Review

The Lord commands things that often go against what we think is wise, sensible, rational or beneficial.

• Isaiah 55:8–9 (ESV): ⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
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• 1 Corinthians 2:6 (ESV): ⁶ Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.
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• 1 Corinthians 2:7 (ESV): ⁷ But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.
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• Ephesians 3:20 (ESV): ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
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• Hebrews 3:7(ESV): ⁷ Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, ⁸ do not harden your hearts. . . .
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Become a Kingdom Insider

• Matthew 13:10–11 (ESV):¹⁰ Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
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  • Jesus used parables to test people’s readiness for a more intimate understanding of the truth.
• Matthew 13:19 (ESV): ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.
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• James 1:5 (ESV): ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
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• Matthew 13:12 (ESV):¹² For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, [But the opposite is also true:] but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
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• Matthew 13:13 (ESV): ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
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Embrace the Spirit of Innovation

• Acts 16:6–10 (ESV): ⁶ And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. ⁷ And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. ⁸ So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. ⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
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A Church Designed for Innovation

Looking Closing at the Ingredients for Innovation

The Holy Spirit: Our Divine Innovator

• Ephesians 3:20 (ESV): ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
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• James 1:5 (ESV): ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
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• 1 Corinthians 2:9–10 (ESV): ⁹ But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— ¹⁰ these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
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• 1 Corinthians 2:11–13 (ESV): ¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God [Requires the Holy Spirit to unlock it] except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. ¹³ And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
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Diversity and the Power Collaboration

• Genesis 11: 1, 6 (ESV): ¹ And Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.
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• Genesis 11: 6 (ESV): ⁶ And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
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• Acts 2:5–11 (ESV): ⁵ Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. ⁷ And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, ¹¹ both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
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• 1 Corinthians 1:22 (ESV): ²² For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
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• 1 Corinthians 1:22–24 (ESV): ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
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• 1 Chronicles 12:22–37 (ESV): ²² For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army, like an army of God. ²³ These are the numbers of the divisions of the armed troops who came to David in Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul over to him, according to the word of the Lord. ²⁴ The men of Judah bearing shield and spear were 6,800 armed troops. ²⁵ Of the Simeonites, mighty men of valor for war, 7,100. ²⁶ Of the Levites 4,600. ²⁷ The prince Jehoiada, of the house of Aaron, and with him 3,700. ²⁸ Zadok, a young man mighty in valor, and twenty-two commanders from his own fathers’ house. ²⁹ Of the Benjaminites, the kinsmen of Saul, 3,000, of whom the majority had to that point kept their allegiance to the house of Saul. ³⁰ Of the Ephraimites 20,800, mighty men of valor, famous men in their fathers’ houses. ³¹ Of the half-tribe of Manasseh 18,000, who were expressly named to come and make David king. ³² Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command. ³³ Of Zebulun 50,000 seasoned troops, equipped for battle with all the weapons of war, to help David with singleness of purpose. ³⁴ Of Naphtali 1,000 commanders with whom were 37,000 men armed with shield and spear. ³⁵ Of the Danites 28,600 men equipped for battle. ³⁶ Of Asher 40,000 seasoned troops ready for battle. ³⁷ Of the Reubenites and Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh from beyond the Jordan, 120,000 men armed with all the weapons of war.
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Rethinking The Exodus Story

• Exodus 3:11–12 (ESV): ¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” ¹² He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
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• Exodus 4:22–23 (ESV): ²² Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, ²³ and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”
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• Exodus 7:16 (ESV): ¹⁶ And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed.
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• Exodus 8:20 (ESV): ²⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.
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Rethinking the Joseph Story

• Genesis 37:5–11 (ESV): ⁵ Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. ⁶ He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: ⁷ Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” ⁸ His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. ⁹ Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” ¹⁰ But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” ¹¹ And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.
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• Genesis 37:18–20 (ESV): ¹⁸ They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. ¹⁹ They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. ²⁰ Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”
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• Genesis 37:25–28 (ESV): ²⁵ Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. ²⁶ Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? ²⁷ Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. ²⁸ Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.
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• Genesis 39:1–6 (ESV): ¹ Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. ² The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. ³ His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. ⁴ So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. ⁵ From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. ⁶ So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. . . .
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• Genesis 39:19–23 (ESV): ¹⁹ As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. ²⁰ And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. ²¹ But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. ²² And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. ²³ The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.
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• Genesis 40:20–23 (ESV): ²⁰ On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. ²¹ He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. ²² But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. ²³ Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
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• Genesis 41:14–16 (ESV): ¹⁴ Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. ¹⁵ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” ¹⁶ Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”
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• Genesis 42:6–9 (ESV): ⁶ Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. ⁷ Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” ⁸ And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. ⁹ And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. . . .
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• Genesis 45:4–8 (ESV): ⁴ So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. ⁶ For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. ⁷ And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. ⁸ So it was not you who sent me here, but God. . . .
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• Genesis 50:15–21 (ESV): ¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” ¹⁶ So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ¹⁷ ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.” ’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸ His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” ¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? ²⁰ As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. ²¹ So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
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© Joshua D. Smith, Ph.D., 2025

Preface

Review

The promise of the kingdom is the promise of a government that fulfills what we wish our earthly governments would do:

• Provide peace and justice.
• Provide for the general welfare.
• Protect our way of life.
• Support our freedom to live Zoe

Keep in mind that

• 1.) Biblical application is always specific AND
• 2.) Biblical application always addresses something that exposes a competing interest.

