APPROACHING
DIVERSITY:
practical strategies
By David Goetsch
America is populated by people of every
race, religion, nationality, worldview,
sexual identity, and culture in the world.
As a result, it is one of the most diverse
countries on the planet. If handled well,
human diversity can be an asset to
organizations, communities, and our
country. But if handled poorly, diversity
can divide people into feuding factions
based on race, gender, age, education,
culture, religion, politics, worldviews,
sexual orientation, and other factors.
Unfortunately, diversity is not always
handled well. This has resulted in a
growing sense of tribalism in America,
where people view each other in terms
of “us” versus “them.” This mentality was
once seen most prominently in racial
16 • Solutions
clashes. Those clashes, of course, still
happen. But in recent years the “us-
versus-them” mentality has manifested
itself more often in discord between
Christians and the LGBTQ community
over the issue of sexual identity.
One thing is certain in this clash of values—
as it is anytime diversity is the issue:
Until people on both sides are willing to
stop the outrage and start to engage, no
progress will be made. I cannot speak
for LGBTQ advocates, but for Christians,
there is one diversity-related question we
must ask: Do we want to make progress
or just make noise?
As Christians, we have a chance to honor
God and make progress at the same time