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A Mosaic of Believers: Diversity and Innovation in a Multiethnic Church

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Looking under the conventional labels used to depict religious believers, ethnographers and cultural historians are uncovering some unexpected findings. We know, for example, that religious conservatives are likely to vote Republican, but what, exactly, does it mean to be a religious conservative? If the scholarship of historians like R. Marie Griffith or sociologists like Gerardo Marti is any indication, it does not necessarily mean turning one's back on the modern world. [...] Marti's 'A Mosaic of Believers: Diversity and Innovation in a Multiethnic Church,' to be published next month, offers a case study of a Los Angeles-based church that is at one and the same time Southern Baptist in affiliation and conservative theologically and attractive to a young, primarily single Hollywood clientele working at cutting-edge cultural jobs in the entertainment industry. As such books illustrate, the ethnographic trend overlaps with interest in the complexities of religion and American culture and their intersection. While religion has certainly done its share to shape American culture, it is also the case that American culture shapes religion, and in very powerful ways.

-- From Alan Wolfe, "Scholars Infuse Religion With Cultural Light," The Chronicle of Higher Education

Detailed Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
   Mosaic Havens: Dual Movement of Escape and Refuge
   Max Weber and the Dynamic Nature of Ethnicity
   Overview

Chapter 1: Multi-Ethnic Churches, Mosaic, and Social Change
   Significance of Multi-ethnic Churches
   Significance of Mosaic
   A Glimpse Into the Future

Chapter 2: Describing Mosaic
   An Oral History
   Unique Aspects of This Congregation

Chapter 3: History, Agency, and the Evangelical Faith: A Reconstruction of Ideology
   Exploring Mosaic's Theological Haven
   Catalytic Preaching and the Shaping of a Congregation
   A Theology of Mission
   The Apostolic Community and the Movement of History

Chapter 4: The Hollywood Connection and the Management of Artistic Talent: A Reconstruction of Involvement
   Exploring Mosaic's Artistic Haven
   Parallels between Mosaic and the Entertainment Industry
   Mobilization as the Core Activity at Mosaic

Chapter 5: Innovation and the Cultivation of Catalytic Leaders: A Reconstruction of Imperative
   Exploring Mosaic's Innovator Haven
   Discovery, Development, and Deployment of Leaders
   Diversification and Innovation through Catalytic Leaders

Chapter 6: Mosaic and the Emerging American Culture: A Reconstruction of an Institution
   Exploring Mosaic's Age Haven
   Reversing the Age Hierarchy
   Cultural Appeal to the Coming Century

Chapter 7: Becoming Mosaic: A Reconstruction of Identity
   Exploring Mosaic's Ethnic Haven
   Charismatic Authority and the Strategic Management of Ethnic Identity
   Charismatic Re-orientation of Ethnic Identity

Conclusion
   Innovation and Diversification in Pursuit of Mission
   Popular Culture, Younger Generations, and the Rejection of Modernity
   Capturing a Movement in Action

Bibliography

Appendix: Methodological Considerations from a Religious Insider
   Qualitative Research and the Dilemma of Researcher Involvement
   Seeking Validity for This Researcher in Studying This Congregation
   Guidelines Offered in Hindsight

Appendix: Women and Leadership at Mosaic

This book is an artform. The work is an in-depth glimpse of the inner-workings of the emerging church that many philosophize and prophesize about, yet never have the opportunity to live within. The care and balance that Marti brought to the project as a pastor and scholar was obvious and reassuring. I am confident that Gerardo's work will provide a methodological basis that provides others with the courage to do the same. This book is timely as the denominational form of Christianity continues to slide into oblivion in the U.S. However, it is a refreshing testament to the fact that God has something more in mind. He's not done with Christianity in the U.S. just yet. He is the God of MORE...much more. Marti's book is a refreshing, uplifting testament to the fact that He is alive and working diligently in our world...He just needs some disciples to hear Him and "Follow Me." Clearly, the finished work spawns more questions and opportunities for additional research, as any substantial research endeavor should.

This book does a masterful job of piecing apart Mosaic, how it is structured and how it operates. It provides facts and unique insights behind the scenes and gives the reader what he needs to understand diversity in a local church that is impacting the world.

-- Quoted from CHOICE Reviews by K. D. Lyon (Jones County Junior College), January 2006.

