{"id":5745,"date":"2024-06-10T03:12:09","date_gmt":"2024-06-10T11:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/breathingspace\/?p=5745"},"modified":"2024-06-13T18:58:48","modified_gmt":"2024-06-14T02:58:48","slug":"racism-in-the-pews-a-pastors-confession-of-compromise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/breathingspace\/2024\/06\/racism-in-the-pews-a-pastors-confession-of-compromise\/","title":{"rendered":"Racism in the Pews: A Pastor’s Confession of Compromise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\u201cSo, the Black church invited you to guest preach?\u201d my deacon asked. \u201cDo you think that\u2019s wise?\u201d Yes, this was a 21st-century conversation.<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/a>
Photo by RDNE Stock projec<\/a>t<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n**
**
One of the wonderful things about having been either a youth pastor or senior pastor at six churches is that when I talk about them, nobody knows which church it was.<\/strong> So, there will be no names\u2014but this really happened. This is the tragedy of a congregation and community in the rural South, where such things still happen. It\u2019s also the story of a young pastor who still had a lot to learn. What\u2019s the color of compromise? It\u2019s yellow\u2014the color of cowardly churches and pastors. I\u2019ll tell you more in a minute. But first\u2026<\/p>\n
**
**\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Color of Compromise<\/h2>\n
I just finished reading\u00a0The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church\u2019s Complicity in Racism<\/em><\/a><\/span>.<\/em>\u00a0 Amazon\u2019s review says:<\/p>\n
"
\u201cThe Color of Compromise is both enlightening and compelling, telling a history we either ignore or just don\u2019t know. Equal parts painful and inspirational, it details how the American church has helped create and maintain racist ideas and practices. You will be guided in thinking through concrete solutions for improved race relations and a racially inclusive church\u2026. The Color of Compromise is not a call to shame or a platform to blame white evangelical Christians. It is a call from a place of love and desire to fight for a more racially unified church that no longer compromises what the Bible teaches about human dignity and equality.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Jemar Tisby\u2019s book is a must-read for all followers of Jesus who want to understand the real history of brutal racism in the American church.<\/strong> The author goes beyond discussing aggressive forms of racism and tackles the passive-aggressive prejudice that allows racism to exist and thrive. Tisby talks about the \u201cgo along to get along\u201d attitude toward racism that does nothing more than perpetuate discrimination, even if motivated by a well-intentioned desire for unity in the church. I hope you\u2019ll get a paper copy that you can take notes in, underline, and mark up. It\u2019s definitely worth the read!<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Word of Caution\u2014or a Threat?<\/h2>\n******
**
\u201cDo you really think that\u2019s a good idea?\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0the deacon asked. Their eyes pierced me with a gaze that said, \u201cYou\u00a0know<\/em>\u00a0that you\u2019ll be in trouble if you do this, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>That stern look also made me wonder if this deacon might be the\u00a0source\u00a0<\/em>of the trouble. Like, this \u201ckind advice\u201d might be more of a threat than a word of caution.<\/p>\n
**
Bear in mind\u2014I was not a novice pastor at this point in my career<\/strong>. So, I knew that in a Baptist church, the pastor doesn\u2019t truly call the shots, and lives or dies professionally at the whim of the people. Neither was I a seasoned veteran, full of confidence and able to weather the storms of an angry congregation. So, I did the only thing I could think of.<\/p>\n
**
I compromised. Well, to be honest, I lied. <\/strong><\/p>\n
**
******\u00a0<\/p>\n
I Lied<\/h2>\n******
**
Compromise would imply a give-and-take.<\/strong> But in this case, all I did was take. I took back my promise and broke my word. Or maybe the compromise wasn\u2019t with other people, but with my own beliefs, and my own character. In any case, it was one of the things I\u2019m most ashamed of in my life, and I have told few people about until now.<\/p>\n
**
\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d I told my friend, the pastor of the other church. \u201cWhen I agreed to speak on that date, I forgot that I\u2019d already booked that Sunday off with my family.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n
**
I\u2019m sure he could see through my lie, but he also knew that I was so fragile at that moment that he let me get away with it. He simply said, \u201cWell, maybe some other time.\u201d<\/p>\n
**
******\u00a0<\/p>\n
Racism in the Rural South<\/h2>\n******
**
******You must understand the deep-seated racism in the rural South where I served<\/strong>. You have to know that integrated churches in that region are few and far between. On page 52 of The Color of Compromise,\u00a0<\/em>Tisby says:<\/p>\n
"
