Wow...what an interesting lecture. Does anyone know if the rest is available online?

I'm curious to see how he suggests achieving this multicultural fruit salad...and what the worship style might look like in some settings.

I've witnessed this clash first hand at one of our academy churches. It is historically a white, traditional church. Due to an influx of East Coasters, the anglo-saxons have quickly become a large minority. In short time it has become a truly multi-cultural congregation, but it has not figured out how to integrate these cultures. I've see the attempt to please everyone with musical selections, and the literal involvement, or lack thereof, on the parts of various cultures is striking. Additionally, there is a culture clash concerning what is and is not proper behavior during worship.

Most recently, in an attempt to move beyond these disparate ideas on worship, the church leadership has charted into the waters of contemporary worship...a fresh plain where none of the participants feel particularly comfortable. Is this the answer? I'm not sure yet.

This message style by Pedrito is actually what promotes and perpetuates the problem that he is addressing.

You know...in the German speaking countries, Adventists have an entirely different hymnal. It is filled with a musical style that would be rather foreign to the American worshiper. Whenever I would hear an American hymn played or sung during worship, it was always by someone from Romania, Croatia, Ukraine, etc. But the question did cross my mind...why aren't they playing and singing their songs? Why are their songs our American SDA hymnal?

Indeed the comments by Jim Roberts are some of the most stark examples of the misuse of scripture I've seen in our denomination . I would remind you that as Adventists Christians we hold the Word of God in high regard and your irresponsible use of His word is not acceptable.

The Bible make explicit allowance for differences in cultural practices among Christians including those to do with religious devotion. Indeed many of the same verses you quoted make precisely that point, that Gentile Christian and Jewish Christians were NOT stepping outside the faith by holding to their own cultural practices (circumcision, feast day, etc.).

As Christians we know that culture matters and all allowances should be made to insure the inclusion of the Christian practices of all backgrounds.

Response:

Romans 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. (fanaticism)

Romans 10:21 But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.

Hi Frank7

I use verses because history repeats itself and it is so valid in this denomination.

This is why Paul wrote...1 Corinthians 10:6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

The other reason I use verses is that I am not an authority of any kind..no matter if I had a dozen letters after my name or was some esteemed pastor or evangelist in the denomination. All people are under attack on this site...EG White, GC presidents, any theologian....any pastor..I use verses to let people fight with God or inspired writings. If the verses are not relevant, then a reader should not be offended

You get tired of the same points because you are a regular...
This can be annoying to people who have their TV tuned to the same channel. They get tired of even the most popular commercials repeated over and over again.

However to the reader who is new or an infrequent visitor to this site...I have the opportunity to present what is usually not shared in intimidating , tight church circles.

"How did the speaker demonstrate this in his message?"
In precisely the fashion that scripture itself suggest it ought to be uplifted.

2 Timothy 3:16,17
"16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

Mr. Maynard-Reid demonstrates his regard for scripture by advancing an understanding of church practice which is in keeping with Biblical principles. This entire presentation was for the purpose of " instruction in righteousness" which is where I see your previous comments fell short.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems you are suggesting that quoting scripture in an of itself demonstrates regard for scripture. This is a common misconception. Satan himself was known to quote scripture. It is not in reciting scripture that it finds it's meaning but in following it, in being made perfect and prepared to do good works.

In order to follow scripture we must first understand it. Many of the verses you quoted were from Paul who was dealing with a very particular context which has great applicability for Christians today. Beginning in Acts and throughout the Pauline Epistles. We see Paul struggling with a group of Jewish Christians who were attempting to insist that Gentile converts keep Jewish practices such as circumcision, feast days and the like. Paul's response is neither to agree with this claim or to go to the other extreme (as you seem to be doing) and suggest that being made new means that these practices must be abandoned by the Jewish Christians themselves.

Instead Paul says that these distinctions have nothing to do with God and everything to do with our own feelings of obligation.
1 Corinthians 7 18-20
18Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised.

19Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.

20Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.

This principle has applications to day. We find ourselves in a world church and whether we know it or not we Americans have a set of cultural expectations of the worship service that are as foreign to the majority of SDA believers as there's are to us. It is not our duty to convert them to our practice nor their duty to convert us to theirs.

Instead we are to live in peace and the best way to do that is to allow all to participate rather than seeking assimilation or separation. This is the core of Mr. Maynard-Reid's message and it is entirely biblical.

