America, Race, and the Church

Julie Clawson has written a nice, tightly argued, piece for the e-letter Next Wave, in response to the ongoing controversy over Jeremiah Wright's comments. She helpfully picks up on the criticism of Barack Obama that he didn't leave the church. Julie suggests that its this attitude that's at the core of the problems with the church. If you don't agree with something, you either get a coup together to throw out the preacher, or you decide to leave. She asks the important question here about the nature of community, which in this case doesn't seem to matter. It would have been better -- Hillary says, among others -- if he'd raised a stink and stomped out.

But it’s the church issue that really got to me. Two thoughts kept surfacing in the things I read – the first being that Obama should have caused dissension and left his church community years ago. This assumption reveals the opinion of many Americans that this is how church should operate. If you don’t like something at church, you need to initiate a coup and/or leave the church for a better option. Community doesn’t matter as much as getting what you want from church. Apparently challenging words and honesty about issues in America are cause enough to destroy or abandon community. Church splits, gossip, backstabbing, and church-hopping are all apparently what America expects and wants from church. I know this is a complicated issue for many churches, but why has the first priority become leaving or kicking people out instead of building community and engaging in dialogue?

That he stayed suggests that Barack Obama found in that community of believers a source of spiritual strength and hope. It nourished his faith and undergirded his commitments to the poor and marginalized. Julie writes that while she might not agree with all that he has said, she does find him to be a prophetic preacher. I would agree! Thanks, for your reflections.

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