Mosaic of Believers Diversity & Innovation in a Multiethnic Church

Mosaic in southern California is one of the largest and most innovative multiethnic congregations in America. Gerardo Marti shows us how this unusual church has achieved multiethnicity, not by targeting specific groups, but by providing multiple havens of inclusion that play down ethnic differences. He reveals a congregation aiming to reconstruct evangelical theology, personal identity, member involvement, and church governance to create an institution with greater relevance to the social reality of a new generation.

"Gerardo Marti... argues that racial and ethinic identities are fluid and negotiated and that interracial churches can successfully create a model of 'ethnic transcendence' in which a common identity as Christian transcends specific racial or ethnic identities." --Peter W Marty, Senior Pastor, St Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport Iowa, host of the radio program "Grace Matters", Christian Century, 1/13/09 Indiana University Press Indiana University Press

"Marti's insightful reflections on these issues at Mosaic will help observers of other groups as well." --Nova Religio Indiana University Press

"Engagingly and accessibly written, this excellent book deserves wide readership among everyone interested in US religion, ethnicity, organizations and urban culture." --Choice

"A very thoughtful, unique contribution [that] edges us forward in our understanding of the interethnic religious experience [that] will stimulate researchers... to forge ahead in their quest to understand this important social phenomenon." --Review of Religious Research

Gerardo Marti is L. Richardson King Assistant Professor of Sociology at Davidson College and author of Hollywood Faith: Holiness, Prosperity, and Ambition in a Los Angeles Church.

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Multiethnic Churches, Mosaic, and Social Change

2. Describing Mosaic

3. History, Agency, and Evangelicalism: A Reconstruction of Ideology

4. The Hollywood Connection and the Management of Artistic Talent: A Reconstruction of Involvement

5. Innovation and the Cultivation of Catalytic Leaders: A Reconstruction of Imperative

6. Mosaic and the Emerging American Culture: A Reconstruction of an Institution

7. Becoming a Mosaic of Believers: A Reconstruction of Identity

Conclusion

Appendix A. Methodological Considerations from a Religious Insider

Appendix B. Women and Leadership at Mosaic

Bibliography

Index