PRACTICING OUR FAITH: DIVERSITY

Acts 10:1-35; 1 Corinthians 12:12-21, 27

January 24, 2010 - Rev. Janet Robertson Duggins

Some years ago now a couple to whom Jerry and I were close stunned nearly everyone they knew when they separated, and eventually divorced. They were the perfect Christian family, and then suddenly they weren’t. It was very painful and sad, for all the usual reasons. What for us made it even sadder was realizing some of what had gone wrong. The wife had become deeply depressed, felt she was suffocating and had to escape. Gradually we started to see that she’d worked very, very hard – for nearly 20 years – at being the ideal, sweet and submissive Christian woman and wife she thought she was supposed to be… but that was not at all who she really was. She’d been hiding natural gifts of leadership and an adventurous outgoing personality. We’ve wondered ever since if things might have been different had she been part of a faith community where a diversity of gifts and ways of being Christian were nurtured and celebrated.

In this sermon series on Christian Practices, Jerry and I are exploring with you some of the practices Diana Butler Bass discovered in her study of 50 vital and flourishing mainline congregations and what makes them tick. One thing many of them had in common was the intentional practice of “diversity.”

Now, when I first read that, I was a little puzzled: I understand worship, prayer, hospitality, and so on as “practices” … but diversity? A “practice” seemed an odd way to refer to what I would have considered, if I were observing it, simply a fact – something that was either true of a group or not true. But I realized that Bass wasn’t talking about differences that exist within a group just as happenstance, or that are at best tolerated with the hope that they might disappear. She was talking about an active, intentional welcoming and making space for different ways of being Christian.

As the story I told earlier illustrates, not everybody thinks of that kind of diversity as a good thing. Many Christians and Christian groups define a pretty narrow range of acceptable beliefs and behaviors and affiliations that they consider to have a place within the Christian community. Others don’t go quite so far but feel uncomfortable with diversity because does make it harder to define clearly who we are and what we’re about. Some see it as a troubling trend that weakens the church and makes it difficult for us to unite in mission and outreach. Others simply fear the potential for conflict that differences hold.

It can be a problematic concept, that’s for sure.

People on the “right” (for lack of a better term) see “diversity” as a buzzword of political correctness, or a kind of secular relativism in which “anything goes.”

People on the “left” (for lack of a better term) can sometimes embrace diversity with enthusiasm but without much discernment or theological integrity.

People all over the spectrum may see “diversity” as a reason why we can’t start a new ministry, talk about a difficult issue, take a stand for something, or set priorities… because we are all so different and anything we do or say might be something someone won’t like.

All of which makes it really important to understand the practice of diversity in its Biblical context. Seen in that context, it is deeply biblical and spiritual and theological. Throughout its pages, the Bible shows us a God who delights in diversity. In the beginning, God created plants and animals of every kind, and human beings who are male and female but both (in some amazing way) made “in the image of God.” As the first chapter of Genesis tells us repeatedly, God looked at this diverse creation and called it “good.”

Jesus’ life and ministry express God’s love for all people. In the gospels we read about how Jesus welcomed men, women, children, rich, poor, sick, healthy, fishermen, tax collectors, Roman soldiers, religious Jews, outcasts… all kinds of people. He sent his disciples ‘into all the world’ to preach the gospel. And they went, and people from all levels of society, from different cultures and different places became followers of Jesus.

The early church struggled with that diversity just as we sometimes struggle with diversity. The evidence is throughout the New Testament. One of the most momentous issues was whether and how non-Jews could become part of the Jesus movement that had its roots firmly in the faith tradition of the Jewish people. In the story we read from Acts we learn – as Peter learns – about God’s vision for the church… which led to the breaking down of barriers of tradition and race and religious practice, and new understanding about who “God’s people” might include.

In his letter to the church in Galatia, Paul says that in the church there is “no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female.” He doesn’t mean that these real-world differences are wiped out, but that in the church they don’t separate people from each other. In his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul talks about the church as “the body of Christ” and says that “the body of Christ does not consist of one member but many.” He urges his fellow Christians to understand that there are “different gifts but one Spirit”

The scriptures really should leave us in no doubt: God is not interested in uniformity! God, after all, created the amazing diversity that we see in the world and in human beings.

Diana Butler Bass points out that diversity as understood from Christian tradition is more than just a condition; She says that it’s “something Christians do. Christians pursue diversity because it models creation, embodies love, and through the related practice of reconciliation, aligns our lives with God’s dream of harmony.” (p.151)

We should understand the Christian practice of diversity in the context of the call to follow Jesus.... In Acts 10, Peter says “… God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”(verses 34 & 35). The New Testament scriptures are not addressing themselves to pluralism in the wider culture or suggesting that the church should be about including any and every belief or idea or activity in its life or its self-definition. Truth matters; justice matters; scripture matters. We are a community dedicated to following Jesus, and that commitment defines us.

To say that we as Christians practice diversity is to say that we know that God’s intention isn’t for us to all be (or feel or think or act) alike, but for each one of us to follow Jesus as himself or herself. Not as a generic “Christian” but as yourself. That is truly good news, and it ought to be part of our testimony and witness.

A couple of other things about diversity as a Christian practice:

In Christian thought diversity isn’t separated from the concepts of unity and love. In other words, there’s no point to it if all we understand about diversity is that we are different. In some contexts, diversity may be considered successfully achieved if you could point to the presence of this many people of one ethnic background and this many of another, so many physically challenged people, so many married, so many single, a roughly equal number of women and men, and so forth. But in the Christian church, diversity is not being practiced if there is not also a sense of unity in following Christ and a loving respect for one another and for the gifts each brings.