Pleasing God Requires Both Hearing and Doing

• Luke 6:47–49 (ESV): ⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
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The Reality of Diversity in Our Local Church

• Matthew 28:19 (ESV): ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. . .
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• 1 Corinthians 9:20–23 (ESV): ²⁰ To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law. . .that I might win those under the law. ²¹ To those outside the law I became as one outside the law. . .that I might win those outside the law. ²² To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. . . . . ²³ I do it all for the sake of the gospel. . . .
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Strong Relationships Require Communication About Difficult Subjects

• We have to communicate, or we can’t be a community.

New Language for a New Direction

A Change in Direction Requires a Change in Thinking

• Ephesians 3:20 (ESV): ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
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• Numbers 13:25–27 (ESV): ²⁵ At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. ²⁶ And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
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• Numbers 13:28–29 (ESV): ²⁸ However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. ²⁹ The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”
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• Numbers 13:30 (ESV): ³⁰ But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”
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• Numbers 13:31-32(ESV): ³¹ Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” ³² So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height.
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• Numbers 13:33 (ESV): ³³ And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”
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Today If You Hear. . .

• Hebrews 3:7(ESV): ⁷ Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, ⁸ do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,
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• Hebrews 3:9 (ESV): ⁹ where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.
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• Hebrews 3:10 (ESV): ¹⁰ Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’
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• Hebrews 3: 11 (ESV): ¹¹ As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’ ”
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• Hebrews 3:18 (ESV): ¹⁸ And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?
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• Hebrews 3:19 (ESV): ¹⁹ So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
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• Hebrews 4:1 (NKJV): ¹ Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.
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• Hebrews 4:2 (NKJV): ² For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
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Top 10 All-Time Stupid Quotes

(The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey. New York: Fireside. pp.11-12)

10. “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.”– Kenneth Olsen, President and Founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, In 1977

9. “Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.” — Marshal Ferdinand Foch, French Military Strategist and Future World War I Commander, In 1911

8. “[Man will never reach the moon] regardless of all future scientific advances.” — Dr. Lee De Forest, Inventor of the Audion Tube and Father of Radio on February 25, 1967

7. “[Television] won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.” — Darryl F. Zanduck, Head of 20^th Century-Fox, In 1946

6. “We don’t like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out.” — Decca Records Rejecting The Beatles, In 1962

5. “For the Majority of people, the use of tobacco has a beneficial effect.” — Dr. Ian G. Mac Donald, Los Angeles Surgeon, As Quoted in Newsweek, November 18, 1969

4. “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” — Western Union Internal Memo, In 1876

3. “The earth is the center of the universe.” –Ptolemy, The Great Egyptian Astronomer, In the Second Century

2. “Nothing of importance happened today.” — Written by King George III of England on July 4, 1776

1. “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” — Charles H Duell U.S. Commissioner of Patents, IN 1899

The Blessing

• Psalm 133:1 (ESV): ¹ Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!. . .
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• Psalm 133:32 (ESV): ³ . . . .For there the Lord has commanded the blessing. . . .
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• Mark 4:13 (ESV): ¹³ And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
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© Joshua D. Smith, Ph.D., 2025

 

Review

• The way of the kingdom often goes against what we think is wise, sensible, rational or beneficial.
• Jesus used parables to test people’s readiness for a more intimate understanding of the truth.
• John 6:66-67 (ESV): ⁶⁶ After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”
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• “All ministry is contextual” –Dr. A.R. Bernard
  • 1 Corinthians 9:19–23 (ESV): ¹⁹ For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. ²⁰ To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. ²¹ To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. ²² To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. ²³ I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
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    • Ministry requires strategy.
• Proverbs 4:7 (NKJV): ⁷Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. The term “black multiracial church” is specific to a church that becomes multiracial when it starts off as a black congregation.
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How Latino and Asian American Churches Navigate Racial Diversity

• Challenge # 1: Churches led by immigrant communities must overcome tension between first- and second-generation populations.

The Following excerpts are from Estranged Pioneers: Race, Faith, and Leadership in a Diverse World by Korie Little Edwards and Rebecca Y. Kim:

• “Asian American churches are immigrant ethnic congregations that function much like ethnic enclaves.” (Estranged Pioneers, p. 46)
  • Ethnic Enclave: A strong concentration of a particular ethnic group in a particular geographical area where there’s a distinct culture and economy separate from the surrounding community.
• “[Asian American Churches] are primary spaces where immigrants can worship in the language and culture of their home country and find comfort and support as they struggle to adjust and ‘make it’ in the new land.” (Estranged Pioneers, p. 46)
• “All but one Hispanic American pastor in our study grew up in predominately Hispanic, Spanish-speaking contexts. And most were born Latin American, Spanish-speaking countries and maintained active connections to those countries.” (Estranged Pioneers, p. 30)
  • The majority of Asian and Latino churches are immigrant focused.
  • “The literature on Asian American congregations, particularly Korean American, which predominates studies of Asian American congregations, reveals intergenerational strife between the first and second generations.” (Estranged Pioneers, p. 88)
  • “The immigrant Korean church is in many ways viewed as a church for the first, not the second generation” (Estranged Pioneers, p. 88)
  • “The services are held in Korean; the congregations support Korean culture and traditions. . .and they are led by first-generation Korean Americans.” (Estranged Pioneers, p. 88)
     
• Challenge # 2: Churches led my immigrant communities must settle the question of language.
  • “Asian American pastor. . .Pastor Hurh, had a uniquely positive relationship with this home church, an independently second-generation Korean church. This church was born out of a Korean immigrant church as an ‘English ministry’ for the children of immigrants.” (Estranged Pioneers, p. 88)
  • “In time, it became a separate independent church that attracts latter-generation young Asian American adults who want a ‘church of their own.’” (Estranged Pioneers, p. 88)
  • “Support for [Asian American] church plants, if there is any, tends to come from white religious networks and denominations.” (Estranged Pioneers, p. 88)

