{"id":982,"date":"2018-09-11T09:47:01","date_gmt":"2018-09-11T14:47:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/gstpathways\/?page_id=982"},"modified":"2018-09-11T09:47:01","modified_gmt":"2018-09-11T14:47:01","slug":"a-church-for-all-people-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/gstpathways\/cases\/a-church-for-all-people-2\/","title":{"rendered":"A Church for All People"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Church for All People?[1]<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

The heavily accented voice on the telephone was full of anger and hurt: \u201cI have to tell you as my minister how the church has failed me. No one cares that my mother died and that right after I returned from her funeral in Africa, my uncle and an infant niece died. No one except you and two friends came to be with me. Others just called and asked me to do a job. They didn\u2019t even express any feeling. They just see me as someone who can work for the church. What is the church for if not to be with you when you are grieving?\u201d<\/p>\n

For two years Bruce Derr had been minister to a two hundred fifty-member church in a suburb bordering a major east coast city. International organizations and multi-national corporations as well as immigration for political and economic reasons had brought an influx of people to the area from around the world. Seventy primary languages were spoken in the neighborhood high school. The church reflected this diversity; thirty percent of its members came from eighteen different nations.<\/p>\n

The challenge of this diversity was the key reason Bruce had accepted the position as minister to the congregation. Having had experience overseas, he was captured by the church\u2019s expressed vision of its ministry: \u201cA Church for All People.\u201d A large sign in front of the church building and the congregation\u2019s publications made public this mission. The highlight of the year was World Communion Sunday when persons from numerous nations gathered around the communion table in dress from their country, leading in prayer in their own language. He saw this as a foretaste of God\u2019s reign where people would gather from north and south, from east and west, and sit at table together.<\/p>\n

But Bruce knew it was only a foretaste. He remembered the friction caused by this diversity. Several of the more liberated professional women were indignant at the flirty, macho way Latin American men related to them. At every Worship Committee meeting there was heated discussion over the hymns to be used in worship. Many of the international folks from missionary backgrounds wanted to sing hymns such as \u201cOnward Christian Soldiers\u201d which they had used in worship at home. But the militaristic tunes and words of such hymns contradicted the understanding of the gospel held by many from a more liberal American tradition.<\/p>\n

Those from the dominant culture were quick to express their displeasure in public meetings or through letters to the editor of the church\u2019s newsletter. But those from other nations were hesitant to express discomfort with the congregation\u2019s ways of functioning except in private conversations with Bruce.<\/p>\n

Bruce was pleased with some of the ways lay leaders had sought to deepen communication between persons from different cultures, often incorporating the gifts of each into the corporate life of the congregation. Members from Ghana led worship at the church picnic, involving the congregation in an experience that had been an annual event for them \u201cat home.\u201d Forums explored the experience of members from various nations, emphasizing both life in the country of origin and the difficulties of living in the United States.<\/p>\n

In spite of some progress in becoming a church for all people, Bruce knew that on a day-to-day basis upper middle class white professionals ran the church. They did business with good process skills and great efficiency. Yet the task was usually more important than persons. He had encouraged the elders on the Nominating Committee to make certain that the diversity of the congregation was represented on the committees of the church. The chair of the committee reported back that he had tried to recruit nominees from all the nationalities in the church, but most of those approached had reluctantly declined, stating they worked two jobs and had little time for church activities other than worship.<\/p>\n

The telephone call had shattered Bruce\u2019s positive feelings and heightened his awareness that the differences in cultural norms and expectations within the congregation were deep and divisive. He knew they had to be named and dealt with. The caller, Ansa, was one of the Africans who had made time to serve on church committees and had been instrumental in establishing a sister congregation in Nicaragua. He could name several members of the congregation for whom Ansa had been an important person in their faith journey.<\/p>\n

