Pastor Elwood Carson portrays the complexities associated with becoming a multi-ethnic congregation. He talks about having to adapt his African American preaching style as Latino neighbors join the congregation. Also, the congregation embodies differences between people and their various stages and expressions of faith. These are good examples of the types of complexities that accompany adaptive challenges. → On p 104, Martinez notes that there are emotional dimensions of a culture’s worldview, which is one factor concerning how a church thinks about the worship experience. On p 222, Branson writes that “an adaptive challenge is one that will require the church to move forward in a direction it can not see, become something different, learn things it does not know and innovate beyond the current imagination.” Every time a church moves from a homogeneous population to a heterogeneous population, they face serious adaptive changes. On pp 227-230, Branson gives practical tips for leaders facilitating this work. All four of the Carson videos work together to demonstrate many of the specific adaptive challenges Carson’s church faced. Watch the other videos and discuss the adaptive challenges you see present. (This is the fourth video from the interview with Pastor Carson, New Life in Christ Church, Los Angeles.)
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Mark Lau Branson, Ed.D.
Mark is the Homer L. Goddard Associate Professor of the Ministry of the Laity at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, where he teaches courses in congregational leadership and community engagement.
Juan F. Martínez, Ph.D.
Juan is Associate Dean in charge of the Center for the Study of Hispanic Church and Community and Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies and Pastoral Leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.
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That is the purpose of our writing: to help men and women in our churches to see differently and to gain the skills and competencies needed for multicultural contexts. We want to encourage church leaders to create environments that make God’s reconciling initiatives apparent in church life and in our missional engagement with neighborhoods and cities.
Mark Lau Branson, Ed.D. &
Juan F. Martínez, Ph.D.