If there was any doubt at all that we are all connected as different colored threads in the human fabric, the renewed and continuing thread of international terrorism brings home to us the reality of our connectedness and our diversity in both shocking horror and transcending nobility.

In the national imagination, nothing is more urgent and compelling than the safety and security of our nation. Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network around the world have radically and forever altered and transformed the landscapes of our lives. They have effectively put the most powerful nation in the world under high alert 24/7. They have caused us to change our ways of thinking, acting, and behaving; our ways of doing business, politics, education, and health care delivery. Even religion has been altered to protect against the invisible and deadly threats of terrorism. Our systems of justice, immigration policies, and military strategies have changed. A new cabinet position structure, the Department of Homeland Security, was created to deal with this new threat. Governments such as the United States (U.S.), Britain, Spain, France, and Germany are spending billions of dollars on homeland security to protect and preserve fundamental human rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Yet, day after day, Americans and people all over the world worry and fret about the threat of anthrax, biological terror, dirty bombs, and new suicide squads. The rhythms of our life are frequently interrupted with terror alerts and warnings. Clearly these new threats have created dramatic cultural shifts in our country and other countries of the world.

A cultural shift is a series of responses to demographic, economic, political, and social changes impacting an organization or institution. This makes it necessary for that institution to change its way of doing business if it is to remain strong, healthy, and competitive — in order to achieve its mission.

I believe cultural and ethnic diversity are a core part of the social, political, economic, and religious engines that drive this and other countries. The impact of these forces on organizations and institutions, and public policy, profoundly effect the way they do business. The same is true of the Church both as an organization and a witnessing community.

The face of the Church is changing. And the change is the result of its missionary success. In its missionary engagement throughout the world, the Church confronts diversity in every aspect of its life. The communities in which we serve, our educational institutions, our health care facilities, the structures of governance, etc., are all challenged by the compelling presence of diversity as a strategy for fulfilling mission. It is crucial that we embrace diversity as a mission imperative. We could do so through an awareness and understanding of diversity — not an event, but a process; not a destination, but a journey.

Diversity is about the future. Accepting, valuing, and implementing diversity initiatives will help change the organizational culture and vision of the Church to make it more intentionally inclusive. This is vital, because the successful implementation of diversity enables the Church to respond creatively and positively to demographic, ethnic, and cultural changes taking place in the world, especially in North America.

Let us be clear about one thing. Diversity is not about race and gender. It is not interested in single issue activism. It is a process for understanding cultural, ethnic, and demographic shifts that allow an organization to position itself to make sense out of our differences and to manage and leverage those differences to give it a competitive advantage and fulfill its mission. It is accepting, respecting, embracing, and celebrating differences in culture, race, national origin, and gender. It is my contention that diversity can make us a stronger, richer, healthier, more compassionate church.

As it moves forward into the twenty-first century, the Church is challenged to be on the cutting edge and at the forefront of massive, major, millennial changes. This is inevitable. To grow, to successfully fulfill its mission, the Church will have to embrace change with vigor and honesty. This may lead to a re-examination of organizational structures, mission strategies, and methods of witnessing and discipling.

Here are some numbers that contribute significantly to the demographic shifts that will continue to change the face of the Church.

Women constitute 50% of the brain power in the U.S. today. In most professions, women represent the largest percentage. Women are taking their places in corporate offices and other high level positions not because of their gender, but because they are qualified.

The emerging majority (formerly known as minorities) constituted 19.7% of the population in 1990; in 2004 they comprise more than 30% of the population, a significant increase in about fourteen years. In the U.S., before 9/11, immigration patterns were allowing more and more foreign-born workers to enter the work force. In 2000, there were 28.4 million foreign-born people in the U.S. This figure represents 10.4% of the total population or 1 in 10 people. This number is the highest since 1930. Among foreign-born, 51% were born in Latin America, 25.5% in Asia, and 15.3% in Europe. The statistics show that the white majority is shrinking. By 2005 there will be 5 million fewer Caucasians in the work force. White, middle class people are having fewer and fewer children. One hundred fifty-eight million will be mixed work force. The Black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian populations are younger and growing at an incredible rate. The immigrant population is also increasing. These are numbers and statistics you cannot ignore. It is unavoidable that these shifts in population will transform America from a racial majority to a racially diverse society.

In the U.S., the Church is clearly challenged to value and embrace diversity as a strategy and a process through which it can position itself to deal with the inevitability of change. This can be done through a careful study of demographic trends, cultural shifts, structural reforms, and bottom line issues such as differences, and intentional inclusion as it seeks to remain true to its divine mandate of reaching all people with the Good News. Diversity is God’s idea.

Walter Douglas is the director of the Institute of Diversity and Multiculturalism at Andrews University.