• Challenge # 3: Churches led by immigrant communities must create mainstream versions of their cultures.
  • “Lacking racialized multicultural competency is not a problem for white pastors in their leadership, nor is it a barrier to gaining or maintaining their position as a pastor of a multiracial church.” (Estranged Pioneers, p. 116)
  • “A white pastor could be fluent in only one culture (their own) and have no awareness of the historical and sociological implications of systemic racism and white supremacy and still be a pastor of a multiracial church.” (Estranged Pioneers, p. 116)
  • “[White pastors of multiracial churches] have the privilege of looking like the normative pastor. They have the privilege of having their preaching style considered to be the standard for all pastors, including pastors who head multiracial churches” (Estranged Pioneers, p.125)

The Following excerpts are from Against All Odds: The Struggle for Racial Integration in Religious Organizations by Brad Christerson, Korie Edwards, and Michael Emerson

• • “One woman who grew up in the Philippines expressed it this way: Filipinos avoid people who are too direct or too offensive, so those people who offend them feel invisible” (Against All Odds, p. 52)
  • She continues: “I’ll give you an example. When Lynne [a white woman] was leading the Sunday school ministry, she would ask me, ‘Can you teach Sunday school this week?’” (Against All Odds, p. 52)
  • “Whereas a Filipino would say, ‘I know you’re busy and tired, so if you can’t that’s OK.’” (Against All Odds, p. 52)
  • “So Lynne asks me that question and I say that I can’t because of work or I’m tired or something, then I feel bad because I’m the one saying no.” (Against All Odds, p. 52)
  • “And then if I say no, she’ll say ‘well how about next week?’ For a Filipino that’ an awful position to put someone in, because it makes them feel bad for saying no.” (Against All Odds, p. 52)
  • “Filipinos have a hard time saying no. You have to give people an out. So after someone does that to you, you just avoid them, and so Lynne feels invisible to Filipinos.” (Against All Odds, p. 52)
  • “Another obstacle to social connection at the church between Filipinos and non-Filipinos seems to be the tradition of hierarchical social relationships. Non-Filipinos referred to it as the ‘kuya ate thing” (Against All Odds, p. 20)
  • “Yes, the whole kuya and ate tradition. I can relate to it, because in Africa if someone is older than you, they are like your uncle or aunt, but it creates a distance and protocol to the relationship. If I need support from an older person, I wouldn’t know if I could share anything too deep with them.” (Against All Odds, p. 20)
  • “One particular aspect of the church service that was frustrating to many white members was the issue of time.” (Against All Odds, p. 26)
  • “In the early years of the church white members frequently complained of the lack of punctuality in the way the service was run.” (Against All Odds, p. 26)
  • “Typically, the service would start five to ten minutes after the official starting time, and even then most of the church would be empty, except for a few white members of the church.” (Against All Odds, p. 26)
  • “The church had no ‘ending time’ at that time and could end anywhere from 12:00 to 12:45 depending on what activities went on during the service.” (Against All Odds, p. 26)
  • “Both Filipino and non- Filipino members joked that the church runs on ‘Filipino time.’” (Against All Odds, p. 26)

• Challenge # 4: Churches led by immigrant communities must convince their congregations that becoming racially diverse is beneficial.

The Definition of a Black Multiracial Church

• • A black multiracial church is a black church that has opened itself up to the world while effectively ministering to black people.
  • A black multiracial church is a multiracial church with black culture at the center of it and black people significantly influencing it.
  • A black multiracial church is a diversity party that black people are hosting.
  • A black multiracial church is how black Christians do diversity

The Strategy

Keep This in Mind 

Read the Story of Joseph

© Joshua D. Smith, Ph.D., 2025

 

Introduction

Recap

• 1 Corinthians 1:10–13 (NKJV): ¹⁰ Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
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• Psalm 133:1 (ESV): ¹ Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!
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• Psalm 133:2 (ESV): ³ . . . .For there the Lord has commanded the blessing. . . .
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New Blessings Require New Thinking

• Ephesians 3:20 (NKJV): ²⁰ Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
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• Ephesians 3:20 (AMP): ²⁰ Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us,
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• Ephesians 3:20 (NIV): ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
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• Ephesians 3:20 (NKJV): ²⁰ Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
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God’s Thoughts Need a Place to Land

Repentance.

The Message of the Kingdom Requires that our Minds be Prepared for It

• • Matthew 3:1–2 (ESV): ¹In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ² “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
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  • Matthew 3:3 (ESV): ³ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ”
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  • The way of the kingdom is the way of the Lord, and The way of the Lord is the way of the kingdom.
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  • John 6:66 (ESV): ⁶⁶ After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
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Bracing Yourself for What God is Going to Do Next

How Do You Explain Our Church to Other People?

• We are a black multiracial church
• Proverbs 20:14 (NIV): ¹⁴ “It’s no good, it’s no good!” says the buyer— then goes off and boasts about the purchase.
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© Joshua D. Smith, Ph.D., 2025

Review

Matthew 5:3 (ESV): ³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

• Racially diverse church.

The Myths of Equality and Privilege

• Two myths
• Equality is good when it is biblically defined.
  • Genesis 1:27 (ESV): ²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
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  • Liberals presume that if its unequal then it’s also unjust.

