Distinctiveness or Oneness

[its_brad]

Recognizing a God-given diversity in styles of worship and fellowship, what should churches emphasize most: distinctiveness (cultural niche) or oneness (a diverse body of Christ)?

[Poh]

Recognizing diversity and unity in worship styles is not an easy task. For instance, in any case of any ethinical church, without fabricating any styles of worship, the uniqueness of worship will be naturally in the elements of worship because of a particular ethnicity, a use of a language and so forth.

The metaphor of oneness of the body of Christ still remains in any churches who have the same confessional, historical Christian faith, regardless of social cultural diverse. Therefore, I would suggest that the styles of worship could vary, but oneness of the body of Christ can remain as an essential core that holds diversity in unity and unity in diversity.

[kbfalk]

It is essential that churches find a way to emphasize both distinctiveness and oneness. Church services should ultimately be inclusive of all cultures, social classes, races, and genders, but within that, they need to be intentional about contextualizing the gospel to make it relevant to the people of various cultures that are represented in the church and in the community. This means that the worship songs should reflect a variety of cultural styles and that the presentation of the gospel take on a variety of forms (through preaching, testimonies, etc.). People of different ethnic groups may not even speak English, so efforts must be made to help them feel included, rather than marginalized, in the way the worship services are conducted. Yes, the message of the gospel transcends all cultural distinctions and ethnic differences and the unity of the body should be consistently emphasized; however, in that unity, cultural distinctiveness should be acknowledged and celebrated and Christians should always seek to know and appreciate and learn from the differences between us.

[kbfalk]

Recognizing diversity and unity in worship styles is not an easy task. For instance, in any case of any ethinical church, without fabricating any styles of worship, the uniqueness of worship will be naturally in the elements of worship because of a particular ethnicity, a use of a language and so forth.

The metaphor of oneness of the body of Christ still remains in any churches who have the same confessional, historical Christian faith, regardless of social cultural diverse. Therefore, I would suggest that the styles of worship could vary, but oneness of the body of Christ can remain as an essential core that holds diversity in unity and unity in diversity.

The oneness of body should certainly remain the essential core. I really like the idea of "diversity in unity" and "unity in diversity." I think the actual practice of celebrating diversity in unity, however, can be quite challenging. The church must be intentional in its efforts to celebrate and understand each culture with the differences that exist in language, values, and expectations. This diversity must be reflected not just in the style of the worship songs, but also in the way the gospel is communicated and the way that the church body celebrates life together.