On this day when we celebrate Martin Luther King’s birthday, it is interesting to reflect on the role of churches in the movement towards increasing civil rights in our nation. As King’s book, A Letter From the Birmingham Jail suggests, not all or even the majority of churches were allies with King in his effort to advance civil rights in this country. Many, but not all Black churches, supported King but probably most predominantly white churches were not in favor of what he was doing. We now celebrate some of the white clergy who went South to march with King and others, but most did not go. Among those that did participate, many did at the risk of their jobs. Today we celebrate Dr. King’s birthday but at the time he was not looked upon with favor by perhaps the majority of citizens and leaders in the church or the country.
It is not easy to be prophetic. If you read the prophets in the Bible, they, also, were usually celebrated in retrospect. So how does the community of faith encourage her pastors to assist our congregations in facing the uncomfortable? First, of course, we must recognize that not all would be prophets are that prescient in their analysis of what is happening. At the same time, from a faith perspective, we know that our society is far from perfect and needs to be challenged if it is to develop in a healthy manner.
Second, pastors who feel called to speak out regarding specific issues, need to understand that people hear better when they know that the pastor does care about them personally. Therefore, the pastoral side of ministry is an important part of earning the right to be heard. As a pastor friend said to me back in the 60s when he was trying to be a pastor with integrity, “the person whose hand you have held when s/he was frightened or ill is not as likely to stab you in the back later on.”
We will look at this issue more tomorrow.
