Pastoral Leadership Skills for the Multicultural, Multiethnic Church:: A Case Study of Southeast Asians in an American Church

By Rev. Dr. F. Lee Jones

Church leaders have attempted acclimation of Cambodian-Americans into their American Baptist church and
leadership yet challenges loom relative to skill requirements, decision-making styles and processes. Since many
churches have been so richly blessed with cultural diversity, the following leadership skills, talents and abilities to
ensure each culture is sensitized to these requirements are listed below. Multicultural leaders should have the:
1. Ability to analyze cultural and ethnic groups and their various needs for security
2. Ability to identify cultural and ethnic group needs for belonging
3. Ability to select an appropriate response to ensure cultural and ethnic groups needs for significance
4. Ability to assess the success of the plan(s) to ensure the result of fulfilling the purposes God has for the lives
of all cultural and ethnic groups to achieve their levels of self-actualization.
Pastoral leadership skills for multicultural, multi-ethnic churches should ensure cultural differences
are learned, respected, embraced and eventually celebrated. Pastors are granted authority but power is
maintained when decisions are made in participation with diaconate and/or laity.
Rev. Dr. F.Lee Jones interviewed a cross-section of twelve church and potential members through questionnaires.
This project is a compilation and analysis of those responses which articulate the challenges, and rewards, of
being open to all of Gods children.
Dr. Jones has successfully transferred his secular leadership abilities into the pastoral role of church administration.
He understands how to be a non-anxious presence in a crisis, as well as be a pastors pastor in his ministry to
other clergy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 23, 2010
• ISBN: 9781453548370

Book preview

Pastoral Leadership

Skills for the Multicultural,

Multiethnic Church

A Case Study of Southeast Asians

in an American Church

Rev. Dr. F. Lee Jones

Copyright © 2010 by Rev. Dr. F. Lee Jones.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2010911265

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4535-4836-3

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4535-4835-6

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4535-4837-0

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This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

 Acknowledgments

 Chapter I

 Chapter II

 Chapter III

 Chapter IV

 Chapter V

 Chapter VI

 Bibliography

 Appendix A

 Appendix B

 Appendix C

 Appendix D

 Appendix E

 Appendix F

 Biography for

 The Reverend Doctor F. Lee Jones

Endnotes

Acknowledgments

I am deeply grateful for the wisdom, compassion, and encouragement on the part of my project advisors.

Rev. Dr. Sarah Birmingham Drummond provided me with the inspiration to focus on one of my perceived strengths—leadership—and utilized her breath of experience to open my mind to new thoughts of scholarship in this discipline. She was meticulous in keeping me focused on my purpose of study.

Rev. Dr. Rodney Petersen provided me with incredible insight over the years in social justice and reconciliation. He was the pastoral side of pastoral leadership in this project, as well as a truly compassionate heart for those who have endured man’s inhumanity to man.

I am deeply grateful to Rev. Dr. Sharon Thornton and my former classmates—Reverends Victoria Weinstein, Barbara Porizky, John Hamilton, and Yaroslav Nalysnk—for formularizing my study in a framework that released me from autobiographical bondage.

I also thank Rev. Dr. Hazel Roper, Rev. Dr. Jean Wright and the Massachusetts Baptist Charitable Society for their support.

I am deeply indebted to the church members who shared their testimonies of faith and experiences over the years. I have never been so passionately moved and perhaps never will again be in such a manner. Your trust and honesty will be with me for the rest of my life. I am truly grateful.

I am deeply grateful to the congregation at Calvary Baptist Church, who were the case study about whom I wrote. Since the beginning of my tenure, you nurtured my project and showed exceptional patience in forging ahead to be a multicultural, multi-ethnic beacon of hope in the Lovett Highlands.

I thank my siblings for their patience as I persisted in seminary for eleven years. They may have wondered if I would get my fill of school but never spoke a word of discouragement or ridicule. For that, I am deeply grateful.