The ministers must be converted before they can strengthen their brethren. They should not preach themselves, but Christ and His righteousness. A reformation is needed among the people, but it should first begin its purifying work with the ministers.
1 T 469

Jim...maybe your quotations reveal a clear picture to you...but I have no idea what you are trying to say (by not actually saying anything.) Perhaps you can take a hiatus from this approach and state what you intend to communicate. Thanks...Charles

Jim...I'm still lost as to what you mean. Are you saying that something about Dr. Maynard-Reid's presentation style reveals something about him or his intent?

Purpose and content...it was a gathering at Andrews for a conference on issues surrounding worship. That's the purpose. His lecture focuses on the dilemma of multiculturalism within our world-wide multi-cultural church. His content has to do with that reality.

What does his presentation style reveal to you? What are you trying to reveal in your scripture quotes?

Is your main concern that he did not draw definitive conclusions and base them on a chain of Bible texts?

I'm just trying to figure it out...

I'm just back from a rehearsal on the American opera SUSANNAH (by Carlisle Floyd). This is a powerful work based on the apocryphal story of Susannah and the Elders (bathing). One of the big scenes takes place in a revival meeting at a local church. The opera is set in the Smokies...so the church would almost certainly be a Primitive Baptist congregation. Typically, when you see the opera performed in the U.S., we have no problem creating and understanding the charismatic nature of the preaching. If American directors err, it is in the mistake of making the congregation too Pentecostal in worship style.

But here we are in Germany, trying to make an American story relevant. So, the director (rightly so) has made a lot of choices about how to portray this revival service. For starters, the itinerant preacher is dressed like a Catholic priest. The members make the sign of the cross several times. There are many other little details like this.

I've had some discussions with the director about how it might have "really" been in a service of this nature. On every point, he keeps coming back to the truth that the experienced story I'm telling him is so foreign to a German's concept of church that it would get in the way of communicating the real point. In other words, he is choosing to make the service a little more "German" so that the audience can actually relate.

It made me think of this sermon!

Frank...those are valid observations and questions. I think I've raised many of them, myself. I would say that Schinler's List probably is directed toward an American cultural concept. I've never discussed the movie with my German friends to get their take...I must do that! Das Boot is a German story, directed by a German. I would imagine it is more authentic to German culture.

Theatrically played worship (as in a musical, opera, or play) is not worship...it is theater. In this particular play, there are two driving forces for ideas: the director and the historian. I've spoken with each and realized they come from a Catholic background. This region of Germany is also highly Catholic. Having grown up in a culture where they are baptized at birth and systematically introduced to their faith in the schools (not very emotional), they find this moment in the opera hard to comprehend. I've told them of the amazing joy that one feels when he/she, as an adult, makes a choice to publicly repent and accept Christ. But the scene is musically constructed in such a way that it reveals the pressure on the part of the preacher and the other church members. This, by the way, is not an inaccurate picture. I suppose Adventists apply pressure in our prophecy series, but I've often wondered why our preachers don't make more altar calls in our regular worship. Different culture? To further cement this feeling of pressure, the director is incorporating an historical image from Germany where people were paraded around wearing plaques with their transgressions written on them. It is a meaningful thing to Germans...meant nothing to me until it was explained.

The thing about theater is there is no right answer. We make choices. Maybe some produce better results than others, but you don't really know until the audience arrives.

I once did a staged performance of the St. John Passion, by J.S. Bach, in English. The director was Jewish and atheist. Many of the participants (performers) were angry with their personal "church" experiences. The fact that I still believed left me feeling like I was on an island of my own. The director had one rule...honestly play the text...no extra stories, just the text. All pageantry was stripped away. We wore our normal street clothes...just like the disciples were wearing in their day. There were 10 performances. Of all the performing experiences I've ever been a part of, this one made the most profound impact that I can recall. At each performance, and in no particular, contrived place, people in the audience would be cracked open. I could hear people openly weeping. Something about the honesty of this production devastated people...it really opened their eyes to something new...it was theater, and, for many audience members, it was also worship of the highest degree.

My new in-laws (average SDAs) came to see it. Their response...thought it was really good and moving, but they had a problem with the way that Jesus sometimes seemed angry. I gave them the task of reading the scripture just for what it says. They did...and lo and behold...there it was. Culture is partly to blame for why they hadn't seen what was right before their eyes.

Thank you, Charles. I would have loved to have seen that performance of the St. John's Passion.

