Profiling Adventist Leadership: Responsiveness to Diversity

Leslie N. Pollard, D.Min., Ph.D. (cand.) MBA

Vice-President for Diversity

Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center

First, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to our GC leadership for the privilege of presenting this immensely important topic before the delegates of this session of the General Conference of our worldwide church family. Diversity competency is one of the leadership topics that I feel passionately about. That's what our Review and Herald book Embracing Diversity: How to Understand and Reach People of All Cultures is all about.[1] The back cover summarizes the centrality of this issue for us as leaders.

Second, I am privileged to serve at an institution that takes the matter of diversity with profound seriousness. We believe that for Loma Linda University to effectively continue the healing and teaching ministry of Jesus Christ, it is imperative that we prepare our students for service in a diverse world, that we facilitate the culturally competent care of our patients, and that we create a harmonious, inclusive, and welcoming workplace culture for every employee. Through our diversity education conferences and in-services, through our international service learning agreements, through intentionality in our recruitment activities, we seek to fulfill the mission of Jesus Christ. Now to the presentation proper:

Nothing is more mission critical than leadership that has the technical, conceptual, and interpersonal skills demanded by the 21^st Century. During this week, my colleagues have reminded us of some of the requisite skills for global and local SDA leadership. This morning I want to build on their presentations by going a step further and asserting that in a multi-national, globally connected church, no 21^st Century leadership skill is more important than leadership competency in the area of diversity.

I offer three reasons for this assertion:

First, review our demographics: 13,000,000+ members in 203 countries. Global communications and travel have reduced the world and our church to a global village in which leaders who formerly had virtually no contact with each other now interact electronically, if not personally, on a regular basis.

Second, observe the ministry of Jesus. Jesus' ministry reveals a cross-cultural trajectory that informs our leadership practice. Jesus' ministry reflected a geographical trajectory. It moved from Palestine to the larger Greco-Roman world. Jesus' ministry also demonstrated a sociological trajectory. It moved from an ethnocentric exclusivity to ethnic inclusivity. And since both the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy make it clear that the organized church is the body of Christ, and that the church exists to continue the healing, teaching, and preaching ministry of Jesus Christ, faithful leadership will reflect these trajectories.

Third, remember our mission. The specific mission of the SDA church is to reach "every nation, kindred, tongue, and people." This means that every village and every city, every individual and every group, every language and every dialect is included in our mission. Such a global mission requires leadership that functions locally in its service arena, but is global in its outlook.

Thus, the question before us as leaders is not whether we will respond to diversity, but how and why should we respond to the diversity that defines the people groups we lead and serve? How can we guarantee that our influence capital is spent advancing mission rather than impeding it? First, let's define terms.

Definition of Terms: "Diversity" refers to those biophysical, social, cultural, national, and historical markers that groups use to first identify themselves as a distinctive group and then to distinguish themselves from other groups. Thus in our SDA world church we have national diversity: Japanese who are distinguished from Chinese who are distinguished from Canadians who are distinguished from Argentineans, etc. We have racial diversity: we have whites and blacks and browns and reds and yellows. We have ethnic diversity: our church has Masai and Samoan and Yoruba and Inuit and Xhosa and Ndebele. We have linguistic diversity-from bonjour to zdravo to kumusta kayo, to jambo, to shalom anyung ha shipnika to talofa to szer busz to aloha to ping ang to konichiwa to hola, como esta, the language of heaven-"la lengua del cielo," according to our Spanish speakers. And of course we have the earliest and original diversity: gender diversity--male and female. Each of these forms of diversity constitutes important social markers.

"Diversity Competency" refers to the knowledge, attitude, and skill used by a leader to effectively serve and lead a diverse constituency, institution, district, conference, union, or division, etc. Cultural competence has been described as "the ability of a system, agency, or individual to respond to the unique needs of populations whose cultures are different from that of the dominant or 'mainstream' society."

So how should Christian leaders respond to diversity? Let's base our model for this dimension of leadership on Scripture. First, as leaders we must affirm the essential unity of the church. Galatians 3:27-28 reminds us that "...there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, but you are all one in Christ Jesus." The unity message of this passage calls us as leaders to promote oneness-in mission, fellowship, and service and purpose. But the Galatians passage also raises a related question: if we are one, how should we respond to diversity differences? A leader may, on the basis of Galatians, choose a position from "there is no such thing as difference," to "I don't see color (class, race, nationality, etc), I see people" the difference does not matter since we are all one in Christ. Let me submit that each of these positions will ultimately lessen our leadership effectiveness because each of them is anti diversity competency, as we shall see. The apostle Paul helps leaders answer the what-do-we-do-with-difference question.

Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, instructs us by word and example on the appropriate response to the racial, national, cultural, gender, and ethnic diversity within and beyond the Christian community. While Paul's thought is pervasive in the books that he has penned in the New Testament, I will limit this presentation to one section of his writings. This text will give us a window on the thinking of Paul on diversity competency. I will not speak on the text usually associated with the issue of diversity--Galatians 3:27, 28. The key text this morning is 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. Having read this text so frequently, we may have missed its implicit teaching. The danger for all leaders is the belief that because we are familiar with the wording of a text we have exhausted its meaning. Let's see if the Word has a surprise for us on this subject. I read: "For though I be free from all, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. (Leadership requires followership) And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; to them that are without the law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without the law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all persons, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you."

In this section of his letter, Paul defends his apostleship against attack and he bridles the freedom of the strong but insensitive Corinthians in chapter 8. By the time we get to verse 18 of chapter 9, Paul has launched a full-blown discussion of his ministry and why it is effective. We are at the point where he clinches the argument by discussing how he relates to differences. Paul opens verse 19 by asserting that to the Jews he became as a Jew. Now leaders, I ask you a question: How can Paul take this stance? Who was more Jewish than Paul?

The answer lies in the immediate context. Paul had the difficult task of serving within multiple cultures. He takes up his task because he is bound to Christ. Paul is free to serve the Corinthians because he has not accepted any compensation from them (verse 15). Further, because he is free, he is able to enslave himself to people in need of the knowledge of Jesus Christ (verse 19). Primarily, Paul is free because of his encounter with Jesus Christ (verse 1). This is a key point: Diversity competency requires spiritual and psychological freedom. This means that as a Christian leader, Paul is released from the old identity anchors that he once embraced. His freedom is grounded in a new experience. "If any man be in Christ he is a new creation." 2 Corinthians 5:17. This transformation means that Paul can no longer be Judeo-centric. Thus, he says, "I became AS a Jew." The apostle is saying that he no longer considers himself a Jew in terms of primary values, commitments, and allegiance. The word translated "as" or "like" in 9:20 comes from the Greek comparative particle "hos." In this verse it is the pivotal word. It introduces simile into Paul's discussion. A simile is a figure of speech that compares one distinct idea, person, or object to another. By asserting that he became "as" a Jew, Paul implies that he is neither principally nor exclusively defined as a Jew. He projects the freedom of a new self-understanding. Paul here declares his independence from limiting prejudices, preconceptions, and presuppositions of his ethnocentric past.

When Paul says "to the Jew, I became AS a Jew" he announces his liberation from the prison of identity idolatry. Suppose I said while speaking to a group of African-Americans, "To the African-American, I became as an African-American," or to the Russian as a Russian, or to the women as a woman, or to the Muslim as a Muslim. Would someone not reasonably respond, "But Les, you ARE an African-American." Well, I would respond, "Paul said " To the Jews..." and who was more Jewish than he?" Paul's racial and ethnic background clearly outlines his biological, religious, and cultural classification as a Jew of the Jews. "I am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin" he wrote in Romans 11:1, 2. In Philippians 3:5 he recalls "I was circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews . . . a Pharisee." Thus, when Paul says, "To the Jews I became AS a Jew" Paul is also asserting that he has experienced a transformation of his primary identity. He is a new creature with a new identity priority. Paul will not be a slave to the identity politics of either his times or his culture of origin. Paul is free! Boldly free! Here is a key to effective leadership in diversity. Every leader, whether Hausa, or Yoruba, or Ibo, whether Samoan or Tongan whether Ukrainian, Iraqi, or Iranian, can lead in diversity only if he or she is internally freed from the prison of identity politics.

Unlike Paul, Peter vacillated between freedom in Christ and political expediency (Galatians 2:11-15). Peter embodies a kind of racial and ethnic captivity. There is no question that the early church family was diversity challenged. A quick reading of texts such as Luke 10:30-37, John 4:1-29, Acts 10:17-29, 15:5-10, Galatians 2:7-14 and Ephesians 2:11-19 reveals that the social situation between Jew and Gentile plagued the early church as it attempted to fulfill its mission. Paul as a pre-eminent Jew persecuted the Church.

But at Damascus, Paul received an identity transplant (see Acts 9:1-6). The transforming encounter with the risen Christ deconstructed his inherited identity and replaced it with another primary identity. Paul became a new creature in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:7). New perceptions of the world, new perceptions of society, new priorities, new ambitions, new criteria of perception--all these and more separated Paul from his former identity.

