Last week I spent 4 days at The Ecclesia National Gathering in Chevy Chase, MD. This is usually one of the highlights of my year and this year didn’t disappoint. The pastors and leaders in this network consist of some of my closest friends. Dallas Willard and Bob and Mary Hopkins were the featured speakers this year. We also had a lot of opportunities to hear from other leaders from within the network during the week as well. Of course Dallas was pretty mindblowing, in fact, I’m still processing all he threw at us and I’m pretty convinced that I need to read his new book to even come close to having a chance of comprehending what the heck he was talking about. I do know that I really appreciated being at a conference where I wasn’t just confirmed in what I already believed, but I was challenged and critiqued in some significant ways.
Besides all the good content and conversation we had with Dallas, Bob and Mary, and the other leaders, perhaps the thing that impacted me the most was the discussion we had around the topic of diversity (or lack-thereof). You see, I’d venture to guess that of the 150 or so people who were there, there were only 4-5 people who were not white. Now, while we have room to grow we’ve actually done a pretty good job of having women represented in the network. But it was more clear than ever that we have a long, long way to go when it comes to being even a bit more non-white.
In fact, Drew Hart was in attendance and in a recent blog post he described the conference as “the whitest event I have ever been to.” A statement like this is something that tends to catch your attention! The church at large loves to talk about diversity, but often has a hard time living it out. The following statement from Drew’s blog cut deeply, “Despite everyone’s agreement through many conversations about the elephant in the room (lack of pigmentation), it didn’t seem hopeful that anything was really going to change.” Now, part of me wanted to get mad at Drew for saying this. But, he’s being honest and I really, really appreciate that. And frankly, he has a good point.
My good friend, Laurence Tom (the one Asian-American at the conference) delivered a beautiful talk in the last session on the last day. He took a que from Dallas Willard’s book, Renovation of the Heart, and talked about Dallas’ VIM principle. The VIM principle basically helps layout a process for change. Dallas argues that you must have Vision, Intention and Means if you want to make any kind of change in your life. LT helpfully applied this principle to our diversity problem.
If we are going to see diversity in a network like Ecclesia, we must be thinking through all three. I believe we have vision for diversity. I know my brothers and sisters in the network well enough to know that we all lament the lack of diversity in the group and that we all understand that the Kingdom is not white and middle class. I believe we also even have intention. We want to do something about it. Drew’s blog post hurts because we really don’t want what he said to be true. We want to change it. We intend to change it. But intention is usually were it stops. It’s the “means” that is really, really hard.
So, what does the “means” look like for the Ecclesia Network? How do we go forward? How does a group as large as ours begin to make strides in this?
I think the problem and the answer lie in the beauty of our being a relational network. I think the relational nature of our group is actually the reason we are so white. To be a relational network means that you can’t just sign up somewhere to be part of it. You have to literally relationally connect to one or two churches/pastors/leaders in the network and begin a significant process of getting to know the network to see if partnership will really work for both parties. The fact is, as we have formed over the years, we have naturally made connections with people mostly like us. The people that came this year were people that we invited.
What this means is that if Ecclesia really is a relational network, and the national gathering lacked diversity, then it means too few of us have diverse friendships back home.
Sure, it’s human nature to want to associate with people who are like you. But, the Kingdom of God demands a different way forward. If Ecclesia is going to change it is going to be because we (the pastors, leaders and congregations that make up the network) are going to have to do the hard, grassroots work of intentionally building relationships with people who are not like us. This needs to start in our own towns, our own backyards and in our own neighborhoods.
Ecclesia will not get diverse because we have a Latino, Black or Asian speakers. Yes, that needs to happen because we need to honor the diversity of the Kingdom of God in our gatherings. But, having speakers will not necessarily make us diverse. If diversity is what we are after, we need more than diverse speakers at our gatherings. What we need are friendships. Real, honest to goodness, authentic friendships. This begins with people like me reaching out and growing friendships with the many local Latino leaders and congregations in my area.
We like to talk about how hard it is to move the titanic. While Ecclesia is a relatively small network, its still big enough to get overwhelmed about moving the whole thing. But, because we’re relational, we don’t have to move the Titanic. In fact, because we’re relational Ecclesia isn’t the Titanic.
Change in a relational network like Ecclesia happens from fringes, from the grassroots. If we want change, then we (the pastors, leaders and congregation) must be the ones leading it. We cannot sit around waiting for the “Ecclesia Network” to make changes (as if it were some large organizational entity!). We are the Ecclesia Network. If we want it to change then we need to start making changes ourselves.
Really, when it all comes down to it, diversity in the Ecclesia Network isn’t what we are after. What we are after is a more authentic expression of the Kingdom of God. A diverse network is a nice, happy by-product of our churches being more authentic expressions of the Kingdom of God.
