Blog Posts
The Faith of the Floyds
On June 1, 2020, after commanding law enforcement officers to use tear gas and riot control tactics to clear a group of peaceful protesters seeking justice for George Floyd, a Black man who was killed in Minneapolis on May 25 by former police officer Derek Chauvin, then-President Donald Trump marched to the front of St. John’s Episcopal Church holding a Bible.
Standing with Trump in front of the church for a staged photo op were members of his family, including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, and members of the military, including the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Trump’s Attorney General William Barr also joined him.
Trump did not mention George Floyd on that day, nor the legion of other Black men and women killed by American law enforcement since the days of slavery and Civil Rights. Trump did not mention the ugly history of racism and the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacist ideology infiltration into American law enforcement, including the Minneapolis Police Department where Chauvin worked, notably its union president, Bob Kroll.
Trump didn’t mention these things because Kroll and his ilk were among Trump’s greatest supporters. And though he stood in front of a church holding a Bible, the only Gospel that mattered that day was the Gospel of Donald Trump, and of power.
Trump did not pray. He did not open his Bible. He walked away after the photo was taken, leaving in his wake injured protesters with burning eyes, crying children in the streets.
***
For a majority of white Americans, particularly white Christians, this was their “Christian” president. He brought megachurch pastors and Evangelical Christian musicians into the White House. When I traveled across the country to interview Christian Trump voters for my book Red State Christians, in 2018, people told me again and again they were so glad to have a “Christian” President in the White House again, that they believed Trump was praying.
His comments about his lack of need for forgiveness and his “little white cracker” and “2 Corinthians” notwithstanding, for a majority of white American Christians, Trump’s wealth, his white skin, his conservative social politics, these were enough to consider him their Christian President. Some white Christians told me that they assumed former President Barack Obama had been a Muslim, despite a well-documented track record of attending a Black church in Chicago, and Obama singing Amazing Grace at the funeral of a Black pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who was killed during Bible study by white supremacist youth Dylann Roof.
The white Christians I interviewed never mentioned Roof, that he’d been confirmed in an overwhelmingly white denomination (the same one I serve in as a Pastor), and they never mentioned America’s history of terrorizing Black people, particularly Black Christians in Black churches.
On June 1, 2020, an American faux-Christianity was on full display: a Christianity that had forgotten its brown-skinned Savior, who died poor and forsaken and killed by his own government as an enemy of the state, for daring to proclaim liberation and justice for the poor, and in doing so getting crosswise with the religious leaders of his day.
***
Somehow, just as the stone was rolled away against all odds that first Easter morn, the Gospel finds a way to endure nevertheless. After four years and many more decades and centuries of a whitewashed Christianity that abuses women and practices financial grift of its church members, on April 21, 2021, a more ancient Christian Gospel elbowed its way to the forefront of American Christianity.
It did so without overwhelming political power or money or a whole cottage industry of Christian books, music, and culture. It did so against all odds, in a family rooted in Houston’s Third Ward, a historically Black neighborhood where residents like George Floyd faced growing up with “aging housing, underfunded schools, health-care disparities, high unemployment, and other forms of systematic inequalities,” according to an April 10 article in the Washington Post.
Much of the popular white Christianity voiced in America in recent years has oozed with bitterness: the idea that Christians were under attack from the “culture wars,” that they couldn’t say “Merry Christmas,” that their beliefs and traditions were being squelched, that their liberties and freedoms were being trampled upon, most recently by government edicts requiring the use of facemasks during a global pandemic.
George Floyd’s family could have easily swallowed this same pill of bitterness. And inside, I’m sure they did feel bitter: bitter at the ways American law enforcement targeted people of color, especially those living in neighborhoods without a lot of options. Bitter at the ways that America criminalized addiction. Bitter that their brother, their cousin, had gone North to find better opportunity as an ex-felon, only to die at the hands of the police for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill.
I’m sure the Floyds felt bitter when politicians who could not bear to utter their brother, their cousin, their nephew, their friend’s name instead chastised the millions protesting over his violent death to “go home” and “be quiet.” They condemned the riots but did not condemn George Floyd’s death, even though the world had watched Chauvin kill him on cellphone video shot by a 17-year-old girl.
Many white Christians across America went to church that week after George Floyd’s murder and heard sermons that called for peace but ignored Biblical edicts for justice; they read passages about quietism and calm but did not listen to the command of Genesis 4, when God hears Abel’s blood crying out from the earth and God will not be calmed, because Cain had betrayed his responsibility to his brother by killing his brother.
Too many white American Christians never saw Black Americans as their brother or sister or sibling in Christ.
The Bible has always been holy words in human hands, interpreted in human minds, and the Bible is too-often twisted to support a narrative that defends an American status quo that keeps white Christians comfortable.
Anyway, the Floyd family did not owe America its grace. They had every right to return bitterness with bitterness, the bitter fruit of a poisoned tree.
As Paul writes, “I will show you a still more excellent way,” however.
On April 21, 2021, Philonise Floyd reacted to the Minneapolis jury’s finding of Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts with words like these, as I quote from memory: “The name we lift up this day is Jesus. Thank you Jesus!”
Philonise Floyd had prayed silently in the courtroom: without a photo op, without a prop Bible, without tear gas or riot control. He’d prayed alone and without his brother. He bowed his head and simply prayed, even though he’d been told in America that the Christian God was not for him. That God’s justice was not for Black lives.
Philonise prayed anyway, and in his words he resurrected again the Savior who rose 2,021 years ago on Easter morning. Jesus was not at the Law and Order photo op after all. Instead he was wounded, crucified, and eating with so-called sinners, speaking to Samaritan women, and proclaiming for all to hear that he had come to “proclaim release to the captives … to let the oppressed go free.”
This Jesus — the God who humbled Godself and took on human form to save the world through weakness — this Jesus spoke in America this week, through the faith and the grace of a Floyd family who white Christians in America didn’t quite deserve.
Philonise’s prayer was a protest; his words a proclamation.
No, God did not ignore my brother’s death. No, God is not on the side of violence and human power and wealth. No, God does not ignore the cries of the oppressed. No, God does not tell us to help ourselves. No, God does not wield a gun. No, God does not silence those who cry out for justice. No, God does not claim peace where there is no peace.
Again and again, in their grief and in their brief moment of forcing accountability in American policing, the Floyd family talked about prayer, about faith, and about Jesus. In doing so they issued a challenge to the prevailing wisdom about Christianity in America, about those lily-white paintings of Jesus that hang in churches where Pastors once claimed enslaved people were less than fully human because of the color of their skin.
It is that pernicious lie, the lie of racism, that is destroying the American church, wrapping itself around and squeezing the life out of parishioners, fostering the seeds of hatred and sexism and homophobia and abuse.
Standing in the breach is the faith of the Floyds: the irreproachable witness of centuries of African American Christianity, a protest against the hijacking of Jesus, and a reminder that an America that was truly rooted in the Gospel would never have done the things it did to Black people.
To view America through the lens of the faith of the Floyds was to see both a desolating sacrilege and also an almost impossible hope for justice, love, and maybe finally peace.
The guilty verdicts were not justice. But Philonise Floyd called upon the name of Jesus anyway, because in this truthful telling about America, and in this final honoring of the value of his brother’s life, Philonise Floyd heard Jesus speak.
And then, as they had since May 25, 2020, and long, long, before, Black Christian leaders in America, Black Lives Matter protesters, and people from every race, faith, and ideology all over the world, grounded their movement for justice and equality in the power of prayer.
They reminded all of us, as we stared at an America so devastated by sin, a reflection of an America too long ignored by white eyes, of Jesus’ words to the disciples in Luke 9:14-29.
Jesus’ disciples had tried everything to heal a boy who was brought before them. But they could not do it. They believed the boy was dead. Then, Jesus took the boy by the hand, and suddenly he lived.
Jesus’ disciples asked him why they couldn’t cast out the demon.
“This kind can come out only through prayer,” Jesus said, and in these words I think about a country and a Christianity we sometimes think is dead — and an original American sin we are trying so hard to cast out.
May we learn anew to pray, in the wake of a tiny step toward justice, in the powerful example of a family whose faith turns American Christianity upside down, and reverts it back to Jesus.
Rev. Angela Denker
Angela Denker, author of Red State Christians: Understanding the Voters who elected Donald Trump (Fortress: August 2019), is a Lutheran Pastor and veteran journalist who has written for Sports Illustrated, The Washington Post, Christian Century, and Christianity Today. She has pastored congregations in Las Vegas, Chicago, Orange County (Calif.), the Twin Cities, and rural Minnesota.
