Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church: Mandate, Commitments and Practices of a Diverse Congregation [Hardcover]

Mark DeYmaz (Author), George Yancey (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 2007

Through personal stories, proven experience and a thorough analysis of the biblical text, Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church illustrates both the biblical mandate for the multi-ethnic church as well as the seven core commitments required to bring it about. Mark DeYmaz, pastor of one of the most proven multi-ethnic churches in the country, writes both from his experience and his extensive study of how to plant, grow, and encourage more ethnically diverse churches. He argues that the "homogenous unit principle" will soon become irrelevant and that the most effective way to spread the Gospel in an increasingly diverse world is through strong and vital multi-ethnic churches.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Q&A with Mark DeYmaz, Author of Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church

Q. What is the big idea of your book?

A. Local churches should increasingly embrace ethnic and economic diversity for the sake of the Gospel.

Q. What prompted you to write your book?

A. An increasingly diverse and cynical society is no longer finding credible the message of God's love for all people as preached from segregated pulpits and pews. For too long segregation along the lines of race and class has been promoted as a strategy for planting, growing and developing local churches. While pragmatic, this strategy is not biblical and unintentionally undermines the very Gospel we preach.

Q. What is the most challenging concept in your book?

A. That the multi-ethnic church is not optional, but biblically mandated in the New Testament for the sake of the Gospel: envisioned by Christ (John 17:20-23); described by Luke (Acts 11:19-27); prescribed by Paul (Ephesians).

Q. How does your book improve leaders' lives?

A. By challenging and correcting long-held, erroneous, assumptions concerning the segregation of the local church, this book equips and empowers leaders to be more biblical and relevant in the 21st century for the sake of the Gospel.

Q. What's your favorite sentence/quote from your book?

A. "Jesus taught us to pray, 'Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.' So if the kingdom of heaven is not segregated, then why on earth is the local church?"

Q. If leaders only have time to read one chapter of your book right now, which one would you recommend and why?

A. Chapter 3: The Pauline Mystery. This chapter will completely rework the reader's understanding of Paul's letter to the Ephesians in an exegetically sound way.

Q. Step out of your role as author -- if you were recommending your book to a friend, what would you tell them?

A. This book will help you understand and articulate what it is you've been feeling for a long time: that diverse people ought to be able to walk, work, and worship God together as one in and through the local church.

Review

“The Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas is influencing a systemic rethinking of things and setting an example that few churches to date have been willing to address.”--From the preface byU.S. Senator Mark L. Pryor

 

“We cannot ignore the topic of multi-ethnic churches as we live in a multi-ethnic world. Mark DeYmaz writes [with] practical insight, not from theory but from leading an extremely strategic multi-ethnic church that is paving the way for so many others.”

--Dan Kimball, senior pastor, Vintage Faith Church, Santa Cruz, California, and author, They Like Jesus But Not the Church

 

“Mark DeYmaz has provided the body of Christ with the answer to one of its most embarrassing dilemmas: Sunday segregation. Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church is a very biblical plan for church leaders committed to building a church that looks like the world in which they minister.”--Miles McPherson, senior pastor, The Rock Church, San Diego, California

 

“This book unpacks theological and practical principles for local churches interested in truly serving their neighboring communities in an increasingly diverse America.  It paves the way for the future of the local church and the next generations of its leaders.”--D. J. Chuang, director, Asian American Church Research at Leadership Network and executive director at L² Foundation

 

“Drawing from his invaluable experience as a multi-ethnic church pastor, Mark DeYmaz writes with keen practical insight and foresight.  For those committed to building multi-ethnic churches for Christ in an increasingly diverse culture, this is a must read.”--Dr. Paul Louis Metzger, professor, Christian Theology and Theology of Culture, Multnomah Biblical Seminary, Portland, Oregon

 

  “Here’s the book many of us have been looking for—a book that lays a solid biblical foundation for the multi-ethnic church and includes the building plans!  Whether seeking to plant a multi-ethnic church or transform a homogenous congregation, this book will inspire and show the way.”--Jonathan Seda,senior pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church, Dover, Delaware

 

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (October 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787995517
• ISBN-13: 978-0787995515
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 0.9 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,356 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #78 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Specific Demographics > Ethnic Studies
  • #86 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Evangelism > Missions & Missionary Work

More About the Author

Mark DeYmaz is the founding pastor and directional leader of the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas (www.mosaicchurch.net), a multi-ethnic and economically diverse church where significant percentages of Black and White Americans, together with men and women from more than 30 nations, walk, work and worship God together as one.

A recognized leader in the emerging Multi-ethnic Church Movement, his book, Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church (Jossey-Bass/Leadership Network, 2007), provides the Biblical mandate for the multi-ethnic church and outlines seven core commitments required to bring it about. The book was chosen as a finalist for a 2008 Christianity Today Book of the Year Award and for a Resource of the Year Award sponsored by Outreach Magazine, in both cases a nominee in the Pastoral Leadership category.

Mark is a contributing editor for Leadership Journal and posts weekly on his blog, Glue, at www.markdeymaz.com. His next book, Ethnic Blends (Zondervan/Leadership Network) will be released in April 2010.

