Ethnocentrism has no place in the body of Christ. What I mean by ethnocentrism, is the belief that one ethnicity, race, or culture is superior to all others. Churches should seek Christocentrism, not ethnocentrism. Further, we should celebrate diversity of ethnicities in the world as part of God’s design for humanity.
Ethnocentrism often leads to other ills such as racism, xenophobia, discrimination, prejudice, and stereotyping. As Christ followers we must celebrate our differences, while keeping the gospel foremost. We must also not forget that Christianity is multiethnic, leaving no room for monoethnicity as the norm.
Further, as I mentioned in one of my former articles, we must be careful with our own biases:
Christians are prone to adopt cultural norms and ideologies without even taking the time to examine such beliefs. We also tend towards a hermeneutics (interpretation) that is guided by our cultural and contextual background. For instance, whites read the Bible and in their minds imagine Moses, David, and Jesus are actually white [part of my own background]. They also forget many other people in the Bible were black like Moses’ wife Zippora, Hagar, Asenath (Joseph’s wife), one of Jacob’s concubines, Simon the Canaanite, the Ethiopian eunuch, and Simon the Cyrene…who helped Jesus carry his cross!!
Christ ministered to Gentiles, who were non-Jewish people outside of his own culture and race. Instances of his interaction to people of other races and ethnicities are manifold: 1) He healed a Gadarene (Gentile) demoniac (Matthew 8:28-34); 2) he healed a Gentile from a group of 10 lepers, one was a Samaritan (a mixed race, half-Jew); 3) A Canaanite (Gentile) woman’s faith was rewarded when her daughter was healed (Matthew 15); 4) A Roman centurion’s servant, (a centurion was the commander of a band of 100 foreign soldiers) servant was healed by Jesus. And these are just a few examples.
What about the church?
Let’s be honest, the Church has been guilty of practicing ethnocentrism. Unfortunately, throughout its history the church lost sight of the multi-ethnic nature of the gospel. If you need examples, just do a simple Google search. However, from its inception, God’s desire was for the church to become a place of unity within diversity. A place for all peoples.
The book of Acts records the church’s multiethnic inception, “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). Present were Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, Cretans and Arabians. This gathering shows the multi-ethnicity of the early church.
This event is called Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon some of the first Christian believers in Jerusalem in the first century. Furthermore, after Paul entered the scene, the Lord used him to expand the gospel to the Gentiles, bringing even more diversity within the body of Christ. Paul believed the gospel was “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). Is this of any surprise? No! Why? Because Christ himself told us the gospel was to be proclaimed to all ethnic groups.
The Great Commission of Matthew 28, for instance, tells us the gospel was to be proclaimed to “all nations” (panta ta ethne). The Greek word for nation, ethne, is where we get our English word “ethnicity.” A few chapters earlier in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus entered the temple court which was being defiled for profit. And one of the things he notices is that foreigners were being treated with contempt. After overturning tables and driving out the temple usurpers, Jesus quoted Isaiah 56:7. Why was this significant? Well, keep reading below.
All nations, peoples, tribes, and languages
Isaiah 56:7 states God’s temple was to be called “a house of prayer for all nations.” Technically, we are all one race. The human race. We come from different backgrounds. It is our genetic makeup allows for the diversity of races we see around the world. But we the one thing we all have in common is the fact that all humans were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27-28).
Jesus empowered his disciples to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. That means we are called to proclaim the truth of God’s redemption to all peoples, regardless of their background. We must put our biases aside, rid ourselves of all ethnocentrism, and seek the ministry of reconciliation we are called to pursue (2 Corinthians 5:17).
I believe it is worth reminding ourselves of the multiethnic nature of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind:
Isaiah 25:6 – “On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines.”
Isaiah 49:6 – “(The Lord) says: ‘It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.‘”
Jeremiah 3:17 – “At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.“
Daniel 7:14 – “He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
Zephaniah 2:11 – “The LORD will be awesome to them when he destroys all the gods of the land. The nations on every shore will worship him, everyone in its own land.”
Haggai 2:7 – “‘I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty.”‘
Zechariah 9:10 – “I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.”
Malachi 3:12 – “‘Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,’ says the LORD Almighty.”
And before we forget, here’s how the heavenly gathering of saints will look like:
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” – Revelation 7:9–10
Multi-ethnicity and Churches
Most metropolitan places in America and around the world are multiethnic. This is not true for communities in more rural areas. Furthermore, some churches struggle to be culturally diverse because of where they are located. So, how can a particular congregation be racially and ethnically diverse in their various contexts?
Here are some practical ideas for churches:
- If you live in a multi-cultural context invite people from different ethnicity backgrounds to become members of your church. Encourage them to serve, dialogue, and worship with believers from diverse backgrounds.
- Encourage diversity in your staff, elders, deacons, and leadership.
- Create space for Christ-centered dialogue on issues of race, politics, and diversity.
- Partner with local Christian ministries that bless ethnic minorities, refugees, and foreigners.
- Diversify your musical styles for Sunday worship services.
- Preach, teach, and often talk about the inclusivity of the gospel from the various biblical passages that highlight salvation is to all peoples.
- For instance, if your congregation is predominantly black, invite white preachers to minister God’s Word to your people. If your church is predominantly white, take the same approach. The same applies if your church is predominantly Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, or otherwise.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it demonstrates how easy it is for churches to cultivate multi-ethnicity. All it takes is intentionality. The gospel message is a call for all people groups, all ethnicities, to join the kingdom of God. There is no room for ethnocentric ideals within the body of Christ. Therefore …
Let’s continue to proclaim Christ’s message of redemption to all peoples for that is our task!
Written by Daniel Messina
To read my last article click this link: https://thepreachersdevoblog.com/is-it-okay-that-im-not-good-enough/
