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   My wife and I recently attended the Mosaix Conference in Dallas, TX. It is a gathering centered on the goal of producing ethnically diverse congregations to reflect doing ministry in an ethnically diverse world. There is ample evidence that the church on Sunday usually does not look like the community around it. Churches are notorious for being mono-ethnic units and the accusation that there is no more segregated place in America than in churches on Sunday mornings is still all to often true.

     Being in a group of people committed to diversity in the church gave me the chance to listen to others who are committed to this work and learn from them. There were dozens of speakers and workshop leaders who offered insights from their experiences. Over the course of the event, as we listened to various stories and perspective, there were a few things that kept coming up again and again. I will list them here and then spend the next several blog posts expanding on them.

     One thing I thought of as I reflected on this list. This list is a list of just plain good practices. These are not “ethnic specific” as much as “culturally aware.” No matter what mix of people live around the congregation in which you serve or participate, these are always good practice.

     The six things that rise to the top if we are to make progress reaching new and more diverse people:

     * Know your theological and biblical motivation. Reach out for the right reasons.
     * Develop cultural competency and awareness among the people
     * Establish a culture of trial and error with a high commitment to forgiveness
     * Create a diverse leadership team that looks like your mission field
     * Eat together and often
     * Build authentic relationships beyond Sunday morning

As I mentioned above, this is just a list of good work that we all need to do. There is nothing magic about it. Nor are there too many places where all of these things wouldn’t be helpful or even foundational to better reach out to anyone who lives nearby.