Three changes mark the new Paul and should mark us as leaders in God's new community. First, leaders must first affirm our own diversity. Each leader identifies with a racial and cultural group. Each one is gendered. Each has nationality, etc. But these aspects of our identity are no longer our primary identity. Paul's personal diversity difference is psychologically relegated to a secondary level of identity. Modern diversity thinkers posit an identity pyramid consisting of both changeable and unchangeable realities. Notice the following identity pyramid. The Old Paul:

For the Christian leader, personal diversity (and other discreet realities such as gender, class, status, etc.) is no longer the defining reality of our existence. In the mind of the Christian leader, these distinctions are psychologically relocated to a secondary level of importance. They are reduced to what they really are-not objective measures of social worth or standing, but temporal distinctions that have no salvific value. Thus, New Testament scholar J. Louis Martyn is correct when he asserts that the encounter with Jesus Christ means the surrender of "every criteria of perception that have been developed apart from the gospel." Peter's perception of Gentiles was one such perception (Acts 10). For Paul, any former or present ism that is not surrendered to Christ becomes idolatry. While the many centrisms of our day--whether Asio-centrism, Afro-centrism, Euro-centrism, or Latino-centrism--will clamor for our allegiance, the Christian leader must resist. The gospel never allows believers to organize their perspectives around any other center than Jesus Christ. No person can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). We can have only one center, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Second, while Christian Paul was not Judeo-centric, his assertion that "To the Jew, I became as a Jew" reveals another level of his response to his own kin. Paul was deeply Judeo-sensitive. As leaders we are not called to be ethnocentric, but Christ-centered and ethni-sensitive. Like Paul, this will require an intimate knowledge of one's own history and ethnic culture. Leaders, all of us are ethnic peoples. We must come to terms with our own personal identity and history and learn to speak the cultural "language" of our people of origin. By critically analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the culture and worldview that has been passed on to us, we will be better able to access and utilize our personal history as a leadership resource. This is absolutely essential for the cross-cultural leader. Look at the Transformed Paul:

2 Corinthians 5:7

But, effective cross-cultural leadership also requires that we undertake the specific study of the culture(s) of the people that we lead. Effective missionaries know the power of such reflection. It will require contextually appropriate methods. You may want to consult with persons from the cultures you are serving, read their history books, listen to their stories, and find a cultural mentor. Leader, your efforts will be rewarded richly. Paul's example demonstrates that leaders are capable of learning to lead beyond their base culture, or gender or class.

Because existence is a gift, for the Christian leader (Genesis 1:27, 28), every endowment, including diversity (e.g., gender, race, culture, and ethnicity), is a gift to be stewarded, not possessions to be worshipped or protected. This fact the ethnocentric leader does not understand. In his/her mind, diversity and ethnicity either marginalizes, oppresses, classifies, denigrates, endows, or privileges. Ethnocentrism is the tendency to judge members of other groups by our preconceived standards of acceptable behavior. Webster's American Heritage Dictionary defines ethnocentrism as "The tendency to evaluate other groups according to the values and standards of one's own ethnic group, especially with the conviction that one's own ethnic group is superior to the other groups." Children of ethnocentrism: racism, sexism, tribalism, classism and nationalism.

Ethnocentrism is not an option for the apostle. But Paul in this passage instrumentalizes diversity. While conscious of its significance, Paul retreats from the racial and ethnic idolatry that could only divide and alienate. His intimate experience as a Jew is modalized so that he can be "as" a Jew. Do not misunderstand me! Paul works for his own ethnic group, but only as an ambassador from another kingdom (2 Corinthians 5:20). He adapted himself to the customs of the Jewish people when working among them. He took a Nazarite vow (Acts 18:18). He had Timothy circumcised (Acts 16:13). He took part in purification rituals and paid Nazarite expenses for the sacrificial offering (Acts 21:23ff). His ministry was Jewish led, but not Jewish limited. But Paul can also be as one "without the Law," that is, a Gentile. While with Gentiles, he did not enforce Jewish ceremonial ritual upon them (Gal 2:11-14; Colossians 2:11, 16). Here Paul lays out the possibility for cross-cultural ministry. Paul will work for his "own" Jewish people but refuses to be restricted to them. He extends his ministry to all people alienated from Jesus Christ. Their diversity represents his opportunity-to stretch himself, to move beyond his own comfort zone, to love as Christ loved.

In summary, two tracks of leadership emerge in the reconstructed Paul. One track is grounded in ethnic particularity. Paul the Jew works sensitively with his Jewish kindred (Romans 10:1). He knows their history, culture, and social outlooks. But he also exemplifies another radical track of cross-cultural leadership and ministry. He works among Gentiles as one who understands them (Acts 17:16-31; Romans 11:13). This tells us that cross-cultural service, ministry, and leadership are possible.

