Pastor Rob Recommends ... (January 11, 2022)

Pastor Rob recommends …

 

Crossing the Lines we Draw: Faithful Responses to a Polarized America

Matthew Tennant (2020)

 

Drawing on his reading of scripture, his understanding of Christian theology, and his experiences as a pastor, Tennant presents a case for reconciliation. He urges Christ-followers to reach across racial and political divides to unite with their fellow human beings.

A Cop talks about Abuse of Power in Law Enforcement

My friend is a veteran of the Virginia National Guard for over 20 years.  And he has been a deputy in the sheriff’s department for nearly as long.  He is a military and law enforcement veteran. 

I wrote to him to ask for his thoughts on Ferguson, MO and the Michael Brown shooting.   The pretext for my email to him was an article by Kareem Abdul Jabbar.  That can be found here - http://time.com/3132635/ferguson-coming-race-war-class-warfare/?xid=newsletter-brief.

And here are my friend’s comments.

Rob
Kareem is right insofar as:  1. This is not a "race" issue.  2. Disinformation is everywhere and the media is controlled.  3. Government is corrupt.   I also agree that people need to guard against conflating the two issues:  1. Rioting and looting by rogue thugs.  2.  Protests and marches over Police abuse.   
 
Unfortunately, he then goes on to talk a bit too much about "race".   And I can't help but fear that when he says "do nothing politicians" and "promotes economic equality and opportunity"  what he really means is that we need "better politicians" who will give more goodies and handouts.  
 
In my opinion the central issue from Ferguson are this: 
 
1.  You and I have ZERO impact on public policy.  http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/08/12/Study-You-Have-Near-Zero-Impact-on-U-S-Policy .   NO ONE, regardless of class, race, creed..... has the ability to effect social change in this country.  If you are not part of the Ultra ruling class in this country you are not free to effect real change.  Peaceful protests are highly discouraged. 
 
2.  People in Power (Government) are never liable for bad decisions, Deaths, or the unforseen economic turmoil they cause.  The Police Chief for Ferguson will never go to jail or be held accountable, nor will the Mayor.  Most officers who perpetrate unlawful killings never answer for it.  The officer in Ferguson might... he'll be the exception to the rule because of gravity of media exposure of the incident.
 
3. Police forces have been militarized by design to enforce the first 2 points.   The federal government has bred a generation of Police that have too much power and abuse their authority against anyone who bucks the system.   This is why over the last decade Police depts. have militarized vehicles, SWAT teams  based on Military infantry squads, militarized weaponry, and use military tactics.
 
4.  Couple all this with a news and information system designed to entertain and tell us we are to obey those in authority no matter what.  Few will pay attention and the ones that do will be lied to by the information system and won't have the capacity or desire to investigate it any further. 
 
I agree that poorer people and racial minorities get the brunt of this policy.  But the "poor" is not simply one bloc yet he keeps referring to them that way.  
 
Unfortunately, the Ferguson incident will probably end up being diverted into a complete racial issue instead of one that galvanizes the average American against the real issue.  Which is police accountability, abuse of power, criminal justice system in general and the corruption in our Federal government in particular.   That's too bad. 
 
It is my belief that it is because of our education system that has bred generation after generation that has little to no critical thinking skills and relies on Authority figures to tell them what to think.  You can't worship authority and at the same time correct corruption of authority. I believe some think the Bible teaches this tripe as well, which is why I have some issues with my Christianity these days.    
 
Instead, we are taught to fear our neighbors instead of love them.  We highlight our differences instead of our similarities with tripe such as "diversity",  champion consequences of birth and nature over our talents and what we have in common as human beings.  We then worship our Authority to fix all that is wrong and they fail us and we wonder why?  
 
Also, on a final note:   Isn't it ironic that Kareem is making a case that our information sources are corrupt in one of the most demonstrably corrupt and biased disinformation filled magazines of all "Time".   I wonder if he recognizes that?  
 

The Church - Black and White

Diedre Riggs posted the following excellent piece on her blog -
http://www.deidrariggs.com/2013/09/26/a-post-for-you-to-read-while-i-wait-for-more-courage/

Below is what I wrote in the comment section.  Please, read her piece before reading my response.  

In some of my experiences I have found that conversations related to race have been effective when race was not the presenting issue, but comes up in the context of a conversation already in process. Coming out of seminary, I knew my work was too white. So I determined I would only pastor a church that was ethnically and racially diverse. Fortunately most churches in Northern Virginia, just outside Washington DC, fit that bill. I was a called to a very small church with a congregation that was roughly %40 non-white and also had a Spanish speaking congregation. Obviously that means the congregations was 60% white, maybe even 70%. I have not pastored in a context in which I was an ethnic minority. But I have been in diverse contexts.

