{"id":5757,"date":"2024-06-13T18:29:49","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T02:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/breathingspace\/?p=5757"},"modified":"2024-06-13T18:57:54","modified_gmt":"2024-06-14T02:57:54","slug":"from-compromise-to-conviction-my-reckoning-with-racism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/breathingspace\/2024\/06\/from-compromise-to-conviction-my-reckoning-with-racism\/","title":{"rendered":"Racism’s Day of Reckoning: From Compromise to Conviction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

In \u201cRacism in the Pews: A Pastor\u2019s Confession of Compromise<\/a><\/span>,\u201d I bared my shame. Here\u2019s how compromise can lead to conviction and action.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a>

Photo by Mikhail Nilov<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n**
** Do you remember the longstanding tradition of \u201ctestimony night\u201d in Evangelical churches?<\/strong> In the absence of a sermon, church members would get up and tell their own stories of God\u2019s goodness. At testimony night, we heard tales of miracles, of broken relationships restored, and of blessings.<\/p>\n
** But the ones that always moved us the most were the confessions.<\/strong> A believer stood up and said, \u201cThis is how I\u2019ve failed, but this is also where I\u2019ve learned, where God has given grace, and where I can do better.\u201d\u00a0 I think its time that we had testimony night. I\u2019ve gotten the ball rolling with my confession.<\/p>\n
** My last article was difficult to write<\/strong>. I hope you\u2019ll open this link and read it if you haven\u2019t already. What I have to say next hinges on your understanding of my horrible mistake, and my desire to move forward.<\/p>\n
** **\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Chasm of Segregation<\/h2>\n

In his book, The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church\u2019s Complicity in Racism<\/a><\/em><\/span>, author Jemar Tisby writes about a chasm of segregation between White people and people of color:<\/p>\n

"

[Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s \u201cI Have a Dream\u201d speech] was August 28, 1963. More than fifty years later, how far has the American church come in terms of race relations? The \u201cWhites Only\u201d and \u201cNo Negros Allowed\u201d signs have been taken down, but schools remain segregated. People of color are incarcerated at disproportionally high rates. Black unemployment remains double that of whites. Most poignantly, churches remain largely segregated. The reluctance to reckon with racism has led to a chasm between black and white Christians in theology, politics, and culture. This chasm only makes it harder to productively communicate and take effective action around racial issues. (Pg. 192)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I was still struggling with this chasm when, a few months after the incident of my last article, another opportunity emerged for the church and me to do the right thing. When that new situation arose, I had to decide whether I would repeat my mistake or begin to rebuild the bridge.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe Don\u2019t Rent\u2026to Their Kind.\u201d<\/h2>\n*******
** I received a phone call from a bride-to-be who said she was looking for a church building to rent, for their upcoming ceremony.<\/strong> She explained to me that she was a member of a local congregation, but their facility was too small to manage the crowd she expected. \u201cWe\u2019ve always driven by your church building and thought how pretty it was, and we\u2019re wondering if it\u2019s available.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0I told her that I didn\u2019t make those decisions but had a committee that handled bookings of our facilities. I\u2019d talk with the committee and have them give her a call. I did just that, and once I had passed the job on to the committee chair, I thought nothing else of it.<\/p>\n
** Some time later, the committee chair called me back, her voice quavering anxiously. \u201cDid you know that the couple is\u00a0Black?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
** I was glad that she couldn\u2019t see me rolling my eyes through the telephone, but I don\u2019t think I disguised my feelings as telegraphed through my own voice.<\/strong> \u201cWell, first of all, you can\u2019t see what a person looks like through the telephone, so no, I didn\u2019t know that they were Black. But second, so what if they are Black? Why does that make a difference? This is, after all, the twenty-first century.\u201d<\/p>\n
** That ruffled her. \u201cI\u2026well, I\u2026 you don\u2019t understand,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t rent our building to\u00a0their kind<\/em>.<\/strong> The committee is going to tell them no.\u201d<\/p>\n
** *******\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Convenient Excuse<\/h2>\n*********
** That pissed me off.<\/strong> I knew very well that we did not have a discrimination policy, and that it was only the intent of the committee, or only the chair of the committee, to keep people of color out of our building. So, I told her the church at large must decide this. (Baptist churches vote on everything!<\/em>)<\/p>\n
** By the time our church business meeting came up, word had spread throughout the congregation. One of the things on the agenda would be a decision as to whether or not we would allow this particular couple to rent our building.<\/strong> People came with their proverbial guns loaded for bear. However, as we began to look into the date the couple had requested the use of our building, we discovered that the church already had a major event planned for that entire weekend. So, the membership decided that we would contact the couple and say that we were sorry, it was nothing personal, but the building simply wasn\u2019t available for their wedding. It was an all too convenient excuse.<\/p>\n
** *********\u00a0<\/p>\n

Non-Discrimination Resolution<\/h2>\n*********
** That pacified a few people, but it just made me even more angry<\/strong>. I had come to the meeting prepared to settle this matter for the last time. Instead, the missed opportunity to decide for inclusion seemed like one more nail in the church\u2019s racist coffin. So, at our next business meeting after that, I came to the church with a well-drafted non-discrimination resolution that I wanted the church to pass. After reading the resolution and allowing time for discussion, I asked for the vote to be taken by show of hands. And, to my surprise, the resolution passed with only a few dissenting votes. What a cause for celebration!<\/p>\n
** *********In\u00a0The Color of Compromise<\/em>, Tisby writes:<\/p>\n

