Celebrating Difference, Lamenting Division

"Why are things the way they are?" frowned David as he placed his beer on the low table in front of the pub-fireplace. We were back in the Eva Hart pub, and ready to plunge into our most complex conversation yet. "I mean, why haven't we questioned these things?"

Chapter four of 'Schools of Conversion: 12 Marks of a New Monasticism' is entitled, 'Lament for Racial Divisions Within the Church and Our Communities Combined with the Active Pursuit of a Just Reconciliation', and it's not an easy chapter. The author asks provocative questions about the normalisation of 'Black churches' and 'white churches' (we don't use that term of course, but that doesn't mean they don't exist) amongst multi-cultural communities.

"The vast number of churches, whether consciously or not, are ethnic-specific. How should this ongoing existence of different church worlds be named? Is it a sign of diversity and 'cultural preference' to be celebrated - the gifts of different worship styles, finding a church that's comfortable for me, a spiritual refuge of familiar songs, liturgies, even beats on which we clap? Is it an innocent matter of prefering to share the Christian life with people like me, doing no harm to others? Or do we name these different worlds as a segregated Sabbath, a sign of deep-seated racialisation and division?"

Or maybe we name it as both?

"I really want to get my head around this," added Ian. "I don't want to just accept things they way they are, but what do we actually do? What can we do? Maybe this is just part of the Babel-curse on humanity, to be divided?"

Gradually, others joined in. "The church just reflects it's surrounding culture, including it's divisions," mused Dewi. Perhaps this is a root problem - that the church lacks it's counter-cultural, salt-and-light, prophetic edge? Perhaps it follows culture more than it leads and influences culture. Perhaps this counter-cultural, salt-and-light, prophetic edge/centre is what we most need to regain... to become (again) a people who *live* Jesus' sermon-on-the-mount?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here's some more of the notes I scribbled in my journal as we talked;

...the normalisation of division, and it's rebranding as 'difference' is so ingrained. How do we know what to challenge? Where do we begin? "Unlearning the hidden habits of racism, ethno-centricism, and exclusion begins at home," it begins in me, and in my community of friends. It begins in our hearts.

..."to be deeply bothered is a sign of hope."

...it is very easy to become complacent (influenced as we are by the oppressively complacent culture around us) and simply defend our minor successes, but we must keep the dissatisfaction alive... like keeping a wound open and sore. Sustained lament will lead us towards transformation.

...how do we sustain prayerful lament without becoming overwhelmed by guilt?

..."the racial crisis (is) about trust and power, and the inter-relationship between the two. Moving from power, you carry more guilt and are more interested in gaining relationship and trust; moving from the margins, you carry more interest in changing the status quo and addressing issues of power, without which you believe you cannot trust." This statement provoked lots of reflection and conversation... we recognised the legacy of guilt that often taints our motives (my anti-patriotism, for example), and the priority we place on building trust through relationship. We also wondered if the downsizing/intentional-weakening ethos of many new monastic/emerging (and mostly white) communities, was as much part of this trust/power interrelationship as the 'power' language/theology/persona of Black-majority churches? Fascinating.

...difference and division *are* different things. God created the incredible difference/uniquenesses we see in one another (far more than simply Black or white of course... but Kosovan and Polish and Nigerian and Chinese, etc.), and these are to be celebrated - language and food and custom and culture - and we will one day join together around King Jesus himself as "people from every tribe and nation". But division is a curse... separation and fear and hate and rejecting-the-other.

...fear is a powerful factor, if not the most powerful factor, the source of our division. Fear of difference, of the other... and we absorb these fears on a daily basis through the media. How do we overcome this? Extravagant love is the only cure... "perfect love drives out all fear." It is hard to step into other people's worlds, but Jesus did it and does it all the time. Extravagant love isn't polite, and nor does it always respect 'personal space' (which, itself, is defined by fear)... it bursts in unexpectedly, cross-culturally, disarmingly. If only we loved?

...we must "remain deeply unsatisfied with a monologue with 'people like us'". "Becoming dialogical requires far more than 'build it, or say it, and they will come', but going out of our way to engage new and uncomfortable conversation partners, guided into unfamiliar places..." We swapped cross-cultural experiences, and new friendships we were developing, but agreed we could walk much further with this...

...as the conversation dwindled, we considered ways to 'walk further';
~ pray. God, please speak with us. Help us to engage in Heaven's lament over your divided people. Help us to see and hear more clearly.
~ keep praying. Sustained lament will help us to unlearn our habitual complacency.
~ seek out 'others' and listen (well) to their stories. Learn.
~ continue to be hospitable, especially towards 'the other'. ("the way 'people like us' begins to become examined is through our openess and hospitality to the stranger, to people not like us - to the neighbour I have not loved, the alien in my midst, the enemy across the divide, the least of these, the orphan, the widow, the prisoner. Calls to these practices are deeply embedded in scripture.")
~ continue to engage in wider campaigns for just reconciliation, against injustices. Keep informed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ian toyed with the empty beer-glass in front of him. "I'd like to be brave enough to build some new bridges... I feel like having no ideas is a good thing though. I feel like we really need to turn to God with this."

Dewi nodded in agreement. "This is a big issue," he began, "and it's a personal issue too, one we have to tackle in our hearts. Our own peceptions need changing. I want to take hold of this charge to be friends to 'the other'"

"To be honest, I thought I was doing OK before I read this, I didn't feel I was a racist or anything," David admitted. "But I feel I should be more disatisfied. I feel like I've been satisfied with something that God's not satisfied with." He wasn't the only one.

