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Multi-ethnic churches are not the solution, model, nor goal for addressing race issues *every* community. The growth of black pastors in the PCA for years has been directly & indirectly sabotaged by a multi-ethnic worldview bias that is sociologically naive. Here's why:
Now, before I start getting texts & the gaslit, I could write a book of stories of black men who wanted to launch black-focussed projects & were blocked by the multi-ethnic worldview because it did not include white people or because of a disregard for the black middle-class.
I've seen this pattern for 25 years in cities and states all over the country in Atlanta, St. Louis, Maryland, Virginia, etc. I'm not making this up. I am not lying and just because you haven't heard these stories doesn't mean it didn't happen. Here's one example in the DC area.
Again, I'm not lying. I'm not misinterpreting the facts. This is a not fiction. Black-focussed projects have been both directly & indirectly blocked for 25 years. RUF college ministries at HBCUs presents a new openness because many of us were arguing for this 25 years ago.
Yes, this is a known fact. I've been arguing for black-focussed projects again and again, for over two decades and anyone who's been around since the mid-1990s knows this. Also, multi-ethnic white leaders tend to have a poor understanding of the sociology of black culture.
Result 1: "blackness" is too often conflated with "urban," "inner-city" and low-income even though 80% of black folks aren't poor & most of us (nearly 80%) do not live in inner-cities. Many PCA leaders wrongly believe the errant sociology & discouraged black-focussed projects.
Result 2: Many racial-reconciliation efforts largely conflate race with class. Middle-class, bohemian white people, locating in inner-cities with lower-income blacks is not "racial reconciliation." Whites remain in the dominant position because they control the money & power.
Or even worse, conflating #ADOS blacks with black immigrants from African & the West Indies assuming we're the same culture. Same cultural confusions with Hispanics & Latinos as well. I remember when the PCA would send Central Americans to plant churches among Cubans in Miami.
Multi-racial churches, nationally, for 20 years haven't changed. They haven't advanced the racial discourse & largely exist for the benefit of white people, which is why most of them are still (and always will be) led by whites. The data tells the story. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/17/891600067/multiracial-congregations-may-not-bridge-racial-divide
Multi-ethnic churches do not work and largely harm black people. This is what 20 years of research and data indicate. https://jemartisby.com/2020/11/19/why-multiracial-churches-fail/
Are multi-ethnic churches bad? No, they are fantastic! We need more of them but we're naive to believe them to be the panacea of Rev. 7 & 9. Dr. Jeremy Upton said it best: "the 'sexiness' & eschatological goal of multiethnic unity has blinded the PCA." https://twitter.com/DrJeremyUpton1/status/1330122450265366531?s=20
He's 100% correct. The blinding has been massive and I know many graduates of Covenant, Westminster, RTS, etc. who have been deeply wounded because this blind-spot sabotaged so many callings. It's lamentable and sad. The PCA got MLK wrong about Sundays.
Dr. Upton, "the oft-quoted MLK thing abt 11am Sunday being the most segregated hour has been misunderstood. MLK was against whites controlling who “got in.” By demanding multiethnic over reaching ppl for Jesus, PCA has perpetuated what MLK was against..." https://twitter.com/DrJeremyUpton1/status/1330139705413873664?s=20
If fairness, much of this was well-intentioned, although I do know of malicious intent to sabotage. But some New City Network folks & others have been blind to this problem. Demanding that blacks *only* plant multi-ethnic churches over the years has hurt many people.
They don't demand that white plants multi-ethnic churches and aren't assessed accordingly. I recently heard a story of an Asian American candidate who went through assessment & was failed because his focusses was not multi-ethnic enough and too Asian.
This is why what the Baptists are doing is so good (and frustrating). There are no multi-ethnic gatekeepers pulling the purse strings. This has been proposed in the PCA recently & repeatedly shot down. Again, I'm not lying & won't be gaslit on this point. https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/november/crete-collective-church-planting-network-thabiti-anyabwile.html
I recently learned that there's been resistance to Asian-focussed college ministries, which seems insane to me. CRU, InterVarsity, etc. all have separate black-focused, Asian-focused, and Hispanic-focused ministries. This is smart. Why are Presbyterians resistant to this?
Even Tim Keller understands why, for example, a black-focussed church, with no white people involved in leadership is wise. There is a definitely role, for ethnic-focusses churches & ministries.
The multi-ethnic worldview blindness is one of the reasons the PCA can't stop black men from leaving. The front door isn't the problem. The multi-ethnic bias has become a sacrament if you don't pledge allegiance to it, you won't get funding or support. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001HBI9JA?ref_=k4w_oembed_NgVOXC0xtufm6I&tag=jemartisby-20&linkCode=kpd
Solutions: Do Presbyterians need a Crete Collective do plant black-focused, Hispanic-focused, and Asian-focused churches and ministries? Probably. Some with the multi-ethnic worldview blindness will likely try to block it. https://thecretecollective.org/about/
Solutions: Where will the funding come from? I say index it to the market. Create an impact investment fund that funds these works so that we can have Asian-focused RUFs black-focused urban and inner-city churches, etc.. This is about Presbyterianism, not "Reformed theology."
Finally, for example, what might a black-focussed ministry/church focus on? The issues in this book and more: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Black-Lives-Matter-Twenty-First/dp/1725252112/ref=sr_1_3?crid=S39B3H0TMMPD&dchild=1&keywords=why+black+lives+matter+anthony+bradley&qid=1606146930&s=books&sprefix=why+black+lives+ma%2Cstripbooks%2C169&sr=1-3