"

In the Bible, <\/em><\/strong>James 4:17<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/span> says, \u201cIf anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn\u2019t do it, it is sin for them\u201d\u2026The church today must practice the good that ought to be done. To look at this history and then refuse to act only perpetuates racist patterns. It is time for the church to stand against racism and compromise no longer (Pg 212).<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not \u201cPublicly Racist\u201d<\/h2>\n***********
** I was proud that my church had known the good that needed to be done, and then had the courage to act on its convictions. I was delighted with the decision that I framed the non-discrimination policy. Then, I nailed it to the wall in the sanctuary, in a spot where every passerby would see it. It was only later that I learned that not everybody who had voted for the policy actually agreed with it. When asked why they had supported it, one grumbler stated, \u201cThe vote was by show of hands\u2014I wasn\u2019t going to be\u00a0publicly racist<\/em>.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n
** And isn\u2019t that just the thing? The church doesn\u2019t want to be\u00a0publicly racist<\/em>.<\/strong> That\u2019s why the deacon took me aside in private<\/em> to say I shouldn\u2019t preach at the Black church. It\u2019s why everyone felt relieved when our building just\u00a0happened<\/em> to be unavailable for the wedding. Why the few African Americans who have entered White churches in the South have done so with a sense of dread\u2014not because of what\u2019s said to their face, but behind their backs.<\/p>\n
** In my experience, overt, malicious racism in the church is rare. But silent racism still thrives.<\/strong> But I have wondered why the church nominated do-nothing parishioners to be deacons, when our one Black member, already ordained a deacon at another Baptist church, never got a mention. I have had to explain why it\u2019s offensive when farmers refer to the migrant workers they employ as \u201cOur Mexicans,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(especially when some were from Honduras). And I have heard the loud silent gasps of the congregation when a person of color ascended the pulpit to preach in my place.<\/p>\n
** ***********\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anti-Racism<\/h2>\n

Racism has been a pernicious thorn in the flesh of the Southern, White, evangelical church for a long time. I confess that when I was younger, I compromised my own beliefs to keep the peace. I didn\u2019t realize at the time that it\u2019s not enough to be non-racist. Only an anti-racist stance from church leadership can break the cycle of overt hatred and violence, as well as covert undercuts and bigotry.<\/strong> Ephesians 2:13-15<\/a><\/span> says:<\/p>\n

"

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us, abolishing the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace\u2026<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

White Christians, if we believe that\u2019s true, then it\u2019s not enough to defend our perceived non-racism by proclaiming that we have Black friends.<\/strong> It\u2019s not enough that we try to be fair and equitable by declaring that \u201call lives matter,\u201d rather than singling out the significant pain of one particular group. Instead, we\u2019ve got to come to terms with the systemic racism present in our society and in our churches. We\u2019ve got to have courage enough to face our own racism, because it\u2019s there, whether we like it or not. We\u2019ve got to educate ourselves, and gain perspectives we\u2019ve never had before (Jemar Tisby\u2019s book<\/a><\/span> is a good start). And we\u2019ve got to become proactive rather than reactive.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

How is This Not Virtue-Signaling?<\/h2>\n

As I conclude this article, I must ask myself an important question: How is this not virtue signaling<\/a><\/span>? <\/strong>Virtue signaling is calling attention to your position to make you look better. I hope that, if you read my last article, you don\u2019t think it makes me look better. On the contrary, it makes me look pretty damn weak. Instead of virtue signaling, I hope that this article is virtue challenging. In the spirit of amends and reparations, I call attention to my failure in the hopes that we can all learn to do better. Maybe one day, when we\u2019re all doing better, we won\u2019t need articles like this.<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\nFor related reading, check out my other articles:<\/h3>\n\nPastors: If Your Deconstruction Gets You Crucified, There\u2019s Hope of Resurrection<\/a><\/span><\/li>\nWho Helped Jesus Carry the Cross?<\/a><\/span><\/li>\nStop Dehumanizing And Demonizing Your Enemies!<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n*******************
** \u00a0<\/p>\n
** \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
** *******************In \u201cRacism in the Pews: A Pastor\u2019s Confession of Compromise,\u201d I bared my shame. Here\u2019s how compromise can lead to conviction and action. Do you remember the longstanding tradition of \u201ctestimony night\u201d in Evangelical churches? In the absence of a sermon, church members would get up and tell their own stories of God\u2019s goodness. At […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4628,"featured_media":5760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,1434,173],"tags":[3978,3960,3981,3966,3984,3963],"class_list":["post-5757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-challenging-the-church","category-for-pastors","category-social-justice","tag-anti-racism","tag-jemar-tisby","tag-non-discrimination","tag-racism-in-southern-churches","tag-segregated-churches","tag-the-color-of-compromise"],"yoast_head":"\nRacism's Day of Reckoning: From Compromise to Conviction<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In "Racism in the Pews: A Pastor's Confession of Compromise," I bared my shame. 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