Today
we again
consider our spiritual practices.
Given the role of the church in the African American experience, race
and religion often become entangled.
Presently, we examine our history with the black church and where we
stand with it now.
Woodson’s ideas
Which
way America: The black church and liberation
theology, or the white church and maintenance of a segregated
society? Perhaps the multi-ethnic
church? Should homogeneous black and
white churches become relics? I see a
compelling case for the proposition they both should.
My family and I belong to Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas,
a multi-ethnic, socio- economically diverse church in Little Rock. Henry, who worships at all-black Alfred Street Baptist
Church in Alexandria, Virginia, recently sent me a recording of a
sermon by his pastor, Rev. Dr.
Howard-John Wesley. Rev. Wesley’s
sermon content and how he connected scripture to a call for compassion and
justice for the marginalized caused me to think about the history of the black
church, its role in the struggle for social justice, and my personal history
with the black Baptist church.
Though
my faith is rooted in the black Baptist church, I left after fifty years to
join Mosaic. Why? I now believe the multi-ethnic,
socio-economically diverse church represents the last, best hope for solving
America’s racial problems. We will solve
many of America’s other problems only when we solve her racial problems.
In 1903, W.E.B.
DuBois wrote that “the problem of the twentieth century is the
problem of the color line – the relation of the darker to the lighter races of
men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the sea.” The color line remains the problem even into
the twenty-first century. I now believe
we can’t solve the problem of race in this country until men and women of
different racial, ethnic, and national backgrounds learn to worship together. Only then will we learn to work together. As Bryan Stevenson,
founder and Executive Director of the
Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama
suggests, magical things occur by putting people in proximity of each
other. We learn from each other. We “de-other” others. We see common humanity. This is the core of the gospel of Jesus
Christ. While teaching the redemptive power
of that gospel, Mosaic relentlessly pursues social justice – feeding the
hungry, mentoring inner city children, providing immigration services, and
more.
As
much as black spirituals and black prophetic preaching still resonate with me,
I willingly sacrifice that cultural preference in order to help the church
overcome racial, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic divisions.
Participating
in a multi-ethnic church often requires giving up central cultural preferences
associated with historical worship experiences – “ethno-sectarian identity” if
practiced in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Pakistan.
It is the same here and just as destructive. Being a part of a diverse church like Mosaic,
with its United Nations flavor, requires sacrificing cultural preferences by
all worshipers. That sacrifice elevates
the culture of Christ above all contrary “ethno-sectarian” cultures, and allows
practicing the true gospel, calling men and women of diverse backgrounds to
worship, walk, and work together as one.
Henry’s thoughts
As I’ve
said in a previous post
referencing religion, I prefer expressing my love in a place where diversity
reigns and understanding abounds. So,
Woodson has it right, and I cannot disagree with him. I believe, however, the realities of
today do
not always make that personal choice practical.
As long as ministries focusing on the black community remain essential
to the spiritual, material, and social needs of many black people, the “black
church” (though usually open to all ethnicities) remains where I find
fulfillment. The community service these
churches render demonstrates the continuing need for such places. Perhaps those needs will be met in the future
in other ways but, for now, I find an Alfred Street Baptist Church the kind of place
where my needs, and the needs of the communities it serves, blend harmoniously.
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| Alfred Street Baptist Church |
Rob’s View
I’m not speechless in response to
Woodson’s missive about the cultural aspects of expressing faith. I’m seldom speechless about anything. But, I can’t add much. His approach emanates from a place of high
moral and spiritual virtue. Woodson, in
effect, says multi-ethnic worship serves his fellow human beings. That service, not stylistic presentation,
matters most. It strikes me if religion doesn’t
promote such service, it’s really not worth much.
I come from a similar, if not identical, faith tradition as my co-authors
(the black Methodist church, not Baptist).
I’ve gone a different direction, coming to rest in progressive
Christianity as practiced in some Unitarian Universalist churches
and in the United Church of Christ. By
involving myself in these mostly white denominations, I stated that whatever
cultural affinity I once had for the black church, it took a back seat to the
theology I found in my new spiritual homes.
Woodson makes a similar statement with his commitment to the theology of
the multi-ethnic church. He finds his
“true gospel” in the “United Nations” of his church’s makeup, as I’ve found
mine in progressive Christianity. I believe
the proper response to both our paths is:
AMEN!
