Affinity for What and Whom in the Church?
"Affinities become barriers to the Gospel mission and testimony of the church when the desire to associate only with people who are like us excludes or devalues others from or in the Body of Christ."
There has been a remarkable amount of controversy heading into this year’s PCA General Assembly. Perhaps nothing more heated than the question about something called “affinity groups.”
TE Billy Boyce wrote an excellent summary and defense of ethnic-based affinity groups. It is one of the few essays or articles I’ve encountered to defend the practice. There was much I appreciated about his argument, but many areas with which I still disagree.
A. Points of Agreement & Appreciation
Concise Clarity
I appreciate TE Boyce setting forth with relative brevity and accessibility something of a primer on these affinity groups. I had not encountered such a clear defense of the practice. I watched a podcast episode with TEs Ince and Vogel on this subject, but found it unsatisfactory as it seemed as though the issues were being talked past and around rather than addressed directly.