A Unique Situation

[John of Japan]

Here's a situation that so far I haven't found any specific Biblical verses that seem to address this situation: We want to add another man to our pastoral staff of the local church in which I'm a member. Educationally and Professionally, the man whom were are considering calling to this position has all the qualifications that would be required to fill it, but here is something that I can't find anything in the Bible that seems to refer to his situation. His situation is this: His spouse is of another race, & I don't know how well she would be received by our congregation. She herself will not be serving in any official capacity on our Pastoral Staff, but still the fact that she is of another race may not be that well received by our congregation. If any of you out there on B B can supply me with any Bible references regarding this situation, that would be helpful to me.

I know of nothing in the Bible that addresses this particular situation except James 1:5, praying for wisdom.

In my mind, having lived overseas for 33 years and been on missions trips to several countries, the main issue is not race but culture. Many times one is not able to adapt to a different culture, and that has nothing to do with race. For example, an Afro-American has difficulty adjusting to an African culture and vice versa. There is no connection with race in that case.

So, please consider the problem from that angel: (1) How different is the culture of the wife of the candidate from that of your church? (2) Are the people of the church open to the culture of the wife of the candidate? (3) Can both sides be accepting of whatever differences in culture there may be?