by Dave Travis: Here’s a collection of interesting, thought-provoking articles from around the web from recent weeks. For more links, check out our Flipboard magazines: Leadership Network Today, Leadership Network Deep Trends, and  Ideas to Implementation to Impact, where we curate the best in innovative ideas for church leaders.

Multicultural Churches are Addressing Racial Divides in Trump’s America (Thinkprogress.org) As widespread reports of racial harassment and white supremacist activity continue across the country, the small, but growing, number of racially integrated churches are organizing. They’re organizing workshops, serving immigrants, and vowing to stand in solidarity with Muslims. In this difficult political climate, they contend that they are uniquely qualified to foster dialogue about race and advocate for marginalized groups?—?and bring diverse groups of Americans together in faith.
The Large Parts of America Left Behind By Today’s Economy (Axios.com)U.S. geographical economic inequality is growing, meaning your economic opportunity is more tied to your location than ever before. A large portion of the country is being left behind by today’s economy, according to a county-by-county report released this morning by the Economic Innovation Group, a non-profit research and advocacy organization.

The Extraordinary Case of Mr Yamazaki (Medium.com) What happened when a Japanese headteacher imported his ‘Hitaisho’ teaching method to a rural Cornish primary school?

It’s Not a Problem to Solve It’s a Polarity to Manage (Organizationalphysics.com) As a leader, being able to discern the difference between a problem and a polarity will help you to build a culture that makes the right decisions about the right things. This is true even if, from an uneducated eye, those efforts can sometimes appear to be in support of “old” ways of thinking. But they are not old ways of thinking! You are just boosting up an aspect of a polarity that is needed in your organization at this period in time. Later on, you may boost up “new” ways of thinking, depending again on what’s really needed. Let’s see how to do that…

Life In a Fishbowl Survey Gives Voice to Pastors’ Spouses (Religionnews.com) The vast majority of U.S. Protestant pastors’ spouses say ministry has had a positive effect on their families but many report being isolated and under financial stress. A new LifeWay Research survey, released Tuesday (Sept. 12), finds that most spouses are directly involved in the work of their churches, with 1 in 5 holding a paid position and two-thirds serving in unpaid capacities.

What Would Jesus Disrupt (Bloomberg.com) “The most successful startup in history!” Of the parable of the talents, in which two servants are lauded by their master for turning a profit with money he staked them: “The first recorded instance of venture capital and investment banking in history!” Of ancient business elites: “A church is the oldest marketplace in the history of the world.” Of the promised land of angel investing, where divinely inspired entrepreneurs dwell: “Because God creates things, too!” Mark Burnett, the producer of The Apprentice and Shark Tank, shows up to remind everyone that “the Bible is full of merchants and people doing work.”

The Turquoise Table Movement Wants You (Christianitytoday.com) As she sat outside every morning praying, she began to meet people she had lived next to for years. “I started learning the difference between entertaining and hospitality,” Schell says. “Entertainment… you can’t do all the time, you can’t do that at every opportunity. Hospitality is a way of life. It’s not what we’re doing; it’s who we are.”

Survey Spotlights American Views On Sin (Bpnews.net) As America becomes more secular, the idea of sin still rings true, said Scott McConnell, executive director of Nashville-based LifeWay Research. “Almost nobody wants to be a sinner,” he said. The survey question about sin was inspired in part by an exchange McConnell witnessed on his way to a Nashville Predators hockey game. A religious group of protesters began preaching at people on the street outside the hockey arena, calling them sinners, McConnell said. That led a few people in the crowd to embrace the title with enthusiasm. “I wondered how many people really think of themselves as sinners,” he said.

What the Single in Your Pew Needs From You (Christianitytoday.com) Singles are on the rise. Here’s what forward-looking churches need to know.

Life.Church Digerati Ship-It Week (Medium.com) To create an atmosphere that welcomes people, that meets people right where they are, you have to inject a little human-ness into a website, and they did that through a ‘blue button.’ It’s a chat-like integration that allows team members or volunteers to talk with people, answer questions, and pray with people in real time. They even created a set of custom premade interactions that…

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Source: What Would Jesus Disrupt and Other Articles Church Leaders Should Read

The post What Would Jesus Disrupt and Other Articles Church Leaders Should Read appeared first on Passion for Planting.

Source: Planting Churches in a Multiethnic Context

The post Planting Churches in a Multiethnic Context appeared first on Passion for Planting.

How do you keep your congregation unified when there is a language barrier?

In Episode 189 of the NewChurches Q&A Podcast, we’ll talk about some ways to remove the language barrier in a multiethnic ministry. Here’s Lynn with today’s question:

Do you recommend utilizing headsets for a congregation that speaks a different language than the pastor that is preaching?

In this episode, you’ll discover:

The benefits of simultaneous translation.
The importance of keeping the congregation unified in worship.

Shareable Quotes (#NewChurches):

“A translator needs to mimic the tones and intonation of the preacher.”–@danielsangi
“The most important thing is that it should feel like one congregation, one body, worshipping God together.”–@toddadkins
“There is so much that is communicated through the intonation and body language of the preacher, and the translation needs to reflect that.” –@danielsangi

Additional Resources:

Read 2 Kinds of Multi-Ethnic Churches.
Read An Unprecedented Opportunity.
Listen to Episode 165: Language Barriers in Multiethnic Ministry.
Download your free copy of Pipeline: Succession at Every Level.

