Estranged Pioneers -Catering to the Majority.
The book I read was called Estranged Pioneers: Race, Faith and Leadership in a Diverse World.[1] In this post, I am going to talk about this book in relation to Brett Fuller and then focus on an impactful quote from the book.
My brother-in-law read this book this past summer as he may soon be pastoring a multiracial church. I read this book after reading Brett Fuller’s Dreaming in Black and White and waited to write this post until after I heard Fuller speak on September 27, 2024, in Washington DC. I would have loved to have sat down with Fuller to hear his personal thoughts about this book’s content, but time would not allow. However, after his talk, I was able to ask him if he had been interviewed as part of the study upon which this book reports. Fuller stated that he was unaware of the book and the study. The authors, Korie Little Edwards and Rebecca Y. Kim conducted 121 face-to-face interviews with pastors who lead multiracial churches. Edwards and Kim report that in the United States only 16% of churches are multiracial.[2] In Washington DC, during the Q&A session with Fuller, Julie O’Hara asked Fuller whether White people have a calling to lead multiracial churches. Dr. Fuller answered “yes” they do, and this book backs up his comment stating that approximately 84% of multiracial churches are led by White pastors.[3]
Prior to reading this book, I never considered who a multiracial church caters toward. Edwards and Kim write that in a multiracial church “racial diversity can be maintained to the extent that white congregants are comfortable. Multiracial congregations sustain white comfort by reproducing white hegemony.”[4] Fuller made the same argument when he talked to the Black pastor of a Black church in Maryland who wanted a multiracial church.[5] Fuller asked the pastor if he was ready to make all the changes that it would take, losing his choir, his pastoral robe, the ornate pulpit, and ultimately many members of his congregation, to create a hopefully successful multiracial church.
Edwards and Kim maintain that being a person of color (POC) is a double-edged sword when it comes to leading a multiracial church. One the one hand POCs have the experience navigating white culture and their own culture. On the other hand, Edwards and Kim consider them to be estranged pioneers. They are pioneers as not many of their peers are leading multiracial churches. When I explained this definition to Fuller, he agreed. What I did not mention to Fuller was the second part to this explanation of pastors of color being estranged. Edwards and Kim state that they are estranged because they have essentially left their community to lead a multiracial church and “their endeavors are not valued or celebrated as something that will potentially benefit the communities they come from”[6] Edwards and Kim continue saying that POCs “are also othered and perceived as inferior to their white peers within the new communities that they lead.”[7] Again it would have been interesting to hear Fuller’s thoughts about his own experiences in this realm.
I next want to focus on a quote from the book that forcefully removed the blinders from my eyes. Edwards and Kim write,
“Everyone in the United States, though to varying degrees, is socialized to affirm whiteness and white supremacy. That is because such processes are ubiquitous. White people and people of color are almost constantly socialized into the dominant white culture, either through direct intimate interactions in spaces predominated by white Western culture, such as schools, or indirectly through such institutions as the media. Resisting this socialization is difficult. Changing systems that reproduce it is hard work.”[8]
Deep in my soul I know this is true despite wanting so badly to believe it isn’t. In a recent 2-minute broadcast of The Policy Roundtable hosts Dave Zanotti, Wayne Shepherd, & Alan C. Duncan discussed an editorial from the Washington Post titled “Why Americans are Having Fewer Kids and Why it Could be a Problem.”[9] In this episode they talked about how America could be facing the same population decline that China recognized because of their one child policy. I immediately considered how this is only a problem if we want to keep America white. We all are aware of the United States’ immigration issue. We have hundreds of thousands of people wanting to live here. Yet many Americans are fearful of them, even when they are here legally, as evidenced by the recent rumors surrounding the Haitians in Springfield, Ohio. A study published in 2022 suggests that White Americans are beginning to fear becoming a minority, thus they are becoming more stringent on who they consider to be “White”; which their study suggests can impact race relations.[10] Why are Americans so afraid of becoming a minority? What makes us want to cling to our culture so badly? Is it solely a fear of losing power and control?
Let me circle back to the quote. Edwards and Kim finish the quote saying “Resisting this socialization is difficult. Changing systems that reproduce it is hard work.”[11] In their book, they “define a successful racially diverse religious space in the US as one that is a structurally and culturally equitable, just community of mutuality that has decentered whiteness and white supremacy.[12] What hard work can each one of us do, to encourage our religious spaces to be racially diverse and meet Edwards and Kim’s definition of success? What can we do to love and encourage pastors, regardless of their racial/ethnic background, so that they do not feel like an estranged pioneer?
[1] Korie Little Edwards and Rebecca Y. Kim, Estranged Pioneers: Race, Faith and Leadership in a Diverse World, (New York, NY: Oxford), 2024.
[2] Edwards and Kim, 2.
[3] Edwards and Kim, 2.
[4] Edwards and Kim, 8.
[5] Brett Fuller, “untitled lecture” (lecture, Portland Seminary, First Baptist Church, Washington DC, September 27, 2024).
[6] Edwards and Kim, 151.
[7] Edwards and Kim, 152.
[8] Edwards and Kim, 166.
[9] “TPS 2: The Problem We’ve Been Ignoring,” hosted by Dave Zanotti, Wayne Shepherd, & Alan C. Duncan, October 8, 2024, https://thepublicsquare.com/the-problem-weve-been-ignoring/.
[10] Amy R. Krosch, Suzy J. Park, Jesse Walker, & Ari R. Lisner, “The Threat of a Majority-Minority U.S. Alters White Americans’ Perception of Race,” Journal of Experimental Psychology, 99 March 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104266.
