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Wednesday, January 24, 2018
From the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary
Unique challenges arise when a church is served by a pastor from a different racial or cultural background or as it struggles to engage a changing community. Jasmine Smothers, the first African American lead pastor of First Atlanta United Methodist Church, shares her perspectives on ministry in cross-cultural settings. Read more.
When a Pastor a Church of a Different Racial or Cultural Background by Jasmine Smothers
Unique challenges arise when a church is served by a pastor from a different racial or cultural background or as it struggles to engage a changing community. Jasmine Smothers, the first African American lead pastor of First Atlanta United Methodist Church, shares her perspectives on ministry in cross-cultural settings. Congregations and pastors often struggle in cross-cultural ministry settings for the simple reason that people fear what they do not know. While change and transformation are at the heart of the gospel, they can be very difficult for human beings. So, it’s important to talk about and live change in such a way that it is transformational rather than scary or something to be avoided.
Cross-cultural ministry is deeply contextual. It’s an ongoing process of figuring it out as you go along.
Focusing on Mission and Vision
One way to prepare a congregation for cross-cultural ministry is to focus intentionally on mission and vision. Why do we exist as a church? Why do we do what we do? What are the practical and tangible ways we are called to be disciples and to make disciples in our current context? We need to be clear about why we open the doors of the church every day if people are to move beyond their comfort zones and become relevant and engaged in their community again.
Acknowledging the Need for Change
It takes extraordinary spiritual maturity for people to change something they don’t see as broken. It’s often stress or tragedy that cause us to sit up and pay attention to the need for change — when worship attendance gets low, when money gets tight, when you begin to doubt that your congregation’s legacy can survive. At First Atlanta, the congregation affirmatively decided that it didn’t want to die. But an openness to change can also come through systematic preaching, learning, planning, and implementing. There are people in every church who really do believe and follow the mandates of Christ to love our neighbors and who will call the church to account for not doing so.
Worship
One challenge in a cross-cultural ministry setting is getting people to buy into a variety of worship styles and music. At First Atlanta, we sing hymns in a lot of different ways — we do really high church and really fun, flexible, post-modern church. Regardless of the style, we strive for excellence because, if you do it really well, then people simply can’t complain about it. When people see that diverse types of music and worship are leading people to the heart of Jesus, they’ll understand why it’s important, even if they don’t like it.
A smaller congregation with fewer resources to support excellence in worship and music might seek to interact with a local school. Schools have a pulse on what’s relevant to the community, so a strong partnership with the school’s music or drama department can strengthen the church’s worship and music. You need to be willing to try and evaluate new ideas. You need to be humble enough to acknowledge that some of the best approaches may come from beyond your congregation. It’s important to get outside the walls, build relationships, and learn some new skills.
Keep Things in Perspective
Pastors serving in cross-racial settings need to understand that not every issue or problem is about race. They need safe spaces to let go of frustrations and regain perspective and some really good friends who can objectively say, “I don’t think that’s really about you.” It helps to grow a thick skin and stay deeply reflective and prayerful.
Cross-cultural ministry is deeply contextual. So, it’s important to not try to replicate what someone else is doing, but rather discover what works in your setting. It’s an ongoing process of figuring it out as you go along. But sharing ideas, stories, and resources can provide help and inspiration.
Related Resources
- “Multicultural Goes beyond Race,” a Leading Ideas Talks podcast featuring Jasmine Smothers
- For Multicultural Churches — A Variation on the Golden Rule by Douglas J. Brouwer
- Suggestions for Churches with a Clergywoman, a free “To the Point” Lewis Center resource
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Dan Wunderlich says that mission trips can be life-changing mission endeavors, but they also raise serious issues and questions. He names a series of considerations for churches that want to do short-term missions well.
How to Do Short-Term Missions the Right Way by Dan WunderlichDan Wunderlich says that mission trips can be life-changing mission endeavors, but they also raise serious issues and questions. He names a series of considerations for churches that want to do short-term missions well.
Short-term mission trips, particularly international trips, can be faith-deepening and even life-changing. They offer experiences we might never have back home, and they are a way to put our beliefs into action. However, when they are not done the right way, or when churches partner with the wrong organizations, short-term mission trips may end up doing more harm than good. As representatives of Christ, the church, and our home communities, we have a responsibility to do short-term missions well.
While short-term mission journeys can be truly transformational experiences for the volunteers, it may be possible to make a similar if not bigger impact by supporting a missionary or organization from home.
