the bride of Christ, with Jesus as our bridegroom. When we are all looking at Jesus, we can walk according to His collective purpose. Revelation 7 captures a glimpse of the Church in the future:
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
No matter what another's background is, if that person claims the name of Christ and has made Jesus his or her Savior, that person is my brother or sister in Christ. And, God has a purpose for each of us, individually, and collectively as the Church. The Church is called to reflect the glory of God and to communicate the truth of God in a culture that needs to see His hope. We can choose to walk together in unity, based on the Scriptures, standing strong against the efforts of the enemy to divide us.
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When God looks upon His people, I believe He sees people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, yet all possessing the presence of the indwelling Christ, who makes it possible to maintain a
sense of oneness with one another. Galatians 3 states:
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
This past week, I have been covering the UNITE 2018 event, presented by CBA: The Association for Christian Retail, in Nashville. The CBA has adopted the UNITE theme, which speaks to the common purpose that those who produce, those who distribute, and those who sell Christian products can have. And, of course, we who are Christian communicators are united around our devotion to Christ and His message.
When Christians come together, there is an incredible dynamic in place, and we can be more effective in reaching the world with the gospel and displaying Biblical truth as we work together.
I came across a study recently that shows how believers are coming together across racial and cultural lines. When Christians can embrace differences and not allow them to become divisive, we make a powerful statement about God's unconditional love for all.
ReligionNews.com reports that:
The percentage of U.S. multiracial congregations almost doubled between 1998 and 2012, from 6.4 percent to 12 percent, according to a study published in June in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. In the same period, the percentage of U.S. congregants attending an interracial church has reached almost one in five, advancing from 12.7 percent to 18.3 percent. The 2012 statistics are the latest available.The article also states, "The survey, based on data from the National Congregations Study, also found an increase in black clergy leading multiracial congregations, rising from less than 5 percent in both 1998 and 2006 to 17 percent in 2012."
The authors of the study, according to this article, define a multiracial congregation as one in which "no single racial or ethnic group constitutes more than 80 percent of the people in the pews."
Kevin Dougherty of Baylor University is quoted as saying: “When you bring groups, different ethnic groups, together in a congregation, they come with different cultures, and those cultures include all types of expectations,” adding, “To help them develop a sense of shared identity above and beyond those cultural differences is a key part of the adaptability necessary for a multiracial congregation to succeed.” He mentioned music styles and food choices. He and co-author Michael Emerson of North Park University note that, according to the article: "their recent findings show that while the average percentage of black congregants in multiracial congregations has increased, the percentage of Latinos in those kinds of churches has decreased in the same period."
Michael Davis, teaching pastor at the Downtown Church in Memphis, a multi-cultural, Evangelical Presbyterian congregation, stated: "I experience the body of Christ more, the wider scope of it, and so it broadens my perspective of who the Lord is,” adding, “Being in a multiracial church, you see the beauty of different cultural backgrounds, different walks of life.”
Ja’mel Armstrong and Matt Ness, co-pastors of One Church in Louisville, KY were featured in the article. Ness stated, "On our own, we just didn’t feel like that’s who we were meant to be,” adding, “The picture we believed in was much broader than the local church I was pastoring and the local church Ja’mel was pastoring.” Armstrong is quoted as saying: "We didn’t want to be defined by a particular style and so we didn’t tell you to stand up. We didn’t tell you to lift your hands. We didn’t tell you how to worship,” adding, “The goal was: If you are naturally contemplative in your worship style, then you be that. If you are naturally expressive, then you be that.”
There are several ideas that can arise from thinking about how we as the body of Christ can unite together. For one thing, we can certainly participate in the validation of the work that is being done. Churches will represent various groups and demographics - some will reflect one particular background, some, like those spotlighted in this article, have a more diverse makeup. We can be aware of and participate in opportunities for Christians to come together, even network together, across racial, cultural, and denominational lines for the sake of the gospel, and He is calling us to be one, according to John chapter 17.
We can also reflect on how victory is expressed when we are of one mind. In other words, if the enemy keeps us divided, our effectiveness is diminished. If we can combine efforts to exalt Christ and express His supremacy over the enemy's devices, we make a bold statement to the world around us about the love and power of the Lord. We know that race can divide us, and even in these days, the enemy is attempting to divide believers over how we respond to racial issues - we have to make the pursuit of Biblical oneness a central tenet of our faith and practice.
Finally, we in all things can extol the nature of Christ in how we approach one another, as we reflect the virtues of belonging to His family. He is calling His people to show hope to a world that needs to see and experience the presence of the Almighty God. The challenges of society are immense, and if we recognize that we are moving in the same direction, then we can offer solutions that are tangible and Biblical.
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