ON PRIVILEGE

• Favor is a form of privilege.
• God has an economy of favor, blessing and promotion that he uses for redemptive purposes.
  • Genesis 49:1 (ESV): ¹ Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come.
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  • Genesis 49:28 (ESV): ²⁸ All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him.
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• We have to allow people to flourish in the way they are favored.
• If you’re African American, there are also ways that God has favored you.
• Genesis 49:8–9 (ESV): ⁸ “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. ⁹ Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
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Blessed Are the Poor In Spirit

Matthew 5:3 (ESV): ³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The poor in spirit in the sense of this beatitude are those who recognize. . . their lack of spiritual resources and therefore their complete dependence on God. [They are]. . . .‘those who feel their spiritual need’ [and therefore] ‘know their need of God’–Leon Morris [Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), 95.]

[It is] “a radical reversal of the world’s values”–Leon Morris [Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), 96.]

“It is the opposite of [having] pride in [your] own virtue”–Leon Morris [Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), 95.]

But this passage is not just talking about the spiritual poor, but about the literal poor.

Luke’s recording of the same message from Jesus focuses on the literal poor:

• Luke 6:20 (ESV): ²⁰ And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
• James 2:5 (ESV): ⁵ Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
• 1 Corinthians 1:26–29 (ESV): ²⁶ For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
• Isaiah 1:17 (ESV): ¹⁷ learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.
• Deuteronomy 10:18 (ESV): ¹⁸ He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.
• James 1:27 (ESV): ²⁷ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
• Matthew 25:35–40 (ESV): ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
• Deuteronomy 18:1–5 (ESV): ¹ “The Levitical priests, all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the Lord’s food offerings as their inheritance. ² They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them. ³ And this shall be the priests’ due from the people, from those offering a sacrifice, whether an ox or a sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. ⁴ The firstfruits of your grain, of your wine and of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. ⁵ For the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for all time.
• Isaiah 54:1–8 (ESV): ¹“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord. ² “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. ³ For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities. ⁴ “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. ⁵ For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. ⁶ For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. ⁷ For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. ⁸ In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.
• Genesis 25:20–21 (ESV): ²⁰ and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. ²¹ And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

References

Du Bois, W. E. B. The Souls of Black Folk. Oxford UP, 2008.

Equiano, Olaudah. Interesting Narrative and Other Writings. Penguin Books, 2003.

Franklin, John Hope and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham. From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans, 9^th Edition. Harvard UP, 2011.

Jordan, Winthrop D. The White Man’s Burden. Oxford UP, 1974.

Patterson, Orlando. Slavery and Social Death. Harvard UP, 1982.

 

© Joshua D. Smith, Ph.D., 2025

 

Review

• Unconventional series
• Mental and emotional preparation for the subject matter.

The Importance of Context

Jesus Needed John the Baptist

• The whole purpose of John’s ministry was to mentally prepare people for what Jesus had to say.
• Remember that What Jesus had to say was provocative.

Dr. King’s Provocative Words

• We forget how much Dr. King’s words stirred people to anger.

The Importance of Provocative Statements

• The potential will exist for people to be provoked.

The Fear of Provocative Statements

• Romans 14:16 (ESV): ¹⁶ . . .do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.
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• Ephesians 4:15 (ESV): ¹⁵ . . . .speak. . .the truth in love. . . .
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• Matthew 10:16 (ESV): ¹⁶ “. . . .be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
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Fear is the Enemy of Love

• 1 John 4:17–18 (ESV): ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 

The Fear of Disapproval

• You are afraid of the disapproval of white people.
• Overly concerned about what white people think
• Not expecting me to speak, act and talk from a white cultural perspective.
• Mature and discerning enough purity of motive behind what I am communicating.
• You are afraid of the punishment and retribution that will come to you if I keep talking like this.
• Putting white people on a pedestal.

The Following excerpts are from Estranged Pioneers: Race, Faith, and Leadership in a Diverse World by Korie Little Edwards and Rebecca Y. Kim:

The Latino Pastor Experience

“Some Hispanic American pastors dissed their home church communities, preferring the cultures of white churches. Pastor Luis Montoya is one of these pastors. He is a bilingual 1.5-generation Mexican American who. . .lead[s] a small multiracial church.”–Estranged Pioneers (pp. 81-82)

“When pastor Montoya was asked why Hispanics would come to his church rather than a Spanish-speaking Mexican church, he described the shortcomings of the ‘ethnic church’ as a remnant of the old country and a hard immigrant life.” —Estranged Pioneers (p. 82)

He continues: “Successful Hispanic Americans who have assimilated and have been educated in mainstream institutions don’t want to go back to where they came from. They won’t go to Spanish-speaking immigrant churches that are typically under resourced and have ‘immigration issues.’ Instead, they want to go to the predominately white churches in the mainstream. . . .” —Estranged Pioneers (p. 82)

The Asian American Pastor Experience

Another pastor “who took this approach is Pastor Park, a second-generation Korean American pastor who planted a multiracial church on the West Coast. . . .One of the main strategies he employed when planting his church was to minimize his racial and ethnic identities.” —Estranged Pioneers (p.74)

“Pastor Park intentionally omitted any photos of himself on the church advertisements so as not to signal to people that the pastor of this new church in the community was Asian. He reasoned that if he included a picture of his face in church advertisements, people would quickly pin the church as an ‘Asian’ church and lose all interest” —Estranged Pioneers (p.74)

“Pastor Park made it clear he was not omitting his face because he was ashamed of who he is. Instead, he was simply accepting a reality that non-Asians, mostly white people, who predominate in the neighborhood would have trouble picturing themselves in a church led by an Asian person” —Estranged Pioneers (p.74)