[11] Edwards and Kim, 166.
[12] Edwards and Kim, 157.
About the Author
Jeff Styer
Jeff Styer lives in Northeast Ohio's Amish Country. He has degrees in Social Work and Psychology and currently works as a professor of social work at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Jeff is married to his wife, Veronica, 25+ years. Together they have 4 beautiful children (to be honest, Jeff has 4 kids, Veronica says she is raising 5). Jeff loves the outdoors, including biking, hiking, camping, birding, and recently picked up disc golf.10 responses to “Estranged Pioneers -Catering to the Majority.”
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Jeff, Thank you for this thoughtful post. Your last question really resonates with me, “What can we do to love and encourage pastors, regardless of their racial/ethnic background, so that they do not feel like an estranged pioneer?” I think many pastors and their families live a lonely life. It is weighty to care for a congregation, and maintain confidentiality and boundaries on top of the spiritual battle and other aspects of full-time ministry. Living overseas as given me an opportunity to sit down with pastors and their spouses and hear from their hearts. I am a “safe” person because I am removed (by 4K + miles) from their congregation. Perhaps one answer would be to be an authentic friend, ask good questions, and listen. This is something good pastors do every day, but rarely is it reciprocated. Genuine love and care crosses all boundaries.
Thanks for your insight Kari. I am glad that you have the ability to be that safe person for pastors and their spouses.
Thanks for your blog, Jeff. There is a lot to chew on here. I work with a number of ethnic churches. Most of these churches do well with first generation Christians who are able to worship in their “heart language”. However, once we get to the second generation (children of those who immigrated) we find that people desire a multicultural expression of church because this is the environment they have grown up in. In your opinion, what are the benefits of monocultural churches? What are the challenges in helping monocultural churches develop into multicultural communities as they mature?
Graham,
Obviously I am not a person of color and I think a monoculture church in the US is different for a person of color than a White person. For a POC I think the benefit is that worshipping with other believers from the same culture allows them the safe space to be themselves, talk about issues they as POC face. It’s a place where they are the majority and not the minority. It is a place to get recharged according to Edwards and Kim. In regards to helping monocultural churches develop into multicultural communities as they mature, we all know change is hard and often full of resistance. I think the congregation must realize that compromise must occur, they will need to make some changes, for example a Ukrainian church in Columbus adding a 2nd service in English. The changes need to be focused on allowing a person to feel a level of comfort, but I don’t think the changes have to cater to the White hegemony. The challenge will be helping the church find the balance of maintaining their cultural identity while welcoming other cultures. That will entail a lot of prayer, discernment, congregational feedback and compromise. One place I would start is getting a core group of people together and discussing the church’s long term vision, what do they want their church to look like in 20 years and start working backwards setting goals/objectives to allow that to happen.
Hi Jeff,
Edwards and Kim address the unique challenges faced by leaders of color in faith communities. Do you agree with the strategies they propose for overcoming these challenges?
Shela,
Chapter 3 titled “Managing the Challenges” does give some suggestions that I like. Here are a couple. One suggestions is for Pastors of Color who lead multiracial churches to go back to their home culture to get recharged. They tell the story of a Black pastor who get up and goes to a local Black church to worship before going to his multiracial church to preach. Another suggestion is for pastors of color to find other pastors of color leading multiracial churches to form a support network. I do think these are great ideas, while I am not a person of color, I do recognize that I have certain environments that recharge me and I also recognize the benefits of having the backing of people who are facing similar challenges that I am facing.
Jeff your post was truly thought provoking. As a pastor thank you for asking those questions. Sometimes finding authentic allies who can compliment the assignment is a huge undertaking. What would be your first and immediate step if you were leading from the top in creating a culture of diversity in your context?
As someone who is not surrounded by a lot of diversity, I think my first step would be to seek out people who are different from me and befriend them. Get to know and attempt to understand how they experience life in our society.
Jeff, In your look at “Estranged Pioneers,” you discuss the challenges faced by pastors in multiracial churches. They often feel like pioneers but are disconnected from their original communities and the primarily white groups they lead. From your reading of “Estranged Pioneers” and “Dreaming in Black and white,” what strategies can help create a supportive environment for these leaders? How can congregations promote a culture of equality and mutual respect, de-centralizing whiteness?
Chad,
One of the first ways to promote a culture of equality and mutual respect is to recognize our own biases and realize everyone experiences life differently. We need to be willing to try to understand how persons from other cultures experience life in our society and in our church.
Fuller said we need to use three simple statements for reconciliation to occur “I feel your pain, I’m sorry, How can I help” (139). We need to acknowledge our church’s missions, vision, and goals and agree that in order to get accomplish them compromise is going to have to happen and not everyone is going to feel completely comfortable all the time. For example, if we want a multiracial church then we need to consider what elements of the service can be done in a manner that makes different ethnic/racial groups feel included and important. Maybe we invite Hispanic members of the congregation to read scripture and/or pray in Spanish.
Regarding creating a supportive environment, I think as members/leaders of the congregation we can meet with the pastor and listen to him. Allow him to space to share his passion and concerns. Ensure that the pastor has a community of support from other pastors that are leading multiracial churches.
I have a friend who leads a multiracial church and after reading this book, Fuller’s book and listening to Fuller, I would love to sit down with Keon and process all of this with him and how it relates to his church. Maybe then I could have even better answers to your questions.