Posts tagged ‘racial reconciliation’
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.
Colorblind vs. Racial Reconciliation
The colorblind approach assumes that all believers have their primary identity as Christians; therefore, no concession needs to be made for cultural differences. Since we are all believers, our cultural differences should not matter.
~ The Next Evangelicalism by Soong-Chan Rah
The racial reconciliation approach asserts that significant sins have been committed related to the issue of race. These sins cannot be avoided or swept under the rug. These historical and social sins need to be dealt with when bringing the range of different races and ethnicities together as a worshiping community.
~ The Next Evangelicalism by Soong-Chan Rah
If you look at the core values of the church I attend then you will see that we emphasize being cultural inclusive as a small part of the whole picture. For me, this is concerning.
Do I love our church? Yes. Will I continue to attend it? Absolutely.
I just feel that we need to emphasize the cultural elements of our congregation and our neighborhood a little more. When I’ve made suggestions for this it’s been seen as being rebellious or that I don’t trust the leadership at our church. My intentions are far from that.
My prayer for the future is that our church begins to confess the sins of previous churches that have come and gone. I hope that we will be able to develop solid relationships with people of different ethnicities and ask for forgiveness on behalf of one’s race.
I’m not trying to be overly critical, seriously. My wife says that I’m at a point in my relationship with the church where I see our flaws…kind of like we do in our friendships/relationships. So, communication and prayer is going to be important.
Have you tried to make friends with someone and felt an immediate barrier? Could this person have some sort of past hurt that’s come from your ethnic or racial group? Would you feel comfortable asking for forgiveness, on behalf of your culture, even though you may not have had a direct reason for that hurt?
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Sincerely,
Peter Park
Blogger/Worship Leader/Speaker
peterpark@redemptionboulevard.com
(800) 453-3284
© 2010, Peter Park. All rights reserved.
Has your ethnic group been oppressed?
op?pres?sion?- (noun) the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner.
In conversations I’ve had in recent months I’ve heard the word oppressed used a lot to describe the history of many ethnic groups. It’s a word that paints a picture of the hardship and suffering people have gone through whether you Hmong, African America, Chinese, or the deaf community.
All people have been oppressed. Now some people would disagree with that statement, but I believe it’s true. All of us have experienced oppression in some way in our lifetime whether it is obvious or not. Because of this I believe many people are crying out to feel valued and represented.
The church congregations that represent one ethnic group are huddling together and feeling justified in their pain. But I believe the multicultural church has the opportunity to recognize and bridge that hurt and suffering. This will require tears and racial reconciliation. But more importantly, remembering that Christ reconciled us all.
Do you feel oppressed as a people group? What is your pain? How can we bring unity in the Church body?
Share your story and your life…
Sincerely,
Peter Park
Blogger/Worship Leader/Speaker
peterpark@redemptionboulevard.com
(800) 453-3284
© 2009 – 2010, Peter Park. All rights reserved.