- You don't notice you're all the same.
- You commit to welcome and treat equally any different person who stumbles your way. Language of being "color blind" used, while not really seeing the different.
- You feel discomfort that you do not reflect your community.
- You tokenize any "border" people who are different but can handle your homogeneity. You may be awkwardly over-friendly to visitors who are different.
- Same is the host, showing hospitality to the different, maybe "helping" them.
- "Bridge" people come, who begin to weave difference into your identity. A synthesis begins. Same feels increasing discomfort. Resistance increases.
- Different takes over key leadership roles. Same likely feels significant discomfort over systemic culture change. Revolt may break out. Some "base" diversity may begin to come.
- At some point, a new multi-ethnic equilibrium emerges.
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Thoughts on Kingdom Diversification
Thoughts on stages of kingdom diversification:
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1 comment:
Ken, the way you explain the diversification seems to assume a hierarchical model. If the model of the church is more broad in its decision making than less resistance would occur, unless the person ever you are describing is not too active in participation with its mission. I also think a church truly committed to diversification that they are missing the point of the mission of the Kingdom of God. Diversification is a side effect of the mission.
The other side of diversification is the stranger coming into the church and not really the subject of this blog post, but those who experience it would probably give it a good dialogue.
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