What Is the UPCI Doing to Promote Racial Inclusion?

Summary

Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.

Biblically correct — the affirmation and the timeline

• The frame: today we celebrate the legacy of Dr Martin Luther King Jr, and his work to promote Racial equality. In this episode, the discussion is what the United Pentecostal Church International is doing, to promote greater inclusion, for believers of every race and ethnicity, and to combat the sin of racism, in the church. (The episode also carries an invitation, in Bernard's own voice, to the gathering it names — which stands verbatim-only, as episode furniture, not as part of the answer.) The host's question: today we celebrate Dr Martin Luther King Jr, and his work to promote Racial equality. And you've addressed the subject of racial equality, in the church, on numerous occasions. Today, though, I want to ask you about this: in 2008, the general Board of the United Pentecostal Church International adopted a racial and ethnic affirmation. And by the way, our viewers and listeners can access that document, on the upci website. The racial and ethnic affirmation states the following (as the question reads it): as the largest and leading movement of its kind in the world (as the affirmation styles it), the United Pentecostal Church International is dedicated to overcoming any appearance of racism within the church, by making a deliberate effort toward inclusion, and a firm open stand against racial bigotry and segregation. I'd like you to talk about the efforts that the upci is making, to fulfill this specific commitment. And what area — where do we still need to improve? The answer: certainly, this is an important topic for us. And I'll just say: when I was a pastor, I'd like to mention the various holidays — and sometimes I would preach themes related to those holidays, such as Father's Day, Mother's Day, July 4th. And so Martin Luther King Jr day was one of those days, that at least I'd mention the Legacy, and the progress we've made, the challenges that we still face. And occasionally I'd use a quote from Dr King, or a reference to some things, as kind of a segue into a message, which would be dealing with those issues, but also apply it spiritually. So we talk about Liberty, in a social, political sense. But then, of course, ultimately, in a spiritual sense. So I think this is a great time, to talk about these things. And it is important. Some people say: well, you're just trying to be politically correct, or you're trying to be woke. And of course we're not. We're not trying to promote racial quotas, or reverse discrimination, or anything like that. But I like to say: we're trying to be biblically correct. So it's not what Society, or politics, say, that's going to determine. Although, the fact that we've discussed these things in our society can help us, as the church, to make sure that we're biblically correct, and also biblically relevant. So: on the same website, upci.org, we have the racial and ethnic affirmation of the upci, that you mentioned — adopted 2008. But we also have a timeline, so people can see the progress that we made, how far we've come, but also how far we need to go. So that timeline goes back to about 1975. And you will see the progress the upci has made ('the progress the upcis made', as spoken), in trying to reach every culture, every race, every language — particularly in North America, our home base, U.S and Canada, but also around the world. And we've made tremendous strides, over the years. And so you can see that detailed timeline.

The Articles of Faith amendment — inclusion as core doctrine

• What we've done this year — which I think is particularly significant: last year, we passed an amendment, to the articles of faith. That first has to come from the general board. Then the resolutions committee, general conference ('digital Journal conference', as the letters stand at that point). And then it has to be ratified, by the districts. So the general conference passed in 2021. It's been ratified in 2022. And now it's officially an amendment, to the articles of Faith. That's a difficult process, because our articles of Faith are our core documents. Those are our Essentials — is what we believe. And so we had a section, called creation of man in his fall (as the section stands in the letters), where we explain that God created humans, in His image, but humans fell into sin. So we added to that some significant language. And particularly, we added: that every human being is created in God's image. So every human being deserves respect. Therefore, we oppose all forms of racism, or discrimination. I don't have the exact language in front of me. But I think it's significant, that we decide to put this, in our articles of Faith, as our core doctrine: that we stand for inclusion. We stand against any form of discrimination, based on race, or a national origin, or ability, or ethnicity. And that we believe the church on Earth should attempt to reflect the church in heaven. When you see the Book of Revelation: people of every tongue, every language, every tribe, Every Nation, assembled together, worshiping God together. And that's what we should strive for, today. So to me, that's quite significant. Because now it becomes a core value. We already have the position paper. But the position paper is a further explanation, and detailed explanation. But we wanted to have that position paper rooted, in the Articles of Faith. Because if it's just a position paper, you can take it or leave it. You can say: well, I disagree with that. But if it's in your articles of Faith, then, if you're going to be a minister, you must agree with that. And so the Article of Faith now has this statement. And it's elaborated upon, by the position paper. Now we also have international articles of Faith.

Scriptures: Revelation (book-only)

