So what do you do If you’re the teaching pastor and aren’t ethnic?
We’ve already pondered the Why of multi-ethnic, but the how is the sticky part. I have had numerous friends ask me (while I was working as the Ethnic Ministry Intern) to help “educate” them on how to be sensitive and “multi-ethnic.”
We’ve already pondered the Why of multi-ethnic, but the how is the sticky part. I have had numerous friends ask me (while I was working as the Ethnic Ministry Intern) to help “educate” them on how to be sensitive and “multi-ethnic.”
I’d like to state the obvious, you can’t change your
ethnicity, but you can educate yourself. It is CRUCIAL to be educated about the
people you are trying to minister to. Many different agencies will require
their staff to go through “cultural education” before being permitted to begin
their jobs. We see this with Government officials who are working in another
country on behalf of the United States, and many other multi-national companies
do the same thing.
I believe that if you are planning on having a Multi-ethnic
ministry you must do some kind of cultural awareness for all persons in
leadership, not just the Preacher. This cultural awareness is not always white
to (name an ethnicity) it is also crucial for your ethnic fellows to learn and
understand where the white culture comes from. I have grown up in a
tri-culture, where my Filipino, Cajun French and English backgrounds are all
very different and have differing views of the world we all share. It is
wonderful when I can have a conversation with someone from one of those
backgrounds to help them understand whey Ethnicity X has a particular view.
The end goal of cultural awareness education is a healthy
multi-ethnic church where it is acceptable to talk about differences in race,
ethnicity, government ideals and culture. This type of awareness education will
help you make fewer missteps and feel less awkward when engaging people across
racial and cultural gaps.
Here’s a few Bullet points on how to become more Culturally
Sensitive:
1.
Pray:
a.
Ask God to
conform you to being sensitive to other’s ethnic needs.
b.
Ask God to break down any prejudices that you
may hold. (Trust Me! I the ethnic guy, even have prejudices that I’ve had to
deal with.)
c.
Ask God to break you from the thinking that any
one Ethnicity is 100% correct!
d.
Ask God to give you eyes to see how other’s view
the World.
e.
Ask God to break you of habits that are
offensive to others.
2.
Live among the people:
a.
Eat where they eat.
b.
Shop where they shop.
c.
Read what they read
d.
Watch what they watch.
e.
Play (if you have kids) where they play.
f.
Live (if you can move) where they live!
3.
Befriend the people:
a.
Living among the people isn’t enough!!!
b.
Build a genuine friendship with numerous ethnicities!
c.
Once a level of trust has been achieved ask the
pertinent questions. (If you can have this conversation with several ethnicities
at once, you will truly see the diversity in answers.)
These points don’t just apply to the white minister. They
should be practiced by all ministers. Why?
Once again I’ll let the Apostle Paul speak.
“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant
to all that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order
to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being
myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside
the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but
under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I
became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people,
that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel,
that I may share with them in its blessings.” -
1 Cor. 9:19-23
