Every church is cultural to some extent. Unwittingly, unknowingly perhaps, all churches run the danger of baptising their particular cultural values in the font of Christianity.
Coming from a Chinese church context myself, and now as pastor of Asian Bible Church (ABC), I've had to wrestle with the issue of being in a specific ethnic/cultural church. Now, there are all sorts of cultural churches " surfer church, skater church, café church, pub church, etc " but I'll turn my critical eye to what I know first-hand. This is what I see.
Some criticisms I’ve heard of ethnic-cultural churches:
- They ignore the fact that we are all one in Christ (Galatians 3:28); there should not be distinctions (no longer Jew or Gentiles" )
- They encourage cultural biases like a sense of superiority or monoculturalism
- They are by definition racist, and may be seen by outsiders as such
- They may foster cultural intolerance
- They are inward and exclusive, by not seeking to minister to outsiders
- They are prone to mix up cultural ethics with Biblical ethics
- They restrict evangelistic opportunities. The environment might not be one you would feel comfortable inviting friends from other ethnic backgrounds to.
- They are anti-integration and anti-assimilation, a charge often summed up by the questioning statement, “But we live in Australia" ”
Some valid reasons for ethnic-cultural churches:
- Jesus tells us to reach "all nations' (Matthew 28:19)
- They overcome language and cultural barriers to understanding the gospel
- They target specific ethnic groups for evangelism
- They are a better forum for addressing culture-specific issues
God's intention for the world is for every nation to come under his headship. Psalm 2 speaks of the nations rebelling against God, but of God appointing his Son as King over the "nations' " “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance”. Jesus tells us that we need to reach out, “... baptise and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:18-20).
While it is true that we are "all one in Christ Jesus", "neither Jew nor Greek, slave or free, male or female.." (Galatians 3:28), the Bible recognizes natural and cultural differences between people. The Bible tells us that every nation, tribe, people and language will be represented before the throne in His Kingdom (Revelation 7:9-10).
In a way it is natural that as Christianity spreads among different cultures, Christian churches spring up as the gospel message penetrates that culture. This is a practical reason for the existence of Asian churches.
Another reason Asian churches exist is because of the model and example of Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:20-21, when he said, "To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law, so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law. So as to win those not having the law…"
That is, in order to "win as many as possible' for the gospel, we sometimes need to transcend cultural barriers. An Asian church has great potential for reaching people from Asian backgrounds. For example, here at St Andrew’s Cathedral, the demographic of our area is 78% born overseas (according to the 2006 census).
But where a church is more Asian than Christian, there is a massive problem. So how can you tell when that happens? When is a church more Chinese than Christian?
7 key identifiers for when Ethnicity supersedes Christianity
1. When the church becomes an excuse for a social club for a particular ethnic group, like the Hong Kong society or the Macedonian club. For example, the church becomes the place to hang out with people from your own background, to meet your boyfriend/girlfriend, etc. God did not call us to be this sort of ‘holy huddle’.
2. When ethnic/cultural unity is more important than gospel unity. That is, unity in the group is based on ethnicity or culture rather than the gospel, and cultural unity and harmony are allowed to override gospel concerns. For example, where church leaders tailor curtail gospel truth or opportunities because they do not want to offend certain clans. Compare Paul's attitude in Galatians 2:12, 13:
“Before certain men came from James, Peter used to eat with Gentiles, but when they arrived, he drew back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group, and others joined this hypocrisy.”
3. When ethnic-cultural values override Biblical virtues and Biblical truth. Biblical commands can be modified to fit in with ethnic-cultural values. For example, crudelty put, "Seek first the kingdom of God," (Matthew 6:33) transmutes to "Seek first a masters degree and financial security, and all these things shall be added unto you" " Or, again, "Set your hearts on things above," (Colossians 3:1) becomes, "Set your hearts on things you can’t currently afford.” The culture's worldview ends up directing our morals, ethics, values and allegiances.
Formally put: "In the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, Jesus has given us a culture-transcending and a culture-transforming dynamic which confronts ethical categories of all societies and ethnic groups. The Gospel calls into question all social mores and moral codes." Informally put: God's virtues trump our values.
4. When church is restrictive and exclusive. The church in question does not welcome or reach out to those from a non-Asian background. Practically speaking people from other backgrounds are not welcomed, not spoken to, nor invited to other events.
5. When church becomes insular and inward focused. Activities are comfortable, feel good, and generally supportive but never look toward other cultures by, for example, supporting missionaries, praying for other countries, etc. Compare Paul's ambition to bring the gospel to where Christ was not known (Romans 15:20), and the churches in Achaia and Macedonia giving aid to the Jerusalem church (Romans 15:26).
6. When church becomes homogeneous, rather than heterogeneous. It's no secret that we are living in an increasingly multi-cultural society. So cross-cultural mission is increasingly important. Donald McGavran, an early church growth guru, in the late 1970s stated a principle that has been used extensively in cross-cultural mission. He said:
"People like to become Christians without having to cross racial, linguistic, or class barriers" It takes no great acumen to see that when marked differences of colour, stature, income, cleanliness, and education are present, men understand the gospel better when expounded by their own kind of people. They prefer to join churches whose members look, talk, and act like themselves." (Understanding (1980), p. 227)
This states in brief what has become known as the Homogeneous Unit Principle (HUP). Although it sounds obvious to anyone involved in evangelism, it has had significant consequences for the church. It has influenced the development of many churches with a heart for mission. As churches move more towards making mission a priority, the more they will have to deal with cultural issues that interfere with or distort the gospel, and so the more the HUP appeals. The problem with this approach is that homogeneous evangelism tends to create a homogeneous church.
7. One Final Story St Andrew's Cathedral and Asian Bible Church. But I've way exceeded my word limit by a long way this time round so, feel free to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Andrew is Sydneyanglicans.net's resident digital scholar and the pastor of the Asian Bible Church (ABC), a congregation of St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney.