Learn the issues
You first need to recognize that there are many potential issues with short-term service trips. This isn’t to say that all short-term trips are bad, but consider questions like:
- How much money are you spending on
- things other than actual help on the ground?
- Are you being asked to work on projects for which your team is qualified and prepared?
- Is the work you are doing a part of a larger, sustainable plan to help the community?
- Are your team and the organization you are partnering with focused on your experience or on relationships with the local community?
It is estimated that nearly $2 billion are spent annually on service trips of all types, religious and nonreligious. This boom has led to difficult conversations in the field of international development. The impulse to serve is a good thing, but we need to beware of causing unintended consequences.
Assuming that your help is better than nothing or that your team is the right group of people to help simply because you come from a richer or more developed nation are just some of the myths around short-term trips that need to be re-examined.
Check your perspective
The places to which you travel may be exciting. The communities in which you serve may open your team’s eyes to issues of poverty and inequality around the world. And an international service trip may be a valuable addition to a resume or college application. These are all positives, but if they become prime motivators, you have to ask whether you are being selfless or selfish. Find an organization or project within a community that churches can return to year after year. This kind of long-term bond can be achieved through short-term trips, and it helps to keep the focus on the community being served. It allows us to go from seeing a project as a there-and-back event to an experience that encompasses dialogue, respect, and relationship.
Pick the right project
Knowing where to find vetted organizations and projects is only half the battle. If you are uninterested in or unable to participate in the work of the organization, the trip or journey will be of little value for anyone. The first key is remembering that your team represents the whole church. If you select and invest in the right project, it becomes a part of the wider mission of the church. This connection will make it easier to recruit team members, raise money, and rally support within the congregation.
The second key is to know your team. While you will likely select a destination and project before team members sign up, you should have in mind things like:
- How big will the team be?
- What are members’ physical abilities or limitations?
- What specialized skills might they have?
Consider not going
After a bit of research, prayer, and discernment, you may decide that an international journey is too much to undertake now. Or you may count the cost of transportation, training, insurance, supplies, food and lodging for your group and realize how much of a difference all that money might make in the hands of the local organization itself. Again, while short-term mission journeys can be truly transformational experiences for the volunteers that serve, that should not be the No. 1 goal. Depending on what area of the world or type of project you are exploring, it may be possible to make a similar if not bigger impact by supporting a missionary or organization from home.
Train your team
Once you know where you’re going and what you will be doing, it is time to train your team. Depending on the project, you may be able to learn or practice a few skills that will be needed. This is also the time to gather supplies and make other important preparations, such as purchasing special medical and accident insurance. Regardless of the project, one thing every volunteer team can use is time to pray together. This will help keep your team focused on the “why” behind your journey and build bonds among team members, especially if they don’t know each other well.
Tell a responsible story
Through the pictures and videos you take while on your journey, you have the opportunity to tell a story. The big question is: What story are you telling? Perhaps the best story you can tell as a mission team is how God was present and active on your journey. This story is wide enough to include both the fun you’re having and the work you’re doing. This story allows you to showcase the local community and its people without using them as two-dimensional props or backdrops. You can also share about the relationships you are building based on mutual listening and learning.
If you have the ability to post or even stream via blog or social media while you are on site, this is a great way to keep your church family connected to your work. Just be sure throughout the journey to get permission from the people or organizations you’re photographing or filming when it seems appropriate. They deserve the same measure of privacy and courtesy that we expect for ourselves. Finally, know when to put the camera down or the phone away. Not every moment needs to be documented. God, the community, the work, and your fellow teammates deserve your focus.
This article is based on one originally published in MyCom, an online newsletter for church leaders teaching tips on communications, outreach, and new technologies. Adapted with permission.
- Related Resources
- Doing Good Well Video Tool Kit
- Best Practices for Short-term Mission Trips by Laurie A. Occhipinti
- Five Guidelines for Doing Good Well by David McAllister-Wilson
Read more.
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How do you do ministry with people who don't look like you, sound like you, or think like you? Listen as Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe speaks with thought leader Rev. Jasmine Smothers about insights for doing effective ministry outside one's native culture.
Listen now.
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The Right Question.
Leaders do not need answers. Leaders must have the right questions.
Mark DeYmaz tells of his decision to begin a multi-ethnic church in Little Rock at a time in which he asked three questions:
- Is there a need?
- Is this the time?
- Am I the one?
Want more Right Questions? Read Right Questions for Church Leaders.