Although he had a tendency to personalize the congregation\u2019s problems, Bruce knew that this was a challenge for the congregation\u2019s entire leadership. During the time for sharing of concerns at the monthly meeting of the elders, staff, and ministry committee chairs, he told of his conversation with Ansa: \u201cShe expected the congregation to stand with her in her grieving, and few of us took time to reach out to her. She is angry that people had called inviting her to come to meetings and do things. She saw this as blatant insensitivity to her grieving. She feels her church had failed to meet her spiritual needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group responded with a stunned silence to Bruce\u2019s description of the conversation with Ansa. Susan broke the silence, quietly remembering: \u201cAnsa was one of the few church members who called me when I was angry and chose not to come to church for a month. She cared enough to seek me out. It hurts that I failed her.\u201d Fred responded: \u201cI need the deep spirituality and concern for marginal people that Ansa adds to our deliberations.\u201d But sympathy and concern turned to frustration at not understanding Ansa\u2019s feelings.<\/p>\n

Jonathan, somewhat defensively declared, \u201cWhen I asked Ansa to do some work on the Mission Committee, I meant that invitation to be a caring way of inviting her to resume activity in the congregation and of re-orienting her to \u2018normal\u2019 life.\u201d Ann told of the discomfort she had felt on the death of her father when an African member of the congregation had come to her house and \u201cjust sat\u201d for hours. \u201cI felt responsible for entertaining her, and her presence soon became a burden.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bruce was aware of his own confusion as he watched the group\u2019s self-assurance crumble under the honest expression of Ansa\u2019s pain and unmet expectations. He was haunted by the theory that was predominant in church growth literature: Only churches which are homogeneous can be \u201csuccessful\u201d growing churches. He believed firmly that diversity was a gift of God, and that God called diverse people into community, called them together to be the body of Christ in the world. But was it possible to be \u201cA Church for All People\u201d\u2014or were the church growth experts right?<\/p>\n

Questions<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Consider the following questions as you prepare your written brief. Organize your response as seems most appropriate to you. Feel free to address issues beyond these questions; but all of these questions should be included in your response.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Discuss the most significant factors inhibiting the flourishing of diversity in North American congregations. How would you address those factors? What should be the church\u2019s relationship to society\u2019s diversity?<\/li>\n
  2. Why have this church\u2019s attempts to be \u201cA Church for All People\u201d apparently failed to yield the desired results?<\/li>\n
  3. Which perspective should prevail in Bruce Derr\u2019s ministry\u20141) a theological vision of a gospel for all people in the same church, or 2) a church growth vision of a homogeneous unit that will grow because of similar interests? What is the biblical basis for the vision you propose? What theological concepts support or challenge that vision?<\/li>\n
  4. Answer Ansa\u2019s question, biblically, theologically, and pastorally: \u201cWhat is the church for if not to be with you when you are grieving?\u201d<\/li>\n
  5. How should Bruce Derr understand his role in this church? How could he offer mature and effective leadership towards the fulfillment of the vision that you are proposing for this church? Prescribe concrete and pastorally sensitive strategies. How do these strategies flow from the biblical and theological vision that you are proposing?<\/li>\n
  6. How can Bruce Derr minister to Ansa appropriately, while empowering the church to minister to her?<\/li>\n
  7. How could Bruce Derr intervene to address the tensions within this church in order to bring reconciliation and peace? What scriptures should inform him in dealing with the conflict?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    [1]<\/a> Adapted from a case prepared by Garnett E. Foster. Copyright \u00e3 The Case Study Institute. All names have been disguised to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A Church for All People?[1] The heavily accented voice on the telephone was full of anger and hurt: \u201cI have to tell you as my minister how the church has failed me. No one cares that my mother died and that right after I returned from her funeral in Africa, my uncle and an infant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":0,"parent":178,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-982","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/gstpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/gstpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/gstpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/gstpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/gstpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=982"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/gstpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/982\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":983,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/gstpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/982\/revisions\/983"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/gstpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/gstpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}