The African American Pastor Experience

“Like Pastor Park, Pastor Jackson [and African American pastor] planted his church out of a predominantly white religious network. He too omitted any photos of himself on church materials. The church, he says has ‘been very intentional to keep my face off of anything, because there is a stigma that comes along with an African American.’ The stigma associated with his Blackness could negatively impact his church.” —Estranged Pioneers (p.75)

“Pastor Jackson was so committed to this belief that it was not until the lay leaders affirmed him. . .that he. . .agreed to have his face on church materials. . . .[But] even with this assurance from his leadership team, Pastor Jackson is still reluctant to make it evident that the audio sermons available to the public online are by him, a Black man.” —Estranged Pioneers (p.75)

“Like Pastor Park, Pastor Jackson emphasizes that he is not hiding his race because he is personally ashamed. Rather, it is simply a practical strategy to draw people to his church, which is located in a ‘white neighborhood’ that is not comfortable with having even a ‘marginal percentage of Black people.” —Estranged Pioneers (pp.75-76)

Conclusions from the Research

“Pastors of color [in multiracial churches]. . .reject, minimize, or hide their racial identity, particularly in their roles as head clergy, often because they see embodying and embracing their ethnoracial identity and culture as a threat to the stability of their racially diverse churches” —Estranged Pioneers (p.152)

“Multiracial churches. . .maintain. . .diversity at the expense of people of color. They are also about ensuring white people are sufficiently comfortable so they won’t leave and the church can stay racially diverse.” —Estranged Pioneers (p. 154)

The Social Realities of Race

Multiracial Churches and the Myth of Equality

While we believe in equality in the biblical sense, we don’t in equality in an absolute sense.

1 Corinthians 12:4–7 (ESV): ⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵ and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; ⁶ and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. ⁷ To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

Genesis 48:17–19 (ESV): ¹⁷ When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸ And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” ¹⁹ But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.”

Genesis 49:1 (ESV): ¹ Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come.

Genesis 49:28 (ESV): 28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him.

Genesis 49:8–9 (ESV): 8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?

Acts 17:26–27 (ESV): ²⁶ And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, ²⁷ that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,

Revelation 7:9–10 (ESV): ⁹ After this I looked, and behold, 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, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

References

Du Bois, W. E. B. The Souls of Black Folk. Oxford UP, 2008.

Equiano, Olaudah. Interesting Narrative and Other Writings. Penguin Books, 2003.

Franklin, John Hope and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham. From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans, 9^th Edition. Harvard UP, 2011.

Jordan, Winthrop D. The White Man’s Burden. Oxford UP, 1974.

Patterson, Orlando. Slavery and Social Death. Harvard UP, 1982.

© Joshua D. Smith, Ph.D., 2025

 

 

Preface

• James 2:15–16 (ESV): ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

Review

We are a predominately African American church but are in a community that is not predominately African American.

In addition to this, we have in recent years articulated an aggressive vision for multilingualism, an aggressive vision for local Latino community engagement and a bold vision for future outreach to the local Asian American community.

The Reality of Church Commuters

For over 35 years, our growth has relied on African Americans who are willing to commute.

They’ve been willing to commute for two reasons:

1. In Southern California, black communities are scarce, especially when compared to other regions of the country.
2. The second reason black people are willing to commute is because of the significance of church to black identity and culture.

The Impact of American Slavery: A Brief History

• “There is nothing notably peculiar about the institution of slavery. It has existed from before the dawn of human history right down to the twentieth century, in the most primitive of human societies and in the most civilized. There is no region on earth that has not at some time harbored the institution. Probably there is no group of people whose ancestors were not at one time slaves or slaveholders.” — Orlando Patterson (Slavery and Social Death: A Comparative Study [Harvard University Press, 1982], vii.
  • What he’s saying is that slavery is a norm in human history.
  • Being a descent of slaves is not a unique category.
  • What’s peculiar is not slavery, but our modern concept of freedom.
  • What we think of today as American liberty is still young and experimental.
  • What black people experienced in this America was racialized slavery.
  • Before Europe and America were enslaving Africans on a mass scale, people became slaves largely for political and economic reasons.
  • Race was not much of concept before the global African slave trade.
  • In many ways, the African slave trade helped to create the concept of race.
  • Before then, one of the most common ways to become a slave was by being on the losing side of a war.
    • If you lost in a war, the enemy would capture you and treat you in one of two ways:
      • Kill you or
      • Enslave you
    • Enslavement was a kind of mercy, but it came at a steep cost.
    • Because in enslavement–while you didn’t die physically–you died socially.
    • This is where Patterson comes up with the term, “social death.”
    • When you are a slave, you are socially dead.

What Makes Slavery What It Is?

[Information in this section is derived and quoted from Slavery and Social Death: A Comparative Study (Harvard University Press, 1982), pp. 10-11]

According to Orlando Patterson, social death is one of the three things that makes slavery what it is:

Social Death

• When you are socially dead, you are a “nonperson.”
• To quote Patterson, you have “no socially recognized existence outside of [the] master.”
• Your existence and identity have no status except through the master.

Natal Alienation

• Think of Natal – Birth
• And then Alien
• Natal alienation means that you become alien to your birth.
• Using Patterson’s language, You were severed from all ties to “parents. . .[family], ancestors and. . .descendants.”

Dishonor

• The third attribute of slavery is dishonor.
• Dishonor in this context refers to a general condition of shame.
• You are denied all “public worth.”
• You are considered to be perpetually available and rightly targeted for ridicule, shame, humiliation, and disrespect.

The power of slavery is in symbols.