Twitter | @angela_denker
Facebook | @angeladenker1
Blog | http://agoodchristianwoman.blogspot.com
Website | https://www.angeladenker.com
Church Anew is dedicated to igniting faithful imagination and sustaining inspired innovation by offering transformative learning opportunities for church leaders and faithful people.
As an ecumenical and inclusive ministry of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, the content of each Church Anew blog represents the voice of the individual writer and does not necessarily reflect the position of Church Anew or St. Andrew Lutheran Church on any specific topic.
Healing Our City Reflection
Editor’s Note: Church Anew is honored to share the words of Nekima Levy Armstrong spoken on April 13, 2021 at the Healing Our City Virtual Prayer Tent. On April 21, she reshared the video on social media with the following introduction. Used with permission by CLNE.
Our partner Center for Leadership and Neighborhood Engagement (CLNE) continues to offer the Healing Our City Virtual Prayer Tent. Each morning at 8:00 AM Central Time join with people from all over the country for approximately 20-minute prayer experience which begins with a timely reflection by a different religious/spiritual leader each day and followed by a period of 9 minutes and 29 seconds of silent prayer/meditation.
Friends, Good Morning. I feel as if I can breathe a little better in light of yesterday's powerful and historic guilty verdict against Derek Chauvin on all three counts. For those who are people of faith and/or those who could use some inspiration, here is a video of a short message I gave last week during Healing Our City, in which I referenced the circumstances surrounding the murder of George Floyd, and the spiritual insights that were present.
I hope this message provides you with further encouragement as we remember the life of George Floyd and as we press forward in the fight for justice.
Nekima Levy Armstrong
Nekima Levy Armstrong is a civil rights attorney, national expert on racial justice, former law professor, activist, and legal scholar. She previously served as a Professor of Law at the University of St. Thomas Law School for thirteen years, where she founded and directed the Community Justice Project, an award-winning civil rights legal clinic.
In 2017, she was named 100 People to Know by Twin Cities Business. In 2016, she received the Distinguished Service Award from the Governor’s Commission on Martin Luther King Day. In 2015, she was named one of “40 Under 40” by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. In 2014, she was named a “Minnesota Attorney of the Year” by Minnesota Lawyer and recognized as one of “50 Under 50 Most Influential Law Professors of Color in the Country” by Lawyers of Color Magazine. She previously served as president of the Minneapolis NAACP, and ran for Mayor of Minneapolis in 2017.
Church Anew is dedicated to igniting faithful imagination and sustaining inspired innovation by offering transformative learning opportunities for church leaders and faithful people.
As an ecumenical and inclusive ministry of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, the content of each Church Anew blog represents the voice of the individual writer and does not necessarily reflect the position of Church Anew or St. Andrew Lutheran Church on any specific topic.
We All Have Something
My son wanted to talk about the death of rapper, producer, and actor Earl “DMX” Simmons. He reminded me of the various number one, platinum albums from this prolific artist. I noted that DMX, “Dark Man X,” even wrote music detailing his relationship with God. Yes, he struggled with drug addiction, but his walk with the Divine was just as pronounced. He was in and out of prison, but he never understated the presence and power of the Holy One in his life. “Lord Give Me Sign,” “Jesus Loves Me,” and “Prayer” are just a few of the songs boldly revealing his spirituality. DMX also declared he was a deacon and later a minister.
As a New Testament professor, I often interrogate of how the Bible appears in pop culture. Movies, literature, poetry, art, and music pepper my course syllabi. I engage these sources as means of connecting a historical document to this current context.
I also seek to find synergy between the past and present. While not an aficionado of rap per se, I admit DMX helped do some of this heavy lifting. His rough tone, verbal gravitas, and intense lyrics not only provided a path for connecting in the classroom, but opened a door to peeping into his own struggles. As artistry does, there was space to contend with my own challenges and idiosyncrasies. Say what you will, DMX reminds us that we all have something.
We all have something with which we are struggling. There is an addiction Achilles heel or an issue that is not a reflection of our best self." In II Corinthians 12:6-7, Paul calls it a “thorn in the flesh.” We may not wrestle with repetitive cocaine or crack engagement, but it could be anger, domestic violence, or alcohol use proclivities. We all have something. It is pointless to parallel life circumstances or equate personal vicissitudes. Such existential Olympics is unnecessary.
The bottom line is there is an issue that makes us triangulate individual shame, guilt, and embarrassment. If we are honest, on our best days the matter or matters lie just beneath the surface. On our worst days they erupt in volcanic fashion spewing fire and singeing all in our paths whether intentional or not.
The past year’s Covid-19 context has no doubt exacerbated whatever was and is the troubling in our soul. Isolation, social distancing, limited forms of connectivity, and the loss of loved ones due to the virus have been sources of emotional, mental, and spiritual agitation and dishevelment. An increase in domestic abuse, assault, and other acts of violence, particularly in the home, attest to this.
Yet, the coronavirus condition has provided a place of pause and pensive positioning. The forced abating of some activities has coerced us to slow down and think on many matters. Even in the midst of the chaos, there have been opportunities to creatively reconsider who we are as a people and as individuals.
We have had time to ponder the something rubbing like sandpiper in our lives.
The death of DMX proved to be another personal and theological watershed moment. May his words call us not to judge each other, but to lean in and lead with gentleness. For the truth is, we all have something.
“Life or death, live or die (Uh)
I will never live a lie (Uh)
I'm gon' get because I try (What!)
I won't quit until I die (What!)
I'm gon' make it, wrong or right (Yeah!)
And make it through the darkest time (Yeah!)
And when the morning comes, you'll see
That all I have is God in me (Lord give me a sign!)”
-“Lord Show Me A Sign” by DMX
Dr. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder
Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, author, speaker and teacher, is a Baptist and Disciples of Christ minister who holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Vanderbilt University. Her latest book is When Momma Speaks: The Bible and Motherhood from a Womanist Perspective. This #WomanistMomma currently serves as Associate Professor and Academic Dean at Chicago Theological Seminary.
Facebook: Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder
Twitter: @stepbcrowder
Instagram: StephBuckhanonC
Church Anew is dedicated to igniting faithful imagination and sustaining inspired innovation by offering transformative learning opportunities for church leaders and faithful people.
As an ecumenical and inclusive ministry of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, the content of each Church Anew blog represents the voice of the individual writer and does not necessarily reflect the position of Church Anew or St. Andrew Lutheran Church on any specific topic.
Pondering Black Women’s Bodies
As a Black woman prepares to become the first Black, first woman, first South Asian to occupy the U.S. vice presidency, Black women’s bodies have been on my mind. My own body has been on my mind. I have been thinking about self-care, wellness, and the importance of never negotiating boundaries. I am aware that not all hold my beliefs about my body in such high regard. Society at large tends to devalue and diminish Black women’s bodies. Who we are and what we represent and how we re-present remain cause for celebration and consideration.
I watched the television series P-Valley. Judge all you want. Say what you will. I was glued to the tube for every episode. The show about a strip club captured me because of its Southern flavor and flair. Its setting is just miles from my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. The show’s creator, Katori Hall, hails from the Bluff City as well. Episodes are peppered with dialogue and cultural references to this area in the Mississippi Delta.
To say P-Valley is about Black women in a strip club is a gross understatement and artistic interpretation. Its messaging centers on self-provision and agency. It pivots around a place where Black women can use what they have and make it work for them and their families. At The Pynk, Black women’s bodies is business. This gentleman’s (and gentlewoman’s) club in Chucalissa is also the source of theological ecstasy and spiritual release. The club owner, a Black transgender woman named “Uncle Clifford,” acts as priest using the strip mainstage as altar.
Sexuality. Theology. Sociology. Pecuniary Security. Black women’s bodies have been on my mind.
Whatever affirmation and existential prowess P-Valley depicted, reality quickly took away. The images of Anjanette Young’s naked body surrounded by numerous Chicago police officers is well … arresting. In a botched raid, men in blue broke into a Black woman’s home while she was undressing. Fearing for her life, Young did not have or take time to cover her body as officers rushed her and her home. For over two minutes, there was this Black body exposed while police rummaged her personal belongings looking for something, someone not there. The police disregarded Young’s more than 43 shouts of “You have the wrong house.” Even more painfully, they disregarded her nude Black body.
Unlike the women in P-Valley who freely, unashamedly share their physical giftedness as they choose, Young believed she had no option. Stand there stark naked or lose your life. The Mayor of Chicago, a Black lesbian, has promised accountability, more than likely fiscal compensation. However, what can pay for Young’s humiliation in what is supposed to be her place of safety? Breonna Taylor too reminds us of a recurring theme that a Black woman’s house is not always her home.