In those settings, the conversations were initially about Bible, forgiveness, grace, mission, ministry, resurrection, Jesus - all the topics that a church would discuss in sermons or Bible studies. Those are (or should be) consistent topics across the board in Christian churches. Because that church was diverse, I was having those conversations with people of Chinese backgrounds, or African American, or Sudanese, or Mexican or Bolivian or Salvadorian. The starting point was not race or diversity, but Bible or Jesus. Then, entering through one of those doors, race & ethnicity would arise as a secondary topic. We had already established shared faith in Jesus, so we trusted each other.

To this idea of a topic (other than race) as the doorway to a conversation on race, I add a crucial piece: listening. It is essential that we listen to each other, and ultimately essential that the members of the majority culture (us whites) listen with great respect and without defensiveness. I have noted in the comment thread to this post how much listening I must do, over and over. In that little church where I pastored, I could not convince the Hispanic kids that they were as American as I am. When they said, 'American,' they meant white. They bought into the idea that European-American culture is normative. That mindset must be confronted by minorities, but also by us whites. As long as we think America is us, there is a whole lot of America we are just missing and we are spiritually impoverished for it. Even worse! As we stay huddled in suburban white enclaves, there is a whole lot of Jesus we are missing. That is not just sad. It is sinful on the part of the system and on the part of anyone who accepts what the system serves.

(1) Enter the race conversation through a doorway other than race.
(2) Listen. Whites, listen twice as much.

A third principle that has become significant in my life more and more is relational safety. We have made it a core value at the church I pastor now. Let the church be a safe place. This means someone might utter a racially insensitive remark. When that happens, the individual may be confronted, but the injured party makes a commitment up front to confront in love and to offer grace. Church is a safe place to mess up. Church is a safe place to confront. Church is a place where friendships are strengthened by instances of real forgiveness. This idea of safety is so hard to achieve. In that diverse church I mentioned, I had far more real conversations about race in my 7th, 8th, and 9th years than in my first. When you're preaching someone's funeral, it is not a black man's funeral. It is a dead man's funeral. When you baptize, it is not a black man you're immersing. He is a born again child of God and in that moment, when he is in your arms and under the water, trusting God with his life, walls come crashing down.

Obviously, some disclaimers are needed her. D.D. is talking about creating diversity. What I have mentioned came about where diversity was already in play. In New York City, in DC, LA, and places like that, this is far more doable than in homogeneous communities. In those places, the conversation about race can also happen, and should. But that would require another post or maybe an essay or a book.

One thing I do think. Even there, even in small towns where all racial groups might "stick to their own kind" (whatever that means), I think the starting point should not be race. I think if we (the worldwide community of Christ-followers) can make the Jesus-way and the Jesus-life the starting point, we'll find more satisfying results. We begin in Jesus, and in Him, the much needed race conversation arises. Then we achieve diversity, but not diversity for diversity's sake. The diversity we have is blessed because in him there is no Jew nor Greek, no black nor white, no Korean nor Mexican. All are one in Christ

Don't Boldy Deny Your Racism; Humbly Acknowledge It

This post is inspired by the series of blogs "Going There" on Diedre Riggs' "Jumping Tandem" page http://www.deidrariggs.com/ .  Diedre is daring to go there and talk about race.  She is an African American woman and she and friends who write guest posts discuss there personal experiences, positive and negative, of race encounters in America.

I remember her as "D.D. Shelton," Karen's older sister.  We all went to First Baptist Church in Royal Oak, Michigan.  And all the kids (except me ironically) took piano lessons from my mom.  My parents and D.D.'s parents were (and still are) good friends.  Karen was a year older than me and D.D. was at least a couple years older than Karen.  In my young mind, that made her ancient.  She was practically, gasp, an adult.  They seemed so foreign, adults that is.  

What did not seem foreign was the Shelton's presence - a black family in an otherwise all-white church.  I don't know how it was in other homes.  But at my house, they were never our "black" friends.  They were our friends.  In fact, I never discussed race with Mr. & Mrs. Shelton (it still feels weird saying "Emerons" and "Sandy") until I was an adult.  As a young college student, my dad traveled to Washington DC for the "I have a Dream Speech."  As a fresh-out-of-college teacher in Detroit, my mom had classes where the only white person was the teacher.  I was raised in an environment where race was never an issue.  

