396. We Are Not After Multiculturalism
You probably heard how we describe ourselves at The Seed: “We are a multicultural, intergenerational worshipping congregation made up of house churches.” The part I want to highlight here is “multicultural”. First, when creating this description, we were already multicultural as we did have non-Korean members, though they were small in number. It wasn’t a “wish” statement. Secondly, becoming multicultural is different from pursuing “multiculturalism”. We are not after multiculturalism.
Then why is becoming multicultural important? Because it would be the natural outcome of becoming missional in our North American context. If most of our friends and coworkers are non-Koreans (My daughters’ friends are mostly non-Koreans at school, which, I think, is typical for most of our members, except a few), then becoming a multicultural congregation would be a natural result. Our church demographic will closely reflect our relational circles if we are successful in reaching people around us. But we are not pursuing this as a goal (or virtue) nor forcing it into existence.
It is easy to turn a desirable outcome into a goal. But that would be a grave mistake, especially in the church. The Apostle Paul writes that in Christ, there is no distinction of race, status, and gender. (Gal 3:28) All Christians are one in Christ in the church, as our relationship with Christ becomes the primary identity marker. That is why Christians calling other Christians “Brother” and “Sister” in the church is more than a tradition or subculture. It is recognizing our spiritual identity as children of God, which happened through the reconciling work of Christ on the cross. For Paul, that identity is so primary that other traits pale in comparison to the point that there is “no distinction”.
People can easily be fixated on what is good and end up turning it into a problem. That is what “-ism” really is. For example, “race” is sacred, as it is given and cannot be changed. But if we get too obsessed with race and all we notice is the difference in race, we get “racism”.
We can commit the same error by pursuing “multiculturalism”. Let’s not get obsessed with becoming multicultural. Let’s get obsessed with bringing people we love to their loving Heavenly Father by accurately presenting who Jesus is to them. If that happens well, though The Seed started as a predominantly Korean-Canadian congregation, it will naturally become multicultural. And that is what will eventually happen when Jesus comes, as “all nations and tongues” will praise his name as one. (Rev 7:9)
