Right Color, Wrong Culture: A Leadership Fable, by Bryan Loritts is a bit of an unusual book. It is published by Moody, and its topic is about how to select church staff for multiethnic ministry. However, instead of presenting his material in an expository manner, Mr. Loritts has written the book in a narrative style, and it reads like a novella. The approach works, because it allows the reader to hear and view the thoughts and concerns of all the important characters that appear in this fable. It also allows the reader to learn about what Mr. Loritts has to say about multiethnic ministry at the same time as the characters in the story.
The story is about Peter Williams, a consultant for a firm that seeks to develop multiethnic ministry in churches. He is recruited by a former mentor, Gary, who wishes to change the status quo at the church that he is presently working at. Gary Kirkland, a senior pastor, wishes to stop the migration of Poplar Bible Church and its Christian Academy from leaving the neighbourhood which is becoming less white, and more African-American in its makeup. Poplar Bible Church is primarily a white church and its leadership wishes to move to where their "constituency" is. Gary wishes to remain in the present neighbourhood and develop a multiethnic congregation, but he will need an African-American pastor who will be able to connect with the African-American community surrounding the church.
As the story unfolds, Peter advises the selection committee on how to recognize the best candidate who will meet the church's need. He explains that, "within every ethnicity exists at least three cultures," which he simply labels as C1, C2, and C3. The C1 group is made up of people who have assimilated into another ethnic group or culture. The C3 group is made up of people who refuse to adjust or assimilate within other ethnic groups or cultures. The C2 group is made up of people who are "culturally flexible and adaptable without becoming ethnically ambiguous or hostile." As the selection board interviews each successive candidate who are all African-American, Peter tries to point out how the committee may recognize clues as to which culture the candidate belongs to. The committee realizes that they will need to hire someone who belongs to the C2 group and that it would be in their best interest to do so if they wish for this endeavor to be a success. By the time Peter is done with them, they recognize that they need someone who has experience in crossing cultures which would be reflected in the candidate's schooling, work, and friendships, etc.
I won't tell you who ended up being the person that they hired for the job, but let me tell you that it surprised me, and it also surprised the selection committee.
I have summarized the three cultures, but this doesn't do justice to the explanations of what exactly these three cultures are. In fact, it was a bit eye opening to realize that at times, I can be quite a C1 person, and in some other contexts, I could be quite the C3 type. This book definitely challenges me to become a C2 type of person.
I appreciated the biblical exposition that was provided within the context of the fable. Mr. Loritts draws from the life of Jesus and the training that He gave to His disciples while He was still on the earth. He also discusses the experiences of the disciple, Peter, and how Jesus used him to open up the Gospel to the Gentiles. He also presents the life of Paul, the man who tried to become all things to all people so that by all possible means he could draw others to Christ (1 Cor. 9:22).
Mr. Loritts included statistics from recent sociological studies that reveal that in the United States, there are more than three hundred thousand places of worship, not just including Christianity, but of every faith, such as Muslim, Mormon, Buddhist, etc. Out of these, only 7.5 % is multiethnic. However, within the Christian church, the number falls down to 2.5 %. Since I am Canadian, I wonder how similar the statistics would be for Canada. I wonder what the statistics would look worldwide, in different countries, particularly those that are home to people of numerous ethnic backgrounds.
I definitely recommend reading this book, even if you are not involved in searching for pastoral candidates for a ministry. The ideas that Mr. Loritts presents are challenging my worldview of what the church of Christ could look like, and I think that what he is saying is true. Canadians love to use the word, "multicultural," and the city that I live in is home to people of many different ethnic backgrounds. The world is now at our doorstep, and the mission field is now here in our own homeland. If we do not open our doors to the people who are already here, there is the danger that the church in North America could miss the opportunity that is just staring at us in our faces.