Our family moved away from Michigan when I was 12, so I never really got to know those people as I came into my adulthood.  Karen and I briefly reconnected in the early '90's when I was a seminary student.  Her parents had moved to Richmond, VA and I was a seminary student in that city.  Then I graduated and life took me a way from Richmond and my contact with Karen again became a part of my past.  I am thankful that with my parents in Roanoke and the Sheltons in Richmond, I still do get to see them (the parents Emerson and Sandy) once in a while.

And I am thankful for Diedre's blog.  I don't know the last time I have seen her, but I believe the internet is something God has redeemed and something Satan and sin have corrupted.  It is both.  The online community Diedre is creatiing is definitely a Kingdome-of-God community. I am thankful to reconnect with her there. And her outstanding "Going There" series is just one example.  I was particularly inspired by the guest post written by her friend Dolly Lee (whom I have not met) - http://www.deidrariggs.com/2013/09/04/going-there-american-and-asian-dolly-lee/ .  

She describes some experiences where white Americans see her Asian face and assume she is a 'foreigner' (a word I have come to hate).  She has to tell people English is first language.  When I read Dolly's experiences, I really felt for her.  I pastored in Arlington, VA for 9 years, an extremely diverse environment.  The first person I truly mentored, I as pastor and he as aspiring youth minister, is Keven, an Asian American.  

Yes, Kevin is ethnically Chinese.  Yes, Kevin's parents are from China.  But if talked to him on the phone, you wouldn't know it.  Kevin grew up in Chantilly, VA, playing high school football and baseball.  He is as it goes, 'American as apple pie.'  Kevin is certainly as American as I am.  My relationships with him and now with my current ministry assistant Dina (a woman from San Franciso who happens to be ethnically Chinese) and with many others has enabled me to lose assumptions about people.

However, before I get puffed with pride at how I am not racist, I have to remember I have lost assumptions.  You lose something you used to have and I used to have racist tendencies.  They were not mean-spirited.  There is racism born out of insensitivity, ignorance, and assumptions.  If you read Dolly's post, and I hope you will, note the pastor's statement about speaking Chinese.  He wasn't being intentionally mean.  He was inadvertently mean, racism from an assumption.  The women at Mount Rushmore who didn't include Asian-Americans when she said "we Americans" was racist.  It was racism born out of ignorance and extreme insensitivity.

I have been guilty of this very thing.  When I was in army basic training, I was moving sluggishly when our squad needed to hustle.  Our squad leader, a black guy and a very tough guy, shouted, "Move it, boy!" I barked back, "I am coming, boy!"  Later, another black friend in the platoon explained to me why white guys should not call their black friends "Boy!"  Honestly, I didn't know.  That day, it was only my charm (OK more likely his restraint) that saved me from the ass-kicking he had delivered to others.  

On another occasion, I was on a date with a beautiful young Filipina girl.  Clearly race did not bother me.  I went out with her.  But, even though I was very happy to date someone from another ethnic background, I still said dumb things.  I made some comment like, "Gosh, you don't talk like someone from the Philippines."  She handled my ignorance with aplomb.  She mimicked a Filipino accent.  Instantly, I realized how much like a doofus I sounded.  (Jennifer, thanks for handling me with kindness).  

Recalling those blunders, I don't claim much street cred just because I have adopted two black kids.  I love people and I love having relationships with people who are different than me.  It is a privilege, but a privilege wasted unless I go into the relationship ready to learn and knowing I will make mistakes.  These mistakes can be overcome and lead to deeper care and understanding if our hearts are right.  Jennifer knew I was a white guy who didn't really know how "Filipinos talk," so she forgave me.  So too did my fellow soldier.  Stanely did not slug me because he knew me enough to know I did not mean anything untoward when I said "boy."

In all of life, humility is important.  It is extremely so in race-relationships.  Lose your pride, be able to laugh at yourself, and love people past any small insults that inevitably arise.

A White Father with Black Kids

A friend from many years ago, Diedre, writes a wonderful blog - "Jumping Tandem" http://www.deidrariggs.com/ .  On it, she asked for stories related to race.  Here is what I shared. 

My wife and I have three adopted children, but most people looking at our family would never guess.  Our oldest, I___, adopted from Russia, is as white as we are.  It's not a stretch for people to look at him and guess which features are from me and which are from Candy.  But the joke is on those who innocently pose such guesses.

I___ shares as much with us genetically as his younger siblings, his brother H___, 6, and sister M___, 4.  H___ and M___ are adopted from Ethiopia. 

The three of them act like siblings.  That means I___, 11, despises, bullies, and in his best moments protects the younger ones.  M___, like any youngest sister of older brothers thinks she is a princess, thinks the world revolves, and is pretty convinced she is really the one in charge.  I___ also thinks all people exist to serve his purposes.  He might have a future as a drill sergeant. 