Sexuality. Police brutality. Sociology. Accountability. Black women’s bodies have been on my mind.
The United States stands on the cusp of another historical presidential inauguration. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will become the first woman of African descent to walk the halls of the White House. While Michelle Obama resided there, Harris will be in the room — the room where deliberations of national impact are made. Her Black female body will grace 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue also known as 1600 Black Lives Matter Plaza.
There were other Black women who put their bodies on line to pave the way for Vice-President-elect Harris. Charlotta Spears Bass was the first Black woman to run for vice president of the United States. In 1952, she ran on the Progressive Party ticket with Vincent Hallinan after rescinding her Republican affiliation. Post becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968, “unbought and unbossed” Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm became the first Black person to seek the Democratic party’s nomination for president in 1972. The present state of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris pivots from the past activism acumen and the political prowess of these two Black women.
Sexuality. Politics. Gender. Possibility. Black women’s bodies have been on my mind.
Of course, the biblical scholar in me would be remiss not to draw from this textual well. The story of the Queen of Sheba is worth noting. The narrative in 1 Kings 10 and 2 Chronicles recounts her traveling to see King Solomon. She does not come hat in hand, but with a great caravan and spices, gold and precious stones to boot. What is intriguing is that this Ethiopian woman comes to Solomon and “tells him all that is on her mind” (1 Kings 10:2). She has been wondering if the word about Solomon is true and wanted to see for herself. Ancient texts attest to the power of Black women having something on their minds.
When moments of imposter syndrome seek to wash over me, I am reminded that it is my Black woman presence folks are reacting against. It is their overreaching into me that instigates my wanting to question me. It is their confusion about what I embody that strives to make me doubt me. Nevertheless I persist. Black Cinderella has left the building and refuses to be belle of the diversity, equity, and inclusion workplace ball.
Black women’s bodies, my body have been on my mind. I want this body to be around to hug and nurture my children’s children. I want to be eye candy for Black girls and yes, Black boys to not just dream, but see what is possible. With the self-sufficiency and curiosity of the Queen of Sheba, in the spirit of Bass, in the legacy of Chisholm, with the audacity of the women at The Pynk, steeped in the anger over Young and Taylor, in the hope of Harris and from the womb of my Black grandmother and Black mother — may it be so.
Brown girl brown girl
How are you so strong
'Cause I got Queens in my blood
To help push me along
-Lesle Honore
Dr. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder
Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, author, speaker and teacher, is a Baptist and Disciples of Christ minister who holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Vanderbilt University. Her latest book is When Momma Speaks: The Bible and Motherhood from a Womanist Perspective. This #WomanistMomma currently serves as Associate Professor and Academic Dean at Chicago Theological Seminary.
Facebook: Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder
Twitter: @stepbcrowder
Instagram: StephBuckhanonC
Church Anew is dedicated to igniting faithful imagination and sustaining inspired innovation by offering transformative learning opportunities for church leaders and faithful people.
As an ecumenical and inclusive ministry of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, the content of each Church Anew blog represents the voice of the individual writer and does not necessarily reflect the position of Church Anew or St. Andrew Lutheran Church on any specific topic.
More Pandemonium in a Pandemic
When my sons were in elementary school, I constantly told them, “You can’t do what white children do. The consequences for you will be different.” My afternoon pickups were filled with trepidation and angst when I asked them, “How was your day?” I always feared there would be report of “misbehavior” from a white teacher or a detention note for an “infraction.” A small slight from a white boy or girl was an almost criminal act for my then small children.
The acts of insurrection last week proved the refrain is still true: “Black people cannot do what white people do. The consequences will be different.”
In June 2020, innumerable armed guards phalanxed the Capitol ready to pounce Black Lives Matter protesters. However, this past Wednesday was a stark contrast as white seditionists overpowered police officers, desecrated legislative halls, disrespected federal offices, and demoralized congresspersons and senators alike. With the statue called “Freedom” looking down, extremists took much liberty, looted, and ran amok on Capitol Hill. The images of mayhem and chaos from that white, pristine edifice are quite different from those in Ferguson and Baltimore. Why? Race in America makes the difference. Race in America is the difference.
Before some of us could celebrate historic victories in the Georgia senate races, our attention was diverted to efforts to circumvent and upend democracy.
While thousands of Americans were dying, still dying, from COVID-19, a narcissistic, political sickness begged our focus. As the liturgical calendar turned the page to Epiphany, a manifestation of mayhem, madness, and selfish motivation demanded center stage. And yet, this is the messiness of humanity. This is the messiness of the season.
Epiphany is the showing, the appearance of the magi, a group of Persian travelers, who come to pay homage to a baby born in Bethlehem. The Gospel of Matthew in chapter 2 records “fear,” “terror,” and “lies” as colors painting broad contextual strokes of the arrival of Jesus. Herod is anxious. The people under him are grossly apprehensive. Herod prevaricates. The magi sniff him out. Herod kills innocent babies. Jesus is born — born in pandemonium. The Prince of Peace appears, and Persians bow when all of Jerusalem is in a panic.
What is striking about Matthew’s lens is that the magi still bow. Although Herod takes herculean efforts to thwart what is beyond his control, angels still speak. Humanity is no match for divinity. The Creator knows what to do with and in chaos. Creation has chaos in its DNA. The late Toni Morrison’s words ring just as true now:
“I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence. Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge — even wisdom.”
I am not offering some in the sweet by and by theology. This is not a clarion call for a Kumbaya convening. We are frustrated. Some of us are afraid. We are angry. I am furious. What I told my children years ago does not have to be redacted. What is problematic is that little boys and girls whose entitlement goes unchecked grow up to be men and women who know no boundaries and who are not afraid of the police.
Dr. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder
Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, author, speaker and teacher, is a Baptist and Disciples of Christ minister who holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Vanderbilt University. Her latest book is When Momma Speaks: The Bible and Motherhood from a Womanist Perspective. This #WomanistMomma currently serves as Associate Professor and Academic Dean at Chicago Theological Seminary.
Facebook: Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder
Twitter: @stepbcrowder
Instagram: StephBuckhanonC
Church Anew is dedicated to igniting faithful imagination and sustaining inspired innovation by offering transformative learning opportunities for church leaders and faithful people.
As an ecumenical and inclusive ministry of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, the content of each Church Anew blog represents the voice of the individual writer and does not necessarily reflect the position of Church Anew or St. Andrew Lutheran Church on any specific topic.
Kamala and Her Converse
Official portrait, 2017
I have been thinking about my mother quite a bit. This is her birthday month. She was only 44 when she committed suicide over twenty years ago. The older I get, the more and more I look like her. I have her complexion, her eyes, and her nose. I have her intellectual drive. I also have my mother’s feet — flat, fat, and stubby.
My mother and I share the same foot structure. Yet, our paths were quite different. The roads we traveled and traversed were quite different. She did not live to reach my age. We have the same DNA, but our destinies were distinct. I am clear that I would not have walked this road were it not for her clearing a way.
There is much conversation about Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her affinity for Converse sneakers. Yes, the first Black, first woman, first South Asian to hold the second highest office in the United States dons Chuck Taylors. Not Louboutins, Ferragamos, Louis Vuittons nor even my favorite, Nike Air Maxs, but tried and true All-Stars. Perhaps this adds to her list of firsts.
Harris contends she wears the sneakers for comfort. Pictures showed her on the campaign trail and at various rallies in either black leather, white, or tan low tops and occasionally blinged out high top Converse gear. A more dressy platform style would pair with pantsuits. I imagine this shoe game will be a staple once she takes the oath of office. After all, the White House and Number One Observatory Circle are pretty spacious with very extending hallways.
One cannot forget the uproar over Harris stepping off a plane in Timberlands. She was not wearing tiny, kitten heels or stilettos from hell, but beige rugged boots. I surmise Madam VP-elect is embodying the dawn of a new shoe day. When it is time to get to work, lead with your mind and your feet. The professional can also be very practical.
Nonetheless, I consider Harris’ footwear as more than a call for women to rub against sartorial mandates. Political history compels us to call the names of Black women who paved the path for Harris. Looking over America’s shoulders, we must summon the sisters and herald the matriarchs on whose shoulders Harris stands, and yes, in whose shoes she now walks.
