I was raised in a nominal black baptist church. My grandmother was heavily involved in the Usher Ministry which translated to me being a Jr. Usher up until I was around 12 when like most of my peers, the streets took center stage of my life. Growing up I never heard the Gospel as far as I know. Sunday after Sunday the messages never seemed to exalt Christ or His work on the Cross but once again my heart was hard so I really don’t know. To be a serious Christian in my city meant to be in some type of holiness Church (which I joined at 16) and those who were really serious became young preachers. I would always hear “you gone be preaching one day”. That was because I became serious about trying to please God and you can find more about that story on the Lionel link on this site.
A few years ago I was introduced to Reformed Theology by my good friend and brother in Christ B.J. My college degree led me to Blockbuster in which I was introduced to another brother in Christ Shannonwho put me on Piper and my friends that led to this blog and my embracing of Reformed Theology wholeheartedly. Before this words such as: justification, atonement, propitiation, reconciliation, Doctrines of Grace, perseverance, theology (and all the terms that end with ology) and reformed, were words that I have never ever and do mean ever heard. So where am I going? Glad you asked.
After having some interesting conversations with my brother Sho something became crystal clear. Many of the great reformers have very little interest in the inner city black community. Not only that Reformed Theology is always conveyed in the context of Middle Class to Wealthy White Americans. You see the reason why I never heard of Reformed Theology is because no one ever cared to share it with me. Reformed Theology is usually kept safely and secretly in Suburban America in which few if any inner city blacks will ever get a chance to hear the richness of it. Just wait and I will get to the heart of what I am trying to say. Just want to give you some backdrop.
What I am saying is I don’t know if many of the Reformed individuals yesterday or today really cares about us. You see if it were not for college, which many of my friends and relatives will never see, I would have not known of such deep theological truths. And now that I know it seems that to fully embrace Reformed Theology I must embrace the White Suburban Culture that comes along with it. To be fully embraced means that tattoos, baggy jeans, air force ones, Hip Hop, Urban Gospel Music, Church Hats, talk backs (the amens you hear in black congregations) and the like must be shed. Now I am not speaking for all blacks because we are much more diverse than that (from everything from Bach to Monet) but I am speaking about the people where I am from who will never leave.
Next we have the problem of contextualization. You see to be Reformed means you have to have a certain educational level here in America. Most of my friends and relatives from home, will never read a blog, never read The Decline of African American Theology, never listen to Piper, or Sproul (they wouldn’t understand the Latin and philosophical language if they would anyway), words such as Hermeneutics, Exposition, Expository Preaching and Homiletics will be very difficult for them to understand. My grandmother can’t read pass the third grade and many of the people who need the gospel where I am from and even in South Dallas are overlooked and talked passed and ignored. So what we have is the NOI, Jakes, Dollar and Jehovah Witnesses feasting on them like a Wolf at a sheep buffet. But you know what is funny?…..
I am contributing greatly to this epidemic. How you ask? By participating in Black Flight. You see as a Young Black Reformed Christian I have two options. Either stay and stick it out or run to the churches that preach the way I like. So in turn what I have done is further marginalize the people who I should be pouring my life and heart out the most to. Let me explain further.
You see many folks are talking about T4G and Pastor T’s unbeliveable sermon on Race and Religion. But as I got feedback from the conference one thing is clearly evident there weren’t many Blacks there. Then I asked why? One thing comes to mind immediately. How was this marketed towards Urban Blacks. Now for some of us who follow Piper, Dever, Sproul or MacArthur we knew about this a couple of years ago, but what about my Grandmother? Or what about the little black pastor? Even if they were to market it to these individuals how could they minister to them? The environment is White, the worship is White, the leaders of it are White and the cost of it (travel, hotel, and airfare) prevents many of blacks to ever attend it. This leads to my final point which is my heart on all of this.
Black Reformed Christians HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!! We have to!!!! We have to!!! Our communities are plagued with violence, unwed mothers, poverty, brokenness, miseducation, false theology and SIN. We have to do something. I am not promoting a social gospel but a Gospel that is all encompassing. As I have stated I believe Reformed Theology communicates the Gospel truth more faithfully than all of the rest put together. So we have to find away to get it to those who need it the most. As we leave black churches we take there only hope with us. As we run to seminaries and plant suburban churches we in turn leave the poor, marginalized and disenfranchised to themselves and we can see who that is going every time we turn on the news.
Look I love my White Reformed Brethren. I just think they have no real conviction to minister to those people. Most will bypass the inner city and ghettos that their churches are close to and go across seas. They would rather go from Jerusalem to the Outter Most parts and that is okay for them but not for us. If we don’t do it who will? I want race reconciliation like it is nobodys business but not at the cost of locust destroying my community or better yet our communities. Most won’t and can’t read Wayne Grudem’s systematic theology so we have to chew it up and feed it to them. Most will never hear of John Edwards and Religious Affections but God has blessed us to so we are to feed it to them, most won’t read Calvin’s Institutes or Luther’s Bondage, or John Owen’s Mortification or Piper’s Desiring God or Packers Knowing God or Sproul’s Holiness of God or even Carter’s On Being Black and Reformed. So we must feast on these great men, their great works and feed it to those who need it just as bad. Listen Reformed Theology isn’t Suburban Theology but God’s Theology. We are to take His word to all nations and my friend the ghetto is its own nation.
Finally God hasn’t gifted us and exposed us to this rich truth to sit in comfortable suburban churches and get fat! We aren’t much different than the Aeropagites if so! WE MUST TAKE THIS GOSPEL to those who need it the most. Will it change their predicament? Will they embrace with open arms? Will they rush to hear what we have to say? Will they become Doctors, Lawyers or CEO’s? No, but we will be faithful to the Great Commission so if that means hard work and sleepless nights praying so be it. Isn’t every soul worth it? If you have read this far that means God has pricked your heart. There are some brothers attempting to do this very thing over at www.reachlife.organd some other pastors who have some ideas about think-tanks and conferences that may be the catalyst of a Black and Reformed Church Planting, Pastor Training and Resources for Seminary organization. Please be in prayer as we trust God for a great work because apart from Him we can do nothing.
A Better Covenant 