It seems to me that the Christian practice of diversity is more than anything else about gifts: the diversity of gifts God has given to God’s people and how those gifts come together in the church of Jesus Christ to create true and healthy community and to carry out the church’s mission with vitality and purpose.

I would assert that the diversity that Christians pursue certainly does includes the diversity of gender, race, age, background and other factors we usually think of when someone mentions the word diversity. For every one of us, those characteristics are part of who we are. They have shaped our perspective and our experiences. They are part of the gifts we bring. When a community of faith includes young and old, men and women, straight and gay, people with different skin colors aand different first languages, people with different kinds of education and work and so forth… it holds more wisdom and more potential than a community with a narrower range of perspectives.

And of course as Paul tells the Corinthians and us, God’s Spirit has given believers a diversity of spiritual gifts. Some are gifted as teachers, some in prayer, some as leaders, some as administrators, some in sharing the good news, some in caring ministry. Some people challenge us; some comfort us; some encourage us. Some people are examples of patience, others inspire us with their passion to work for change. Some bring gentleness, others bring courage.

There are lots of other ways to think about how the church is blessed by a diversity of gifts as a diversity of people are gathered into the community of faith.

We bring “who we are” - quiet and shy, fun-loving, stubborn and persevering, organized, serious, funny, down-to-earth, imaginative. Some of us seek the presence of God in contemplation. Some are thirsty for knowledge. Some of us want to serve in practical ways and help others. Some of us are all about the heart – connecting with God and with others. Some of us want to change the world. Some are pilgrims, on a journey of discovery of God and the meaning of life.

We bring knowledge and skills and interests we’ve gained “out there” into the church – accounting, counseling, people skills, gardening, cooking, sports, education, childcare, studying, music, technology… you name it… these gifts which are valued in other settings also enrich the church.

But please don’t think this is just about getting done all the “jobs” we need to have done in the church! Practicing diversity is more than filling slots and getting stuff done. It’s about looking for the gifts in each person, calling forth those gifts, encouraging them, valuing them, making a place where they can flourish, letting those diverse gifts shape the things we do in ministry, and continually being open to growing in new ways because of each other’s gifts. Practicing diversity is about uniting our different gifts in community.

Practicing diversity takes courage and it takes humility. It takes patience and openness. It takes commitment. It takes a genuine desire for connection to one another. But it also lets us experience gifts we would not otherwise know.

People who have grown up in other kinds of churches bring us new traditions. Someone who has experienced poverty can help us understand what that’s like. A person who has lived abroad or was born in another country can show us a global perspective that might be surprising or humbling. Somebody who has survived tragedy can show us how to hope and how to help others who grieve. A scientist brings one kind of perspective to faith; an artist brings another. The practical people “ground” the dreamers, and the “idea” people keep us from getting into ruts.

Even sometimes what we don’t think of as a gift can become a gift for the church: people who share a similar struggle can become a support group; someone willing to ask for help can teach us a lot about grace and letting go of stubborn independence; the anger of a victim of injustice can open our eyes. Questions can lead to new insight, mistakes allow us to practice forgiveness.

Probably the most difficult aspect of diversity for us –and for most churches today – is the diversity of opinions that is inevitable when we are a faith community that doesn’t make conformity a requirement. It’s tempting to try and ignore some of these differences, or to just quietly tolerate them. It’s a better practice of diversity if we can connect in love and find the gifts that might be present.

People who think differently about all kinds of things – social issues, parenting, money, politics, the Bible, how God works in the world, how to do things in the church – can learn from each other. Some might even occasionally change their minds. Hearing each others’ stories can help us understand how even viewpoints quite different from our own might be grounded in an experience of God or study of scripture. Considering radically different viewpoints can help us better anticipate the challenges we might face when we try something new.

Discussing issues on which we differ puts into practice our Presbyterian belief that no aspect of life is outside the scope of faith. It affirms our trust in God’s grace, rather than in our own “rightness.” Perhaps most importantly, differences of opinion within the community of faith – when love and unity guide us – can be a witness to others that following Jesus doesn’t mean we have to all be and look and think alike.

The Christian practice of diversity is about being a healthy community of faith.

Many of you probably remember a time when towns throughout the Midwest had streets lined with huge, old beautiful elm trees that were planted back when the towns were founded more than a century before. Some of those towns had only elm trees. When Dutch elm disease came along in the 1960’s the uniformity of the tree populations in those towns made them dangerously vulnerable to the disease, spreading it fast. It killed almost all the trees, and they had to be cut down – a devastating loss to many towns. It’s a sad story that serves as a parable about how a lack of diversity can make a community too weak to withstand a hard time or a challenge. If the streets had been lined with a mixture of elms and maples and oaks and beeches and lindens the losses would not have been so terrible.

After the service, as we get ready to begin our congregational meeting, you will have a chance to see on the screen some pictures from the ministry of Westminster in 2009. As you view those pictures, I would encourage you to take note of the many and diverse gifts represented there. I think you will see that we do practice diversity at Westminster, and be reminded as I am, that we ought not to take any of the gifts among us for granted.

We all know that the church today faces a lot of challenges. We can face them best as a community that reflects to the world the diversity that is God’s good creation and the love of Christ that gathers us together and the unity of the Spirit which gives our diverse gifts a common purpose.

Resources:

Diana Butler Bass, Christianity for the Rest of Us