Today Brad Bullock - Lead Pastor of The Crossing Place Church in Franklin, LA and myself were interviewed by Rob and Theresa Blakney for an assignment they were given as seminary students working on their Masters of Divinity. (Rob is the Secretary Treasurer for the Louisiana Assemblies of God.) Their assignment was to interview pastors of churches with racially diverse congregations. Brad and I were very honored to be chosen for the interview. One of the questions we were asked was, "Do you target diversity intentionally?" I was very pleased to answer yes. I loved the way Brad answered the question: "If God has called us to reach our community, then our congregations should resemble the crowd you'd find at the Walmart in your community!" I added, "Our congregation should also resemble the one we see described in the book of Revelation that includes every tribe, every tongue and every nation. Heaven is a very diverse place."
In the book of Genesis, Jacob's father-in-law promised him every calf that came out speckled or streaked as Jacob's pay for working for him. The solid calves he would keep for himself. Jacob responded by taking branches and peeling them in such a way that it presented a streaked vision before the eyes of the healthy cows while they were breeding. Consequently, when the calves were born, all the healthy and desirable calves were streaked and speckled. If we are ever going to have healthy race relations in America, we need to put a speckled church before the eyes of our country. At Crossroads Church, we are very intentional about that. Thanks to Rob and Theresa for peeling back a few branches with the project they're working on.
