All Are Welcome: Toward a Multi-Everything Church

by Leon Brown, Jemar Tisby, Eric Washington

As conversations abound on social media platforms and in the news media, more people are beginning to wonder why ethnic and cultural diversity is increasing in our cities, yet it is not reflected in our churches. Has it ever been reflected? What caused such separation? Are there cultural and relational barriers that prove too difficult to climb for those different than ourselves?An honest assessment of ourselves could demonstrate that the reason most of our churches remain homogenous in diverse cities is because all are not welcome. Differences tend to separate. Therefore it is easiest to gather with those who are similar, but is that the call of the Great Commission, and is that the outworking of the gospel we observe in the books of Acts? All Are Welcome is an attempt to have (and continue) the conversation that looms in our communities. Each contributor in this edited volume is an ethnic minority. These are the voices that are often overlooked, yet they provide ideas and answers for how to create a much more welcoming environment for all people in our local congregations. If you’ve ever wondered about the discussions that occur between ethnic minorities as we pontificate how to create a more welcoming environment in our churches, All Are Welcome is a discussion you don’t want to miss.

Genres: Christianity, Theology

304 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2018

Reviews

[Stephen Hoogerhyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not an easy book to read, no matter what race or ethnicity you are, but it is an important book to read, and both for the same reasons. Containing fifteen essays by writers of different races, ethnicities, backgrounds, and experiences, the book challenges the reader's perspective on multi-ethnic churches. Not only on what they should look like, how they should be planted and cultivated, but on why they are absolutely necessary.

In discussing the various issues, of course race and racial relations, and recognizing and valuing different cultures, are discussed. Among the subjects treated are: history of the segregated church in the United States, strategies for reconciliation, liturgy, preaching, sacraments, music, mercy ministry, church growth, missions, and talking about race in the church.

Some of the essays I found to be more difficult, due to a variety of factors, such as the writing style, the subject matter, the writer's position, or a combination of two or more factors. The value of the book lies not so much in the answers given (although some of those are very helpful) but more in the awakening of the reader's consciousness and awareness of how different races, ethnicities, and cultures may perceive issues differently. Helping me to realize that I am looking with my particular paradigm, and others are looking at the same issues with their paradigms, which may be very different but no less valid than mine, is tremendously helpful.

Read this book. Examine your assumptions. Listen to others. Ask yourself if all are truly welcome in your particular church.

[Tyler Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a church planter. I'm in the denomination that many of these writers are or were in. I am striving to plant a church that unites people across racial, ethnic, class, gender, socio-economic, and cultural barriers. Therefore, many of these chapters were incredibly helpful to me. Most were written by practitioners and offer helpful ideas and thoughts for how to approach that task, not to create a congregation with the "right" demographics, but to glorify God in our community. I'm grateful that these authors came together for this project.

I want to share two things that this book made me think about, both pretty indirectly. First, this was published in 2018. I think I have read a fair amount of the Christian literature on racial justice and reconciliation from the 2000s, so while this book was great, not much was brand new territory. And yet, there was no mention of Trump in these chapters. My point is not that I wish they had brought up Trump: most of these authors have already reflected on him in other places. I was mostly shocked that this book felt very dated, even though it is less than a decade old! So much seems to have changed in a few short years. I remember a Ryan Burge data set where he asked if you agreed with this sentence: "Our congregation would welcome a sermon on racial reconciliation." In 2016 90% agreed. In 2020, 74% agreed. That trajectory seems to have continued.

Second, I felt like I was able to verbalize one tension I've had with some of the racial reconciliation literature (or maybe it's practical outworking) that had before been subconscious. In one of the chapters, the author challenged the readers to visit a church from a subculture within Christianity. Then he said to look for elements from the subculture to combine to the dominant group's liturgy, and to ask the dominant group to "put [themselves] in the shoes of someone who decided to leave that church for yours" (201-202). I actually appreciate the advice, but I notice that the emphasis is attracting people out of one tradition (maybe the historic black church) and helping their transition into our blended (but still predominately and systemically white? See Korie Edwards) worship context. Now I'm being a tad over critical, but I've felt this tension between blending church cultural traditions (which is good) and neglecting reaching the non-Christians from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds (which is bad). The tension is this: can you fully be about both? For theological reasons, I can't support the homogeneous unit principle, but it is based on a true sociological observation. How can a church be about multiethnicity AND remain zealously focused on reaching non-Christians, not stealing Christians from monoethnic churches? In theory, I can talk about this. I feel tension in practice.

[Chris Rohde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be very insightful on the various issues around creating a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural church. The book is less about the problem (the segregation of the church) and more about how to move forward. I would highly recommend for churches that desire to, or should be desiring to (based on their geography), become a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural church. I also HIGHLY recommend for church planters. Both from what the authors say, and from what I have observed, it is far easier to start with a multi-cultural mindset than to create one after the fact. For those who are planting in majority minority areas (for example the East End of Richmond), this is a must read.

[Anthony Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. The LORD's Supper chapter is the best one. I would use this book to stay sharp on principles of reconciliation and as a way for people to get their first taste of non white authors.