Today's Devotions

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Showcase: Assorted Treats

  • Introduction to The Death of Death..by JI Packer +

    INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ___ to John Owen's The Death Of Death in the Death of Christ ___ By J.I. Packer _________ Read More
  • An Interview with Os Guiness on the 25th Anniversary of Francis Schaeffer's Death-Justin Taylor, 2009 +

    Next week (May 15) will be the 25th anniversary of the death of Francis Schaeffer, who died in his home Read More
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grace3NASHVILLE -- Lena Hampton felt at home from the first time she walked into Rural Hill Church of Christ in Antioch, Tenn., in 1975.

She says it didn't matter that she was the only African American in a congregation of about 200. The people were friendly and loved God, and that was good enough for her.

"I've been to churches where they didn't even talk to you," she said.

Soon, Hampton joined the church and invited some friends and family to come with her. Then they invited some friends as well and on it went. Now, Rural Hill is one of the most diverse churches in the Nashville area. Its 600-member congregation is 40% African-American, 40% white and 20% Hispanic.

It is one of a small but growing number of churches in the country where Sunday service is no longer the most segregated hour of the week.

The number of multicultural churches -- those in which at least one in five people is from a different ethnic group -- is still relatively tiny. Even within diverse denominations such as the Assemblies of God, where about a third of the churches have minority congregations, or the Southern Baptists, where 20% of churches have minority congregations, only a small percentage meet that one-in-five criteria.

Mark DeYmaz, pastor of Mosaic Church, a diverse non-denominational church based in Little Rock, says he believes the number is going to grow. DeYmaz said his congregation of 600 is about 40% white, 33% African-American, 15% Hispanic, with the rest from a variety of backgrounds.

When Mosaic opened in 2001, DeYmaz said he knew of few diverse churches. Now he knows of several hundred.

"When we get to heaven, the kingdom of God isn't going to be segregated," he said. "So why should the local church be segregated?"

Efrem Smith, author of The Post-Black and Post-White Church, agrees.

Smith, who founded a multiracial church of 1,000 in Minneapolis called Sanctuary Covenant Church, said the election of President Obama and the success of such African Americans as Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice and Oprah Winfrey are signs that America is ready for multiracial churches.

"You saw black people who weren't just leaders of other black people," he said. "They are leaders of all people."

Gary McIntosh, professor of Christian Ministry and Leadership at Biola University in La Mirada, Calif., doubts that multiethnic churches will ever become commonplace.

He said it's human nature for churches to attract people who share a common background or culture. That doesn't mean they are intentionally segregated, McIntosh said.

"Churches gather around to worship Jesus Christ -- but there are always secondary factors that draw people together," he said.

Smith said churches should be diverse because Jesus told his followers to spread his message to the whole world. And diverse churches also can be filled with unexpected graces, Smith said, where people of different backgrounds learn from one another.

That has been the case at Rural Hill.

When Hispanic members joined the church, the English-speaking members ran English classes for them. Now Hispanic members are organizing Spanish classes for people who speak English.

"It reinforces the idea that we are all one church and we need to learn from each other," said Ramiro Alvarez, Rural Hill's Hispanic minister.

The church also has a diverse set of leaders from different races. That's helped bind the congregation together despite their differences, said Rex Barker, an elder at Rural Hill.

"If one segment of the church says, 'We are going to tell all of you how it's going to be,' that's not healthy," Barker said.

That kind of shared leadership is crucial for multiracial churches to succeed, said Soong Chan Rah, professor of church growth and evangelism at North Park University in Chicago and author of Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church.

Churches have to move from welcoming diverse newcomers to sharing life with them, Rah said.

"It's not just getting people sitting in the same room on Sundays," he said.

Smietana also reports for The Tennessean in Nashville

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012/09/18/churches-open-doors-to-all/57798200/1

Reflections to Consider

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Publications

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Music

  • Jesus be the centre

    Center is a song that speaks of the essence of our life in Christ, and echoes the words the Christ Read More
  • I Lift My Hands

    A powerful hymn of adoration and praise Arkansas Gospel Mass Choir. This succinctly captures the joy of knowing our savior. Read More
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Audio & Video

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Favorites

  • Transforming this World: The Hope of Glory by NT Wright +

    Wright confronts the perspective that this world doesn’t matter, and that we live only to be in heaven. He shows Read More
  • What is Good in a World that Defies Hope: a talk by NT Wright +

    This is the second part of three talks by NT Wright at Harvard University in November, 2008 on the topic Read More
  • The Stream, the Lake and the River: NT Wright +

      Acts 2.1-21; John 7.37-39; a sermon at the Eucharist on the Feast of Pentecost, 11 May 2008, by the Read More
  • Jesus in the Perfect Storm by NT Wright +

    Zechariah 9.9-17; Luke 19.28-48; A sermon for Palm Sunday, April 17, 2011, In the University Chapel of St Salvator, St Read More
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Hidden Blessings

  • Christ is a Great Savior: a review of the movie Amazing Grace +

    Amazing Grace is a historical drama about William Wilberforce who was elected to British Parliament at the age of 21 Read More
  • Wilberforce, Hollywood's Amazing Grace, Charlotte Allen +

    William Wilberforce's relentless campaign eventually led the British Parliament to ban the slave trade, in 1807, and to pass a Read More
  • Making Beauty out of Ugly Things: Grace by U2 +

    Grace, she takes the blame She covers the shame Removes the stain It could be her name Grace, she carries Read More
  • The True Nature of Grace and Love: a movie review of the Soloist +

    The 2009 movie The Soloist is based on a book by the same name, written by Los Angeles Times columnist Read More
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