If You Belong to Christ: Ethnicity and the Global Church

Eloise Hiebert Meneses

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Eloise Hiebert Meneses

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Ethnicity is family writ large. And family is the most powerful form of association that exists between human beings. Hence, ethnic associations carry with them all the strength of both real and metaphorical blood ties. For the world-wide Christian church, this simple fact is both a rich treasure and a dangerous trap. Ethnicities bring to the church all of the linguistic and cultural benefits of incarnated Christian living. The gospel translated into the “heart-language” of the mother tongue, for instance, can move the soul beyond what any attempt to communicate in a second language can do. And, appreciation for the different culture of a fellow Christian can deepen our own understanding of the nature of the truth and of the Kingdom. Yet, even in the best of circumstances, like a slow moving but inexorable glacier, ethnicities can supplant the gospel, replace Jesus himself, as the object of our ultimate allegiance. And in the worst of circumstances, they can cause us to turn upon one another in hatred and violence. The blessing of ethnicity, like the blessing of family, is indeed a mixed one!

If You Belong to Christ: Ethnicity and the Global Church

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