Cultural Engineering in Church tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Cultural Engineering in Church

Posted by in Church & Missions

The Bible says we are to be “all things to all men so that by all possible means [we] might save some” (1 Cor. 9:22). As cross-cultural missionaries, we normally take this to mean we should learn the language and culture of the people to whom we believe God has sent us, and seek, as much as possible, to adapt culturally in our everyday lifestyle to the context around us. The same Bible also instructs us that, as members of the Body of Christ, we are to be unified, and not let such things as race, sex, and social class divide us one from another (Gal. 3:26-29; Eph. 2:11-22; Col. 3:11). Sometimes, however, these two biblical principles can appear to come somewhat into tension with each other with respect to the everyday life of local congregations.

In the Catholic parish system, all of the “faithful” living within a certain geographical area are typically “assigned” to the local parish of that same area. Thus, the parish (or “congregation”) is made up of a representative cross-section of the people living in that area. If, for instance, the Catholic population of a given geographical area is culturally diverse, the make-up of the local parish will normally reflect the same cultural diversity as the neighborhood in which it is located. If different languages are spoken, many times, masses are held in different languages at different times in the same church building, in order to accommodate everyone.

In a free church system, like that of most Baptist congregations, church members are not normally “assigned” to a certain congregation as a result of geographical location. They are free to choose the church they will attend and become members based on considerations of personal preference.

As much as we might like to pretend that such is not the case, it is my contention that, barring the introduction of a “parish” system similar to that of the Catholic church, certain decisions regarding the way we “do church” will almost automatically determine the overall demographic make-up of our congregations.

One of the most obvious is music style. For example, a church that regularly features Southern Gospel music is not likely to attract many people who prefer hip-hop, and one that features hip-hop is not likely to attract those that prefer classical music. And, a church that tries to offer a diverse mix of styles is just as likely to alienate people on all sides as to attract a greater variety of attendees. However, there are other factors, besides just music, that can influence the demographic make-up of the people who will end up becoming regular attendees of a local church.

The following are four “church planting” scenarios, based on a mixture of fact and fiction, in which the tension between reaching out to those of other cultures and the practice of Christian unity is brought into play. Personally, I am still wrestling in my own mind with the implications of all this, and am not totally sure what I think regarding each and every situation. I would be interested, though, to hear your reaction or suggestions in response the following scenarios:

1. A suburban mega-church in the United States takes on the vision of sponsoring an inner city church plant. A leadership team from the mother church is commissioned, and others from the mother church are encouraged to join on as part of the initial core group, if they feel God leading them in this direction. After a few meetings with those who show an interest in forming the initial core group, an announcement is made discouraging those in the core group from inviting their “yuppie” friends to the new church plant, since they would not fit in with the “target group,” and might make those from the “target group” feel uncomfortable. Some of the core group, however, are offended by this suggestion, believing that a church, by definition, ought to be open to any and to all.

2. An African American pastor takes on the vision of planting a multi-cultural congregation in a racially mixed neighborhood of a large city in the Deep South. One of the stated goals in the vision statement of the congregation is to provide a Christian testimony of racial reconciliation and harmony to the larger community throughout the city. After the first three years of public meetings, the make-up of the fast growing 500-member congregation is 75% White, 20% African American, and 5% Hispanic. In the meetings of the racially mixed church leadership team, a healthy debate takes place over what steps the church needs to take in order to attract a higher percentage of African Americans.

3. A team of two American missionary couples moves to a small city (50,000 pop.) in southern Europe, with the vision to plant the first-ever evangelical church in the city, starting from zero. After two years of extensive and diligent evangelistic efforts, the first people to respond positively to the gospel are a middle-aged woman with mild psychological problems who is interned at the local mental hospital, and two immigrant families, who are generally discriminated against by the local majority population. The missionary team is perplexed as to whether they should begin public meetings with those who have responded, or whether they should hold off until others who are more representative of the local population respond to the gospel.

4. A missionary team in a large South American city does a demographic study of the overall population and the numerous evangelical churches already present in the city. On the basis of the study, they reach the conclusion that wealthy, professional class people are significantly underrepresented among existing churches, and thus decide to target their church planting efforts towards this population segment. With a view towards attracting those from this group, a large amount of money is used to rent a conference room at a luxury hotel for Sunday services. Among the first evangelistic activities planned is a talk on leadership skills and success in life and business by a famous high-budget Christian motivational speaker. Little by little, a small congregation reflecting the demographic make-up of the “target group” begins to come together. However, in private, one of the missionaries on the church planting team struggles with gnawing doubts about whether or not this is the way Jesus would choose to go about ministry in that city.