The Church on Cultural Divide, Free Essay for You

The gap between people is getting bigger and bigger. Humanity is constantly disagreeing leading to division among human beings. There is diversity with people of different colors, religion, political affiliations and interests. The varying diversity should be a reason for growth and creativity, but instead, it has led to the division with people attracted to people similar to them. Racism is on the rise mainly due to political affiliations. Racism has led to people of different colors looking down upon each other and discriminating each other. Homosexuality is another factor that has led to the division with some accepting it and others shunning it. The cultural divide has spilt to churches. Two of the most televised churches are The Potter's House led by Pastor T.D. Jakes and Lakewood church led by Pastor Joel Osteen. A critical look at the Potter's House reveals that the majority of the congregation are African Americans with few Whites. The Lakewood church is all-inclusive, but still, Whites constitute the vast majority of the congregation. This analysis shows that there are Black and White churches. The cultural divide is on the rise, and the church needs to step in to bring the people together to get rid of the hate and discord.

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The church needs to embrace the cultural divide. People are different, and the church needs to find a way to cater to the needs and desires of different cultures. One of the ways to address the different cultures is to have an all-inclusive church or worship (Manner 2018). Churches need to incorporate songs from different genres that are popular in different cultures (Manner 2018). The style of preaching should also be different such that leaders, pastors or Priests can attract people from different cultures. Another way to have an all-inclusive church is to have leaders from all the cultures in the church adequately involved. Churches can also have pastors of different cultural backgrounds to ensure that Christians feel well represented. A church with a Black and White pastor is more likely to attract a diverse congregation, and it will help in bringing Christians together.

The church is also to blame for the cultural divide. Denominations are innumerable with new churches formed frequently. The lack of unity among churches is to blame for the division among Christians. The church should borrow a leaf from Islam which has been united for years that has enabled its members to remain together. Churches are continually pointing accusing fingers at each other leading to further division among Christians. The church needs to stay united and focus on spreading the gospel and less on blaming each other leading to disunion.

The church also needs to be neutral especially in matters that are divisive. One of the common factors leading to division is politics. Leaders of churches should take a neutral ground when matters of politics are involved. The 2016 elections in the United States led to division among citizens with some vouching for Trump and others Hillary Clinton (Stetzer 2017). A pastor who took a stand with one of the parties put off Christians who did not support the candidate. However, this does not mean that church leaders should not correct politicians, but rather they should not cause division in the church by taking sides. Church leaders should also strive to engage in dialogue with people (Williams 2017). Pastors can preach well, but people will never listen until they know the pastor cares. People love to be listened. Leaders should, therefore, have an open door policy to members of the congregation to allow them to air out their grievances and dissatisfaction and have them addressed.

The church has lost its power gradually. Martin Luther King referred to the church during its heydays as a thermostat that defined the mores of people, but it has become weak and ineffectual (Williams 2017). One of the reasons the church has lost its power is because it is now a business instead of a light to guide Christians. This business aspect of churches has led to their mushrooming. A group of people meet and come up with a new church. Therefore there are unqualified Pastors with no knowledge and qualifications required to lead people. Recently, Rwanda passed legislation that requires all pastors to have at least a Bachelor's degree in theology (Intumwa 2018). This legislation ensures that pastors are learned and can handle their followers. The lack of education and qualifications by pastors means that there are reckless pastors who are not careful with their words hence lead to division among members. Use of inappropriate language or discussion of controversial topics leads to the cultural divide. Just like how other professions such as Doctors study to practice, Pastors should undergo training to ensure they bring people together. The Catholic Church is an excellent example of this training with Priests required to undergo training before being ordained. Leaders should seek to understand the different cultures by studying and interacting with members of the church to find ways of addressing their needs.

Finally, churches need to take an active role in preaching reconciliation (Brooke 2018). There is so much animosity between people that the church needs to step in and bring change. Slavery was one of the reasons that led to racism and the division between Blacks and Whites. The Church needs to find a way of getting people to forgive each other and foster unity. In matters such as homosexuality, churches should learn to accommodate all persons regardless of their sexual preference. By judging homosexuals, the church is only pushing them further from the church.

In conclusion, the church has to embrace the cultural divide. The church needs to accommodate people of different cultures by having a system that is all-inclusive. The church also needs to be more united. The church needs to come together and find ways of uniting people despite coming from different denominations. The church also needs to take a neutral stand in politics to avoid pushing away members of the church and bringing disunity. The church needs to listen to its members and address their grievances to help bring them together. Measures need to be put in place to ensure that Pastors are adequately trained to lead people and are aware of the consequences of their actions and utterances. There is also a need for the church to preach reconciliation and forgiveness to bring people together and put an end to animosity. The most important thing is that there is a need for multicultural churches that welcome members regardless of the color of their skin, social status, age, and cultural backgrounds. By uniting people of different cultures, churches will help bridge the gap between people of different cultures.

Reference List

Brooke, G. 2018, Why the Church Is Best Suited to Bridge Cultural Divisions, accessed 10 January 2019, < https://tifwe.org/church-bridge-cultural-divisions/>

Intumwa, R 2018, Rwanda New Law Requires Pastors to Have a Theology Degree!,accessed 10 January 2019, <https://medium.com/@heavenzjo/rwanda-new-law-requires-pastors-to-have-a-theology-degree-b1e56351af11>

Manner, D 2018, 6 Ways to Embrace Cultural Diversity in Worship, accessed 10 January 2019, <https://churchleaders.com/worship/worship-articles/301475-6-ways-embrace-cultural-diversity-worship-david-manner.html>

Stetzer, E 2017, The Great Divide (in the Church) in 2016, and Why It Still Matters, accessed 10 January 2019, < https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2017/august/great-divide-in-church-in-2016-and-why-it-still-matters.html>

Williams, J 2017, Intentionally Cultivating Multicultural Churches, accessed 10 January 2019, https://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/intentionally-cultivating-multicultural-churches.