United by Faith: The Multiracial Congregation As an Answer to the Problem of Race [Hardcover]

Curtiss Paul DeYoung (Author), Michael O. Emerson (Author), George Yancey (Author), Karen Chai Kim (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 2003

In the last four decades, desegregation has revolutionized almost every aspect of life in the United States: schools, businesses, government offices, even entertainment. But there is one area that remains largely untouched, and that is the church. Now comes a major new call for multiracial congregations in every possible setting--a call that is surprisingly controversial, even in the twenty-first century.
In United By Faith, a multiracial team of sociologists and a minister of the Church of God argue that multiracial Christian congregations offer a key to opening the still-locked door between the races in the United States. They note, however, that a belief persists--even in African-American and Latino churches--that racial segregation is an acceptable, even useful practice. The authors examine this question from biblical, historical, and theological perspectives to make their case. They explore the long history of interracialism in the church, with specific examples of multiracial congregations in the United States. They cite examples ranging from the abolitionist movement to an astonishing 1897 camp meeting in Alabama that brought together hundreds of whites and blacks literally into the same tent. Here, too, is a critical account of the theological arguments in favor of racial separation, as voiced in the African-American, Latino, Asian-American, Native-American, and white contexts. The authors respond in detail, closing with a foundation for a theology suited to sustaining multiracial congregations over time.
Faith can be the basis for healing, but too often Christian faith has been a field for injury and division. In this important new book, readers will glimpse a way forward, a path toward once again making the church the basis for racial reconciliation in our still-splintered nation.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As America grows ever more ethnically diverse, Christian churches remain racially homogeneous. This state of affairs must end, argues this earnest blend of religious moralizing and social science; indeed, church integration is so central both to the Christian mission and to racial equality at large that "the twenty-first century must be the century of multi-racial congregations." The authors, professors either of sociology or "reconciliation studies," base their claims on theology, church history and sociology. They look back to the diversity and cosmopolitanism of the early Church as a model for contemporary Christians, and trace the legacy of racism and segregation in American churches and attempts to overcome them. Drawing on questionnaires, interviews with church members and leaders, and on-site studies of four racially mixed congregations, they probe both the promise and pitfalls of church integration. The authors respond to minority critics who value uniracial churches as hothouses for distinctive worship styles, rallying points for activism and refuges from white social hegemony, and stress that integrated churches can and should guard against assimilationist pressures, preserve the unique cultures of all racial groups and cultivate a racially diverse church leadership. They never quite demonstrate the world-historical centrality of racially mixed congregations, and they concede the aura of awkward dutifulness that accompanies self-conscious attempts at church integration, observing that congregations are not truly integrated until all the racial groups feel somewhat uncomfortable in the resulting milieu. Still, the authors make a good case that this is a cross that Christian churches should take up.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Groundbreaking in establishing the moral and ethical basis for multiracial churches. It is truly prophetic in asserting that to be the church of Jesus Christ, the American church needs a multiracial movement." --Religious Studies Review

"Their detailed and, indeed, loving work should spark useful conversations."--Washington Post Book World

"An important book that guides believers toward a post-racial form of worshipping and living together. I look out to my multiracial congregation on Sunday mornings and see that it is beautiful, that it works, and that it is a paradigm for the society we must strive to build in the 21st Century. May this volume increase the places we discover that in Christ there is no East or West."--The Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., Senior Minister, Riverside Church, New York

"A beautifully explosive expos� of the power of true Christianity to break down any and all barriers of segregation and usher in the new creation of the Spirit wherein no one will be excluded-a courageous, visionary and realistic blueprint for congregations of the 3rd millennium."--Fr. Virgilio Elizondo, Mexican American Cultural Center, San Antonio, and University of Notre Dame

"Finally, we have a reasoned and hopeful response to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s oft-quoted indictment of Christianity in America, that 'eleven o'clock is America's most segregated hour'; a clear and powerful articulation of Jesus' vision of the church as a 'house of prayer for all nations,' projecting a compelling vision for the North American church in the 21st century--racially inclusive, culturally diverse, fully invested in the principle and practice of Christian unity. Together with its companion volume, Divided by Faith, United by Faith demonstrates how Christians can enhance our witness to the world by rejecting racism and modeling reconciliation in our own congregations." --Cheryl J. Sanders, Professor of Christian Ethics, Howard University School of Divinity, and Senior Pastor of the Third Street Church of God, Washington, D.C.

