What amazes me about this conversation is that Hybels is speaking about a 'senior pastor conversion.' About racial representation on staff, on stage, in the drama, worship team, elder board.
I am the only non-White staff at Bethany. If I was gone, they would most likely replace me with a White worship guy. That's just the nature of who we are at the top. The congregation has become more diverse, our main worship band has 3 non-Whites including myself.
I remember being at an elder board a few years ago and challenging them to consider a non-White elder. We now have 1 African American elder. It's a start, but this is not a design or intention of Bethany yet, it's more an accident. As Hybels says, there has to be a 'senior pastor conversion', we're not there yet. God can use me in this, and I feel he has in the time I've been on staff.
It's amazing how this is surfacing again. Remember Promise Keeper's racial reconciliation books, prayers, etc. That was a start, but not many churches thought it credible or possible at a large White church scale. Now, here we are again. Race is Hip. Let's get on the bandwagon my friends. Step right up, no questions asked, no checking of your live in nanny INS papers.
Emergent meets Ethnic. What does that make it? Ethmergent? Ethnomergent? Somebody sell this, market it, write books, do the circuit, make Zondervan some bucks. Rudy, Sergio, Liz, let's go on the road with this. I don't mean to sound sarcastic with this. I'm serious, let's have a White, African American, Latino, Asian American team go around talking about this to churches in Southern California. Let's start with our denomination Conservative Baptist, then to EV Free, and it will spread.
What do you say? I'm ready, it's real for us, it's been our quiet, silent secret desire. Now, it's going mainstream. I think Hybels is right, there will be plenty of Spiritual attacks. So we need to be ready for that. May God do this in His time.
Anyone?
Harder than Anyone Can Imagine - Multiethnic Church.
