Archive for January, 2012
Is multicultural worship another form of racial reconciliation?
This is a tough question, but I believe the answer is yes. But that “yes” answer comes along with a lot of expectations.
Play skillfully
(I’m going to primarily talk about music and multicultural worship in this case, but it’s certainly not limited to just music.)
A lot of work needs to go into doing multicultural worship. I don’t necessarily mean that the goal is to do multicultural “right“, but I do mean that hard work needs to honor the people where the music comes from, the people in the congregation, and God.
Needs means several things for the worship leader: digging in the Word, praying for intentional cross cultural relationships, doing research on the stories behind a song through the internet and with people, making sure the team is well prepared to pull off a new style/song, listening to different kinds of music, taking time to build your own skills in leadership and music, etc.
If I don’t put the hard work in those areas, then the music that we play and sing will seem fake, inauthentic, or patronizing. And that doesn’t glorify God.
Subcategory
I would also like to say that whether it’s multicultural worship or racial reconciliation it’s all part of God’s main purpose to bring the nations together to give Him glory. Reconciliation is something that God is encouraging and initiated Himself. When Christ died on the cross He reconciled us to Him, but He also reconciled us with one another.
Colossians 1:19-20 says:
For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
Questions for you
What kinds of things do you do to prepare well for a multicultural worship service? Is multicultural worship another form of reconciliation? Or is there a bigger overarching theme?
Blog post by Peter Kihyun Park
© 2012 – 2011, Peter Park. All rights reserved.
Is the multicultural church unintentionally promoting assimilation?
Cultural assimilation: the process whereby a minority group gradually adapts to the customs and attitudes of the predominant culture and customs.
I think we can all agree that assimilation is not a good thing in that some of the wonderful things about a culture, which can be God honoring, is lost.
But I think even a well intentioned church desiring the call to be multicultural can unintentionally ask assimilate into their way of doing things. This can especially true in churches where there isn’t a lot of diversity in the church or the people in the congregation don’t really understand why it’s important to be multicultural.
However, a good pastor friend of mine said that when there isn’t a dominant ethnic culture, it’s much easier, in some ways, to not have it be about the dominant culture’s preferences. I think that can certainly help, but there may be two more important factors to recognize.
Love and Honor
Romans 12:10 says:
Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
I think in practical terms if people in the church are willing to learn from one another and fight for one another’s “preferences” we are at least in a better position to live out this passage of Scripture.
I’m not saying that we need to eradicate church leadership and submitting to leaders of our church if they sense a different direction than we do. But I am saying that we need to make an intentional effort to build a bridge to one another.
I think the most fun I’ve had so far at my time at Aldrich Presbyterian is the process in which the song “Come by Here” came to our church. The short version of the story is that an African American woman on our team and I spend a lot of time talking through the tragic history of the song. We wanted to invite the congregation to let this new version that we’ve been doing as a song of reconciliation, confession, and forgiveness.
I believe we were able to do that in a church that isn’t necessarily ethnically diverse at this point. But God helped us build a bridge to the people in our congregation to reflect God’s heart for redemption.
Blog post by Peter Kihyun Park
© 2012 – 2011, Peter Park. All rights reserved.
Do I have to embrace my own culture’s heart music?
This question continues to challenge me as I wrestle with it. In the past few years I feel like in some indirect way like I’m supposed to love traditional Korean music like this video below:
I’ve certainly grown in my appreciation for the Korean culture and the music of Korea. This process began as I began to serve as a cultural bridge between my family, who are Korean, and my wife’s family, who are Caucasian with various cultural backgrounds there.
Now, I don’t think that my culture’s heart music needs to my heart music. BUT I do believe that if that music serves to help me build a bridge to another person, then I need to embrace it.
Is it possible to use this style of music to praise God? Absolutely.
I think we need to mindful in the multicultural church to see how all the different styles of music, especially as worship leaders and worship team members, can serve the Body. It’s not a matter of “my gift vs. your gift” or my “preference vs. your preference“. It’s a matter of embracing you as my brother and sister in Christ, acknowledging your gift, and giving ALL the glory to God.
I want to leave you today with Psalm 67:5 which says:
May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you.
Blog post by Peter Kihyun Park
© 2012 – 2011, Peter Park. All rights reserved.