It's also very interesting to hear about how your Adventist in-laws reacted to the portrayal of Jesus. Phillip Yancey focuses on this in his book, "The Jesus I Never Knew." He showed a series of film versions of the life of Jesus to a class that he was teaching and encountered just what you've described. I wonder how much the Desire Of Ages version of Jesus impacted your in-laws reading of the Scriptures. EGW is careful to mention that Jesus never spoke in angry tones when denouncing the Pharisees and the rabbis, but that there were always "tears in his voice."

However, the NT itself never goes that far. When Jesus cleansed the temple, looked around in anger at the hardness of the leaders hearts over healing, or called them a brood of vipers and whitewashed tombs, you get the sense that he was just flat out angry. It's a normal human emotion to injustice, greed, and hurtful behavior, and Jesus used it to fuel positive change. He healed people on Sabbath in spite of the regioniks harsh legalism, he overthrew, at least temporarily, the corruption going on in the temple, and he spoke truth to those who needed to be woken up.

We surely have our own American Adventist culture and tradition that is shaped by its own factors, and shapes our own religious understanding and expression.

Thanks...

Frank

Frank...I just looked out of curiosity on youtube. This is a version that predates the performances at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music). Our's was also perhaps more accessible to an American audience because we performed it in English. I may have confused my recollection of which Passion it was.

Jonathan Miller's Matthew Passion (1 of 12) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO64Sh24kHY

Here is a short interview with the director: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-Vphmjdr4Y

Jim...no offense...I can follow what you've just written, but I can't figure out how it applies to the theme of Maynard-Reid's lecture/sermon. Are we just talking about two different issues?

Thanks,
Charles

What makes it a little more difficult is that there is not a time bar on his presentation link so I can easily be specific.

Here's a link to the original...with a timeline.

http://vimeo.com/24295728

Jim...

PMR speaks of an incarnational relating to others of different cultures, truly imbibing the experience and journey of those whose shoes we haven't walked in. He relates this to creating a truly multi-cultural worship experience as opposed to a pastiche, or tokenism. I can relate this to what Paul said, "I became all things to all men...'I can relate it to Jesus calling us to, "Do to others as you would have them do to you," and his call to love one another. This also reflects Jesus' own incarnation, in which he became one with us, yet remained distinct from us. The church bears witness to him when we practice the same, not only for the salvation of those who don't yet believe, but also within the fellowship of those who do.

One doesn't need specific chapter and verse to recognize biblical preaching, nor does the preacher have to quote to prove it. Jesus told often stories where Scripture was never mentioned.

Thanks...

Frank

Charles...

Some of what you stated came to me also this morning...audience. This was not a typical church service. This was embedded in what seemed to be a weekend workshop at the seminary, or at least a Sabbath workshop, that seemed to be intended primarily for university students, and others. That would cause a somewhat different approach than what may be taken for an audience in a typical suburban church, where most NAD churches are located.

Thanks...

Frank

Jim...now you are saying something and I finally understand what you meant! Thanks.

From this lecture, I specifically thought he was NOT saying, "can't we all just get along." This philosophy has produced attempts at the melting pot. Rather, he's saying we must move beyond that mentality. To be multicultural, we must truly accept and acknowledge cultures other than our own. This results in his fruit-salad image. Actually, I think your Marine Sargent would would have agreed with Maynard-Reid.

We have to become one...but what does one look like when so many cultures are involved?

Since when does being transformed in Christ indicate that we become like anything other than what the Spirit transforms us into?

I accept your concern about lack of Bible texts...can you accept Frank and my observation that context might really explain it? But let's look at it the other way. Instead of quoting verses that you believe judge the speaker, try figuring out what his talk meant and see if there are verses he could/should have used.

Jim Roberts:

I think it would be more respectful of scripture not to quote it at all an instead be clear that you are arguing from your own opinion rather than using the Word out of context and mistaking its meaning.

The Bible never teaches against culture in and of itself:
"Genuine Christianity confronts all cultures because their values are of the world/satan and harmful to humanity....be it thought processes, speech, diet, clothing..etc."

This betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of what culture is. Culture is not an alienable part of the human experience. The term represents the sum total of expectations and modes of behavior of a social group. Americans have a culture, Christians have a culture, Seventh-Day Adventists have a culture, you have a culture. Without having a culture you would find yourself entirely unable to cope with social settings from your family to your church to the wider world.