The Symbolic Legacy of Slavery

• Quote from historian Winthrop D. Jordon as he also quotes the Oxford English dictionary: “Englishmen found in the idea of blackness a way of expressing some of their most ingrained values. No other color except white conveyed so much emotional impact. As described by the Oxford English Dictionary, the meaning of black before the sixteenth century included, ‘Deeply stained with dirt; soiled, dirty, foul. . .Having dark or deadly purposes, malignant; pertaining to or involving death, deadly; baneful, disastrous, sinister. . . .Indicating disgrace, censure, liability to punishment. . . .’–Winthrop D. Jordon (The White Man’s Burden, p. 6)
• “Then it dawned upon me with a certain suddenness that I was different from the others; or like, mayhap, in heart and life and longing, but shut out from their world by a vast veil”–W. E. B. Du Bois (The Souls of Black Folk Oxford UP, 2008, p. 8)
• “It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness,–an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder”–W. E. B. Du Bois (The Souls of Black Folk Oxford UP, 2008, p. 8)

Why Historical Role of the Church in the African American Experience

How do I respond to such a difficult request?

Is this from the Lord?

• James 1:5 (ESV): ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

The Lord is My Shepherd

• Psalm 23:1 (ESV): ¹ The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
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  • Shepherd is an ancient metaphor for leadership that precedes the bible
  • God reclaims to term in Scripture to communicate how He leads us.
  • Where God is leading you, He is caring for you.
  • God is caring for you holistically:
    • Spiritually
    • Emotionally
    • Socially
    • Culturally
  • Do you trust God to care for your cultural needs?
    • Some of us are willing to trust God for physical healing, for our material provision and even for our physical protection, but we don’t believe that He will protect us culturally, socially or politically.
      • Psalm 23:4 (ESV): ⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
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The God that takes you through the valley is also the God that takes you to the valley.

The Example of Abraham

• Genesis 22:1–2 (ESV): ¹After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ² He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
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• Genesis 22:5 (ESV): ⁵ Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”
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• Hebrews 11:17–19 (ESV): ¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, ¹⁸ of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ¹⁹ He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.
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References 

Du Bois, W. E. B. The Souls of Black Folk. Oxford UP, 2008. 

Equiano, Olaudah. Interesting Narrative and Other Writings. Penguin Books, 2003. 

Franklin, John Hope and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham. From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans, 9th Edition. Harvard UP, 2011. 

Jordan, Winthrop D. The White Man’s Burden. Oxford UP, 1974. 

Patterson, Orlando. Slavery and Social Death. Harvard UP, 1982.  

© Joshua D. Smith, Ph.D., 2025

 

Review

Last month we taught a series titled, “The Untapped Power of We”

• It helped fame our theme for the year, which is “One Vision, One Voice”
• The idea is that we will be a “we” people in a “me” culture
• We challenged the cult of individuality that has plagued the world and the church.
• While there is room for individual expression, the Scripture calls us to a collective identity–in Christ.
• There are blessings, there is favor, and there is empowerment in our collective Christ identity that is not present in our personal, individualized relationships with Christ.

Then we addressed this question: Who are we?

• The first three weeks, we talked about what that meant spiritually.
• And for the fourth and final week, we talked about what that meant sociologically.

The Reality of Being Both Spiritual and Social Beings

“Sociology is the study of human. . .relationships and institutions.” (UNC College of Arts and Sciences – Sociology Department Website https://sociology.unc.edu/undergraduate-program/sociology-major/what-is-sociology/)

• The field of sociology addresses “human behavior, social change and social life.” (Google AI Overview: “What is Sociology?”).
• In other words, sociology addresses all things social.

Being one in Christ is both spiritual and social.

• There are some people who only deal with the spiritual side.
• Others only deal with the social side.
• But God, who is Lord of all, is interested in every aspect of our lives.
• Certainly, He’s interested in those parts of our lives that affect our relationships with each other.
  • Which means that Anything that affects the relationship has to be discussed.
  • And because of that, we’ve got to talk about race.

Key Facts About Multiracial Churches

(From Estranged Pioneers: Race, Faith and Leadership in a Diverse World, Edwards and Kim. Oxford UP, 2024.)

• Fact # 1: Multiracial churches make up [only] 16% of all congregations in the U.S. (p. 2)
• Fact # 2: People of Color make up [only] 16% of the people who lead multiracial churches in the U.S. (p. 2)
• Fact # 3: Of all U.S. churches, only 2.5% of them are multiracial and led by a pastor of color.
• Fact # 4: “Multiracial churches generally either start off racially diverse or move from predominantly white to racially diverse. Rarely do churches move from predominantly Black or Asian or Hispanic to racially diverse. This puts pastors of color at a distinct disadvantage in the multiracial church world.” (p. 41)

Two Big Questions

 

1. Why are we doing this?
2. How will this benefit African Americans?

It’s Okay to Have Reservations

1. Having reservations about a multiracial church does not make you unchristian.
   • • Luke 14:28 (ESV): ²⁸ For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
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2. God cares about your cultural needs and wants to respond to them.
   • Consider this statement from Jesus about His concern for you: Matthew 10:30 (ESV): ³⁰ But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
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3. What God is doing is not at the expense of African Americans (specifically).
4. We can be a church that addresses the cultural needs of African Americans and richly engages the diversity of the local community.

So How Do We Do This?

We need some fresh faith and some fresh thinking.

Our Faith Matters

• Genesis 18:14 (ESV): ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the Lord?. . . .
• Jeremiah 32:17 (ESV): ¹⁷ ‘Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
• Luke 18:27 (ESV): ²⁷ But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
• Mark 9:23 (ESV): ²³ And Jesus said to him. . .All things are possible for one who believes.”

