Posted by I’m asking the question because I doubt whether we’ve made much progress on this score.
Here’s the article that sparked my thinking:
Dismal parting for storied D.C. church and its first black pastor (Washington Post)
I mean, the whole thing is just a mess. I don’t think that church/pastor is the best illustration of the topic, but it’s the one at hand. The church has a lot of problems apart from the race question — it sounds like they weren’t unified in a lot of things.
But the friend of mine (who is African-American and a Christian and a pastor) who posted this link to Facebook commented,
They wanted his color, not his culture. The sad truth is most dominant culture churches are not ready for minority sr. leadership. Period. It’s very, VERY rare to find a congregation supple enough (and a minority leader willing) to endure the dance of clashing cultural orientations sure to ensue upon hiring a sr. leader of a different ethnicity.
Are worship cultures too diverse to allow for integrated Christianity on this side of Glory?
Just:Words 