Take the examples you note. Do you not have a thought process? Do you not speak? Eat? Wear clothing?

How often do you find yourself speaking Patois? Eating Chapati? Wearing a kimono? I would venture to say that even if you do one of these things the likelihood that they all represent a typically day's action for you is vanishingly small. That's because you have a culture, a set of societal norms for your language, diet dress etc. that you follow pretty much everyday.

Your denunciation of culture in addition to the way you seem to be using 1 John 2:15 and the verses preceding suggest you may have fallen victim to a common misreading of scripture. Here "the world" is taken specifically to mean sin and in particular lust and pride. This is not a wholesale denunciation of life as it is lived. Your interpretation is one that has been taken before. For hundreds of year Christian Ascetics clothed themselves in sackcloth and sought out caves far from human habitation. The reason the farther away they were from the ungodly "world" the closer they were to God's divine presence. The Catholic and Orthodox monks sought ought their abbeys and monasteries to spend a life of solitude in prayer.

You may "answer" this is not what you mean but then the question would be "why not?" You have denounced engagement with culture how much of a "new creature" is enough? Must we create a new language among we Christians? New foods? New Dress? Or is a vow of silence and a monk's robe enough?

You do violence to the scripture when you interpret God's word to mean a disengagement from the everyday lives of ordinary people and this is precisely what you're suggesting. Real Christians have cultures, they have languages they speak, stories they tell, dishes the serve to guest, and ways of showing their thankfulness for the Lord's mercy.

It is far from a sin to acknowledge this. Instead it is a fundamental expression of care for you Brother and Sisters in Christ.

I asked you above to spend some time thinking about your fellow believers. See yourself from their try and step beyond the limits of your own experience and put someone else first for a moment. Find a church which speaks another language sings their songs eat their food and THINK about what you are suggesting when you tell them they ought to have no culture.

Once again I believe you are a reasonable person and a sincere Christian. If you are willing to take a step outside of you comfort zone and meet with your fellow believers I think you'll understand.

If a thing is understandable must it be necessity be "shallow" or "casual?" Is the Bible meant as a practical corrective for righteousness or merely a theoretical playground to prove our worth?

If you find your interpretation of scripture at odds with the reality of our duty towards our fellow man the trouble may be in your interpretation. Our calling, God's command as you have referenced, is to hold our neighbor in high esteem. This is not a suggestion nor is it accomplished by ignoring their perspective.

Once again do not stop your study where you feel comfortable. Philippians 2 asks us to be of one mind, having the mind which is also in Christ Jesus. How does it describe this mind?
"6Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

Does this sound like a commandment against culture to you? That's not what these words say. Paul is advising Christians to be humble and to place the needs of other above their own.

How wonderful would it be if the alienation the speaker in the video references never took place because the other members of the congregation sacrificed some of their cultural comfort to make another's culture equal to their own and attempted to accommodate the many ways in which we all praise the Lord?

Have you studied about assimilation? Read about what people endured for centuries because someone thought their culture was unrefined and not worthy of a consideration? Maynard-Reid is of Jamaican heritage. What do you know of Jamaica, its history and people?

If you had truly considered these thing I suspect you'd be a little less willing to count the angles dancing of the head of your acultural pin. You take for granted many comforts in this life (don't we all) do not deny them to others. Do not give in to selfishness.

Do not fall ahem, victim, to a dead Christianity full of words but devoid of love. Take care not to become a tinkling cymbal.

I joined the SDA Church in a multi-cultural congregation...the then healthy Takoma Park SDA Church. It's multicultural gathering actually stood out in contrast to any other church I'd ever attended. One of my most significant performance experiences took place in that congregation. I had moved away to New Jersey, but was coming to DC for a concert. When they learned this, they invited me to sing for worship. It was early December. I was coming to do a Christmas concert, but they said it wouldn't be appropriate on this day because it was the annual "All Nations Sabbath". On this Sabbath, members of the congregation would dress up in the traditional garb of their heritage. Then they would parade into the church with flags from those countries. The whole point was to remind each other how many different perspectives and histories were gathered under one roof to worship one God in unity.

So, I compromised. I suggested I would sing Christmas songs, but in foreign languages. Gesu Bambino in Italian, O Holy Night in French, and my wife sang Maria's Wiegenlied in German. It was a normal worship service until I got to O Holy Night. I decided that, since I hadn't offered anything in English, I would sing the first two stanzas in French and then switch to English for the end. I arrived at the third stanza...switch...

