In a sermon I preached entitled “A Disciple Chosen and Commissioned to Contribute to the Work” from Acts 16:1-5, I sought to show that God often chooses those who seem least qualified so that His grace and power are clearly seen through them. I pointed to Timothy as an example of a disciple whose character came before his commission, someone well spoken of by the church and ready to serve. Paul’s decision to have Timothy circumcised was not about legalism but about removing obstacles for the sake of the gospel. That act reflected a heart willing to sacrifice personal comfort so that others might hear the truth of Christ. 

I wanted to emphasize that true ministry demands humility, self-denial, and sensitivity to the people we are trying to reach. Like Paul and Timothy, we are called to serve not for recognition but to see the faith of others strengthened. When we walk faithfully and love sacrificially, God uses even ordinary people like us to build His church. In this passage, I addressed the issue of colonization and cultural appropriation, emphasizing the importance of gathering as believers in a way that honors our shared faith while respecting our different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Cultural appropriation happens when someone uses elements of another culture without understanding or respecting their meaning, often distorting or exploiting what is sacred or significant. In contrast, true cultural appreciation shows humility and respect by learning from and honoring that culture. Colonizing a culture means forcing one’s own values or practices onto others, which can erase their identity, something that can even occur in ministry when churches make people conform to their own customs instead of letting the gospel take root locally. True gospel ministry does not impose culture but incarnates biblically within it. When addressing these issues, people may interpret the these topics differently depending on their cultural or ethnic background, it can feel like blame to some or like an encouragement to distance themselves from another group.

Where it can feel like blame would be that white brothers and sisters within a multicultural church may feel as they are to blame for colonization but this is not unique to them historically. Throughout history, colonization and cultural domination have not been limited to European powers. 

The Assyrian Empire (9th–7th c. BC) deported and resettled conquered peoples to enforce control, as seen in The Annals of Ashurbanipal, where the king boasts, “I carried off its spoil… the people, young and old, male and female, I carried off as captives” (Royal Inscriptions of Ashurbanipal, Prism B, col. vi; in Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, 1927, vol. 2, §§ 810–812). 

The Persian Empire (6th–4th c. BC) expanded its influence through colonies and governors over subjugated regions, recorded in The Cyrus Cylinder (British Museum BM 90920). 

The Arab Caliphates (7th–13th c.) spread Arabic language, law, and Islam across North Africa and the Middle East, as Al-Balādhurī’s Futūḥ al-Buldan recounts: “They imposed the jizya and kharāj upon them and appointed amīrs over their towns” (trans. Hitti, The Origins of the Islamic State, 1916, p. 428). 

The Mongol Empire (13th–14th c.) likewise subjugated entire peoples, ordering them to serve under Mongol princes (The Secret History of the Mongols, §254; trans. de Rachewiltz, 2004, p. 211). 

In the Americas, the Aztec Empire demanded tribute and captives from conquered cities, detailed in the Codex Mendoza(c. 1541, Bodleian Library, Oxford, fol. 46r). 

The Japanese Empire (19th–20th c.) pursued imperial expansion through formal treaties such as the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895), where China ceded Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands (British and Foreign State Papers, vol. 87, p. 8). 

Even within Africa, precolonial empires like the Oyo and Hausa states established dominance and tribute systems, as The Kano Chronicle records: “He fought against the people of Zazzau and captured them; he set up his own rulers in their towns” (Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 38, 1908, p. 65). 

These examples demonstrate that colonization, whether territorial, political, or cultural, has been a recurring human pattern, extending across civilizations long before and beyond European expansion.

This tendency reflects the sinful nature of the human heart. In America, it’s true that white people once enslaved and brutally mistreated black people, and that history must be acknowledged. However, to project that guilt onto our white brothers and sisters in Christ today is wrong. Doing so places condemnation where God has already granted forgiveness and reconciliation. In other words, it reintroduces guilt to those whom Christ has already redeemed and made free.

Cultural appropriation creates misunderstanding and distortion when what is sacred or significant to a culture is ignored or devalued. In my experience, this often causes that culture to be viewed as subpar, immature, or less developed and uncivilized. These kinds of misunderstandings occur across all cultures and ethnicities, whether you’re Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, or from any other background. This is not merely a white problem but a human problem, a result of our fallen nature apart from the grace of God.

Someone recently expressed deep concern over the growing number of white and black Christians who criticize Black believers for confronting racism, hypocrisy, and white supremacy within parts of the church. They argued that some, particularly a few Black voices, seek validation and acceptance from white evangelical spaces by condemning Black culture and churches, often portraying them as spiritually lacking while ignoring racism among prominent white leaders. They warned that such behavior promotes a distorted, white-centered version of Christianity more aligned with cultural nationalism than the gospel. According to this perspective, these individuals are often celebrated not for faithfully proclaiming truth but for reinforcing racial hierarchy and cultural dominance. They concluded that genuine Christian unity is found only in Christ, not in assimilation to any racial or cultural ideal.

I would argue that when a church places an emphasis on these issues over what has brought us together, making them the main priority, the church will become fragmented and divisive, creating barriers between believers from different cultural backgrounds. In trying to address racial problems within the church, some unintentionally cause the very separation they are condemning. It’s true that the American church has a difficult history regarding how people of different ethnicities and cultures were treated. However, labeling or judging fellow believers who don’t share the same level of emphasis on these matters only deepens division. Colonization and cultural appropriation are real and important topics that touch on ethnicity and culture, but if we leave out the root issue, the sinful human heart, we risk projecting these problems onto redeemed brothers and sisters with whom we are called to live in unity and fellowship. And as the person with the concern about the growing number of white and black Christians who criticize Black believers for confronting racism, they assert motives to the people who don’t share their methods and emphasis on these issues.

These issues should indeed be addressed, because racism has no place in the church. Paul often spoke to divisions between Jews and Gentiles in his letters, but he always brought the focus back to the truth that we are one body and one people in Christ. Unfortunately, some who raise these concerns fail to do the same. They become more entrenched in their own ethnicity and community, closing themselves off from genuine fellowship with others. I agree that some within the church are too quick to label believers who address these issues as “woke,” and that’s unfortunate. However, we must be careful not to respond by committing the same error or sin from the opposite side, by harboring prejudice or resentment toward brothers and sisters of a different color.

Doing this creates obstacles similar to those Paul addressed regarding the requirement of circumcision for salvation. Paul had Timothy circumcised, not as a means of salvation, but to remove barriers that could hinder the gospel. The Jews were never told to abandon circumcision, because Paul wasn’t trying to strip them of their cultural identity or values. In the same way, we should seek to honor and celebrate each other’s cultural traditions and expressions, sharing in them and entering into one another’s lives. This may sometimes require us to step into uncomfortable spaces for the sake of unity. Yet this kind of engagement is both possible and necessary, and it’s something we are striving to live out at Christ Alone Fellowship.

We’ve felt pressure from both sides on these issues, but what has preserved our unity is keeping the gospel at the center and choosing to love one another through genuine relationship, by sitting together in our homes and sharing meals, face to face rather than Facebook to Facebook, onsite rather than online. We’ve made it our goal to care deeply for one another regardless of color or ethnicity. These conversations remind us that we must keep working hard toward love and unity, even as the world, and at times, parts of the visible church, focus on division. Though racism and tribalism still exist, our response should be to demonstrate the gospel through fellowship and genuine love, not just by airing grievances or labeling each other. As the body of Christ, we are called to live differently, to model a better way of love and unity in a world that is already deeply divided.