"Through careful ethnography and masterful application of sociological theory, Marti (sociology, Davidson College) provides a rewarding and insightful study of one of the nation's largest multiethnic churches, Los Angeles's Mosaic."

"Principally, Marti attributes Mosaic's remarkable success to five "havens" of inclusion/involvement within the church that allow transcendence of ethnic separateness in favor of spiritual commonalty. The "theological" haven offers a purposeful ideology of evangelical mission that animates other havens, while the haven of "artistic creativity" harnesses a wealth of Hollywood talent and integrates myriad artistic forms into worship. Analyzing the "innovator" haven, Marti explains how congregants viewed as deviant in organizationally conservative churches frequently become "catalytic leadership" within Mosaic. The "age" haven attracts and empowers young people, especially those fleeing "entrapment" in their parents' monoethnic subcultures."

"A superb chapter explores "ethnic" haven in terms of the fluidity, subjectivity, and situational construction of ethnic identity, allowing emphasis, reconfiguration or muting of ethnicity within Mosaic's context and missiology. Engagingly and accessibly written, this excellent book deserves wide readership among everyone interested in US religion, ethnicity, organizations and urban culture."

"Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries."

-- Quoted from Journal for Scientific Study of Religion by Elaine Howard Ecklund (University of Buffalo, SUNY, and Rice University), September 2006 (Vol 45/No 3), pp. 467-468.

"Mosaic of Believers is a highly readable volume, following in the footsteps of other congregational ethnographies within the sociology of religion (e.g. works by Nancy Ammerman, Brenda Brasher, and R. Stephen Warner)."

"He shows that Mosaic retains its unique mission, in part, by rewarding change-agents, providing a haven for self-starters and leaders."

"Carefully walking the line between overindulgent navel-gazing and unquestioned objectivism, Marti writes an engaging methodological appendix.... Throughout the volume, he implicitly pushes forward a dialogue on the different roles that insiders and outsiders to a religious community have in ethnographic accounts of such settings."

"Overall, this is a strong volume and I look forward to reading Marti's future work."

-- Quoted from "Multiethnic Mix: A Model of Congregational Diversity?" by R. Stephen Warner (University of Illinois at Chicago), The Christian Century, July 26, 2005 (Vol 122/No 15), pp. 26-29.

"As Marti sees it, the key to building a congregation of people from diverse, often alienated ethnic backgrounds is to appeal to them in ways that trump their differences."

"Marti stresses the malleability of identities and the way that being a follower of Jesus Christ at Mosaic "transcends" ethnicity. In so doing he offers an appealing vision of a church that builds on the dynamism of demography and popular culture to overcome the scandal of religious segregation (as well as the specter of civic balkanization)."

"Clearly, Mosaic is spiritually compelling. Its members are on fire with their faith, eager to share it with everyone in Los Angeles. Its leaders take risks that most pastors would not dare."

"His book will be on the syllabus the next time I teach a course on race, ethnicity and gender in American religion."

-- Quoted from Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review by Kathleen Garces-Foley (Cal State Northridge and Marymount University), Fall 2006.

"Marti's analysis is a well-crafted mix of first-person accounts and sociological theory."

"As an assistant pastor at Mosaic during the course of his research, he straddles the religoius insider/outsider tension with ease and precision, and the methodological appendix offers insightful advice for other scholars in this position."

"It also offers valueable insights into the postmodern church movement, and I found the discussion of Mosaic's theological position with regard to premillenialism particularly helpful."

Mosaic's style of church is not just an "L.A. thing" but all across the country as leaders of churches from almost all denominations and hundreds of younger adults starting new churches look to the ministry of pastor Erwin McManus and Mosaic as their North Star. The church grew while experimenting with new structures for congregational ministry and engaging diversity, pluralism, and urbanization.

Other books covering related topics include: Hollywood Faith: Holiness, Prosperity, and Ambition in a Los Angeles Church about a vibrant church meeting in a converted movie theater in the center of Hollywood. A new, practical book on megachurches based on good scholarship is Beyond Megachurch Myths: What We Can Learn from America's Largest Churches (J-B Leadership Network Series). And, an in-depth look at the influence of evangelical megachurches on mainline denominations is The Megachurch and the Mainline: Remaking Religious Tradition in the Twenty-first Century.