THE PROBLEM WE FACE AS CLERGY
I have spent over 50 years as an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA) in predominantly Caucasian churches in three different states (Maryland, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina). With respect to racism and the church, here is the problem as I see it.
Being a pastor in mainline congregations is not for the weak or faint of heart. As clergy, we believe that God has called us to be faithful to Jesus who taught us to pray, ‘Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” But live in a society that is committed to values that challenge “God’s will being done”. It’s stressful to pastor in such a culture.
While Barna research and the Racial Equality Research center found that:
Two-Thirds of practicing Christians and even
Forty-four percent of general population
Believe that the church should play a major role in improving the racial situation.
Many fear that addressing racism will upset the congregation while
others have left the church accusing our avoidance as church hypocrisy. You can’t win.
Most clergy, at some level or another, do feel that they have been called by God to speak God’s truth to the membership but like most church people, we want to avoid conflict. To complicate matters, most of us have been infected by a sneaky virus called “integrity.” We make compromises, but we also struggle to act with integrity.
HOW WOULD YOU FEEL
How would it make you feel if you could offer a strategy that would lead congregations into regaining confidence that the Gospel had a positive way to address racial divisions?
I know that there is plenty of stress in your ministry. Yet, like Israelites headed for the Promised land, consider how having a positive vision of hope to offer your congregation could affect your own spirits as well as energize your church and offer a beacon of hope for those in the larger society.
OUR ADVANTAGE
We have some significant advantages that can enable us to make a healing impact on our world.
- We already have formed communities that are connected to other Christian communities that contain every ethnic identity in the world.
- We have a shared faith in God who invites us to be part of that healing force that God intends.
- Confession and forgiveness are part of our continued ritual. We rehearse the stories of how confession of imperfection can liberate to healing possibilities in both the Hebrew Scriptures (e.g., David) and the New Testament (e.g, the disciples). White members are invited to discover the healing power of confession with the possibility of forgiveness that can lead to a renewed commitment to being a healing force in society. And Black members are invited to forgive like Jesus did.
- Our shared Scriptures tell our story of imperfect people like us who have learned the power of forgiveness to heal mistakes and give visions of a more perfect world. We draw our inspiration from a God who took a “no people” and made them into “God’s people,” leading them across a hostile wilderness to a Promised Land. Jesus chose imperfect disciples to found a church to reveal the power of grace.
- Together we can begin to rewrite the story of our church and society inspired by a vision of hope that can lead us across our own wilderness of racism towards a Promised land of healing and hope.
I don’t pretend to have perfect insight or all the answers, but I think I can offer you a concrete outline with specific steps to start you on to a journey that has both integrity and hope for your ministry. And as we work together, we can refine our approach in a way that empowers our witness. I invite you to join me in that journey.
If you contact me at steve@smccutchan.com , Here is a free pdf video introducing my approach.
Step by Step Guide to Anti-Racism Ministry
DON’T BE A SPECTATOR–DO SOMETHING