Third, the ministry motivation guiding Paul is his passion for souls. Love for Christ is the law under which Paul functions (verse 21; also Galatians 6:2). His mission is to win as many as possible. Paul's cross-cultural service is motivated by agape. And he considers this opportunity his blessing (1 Corinthians 9:23). Agape love means that the bonds between diverse brothers and sisters of different races, cultures, nationalities, and genders are intensified. Cultural competency supercedes simple tolerance. My wife Prudence and I have been married 25 years. We went on a cruise of the Western Caribbean for our 20th wedding anniversary. Suppose I had said on that first evening, amid candlelight and romantic music, "With each passing year, I tolerate you more and more." Her response? My best guess would be "Man overboard!"

Tolerance must yield to love. Ellen G White says, "There is no person, no nation that is perfect in every habit and thought. One must learn one from another. Therefore God wants the nationalities to mingle together, to be one in judgment, one in purpose. Then the union that there is in Christ will be exemplified." Historical Sketches, 137.[2] This passage resonates with Galatians 3:27, 28.

Now let us resolve the what-to-do-with-difference dilemma spawned by Galatians 3:27 but solved in light of 1 Corinthians 9:18-21. Clearly the "reject-the-idea of difference" approach is unacceptable. Paul never rejects difference. He affirms it--Jew, Gentile, weak, etc. He understands differences not as obstacles. He accepts difference as opportunity. Racial, ethnic, gender, and cultural differences present us an opportunity to serve the higher plan of God for the diverse human family. Leaders, we must serve people who are like us and different from us. Christian leaders see difference as opportunity. Paul's example of self-adjustment does not reject, but rather validates differences.

The second option of being "difference-blind" is also unchristian. The person who says, "I don't see colors, I just see people" sounds like the person who visits a flower garden in full bloom and declares, "I don't see colors, I just see flowers." After all, it is God who made the colors, is it not? And if God made the colors, he wants them seen and appreciated. Leaders who take this position ultimately homogenize the human family by invalidating uniqueness. They deprive themselves of the enjoyment derived from the richness and diversity of the human family. Such homogenization of the human family is alien to diversity competency and leadership.

The third leader, who chooses the "differences-do-not-matter" approach, also walks contrary to the example of the apostle. Failure to explore the significance of difference leads to cross-cultural incompetence. After all, if the difference does not matter to me, then I will not take the time to improve my communication, leadership, or relational skills. The differences mattered to Paul enough to view each group with its culture, orientation and worldview as a unique entity worthy of special attention.

So how do we do it? Five suggestions:

1. Promote awareness. Be the diversity leader in your church institution. We leaders set the inclusivity temperature of our organization. "While change is inevitable, growth is optional." So said an organizational behavior expert. Remember--diversity responsiveness is a follow-the-leader activity. One leadership expert said "Leaders communicate their priorities, values, and concerns by their choice of things to ask about, measure, comment on, praise, and criticize." In Gary Yukl, Leadership in Organizations (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1985), 213.[3] Ask your leadership team this question: "What are we doing to serve the ____________________ in our field, institution, union, hospital?"

2. Provide diversity education. Training helps followers understand the power of surface and sub-surface differences. While I was traveling to Lagos, Nigeria, recently, my clothes were mistakenly sent to Cairo, Egypt. I was given some beautiful and colorful Nigerian garments to wear. Then my host said to me, "Dr. Pollard, let's go to town center in Lagos so that you can see the city." And that we did. While there, a Nigerian street child and his little friend approached me with his upturned palm and began speaking in Yoruba (a tribal language of western Nigeria). I decided to play along by nodding as if I understood his attempts to get me to give him a donation. After about two minutes of entertaining his best and most animated appeals, I finally said to him, "I am so sorry, but I don't understand a word you are saying." At the sound of my American accent, a smile crawled across his face as he turned to his little companion and giggled in perfect English, "Hurry, hurry!" he said. "Come meet the black white man!" In that moment, my little friend's quick and comical analysis revealed a profound anthropological insight. Subsurface differences make the difference! Educate to these differences

3. To ensure responsibility, require accountability. Hotel chain owner William Marriot was asked the reason for the outstanding quality of his hotel chain. He responded simply, "We do not get what we expect, we get what we inspect." Are we evaluating employees, followers, on their responsiveness to diversity?

4. Diversify your leadership committees. Homogenous committees are not broad, rich or deep enough to maximize our service effectiveness. Are any disabled people on your leadership team? In places where physical disability earn such stigma this is vital. How many women are in your councils? When there was organized opposition along ethnic or racial lines to your election, did you reach out to the opposition?

5. Mentor across gender, racial, and cultural lines. Were I to ask you, who are you mentoring across racial, cultural, or gender lines how would you respond?

Conclusion: In a fallen world, difference and diversity have been a source of separation and alienation. In the Church, for the believer, every aspect of our being, including our diversity, should be invested in the purposes of God and must be used as a vehicle for God's mission. Then we will be able to say with the poet Edwin Markham,

"He drew a circle that shut me out -

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout

But Love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle that took him in!"[4]