\u201cHarsh though it may sound, the facts of history nevertheless bear out this truth: there would be no black church without racism in the white church.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n******
**
Yes, it\u2019s true that the Black church was formed by formerly enslaved people.<\/strong> They left the Caucasian church of their own accord, to establish churches and denominations independent of their former enslavers. So, it could be said with historical accuracy that the segregation of the American church is due to the actions of Black worshipers.<\/p>\n
**
******Yet, there would have been no need for a mass exodus from White churches, had it not been for the racism of White church leaders. <\/strong>These \u201cmen of God\u201d forced congregants of color to endure continued submission in church roles. Realizing that segregated worship was the only way to find equality in the church, Black believers left the White church in droves.<\/p>\n
*<\/h2>\nAn Awkward Invitation<\/h2>\n*********
**
In my time pastoring that little church, I had seen the racism of my own congregants.<\/strong> I had also built (what I believed to be) a friendship with the pastor of the local African American church. I visited them when I could, when their services happened when my own church had no meetings. I became known to the people of that congregation, and I felt I knew some of them.<\/p>\n
**
So, the invitation came naturally, when that church scheduled its anniversary celebration, marking a benchmark number of years since its founding. <\/strong>\u201cIt only makes sense that you speak at our church,\u201d the pastor had said, \u201csince the ancestors of our church members had been former members of\u00a0your<\/em>\u00a0congregation.\u201d\u00a0 I thought it made perfect sense, too, so I had accepted the invitation.<\/p>\n
**
But then I had caved, and lied, and damaged a friendship.<\/strong> I did this at the slightest pressure from a racist deacon who may or may not have even been speaking for the others in my church. (And so what if that deacon had been speaking for all of them?)<\/em>\u00a0 Yes, the color of my compromise was as yellow as the cowardice in my heart. And I have regretted that decision from that day until now.<\/p>\n
**
********\u00a0<\/p>\n
What I Didn\u2019t Realize<\/h2>\n********
**
Let me emphasize\u2014I knew this decision was cowardly, even before I carried it out.<\/strong> I didn\u2019t \u201cslip into sin\u201d\u2014I ran into this lie as if into the arms of a savior that would rescue me from a tight spot. I knew it was wrong, but I didn\u2019t see any way out. I didn\u2019t blurt out this lie\u2014I premeditated it. I thought it was the easiest way to keep my deacon and other White church members happy, while saving face with the neighboring Black church that I had come to love, too.<\/p>\n
**
********What I didn\u2019t realize was the rift that it would create. <\/strong>I couldn\u2019t know how guilt would prevent me from entering the doors of that neighboring church for another fifteen years\u2014and how the face I was trying to save had ended up breaking relationships. What I didn\u2019t realize was the chasm it would create in my own soul.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
It\u2019s tough to write a confession like this. In my next article, I\u2019ll talk about how I tried to repair that chasm I created. But for now, I\u2019ll just let the weight of my mistake hang in the air. I don\u2019t want to wrap it up in a bow and make it pretty. Because racism is ugly\u2026and I want to sit in the ugliness for a while, and let the next article be its own thing.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
For related reading, check out my other articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nMacy\u2019s, Confederate Generals, And Stumbling Blocks<\/a><\/span><\/li>\nRacist \u201cTry That In A Small Town\u201d Vs. Reconciling \u201cSo Long, Dixie\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/li>\nCalling Jason Aldean A Heathen\u2014\u201dTry That In A Small Town!\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"*********
**
*********\u201cSo, the Black church invited you to guest preach?\u201d my deacon asked. \u201cDo you think that\u2019s wise?\u201d Yes, this was a 21st-century conversation. One of the wonderful things about having been either a youth pastor or senior pastor at six churches is that when I talk about them, nobody knows which church it was. So, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4628,"featured_media":5748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,1434,173],"tags":[3960,3972,3966,3975,3969,3963],"class_list":["post-5745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-challenging-the-church","category-for-pastors","category-social-justice","tag-jemar-tisby","tag-pastors-confession","tag-racism-in-southern-churches","tag-racism-in-the-pews","tag-segregated-worship","tag-the-color-of-compromise"],"yoast_head":"\nRacism in the Pews: A Pastor's Confession of Compromise<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""So, the Black church invited you to guest preach?" my deacon asked. "Do you think that's wise?" 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