in the United States from its colonization through 1940. The third section take the position of those who would argue that monoracial congregations are better than multiracial ones, and attempts to argue persuasively the reasons why multiracial congregations are less fulfilling than monoracial ones. It then responds to those arguments and argues for multiracial congregations. Finally, the fourth section discusses some practical thoughts for those who wish to transform congregations to be multiracial, or to establish new congregations that are multiracial.

Application
The church that I planted was intended to be a multiracial plant, but I didn’t know how to do that, and our original planting team was pretty much a white group. We attracted and retained a mix of racial and cultural backgrounds. But when our plant closed its doors, I intentionally sought out a multiracial church. The church that we currently are part of is very blended – led by an Asian American man, a Native American woman, and a Hawaiian woman. Cultural mix in the church is encouraged, and I – as a white, upper middle class man – am embraced, and my own identification with my Celtic heritage is celebrated as well. It is the only church that I’ve ever participated in which attracts and retains and incorporates such a wide racial mix, and allows for each member’s culture to influence the group’s.

If the time comes to plant another church, I will take this experience with me. I also think that United by Faith provides a very convincing blueprint for why multiracial churches are signs of God’s Kingdom at work, and how to create a culture of multiracial congregations.

The book is so important to me that I am taking time to blog in-depth summaries of the book, asking for comments and discussion, on my personal blog. I am also inviting guest bloggers who are experienced in leading multiracial churches, so that I can learn from them.