And where would I be without the expertise of my mental, physical, and emotional advisory team of distinguished professionals; Bennett Aspel, MD, Robert Wainer, PC, and the late Dr. Warren G. Harding III. Their contributions were invaluable.

I thank the Rev. Dr. Wesley A. Roberts who recognized God’s call upon my life and ordained me a deacon, and later a reverend, at Peoples Baptist Church. He told me a doctorate in ministry would a long hard road but never discouraged me in any way in its pursuit. You have my heartfelt thanks.

And my most heartfelt thanks and love go to my wife and children. My wife Elaine, a second-grade schoolteacher, was my primary editor, often at the loss of valuable class-preparation time. She also endured many agonizing days of stress as I relived the horrors I had been endeared to share. My children offered me encouragement in my knowing they were trying to be the best they could be and my efforts were not going unnoticed. Elaine, Doni, Khary, Chelsea, and F. Lee II, this work is dedicated to you with my love and gratitude.

Chapter I

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

Purpose of the Project

Calvary Baptist is an inner-city church. In the surrounding neighborhood, church members have encountered many different cultures when knocking on doors as a part of evangelism efforts: Vietnamese, Laotians, Chinese, Cambodians, Panamanians, Haitians, Ghanaians, Kenyans, Anglos, Native-born African-Americans, Africa-born African-Americans, Ecuadorians, Jamaicans, and other Central and Southern American cultures.

Twenty years prior, the neighborhood had been primarily Anglo-American. The influx of these aforementioned cultures, which sought jobs in the once-robust textile mills, precipitated white flight to the suburbs.

The change in neighborhood demographics was swift, and the church’s demographic changed as well.

Calvary Baptist Church leaders have attempted the acclimation of Cambodian-Americans into the fabric of the Baptist heritage at Calvary Baptist Church, yet some challenges loom.

Relative to leadership styles, Anglo-American leaders know some Cambodian-American decision-making mandates that designate Cambodian-American representatives to bring issues—individually heard at a monthly diaconate meeting—back to the Cambodian-Americans as a whole. Responses to key issues may be delayed as long as one month.

The Anglo-American leadership is more accustomed to addressing issues during the same meeting. Differences in decision-making styles have discouraged Cambodian-Americans from leadership roles in Calvary Baptist. As a result, leaders may need to develop a decision-making approach that incorporates both styles.

Moreover, some Cambodian-Americans argue that too much time is spent on church finances rather than on spirituality. This is not only a Cambodian-American complaint but an Anglo-American complaint as well. The leadership needs to consider forming a trustee board separate from a diaconate, although some have recently suggested that we meet twice per month: once to address the finances and once to address the spiritual needs of the church.

In summary, the church leadership must address each of these issues noted about decision making in our multicultural church. It is my prayer that we can ascertain the proper course of action while realizing how important it is to encourage the leadership of the church to have a significant role in the decisions to be made.

The sections below will provide insight as to whether or not Calvary succeeds as a healthy model of a multicultural, multiethnic church, or if they have only complicated matters for themselves.

History of Calvary Baptist Church, Lovett, Massachusetts

Calvary Baptist has had a rich history of diverse cultures worshipping together long before the terms multicultural and multiethnic were coined. In many respects, calling a second-generation Italian pastor to the pulpit in 1938 could have been considered an affirmative-action risk since the church was predominantly white Anglo-Saxon protestant.

However, the fiery young preacher oversaw tremendous growth in church membership. He nurtured the body of believers through war, turbulent times, and a devastating church fire, as well as rebuilt and returned the church to prosperity before his retirement in 1973.

When one considers the enormity of the tasks that faced him, one must consider his ministry as having been guided by the Holy Spirit and ordained by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

A detailed historical perspective of Calvary Baptist church is in appendix E.

