Church Model

In his book, Rah highlights cultural insensitivity of the Western white Evangelicalism and advocates for multiethnic and immigrant churches. He argues that the Evangelical churches have failed to embrace racial diversity or address the growth of the immigrant population. As the contemporary American society becomes more diverse and multicultural, the American church needs to move beyond its identity as Western and become truly multiethnic. Then, Rah goes after the church growth movement and American megachurches, arguing that they focus on marketing and mass production techniques instead of proclaiming the gospel. He boldly proclaims that "the church growth movement of the twentieth century reflects the cultural values of individualism, materialism, and racism" (2009, 107). He also criticizes the emergent church movement for remaining predominantly white and not acknowledging the non-white voices within Christianity. Ran encourages leaders to learn from multiethnic communities and the Immigrant Church in America.

The Rise to Respectability: Race, Religion, and the Church of God in Christ, by Calvin White, Jr. Fayetteville: The University of Arkansas Press, 2012. 239 Pages.

Since, “Religion's initial and primary thrust is conservative”(Pg. 17), as such, the Church today is open to racial reconciliation, but the initial thrust is conservative in nature, thus leading us to take a passive approach. Though admirable, it isn’t taking the necessary and progressive steps needed for a racial reconciliation within itself, let alone society at large, which is why Evangelicalism has fallen short of brining forth change towards this issue.

In the 1950s, Graham was a leader in desegregation by demanding that his outreaches be racially integrated. “The ground at the foot of the cross is level, and it touches my heart when I see whites standing shoulder to shoulder with blacks at the cross,” he argued. While Graham recognized the cultural, linguistic, political and economic differences among the global audiences that he reached, he also noted similarities among the world’s people and the necessity of the Christian Gospel to meet spiritual needs. “Everywhere I go I find that people... both leaders and individuals... are asking one basic question, 'Is there any hope for the future?,” said Graham. “My answer is the same, ‘Yes, through Jesus

My current organizational context is represented by the House LA Church, where I am temporary assisting its leadership team in further church development. This young church primarily consists of Millennials with Asian and Latino backgrounds. While the majority of the church members are single, there are also several couples with small kids and some older adults. The main missional focus of the House LA Church is to facilitate spiritual transformation among young adults from diverse cultural backgrounds, mostly 2nd generation immigrants who currently live in Los Angeles. My responsibilities in this organization include designing leadership development process and coordinating the Alpha Course

Kidd, like many European Christians, explains the importance of Genesis on understanding human origins. Kidd points out the significance of Genesis by stating that this first book of the Bible explains “the origins of mankind, the peopling of the world by the sons of Noah, and the confusion of language” (Kidd, 19). Kidd then begins to explain how historians were tempted into researching how legitimate the book of Genesis was and what the underlying similarity between the races was. Race quickly became a theological problem that challenged the Bible and Christian teachings. It was important for European Christians to prove the unity of race because it was fundamental to Christian theology (Kidd, 26). If race was challenged and later stated that

The social landscape of the U.S. may naturally be an organic development. Society develops as areas of influence rise and fall over time. Frequently these areas of influence are internal, but at times they also are external. This is especially true as society becomes more aware of international developments and an economy becomes increasingly global, or a society engages activities not originally held as part of the original society. However, there are other parts of society that may hold deeper influence, such as religion, political activities, and family structures. These areas also influence each other, and in different ways depending on the society and time in history. In other words, society can be defined by those that are part of it.