A former member of Little Rock's Racial and Cultural Diversity Commission and past chair of the city's Faith Alliance, Mark is a co-founder of the Mosaix Global Network (www.mosaix.info) based in Denton, Texas, an organization dedicated to inspiring unity and diversity in the local church throughout North America and beyond.

Married since 1987, Mark and Linda have four children - Zack, Emily, Will and Kate. Linda is the author of two books, including Mommy, Please Don't Cry (Multnomah, 1996), a 2004 Retailer's Choice Nominee and anointed resource providing hope and comfort for parents who grieve the loss of a child.

Mark is a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA (B.S., Psychology), Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon (M.A., Exegetical Theology) and Phoenix Seminary in Phoenix, Arizona (D. Min.).

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Your Father's Multi-cultural Book November 3, 2007

By Robert W. Kellemen

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Not Your Father's Multi-cultural Book

Mark DeYmaz has the credentials to write this book: pastor of the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas, a multi-ethnic and economically diverse church where men and women from more than thirty nations currently worship God together. And he writes it unlike so much of what has recently been penned on the topic. He artfully integrates theory/theology and methodology/practice.

He unites these twin themes around seven core commitments of a multi-ethnic church: embrace dependence, take intentional steps, empower diverse leadership, develop cross-cultural relationships, pursue cross-cultural competence, promote a spirit of inclusion, and mobilize for impact.

Pastor Miles McPherson has said it well. "Mark DeYmaz has provided the body of Christ with the answer to one of its most embarrassing dilemmas: Sunday segregation. Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church is a very biblical plan for church leaders committed to building a church that looks like the world in which they minister."

Church leaders already along the path and those no where yet near the path all need this book. It's challenging exhortations, biblical explanations, and practical implementations are invaluable.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of
Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for every church leader February 20, 2008

By Andrew Wilson

Format:Hardcover

Being in leadership at a multi-ethnic church I have read most of the books that are considered landmarks in terms of coming to grips with the `race' issue in the local church. Mark DeYmaz's book is unique in terms of what it offers.

It is unique because it does not focus on issues of racial reconciliation. It does not focus on issues of cultural anthropology and sociology. This book starts with theology and finishes with practice.

Many of us have started multi-ethnic churches because it was the `right thing to do' - and it is the right thing to do. Many of us have started multi-ethnic churches out of a sense of calling or leading from God. What Mark has done is show that this sense of calling corresponds to a mandate from God that is thoroughly biblical. It is the heartbeat of God.

Mark does not ignore issues of power or the very real stench of systemic racism within the church. He challenges these issues head on. It is neither the untested musings of a seminary theologian nor the pragmatic response of a frustrated practitioner. This is a book written from the perspective of deep theological insights and strong exegesis backed by years of practical involvement in multi-ethnic ministry. This book is theology in practice.

As such there are stories and examples that inspire any in multi-ethnic ministry and resonate for others involved in similar ministries. This book is not a how-to book although there are basic principles and guidelines in the second section of the book. These simply reflect the difficult path that you walk down when you are involved in multi-ethnic church.

This book rightly challenges all of us who are involved in the local church. In a world where segregation does not happen at school, at sport, in marriage, in almost every sphere of society, why does it still happen at church? How disconcerting it must be for a teenager who comes to faith and has known diversity in every aspect of their life only to find a segregated church.

Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church is compulsory reading for our leadership team. Every church leader should read this book regardless of the diversity or homogeneity of their church. Then after reading this book they should answer this question from the book?

If the kingdom of heaven is not segregated, why on earth is MY Church? (adapted from page 4 of the book I have changed THE to MY).

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Multiethnic Church: Biblical Mandate? May 14, 2009

By Beryl Banks

Format:Hardcover

Mark DeYmaz writes my type of book, a list of seven-core commitments "that preach," a clear biblical mandate for building a healthy multiethnic church, and testimony from the field of the three primary situations that pastors find themselves in: planting, revitalizing, and transforming churches to live into the multiracial future that we imagine, and God is preparing for us in Glory.

I found refreshing DeYmaz' connection of the biblical mandate for transforming the homogeneous church and the follow through with a testimony from Village church in Oregon. Real pastors in places where the church may not be healthiest, but is experiencing fruit, need more than just a prophetic word, or denominational edict to be the healthiest they can be, they need to be convinced by the word of God. As with all three testimonies, the reader will be encouraged, and identify with real struggles along the road to revitalization, planting, or transforming.

My favorite part of DeYmaz' book is the exposition of the John 17 prayer of Christ. This identification with the glorification events of Christ in the final week, to building a healthy multiethnic church, I must admit, caught me completely by surprise. Basically, Jesus prays that we may all be one, most remember or exegete that part fine. DeYmaz goes to the next step asking the question, "Why does Christ pray so fervently for future followers to be completely united as one?" The point is that Jesus isn't just making a high-priest statement of fact rather a declaration of what the healthiest church would look like, and the source of the power to fulfill the Great Commission - being one.

Jesus broke down the dividing wall not just between God and Man, but between Jew and Gentile, male and female, slave and free. Do we believe it enough to transform, revitalize, and plant the places where we gather to conform to the prayer of Christ? Is the God we propagate powerful enough to make a way for this complete image of unity of which Jesus prays? Or will we continue living with an impotent God only able to create worship spaces of ethnic homogeneity. I believe this is part of the challenge of DeYmaz' book.