T.D. Jakes: Press is distracting churches
Pastor Dale Morgan
*
T.D. Jakes: Press is distracting churches*
* Story Highlights
* Bishop T.D. Jakes says African-American churches have been
portrayed negatively
* Hate-filled church image is distraction from task of choosing
president, he says
* Minister: Sen. Barack Obama's campaign built on a strong
commitment to unity
* Jakes says the church and faith is colorblind
By Bishop T.D. Jakes
Editor's note: Bishop T.D. Jakes is founder and senior pastor of The
Potter's House of Dallas, Texas, a multiracial, nondenominational church
with more than 50 outreach ministries.
Bishop T.D. Jakes
Bishop T.D. Jakes says the church must sound the alarm to wake America
from its slumber.
(CNN) -- The blood-washed church for which Jesus died is not relegated
to one group or another, nor is it held hostage by politics or
ethnicity. It is a breathing, living testament to God's love and grace.
It serves its community where it is located and is aware of the needs
and nuances of that community. However, its relevance and vision must go
beyond its community and reach the world for which Christ died.
Today as the church moves from its introspective posture to a broader
role in politics, business, media and impacting societal ills, it has
the dubious and daunting task of doing so without losing its core
function. Like all such organizations that cease to be intrinsically
focused, it runs the risk of being totally misunderstood and misaligned.
I have listened and watched the events of the last few days with great
disappointment as the church and the so-called African-American church,
in particular, has been painted rather negatively with a broad,
wide-ranging brush. I personally wish the distinctions of the church by
ethnicity would one day become an antiquated idea. But this will require
more people moving from a segregated worship experience. Until then, the
church is becoming increasingly bruised by those who seek to move it
from its core principles and make it an instrument of division rather
than a catalyst for unity!
To say the current picture in the media of the institution that I have
loved all of my life is less than flattering would be an understatement.
And because I know that many Americans unfortunately do not venture
outside of the comfort of their own groups for worship, the only
understanding some will have of who we are is based largely on sound
bites and media portrayals. I want to set the record straight!
I am afraid that once again our churches will be victimized by
stereotypical ideas and opinions that are based in whole or in part by
the extreme and not the norm.
The church I have read about in the media -- a church filled with
divisiveness, a lack of tolerance for other ethnic groups, a church not
focused on helping the downtrodden and less fortunate, a church filled
with hostility -- does not remotely resemble the churches that I grew up
around and have loved for more than 50 years.
Most, if not all, predominantly African-American church doors are open
to all, not just to blacks, but to anyone who is seeking a spiritual
home, guidance, support, direction, faith and a feeding of the soul in
the purest sense. Many of us have worked with other organizations,
different cultures and denominations believing that there is more to
unite us than there is to divide us.
The African-American church I know is filled with programs designed to
address the many ills that inflict our society: HIV/AIDS, homelessness,
reducing the rate of recidivism, assisting with employment and job
training, economic development and financial management classes, home
buying seminars, food banks to feed the hungry, schools to educate and
an active plan to guide our youth. Those outreaches have been
colorblind, passionate depictions of Christ's love for all humanity!
The predominantly African-American church may be founded by an African
American, it may be led on Sunday by an African American, but as you
look through the crowd of these beacons of hope and faith, you will see
an increasing audience that is much more reflective of our world than
many would have you to believe. White, black, Hispanic, Asian --
nationalities from all across the world come together -- some to visit
our churches, to enjoy our music and ministers and still others are
gradually starting to join our churches. Gradually race fades into the
fabric of faith and becomes less central to the overarching core of
human needs in general. Is it a perfect union? Of course not. Is there
work to do? Absolutely! But the core message is not one that enrages,
but one that encourages people to change and grow, and any other
depiction is distorted and inaccurate.
The Potter's House, though largely African-American, is composed of 20
different nationalities and growing in diversity. It is designed much
the same way Sen. BarackObama has built his campaign: on a strong
commitment to reconciliation, the admonition for unity and strong desire
for the continuation of diversity instead of exclusion.
While I have not endorsed any candidate, who can ignore the hunger of
Americans for change? No matter who your political choice may be, it is
hard to remain ambivalent to the tone that Obama sounded, igniting a
national response from people of all walks of life, crowding into
stadiums openly weeping -- like they were in church -- at the very idea
of a nation that reflects the best of our ideals; not the divisive
ranting and bickering that may drive up ratings but threaten the
cannibalization of our dreams and the demolition of our hopes.
As a child, I grew up in a neighborhood back in West Virginia where
blacks and whites helped each other in times of need and despair. Now
that I am in Dallas, Texas, I have seen our city struggle to its feet in
times of dire desperation. I was there when the buses came in to the
Reunion Arena in Dallas loaded with mostly people of color who were
hungry, weak and tired, and needing human dignity. They were unloaded --
covered with the stench of the atrocities of the superdome in New
Orleans. I saw blacks, whites and Hispanics driving up with bags of
clothes and food and crying together, trying to accommodate whomever
they could, wherever they could. This is the America I want my grandson
to grow up in.
I am wondering who will get the message that our nation's citizens are
by and large looking for a voice that will unite us, clothe our naked,
feed the poor and help our diminishing middle class before we
self-destruct like many great empires of the past. Who cares what color
they are, what banner they fly, what gender they are, or how they
pronounce their names? This is a defining moment in our history, and we
are about to destroy greatness with petty self- aggrandizing egotism!
I implore you to not take the words of a few and depict the thoughts,
hearts and motives of many. At the end of the day, Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. proved with his nonviolent approach that hate-filled words will
not liberate anyone. To be sure, there is still work to do to defeat
racism and to attain justice in our country for all. We continue to need
someone who will hold us accountable to our best practices and not our
worst. But there is no liberation without love, no prosperity without
philanthropy and no hope if the church becomes immersed in the quagmire
of pettiness.
As an American I plead with you that we are running out of time. It is
critical that we dislodge ourselves from political distractions. We must
return to the task of looking for the right man or woman who can answer
the bloodcurdling cry of a nation that is in search of a leader with a
courageous effective plan for the war in Iraq, and the medical, moral,
economic and security issues that are being ignored by these
distractions. If we do not, we will have done a terrible disservice to
our coming generations.
The Bible said that while good men slept, evil ones came and planted
tare, a noxious weed, among the wheat! The tare of a hate-filled church
image is a tactical distraction planted to divert our attention from
choosing our next president. Let's get back to listening for leadership
strategies from our best and brightest before there is no country left
to lead. My hope is that the church remains a vibrant part of our
process, sounding the alarm that warns: America, please wake up out of
our sleep!