The Joy of Diversity
by Don Paul GrossRead Doorways to Diversity by Robbie Castleman
Read Open YOUR Door to Diversity by Jeff Yourison
I was a minority in my own car. Two African-Americans and an Asian student were riding with me through the backwoods of Tennessee on our way to Pickett State Park for InterVarsity's Fall Conference. Throughout the state, InterVarsity had arranged for white students to carpool with black students. Why? Because backwoods Tennessee is not a place African Americans feel comfortable driving alone - something I would never have thought of as a white male. The repeated display of Confederate flags along the road symbolized something to them that I had never really thought about - it was the banner of those who fought and died to keep them in slavery.
A significant phrase in InterVarsity's vision statement is ". . . to engage the campus in all its ethnic diversity with the gospel of Jesus Christ." The group at the conference was very diverse. Our speaker was African-American. About a third of the students were African-American. There were also international students from all over the world. I experienced worship with new vitality. I could have listened to the speaker for hours. I was blessed not because I had a sense of "we are doing the right thing by being diverse," but rather because diversity enriched my experience of God.
Scholars says the Romans were repeatedly perplexed by the diversity of the early church - Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, people of all shades of color coming together in spite of a very segregated culture. My understanding of the call to become ethnically diverse has usually been that we need to be diverse to impress the world and obey God. During that weekend conference, however, I experienced a new twist: diversity brings me joy as I walk with God. It shouldn't be news to me that obedience results in pleasure, but it does. I wonder how many of God's blessings I miss because I see obedience as "carrying my weight" rather than recognizing that it is living the life God created me to live. Obedience isn't easy, nor does joy always follow immediately, but the life devoted to obeying God leads to joy and peace - something I experienced more of with my diverse brothers and sisters in Christ.
Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this article for educational purposes provided this permission notice, and the copyright notice below are preserved on all copies. Not to be reprinted in any other publication without permission. © 1997 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship of the USA. All rights reserved. This article first appeared in the Spring/Summer 1997 issue of Student Leadership Journal®.
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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