Don’t limit God to any ethnicity, culture

America is culturally diverse but America’s churches aren’t. Jesus offers the solution to that problem, said Adam Thomason, director of emerging leaders with Downline Ministries and vision-caster for Red Revolution Ministries in Memphis, Tenn.

“Pursue Christ and diversity will happen with our churches,” said Thomason, speaking during National Collegiate Week Aug. 2-7, 2008, at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center near Asheville, N.C.

“In America, we are a culture of African-American Christians, Caucasian Christians, Hispanic Christians, Asian Christians, and on and on,” Thomason said. “That isn’t scriptural, and you know, I don’t want to limit Jesus to just my culture.”

Thomason said when churches or campus ministries are preparing for a mission trip in a culture different from their own, they learn all about that culture that they can so they will fit in.

“If you are going to South America to work with a people group you don’t know anything about, you Google it and find out what they eat, what they wear, how they speak, how they act,” he said. “You are excited. You want to know everything. You don’t want to offend anyone.”

But in the United States we don’t want to get out of our own culture, he said, adding, “In effect we are saying that our own culture is more important than Jesus.”

He said the red blood of Jesus should stain our eyes in such a way that we only see Him, not black, white, yellow or brown.

In closing, Thomason challenged the group to be intentional and worship with other Christians who may do things a little different, who may look different or speak differently.

“Christ called us not to be ethnics, but to be Christians,” he said.

A second Collegiate Week occurred simultaneously at LifeWay Glorieta Conference Center near Santa Fe, N.M. Both were sponsored by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. About 1,700 students and leaders from across the country attended both events.