Charlotta Spears Bass was the first Black woman to run for vice president of the United States. Disgruntled and giving up her Republican affiliation after thirty years, Bass was nominated to the Progressive Party ticket in 1952 with presidential candidate, Vincent Hallinan. Bass had a vibrant career as a newspaper editor for The California Eagle. The Eagle sounded Bass’ platform of social justice related to housing and education discrimination. In her acceptance speech for the Progressive nomination, Bass declared:
We support the movement for freedom of all peoples everywhere—in Africa, in Asia, in the Middle East, and above all, here in our own country. And we will not be silenced by the rope, the gun, the lynch mob or the lynch judge. We will not be stopped by the reign of terror let loose against all who speak for peace and freedom and share of the world’s goods, a reign of terror the like of which this nation has never seen.
The road to a Harris vice presidential election also advances through Shirley Chisholm. Chisholm holds a double first. Representing a district comprised of Brooklyn and Bedford-Stuyvesant, she was the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968. Four years later in 1972, Chisholm became the first Black person to run for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. “Unbought and Unbossed” Chisholm bulldozed doors that had been closed not only to Black women, but to Black people in general.
As a New Testament scholar, this metaphor of feet-walking-paths summons a particular biblical passage. Hebrews 12:1 states, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us…” The phrase “run with perseverance the race that is set before us” is striking. It could mean to run or pursue a path that is one is facing. I posit it references that which has already been established. The interpretive lenses are mutual. What is in front or is set infers someone or something had to assist in putting it into place. The present state relies on past activity.
The present state of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris pivots from the past activism acumen of Charlotte Spears Bass and the political prowess of Shirley Chisholm. Bass and Chisholm labored and sacrificed to “set before us” and set before Harris the race for Harris to run. In the spirit of Ubuntu, she is because they were.
The Converse sneakers Kamala Harris wears are made from the soles and souls of Black women who ran the race before her — and for her. Here’s to running to see what the end will be.
Dr. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder
Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, author, speaker and teacher, is a Baptist and Disciples of Christ minister who holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Vanderbilt University. Her latest book is When Momma Speaks: The Bible and Motherhood from a Womanist Perspective. This #WomanistMomma currently serves as Associate Professor and Academic Dean at Chicago Theological Seminary.
Facebook: Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder
Twitter: @stepbcrowder
Instagram: StephBuckhanonC
Christ | Christmas | Covid
Providing spiritual leadership and comfort for church leaders (clergy, lay, and volunteer) and a space to grieve, lament, and reclaim the prophetic hope of this season.
Church Anew is dedicated to igniting faithful imagination and sustaining inspired innovation by offering transformative learning opportunities for church leaders and faithful people.
As an ecumenical and inclusive ministry of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, the content of each Church Anew blog represents the voice of the individual writer and does not necessarily reflect the position of Church Anew or St. Andrew Lutheran Church on any specific topic.
Stacey Abrams: A Reversal Through Rejection
Win or go home. This is most every competitor’s mantra. Whether in the arena of sports, academics, or politics, defeating one’s opponent is not optional. It is a mandate. No one enters a race eyeing second place or a participant’s trophy. Bring on the gold with all its glitz, glamor, and glory. Better yet, a platinum prize will take it up a notch.
In 2018, the nation watched and the state of Georgia more closely as Gubernatorial candidate, Stacey Abrams, lost by 55,000 votes. In a heated race that would have made her the first African American woman governor, Abrams did not win the prize. Neither did she concede. Allegations of voter suppression at the hands of her opponent saturated Abrams’ comments some ten days post the election.
Still, Abrams did not fade into political oblivion. She did not leave the scene sulking and licking her wounds. Instead, this founder of The New Georgia Project rolled up her sleeves and went back to work. Rather than merely harboring on what she deemed was Georgia’s systematic voter displacement, Abrams made a concerted effort to do something about the matter. She engaged in never again praxis. While not throwing her hat into another political race, she labored to correct the system that denied her. Abrams turned a personal rejection into purposed rigor so to ensure future candidates would have a “fair fight.”
Forward to 2020, for the first time in 28 years, the state of Georgia turned blue. Not since 1992, when Bill Clinton was elected President, had The Peach State voted for a Democratic candidate. So profound was the political prowess and reach of Abrams and millions of African Americans that President-elect Biden paid homage to this demographic during his victory speech. Her being refused a “first” in the U.S. cleared a path for Kamala Harris becoming the first Black, first woman, first Asian Vice President. '
Abrams turned an individual loss into a national win.
How should we handle rejection? As a New Testament scholar, I tend to place biblical texts in conversation with the present. This exercise in rejection reminded me of a particular passage. In the Acts of the Apostles (1:15-26), the 11 remaining apostles must choose a replacement for Judas. Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus for financial gain, committed suicide (Matthew 27:3-10). There are two candidates, Joseph Barsabbas, also called Justus, and Matthias. After prayer and conversation, the apostles select Matthias. Joseph Barsabbas is rejected.
Both men have credentials. Both have what it takes. Yet, one gets the vote. The other gets the boot.
I contend Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene should have been on the ballot. After all Mary is listed among them who were “constantly devoting themselves to prayers (Acts 1:14).” Additionally, as “certain women,” although unnamed, are noted in this passage, Luke does not hesitate to mention them in the first of this two-volume work (Luke 8:1-3). Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna are followers of Jesus who give out of their own resources. However, patriarchy has a short memory and ultimately carries the day.
None of these women are even considered to fill the twelfth apostle slot. Sounds vaguely familiar.
What does one do to reverse a rejection? First, acknowledge that it happened. Abrams did not offer a concession speech, neither did she conceal losing. It is one thing to face rejection on a small scale with knowledge of just a few people in one’s circle. However, this was as public as public gets. For more than a week after the 2018 Gubernatorial election, Abrams retreated to private quarters. Perhaps she needed time and space to wrestle with and reconcile what everyone was talking about — her not winning.
It is no doubt Abrams was qualified. She was a politician. She had public service receipts. Yet, like Mary, Joanna, Susanna, and Mary Magdalene, perhaps certain male-centered systems were not ready for her gubernatorial giftedness in female form.
Second, Abrams teaches us that we do not have to always be politically correct. Well, she did not congratulate Kemp. She did not pretend to be okay with what happened to her. Women are often supposed to be gracious, guarded, and demure. However, I say with the fire of Fannie Lou Hamer and the zeal of Shirley Chisholm, we need to lift a stentorian voice to all oppression, suppression, -isms, and phobias. No, I do not aver impertinence or character demonization. We have had more than enough of that the past four years. Yet, if we see something, we must say something. We ought to do something.
Lastly, turning rejection around means we protest with our prayers and pray with our feet.
Yes, we do something. Our inward gaze must be a catalyst for outward action. A year after her loss, Abrams drafted a sixteen-page manual detailing Democratic trends in Georgia. Additionally, she wrote a book, produced a documentary with Amazon Prime, and founded a second organization dedicated to registering voters. In essence, Abrams kept it moving.
Only Stacey Abrams knows if she has recovered from her rejection. We can surmise our own level of recovery from such public and private, personal and professional loss. Even if we do not earn the wreath, may we be encouraged and empowered to fight the fight.
Dr. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder
Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, author, speaker and teacher, is a Baptist and Disciples of Christ minister who holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Vanderbilt University. Her latest book is When Momma Speaks: The Bible and Motherhood from a Womanist Perspective. This #WomanistMomma currently serves as Associate Professor and Academic Dean at Chicago Theological Seminary.
Facebook: Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder
Twitter: @stepbcrowder
Instagram: StephBuckhanonC
Christ | Christmas | Covid
Providing space to grieve and lament, while reclaiming the prophetic hope of this season.
Church Anew is dedicated to igniting faithful imagination and sustaining inspired innovation by offering transformative learning opportunities for church leaders and faithful people.
As an ecumenical and inclusive ministry of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, the content of each Church Anew blog represents the voice of the individual writer and does not necessarily reflect the position of Church Anew or St. Andrew Lutheran Church on any specific topic.
The Imposition of Imposter Syndrome
“At first passing seemed so simple … She hadn’t realized how long it takes to become somebody else, or how lonely it can be living in a world not meant for you.”
—Brit Bennett, The Vanishing Half
The quote from Brit Bennett’s latest novel refers to twin sister, Stella. Although she is Black, her light complexion fools people into thinking she is white. After posing and “passing,” she secures a job at a department store — never to reclaim her Blackness. For over forty years, Stella pretends to be someone she is not. In her mind the advantages she receives as a white woman far outweigh any degree of racial obligation, allegiance, or honesty.
