Book Reflection - The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb

Alright, on to another reflection here! The title of this book is a bit ambiguous, so I will include the sub-title, which is "A Spirituality for Leadership in a Multicultural Community." It's all clear then, right? OK, for those of you in need of more clarity, here is my general paraphrase of the book.

The title comes from the passage in Isaiah 11:6-9, which states,

⁶And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little boy will lead them.
⁷Also the cow and the bear will graze,
Their young will lie down together,
And the lion will eat straw like the ox.
⁸The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den.
⁹They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
As the waters cover the sea.

The premise is that this model of these opposing animals living in harmony and peace should be the same in the church. This includes specifically in regards to multicultural churches and Christian communities. In these settings often the western Christians will be the dominant ones leading the discussions and controlling the direction of the meetings. The author, Eric Law, likens them to the wolves because of this tendency and those non-Westerners, who operate in vastly different ways are the sheep. The author challenges us Westerners to consciously give our power and desire for control away and encourage those without power to take the lead. This is obviously more difficult to do than it is to say, but Law offers a few suggestions.

First, though, I must include a clarifier which Law points out. Often those with power in a certain situation believe that to be inclusive of all people means that all people must be present at the table. For instance, when doing social justice work, there is often a push to make sure that the poor and oppressed are present at the table and that their voice is heard. Often their mere presence is enough for those in power to feel comfortable. Law says that this is not enough, he states,

The assumption is that everyone is equal to each other as individuals and everyone is expected to participate "fully" - meaning being able to speak for himself or herself. The truth is that not all believe they are equal to each other.... Another reality is that not everyone is an individual who can speak for himself or herself. Many people of color come from cultures that emphasize the collective over the individual. It is very hard for them to speak as individuals. They feel powerless without their community behind them (34).

We like to assume that all people are equal because we want to view them that way. This is not the case though. White westerners are very different than non-white westerners and the same for non-white non-westerners. Cultural and worldview differences create an imbalance of power. White westerners like myself must be conscious of this and chose to not take the position of power in some situations where these cultural and worldview differences are needing to be recognized.

Now on to the suggestions by Law on how we need to view these differences and address them in our actions. As Christians, we are called by Christ to take up our cross and follow Him. This offer is given to all people, but Law suggest that it is given specifically to the powerful. Those with power are in need to lay down their power to follow Christ, not the powerless who have no power to lay down. "Because the powerless are already on the cross, salvation comes from endurance and faithfulness in the hope of God's deliverance through the resurrection" (42). Additionally, Law points to the cycle of gospel living that they powerful and powerless must recognize. The powerless need to enter the cycle through the empowerment of the resurrection while the powerful must chose to give up power by choosing the cross.

Contextually, Law gives a case study from one multicultural setting he was observing. There was a group of around 50 people together addressing difficulties between ethnic groups. About 2/3 of the group was white. The white people were trying to include those of color in the conversation, but often the people of color felt forced to state their feelings and were not comfortable with the situation. Eventually the organizers separated the white people and the people of color to discuss how they felt the conference was going. The white people felt guilty and were not sure what to do to fix the situation. The people of color felt singled out and preferred to think collectively, not individually. When they returned together, the leader of the colored people spoke for the whole group and proposed a new situation. In order to counteract the more dominant white people, each side was given a change to speak alternately. The people of color were given as much time to collect their thoughts and say what they needed to say and the white people could respond to this and add any other thoughts. This back-and-forth dialogue continued and created a very positive environment of healing that brought everyone in the room to tears. What was done was the powerful (white people) set aside their power (took up their crosses) and the powerless (people of color) were empowered through the power of the resurrection.

Alright, some more food for thought! Feel free to add any thoughts or questions. And now more reading for me...