I (Amie) was away this weekend in the beautiful Taupo... seriosuly beautiful taupo. I was there with a heap of amazing people who work with young people around the country. One thought that seemed to be on manys hearts, minds and lips was the mono cultural ness of the group who sat in the room. That if this very white group was a representation of the army, we need to wake up. I think about the young people i work with and love, they are a real mixture of cultures, and im sure this is representative of the country. We are not working with a mono cutlural group so how then is the leadership so mono cultural. THis challenges me in how and who we are identifying as leaders adn then what are we doing with them , this challenges the way our youth ministry operates, is it in practise very monocultural (a representaqtive of the co ordiantor- who is me and i am pakeha). God is not white. Jesus was a Jew. our expression of our chirstian spirituality needs to take into account cultural frameworks, and at the least be open to and operate inclusivly with/in partnership with other cultures.
Some ways im thinking this is outworked
*Prayer in very different ways- different languages
*Asking other leaders of other cultures how and why they do things- when shaping an event or programme---or asking them to take the lead!!
*Embracing some of the amazing attributes of other cultures- such as care for people, whanau and collectivity. like sharing meals and really caring for one another together as a group
Practicing inclusion and partnership and unity across the board I think is good. its a start to building and understanding and restoration and peacemaking. A whole lot of words eh? big ones. but theres something in it im sure...
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http://www.therubicon.org/?p=1064#more-1064
check out this article on The Rubicon- a great blog called 'A color blind God'... pointed out by Leslie! thanks mate :)
I grew up in a mono-cultural Church and imagined God to be colour blind. I'm now convinced that God excels in colour, has splashed colour everywhere and on everyone colour and is not blind to our difference. He created it and loves it. We're the ones with the problem. If you get a chance, rent the dvd "Pleasantville".
Great thought.
In my mind mono-culturalism is a consequence of a greater challenge for us to overcome - individualism.
We white middle class democrats, struggle to grasp the biblical concept of body. Each part responsible for and answerable to the other. Not only within Church's but across Church's, city's and nation's.
In adapting to consumer culture Churches have embraced styles, trends and genre's in an effort to stay relevant and fresh.
I wonder if this only compounds the problem?
1. By allowing individuals to 'do church' quite individually.
2. By alienating certain demographics, races, age groups, personality types.
Or possibly the organic grouping of people is a beautiful thing and the need is for the groups to co-operate and integrate more on a corporate level?
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