            And there is golden-hearted H___.  This child is one of the happiest, most well-intentioned people I have met.  I came down to the breakfast table the other day and H___ had been the first one awake.  He is most days, up by 5AM, singing, clapping, happy.  On this particular morning, H___ was the only one downstairs.  There were five bowls of cereal, with milk already poured, around the table.  Ah, my H___.  He woke up and thought it would be nice to have everyone's breakfast ready and waiting for them.  What 6-year-old   does that?

            The Trayvon Martin story, and others told in our local area (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) worry me a bit.  Right now H___ is cute, but he is going to grow into a strong young man.  He's already compact and muscular.  He's probably too nice to every play football, but he has a condition I have never had to deal with.  Because he is male, if, when he's an adult, he goes out at night, with a hoody on, I have to fear for him.  I have to worry that my own neighbors will call the police because he outside, at night, with a hoody, and he is black.  When the police come, I have to worry that they will assume he's up to no good.  My golden-hearted H___.

            Last year, one of our neighbors posted in the neighborhood email list serve this message.  "I just saw two black young men going door to door.  Should I call the police?"  My wife went outside and discovered these were in fact players on our local high school football team selling calendars to raise money.  Many times, white players did the exact same thing.  There was no panicked email about calling the police.  My wife, appalled, called the woman and requested that she not call the police if she ever saw H___ out playing.  The woman, to her credit, immediately recognized the racism in her own actions and came to our house to apologize to Candy in person. 

            Being the white father of black kids has awakened many things in me.  I have mentioned some of the majors, especially regarding H___.  Simpler things include lotion, shea butter for the skin.  Never in my life have I used any kind of lotion on my skin, save for sunscreen.  I hate.  I hate having my hands sticky or greasy.  H___ and M___ need their skin lotioned every day.  Candy has to make the lunches for school.  I who hates having stuff on my hands have the pleasure of applying shea butter to my children. 

            I asked my friend Emerson about this.  He is black and he said it can be a peaceful, intimate time with your child.  My friend lied.  He raised daughters.  My son H___ gets half greased up with shea butter and then, naked, runs around the house.  Try grabbing someone who is strong, fast, and greased.  I supposed it could be described as intimate, but there is nothing quiet or peaceful about it.  The more frustrated I get, the harder H___ giggles.

            But's that's nothing.  I am a bald man.  What little bit of hair I have is cropped tight.  "Doing my hair," involves zero effort.  Candy has mastered M___'s hair, which is about as curly as you can imagine.  Awesome.  Husbands and wives divide up labor and Candy has M___'s hair duties.  And Emerson, the father of daughters, is right.  That time Candy and M___ have together is special and beautiful and intimate.  And Candy is going to Ethiopia for a 9-day mission trip in October. 

            Who is going to do M___'s hair?  The white bald man who hates getting stuff on his fingers?  One day in August, Candy intentionally left the house early, M___'s hair undone, and stayed away all morning.  She knew I would have to get M___ ready for the day.  She kind of shouted some instructions as she ran out the door.  It was test.  She claims it wasn't, but I know it was.  I got the stuff in the purple dispenser (don't ask me what it's called), and started working through M___'s curls.  I know I was using the correct product.  But I probably did not spend enough time working through the kinks and knots.  And I definitely did not tie the band for the puff tight enough.  M___'s confidence is in tatters.  The four-year-old often anxiously asked about what will happen with her hair while Mommy is in eee-pee-oh-oee.  She asks the question as if I am not home, even though I am sitting next to her while she asks.  Clearly, in her mind, it is not even a remote possibility that I will be of any help.  October 21, Candy's return date, cannot get here soon enough.

            I love my three children.  I love that I live in a time and a town (Chapel Hill, NC) that accepts our colorful family.  I love that they have friends from colorful families.  I love that our church celebrates our family and that there are other interracial families in our church.  I thank God for Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis and so many others who have worked for a better world.  I thank for my Dad, who as a young college student, against his father's wishes, hopped on a bus in Detroit, road to Washington DC, and heard the "I-have-a-Dream" speech.  I bet he didn't think he'd one day have black grandchildren.  But he sure loves them.  I thank God for my mom who taught in Mumford high school in Detroit.  One day her principal asked how many of her students in a class were black.  I don't know, was her response.  Upon reviewing her role, she realized all of them were black.  She had not thought about it.  Because she doesn't form opinions about people based on their pigmentation.  That's the right kind of colorblindness. 

I have told our story many times.  I appreciate this context in which I can share it again.