Calvary Baptist Church Today

According to practical theologian Charles R. Foster’s definition of churches being either sponsoring, transitional, assimilating, or multicultural congregations,[1] Calvary Baptist would have been described as a sponsoring congregation roughly twenty years ago, when our denomination, the American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts (TABCOM), arranged for a Cambodian—American congregation to use the chapel of the church while the predominantly Anglo-American Calvary Baptist congregation worshipped in the sanctuary.

Many discussions had taken place between the three entities to ensure the measure would be successful. However, over the course of the next twenty years, Calvary Baptist lost well over 60 percent of its Anglo-American members, largely due to demographic trends.

Many claimed that the loss resulted from the fact that the church congregation was responding to the change in the neighborhoods surrounding the church. As I mentioned earlier, fourteen or more different cultures and ethnic groups now live within the streets surrounding the church that was once occupied by Anglo-American families. As the losses continued, however, it was evident that white flight to the suburbs was the outcome, even though the church membership had approved the measure of sponsoring the Cambodian-American fellowship.

At some point, however, Calvary Baptist either inadvertently or intentionally sought to assimilate the Cambodian-American church. The pastor of Calvary would make copies of his sermon and give them to the now-considered associate Cambodian-American pastor, who would preach the same messages in Khmer as were being preached to the Anglo-American congregation in English. In addition, the Cambodian-Americans would sometimes worship with the Anglo-Americans, with the intent of becoming full-fledged members, and also to learn the English language.

When this happened, unfortunately, more Anglo-Americans made their exodus from the church. Some may have feared that the real purpose of the Cambodian-Americans joining Calvary was to take over, which Foster would view as transitional.

Over the course of the last five to ten years, however, church leadership has been more focused on Calvary becoming a multicultural and multiethnic body of believers. I believe their commitment to being such came when they hired me as covenantal pastor in April 2004.

I was an African-American pastor of a multicultural church that was 55 percent Anglo-American, 35 percent Cambodian-American, and10 percent Hispanic/African/Caribbean American.

I asked our Tuesday night Bible study members—eleven Anglo-Americans (five males and six females), one African-American pastor, and one Cambodian-American female—how they viewed the multiculturalism of our church.

Do they view the Cambodian-American influx into the church as assimilation, or soup, taking on the norms and values of the dominant majority as their own? Or do they see it as acculturation, or fruit salad, maintaining many of their customs and traditions while merging into the church community and incorporating only as much of the dominant majority’s norms and values as they felt were needed?

I also asked a similar question to the Sunday morning Bible study, attended primarily by two dozen Cambodian-American men and women who were primarily refugees from the Khmer Rouge Communist takeover. How do you view your entrance into the Calvary Baptist Church community: assimilation (soup) or acculturation (fruit salad)? After I had explained the concepts in detail, trying to remain neutral in doing so, I assumed they would give different responses, if for nothing more than the purpose of discussion.

I was surprised to hear both Bible study groups give the exact same response. We are currently fruit salad, but we are becoming soup.

When I consider the reason why both groups responded similarly, I ask myself, What is the purpose of Pentecost if not to proclaim the wonders of God in one’s own tongue? Do we not proclaim God’s son as Lord to all the nations? One of the Anglo-Americans from the Tuesday-night group added, It’s really a shame that one day we will all be assimilated as one, because we will miss out on the diversity of liturgical dances, foods, and traditions of different cultures.

The responses of both Bible study groups acknowledge that, as diverse minority groups—especially Cambodian-Americans of the church—take on the norms and values of the dominant majority, they will be able to share equally in the decision making of the church. After the Cambodian-Americans are indoctrinated into the culture, they may feel more empowered to make decisions. This transition presents both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage is that assimilation enables minority cultures to adopt the social norms and values of the dominant majority. It exposes them to, and helps them to learn, expected behaviors in working, social, and academic environments. Moreover, at least temporarily, assimilation reduces the stresses and conflicts of being the odd man or woman out in the various realms of engagement with the dominant majority.

Indeed, the United States of America prides itself in being a melting pot of many cultures, races,