In 2011, the diversity will only happen if, in 2010, the seeds of friendships are sowed. In fact, we might not see those seeds sprout till 2012. Long lasting change doesn’t usually happen from gimmicks or tricks. Long lasting change usually comes from having, as Eugene Peterson would say, ” a long obedience in the same direction.”
So, thanks to my brother LT, I believe I understand my role in the “means.” I need to start some friendships and, as LT said in his talk, I need to put myself in a ton of situations where I’m the only white guy in the room. If you are part of Ecclesia, will you join me in being the awkward, goofy looking white guy in the room more often this year?
There have been a number of others who have posted their thoughts on the gathering as well:
- JR Briggs
- JR Rozko
- Ben Sternke
- Geoff Holsclaw
- David Fitch (here and here)
- Here are all the tweets tagged #eng2010
- The Conference Liveblog
J.R. Briggs » Ecclesia National Gathering thoughts » Attempting to behold the miracle long enough without falling asleep said...
1[...] UPDATE: Here are some good (and provoking) thoughts from Todd Hiestand. [...]
02/23/10 10:12 AM | Comment Link
Esther said...
2Glad to see you took your tweets and further developed your thoughts on this topic.
I was part of a church a few years back that had diversity in it’s pews but what I witnessed happening over time was the white upper class pastor began to carry the diversity stats with pride. He seemed to place more emphasis on announcing in church how diverse his was compared to others, while relationally spending liitle to no time with those in the church who were of different color than himself.
It can’t be diversity for diversitys sake. It has to be like you said Todd, ” What we are after is a more authentic expression of the Kingdom of God.”
02/23/10 10:29 AM | Comment Link
Ben Sternke said...
3This is an excellent post, Todd. Thanks for the the thoughts.
02/23/10 11:06 AM | Comment Link
Todd said...
4Esther, yeah I think that diversity can become an idol when it becomes an end to itself. That’s why i am so grateful for my, while few, honest-to-goodness friendships with people who are not white, middle class males. They have the wisdom and courage to gently call me beyond myself while at the same time not letting me seek diversity outside of relationship.
Ben, thanks.
02/23/10 11:11 AM | Comment Link
Logan Garth Swanger said...
5Great comments, Todd. When I visited The Well during my January study leave, I found that out of the four missional communities I visited, The Well was the most ethnically diverse of all of them. You’re walking the talk. Blessings on you and the entire Ecclesia Network.
02/23/10 12:24 PM | Comment Link
Jason Coker said...
6Great post Todd.
This is a significant issue in the Vineyard as well. However, I will say this: Much depends not only on your interpersonal intentions, but on your area demographics. Those Vineyards that have successfully diversified are not in the suburbs. They’re in urban areas or university areas, and that makes all the difference. Their intention went beyond their personal connections, it tracked all the way back to where they decided to ground themselves to begin with.
02/23/10 12:29 PM | Comment Link
Todd said...
7Logan, thanks but i would say that if we were the most diverse, that speaks volumes just how big the issue is!
Jason, you bring up an important point. I totally agree, area demographics do have a big impact on diversity. We’re in suburbia and the fact is, there are a lot more white people around here than not. Yet, at the same time, I’m finding that the fringes of suburbia is where the non-white folk reside. In our area, we have some very large pockets of Hispanic folks that we need to forge friendships with. Again, not for diversity sake but because that’s what the kingdom of God is all about. We have so much to learn from each other. The thing with suburbia is, diversity is available, but its harder to come by and harder to find and a lot, lot, lot less natural. It’s just not going to happen by accident. Of course, I don’t think we should stop planting in suburbia (not implying that you are suggesting that) but we have to be thinking critically about this if that is where we are.
02/23/10 12:47 PM | Comment Link
Jason Coker said...
8Hey man, I JUST noticed your header…nice.
Agreed, I think we have a responsibility to eschatologically reflect the foretaste of the kingdom, and that includes racial reconciliation.
Our situation is a bit similar to yours. Oceanside is a kind of minor urban/suburb, but it is fantastically diverse…and very polarized. The Caucasians, Afro-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and Pacific Islanders in my area are all very intentionally self-segregated, and there are serious tensions between some of these groups. I’m not really sure yet how to tackle the challenge, but I think it is incumbent upon us to try.
02/23/10 12:53 PM | Comment Link
Todd said...
9jason, that fact that you just noticed it is a problem :) unless this is the first time you’ve visited my blog, which is possible since i rarely blog anymore!
And yes, we must try. It’s good, messy Kingdom work.
02/23/10 12:56 PM | Comment Link
Jason Coker said...
10I’m usually reading from Google reader…
02/23/10 12:59 PM | Comment Link
john chandler said...