Recent stories of white women posing as Black women speak to a different type of passing. It is doubtful cultural critics or race scholars would even label the actions as such. The narrative is that white women do not have to pretend or prove proficiency as they automatically get a “pass” per se. The Karens, Beckys, Susans, Rachels, and now Jessicas are presumed innocent and right without inquiry or second glance. The systemic advantages garnered them thrive on systematic racist moves. Thus, a fictional character in a book and persons in history shift to a lighter side in order to glean some racial fringe benefits. The irony is palpable.
What is moreover disturbing about these reverse-passing machinations is the imposition it places on Black women.
As if we do not have to stand in the professional judgement seat enough, as if we do not have to demand the title of “Dr.,” “Professor,” or “Ms.” in the classroom, as if our ideas and data are not second-guessed, and our presence called into question, now any imposter syndrome Black women experience is layered with the imposition of real-life, true-to-form imposters. Because persons pretending to embody a Black woman’s existential reality have been weighed and found wanting and lying, there is bound to be more burden of proof on us. This is the imposition of the imposter syndrome.
Coined in the 1970s, imposter syndrome is described as an “internal experience of intellectual phoniness in people who believe that they are not intelligent, capable or creative despite high achievement.” It is the constant scrutiny, self-critique, position of doubt, posture of “don’t belong,” and rewinding of unsure and uncertain. Imposter syndrome evinces wherever a person feels they are not qualified, notwithstanding credentials to testify otherwise. Despite the StrongBlackWoman epithet, experts note that racism is generative in imposter syndrome causing it to manifest more in women of color.
Representation is also a contributor of imposter syndrome. As a partner of racism, representation and efforts to control the dearth of diversity impact feelings of adequacy. Environments where Black women are the only one add to performance pressure and imposter syndrome. In such solo contexts, Black women are the model that they are looking for and need. With no professional paradigm, there is a tendency to wonder of one’s worth. Whether in the classroom, boardroom, workplace, the arts, the public square, or on the screen, the inability to see people who look like us can lend toward both subliminal and stentorian messages of outsider and other.
This is not to say that women of other racial and ethnic groups do not experience imposter syndrome. Sexism has its hand in this self-debasing mental anguish. Yet, As Black women navigate the bottom of the social ladder, the trickle-down effect means the internal wariness is exacerbated. We straddle the intersectionalities while learning to live, move, and have our being.
As a biblical lens proves helpful in my personal pursuits, I lift two places where a potential reading of “imposter syndrome” could be applicable.
I Samuel 15:17 records Samuel saying to Saul: “Though you are little in your own eye, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.” Saul is the first king over a people who were once in bondage. They requested a king. God reluctantly gave them Saul. Yet, Saul relishes in apprehension. Although he was a renown warrior prior to ascending the throne, this background was not enough to boost him. With royal scepter in hand he has identity vacillation. He is small, insufficient by his own characterization.
The Gospel of Matthew (15:21-28) registers an intense conversation between Jesus and a Canaanite mother. The mother is a non-Jew seeking healing for her daughter. Jesus a Jew is visiting her non-Jewish territory. He is the ethnic outsider in her hometown. The mother publicly makes a request on behalf of her ailing child. The conversation quickly spirals from courteous to curt as there are declarations of treating the mother like a dog. In the Greek, it is actually a play on the word “dog/Kynaria” and “Canaan” — the latter elicits memories of a people the Jews battled to get their Promised Land. In either case there is gender and racial denigration. The mother acquiesces to the canine epithet for the sake of her daughter. She yields to the racism and sexism. In the end, Jesus heals her daughter. The story does not paint Jesus favorably.
The Canaanite mother shouts, kneels, and makes internal mental modifications. She wrestles with Jesus and within herself. Although holding a place of geographical advantage, she relents it. Her imposter syndrome as self-deprecating becomes a bargaining tool.
The I Samuel and Matthean texts are places to pause and consider imposter syndrome. No, neither text employs nor anywhere in the Bible is the phrase used. Yet, as Saul belittles himself despite his regal status and as the Canaanite mother revisits her posture and place for her daughter, both can help the reader to consider their own pejorative internal speak.
The imposition of imposter syndrome is imposters who dwell in the mendacious abyss of professional facade make life harder for others. The imposition of imposter syndrome is we suffer, society is compromised, our giftedness does not illuminate a dark, dank world when we doubt and dare not show up fully. The imposition of imposter syndrome ought to conscript us to get off the mental merry-go-round of inadequate, insecure, and insufficient.
We do not need to pass. Just fight like hell to be in the skin we are in.
Dr. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder
Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, author, speaker and teacher, is a Baptist and Disciples of Christ minister who holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Vanderbilt University. Her latest book is When Momma Speaks: The Bible and Motherhood from a Womanist Perspective. This #WomanistMomma currently serves as Associate Professor and Academic Dean at Chicago Theological Seminary.
Facebook: Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder
Twitter: @stepbcrowder
Instagram: StephBuckhanonC
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Christ | Christmas | Covid
Thursday, November 19 | 10:30am-1:00pm CDT
Featuring provocative, imaginative, and engaging short talks from both world-renowned speakers and emerging voices, we will provide space to grieve and lament, while reclaiming the prophetic hope of this season.
Church Anew is dedicated to igniting faithful imagination and sustaining inspired innovation by offering transformative learning opportunities for church leaders and faithful people.
As an ecumenical and inclusive ministry of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, the content of each Church Anew blog represents the voice of the individual writer and does not necessarily reflect the position of Church Anew or St. Andrew Lutheran Church on any specific topic.
The “Light” of Ella Baker
Ella Baker at a news conference in 1968 | Credit Jack Harris/Associated Press
I admit I did not watch former Vice President Joe Biden’s Democratic National Convention acceptance speech. Apparently I missed a Black Woman shout out. Days before, I heard DNC host Tracee Ellis Ross pay homage to the Black women who paved the way for Vice Presidential candidate and Senator, Kamala Harris’, historic run. Ross lifted Charlotta Bass, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Shirley Chisholm. In her nomination acceptance speech Harris too gave tribute to the prowess and acumen of Black women political leaders. In addition to Hamer, Harris highlighted Mary Church Terrell, Mary MacLeod Bethune, Diane Nash, and Constance Baker Motley as Black women on whose shoulders she stands and in whose pumps she walks (my addition).
Still one woman’s name was just a whisper during the Convention as it was at services for the late Congressman John Lewis — Ella Baker.
That was until Presidential candidate, Joe Biden, quoted Baker in the opening of his speech: “Give people light, and they will find a way.” From 1944-1946 as NAACP Director of Branches, Baker convened officials from Shreveport to Chicago to conduct workshops for local NAACP leaders. The title was synonymous with these leadership conferences. She borrowed the phrase from one of her favorite hymns. Baker employed the theme because she believed people did not really need to be led. They needed to be given skills to lead themselves.
After resigning her role at the NAACP, Baker became one of the founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Yet, she left the organization in 1958. Her male colleagues only recognized her competence and expertise to a degree. The “preacher’s club” named Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker to replace Baker at the helm. According to biographer Barbara Ransby, due to this prevailing patriarchy and what she deemed a focus on “mass rallies and grand exhortations by ministers without follow-up,” Baker departed the SCLC and chose to go her own womanly way.
While leaving the SCLC, Baker did not leave the work of civil rights.
In 1960 after witnessing the power of student sit-ins, Baker organized the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee or SNCC (“snick”). Because of the influence of SNCC, students became the face of the Freedom Rides in 1961. These Freedom Rides from Washington, D.C. and Nashville down to Alabama led to Freedom Summer in 1964. In the heat of the day, students led volunteers from across the nation in a massive voter registration drive throughout Mississippi. Subsequently many students formed the Students for a Democratic Society.
In the book of Deuteronomy, God offers Moses and the children of Israel the choice of “life and prosperity or death and adversity” (30:19). Ironically, God makes the decision for them and admonishes the hearers to cast their lot with life “so that their descendants may live” (v.19). In other words, what Moses and his followers do at this intersection will influence children whom they will not live to see.
The action they take at this fork in the road will set the path for their progeny.
Additionally, the Book of Ecclesiasticus, not Ecclesiastes, upholds the significance of making proper choices. This literature, sometimes referred to as “Sirach” is a part of the Apocryphal or Deuterocanoncial works prevalent in Catholicism. In Sirach or Ecclesiasticus chapter 15, the author makes note of “the power of ... free choice” (v.14), and humanity’s “choice between fire and water” (v. 16). As recorded in Deuteronomy, this book also comments that “before each person are life and death” (v. 17).
