A “Community” of Discipline: The Paradox of Diversity Within an Intercultural Church

Abstract

In recent years, a sense of community has declined throughout the United States. Central Community Church has responded to this trend by promoting the organizational metaphor of “community.” Building upon 4 years of ethnographic fieldwork, the present study explored potential limitations and consequences of this metaphor among Central Community's racially/ethnically diverse leaders and members. Results revealed a one-sided insight that values a White normative view of “community” over alternative understandings, thus, silencing current minority members within the organization. I begin this exploration, first, with a brief review of relevant literature. Next, I outline this study's intercultural context and research methodologies. I then discuss two unintended consequences of the community metaphor: (a) one-sided insight, and (b) self-disciplined members. I conclude by introducing the diversity paradox: an emphasis placed upon one potential expression of diversity which, in turn, deemphasizes alternative expressions of difference for certain minority members.

Keywords:

• Community
• Discipline
• Diversity Paradox
• Organizational Metaphor
• Tokenism
• White Normativity

Acknowledgments

The author is also grateful to Eric M. Eisenberg and Patrick J. Dillon for their assistance with earlier drafts of the article. A previous version of this article was presented at the 2012 annual meeting of the National Communication Association.

Notes

The organizational name is a pseudonym, as are all names used in this study.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

J. Jacob Jenkins

J. Jacob Jenkins (PhD, University of South Florida), is an Assistant Professor of Communication at California State University Channel Islands. The completion of this project was made possible by The Waterhouse Family Institute for the Study of Communication and Society. All opinions and statements contained within this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of The Waterhouse Family Institute.