“The 11 o’clock hour on Sunday is the most segregated hour in American life.”

That statement was made by Dr. Kenneth Miller in 1953 and repeated frequently by Dr. Martin Luther King. More than a half century later that statement remains true. The most segregated time of the week in this country is when Christians gather for worship.

How ironic and embarrassing is that? The church was never meant to be divided. The New Testament Church deliberately united groups that had been at enmity. It was inclusive of men and women, slaves and rich, people from every known country, Jews and gentiles. One of the reasons the church exploded in growth was that people realized that any organization that could unite these disparate groups must have something going for it!

When Jesus said, “Go and preach the gospel to every nation,” he established the
principle that all kinds of people would be welcome in the church. The Biblical book of Revelation pictures an amazing scene when the realm of God is fulfilled. John of Patmos sees a vision of “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”
(Rev. 7:9-10) (Adapted from a sermon by Ray Pritchard) Amen!

The Session action last month declaring that Oak Grove will seek to be an intentionally multicultural congregation takes into account the changing demographics of the surrounding community and says, “Oak Grove is not going to reluctantly adapt, but we are going to embrace the changing community and welcome one and all.”

Let me make just a few observations about the changing demographics. I’ve shared before how interesting it is to me, who grew up in the Leave It to Beaver world of Bloomington in the 50s and 60s to return in the 21st century. The Bloomington Sun-Current a few weeks back had the photo of the Kennedy High School Homecoming Royalty. Both black. I don’t mean this to sound patronizing, but that is so great! What a change from when I graduated in 1970. The demographic diversity at that time consisted of one African-American and one Swedish foreign exchange student.

A couple weeks ago I visited with Les Fujitake, the Bloomington School Superintendent, himself a Japanese-American. (Incidentally, his wife, Jolene, was our son Andy’s second grade teacher in Minnetonka.) Les, as many of you know, is an inspiring leader. Among other things, he told me that the school district has kids who speak over 100 different languages at home. Wowzer! It’s a different world from just a few years ago.

We saw it in our own family a year ago. Last fall our then-college freshman son, Andy, was dating a young olive-skinned woman whose parents had immigrated from Afghanistan, our high school daughter, Allie, was dating a biracial AA/EA, and our other daughter Anji wasn’t dating anyone but she is from India. Kris and I wondered, “What will our grandchildren look like?” Some of you are already experiencing that, with your own United Nations family get-togethers.

Oak Grove seeks to be an intentionally multicultural church. What does that mean? It means we’re going to be faithful to the gospel. Other than that, I don’t fully know. We’ll figure that out together as we go. “Multicultural” simply refers to people of differing cultural backgrounds learning to work and live and worship together.

As I wrote in this month’s Oak Leaves, I don’t fully know what it will mean to be a
multicultural church. I do know that it does not mean that those of us who have been here a long time simply say to newcomers from other lands and races, “You all come and join us… and do things just like we always have.” It means we all learn from each other and we try new things and we take the best from each other’s culture.

In one of my previous churches, was a delightful little old lady, five feet tall and three feet wide. I loved to visit her in her home, both for her wonderful nature and for her wonderful baking. A couple of times Clara said to me, “Pastor Bill, I love to have new members, but why do they have to try to change things? If they didn’t like the church the way it was, why did they join?” And that was a totally homogeneous church with new members who looked just like the current members.

Change is hard.

We’re all familiar with the seven last words of the church, “We never did it that way before” or the corollary, “We have ALWAYS done it that way.”

Change is hard. But look at the call of Abram and Sarai. In their old age God said to them, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing…” and then seven of the most important words in all of scripture, “Abram went, as the Lord told him.”

Beginning the long and wonderful and amazing story of the people of Israel, because Abram and Sarai (whose names later were changed to Abraham and Sarah) were faithful to the call of God.

Now I don’t claim to always know the will of God in every situation. Sometimes things seem ambiguous and fuzzy to me. But I have NO question about the action that the session took last month to seek to be an intentionally multicultural congregation. That is being faithful to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I have so far not heard one word of grumbling about that action or about the changing makeup of the congregation over the last decade or so. Not one! And, of course, the congregation has already been so enriched by the contributions of people from all over the world.

Again, I don’t know all that it will mean for us to be multicultural. I know that we—and by “we” I mean ALL of us, long-timers and newcomers—will do our best, and yet we will make mistakes and we will offend one another, and that’s okay. We are a community of forgiven and forgiving sinners doing our best to follow Jesus.

The Session and its committees have already brainstormed some ideas for implementing this vision of being a multicultural church, but we want to solicit your ideas right now and at any time in the future. (Many ideas were shared.)

Let me conclude with this story. A Seeker asked a Wise One: “When will the dawn come? Will it come when I can tell a sheep from a dog?”

“No,” said the Wise One. “It will not come when you can tell a sheep from a dog?”

“Then,” asked the Seeker, “will the dawn come when I can tell the difference between two kinds of trees?”

“No,” said the Wise One. “It will not come when you can tell the difference
between two kinds of trees.”

“Then when will the dawn come?” The Wise One answered, “The dawn will come when you can see each person as your sister or your brother.” (From Abundance: Joyful Living in Christ, by Marilyn Brown Oden.)

Amen and amen!