"Does race matter when pastoring?"
About two or three times a years when talking about Mission Bay Community Church, someone makes the assumptions that MBCC is an Asian American congregation. After trying to politely correct that assumption I am again left with the internal question as Racial Ethnic pastor serving a non-Racial Ethnic congregation, "Does race matter when pastoring?"
Full Post: http://breyeschow.typepad.com/faithblog/2006/06/does_race_matte.html
Monday, August 07, 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Interesting article. Race matters as much as the people in the congregation want it to matter. The trend toward ethnic churches seems like a form of segregation, even though it is the preference of those attending the church.
There is an assumption that non anglo pastors will automatically pastor churches of whatever race or nationality their roots dictate. Hispanic pastors must have hispanic congregations, Chinese pastors must have Chinese Churches, Sudanese pastors must have Sudanese churches, etc. Recently I talked to a non anglo who wanted to pastor an anglo church and was not being considered because he spoke Spanish, as well as English, very well. He's not even hispanic, although he is not anglo either, he just speaks Spanish well. It's another type of discrimination.
When a pastor is second, third, fourth, etc generation non anglo, why should that pastor be forced to have a certain type of congregation based on his/her genetic makeup? (In this case it is not the churches who will not accept him but the hierarchy that wants to pidgeonhole him. Anglos have no problem with him as a leader, non anglos do.)
Whether or not it matters is an individual preference call. I care more about the individual than their genetic makeup. I prefer nice people who preach the gospel.
Post a Comment