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother
And in his name, all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise us,
Let all within us praise His holy name!
Christ is the Lord, then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory, evermore proclaim!

Singing these words while looking out over a sea of people dressed in vastly different clothing, with skin of vastly different color, and flags from all around the world, and all in a worship service...these words suddenly took on a profound meaning that had escaped me in previous renderings. These words became urgent. In this moment, I realized that slavery and oppression still exists in places in the world.

While I was singing this, my wife was holding a three year old boy in her lap. She said that the strangest thing happened. His whole body started to vibrate with intense energy. She could feel it. I felt it too. It is the only time in my years of performing that I felt as though God took over. And it wasn't just me and that boy...it was the whole room...all gathered....our multicultural "mosaic"! As the song concluded, the entire congregation leaped to its feet with shouts and applause (not something that EVER happened at this church)...AND NONE OF IT WAS FOR ME! We had experienced a special moment in worship of our Creator...togetherness despite our uniqueness.

BTW...those are a couple of my experiences with mutli-cultural reality and worship within the SDA Church. Feel free to comment (if need be, even to critique!) But a more meaningful response, I'd love to hear the stories of others. Sharing our experiences is not a pointless exercise.

Wishing you each a Happy Sabbath wherever you are! (I'm in Germany).

What is culture? It is a way of life and that is a product of the social and physical environment. We all have them and we turn to God because He is better than our cultures. More than practical considerations that have to do with weather, resources, diets, things that affect the practical decisions of people, mannerisms and decoding of behaviours God addresses the hearts of people and that is where we all meet. If we have God's spirit we will be quick to see it in others regardless of the above considerations. At the feet of a righteous God who addresses the soundness of ALL our practices we can all be comfortable. We go to church to hear God speak more than any other interest. Our dress and music, and behavior can hinder or help that process and whilst some may be offended by the dress of others, others can be put off by hygienic considerations but the moment God begins to speak in the church, all these things will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. The way some people carry on about trivialities is a clear indication that as a church we have lost something huge. We came here not to have our cultures affirmed but to be saved by the truth. When we walk out of church, we should have heard God speak His will into our lives. We should have heard comfort from His spirit through His word. We should have a clearer knowledge of God and MORE faith in Him. Now, culture can help or hinder that and when one visits churches the effect will tell whether God was there or not. What distresses me is an emphasis on non critical differences as a basis for altering us as a collective people. There is nothing new in this drive to formulate a policy at the centre of the work that sends us back to our bondages. It is a UN drive making its way through governments and the media. Take everyone back to their pre missionary religions. In the name of cultural affirmation we are being fragmented and returned where we came from - a diverse people. I was raised in rural Africa and the idea that we must go back to our cultures as a means of self authentication is cruss mischief because that reenculturation establishes the same carnal connections from which this message saved us. A lot of what we were before Adventism sobered us up has not produced a sound and sober people. No, we are a people and God's ways make us a people and the hymns and hymnbooks properly used produced a sedate and sound people. And singing from the same hymnbook is GOOD for us and anyone who has ever walked with God and fought the good fight of faith appreciates these deep and richly worded Hymns. This religion and faith has a history and that history is in the songs that transcend time and cultures. We still sing these songs with a deep joy and a hearty amen here in Africa. The patronising idea that says we are at our best when we do not sing from the hymnals is mischief. The result is what it is in our churches in some part of the USA - they simply do not know these spiritual hyms, let alone sing them by heart AT A TIME WHEN WE WILL NEED THEIR STRENGTHENING INFLUENCE MORE THAN EVER.

The facts are that someone wants to reinforce our differences in the name of culture pluralism and create superfluous dysfunctional attitudes thatb hinder our united spirits to finish this work. It's so much nonsense. Our religion is of heavenely origin and refines our culture by teaching us to think on "all" "these thing" whatsoever they are. These songs of christian and adventist experience speak to us and strengthen us as we join all nations and kindred and tongues to walk with a God we have never walked with before and whose ways are more excellent than any culture. That excellency unites us. What needs saying is the principles of God be it in terms of dress, speech, eating etc refine us and are universal. There was a time when you could tell Adventists and it still true where we live their somber manner and sound reasoning and well informed arguments. It mattered not where you went, our ladies were modest in appearence, gentle in manners. There was something to Peter's counsel applied that produced respectable womanhood with our - plain and yet attractive looks. It was evident we approved things excellent and we thought on all things and the reality is it matters not what culture, the Holy Ghost has a way of creating a characteristic people. Those old time missionaries certainly had SOMETHING that produced people who are still respectable to this day.