"I think I've been blinkered," added Sarah, "and they've been removed, but they could easily come back." We'd discussed this earlier... would we be as 'bothered' tomorrow as we were tonight? How would we 'stay bothered'? "I want to call on God," Sarah continued, answering the question, "to really change my heart. I need to step out of my comfort zones and take some time and effort with different people."

I glanced around the slowly-emptying pub as Rob reflected on his experiences, before offering my own. "I do wonder if God is turning us outward with our hospitality. We're good at being friendly towards our friends... how are we towards 'others'? And I suspect that the author is right - when we reach out more deliberately, things will get messy... and we'll need extra helpings of grace and perseverance." I grinned inwardly, acknowledging my own dislike of 'mess'. "I guess we start in prayer, asking God to strip away the layers of fear and selfishness that we're wrapped in?"

"It may surprise us to learn how much our own transformation is at stake."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

To track with and join in with our previous conversations, try these links;
chapter one: Relocation to the Abandoned Places of Empire
chapter two: Give All You Have To The Poor?
chapter three: Hospitality... to the Stranger

"Openess and hospitality to the stranger are a check against culture (or cultural preference, or the church as a personal refuge) becoming an end in itself. Such openess puts our identity at risk, for we cannot remain the same in the exchange."

Comments

[JUDE]

good convo... have just had an amazing week with some slavery reconciliation stuff.. we so should have that coffee!

[linda]

It's good that you're trying to engage with this issue through discussion. I have several black British and Afro Carribbean friends say to me - why is it that so many "white middle class" church goers love leading or doing missions in countries like South Africa, Uganda, etc. Yet they ignore or can't even bring themselves to have a conversation with a black person attending their church! An interesting question....

[kbartha]

Reading this post reminds me of the first day I met Pete Greig in Calgary, Canada. Someone in the small room of gathered leaders spoke sheepishly about everyone in the room being white and how they wanted to see more "colour representation"... I spoke into that right away and said, "It's easy why we are the first ones here. We're here because we're the ones who need to repent!" That moment was the first time I ever made eye contact with Pete Greig... There was a knowing, a little twinkling.

If I find it easy to repent on behalf of my own or someone else's sin.. how much more easy will it be to receive all the blessings, the fruit of that repentance? There is no condemnation in Christ... that's why it's so easy to repent, to be repenters... no one else on the planet is going to do it... so I'd better get started... It can actually be fun to repent.

In the midst of birthing of the varioius monastic movements, they all had a strong penitential, which was areligious construct and a form of community accountability during revolutionary experiences...

I was just in a refugee camp in Malta full of displaced African men... one of three pale guys and one pale girl. They instantly welcomed me into their home, their place.. their lives... put food in front of us, smiled and laughed and talked about Jesus (they were all *uslim).

I think half the battle is in my head. The enemy busy helping me disqualify myself... I'm done with that!

Deeper questions to segregation are language issues... are we willilgn to learn Arabic, French, Mandarin? Painstaking linguistics... which I think is one of the real secrets behind the gift of "tongues"... I wonder how that's tied to the meek inheriting the earth!?

[toggers]

hey jude - yep, coffee would be lovely! dates?

linda - yep, good question. i think it's partly to do with what i've heard described as 'christian mission-team tourism', holidays with a missional edge to them. i also wonder if the going-to-other-countries thing allows us our retain our 'power', to feel like we have everything to offer and nothing to receive - this is a more comfortable position, obviously?

and kirk, wonderful stuff as always. i agree completely - i'm convinced that a mark of this new monasticism will be a humble, repentant spirit, coupled with an active, guilt-free pursuit of just reconciliation (and friendship!).

i also agree with you re. language. in my family, we've all felt that pull... and i am aware of many friends who are learning languages right now. these are good signs of mobilisation. :o)

[JeangeaccaB]

однокласники geegle


в одноклассники вход

набережные мира

вконтакте программы

авторизация одноклассники

http www odnoklassniki ri

майл мой мир

одноклассники сайт

http www agent mail ru

api вконтакте

однокласс

дети вконтакте

майл ру регистрация

однокласники майл ру

http wg180 odnoklassniki ru

заблокирован сайт вконтакте

мобильная версия одноклассники


vkontakte tk вконтакте моя страница бесплатно как удалиться с майл ру http wg263 odnoklassniki ru лыжный мир рамамба хара мамба ру взлом майл ру 2011 товары майл ру http city mamba ru www loveplanet ru

[Orgalsetera]

embroidery floss friendship bracelet
cheap medical bracelets
jared followill single
bluetooth vibrating bracelet
tiffani thiessen swimsuit
how to make clip on earrings

gimp string designs
tiffany and co mesh ring
champagne diamond bracelets
tiffany blue ribbon
bracelets jac vanek
tiffany style chandeliers

friendship bracelet knot
sabona athletic bracelets
diamond mesh bracelet
kim kardashian engagement ring
jared leto scarlett
jared diamond store

colors for friendship bracelets
cartier panther bracelet
how much to spend on engagement rings
jareds jewelry coupons
necklace earring set
free beaded bracelet patterns

bracelets jewelry
mens black diamond earrings
gold tone earrings
heart friendship bracelet pattern
balancing bracelet
truth bracelets and charms