Both sacred texts offer contextual relevance in helping us see that some decisions are not mere matters of material, food, or size. Pondering life or death choices is just that — will what you do make life better for you and the community or will what I decide possibly bring destruction to me and my neighbor?
Any “choice” words spoken in haste can kill my brother’s spirit, but choosing to employ language in love can shape a girl’s self-esteem and give her promise.
Standing at the crossroads and junctures of life is not solely about our individual living. These watershed challenges should lead us to consider touching people outside our physical reach. This is the legacy of Ella Baker.
Ella Baker seized the opportunity and made a decision that would turn the tide of history. She chose to do what far exceeded herself. Although SNCC is no longer a viable entity and Baked died in 1986, her name, her work, and her spirit thrive.
In his remarks at the home going services for John Lewis, Rev. James Lawson averred it was Black women who made the decision to desegregate downtown Nashville. Vice Presidential candidate Harris stated Black women paved the way. To say NAACP, SNCC, and now the 2020 United States Presidential election, one needs to sing her song and yes, #SayHerName — Ella Baker.
This blog has been adapted from its original publication on August 3, 2020 “Ella Baker: A Name We All Should Know.”
Dr. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder
Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, author, speaker and teacher, is a Baptist and Disciples of Christ minister who holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Vanderbilt University. Her latest book is When Momma Speaks: The Bible and Motherhood from a Womanist Perspective. This #WomanistMomma currently serves as Associate Professor and Academic Dean at Chicago Theological Seminary.
Facebook: Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder
Twitter: @stepbcrowder
Instagram: StephBuckhanonC
Church Anew is dedicated to igniting faithful imagination and sustaining inspired innovation by offering transformative learning opportunities for church leaders and faithful people.
As an ecumenical and inclusive ministry of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, the content of each Church Anew blog represents the voice of the individual writer and does not necessarily reflect the position of Church Anew or St. Andrew Lutheran Church on any specific topic.
Church Anew is dedicated to igniting faithful imagination and sustaining inspired innovation by offering transformative learning opportunities for church leaders and faithful people.
As an ecumenical and inclusive ministry of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, the content of each Church Anew blog represents the voice of the individual writer and does not necessarily reflect the position of Church Anew or St. Andrew Lutheran Church on any specific topic.
Return to Normalcy and Other Fleshpots
Don’t think that I’ve come to bring peace to the earth. I haven’t come to bring peace but a sword (Matthew 10:34, CEB).
In the current political environment, many Americans are hoping for a “return to normalcy.” Such a pitch plucks at the heartstrings of many who are ready to vomit after too many sharp turns on the 2020 roller coaster.
Many of us just want to get back to the way things were—when masks were just a curious feature of foreign travelers, when visiting family didn’t require risk assessment, when self-scandalizing tweets didn’t hijack our news cycle, when church participation didn’t require a Zoom account, when outlets weren’t so clearly fueled and funded by rage, and when we didn’t have to squirm under the constant accusation of racism.
The return to normalcy argument derives its power from the common (and often beneficial!) human impulses to avoid conflict, stabilize life when it gets knocked off balance, resolve contradiction, organize chaos, and believe that we are good and decent people with upright intentions.
On its long trip from Egypt to Canaan, Ancient Israel experienced a similar urge to return to a more familiar and comfortable past (see Exodus 16:3).
The only problem was that their memory of the past was distorted. They remembered the fleshpots but not the chains.
Ironically, the promised “return to normalcy” means that 2020—like 2016—will be an election about nostalgia. But one thing sets 2020 apart from 2016: clarity. 2020 has seen the sins of generations washing up on the shores of our nation in ways that are profoundly public and profoundly painful. 2020 has been a year of judgment, when sinful seeds planted long ago are coming into maturity in ways that have compounding effects.
If divine judgment does one thing well, it brings into focus what was previously obscured or even ignored, separating wheat from husk and sheep from goats (Matthew 3:11-12; 25:31-46).
The fire of God’s judgment allows us to see ourselves as we truly are before God’s law of love. We are in a painful process in which our national eyes are slowly and reluctantly opening to truths that some in our population have suffered under for ages.
2020 has brought clarity about many particular things: clarity about racial disparities, clarity about the dangers of poor leadership, clarity about the weaknesses in our social fabric, clarity about the importance of robust free speech and assembly rights, clarity about the deficiencies in our health care system, clarity about the disrepair of the international order, and clarity about how lines of discrimination can exist in reality, even if they don’t exist legally.
But clarity is painful and costly.
It stings the way Nathan’s words to David must have stung: “you are that man” (2 Samuel 12:7). It crashes down on us like the waters crashed down on Pharaoh’s armies at the Red Sea. And it brings us face-to-face with one of the most disturbing aspects of Jesus’ ministry: confrontation.
Jesus’ ministry was inherently confrontational, as Matthew 10:34 indicates: “Don’t think that I’ve come to bring peace to the earth. I haven’t come to bring peace but a sword.”
Matthew’s Jesus is an apocalyptic figure, whose conflict with the powers of sin, death, and the devil are borne out through the Gospels. He recognized that true peace, shalom, requires confrontation.
Like the late John Lewis, Jesus was a troublemaker. When Jesus came to town, the powers of sin, death, and the devil surfaced. The demons showed their faces—not because they were powerful, but because they were vulnerable.
As the apocalyptic sword of divine judgment sweeps through our own land, ancient demons are emerging from their lairs with the kind of ferocity that comes only from desperation. In the apocalypse, the last thing we need is a return to normalcy.
Americans face an important question: Are we willing to exchange the moral clarity of this moment for a distorted memory of the past?
Is a “return to normalcy” really what is called for?
We ought to be concerned when and if “return to normalcy” is heard as a summons to a time when we saw less clearly, when we more easily overlooked our neighbor’s weathered face and scarred hands. The precious gift of moral clarity at this time of judgment is utterly invaluable.
And we ought not substitute that clarity for a morally dull sense of comfort.
Dr. Michael J. Chan
Host: Gospel Beautiful Podcast
Assistant Professor of Old Testament
Luther Seminary
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Being Church Today
Monday, August 17 | 10:30am-1:00pm CDT
Church Anew has gathered a diverse group of Christian thought leaders to ignite innovation and imagination for leading congregations in a time like this. These keynote speakers will amplify the voices of local leaders from the Minneapolis area, who will share stories of how the church is leading in our own context, particularly in response to systemic racism in our communities.
Church Anew is dedicated to igniting faithful imagination and sustaining inspired innovation by offering transformative learning opportunities for church leaders and faithful people.
As an ecumenical and inclusive ministry of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, the content of each Church Anew blog represents the voice of the individual writer and does not necessarily reflect the position of Church Anew or St. Andrew Lutheran Church on any specific topic.
Ella Baker: A Name We All Should Know
Ella Baker at a news conference in 1968 | Credit Jack Harris/Associated Press
I sat waiting and waiting and waiting. Watching the recent homegoing celebration for Civil Rights icon, Congressman John Lewis, I was waiting for someone to mention the women. This was not about slighting Lewis in any way. He was and remains deserving of honor and accolades. Yet, I get nervous when people start talking about the 1960s and its horrid context of water hoses traumatizing flesh, dogs biting skin, and people crossing bridges only to be met with batons.
Often in this retelling, narrators forget to #SayHerName, and by this I mean put on stage the women, the sisters, the matriarchs of the movement.
So, with tiptoe anticipation and ear attuned, I pined for any of the speakers to #CallTheRoll. Rev. James Lawson, Jr. did. In griot fashion, cultural curator posture, and with oratorial aplomb, he noted his apprentices including Lewis who learned non-violent resistance in the bowels of Nashville, TN. Among the young activists whom Lawson highlighted were women: Jeannetta Hayes, Helen Roberts, Delores Wilkerson, Diane Nash, Paulina Knight, and Angela Butler. They were students from Fisk University and American Baptist College who rallied against racial segregation in the capital of Tennessee during the late 50s and 60s.
Still, one woman’s name was just a whisper during the services for Lewis — Ella Baker.
Baker was one of the founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Yet, she left the organization in 1958. Her male colleagues only recognized Baker’s competence and expertise to a degree. The “preacher’s club” named Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker to replace Baker at the helm. According to biographer Barbara Ransby, due to this prevailing patriarchy and what she deemed a focus on “mass rallies and grand exhortations by ministers without follow-up,” Baker departed the SCLC and chose to go her own womanly way.
