Published on June 14, 2024, 1:26 am

In a worrying trend emerging within today’s Evangelical churches, prioritizing diversity and DEI initiatives over biblical fidelity is gaining traction. The recent sermon delivered by Johnson Bowie of Victory Church epitomizes this movement.

“I was examining a church not too long ago,” he mentioned during his discourse. “The entire staff pool was white save for the janitor. What were they really thinking? I believe they should take down their website and start from scratch!”

Bowie’s call to hire individuals from diverse ethnicities for roles of significance echoes sentiments similar to Matt Chandler’s notorious ‘African American 7′ over an ‘Anglo 8’ quote, solidifying Bowie’s alignment with the overarching DEI narrative.

However, some inconsistencies emerge when considering that we haven’t seen Bowie vacate his lead pastor role in favor of someone more diverse like the church janitor he discussed. His advice to initiate small changes followed by more significant ones — hiring non-white employees, translates into a parody of himself.

Bowie also articulated disappointment over predominantly white church staff pages. He recommended churches with such demographics demolish their websites—a disturbingly exaggerated statement which implies a lack of understanding about such web pages’ core purpose: To keep congregants informed about who is leading them spiritually rather than appeasing progressive ideologies.

Adding confusion to the ongoing discourse, Bowie recounts a story involving dialogue with a white pastor from Oklahoma who suggested hiring individuals based on merit. However, he counters this conventional wisdom by suggesting that organizations lacking non-white staff inherently practice hypocrisy—an assertion typical among DEI proponents placing more value on optics than genuine qualifications or spiritual vocation.

Arguably one of the most shocking moments during his sermon comes when Bowie deems diversity hiring as a “gospel issue.” This statement strays far away from the true gospel’s tenets centered around faith and repentance rather than meeting arbitrary diversity quotas. Needless to say, despite claiming not to support the affirmative action, his entire sermon irritatedly tells a different narrative.

Reflecting on Victory Church’s past, Bowie accepts that there have traditionally been segregated teams—an aspect he doesn’t seem bothered by if it feeds into his own narrative. He relays the importance of choosing individuals who embody Christ’s love for “important” roles, only to undermine this idea moments later by highlighting how critical it is to hire based upon appearance to make a social statement.

Worrisome cognitive dissonance is omnipresent among DEI advocates in church communities. Despite pronouncing their commitment towards prioritizing spiritual qualifications, they almost immediately divert to an unbiblical level of importance attached to ethnic diversity.

White Pastor Explains How Churches With Majority White Staff Should Just Burn Their Websites Down- This is another example of prioritizing outward appearances over inward character which profoundly affects Christian worldview and offering real and trusted news about the propagation of our faith by leadership figures within our spiritual communities.