Help us Multiply the Mission:

Please subscribe
Leave a rating and review on iTunes
Ask a question by clicking Send Voicemail on the right hand side of NewChurches.com
If you’re on a phone or a tablet, then go to www.speakpipe.com/newchurches to download the app and record your message
When you’re recording, introduce yourself and your context in about 15 seconds and then record your question for 30 seconds

The post Episode 189: Leadership & Multiethnic Ministry appeared first on New Churches.

Source: Episode 189: Leadership & Multiethnic Ministry

The post Episode 189: Leadership & Multiethnic Ministry appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Joel Kurz: Nine years ago, my wife and I (both of us white) moved into a neighborhood where we were an ethnic minority. We wanted to plant a church. Over the years, our idealism has been crushed, we’ve hit rock bottom, experienced a rebirth of vision, and have slowly made progress. God has been incredibly kind as he has formed a diverse church in our neighborhood. The immediate context is mostly African-American, yet we’re three blocks from a historically white neighborhood. Our church is about half black, half white, and maybe two percent Asian.

BIBLICAL BASIS

First and foremost: it’s biblical and right to do cross-cultural ministry. God does burden individuals from one culture to share the gospel and invest in another cultural setting. God burdened my Korean-American friend, Dan, to plant a church in a historically poor white neighborhood. God burdened my African-American friend, Marty, who grew up in the inner-city, to plant a church in the suburbs. God called a man named Paul, who wanted to work among his own people, to leave and take the gospel to the Gentiles. When God burdens a preacher for a people group, a neighborhood, or a block, it’s right for that preacher to go and become all things to all people so that he might save some.

Reflecting on his own gospel work, the Apostle Paul wrote:

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)

But you ask: won’t someone from the context have a better witness?

Not necessarily. Don’t misunderstand: God calls indigenous people to reach their fellows, but the gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). Additionally, the Apostle writes, “When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:1–2).

What if God called Dan to the historically white neighborhood, and Marty to the suburban neighborhood, and myself to an African-American neighborhood so that “faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God”? God may place the most unlikely vessel into a neighborhood so the only explanation for fruit might be God’s supernatural work. Man cannot do this; only God can.

MOTIVES

However, fueled by biblical support, it’s possible to rush into cross-cultural work without examining our extra-biblical motives. During my first few years, I was often questioned: “Why do you think you should plant a church here?” This initially took me by surprise as I had a lot to learn. But over time I realized that the question was a good one because it came from a place that was intimately familiar with the history of white superiority.

If you’re eager to do cross-cultural ministry, here are a few questions you should be willing to ask yourself:

1. Why am I here? Are you here because of guilt, because you think you can save the day, or because you implicitly think you’re way of doing life and church is superior?”

2. Am I willing to submit to someone of a different ethnicity? Do you have a mentor who’s familiar with this context? If not, why not? Are you willing to find one? What might they say about your decision to plant a church here?

3. Is there a need for a new church? Are there other indigenous gospel works that you might consider joining? Should you submit to another pastor in this context? Are the other churches here actually unhealthy or are they merely operating from a different set of cultural values?

Essentially, you must ask yourself, ““Have I moved to this context unaware of the racial history and dynamics of the country and the community?”

LAND MINES

With those words of encouragement and examination, please allow me also offer a few potential land mines:

Land Mine #1: Trying to Be Someone You’re Not

There’s absolutely nothing worse than a white man who changes his dialect when talking to an African American. Marty tells me of his friend of 20 years who still tries to “talk jive” to him. “Becoming all things” doesn’t mean you forget you’re white and attempt to become another ethnicity. That’s just annoying; it’s also condescending. Remember your background and recognize any tensions your presence may arouse.

Land Mine #2: Imposing Your Own Culture On Other Ethnicities

You do have a culture. Your preaching style, liturgy, and hymns—including the way you sing them—are culturally influenced. Your cultural background has shaped your discipleship and ministry preferences. Your values, politics, and the way you talk about these things, are peppered with certain cultural standards.

Don’t be like Peter in Galatians 2:11–14. Due to his fear and respect of leaders from his own culture, Peter breaks table fellowship with the Gentiles over cultural issues. Peter requires those who are ethnically different than him to assimilate in order to enjoy fellowship with him. Paul says “they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel.” The gospel doesn’t allow anyone to set their cultural norms as the standard for discipleship.

Land Mine #3: Despising Those Who Do Look Like You

An unexpected temptation for many who are working in a cross-cultural context is a subtle disdain when members of their own ethnicity join their church. My friend, Dan, told me it took him a while to be okay with the fact that he still attracts other Korean-Americans to his church. You’ll find people of your own hue attracted to your church because of you, and you’ve got to be okay with that. Don’t make cross-cultural work an idol.

Land Mine #4: Drifting Toward Familiar Spaces

At the same time, there’s another unexpected temptation, and that’s the draw toward familiarity. It’s been said that the biggest missionary challenge is to remain a missionary once on the field. You will be drawn to socialize, mingle, and connect with those who look like you and are from the same background as you. This is natural. And yet, in order to remain a missionary, you must fight against these natural tendencies and intentionally develop cross-cultural friendships; learn to appreciate the values, pleasures, rhythms, and routines of your new neighbors. Sacrifice comfort and learn a new culture. Become all things to all people so that, by God’s grace, you might win some.

CONCLUSION

I’m glad you want to serve a context different than your home culture. This demonstrates that God has torn down walls of ethnic division in your own life. As you carefully move forward in humility and with wisdom, be encouraged that God often uses cross-cultural work for his own glory.

Source: Church Planting across Ethnic Lines

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