Diversity

I love despair. www.despair.com, that is. The Demotivators posters keep me laughing the way Far Side cartoons used to. Among my favorites is the poster that highlights "Individuality." The picture showcases a beautiful snowflakeand the caption at the bottom reads, "Always remember that you are unique. Just like everybody else."

There may be something very wrong with my sense of humor, but I giggle at this poster because the message it conveys is so wrong. It implies, "Despite what you might like to think about yourself, you're nothing special.

Now solidly in my mid-50's and well into my 27th year of pastoring, I'm thoroughly convinced that everyone is truly unique in their uniqueness. If someone doesn't seem to stand out to me as a unique individual, it is because I have not yet come to know him or her well. As favorite authors Eugene Peterson and Philip Yancey have hammered home, there are no identical or one-dimensional people. Once you break through anyone's veneer, everyone is delightfully (and sometimes maddeningly) different due to family of origins, personal history, sibling rivalries, health, ethnicity, economic status and so much more.

Imagine walking into a room full of twenty or thirty WASPS (people like me). At first glance, they would all look the same and talk the same. However, upon closer examination, you would soon see that represented in this group of two or three dozen people are different political persuasions, different educational experiences, as well as different temperaments and personalities. What at first appeared to be a homogenized room full of dull, boring sameness turns out to be a room filled with rich diversity.

The church I pastor is located in a city known for its rich diversity. The population of San Antonio, Texas has a majority minority (Hispanics) and enjoys remarkably friendly relationships across the ethnic divide. We San Antonians ogle a wonderful blend of color at every trip to the grocery store as we rub shoulders with Hispanics, Caucasions, African-Americans, and Asians. As much as any city I know of, San Antonio celebrates and champions the rich heritage of the various ethnicities that make up our city.

For some time, many of us at Northwest Community Church have embraced the idea that we are all unique and diverse AND have lamented the fact that the ethnic diversity we see at church is not as great as that which we see in the city at large.

As much as a year ago, the Elders at our church began to address this situation. Over the past year we have prayed, talked, taken some action, and are considering other actions that we hope will bring more rich diversity to our congregation.

Among the actions taken has been the hiring of Guillermo Cardona, until recently an Army Chaplain, a TEDS graduate, and a great addition to our staff as he serves as Pastor of Family Ministries and Local Outreach. Guillermo, his wife, Laura, and daughter, Kezia, moved from Chicago to San Antonio in June to experience the hottest summer San Antonio has ever recorded. (I keep telling him that he will love our winters!) Both Guillermo and Laura are bi-lingual, a gift that has come in very handy with guests who are more comfortable with Spanish than English. Guillermo's Latino surname and background has seemed to make it easier for some Hispanics to feel comfortable fellowshipping with us.

The Elders have also benefitted from some conversations with Alex Mandes, Free Church Director of Hispanic Ministries. Alex has made several recommendations to consider as we dream of becoming "a church that looks like our community." (things like bi-lingual signage, bi-lingual phrases tossed into messages, ethnic diversity in song selection and up-front leadership, etc...). All of his recommendations are on the table and we are moving toward implementing some of them.

None of us are interested in diversity for diversity's sake. We all believe, though, that if we are serving our community well, our church will reflect the diversity we see in the community. For that reason we are praying that God will make us a hospitable, welcoming church to all who visit us and that we will lovingly pursue all people with the love of Christ.

I believe that our church is only now at the very beginning stages of a journey into becoming a melting-pot congregation. We have much to learn - and perhaps much to unlearn - if we are going to become an "all peoples" church that reflects the diversity of our wonderfully diverse city.

I also believe that if we could lose the cynicism implied in the Demotivators' poster to which I referred at the beginning, we could agree that the caption is true. Each one of us is actually unique. Every person we meet is a distinctive creation of God. There is rich diversity evident in every group, regardless of ethnicity. For a church like ours that is eager to extend its reach beyond current borders, I'm hopeful that we will discover than an appreciation for individuality will extend to - and well beyond - skin deep.