A global church — and what the survey showed

• So one of the things we've done, over the years, is: we've established a global Council. That initially — the other nations of the world, the churches were begun, by missionaries from North America. Well: now we have solidly established churches, in many nations of the world. In fact, we have some kind of presence now, in 200 of the 210 nations of the world, plus many territories. It's right around 240 Nations and territories, where we have some kind of witness, some kind of presence, some kind of activity. In many cases, strong churches. Well: in about — I think almost 60 of those — we now have National churches. That means churches with their own structure, their own governance, their own leadership, that's elected by them. And so we have a global Council, where delegates come from all over the world, to establish International policy. So the leaders are not just people from North America, but they're people of every background — Every Nation, every nation where we have established works, every continent, you know, every region of the world. As I said, about 60 Nations have national leaders now. The delegates of the council: I would say probably 30 nations of those would be African, or Caribbean, where you have — they wouldn't be African-American, but they would be black, or African descent representation. So in fact: we have — I'm the chairman of the global Council. But we just elected a new secretary. And we elected Duncan karuku (as the name stands in the letters), who is the general superintendent of the upci of Kenya. So not only are we working in the U.S, but we're also working around the world, to have a truly International Church, diverse Church, inclusive church. And that be reflected, in the leadership. We just did a survey, of senior Pastors, in October. And I just met with our statistician today — our director of research and development. So she gave me some preliminary results. We'll be publishing detail results in January, and probably available — all of our ministers — by March, after the general board has had a chance to review and absorb all these things. But I can tell you: one of the questions we ask, of senior pastors, was to identify the racial composition, of their churches. It is interesting, that the latest survey showed — now let me see if I can remember it all — but the latest survey showed, that 61 of our constituents, here in the U.S and Canada, would be Caucasian, or non-hispanic white (as the figures stand). A 39 would be other ethnic categories. So of those — if I do this right, it'll add up to 39 — but 20 percent identified — the pastors identified them as Hispanic. 14 black, or African-American. Three percent Asian American, or I think that also includes a Pacific Islander. And then two percent would be native people. So: Native American, or First Nations of Canada. So to me, that's interesting. Because that is almost exactly the proportion of the population. In fact, the ethnic representation is a little bit higher, than the categories. So that indicates, that on a local level, and on a broad level, we're doing a good job, of trying to reach our diverse population. That our church — our churches, collectively — are now reflecting the demographics of our society.

Where improvement is needed — the lag, and thinking outside the box

• But you ask: where do we still need to improve? Well: the next step is, the number — the percentage of our ministers, in these various ethnic categories, is not quite as great. So we need to improve, in diversifying our ministry ('we need to approve in diversifying our ministry', as heard). And that makes sense, because as people come into the church, it takes time, before they become mature in the faith. They are called by God. They go through the training program. They meet their District board ('their meet their District board', as the letters stand). And they're recognized. So if we've gotten increasingly diverse, say, in the last 20 years, well, there's going to be a — I don't know — 10-year lag time, to see that diversity start appearing, in the ranks of credential ministers. And then our leaders, by and large, appointed, or elected, or chosen, from our credential ministers. So there will be an additional lag time, for a minister to become mature, to become known, you know, to have achieved a significant accomplishments ('a significant accomplishments', as spoken), to get national attention, to be known among our district — attention — to be known among Rank and file ('among our district attention to be known among Rank and file men', as the sentence stands). Or so that he, or she, will be elected. And so there will be an additional lag time, for leadership. So I think, where we need to improve, it has to be through the natural process. Or — we can't be an artificial imposition of quotas, or just trying to, you know, create slots, just to be politically correct. But I do think: by talking about it, and discussing it, and being intentional, all of us can try to Mentor people, who are capable of becoming leaders, and encouraging those who are capable of becoming leaders, training them. And we can think outside our box. So often, when we're in a position to appoint someone, or maybe even cast a vote to elect someone, we tend to think of people we know: our family, friends, our people that are close by, people in churches we're familiar with. And so, in our mental image, or thinking, we — we're probably — over represent our own ethnicity. Because that's people we know best. But if we can just broaden our thinking, to say: who else would be qualified, that may not be a personal friend, or family member? Or may not live close by — maybe in another church, maybe in another District — but they're qualified. I need to think outside the box. I need to think of diversity, in every category. Not simply ethnic, but Urban versus rural, different parts of the country, a different age — ages, male, female. Who's qualified, in a more diverse setting? So that's where we need to do a better job.

The dual strategy — and the whole gospel to the whole world

• So the good news is: we are — you know, it's interesting — one of Dr King's quotes was: the most segregated time in American society is 11 o'clock, on Sunday morning (as he attributes the saying). In the United Pentecostal Church International, that's not true. In fact, we almost exactly reflect the diversity of our society, now. We do have — individual churches may be primarily rooted, in ethnic communities. But to that I would say: our strategy is twofold. Every church should be open, to everyone in its community. Should be diverse. At the same time, we recognize, that to be effective in reaching people, in certain demographics — as well as just geographical locations, languages — then we have to be intentional. So we have to plant churches, in neighborhoods and towns, where there may be a heavy percentage, of a certain ethnic minority. And if that requires a different language, we need to offer a language. We need to train people, who can become pastors, who represent those minorities ('who can come become pastors', as spoken). They can be more effective, in establishing churches, among those particular ethnic groups. So it's a dual strategy: of promoting every Church to be inclusive. But at the same time, being strategic, and planting churches in ethnic communities, and having training leaders, and pastors, from the various ethnic demographics, who can be most effective, in ministering to people, of these various backgrounds. And I think, by having a dual strategy — and then on a general level, promoting inclusion — and on a district level, promoting inclusion — so that whether it be our general conference, our North American youth congress, our district events, district and General Offices — then we'd have a wide range of diversity, that would reflect our community, and also our churches. So: we're well on the way. And I'm excited, that we've actually made this strategic change, in the articles of Faith ('in the artist of Faith', as heard). Now: I should close the discussion — we did have our Global council meeting, this fall. So: once every five years, the global Council also adopted the same resolution, that I mentioned, for the international articles of Faith. So in 2023, we'll be sending this, to all the nations of the world, for ratification. So our thought is: by the end of 2023, this will be officially part of the international articles of Faith. So it's exciting, to see measurable progress, both in our policies, and our core doctrines. But also in actual changes, on the ground. And the really — the whole point is simply: our official motto, of the upci ('of the upside', as heard) — the whole gospel, to the whole world, by the whole church. That's what we're trying to do.

Scripture index: Revelation (book-only).