Inter-Varsity Press

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

1. Why is the issue of diversity so important to the church today?

2. 'I thought we were all the same, so what's the issue?'

3. What about other forms of diversity?

Why focus on racial diversity?

4. What about history and issues of legacy?

5. What about issues of forgiveness, repentance and reconciliation?

6. Why should we cross the divide in relationships and what are the benefits?

7. How do I develop relationships across the divide?

8. How do we integrate people from different backgrounds into church life?

9. What does a truly diverse church look like?

10. 'I want to cross the race divide, so where do I start?'

Appendix

Further reading

Foreword

As a black Christian leader turned loose in a largely white evangelical world over twenty years ago I actually grew accustomed to being the only black person in public gatherings.

If I'm honest, I was quietly smug about being the centre of attention as I showed up for a conference in some rural setting, or walked down the High Street in Belfast when I visited colleagues in Northern Ireland. Twenty years ago I could be a specialist in cross-cultural ministry simply by showing up!

Much of my work in those early years as the General Secretary of the African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance was concerned with weaving relationships between African and Caribbean Christians in Britain, but I was also preoccupied with providing a bridge between black and white Christians across the church landscape. It wasn't all hard work: some encounters between our cultures included nothing more complicated than getting people to eat, talk and pray together. But it was also quite demanding, as we sought to strip away caricatures and mutual ignorance, or tackle racist attitudes in Christian institutions.

My appointment in 1997 as the first black General Director of the Evangelical Alliance in its 150-year history was important - but not only for me and black Christian faith in Britain; it was also a courageous step for the organization. As I explained in one of my first interviews, it was a vote of confidence for diversity. And over the twelve years I had the privilege of serving the Evangelical Alliance, the landscape changed dramatically. Thankfully, I became surrounded by other players and voices drawing attention to the need for racial harmony and diversity across our cultural streams. And some of them were doing it much better than I was.

But not enough of them have taken the time to examine the issues and help us through the challenges and joys of diversity. Crossing the Divide is an important contribution in this regard.

This book could not have been written a decade ago; it's a time and motion study in diversity in the here and now.

Owen Hylton isn't guessing about the issues he raises in this book. His biblical reflections and references are complemented by an accessible style. In order to weave a tapestry of experiences and insights to help us on our journey, he has trawled through real-life stories from friends, associates, fellow ministers and family members. But he has also taken us into his own heart and life, in order to provide us with some authentic and practical steps to follow.

There are very good reasons to cross the divide on race. In a world splintered with multiple identities and cultural conflicts, the church has an obligation to offer something different to those who come and walk with us in order to meet with Christ. But we also have to offer a biblical grammar with which to talk about a diversity that is rooted in real lives and which builds models of community cohesion that others might want to emulate.

As far as grammar goes, Crossing the Divide speaks eloquently to us.

Joel Edwards

Micah Challenge International

March 2009

This journey unfolds on three levels. The first level is what we have been experiencing at King's Church in Catford, south east London, England. King's is a growing, diverse church of around a thousand regular attendees, a member of the Evangelical Alliance and also of Newfrontiers, a family of over 200 churches in the UK and over 500 around the world.

(At the time of writing this book, I was one of the full-time elders at King's Church. At the beginning of 2009, I took on the leadership of Beacon Church, south central London, a church plant out of King's.) The second level of the journey is what I myself have observed in churches that I have visited over the years, particularly but not exclusively in London.

The third level of the journey is what I have been told by church leaders and those who attend churches. What has been happening is basically this: churches all over the UK have started to grow in diversity, i.e. people from different ethnic backgrounds are beginning to attend churches made up of people not like themselves. The vast majority of these churches that I am aware of began predominately with white people attending, who have been joined by people from ethnic minority groups.

Experience

King's journey began a few years ago, when Lawrence and Mary Obodosike represented a new type of growth. The church already had a level of diversity, because for the last twenty years or so it was a mixture of white, black Caribbean and black British to the second generation (like me). However, Lawrence and Mary were the first black African family (they were from Nigeria) to attend the church. They represented not just a racial but also a more obvious cultural diversity. They didn't come to King's needing help, but in order to help and build friendships. Not long after they arrived, another group began attending: also black African and Caribbean from 'black majority churches'. One woman said to Steve Tibbert, our senior pastor, one day,' I've never been in a church led by a white man before!' Something was beginning to change in the landscape of the church. Since then, diversity has increased, and it's not just more black Africans (who represent the largest single group of new people), but people from many different nations: China, Brazil, India, Colombia, white South Africans, Eastern Europeans and many others. A conservative estimate of King's congregation make-up would be at least forty different nations.

Observation

When I can, I love visiting other churches. It has become part of our family tradition that usually once or twice a year we visit another church. One of the things I have discovered as I have spoken to people during these visits is the growth in diversity, which they had never experienced before. I realize it is not just King's Church experiencing this new growth, but many other churches too.

Others' testimony

The testimony of many UK church leaders that I have spoken to or heard about, in part backed up by research done by Christian Research, is that churches are growing in diversity. I used to think this was true of a particular type of church, but I have begun to realize it is not: all groups are seeing growth in diversity. I am not necessarily saying that churches are getting larger, but in many cases the make-up of the community is changing.

This has led me to ask two questions:

Why are churches growing in this way?

How is the church responding to that growth?

If I were to attempt to sum up this book, I would say that diversity is at the heart of God's plan and purpose for the world. In order fully to embrace diversity, we need to be aware of the issues that have kept people apart: for example our histories, our prejudices and our lack of awareness and appreciation of our difference. Finally, we need to find ways and means now to overcome such barriers, build bridges and thereby create truly diverse churches that help us to reach across the divide. I will address all these issues.