I live, shop, eat, play, and pastor in the relatively diverse area of Midtown Atlanta. Before we ever launched Courageous Church, it was my hope and prayer that we would launch and lead a church that looked like the city. About 6 months ago I blogged about how this has been harder than I thought it would be.
While we aim for all types of diversity and probably have one of the most beautiful representations of economic diversity in Atlanta on Sunday morning with lawyers and the chronically homeless coming together to praise God together, we are finding genuine ethnic diversity to elusive.
In fact, we are about 9 white folk away from being a black church.
Most white families that visit Courageous Church for the first time RARELY come back. It could be because they don’t like my preaching or our music, but I have wondered if they just didn’t feel comfortable being a minority. African Americans, having felt this way often in life, will attend predominantly white churches and feel the same way they do @ work or anywhere else in life – so it’s not a huge shift.
In fact, the 9 white folk we have @ Courageous Church all have a unique comfort level with black culture that allows them to just simply be a part of the community. One lady lived in Africa for years, several are a part of interracial couples, others attended churches like ours previously.
Joe Q. White Person doesn’t seem to dig Courageous Church and I guess that’s ok?
Or is it?