Base of the different church structure mentioned, there’s no conclusive evident that one church model is better than the others, it’s a matter of prefer to the believers on which model they will follow. The scripture show no evident that any one model should be followed. Whatever model a believer chooses cannot prove by scripture that their model is mandated. The only visible scriptural goal for all the models would have a structure that is harmonious, has revelation of God’s plan and should be use according to His purpose. An ideal church structure is nearly impossible from what I can see. Unless we go back to Eden, where it all begin and change what Adam and Eve did in the garden, church structure will always be flawed. Free will has changed God’s plan for man, and there will always be people who will not transform by the renewing of their minds. The NT only speaks about Jesus’ church, also known as Ecclesia from two words. Ek means “out” and kaleo means “to call”, so the gathering of the called-out believers is the Church. The ideal church structure would be the believers who are called-out to represent Jesus’s church. Scripture does not mention the traditional church, organic church, hybrid church, or the attractional church (Gray, 2012). In my opinion the simple church would be more ideal for me. Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger confirmed through a case study on churches that the kingdom is expanding through churches with simple process and the more complex

Looking back in time, I realize that God set the stage for me working with multi-ethnic ministry by ordering each step and influencing every endeavor. For over thirty years, I educated a broad sector of Illinois public school children representative of different economic, racial, cultural and environmental backgrounds.

A sentiment common to almost any organization is that the one fact that remains constant is change. As society changes, and human understanding grows, any organization that maintains a static posture, assures its demise. Churches and Christian organizations are no exception. The gospel may remain the same, but the method for communicating it must speak to the audience to assure understanding. The Christian leader must be prepared to meet this challenge by incorporating an effective model for change into his theology of leadership in order to keep the ministry relevant and effective. Searching for such a change agent can prove to be challenging as well. To aid in this search, four

The African Methodist Episcopal Church also known as the AME Church, represents a long history of people going from struggles to success, from embarrassment to pride, from slaves to free. It is my intention to prove that the name African Methodist Episcopal represents equality and freedom to worship God, no matter what color skin a person was blessed to be born with. The thesis is this: While both Whites and Africans believed in the worship of God, whites believed in the oppression of the Africans’ freedom to serve God in their own way, blacks defended their own right to worship by the development of their own church. According to Andrew White, a well- known author for the AME denomination, “The word African means that our church was

First, ethnic diversity is on the rise in American churches today, and it has been for some time. According to Duke University, “the percentage of people attending congregations in which no ethnic group constitutes at least 80% of the regular attendees increased from 15% in 1998 to 20% in 2012” (Chaves and Eagle 20). Furthermore, the trend shows a slight acceleration (Chaves and Eagle 20). The next study is due in 2018, and one could extrapolate that the trend will continue. Additionally, the Duke Study attributes the increasing diversity to immigration developments, increased interracial marriage, and increased educational attainment among African Americans (Chaves and Eagle 21). Furthermore, it is fitting that this trend illustrates God’s

Racism is a persistent issue directly threatening the values and teachings of Catholic theology and humanities advancement towards unity and peace. A destructive ideology such as racism debunks the entire foundation from which Catholicism is built. Catholicism follows the life and teachings of Jesus and the idea of solidarity, one of seven principals of Catholic Social Teaching; preaching for a single human family despite any national, racial, ethnic, economic, or ideological differences. Accepting or remaining silent when presented with an act of racial discrimination is equally as damaging as committing the act itself, as it contributes to an environment tolerant of racial prejudices. The Catholic church and its followers have a duty to acknowledge racism to its fullest extent and provide resolution. Through a collective stance against racism between the Catholic establishment and society while simultaneously providing education on the issue with realistic solutions, a progressed cultural environment can ultimately be developed that is reluctant to condone racism and all associated ideologies, utilizing peace, unity, and Catholic values as its foundational core.

I jumped at the opportunity to complete the extra credit assignment because of the topic. I have always wanted to attend an African American Baptist Church. I was raised Catholic in a predominantly white community and for the chance to experience something different was appealing. I’ve seen the stereotypes in movies and on TV about what an African American Baptist church looks like but I wanted to experience it myself. I wasn’t sure on what to expect but kept an open mind about the situation.

FUMCLV openness and commitment to end racial division will help the church to identify and support the key racial justice issues particularly troubled in the community in recent years. They may simultaneously feel an urgency to respond and be somewhat overwhelmed. Yet, they must be proactive in seeking to create an encounter where diverse people can focus on their relationship and share their perceptions, feelings, and experiences with one another, with the goal of creating new perceptions and a new shared