"If Christ died - mark this, Died!- to make the church a diverse, reconciled body of Jew and Gentile - "red and yellow, black and white," and every shade and shape in between - then to glory in the cross is to glory in the display of the fruit of that cross."
In the context that Dr. Piper is referring to, he's talking about what I would describe as the big "C" Church as opposed to the little "c" church*. Jesus' death and resurrection unified the Church; there is no more Jew or Greek, there's only of Christ and not of Christ. That's Dr. Piper's main point.
I'm taking it a step further: because of Jesus' death and resurrection, church's should not be seperated by race, ethnicity, or worship styles. Now admittingly, I'm only a worshipper. I'm part of the worship team at my current church and I've been a gospel choir director for my alma mater Messiah College and Harrisburg Brethren in Christ Church. So I'm not too deep into church politics. However, what I do know is that there probably isn't a much larger battleground in church structure than worship. As a worship leader, I've been in the mix of some of the wars, so take my comments with that grain of salt.
With that being said, we are called to unify. To declassify. To shed off our own skin and become united with Jesus and when we do that, we are united with the body and when we do that, those in the body are no longer just my friends, they are now my brothers and sisters.
So I ask this question: How can [honestly] I love my brother and sister if I don't take the time to understand them?
Now Michael, what you're saying is that all believers should just join one (small "c") church!? No. That's not what I'm saying. Obviously there are legitimate reasons for SOME denominational splits, especially when theologies are on different ends of the spectrum, aka Protestant vs. Catholic/Orthodox. But, despite those differences, there is absolutely no reason why there shouldn't be diversity in two ways (with one leading to the other). Firstly, there needs to be diversity in the congregational body and that leads to diversity in the worship styles.
I will probably never find a church that I agree with it's theology 100%. Probably because I don't even know what I believe sometimes (other than the core of Gospel -- Jesus lived, taught, was crucified, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is coming back). But if I can find a church of which I agree with 75% of the theology, I feel secure. As a result, I would surmise that most protestant congregations, theology-wise, I would be comfortable in.
So why do we only stay with our race, ethnicity, or group that makes us feel "comfortable?"
There is absolutely nothing comfortable about being a Christian. In fact, when we feel comfortable, we run the risk of becoming complacent or lukewarm, and that is not what we are about. If you are comfortable every day of your Christian journey, then there is probably something wrong with your Christian journey.
This boils over to a homogenous congregation. When I'm around people that look like me (racially and/or ethnically), think like me (culturally), and act like me, I'm probably not going to grow. I'm not leaving room for my faith to be stretched. This is why when I came back home from Messiah College, I could not join the largest African American Church in Philadelphia, PA called Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church. No knock on Enon, but I didn't feel comfortable being around people that only looked like me anymore. I needed to be challenged...
When the congregation structure begins to change, worship styles are going to have to change. One of the largest challenges in the diverse church is worshipping on a song style that just isn't your cup of tea. But, it's necessary. Many cultures are best defined by their music. In many ways, it's our identity. Wait a minute, Jesus should now be our identity, not the worship style...I digress...
In an effort to shorten this blog post, I'm going to reiterate what I said earlier whether you agree with me or not:
There is no way I can [honestly] love my brother and sister if I don't take the time to get to know them.
If I just stay in my comfort zone in church, I won't grow as much as I could.
Oh, and newsflash, when we get to heaven we are all going to be together worshipping Jesus, our Lord and savior anyway. So let's start now!!
-MJA
-I may need to write a part 2 on this one, but we'll see.-
*Big "C" Church is referring to the entire body of Christ. Little "c" church is referring to the individual worship services.
*Big "C" Church is referring to the entire body of Christ. Little "c" church is referring to the individual worship services.
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