"A radical challenge to the traditional way of doing church. It is a must read for those who know that business as usual is no longer acceptable! It is a Kingdom call that will make some mad and others sad. You may not like or agree with everything in the book, but you will be blessed and stretched by one of the most important books of the 21st century. Read it! Talk about it! Share it with others and watch the walls of racial exclusion fall like the walls of Jericho."--Dr. Frank M. Reid, III, Senior Pastor, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Baltimore

"A timely, empowering, and hugely important book for the Church. It accurately details the cultural/ethnic shift in America that, like an avalanche cascading down a mountain, poses a threatening challenge for the church. Can people of diverse communities find spiritual and social fulfillment, a genuine experience of corporate belonging, and loving relationships in the same church? United by Faith shows that this is not only possible but that it was the norm in the early church. As we recognize God's sovereign purposes behind these shifts and embrace them, we will be empowered to present to our fragmented society an amazing 'family portrait' of a loving and caring multi-cultural community of lovers of Jesus. The book's theology is sound, its scholarship excellent, and most importantly, its applications possible!"--Richard Twiss, Enrolled Member, Rosebud Lakota/Sioux Tribe; President, Wiconi International; and author of One Church Many Tribes

"This book was a huge gift to me. It filled in several more pieces to the puzzle we've been working on at Willow, as we move with great internationality toward becoming a multi-cultural, Acts 2 church."--Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195152158
• ISBN-13: 978-0195152159
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #766,007 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read for Christians, December 24, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: United by Faith: The Multiracial Congregation As an Answer to the Problem of Race (Hardcover)

A multiethnic group of authors (white, black, asian) tackle the topic of multiethnic Christian congregations (defined as congregations where no race makes up more the 80% of the congregation). These churches are rare today, and the authors lay out the argument for the need and benefit of multiracial congregations. From the sound theological basis the authors lay out to vignettes about successful multiethnic churches to debasing contemporary arguments in support of segregation, this book has it all. You will come away with a better understanding of the multiethnic church and the need for more such churches today, as well as an excitement for the task ahead.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Alternate Vision, October 6, 2006

By 

Stephen S. Stanley "Steve Stanley" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: United by Faith: The Multiracial Congregation As an Answer to the Problem of Race (Hardcover)

This book stands as a profound appeal to North American Christians to accept the Church's unique challenge to offer a Biblical social vision to the larger culture. The authors' hermeneutic argues for an often overlooked understanding of the true multicultural people of God. The Church in its diversity can present a new cultural alternative by visibly demonstrating that the "wall of separation" has indeed been removed by Christ. Not claiming to have all the answers, the authors seek to help develop new sensibilities in Christians that will recognize and confront the pervasive influence of cultures of origin.

The book's outline of the problem, its biblical exposition, and its narratives of possibility lay a strong foundational argument for greater, wider reflection from Christians in North America, and elsewhere for that matter. Further consideration of diverse forms of congregational tradition and cultural context could enhance a continuing discussion, but the authors have already succeeded in their inspiring call for a greater engagement and faithfulness by the Church. This book should be read and discussed in real-life congregations.

17 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars We need better answers, February 26, 2004

By 

John Roxborogh (Dunedin New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: United by Faith: The Multiracial Congregation As an Answer to the Problem of Race (Hardcover)

I would like to be more positive about this book than I feel able to be. It asks some good questions and it does tell some great stories. The cause of desegration in church and society, and the need for credible multicultural Christian witness certainly requires a combination of theology, history and sociology such as this book attempts. However in my view the overall treatment is unnecessarily disappointing.

Difficulties relate to taking Christian support for desegration as the exegetical key to the authors' historical and biblical understanding, a naive hermeneutic between New Testament past and contemporary present, a somewhat populist and slightly moralistic tone, and an inability to come to terms with the size of the multicultural issue. In addition some overaching difficulties derive from the authors' apparent assumption that the congregation is the fundamental unit of church, the one in which the cultural diversity of the church always needs to be represented. A wider view of what constitutes church and a less simplistic linkage between past and present would have greatly improved the quality and application of their research.

The North American historical experience at the heart of the their concern is, however tragic, neither universal in the problems it created nor of global relevance in the solutions it has tried. The reading of history through the lens of this experience has not only affected the reading of biblical and historical sources, it has also led to a new paradigm of what the authors believe to be a Christian imperative. How quickly we have moved from justification of "homogeneous unit principles" to the equally inadequate idea that all congregations must be multiracial! There seems to be a lack of understanding about what is involved in applying examples from the New Testament era into patterns of church life today. Can't we do better than this?

The development of governance and worship cultures for multicultural congregations is more difficult than seems to be acknowledged. I agree many more congregations and denominations need to face that challenge. However there also need to be times and places where the other things that have to be addressed in Christian life can be dealt with without a constant stretch to accommodate a different way of doing things. Both multicultural and monocultural are important, and at different times each has their place. Denominations in particular need help at working with multiple cultures which do not just make assumptions that one dominant culture knows what is best for the rest. Power easily lies in the hands of just one cultural group. I do not get a sense of the authors coming to terms with these dimensions too much. Something is needed beyond toleration and compromise to actually finding a way through it all. A bit less prophetic imperative for a new model church and bit more sophistication about what realising Christian values actually entails would help the credibility of their passionate concern.

While there are moving stories of courageous efforts and symbolic actions in support of racial desegration, the long haul remains complex. Sometimes it is the needs of minority cultures not just the prejudice of dominant cultures which lead to different groups having their own churches.

This may be a book which should not be ignored, and it will hopefully inspire work which is more sophisticated in its hermeneutics. We need to look to global as well as USA experience to delve more deeply into what is actually involved in making Christian multiculturalism work. The authors are right about one thing. Our churches do not find it easy to embody at one place and at the same time the diversity of cultures that are part of the Body of Christ.