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Vital congregations are increasingly committed to serving others through mission. And congregations are asking whether their good intentions always yield good results. Through engaging videos and presentations, the Doing Good Well Video Tool Kit explores the fruitfulness of mission efforts and provides practical strategies to help ensure your mission hits the mark.
Learn more and watch introductory videos now.
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After visiting several churches, Lyda K. Hawes offers candid observations for congregations seeking new members, including "No public
humiliation. No stalking. Remember us. And tell us what you really believe." Read "To the Point: A Letter to Churches Seeking New Members" today.
To the Point: A Letter to Churches Seeking New Members by Lewis Center
My husband and I moved to the city a few years ago and have been “between churches.” We’ve been to visit quite a few of your churches and have some observations you may find helpful in encouraging more new members:
No public humiliation. Please don’t make us stand in a room full of total strangers and introduce ourselves. We want to be anonymous since we’re not sure we want to see you again; and, frankly, we’re still seeing other churches. It’s not you; it’s us. We just don’t know you very well yet.
Acknowledge we exist. Being anonymous is not the same as being invisible. We’re probably going to be a little confused about what to do and where to go, so having someone greet us and ask if we have questions is most appreciated. Plus, if you act like we’re not there, we start to think we might as well not be there.
Put it in writing. Spell out everything we need to know in the bulletin: when to sit or stand, where to find the words. Even if you have one of those groovy new digital displays, include in the bulletin what will and won’t be on the screen.
No stalking. Please don’t chase us down the street to tell us you were glad to see us. When you act like it’s a miracle of God that you have visitors, it freaks us out. We may or may not fill out an information card, but that doesn’t mean we don’t like you. It may just mean we found everything we needed on your website.
Remember us. You get a gold star if we come back and you remember our names, but just a friendly “nice to see you again” makes us feel like you noticed we were there.
Have a website. If you don’t have a website, we won’t be coming to your church. That alone tells us you aren’t ready for new people. There is simply no excuse not to have one.
When, where, what. There are basically three things we want to know when we come to your website: when your worship services are held, where you are located, and what you believe. And we really like to see all three on the home page, but at least make them SUPER easy to find and no more than one click away. If you are having special services like Christmas Eve (when visitors like us are likely to attend), please put those special worship times on the home page. We have encountered any number of church websites that seem to be more interested in looking pretty than actually being useful. You don’t have to be fancy to get what we need to decide whether to come visit.
Tell us what you really believe. Be proud of what you believe and spell it out on your website. Progressive? Great! Theologically conservative? Super! But what do those things mean in the life of your community? It’s really helpful before we show up waving our rainbow flags to know that you’ll be petitioning for an Intelligent Design curriculum in the local schools. If that is your belief, wonderful, but we both know we’re not going to be a good fit there, so let’s save each other the frustration. We’ll find out soon enough, so let’s get that awkward part out of the way online. There is someone out there who would love to find a community like yours if only they knew it existed.
Finding a new church home is not always easy, especially if the one you came from was such an important part of your lives. We were very, very close to our previous faith community; and it’s hard to think of anywhere else coming close. Or maybe we’ve never been to church, and we want to explore that spiritual side for the first time; but it’s all so new and confusing. Or perhaps we’re broken and need a place where we can be broken, and it’s still okay.
Any number of the things that might bring us to your doorstep can make it hard to do much more than show up, sit quietly in the back, and sneak out afterward. But that’s the beautiful thing about church communities — they bring new people into your life, they can open your heart and mind to new experiences, they can mend those deepest of wounds, and affirm your relationship with God. With all that on the line, don’t let the little things mentioned above get in the way of connecting people to the Good News.
This article is by Lyda K. Hawes and appeared in Leading Ideas April 25, 2012. Her blog is “See Lyda Run” at seelydarun.com. Used by permission.
Download a PDF of this page to share with others.Read now and download free.
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Quotable Leadership
"Loving the stranger," the actual translation of the Greek word for hospitality, is nearly becoming the act of a counterculture in some Western democracies. (Wesley Granberg-Michaelson)
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Are you a pastor preparing to begin ministry in a new setting? With The Right Start Video Tool Kit, you'll learn how to end your current ministry well, develop a personal transition plan, and make the most of your first days, weeks, and months in your new congregation. The Right Start is available in both Pastor'sand Group Training Versions.
Learn more and watch a video preview.
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Editor: Dr. Ann A. Michel
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