Reconsidering the Wright Effect

First, let me commence with the obligatory blows against the Rev. Jeremiah Wright piñata: buffoonery, self-absorbed, incendiary rhetoric, cacophonous ranting of the worst kind of anti-American speech imaginable, and worst of all, trumpeted from a [nominally] Christian pulpit. There is much to disparage here. For evangelical Christians, especially for those of us who have and value our multi-cultural and diverse fellowship communities, Rev. Wright’s bombastic irreverence demand we say the obvious: this brother does not speak for me!

For those interested in a sound, biblical and pastoral assessment of how Jeremiah Wright might have responded differently, I point you to Thabiti’s excellent and Christ-exalting post here.

I, however, would like to speak to the leadership vacuum within which Jeremiah Wright’s voice finds eager ears. For those who have been watching, the metrics indicating the state and stature of the African American community do not reveal a scorecard of tremendous progress or of great prospects for economic future in an increasingly competitive global market place. Consider:

• 69% of African American children born out of wedlock ensures that, without decisive and coordinated action driven by insightful vision, the next generation of black teens and young adults will be even more greatly debilitated by un-fathered sons and daughters.
  
• College matriculation rates for African Americans, especially for young men, continue to decrease…and this in inverse proportion to incarceration rates
  
• The academic achievement gap, forcefully addressed by John McWhorter and by Claude Steele’s recent work on Stereotype Threat, continues to befuddle educators. Economic class, recently thought to be the real-determinant of academic performance, is now being eclipsed by the re-insertion of race into the equation as middle class black students perform behind their white peers

In the wake of Rev. Wright’s Detroit-hosted NAACP speech, many mainstream pundits decried his loud claims that black people are neurologically-wired differently…or at least there is a cultural component to the learning process that causes black children to learn differently from everyone else. I don’t buy into that assessment, but not only should it not be controversial, but it speaks to the simple fact that people are rummaging through the scraps of hackneyed theories to figure out what the jeepers is going on with the achievement gap?

Aside: A good friend of mine, a PhD from MIT’s renown Media Lab who sports a mathematics degree from Harvard…and I might add a sound evangelical believer, recently shared with me his thoughts about the need for a pedagogical redirection for African American kids because they learn differently. Take a look at some of the writings about Bob Moses’ success with Algebra education in Mississippi, or Marilyn Frankenstein’s work on mathematics education in the inner cities, or even the late Paulo Freire’s thinking about how to educate marginalized communities, and you will find a willingness to shed conventional wisdom and practices for hoped for results: desperate times require desperate measures.

Wright’s voice is echoed by amen’s for a variety of reasons, and I would submit to you that theological immaturity in the black church, the uncritical lionization of pastoral leadership, and the simple lack of practice of thinking smartly and prudently about these things are all secondary factors. Wright’s sermons ring loudly because in many ways his voice rings alone. For all of the good done by many simple churches in outreach and down-home helping, and with the good preaching of an increasing number of reformed-minded, evangelical pastors, there is a real dearth of answers as to why the black community is in the statistical tatters within which it finds itself…and how to change it.

Enter Rev. Wright and the Chorus of Liberation Theologians. Did you hear the NAACP speech? It was full of lessons on cultural musicology, ethnic vernacular practices…and all this stated in clear language that common people could understand! In fact, it was also stated in terms that would allow intellectuals and educators to build programs around them. For instance, if black children are creative, intuitive and dialogical, then one could build an educational program that connects with those traits [The problem, of course, is that national universities and the global economy doesn’t really make room for culturally-centered learning styles...you have to read, write, speak with clarity, and solve problems accurately or the premise of interconnected society fades fatally.].

I’m not aware of a similarly fashioned model of social and community praxis that originates from an evangelical or reformed mindset, where these items have been thought through as repeatedly and deeply as many on the African American theological left have done:

• I completely agree with Bill Cosby in his running feud with Michael Eric Dyson, but who will doubt that Dyson has a better appreciation for the force and relevance of rap culture as a means to motivate. Though most of Cosby’s assessments of the genre are caricature, Dyson is able to highlight the genius of the form and his apology for what is in reality a pejorative social phenomenon[in my opinion] resonates with many as truth.


• Cornel West’s claims to be a Christian speaks to all the reasons why I have shared with others the label “Christian” for me is fast becoming a non-distinguishing title. Anyhow, while maintaining his Christianity, along with Wright, Cornel loudly speaks against many of the objective pillars of biblical revelation all in the name of relevance. But, most biblically-centered churches don’t speak to the concerns raised by West with the same degree of conviction, and we have not typically connected these concerns to the core message of the gospel.

The last statement in the previous bullet is the main point I want to raise: there will always be a haven for Wright’s self-absorbed speechifying when it aims its guns at the marginalization of a people and raises a standard of the better possibilities, without any comparative message from more biblically-minded pastors and theologians.

Reformed-minded believers need to get over the specter of the gravity pull of the social gospel and effectively connect the doctrines of grace to the larger needs of the African American community and worry less about how it’s perceived by others. As an excellent model, we need to examine Lemuel Haynes’ connection of the Doctrine of Man [as an expression of human liberty] with his early 19th century calls for abolition and with his further convictions around the nature of a republican democracy. I am struck by how brother Lemuel labored in theological discourse and civic dialogue, while maintaining a pastoral focus; we need that!

Can we say that empowerment…economic, educational, institutional…is a major thrust of the reformation movement within the African American church, though taking a backseat to doctrinal reform around the doctrines of grace and a great emphasis on Christ-eumulating discipleship soaked in genuine Christian love?! Here’s my question to our mentor and friend Pastor Ken Jones: Might the church merge into its principal emphasis on “The City of God” to include a vision to ameliorate our situation in the so-called secular sphere?

The Black Church is the only pervasively independent institution in our community, therefore is it uniquely positioned, through the launching of discipleship programs on the ground, guided by a theological / biblical hermeneutical principle that connects with economic and sociological necessity?

There are many examples outside our culture as well that serve as precedents, e.g. the English Puritan movement, the relationship between protestant anthropology and capitalism, Abraham Kuyper, etc.

We would love to make Jeremiah Wright and his ilk irrelevant, on the foundation of sound biblical thinking, preaching and living, in a spirit of humility and mutual consideration, with full consideration of the local, national, global and cultural forces that are confronting our congregations? Is this a vital element of a multi-generational pastoral program?

Thoughts?

Aside: For a good review of the life and work of Lemuel Haynes, I recommend Black Puritan, Black Republican by John Saillant and The Faithful Preacher by our brother Thabiti Anyabwile

Another Aside: I use "evangelical" and "reformed" together above largely to simply expand the commmuity of believers to be considered in this discussion, but I am thoroughly and unequivocally Reformed! :-)