While leaving the SCLC, Baker did not leave the work of civil rights. In 1960 after witnessing the power of student sit-ins, Baker organized the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee or SNCC (“snick”). Because of the influence of SNCC, students became the face of the Freedom Rides in 1961. These Freedom Rides from Washington, D.C. and Nashville down to Alabama led to Freedom Summer in 1964. In the heat of the day, students led volunteers from across the nation in a massive voter registration drive throughout Mississippi. Subsequently, many students formed the Students for a Democratic Society.
It is not hard to connect the dots from the student sit-ins and protests in Nashville to Baker’s work with students at lunch counters in Greensboro and Raleigh, North Carolina.
The tentacles of SNCC stretched throughout the Southeast. Annals record Lewis became one of the original freedom riders in 1961 and in 1963 SNCC’s chairman. He stood tall at the March on Washington representing this organization. However, his advocacy for non-violence learned at the feet of Lawson would come in conflict with SNCC members as he later lost the chair’s seat to Stokely Carmichael.
In the book of Deuteronomy, God offers Moses and the children of Israel the choice of “life and prosperity or death and adversity” (30:19). Ironically, God makes the decision for them and admonishes the hearers to cast their lot with life “so that their descendants may live” (v. 19). In other words, what Moses and his followers do at this intersection will influence children whom they will not live to see.
The action they take at this fork in the road will set the path for their progeny.
Additionally, the Book of Ecclesiasticus, not Ecclesiastes, upholds the significance of making proper choices. This literature, sometimes referred to as “Sirach,” is a part of the Apocryphal or Deuterocanoncial works prevalent in Catholicism. In Sirach or Ecclesiasticus chapter 15, the author makes note of “the power of ... free choice,” (v. 14) and humanity’s “choice between fire and water” (v. 16). As recorded in Deuteronomy, this book also comments that “before each person are life and death” (v. 17).
Both sacred texts offer contextual relevance in helping us see that some decisions are not mere matters of material, food, or size.
Pondering life or death choices is just that — will what you do make life better for you and the community or will what I decide possibly bring destruction to me and my neighbor? Any “choice” words spoken in haste can kill my brother’s spirit, but choosing to employ language in love can shape a girl’s self-esteem and give her promise.
Standing at the crossroads and junctures of life is not solely about our individual living. These watershed challenges should lead us to consider touching people outside our physical reach.
This is the legacy of Lawson, Lewis, and Baker.
Ella Baker seized the opportunity and made a decision that would turn the tide of history. She chose to do what far exceeded herself. Although SNCC is no longer a viable entity, and Baked died in 1986, her name, her work, and her spirit thrive.
In his remarks at Lewis’ services, Lawson averred it was Black women who made the decision to desegregate downtown Nashville. To say SNCC, Lewis, Selma, one needs also to sing her song and yes, #SayHerName — Ella Baker.
Dr. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder
Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, author, speaker and teacher, is a Baptist and Disciples of Christ minister who holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Vanderbilt University. Her latest book is When Momma Speaks: The Bible and Motherhood from a Womanist Perspective. This #WomanistMomma currently serves as Associate Professor and Academic Dean at Chicago Theological Seminary.
Facebook: Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder
Twitter: @stepbcrowder
Instagram: StephBuckhanonC
Join Us for a FREE Event
Being Church Today
Monday, August 17 | 10:30am-1:00pm CDT
Church Anew has gathered a diverse group of Christian thought leaders to ignite innovation and imagination for leading congregations in a time like this. These keynote speakers will amplify the voices of local leaders from the Minneapolis area, who will share stories of how the church is leading in our own context, particularly in response to systemic racism in our communities.
Church Anew is dedicated to igniting faithful imagination and sustaining inspired innovation by offering transformative learning opportunities for church leaders and faithful people.
As an ecumenical and inclusive ministry of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, the content of each Church Anew blog represents the voice of the individual writer and does not necessarily reflect the position of Church Anew or St. Andrew Lutheran Church on any specific topic.
Why Is It So Hard to Live as One Body?
Why is it so hard to live as one body?
Well, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, God created the heavens and the earth. At the end of each day, God looked at what was created and God said it is good. The last day of the week God created the very first human beings and, in Genesis 1:28, God said to Adam and Eve, "You have ‘dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’"
And just like that, everything went downhill. In other words, everything in creation was good until human beings were put in charge.
Why can't we live as one body?
Because of human beings. My sermon could be that short. Contractually, it has to be at least 14 minutes long. So, I go on. Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. For the record, there were only four people on the face of the earth — you think that this would be manageable. They didn't even have to share a bedroom. Cain and Able have their own bedroom. Nevertheless, Cain killed his brother Abel.
Why can't you live as one body from the get go?
They couldn't. Don't worry I'm not going to go through the entire Bible, but by Genesis 6, people are so wicked and so out of control, God decides to get rid of everything except for two of every animal species and Noah and his family. What do you say we try this again?
Maybe it was just a hiccup. By the way, Noah and his family survived the flood — in case it's been a long time since confirmation. Their children have children. The world populates again. Maybe this time, things will work out better. Which brings us to today's reading [Genesis 11:1-9] where all people wanted to build a tower that reached all the way up to God.
Now here's a repeating theme alert.
The serpent in the Garden of Eden tempted Adam and Eve by saying if you eat this apple you will be like God. In this scripture text, they wanted to build a tower that would bring them to the level of God. “Hey, let's make a name for ourselves,” they said. God knew that they were getting too big for their britches. God knew that they were more than fine being the same. They all talk the same language. They all look the same. Nothing can stop us now, they thought. So God scattered the people all over creation and had them speak different languages.
Not as a penalty, rather as a gift. The only problem was apparently human beings struggle to live as one. Some things never change. I have three points.
Point #1. Even Lutherans can't seem to live with other Lutherans.
There is a town in Minnesota with a population 13,746 souls. You ready? In this town, there are eleven Lutheran churches. Eleven in one town. Population 13,746.
It is one, a business model that's flawed. Number two, it shows that we can't live as one.
One of my favorite stories? A guy is stranded on a desert island for 40 or 50 years, and this is the opposite of Castaway.
Someone finds him, comes on his Island, and says "Will you give me a tour?"
“Okay.”
He comes to a clearing there are three buildings.
What is this building?"
"That is my home. That is where I live."
"That is lovely. Good job. How about that building right there?"
"That's where I worship." "Well, that's lovely, great job. What's that other building over there?"
"That's the church I used to attend."
Hyperbole, but close, Minnesota. Eleven congregations when there should be maybe two, at most three.
On December 18, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said "We must face the fact that in America the church is still the most segregated institution in America.” At 11 o'clock on Sunday morning, we stand saying that Christ has no east and west, we stand at the most segregated hour in this nation.
This is tragic. Nobody of honesty can overlook this. 1963 — so that was then, what about now? Here's my question for you. What is the whitest denomination in the United States of America?
Answer? We are. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is the whitest denomination in the entire United States of America.
So here's what I think about when I dare to go there.
We're diverse enough in our thinking and our beliefs and traditions to have eleven different Lutheran churches in one community. But, when all is said and done, we're not diverse in ways that I think are helpful, deep or wide.
Point #2. Christians are expected to be like Jesus.
Actually, Jesus was a rebel from the get go. Jesus hung out with outcasts and the disease-ridden. Jesus always talked about the importance of finding equal value in all people. In fact, if one was to synthesize what Jesus said in his conversations and monologues and sermons it would be as follows: Everyone is loved by God.
Everyone is God's favorite. We read the children's story Bible. We're all, you're all God's favorites. You're all my favorites. You love your children the same. Well, so does God. Nevertheless, you have power. You have created a paradigm that always has you in the catbird's seat.
But in our world, the last will be first. The first shall be last. In our world is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave or free, nor is there male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. That's the expectation, and we are expected to live and treat others like Christ did.
Point #3. Now is a time to reflect, ponder, assess, confess, make amends, and then work together to create a more just world.
I was going to quote me, but that’s a little self-serving, but that was my first thought. Speaking of confessing, I also was thinking this week: How often do people of power and note and authority ever admit they're wrong?
No, really, I'm serious. The last time you heard a confession? It's always justified somehow. It's all something like, "Well, I was misunderstood."
When was the last time someone of any kind of import just said, "I was wrong and I want to change."
When I thought about that, I thought about the semester I interned at a treatment center for addicts. On my first day, it was Family Day. I thought Family Day was going to be great because all the addicts are there. I imagined the wife or husband or significant other and the kids coming and they would all hug. It was not that at all.
Instead, they had a big room and everyone invited the people closest to them, and they all, the addicts and their families sat in a big circle. And then it would be one person's turn. Let's just say the addict is a guy, a husband and a father, and he would take his chair pre-COVID and sit knee-to-knee with, in this case, his wife, the mother of their children.
