5 Simple Statements: The Biblical Basis for Multicultural Worship

Sherrie
10 Minute Read
July 31, 2024

There are some wonderful articles and books written on the Biblical basis for multicultural worship. Ron Mann’s Let Us Draw Near and John Piper’s Let the Nations Be Glad are just two of the many resources available for us to study. In this post, I would like to highlight five simple statements that I wrote as part of an assignment for a Multicultural Worship Leading course with Proskuneo Ministries. (For more information on Proskuneo Ministries, go to proskuneo.org)

Statement #1: God invites all people to come and worship his son, Jesus.

The scriptures are plentiful with passages which call all people from throughout time to worship Jesus. Philippians 2:10 – 11 declares that “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow – of those who are in heaven and on earth – and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”[1] In addition to scriptures inviting all people to worship the Lord, we have some beautiful examples of diverse peoples invited to worship Jesus.

One of my favorite stories of multicultural worship is that of the Magi in the birth narrative. The story of the Magi who came to worship Jesus can be found in Matthew chapter 2. Scholars believe these men were from Persia. The narrative explains how they followed a star to Bethlehem looking for a king who was born to the Jews. Their occupation as men of science had their eyes looking to the night sky. God used their intellectual interest in a star and their academic interest in Jewish sacred writings to invite Persian scientists, not Jewish Priests—to see His Son. The God initiated invitation to worship reveals God’s heart for all people to know Jesus. Their gifts of worship were culturally and spiritually appropriate. Persian Magi, led by a God who knows their interests, worshiping Jesus with precious gifts in humble surroundings communicates volumes about God’s desire for the nations to come to Him, know Him and worship Him. I don’t know if the gold they brought was fashioned into coins or bars or some artistic form. I don’t know if the frankincense and myrrh had been processed or enhanced in any way. It is safe to assume that whatever processes that may have been implemented, they were appropriate to this time and place in history. I imagine they were presented in well-constructed quality containers. These containers must have been ornate in some way as their purpose was to honor royalty. Multicultural art is likely present in the giving of these gifts. One could say that the first multicultural worship of Jesus happened the moment the Magi arrived to greet the newborn king.

Statement #2: We join creator God in his work when we cultivate worship in a way that embraces culture and ethnicity.

Conde-Frazier, Kang, and Parrett, in their book A Many Colored Kingdom: Multicultural Dynamics for Spiritual Formation, offer an excellent overview of the biblical record on culture from Genesis to Revelation. Parrett and Kang author Chapter 2, titled “Lord of the Nations.” The authors discuss Genesis 1 and 2 and God’s instruction to Adam and Eve to cultivate the garden. This is referred to by theologians as the “cultural mandate.”^[2] The authors point out that the English word culture derives from the Latin colere.^{^[3]} In this passage, the Creator imparts to His image-bearing created ones a mandate to cultivate. Genesis 1 and 2 reveals God’s gifts of identity, culture, and the ability to create. These actions tell us that God is the original cultivator/creator. It is part of His nature to cultivate. Humans, who bear His image, are likewise to create and cultivate. We can conclude that all people are made in the image of God; culture is a God-ordained activity. As worship leaders, we have the privilege of joining God in His work of cultivating and creating in a way that embraces culture and ethnicity. This is good.

Statement #3: We more fully reflect the eternal and multiethnic worship in heaven when we worship in multicultural contexts here on earth.

The Apostle John says, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”^[4] John’s vision is both our future worship reality and our current prayer for worship on earth to be as it is in heaven.^[5] Worshiping on earth as it is in heaven—with believers from other tribes, nations, languages, and tongues—is a spiritual practice we have the opportunity to experience in our worship services each week. When I am planning and leading worship full of multicultural elements, I sometimes get emotional thinking about how in this very moment we are joining the worship that is actively commencing in eternity.

This eternal, multiethnic worship in heaven helps us to grasp the transcultural aspects of our worship. The practices that are universal to all Christians for all time, such as communion, baptism, preaching the word, and singing hymns and spiritual songs are what we think of as transcultural practices. It may also be true that transcultural worship transcends our understanding of time and eternity. This is something we are granted only a glimpse of through the book of Revelation and strive to understand. Even so we are encouraged by the Apostle John who reminds us in the opening verses that we are blessed as we take to heart this God given vision.

Statement #4 We continue the ongoing practice of multicultural worship expressed by the Psalmist when we praise God among the nations.

Not only does multicultural worship take place in a future sense as we think of eternity, but multicultural worship also has roots in our past. Psalm 108:3 declares “I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.”[6]

As I think about declaring God’s praise among the nations, I am reminded of a desire the Lord placed in my heart years ago. When I was a child, I so wanted to be a missionary. I loved telling people about Jesus. As I grew older my love for music merged with my love for telling people about Jesus and my vocation became music ministry in the local church. A few years ago, a little girl from China whose father was in the US for job related reasons enrolled in my Wednesday night music class for children. This class is advertised to the community as a faith based, general music ed class. So often community families enroll their children for the music ed benefits. The kids and I had written our own fictional play in this class full of scripture and songs of faith. It was a Narnia like story. The little girl from China was the narrator. After the performance, her father came to the front to thank me for teaching her and informed me that they would be going back to China. In that moment the Holy Spirit gave me a new understanding of my long-ago desire to be a missionary. I never was able to go to the nations, however, because of the diversity within my community and our proximity to DC, the nations were coming to me. The little Chinese girl has spiritual songs and scripture etched in her heart and mind that she can take home with her and potentially share with others. With advances in technology, transportation and through patterns of migration, the nations are increasingly near. Praising God among the nations may look different today and it is exciting to explore the various ways we can be globally missional while rooted in our own context.

Statement #5: Diversity in worship encompasses socioeconomic, generational, physical ability, neurologic ability, cultural, and ethnic differences.

We can easily limit our concept of diversity to culture and ethnicity; however, the scriptures give us examples of other types of diversity among people who are invited to worship the Lord. Jesus speaks up at a meal in a pharisee’s house in the book of Luke. In Luke 14:13 -14 Jesus says “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”[7] This passage is then followed by the Parable of the Great Banquet which illustrates God’s invitation to those who are otherwise neglected by society. Psalm 102:17 declares “He will respond to the prayer of the destitute: he will not despise their plea.”[8] These passages clearly reveal God’s welcome to those who are marginalized by economic and physical afflictions.

God’s desire for people of all generations to worship him is revealed in the Old and New Testaments. In Luke 18:16 Jesus rebukes his disciples for keeping the little children from him. Psalm 145:4 reveals a multigenerational praise mindset when declaring “One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.” Psalm 102:18 says, “Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord.”[9]

Clearly, God welcomes the worship and praise of people of all generations and all abilities. These passages challenge us to consider how accessible our worship is to those with disabilities or who are in a season of economic crisis. Recently I learned that families who have children with disabilities are one of the most underserved populations in communities of faith. Churches often lack the material, facility, and personnel resources to meet the needs of children with special needs. There is much work to be done to extend God’s invitation in worship to all people.

Many more statements have been written in support of the Biblical basis for multicultural worship. To further consider the intersection of culture and worship, the Nairobi Statement on Worship and Culture is an excellent resource.

[2] Elizabeth Conde-Frazier, Steve Kang, and Gary Parrett, A Many Colored Kingdom: Multicultural Dynamics for Spiritual Formation (Grand Rapids, MI: 2004), 51.

[3] Ibid.

[5] Matt. 6:10; Davis and Lerner, Worship Together in Your Church as in Heaven, 22.