Our Thinking Matters

• Solving difficult problems requires thinking that’s higher than the problem.
• Einstein put it this way: “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”–Albert Einstein
• God put it this way: Isaiah 55:8–9 (ESV): ⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
• Elevating our thinking requires that we challenge our current assumptions.

Challenging Assumptions About Equality and Privilege

• What words or ideas do you associate with equality?
• What words or ideas do you associate with privilege?

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Measuring the Concept of Equality Against Scripture

• Genesis 1:27 (ESV): ²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
• Romans 13:8 (ESV): ⁸ Owe no one anything, except to love each other. . .
• Galatians 3:28 (ESV): ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
• Romans 2:11 (ESV): ¹¹ . . .God shows no partiality.
• James 2:1 (ESV): ¹ Owe My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.
• Matthew 28:19 (ESV): ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 
  • • Acts 2:6–11 (ESV): ⁶ And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. ⁷ And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, ¹¹ both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
    • Acts 21:40 (ESV): ⁴⁰ And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language. . .
    • Acts 22:2 (ESV): ² And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. . . .
    • Language is not just words. It’s also culture.
    • [From Estranged Pioneers:] “Pastor Kay multicultural competency is. . .reflected in everything from her preaching to her counseling. It is also evident in her ability to easily ‘color-switch’ and connect with a variety of people, whether at staff meetings, board meetings, or at the pulpit: ‘I switch colors often. I am fluent in white-male-speak, academy-speak, Black-woman-playful-speak. . .pound-cake-and champagne-speak. I speak Spanish [and] German’. . . .Pastor Kay not only speaks multiple languages; she is also multivocal and versed in multiple cultures and communities” (p. 101)
  • 1 Corinthians 9:19–23 (ESV): ¹⁹ For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. ²⁰ To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. ²¹ To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. ²² To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. ²³ I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
    • Effective evangelism and discipleship require that we are attentive to the sociological realities of our ministry context.

Rethinking Privilege

Favor is a form of privilege.

God has an economy of favor, blessing and promotion that he uses for redemptive purposes.

• Matthew 5:3 (ESV): ³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

© Joshua D. Smith, Ph.D., 2025

Review

• 1 Corinthians 1:10–13 (NKJV): ¹⁰ Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Unity requires Christ-mindedness.

We become the same when we adopt Christ’s mind together.

The Blessings of Unity

There are blessings that we receive that are specific to unity centered in Christ.

• Psalm 133:1–3 (ESV): ¹ Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! ² It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! ³ It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.
  • • Acts 2:1–2 (NKJV): ¹ When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. ² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind. . .
    • Acts 2:4 (NKJV): ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
    • Acts 4:24 (NKJV): ²⁴ So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord. . .
    • Acts 4:31 (NKJV): ³¹ And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
    • Acts 4:32 (ESV): ³² Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul. . .
    • Acts 4:34 (ESV): ³⁴ There was not a needy person among them. . .
    • Acts 12:5 (ESV): ⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
    • Acts 12:12 (ESV): ¹² When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.

The Humanity Factor

• 1 Corinthians 2:14–16 (ESV): ¹⁴ The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
• 1 Corinthians 3: 3 (ESV): ³ for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?

Key Facts About Multiracial Churches

• Fact # 1: Multiracial churches make up 16% of all congregations in the U.S.
• Fact # 2: People of Color make up 16% of the people who lead multiracial churches in the U.S.
• Fact # 3: Of all U.S. churches, only 2.5% of them are multiracial and led by a pastor of color.
• Fact # 4: “Multiracial churches generally either start off racially diverse or move from predominantly white to racially diverse. Rarely do churches move from predominantly Black or Asian or Hispanic to racially diverse. This puts pastors of color at a distinct disadvantage in the multiracial church world.” (Estranged Pioneers: Race, Faith and Leadership in a Diverse World, Edwards and Kim, p. 41)

Overcoming Objections to the Having Conversations about Race

As believers, isn’t it petty and immature to quibble over racial matters?

• You don’t want to be paranoid about the racial question, but you also don’t want to be naive about the racial question.

Aren’t discussions of race divisive?

• • Anything that affects the relationship has to be discussed.
  • Not talking about something can be just as divisive as not talking about something.

I’m a person of color, but I just see myself as a believer, an American, a human. I don’t focus on race and my life is great.

• Regardless of how people should act (morally), you have to deal with the practical reality of how people actually act.

Racism is sin problem, not a skin problem, right?

• You have to deal with both the sin and the skin.

Matters linked to Race (not an exhaustive list)

• Physicality
• Culture
• Values
• Language
• Accent
• Vocal inflections
• Beliefs
• History
• Citizenship
• Nationality
• Ancestry
• Generation
• Politics
• Class
• Gender

Why are we doing this?

The best way to address this question is to go to Scripture and to look at the example of examples: Our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

• Mark 3:13, 20-21 (ESV): ¹And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. . . .²⁰ Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. ²¹ And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
• Mark 3:31–35 (ESV): ³¹ And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. ³² And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” ³³ And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴ And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

The Global Ministry of Israel

Israel’s mission had always been a global one: Jesus was merely fulfilling it.

• Genesis 12:3 (ESV): ³ . . . in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
• Isaiah 56:7 (ESV): ⁷ . . .for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
• Isaiah 49:6 (ESV): ⁶. . . I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Is Anyone Considering What God Wants?

