Change Has Come to the White House - Now, What About God's House?

President-Elect Obama declared last night, "Change has come to America." Obama's inference is to the American Presidency and American government, but his election underscores more than just a political change. President-Elect Obama, the person, reflects the changing ethnic makeup of the nation that he will soon lead.

It is no secret that Obama comes from a interracial family. America too has become a nation of many different ethnic makeups where people often marry or have children with someone outside their own respective ethnic culture. At one time (even in my lifetime), this was viewed as taboo. Of course now, especially with the thirty and under crowd, it is seen as very normal and universally accepted.

According to David T. Olson, author of "the American Church in Crisis," our country's changing ethnic makeup is creating three trends that every church in America needs to address.

First, America is becoming more and more multiethnic with every passing year due to immigration and birthrates. In 2005, the Hispanic birthrate(99 in 1000) almost doubled the Anglo(58 in 1000) in America. Even the African-American
(67 in 1000) and the Asian (67 in 1000) birthrates were higher than the Anglo.

Secondly, global Christianity is changing. The Christian church is growing rapidly in the Southern and Eastern hemispheres, and declining in the Northern and Western hemisphere. As the power centers move to the south and east, the multiethnic church is becoming the normal and natural place of Christianity.

Thirdly, David T. Oslon writes, "The key influence of multiethnicity is its challenge to power and privilege. In the past in America, these qualities have been the domain of Anglos. Jesus himself countered the Roman culture view of these two traits when he challenged the Roman view of power and authority with the model of servanthood. I think it is true that we as American Christians have let the world determine our view of power and authority rather than the Scriptures. The result has been a Anglo Saxon Christianity in America that is increasingly affluent, suburban, and educated. A future multiethnic church will undoubtedly bring to the Christian church a new awareness of these issues from a biblical perspective so that the new people of God, the church, may truly reflect the diversity and equality inherent in the gospel."

The acid test for every church in America is how we will choose to answer the question I asked continually in my book "The Culture Crafters," - Will we choose to engage our culture as the New Testament church did? Or, will we continue to shrink in number and influence by expecting the world and its needs to come to us within the four walls of our churches?

Rapid change is taking place in America and now we are even seeing it in politics and the White House. What about God's House? How will God's House respond to the multiethnic ever-changing face of America?

-Pastor Randy