Intentional Diversity

“Why do they always sit together in the cafeteria and still expect us to include them?” This is how a conversation about diversity began with a college student. It was true that a group of students who happened to be of the same race were sitting together in the cafeteria, and that their race happened to be very much in the minority at this particular Christian university.

 Then it hit me: “Look around,” I said to the student. “Do you see other clusters of people of the same race sitting together?” The answer was obvious. Table after table of white skinned people were sitting together, casually talking and eating and laughing. They were of the same race and were sitting together, and to them and the student observing it seemed quite natural. “That’s different,” the student offered. But he had no real reason why this was different. So, I asked him a question: “If one group far outnumbers another group, whose moral obligation would it be to be inclusive: the bigger group or the smaller group?” He thought for a moment and said, “I guess it would make sense for the bigger group, since the bigger group has the power and the numbers.”

 This little exercise in observation became a sociological and theological case study! It is one that I believe has far reaching implications beyond college campuses and cafeterias. Jesus’ ministry to the “least of these” was not just about those who had very little – although we must be quick to recognize that this was a key element of His ministry. Jesus’ “least of these” ministry was also about those who were outnumbered, overlooked, and even looked down upon. Those who were different due to economics, race, or even population were of great concern to Jesus then, and I believe they still are today.

 So, using our cafeteria case study above and applying it to Christian ministry, here are a few observations that we must consider: 
1. It is the responsibility of the majority and not the minority to initiate inclusiveness. To simply say we want diversity and then wait around for lesser represented groups to flock to our midst is illogical at best, and at worst it contributes to ongoing resentment and distrust.

2. Taking initiative means finding entry ways into the culture and experiences of another group that are acceptable to the group we are seeking to engage. This means that approaching an underrepresented group or person on my terms as a person whose race is in the “majority” will not be sufficient. Due to past racial and cultural experiences, certain groups already practice what theologians and sociologists call a “hermeneutic of suspicion” regarding those in majority communities. This means that there are some built-in cultural suspicions from any minority group regarding a majority culture, usually based upon historical realities. These can be overcome, of course, but they require awareness and sensitivity on the part of the majority culture.

3. Intentionality involves the biblical idea of “seeking.” We who are in an overly represented culture, whether it be in a campus setting, a community, or in a church building are called to take initiative in the “seeking out” process, recognizing that we may have to come humbly and even in a repentant way based upon misunderstandings, exclusions, and other actions that we are identified with. This is true even if I have never individually perpetrated a racist or exclusionary act.

 Jesus, as He sent His disciples into the rest of the world in Matthew 28, expected them to “go” into regions where the Christian message was unknown and often misunderstood. He recognized that if the Church was to grow and become the agent of God’s change that it was created to be, they would have to take Spirit-led initiative, introduce their message humbly, and consistently be people who sought out the “least of these” – those who are overlooked or underrepresented. This moves us from an “us vs. them” mentality, toward an approach that asks, “How can everyone become part of what God is seeking to do in specific cultures and in the whole world?”