Africa in the nature of things has a short history of worshipping the true God and consequently our songs are to Him do not exist. We have a few choruses. We have no Adventist traditional songs that I know that would match a mighty fortress. We simply have not written such songs. If any of us have songs that would benefit the world church, why not submit them to be incorporated into the Hymnal so that we can all share them as a world church. Why not, but please do not divide us in the name of cultural pluralism and do not rob of us of the rich heritage of Christian and especially Advent Hymns by those that have walked this road before us. We have lost much in the revision of our Hymn Books. It would do well to publish Christ in song again and translate that into native languages. What breaks my heart is to see our children sing Pentocostal and Evangelical songs complete with the spirit of that whole catastrophy. What ever happened to Adventism. When we sing our Hymns, never mind the culture and preach solid Bible, what a powerful and unifying experience. Nothing else really matters. We are filled with who we are - Adventists full of our message.

Ron Miranashe...I'd also like to thank you for sharing your perspective, especially since it concerns Western culture being used to purge African culture. I, personally, cannot agree with aspects of your argument, but I'm honestly impressed by your personal experience.

Some areas in which we personally differ are:

1. Worship...the main point of corporate worship is coming together as a people to praise our Creator. I got the feeling from your points that you feel it is about affirming the people so they can stand soundly in the face of the time of trouble. But worship is only about us in that we come together to worship God.

To become Christians with a solid foundation, we need to be active in His advice...to testify, help the needy, feed the hungry, share the good news, love one another, and so on. When we do these things, then we know what we are about as followers of Christ...and when we come together for corporate worship, we have a natural outpouring of praise. One action Jesus is not recorded as telling us to do in 'seeking the Kingdom' is going to church. He demonstrated that he went to the temple, but doing this is obviously not the thing that yields maturity.

2. Music in culture...When you study the history of musical development, it becomes starkly clear how unique it is to culture. We call the music of Europe and North America Western Music, but even this gets broken down into numerous categories, and, for example, there are obvious differences between music from the Romantic period in France and Germany, even though they can both fit into the State of Texas. In the history of hymnody, one thing that many people do not realize is that the hymn is nothing more than a poem. The tune/melody is another creation. It is rare to find both created by the same person. This is why you can find the same hymns sung to completely different tunes in different places. The hymnals that Adventists have used are not really ours...a small percentage of the hymns come from Adventist hymn writers...and your example of 'A Mighty Fortress' is penned by Martin Luther.

The U.S.A. is a cultural melting pot. Our American Culture does consist of hymns and tunes from many cultures and denominations. Ironically, the current movement in "praise and worship music" is creating a style of worship that is larger than any one culture. I've already shared the example that the German SDA Hymnal is entirely different from the American one, but virtually all non-Germans in the German churches have only learned the hymns of our American culture. This also became clearer when my wife and I offered a Christmas concert in our church. We sang traditional songs...traditional to American culture...but actually from all over the place. The German congregation had never heard O Holy Night, Gesu Bambino, and so on.

Perhaps the presence of the Adventist Church in Africa has resulted in an American Adventist sub-culture there, and while it might set you apart from culturally African non-Adventists, it could also stand in the way of people 'feeling at home.' What would happen if your local musicians took the hymn, 'A Mighty Fortress' and wrote a genuinely African tune to carry it?

Charles Reid
I agree wholeheartedly that congregational worship must be understood as a necessarily social experience and I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and feeling concerning your worship experience. It is undoubtedly true that both "black" and "white" congregations struggle with making those of other backgrounds feel welcome. I had the pleasure of taking part in a wonderful worship service today at the Madison Mission church in Huntsville, AL (it was their "Caribbean Day") and though the joy of those gathering from many nations around the Caribbean was heartening, the message was focused only on the Afro-Caribbean experience and non-blacks were not made to feel welcome.

I think it does represent a failure when someone of any background can attend a church for a length of time and not feel at home. It's our responsibility. It is not simply a matter of one's own background. I've had had the pleasure of attending services in three languages (so far) and number of ethnic backgrounds. I have almost always felt welcome and appreciated whether I spoke the language or not. I also believe that your advice on accentuating the positive and not focusing on the trivialities that may make us uncomfortable about a worship style.