11Todd,
Been reflecting on this, and as I told you before, I totally agree and resonate.
Except…if I may wonder aloud about something…
JR Woodward did a pretty great job of bring diverse voices to the table at Verge LA last November, and I think it’s clear he has a diverse circle of relationships, as you’d expect in LA County. While several voices from Ecclesia, the more diverse voices were not. And I wonder if they are drawn to be, even with those relationships JR has built.
I think we have to ask ourselves if the nature of the questions we are asking in Ecclesia are primarily white questions. Generally speaking, I think it is more true in white North America culture that the church has moved to the edge of culture than it is in other cultures. Mission pushes into relationship across demographics…I totally agree. And so I wonder if our understanding of mission form the post-Christian fringe of culture is limiting us too much and also defining what Ecclesia looks like.
02/24/10 11:39 AM | Comment Link
Todd said...
12john, no, you many not wonder aloud about something. i don’t like it when people publicly question with me on my blog. especially jokers like you! ha!
seriously though, good questions. Didn’t the Indian actor that who spoke on thursday?(i forget his name) come with JR, or at least the LA crew. I do remember Drew Hart saying that our conversation on the Holy Spirit wasn’t a conversation they would ever have, which I found intriguing…
i think our emphasis on the post-christian fringe might be limiting our diversity, but i’m pretty sure that’s an important conversation so i don’t necessarily know where that leaves us.
02/24/10 1:32 PM | Comment Link
Pat said...
13Todd, et al –
Great conversation topic here. The church I currently belong with is quite simimilar to the one that I tried to plant in vision/values/style, but it’s urban (mine was commuter exurb), diverse and doing great work in social justice that we didn’t get to before we closed down.
I find that diversity a key part of our church. Two of three founding pastors are female and all three are nonwhite. More importantly to me, their cultural backgrounds are different than mine also – Native American, Hawaiian; people who weren’t part of the majority in any sense. Over half of our church is nonwhite, and at 40 I’m one of the oldest ones of the community. I think a large part of the reason for the diversity of the church is the leadership. I think it’s nearly impossible to have a diverse church with white middle class leadership of that church.
The Gospel sounds different when I hear it from them. It’s still Christ, and yet it’s got tinges of identity and community and tribe and family that I don’t get on my own. I learn more about my own Celtic Christian roots through hearing about island Christianity than I do any other way.
It has been important for me to NOT project my ideas about race and culture, but simply to listen. That can be hard to do, but as we all are relating with nonwhite folks, it’s the only posture we can begin with. Listen and ask questions. Learn.
The Gospel and its communicators are beautifully multifaceted, and I wouldn’t go back to a church which was led only by white middle class guys like me. Don’t get me wrong – I think I’m a fair leader, but my voice has been well played out in Christian history, and others need to be heard more than mine does.
I do savor the 2 or 3 times a year that I get to preach at my church, but I prefer to listen when others speak from their own perspective. Christ speaks in the differences between us.
02/24/10 4:41 PM | Comment Link
The Non-Cynical Conference | for the time being said...
14[...] want to add to the reflections offered by Rozko, Hiestand, Sternke, Hart, Briggs, Fitch, Chandler, and others on the Ecclesia National Gathering. They have [...]
02/26/10 9:11 AM | Comment Link
The Ecclesia Network » Blogger Reviews of the 2010 National Gathering » A Network of Missional Churches said...
15[...] Ecclesia National Gathering & Diversity & Dallas Willard — Todd Hiestand [...]
03/1/10 11:17 AM | Comment Link
JMorrow said...
16Todd,
While I don’t believe diversity for its own sake does anyone much good, the lack of it has more to do with inertia and lack of intention than anything else. That same risktaking, lose your life to save it mentality has to brought to bear on the subject of cross-cultural reconciliation as any other area of discipleship. This is to me one of the things a waiting world is watching us for. I think this comment by you says it all:
“I need to put myself in a ton of situations where I’m the only white guy in the room.”
My personal history has thrust me into the ‘only African American in the room’ role in one way or another since I came out of diapers. Flash forward about 25 years later and it really doesn’t phase me anymore. But I do realize how uneasy that can be for someone (and this could be someone of ANY ethnicity) who hasn’t logged those kind of miles. It’s intimidating yes, but its also very missionary. From another walk of life, its also the kind of thing a community organizer, or when necessary a politician might do for the sake of coalition building. If they can do it, surely the change can charge into the breach.
I also agree with a previous commenter that building those relationships would not only change the composition of the conference, but its content and subject matter as well. This is a good thing, because though I believe the questions being asked on the post-Christian fringe are important, they may also be responded to with insights from the marginal and hybrid ethnic diversity in our midst.
Blessings as you step out the boat on faith!
03/1/10 12:36 PM | Comment Link