In all seriousness, though, we as Christians should realise that the Church is about reaching out, building up, and sending out. In that, I agree with Mark. It is insufficient to do the first two but not the third, which is what the Mega Churches should remember also.

We’re a conservative, evangelical, semi-charismatic church. I don’t think that anyone ever decided to reach out to people of different races — it just happened.

This has often lead to church leadership losing sight of the ultimate goal while pursuing those prior goals.”

~I think that’s one of the misunderstandings which pastors make these days, a movement spearheaded by “church as a business” guru Rick Warren. If the church looks like a secular business, it’s gone off track. There are lots of little ways, but the gist of the issue can be summed up as follows: the goal of secular business is to “bring in” the thing it values most. The goal of the church is to “send out” the thing it values most.

Hence, if the two operate the same way, one or the other is failing.

Everyone in a leadership role in the church is a middle manager. The ‘business’ is God’s.

If the pastor ‘runs’ the church, who’s ‘business’ is it?

I was a divorcee with five kids and couldn’t afford the clothing to keep up with those folks. I know it’s not about “keeping up with the Jones” but for your children’s sake, you don’t want them to be the butt of other children’s jokes, so you try to dress them accordingly.

The black church is stooped in traditionalism so you can imagine his reaction to me when I suggested to the pastor that they change the attire to casual so that everyone can fit in. Which was “you got to be kidding me” type of stare.

Well, I left and found a church that I’m quite comfortable at. And unsurprisingly, I’ve ran into several ex-members from that same church!

And I agree with La Shawn completely that churches need to be especially sensitive to the newcomers. That first impression may make the difference in someone’s life!

Your comment reminded me of an assignment I had when I was getting my Bachelor’s in Psychology. For our Cultural Psychology class (Christian college), we had to go to a church or area (eg, Chinatown) of another culture. I picked a church I knew nothing about that was in a heavy-hispanic neighborhood, and I wore a dress that wasn’t too fancy, so I’d have a chance of fitting in if they dressed up or dressed down.

It was a black church (one other white woman, who was the girlfriend of the man in front of me), and you could have held a wedding on a moment’s notice with the way they were dressed. I tried chatting with the people around me before the service started but didn’t get too far (“Cute baby.” “Oh, he’s not mine. I’m just holding him.”)

During the service, despite a bulletin that said when to stand and sit, there were so many unwritten rules that I broke and stood out like a sore thumb, and there was nobody who took pity on me to give me some help with the rules. At the end of the service, the man in front of me asked me in a snarky voice how I liked the church, but he didn’t wait for my reply.

It was the most horrible church experience I’ve ever had, and it made me extra aware of newcomers to our church and how important it is to help them feel welcome and comfortable. I even take that awareness to other settings where I see someone sitting alone.

I’m not saying all black churches are like that. Just that one. But please, no matter what color (or blend) your church is, don’t let it be someone’s horrible experience. How will anyone find Christ, if we don’t love the stranger?

This has often lead to church leadership losing sight of the ultimate goal while pursuing those prior goals.

The pastor is a very non-traditional slack and shirt type preacher instead of the suit or robe that’s typical of black churches. Instead of the all black choir typical of a church with a black pastor, he has Pop/Rock bands, R&B bands and a little bit of Hip Hop. Consequently, his audience is mostly 18-40 on the average with a bunch of us oldies there as well.

It’s still a pretty young church, oh, about eight years old or so. I started with the church four years ago when it met at San Diego State’s Campus. Now it has grown to be a Mega Church with its own building we just moved into last year.

The pastor is Miles McPherson, a former Charger football player. He is a strong community Christian activist and evangelist as well. He teaches pretty sound doctrine and has an excellent ministry for the youth – his strength (a former youth pastor).

This church has never done anything to really attract a mixture of people except probably in the type of music it plays. Also, because it’s so laid back, folks can wear their shorts and flip flops and the kids wear the same clothes they wear to school, which for me was one of the reasons I left the black church to begin with. It was too stuffy and I really couldn’t afford to dress the kids in “Sunday clothes.” The black church I left also taught the word very well, but it was its black oriented ministry that turned me off. I wanted to be a part of a church where I was comfortable bringing my non-black friends to as well.

I haven’t been to my old church in a while. I may visit it to see if there are any changes going on within its doors, or if its still catering to the black community.

Good thought provoking question!