I am speaking on Tuesday and Wednesday to the annual retreat for conference presidents in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America. I have been asked to be a presenter on diversity in the denomination and structures to manage that diversity. My colleague and friend, Dr. Leslie Pollard (president of Oakwood University) is the chief presenter and chair for the sessions.
The Adventist Church Is the most diverse denomination in America for its size. (There may be some very small denominations that are more diverse, but I cannot confirm that because most of these small denominations do not have data available anywhere, electronic or on paper.) The Adventist Church has already arrived at the point where there is no longer any ethnic majority. The majority group has become another minority group. This is the point where the entire American population will arrive at around 2042 according to Census Bureau projections.
Relationships between ethnic groups have always operated on a majority-minority basis, but now that dynamic no longer works for the denomination. And in three decades it will no longer work for the American nation. We are thrust into a new world that most leaders are unprepared to understand and cope with.
Dr. David Penno completed a PhD dissertation last year on this very topic at Andrews University. I highly recommend it. His data show surprising consensus among ethnic groups in the Adventist Church on four out of five questions related to this topic. Many of the comments made on various blogs and in letters to the editor are not supported by the vast majority of church members, although the writers often assume that they speak for a widely held view.
We're looking at that? GD!!! Wow. That's weird. I mean I don't really care who's the majority and who's the minority. I foresee a lot of the folks becoming Mexican and Hispanic. Good though!!
Posted by: Online Bingo | March 16, 2012 at 10:17 PM
It is great to try to pull the majority and minority together. With the foundation of faith, we can all feel more connected to each other.
Posted by: Online Bingo | March 17, 2012 at 10:47 AM
I agree that diversity is a big part of what we have to do is a community in order to come together and show tolerance and understanding. This is one of the ways to bridge the cultural, racial and ethnic divides that typically drive divisions between members of society.
Posted by: Bingo Online | March 30, 2012 at 01:42 PM
The truth is it does not matter what each person's religion is called. It all boils down to one God and to the concept of kindness. let's be kind to one another no matter what race they belong to or what religion they believe.
Posted by: Play Bingo | April 26, 2012 at 07:54 PM