Trillia Newbell is a wife, mother, writer and self-professed lover of Jesus.
Her work regularly appears on prominent websites such as Desiring God, The Resurgence, The Gospel Coalition and Rapzilla. She is also the lead editor of Karis and a consultant on women’s initiatives for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
If you are not familiar with Trillia Newbell or her writing, you need to be.
That is why I reached out to ask her a few questions and share her answers with you.
The Bible Belt and a Watered-Down Gospel
What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in the “Bible Belt”?
The advantage is it is easy to begin a conversation about Jesus. It’s almost expected.
The disadvantage is it is easy to begin a conversation about Jesus. It’s almost expected.
Because there are so many churches and so many people who claim Christianity, the real Good News can be watered down to a story about a man we celebrate instead of a redeemer for the world in need of saving.
I’m not going to lie. As someone who lives in the antithesis of the Bible Belt, I enjoy hearing people openly talk about Jesus. It is also refreshing to hear a shopkeeper end a transaction with, “God bless you.”
However, I agree that the gospel can easily get lost in Southern culture.
I recently began reading your first book, United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity, published by Moody Publishers in March 2013.
Without spoiling it, I’ll simply say that, at one point in the book, you tricked me.
So my question is: Are you the M. Night Shyamalan of book writing?
Ha! That is great. Evidently, I tricked quite a few folks.
For those of you who haven’t read the book, in the introduction I share a story. That’s all I’ll say.
As far as Shyamalan, I only wish! I’m not a great creative writer, so writing United was a task. It was hard to add story instead of simply sharing facts.
I’ll take your word for it.
Although, now I’m wondering whether the M. Night Shyamalan of book writing would admit that she was the M. Night Shyamalan of book writing.
Anyway, I love the title of your book, and I look forward to finishing it.
Diversity Beyond Ethnicity
The word diversity is itself packed with diversity.
When I hear it, however, I am often transported back to the context in which I heard it most during my formative years. Read: the ’90s.
That context was ethnicity, which your book has addressed so far.
In addition to ethnicity, does the church also commonly suffer from a lack of diversity in age, financial status and interests?
Absolutely! I address financial status and interests, especially as I describe how my friends and I benefited from meeting together regularly.
But I do not address age. Age is a topic on its own. I imagine a book could easily be written about how to love and serve people of various ages, where the church is lacking and the benefits of diversity in age.
I ask because I know churches that offer admirable examples of ethnic diversity. Some of my best friends are diverse.
Still, those churches may struggle in other areas.
I think your call to pursue diversity is healthy and one we all need to hear. As for age, you’re still young. You have plenty of time to address that one.
I have had the opportunity to visit churches across the country and, occasionally, around the world.
One thing stands out: There is a church for nearly every kind of person.
There is a church for the mandolin-loving, ironic-mustache-grooming, craft-coffee-drinking saint.
There is a church for the ink-scarred, jean-vest-wearing, biker-gang saint.
And, of course, there is a church for MMA fanatics.
Has our push to “contextualize” caused us to lose even more diversity than we once had?
I’d love to explore your theory on contextualizing and the effect it has on membership.
I do think we can tend to cater to certain populations as a means of mission. In other words, a pastor feels called to minister to the poor, so he puts a church in an impoverished area, adds a soup kitchen and concentrates solely on that ministry.
Or a pastor desires to reach the millennial population, so he makes sure the worship band is made up of young, guitar-playing, modern Christian music-singing, cool dudes.
But what we all need is the gospel. That’s what we ultimately need.
I am not saying that any of these pursuits are wrong. I do think we want to be careful not to try to “reach” people and forget the gospel, which is their ultimate need.
Now, does this hurt the cause of diversity? It sure can.
If our services are geared toward young hipsters, senior adults may simply be put off. I’ve seen quite a few articles lately addressing this issue.
People would encourage pastors to think not only about the diversity of members, but also the diversity of the church culture.
But we must also remember that our leaders are men. They are trying their best to do what they believe is right.
We can help, inform and pray for them.
When Church Programs Divide Us
Alongside contextualization, I think the movement to create programs has also had a damaging effect on diverse and homogeneous churches alike.
Programs tend to focus on niche interests, backgrounds, genders and ages.
Think about men’s retreats, senior luncheons, women’s Bible studies or even the choice between traditional and contemporary worship services.
Does our tendency to categorize and separate people the moment they enter the church also contribute to a lack of diversity?
Absolutely! I think you are onto something here.
We have a tendency to segregate our congregations through programs. As a result, we can fail to learn from one another.
However, I also think this could be a way to serve people who might not receive care otherwise.
With that said, I think one of the most effective ways to build diversity, and love others, is to invite them into your home or out to lunch or dinner.
We need to invite people who are not like us into our lives. That, to me, is what will serve members.
We can’t practice the “one anothers” in Scripture if we aren’t involved in each other’s lives.
I agree.
To be clear, I don’t think church programs are inherently evil.
However, the momentum behind them has sometimes grown into a beast. Without meaning to, churches may teach people to sort themselves into socially constructed safe havens.
Those people are otherwise dynamic, unique and made in the image of God.
So why wouldn’t we eventually sort ourselves by birthplace, ancestry and physical appearance as well?
Naming Racism and Putting United Into Action
According to Scripture, including Acts 17:26, humanity shares a common origin.
Scientific research also shows that human beings are overwhelmingly similar genetically. The Human Genome Project reported that people share about 99.9% of their DNA.
In other words, the biological differences among human populations are remarkably small.
Yet racism remains real.
For thousands of years, people have experienced bias, oppression, hatred and violence because society assigned meaning and value to differences such as skin color, ancestry and ethnicity.
How can we remain faithful to what Scripture teaches while also addressing and correcting a real problem?
One way to combat racism is to call it what it is in biblical terms.
Racism is hate and pride. It could be rooted in jealousy or bitterness. Racism is sinful.
If we can get to the root, then I think we can properly deal with it.
Another thing we need to do is remember that it is real and continues to happen.
I think we can adopt the notion that because we are out of the Civil Rights Movement, we’ve arrived.
That is not reality. We will be fighting racism until Jesus returns.
I wholeheartedly agree that we will be fighting sin until Jesus returns.
In the meantime, we should call things what they are.
In addition to God receiving glory and the gospel being made clear, what do you hope someone takes away from reading United?
I’d love for this book to be put into action.
I give a few practical tips for building diverse relationships, such as asking a neighbor over or teaching your children about the nations.
Lastly, what’s next for you? If you’re allowed to share, what will your next book address?
My next project is called Fear and Faith, and it will publish in 2015.
I’m excited about this topic. I don’t think anyone is immune to the struggle of fear.
I am praying people don’t feel alone in their struggle and are encouraged in their faith through this book.
Trillia, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to share with us at King Kulture.
And to everyone reading, thank you as well.
If you haven’t already, pick up Trillia’s book, United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity.
- President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Tony Blair, Francis Collins and Craig Venter, Human Genome Announcement at the White House, 2000, YouTube, 8:10.
- S.C. Cameron and S.M. Wycoff, “The Destructive Nature of the Term Race: Growing Beyond a False Paradigm,” Journal of Counseling & Development, Vol. 76, 1998, pp. 277-285.