And there were two rules.
Number one, the wife in this case, could say anything she wanted for as long as she felt necessary. And the second rule was the addict, in this case, the husband and father could say nothing.
I'm 100% Norwegian, grew up in a house that if you didn't like something, you kept it to yourself, and you told your therapist later.
And then all of a sudden, those wives and mothers would talk for half an hour about this scoundrel and all the things that he had done to her and their children and their lives. “This is what you did repeatedly: You lied. You cheated. You stole."
And he, in this case, had to sit there, saying nothing. When there was a break in the action, I went up to the therapist and I said, "This is ugly. This is carnage. This is terrible. You got to change the flow of this." And the therapist says "You're new here." and I said, "Mhm."
In order for there to be change, the people who were not heard, in this case the wife, needed to speak and be heard. Finally. And the one who caused the damage, or allowed it to occur, had to listen and learn.
I'm no longer talking about chemical addiction. I'm talking about life and race and gender and all things to deal with being equitable and just.
It's time for people like me, in my station in life, and the hue of my skin to sit in that chair and listen. Not speak, not justify, not explain it away. Now is the time to reflect and ponder, assess, confess, make amends and then work together to create a more just world.
This week, Congressman John Lewis died. I tend not to pay a lot of attention to politicians. I'm sorry. This is only my opinion. There are not many I hold in high esteem. But this week, Congressman Lewis died. Mr. Lewis was a civil rights leader, and he served in Congress for the great State of Georgia from 1987 to his death. I've been reading the three blogs a week from our Church Anew Blog as I have encouraged you to do too. We have contributors from all across the world, the nation who are writing, and I'm following and reading each week just like you.
This past week, in a blog entitled "Dwelling in the Cathedral of John Lewis' Spirit" by Paul Raushenbush, here is one of the many things that jumped out at me: Mr. Lewis was attacked by a group of white men in 1961. Fifty years later, 50 years later — it's never too late — one of the men and that man's son came to Mr. Lewis' office in Congress and said, "Mr. Lewis, I beat you, I attacked you. I want to apologize. Will you forgive me?" The man's son, who had been encouraging his father to do this for some time, gave Mr. Lewis a hug. So did the father, and then father and the son both started to cry.
Mr. Lewis hugged them back and said, "Yes, I forgive you." They all cried together, and from that moment on, they continued to see one another and when they did, they would call one another "brother."
Oh, and one more thing.
As Mr. Lewis reflected upon that moment and what it really means, he said in 2011, let me say it again, in 2011, this is what he said:
"That is what this movement is all about. We are one people. We are one family. We are one house. One Love."
If we didn't have to be quiet due to being in this small in-person worship gathering during COVID-19, I would have all of you stand up and shout and celebrate words that are still true and yet to be fulfilled. But may they also be grafted on our hearts and our minds.
That is what this movement is all about. We are one people. We are one family. We are one house, one love.
For those of you who are seated here at church, for those of you who are seated or laying in your bed at home watching on-line, I want you to look, and I want you to say these words to yourself. Great in theory. Let's put it to practice and practice so long that it becomes habit in the way that we are.
So help us God, Amen.
This sermon, part of a series themed “Hard Questions”, has been adapted from its original delivery during worship on Sunday, July 26th, 2020 at St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Eden Prairie, MN.
Pastor David Lillejord
Senior Pastor | St. Andrew Lutheran Church | Eden Prairie, MN
Church Anew
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Monday, August 17 | 10:30am-1:00pm CDT
Church Anew has gathered a diverse group of Christian thought leaders to ignite innovation and imagination for leading congregations in a time like this. These keynote speakers will amplify the voices of local leaders from the Minneapolis area, who will share stories of how the church is leading in our own context, particularly in response to systemic racism in our communities.
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As an ecumenical and inclusive ministry of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, the content of each Church Anew blog represents the voice of the individual writer and does not necessarily reflect the position of Church Anew or St. Andrew Lutheran Church on any specific topic.
How Love Shows Us the Way During Difficult Times
Bishop Michael Curry asks "what would love do" in a world upended by racial protests and the coronavirus.
Today, like Peter and the disciples, we must discern a new normal. The continued rise in cases of COVID-19 and the raising of voices in the streets following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery have left us disoriented, uncertain, and confused, afraid of what we know and anxious about what we do not know. Our old normal has been upended, and we hunger for its return.
I do not say this from a lofty perch. I get it. There is a big part of me that wants to go back to January 2020 when I had never heard of COVID-19, and when I only thought of “Contagion” as a movie. Looking back through what I know are glasses darkened by loss, I find myself remembering January 2020 as a “golden age.”
But of course, January 2020 wasn’t perfect, not even close. And anyway, I can’t go back. None of us can go back. We must move forward. But we don’t know for sure what the new normal will be. Fortunately, God’s rubric of love shows us the way.
We’ve all been trying, making mistakes, learning, regrouping, trying anew. I’ve seen it. I’ve quietly read Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline online with you. I’ve seen soup kitchens, pantries, and other feeding ministries carefully doing their work in safe and healthy ways. There are Zoom coffee hours, Bible studies, and small discipleship groups. I’ve seen people of many faiths stand for the moral primacy of love. I’ve seen it, even when public health concerns supersede all other considerations, including in-person worship. That is moral courage. Who knows, but that love may demand more of us. But fear not, just remember what the old slaves used to say, walk together, children, and don’t you get weary, because there is a great camp meeting in the Promised Land. Oh, I’ve seen us do what we never thought we would or could do, because we dared to do what Jesus tells us all to do.
As our seasons of life in the COVID-19 world continue to turn, we are called to continue to be creative, to risk, to love. We are called to ask, What would unselfish, sacrificial love do?
What would love do? Love is the community praying together, in ways old and new. Love finds a path in this new normal to build church communities around being in relationship with God. Love supports Christians in spiritual practices. Prayer, meditation, study. Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, Rest.
What would love do? Love calls us to care for our neighbors, for our enemies. Love calls us to attend to those in prison, to those who are homeless, to those in poverty, to children, to immigrants and refugees. Love calls us to be in relationship with those with whom we disagree.
What would love do? Love calls us to be gentle with ourselves, to forgive our own mistakes, to take seriously the Sabbath. Love calls us to be in love with God, to cultivate a loving relationship with God, to spend time with God, to be still and know that God is God.
A few weeks ago when so many things were happening, both in our country and in our wider world, I was on a Zoom call with a member of our staff working on videos and interviews and it was so much and so chaotic, I remember just saying, "Let's just stop, and pray.”
And the prayer I prayed was a prayer from The Book of Common Prayer. It's toward the end of the prayer book on page 832 called “For Quiet Confidence.” This prayer is based on a time in the life of the prophet Isaiah, when the people of Judah and Jerusalem were living in a time when their country was in turmoil and things were uncertain and chaos seemed to be ruling.
The prophet Isaiah said, "You must remember that it is in returning and rest, that you will be saved; in quietness and confidence, you will find your strength."
And this is the prayer we prayed and I offer it for all of us. Let us pray:
Oh, God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and in rest, we shall be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength. By the might of thy Spirit, lift us, we pray thee to thy presence, where we may be still and know that thou art God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
God love you and keep the faith.
This online column has been shared with Church Anew with permission by the Office of the Right Reverend Michael B. Curry, The Episcopal Church, in its entirety as it appeared on Today.com July 15, 2020. The Most Rev. Michael Curry is the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church and the author of the upcoming book "Love Is the Way: Holding On to Hope in Troubling Times," due out Sept. 22.
Bishop Michael Curry
The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry is Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church. He is the Chief Pastor and serves as President and Chief Executive Officer, and as Chair of the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church.
Facebook | @PBMBCurry
Twitter | @BishopCurry
Twitter | @episcopalchurch
Facebook | @episcopalian
Join Us for a FREE Event
Being Church Today
Monday, August 17 | 10:30am-1:00pm CDT
Church Anew has gathered a diverse group of Christian thought leaders to ignite innovation and imagination for leading congregations in a time like this. These keynote speakers will amplify the voices of local leaders from the Minneapolis area, who will share stories of how the church is leading in our own context, particularly in response to systemic racism in our communities.
Church Anew is dedicated to igniting faithful imagination and sustaining inspired innovation by offering transformative learning opportunities for church leaders and faithful people.
As an ecumenical and inclusive ministry of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, the content of each Church Anew blog represents the voice of the individual writer and does not necessarily reflect the position of Church Anew or St. Andrew Lutheran Church on any specific topic.