Multicultural Ministry

Finding Your Church's Unique Rhythm

By: David Anderson

Narrated by: Raymond Scully

Multiculturalism isn’t a trend, it’s a reality. Evidence of this country’s rich racial mix is all around us in our schools, our stores, our neighborhoods, our recreational facilities—everywhere except our churches. Heaven may include every culture, tongue, and tribe, but in the United States, Sunday morning remains one of the last bastions of ethnic separatism. It’s time to stop merely talking about multicultural worship and start living it.

In this groundbreaking book, David Anderson invites us all—African-American, Asian, Caucasian, and Latino—to learn how to dance the dance of multicultural ministry. We’ve all got different moves, but that’s the beauty of diversity: the various gifts we bring, the wisdom of our heritages, the different creative ways we express the same Lord. Think it can’t be done? Think again. As Anderson demonstrates, it is being done successfully by more and more churches. Wherever your church is now on the multicultural continuum, you can join the ranks of those moving toward a diverse and thriving ministry. Combining frontline insights with inspiring stories, Anderson takes you and your church into the strategy-level realities of what it takes to make multicultural ministry work in your setting.

Do you hear the beat of the Spirit? God is calling your church to the dance of unity in diversity. Don’t hold back! Grab this book, get out on the dance floor, and let Multicultural Ministry show you the steps.

Includes a Racial Reconciliation survey and six-session Racial Reconciliation curriculum.

©2004 David Anderson (P)2010 Zondervan

Critic reviews

"David Anderson writes about multicultural leadership not from the perspective of an ivory tower intellectual, but as a hands-on practitioner who loves and believes in the body of Christ...If you believe there is no solution to the race problem, I urge you to reconsider and to learn from someone who is on the frontlines of making multicultural ministry a reality in the church today." (Bill Hybels, founding and senior pastor, Willow Creek Community Church)

Disappointed

This book is light on specifics. This just feels like a long sermon. Do not purchase this title if you need concrete information on building a multicultural ministry.

Great model for starting out!

The beauty of this book is that it brings awareness to an issue seldom addressed, but so critical to the idea of the brotherhood of Christ. Pastor Anderson makes his personal experiences relevant to the audience in a manner that drives home his point again and again . Great experience!

Evangelical Babyfood

If evangelicals can't move beyond biblical babyfood and into the meat of the issue, I don't see how they think they've achieved actual change. The author says a lot without really addressing the discomfort that most folks feel around the issue. He seems to think that making everyone feel comfortable about the issue of race is the key to reconciliation. I lean towards the discomfort model.

If you're a skeptic, or legitimately have never heard of this issue, this book is for you. But after reading it, please move on to more difficult adult issues by reading White Like Me by Tim Wise.

The narrator really should have been black. Hearing a black man speak/preach on race issues is different from hearing a white man speak about it. Plus, there are several times where the author is willing to put added onus on the black community, without delving into the knitty gritty of what whites need to do to address racial injustice. (If white folk want to improve multicultural ministry, they need to first address their own privilege to ignore racial injustice.) I don't have a problem with this attitude coming from a black man, but hearing a white man say it bubble wraps the issue and left my white skin feeling let off the hook. Most white folk have way too much left to learn about privilege; to make the issue sound light and breezy is lazy at best.