Peter had to answer this question:

• Acts 11:2–17 (ESV): ² So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, ³ “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” ⁴ But Peter began and explained it to them in order: ⁵ “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. ⁶ Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. ⁷ And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ ⁸ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹ But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ ¹⁰ This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. ¹¹ And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. ¹² And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³ And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; ¹⁴ he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ ¹⁵ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. ¹⁶ And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”

The Burden Comes with a Blessing

Consider Paul who endured so much:

• 2 Corinthians 11:23–29 (ESV): ²³ Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. ²⁴ Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; ²⁶ on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; ²⁷ in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. ²⁸ And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. ²⁹ Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

It was so challenging that he asked God to take it away:

• 2 Corinthians 12:8–10 (ESV): ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰ For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Top 10 All-Time Stupid Quotes

(The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covy. New York: Fireside. pp.11-12)

10. “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.”– Kenneth Olsen, President and Founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, In 1977

9. “Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.” — Marshal Ferdinand Foch, French Military Strategist and Future World War I Commander, In 1911

8. “[Man will never reach the moon] regardless of all future scientific advances.” — Dr. Lee De Forest, Inventor of the Audion Tube and Father of Radio on February 25, 1967

7. “[Television] won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.” — Darryl F. Zanduck, Head of 20^th Century-Fox, In 1946

6. “We don’t like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out.” — Decca Records Rejecting The Beatles , In 1962

5. “For the Majority of people, the use of taboacco has a beneficial effect.” — Dr. Ian G. Mac Donald, Los Angeles Surgeon, As Quoted in Newsweek, November 18, 1969

4. “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” — Western Union Internal Memo, In 1876

3. “The earth is the center of the universe.” –Ptolemy, The Great Egyptian Astronomer, In the Second Century

2. “Nothing of importance happened today.” — Written by King George III of England on July 4, 1776

1. “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” — Charles H Duell U.S. Commissioner of Patents, IN 1899

Review

1 Corinthians 1:10–13 (NKJV): ¹⁰ Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

 

“Speak the same thing,” “No divisions”

• Division is created not only from what we shout out loud, but what we calmly communicate in the parking lot, what we whisper in the hallway, what we gossip about in the bathroom sink and what we text in group chats.
• When we verbally attack our church, both its leaders and its members, we are attacking Jesus.
  • Acts 9:1–5 (ESV): ¹ But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³ Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. ⁴ And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” ⁵ And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
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    • Instead of attacking Christ’s body, we need to mend Christ’s body.

“Perfectly joined together”

• Instead of using our words to separate our bonds, we must use our words to restore our bonds.
• The process of unification requires that we identify places where there is no peace and create peace with our words.
  • We won’t submit our mouths to the Lord until we submit our minds to the Lord

“Same mind, same judgment”

• When Paul says that we should be of the same mind and the same judgment, he is talking about us all adopting Christ’s mind.
• Our natural thinking does not have the capacity to cultivate spiritual unity or anything else God is leading us to do.

Natural People Can’t Discern Spiritual Things

• 1 Corinthians 2:14–16 (ESV): ¹⁴ The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
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  • You need to filter your judgment through the lens of Christ’s thinking.
  • When you think like Christ, you have the capacity to judge based on how things really are, not simply on how they appear to you, especially initially.

Spiritual Mindedness Qualifies You to Judge

• 1 Corinthians 2:14–16 (ESV): ¹⁵ The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.
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• 1 Corinthians 2:14–16 (ESV): ¹⁶ “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
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  • The mind of Christ is Holy Spirit access to Christ’s thoughts.
• 1 Corinthians 2:12 (ESV): ¹² Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
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Unity Requires Maturity

• 1 Corinthians 3:1–3 (ESV): ¹ But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. ² I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, ³ for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
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• 1 Corinthians 3:1(ESV): ¹ But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.
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  • There are spiritual resources that God can’t share with us when we choose to judge, speak and act as people of the flesh.
  • People of the flesh are people who judge, speak and act based entirely on what they see and feel naturally.
  • The flesh does not pick up God’s signals.
    • 1 Corinthians 3:2 (ESV): ² I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,
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• Matthew 13:14–15 (ESV): ¹⁴ Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “ ‘ “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” ¹⁵ For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’
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• 1 Corinthians 3:3 (ESV): ³ . . .For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
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Why Strife Must Be Rooted Out Quickly and Definitively

• When you behave “only in a human way,” Satan has access to you.
• Satan operates and camouflages himself within your natural thought process.

Strife is a demonic pathway

• James 3:14–18 (ESV): ¹⁴ But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. ¹⁵ This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
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  • When you behave “only in a human way,” demonic resources are being trafficked through you into the church.
  • Satan uses the resources he’s been stockpiling in your heart since you were little:
    • Rejection
    • Abuse
    • Bullying
    • Abandonment
    • Ridicule
    • Shaming
    • Poverty
    • Imprisonment
  • And like physical wildfires, they start small, as with a match.
    • Spiritual wildfires start with thoughts Satan plants in our minds
      • Thoughts that make us
        • Cynical
        • Suspicious
        • Anxious
        • Jealous
        • Vengeful
        • Malicious
        • Angry
        • Fearful
      • Those thoughts become words in the form of
        • Gossip
        • Slander
        • Backbiting
        • Murmuring
        • Passive aggressive communication
      • Those words turn into “disorder and every vile practice”
        • Proverbs 26:20–21 (ESV): ²⁰ For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. ²¹ As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
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          • Whisperers and quarrelers are people who constantly start or fan the flame of a conflict with their mouths.

Christ-minded people are peace-minded people

James 3:17-18 (ESV): ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸ And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

© Joshua D. Smith, Ph.D., 2025