CYBERJOURNAL FOR PENTECOSTAL-CHARISMATIC RESEARCH

            THE  PRESENT:  THE PROBLEM OF RACISM IN THE

              CONTEMPORARY PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT

                                     A Paper by Leonard Lovett, Ph.D

I interpret my assignment as critical-analytical, rather than constructive. I look forward with eager expectancy to the constructive phase of our conversation and deem it to be of inestimable value for the long journey.

Our very presence parallels what Dean Tony Balcomb, of the Evangelical House of Studies, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, stated a few months prior to the liberation of South Africa from apartheid. His words describe the status of affairs that existed for decades between African-American Pentecostals and the Euro-American Pentecostal establishment. Says Balcomb:

For almost four centuries in South Africa we fought and killed each other. When tired of this we shouted abuse at each other across great divides of race, culture and ethnicity. When we tired of this we slammed the door on each other, each pretending the other was not there, each hoping the other would go away. But when we squatted at the key hole and squinted through to the other side, we saw each other there, as large as life, waiting. And we knew that one day we would have to do it. One day we would have to talk. And now that time has come.^[i]

We celebrate the fact that history will record the significant fact that we have come to the table of personhood to face once and for all the most serious concern facing the West in the twentieth century, the problem of color line, a self-fulfilling prophecy by the late social historian, W.E.B. Dubois.

I.  Naming the Names of Demons

The issue is: What is the nature of our conversation? Will it be the conversation of those who have been apart for decades and have become so guilt-laden that any solution will do? Will it be the conversation of the elites with those who constitute the underclass, so that the dialogue will end where we began? Will it be the conversation of those who have hoped for years that such a setting would come to pass, but remained all this time in a safety zone for fear of social, economic and personal reprisal? Or, is it, in the words of Dean Balcomb, the conversation of those who have begrudgingly come to realize that conversation is the only way out, because those who do not talk, fight . . . the only way out of an impasse where both parties engage in the dialogue are not on equal ground, is not to rely on the outcome of conversation but on the way in which they are conducted.

We should be forewarned that our conversation may be steeped in anger, suspicion, fear, dislike and resentment, nevertheless, it is conversation. If our motives are pure before God, we can, in fear and trembling, engage in tough-love conversation and survive unscathed. Following the lead of Balcomb, the basis of communication must be equality. But equality does not come about until it is agreed upon, and it cannot be agreed upon until it is discussed. We cannot speak except as equals and we cannot become equals unless we speak.

In order for long-term systematic change to occur collectively, we must be disturbed deeply. The truth operates like laser surgery. Are we to anesthetize the patient properly? Are we to engage in painless surgery? Are we to treat the manifest symptoms of racism, or are we to strike deep through radical surgery to annihilate the root cause of the disease and be healed for a lifetime? The time has come that the axe must be laid to the root of the tree.

Over three decades ago, the late Kyle Haselden, Baptist pastor and columnist, admonished us about the church not only being the mother of racial pattern and the purveyor of arrant sedatives, but that the countenance of the church is often viewed clearly in the mirror of race.^[ii] Says the writer of 1 Peter 4:17, "The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God."

What is racism? From a socio-political perspective, racism exists when one group intentionally or unintentionally refuses to share power and resources, maintain inflexible institutional practices, procedures, policies, justifies its actions by blaming the victim and subjugating persons on the basis of the pigmentation of their skin. It is to embrace notions of White supremacy. At least four interacting and related historical and sociological factors undergird racism, which is also prejudice linked with power. They are historical and cultural conditioning, psychological conditioning, and social structure.^[iii] To prejudge or make categorical generalizations about others without the facts is prejudice (e.g., all nomads are lazy).

James Jones identifies three types of racism: individual, institutional, and cultural. Individual racism is closest to race prejudice and suggests belief in the superiority of one race over another and the behavioral enactments that maintain those superior and inferior positions. An example of individual racism from one of our revered presidents most noted for having emancipated the slaves (for political expediency only) is quite revealing. Abraham Lincoln state:

I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races. I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor qualifying them to hold office. . .  I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will ever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And in as much as they cannot so live, while they do remain together, there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.^[iv]

Institutional racism has been defined as the conscious manipulation of institutions to achieve racist objects. To this end, racist institutions are but extensions of individual racial thought.^[v]

Cultural Racism can be defined generally as the individual and institutional expression of the superiority of one's race's cultural heritage over that of another race. For example, when Europeans first encountered Africans during the colonialist rape and scramble for the continent, they sought to impose their culture upon Africans. They spoke of African religion as fetish and ju ju (from the French jou jou, meaning plaything).

Consequently, they reasoned African religion is polytheistic and superstitious, while Western religion is monotheistic and rational. Europeans did not intuit oral tradition among Africans as another way of teaching, communicating and preserving the past; they saw it as a sign of basic illiteracy. Cultural racism ignores the achievements of a race and allows the expression of cultural differences either to go unrewarded or interpreted negatively. The cultural melting pot myth has victimized all ethnic minorities to some extent in the past.

From a theological-ethical perspective, racism is a moral and spiritual problem. It is idolatrous worship of the self, rooted in spiritual pride. Racism is self-deification in its purest form. Unthankful arrogance and self-glorification constitute the essential notion of sin. Racism is more than forgetting to give thanks. It is more than the religious indifference which is widespread among humankind. It is itself religion. It is a decisive act of turning away from God. It is life according to the flesh (Romans 8:5). It is the worship of the creature rather than the Creator.^[vi]

While a few Euro-American Pentecostal churches have dodged the bullet of assimilationist racism (when those who are powerless are enjoined to become just like the powerful by entering the powerful group), the majority come under prophetic indictment for what Robert W. Terry calls "passive racism." To do nothing is to perpetuate societal racism.^[vii] It is what Joseph Barndt refers to as a form of correlate racism frequently perpetrated unintentionally. Correlate racism takes place when discrimination or other forms of minority exploitation occur as a by-product of policies or practices which in themselves are not racist. It may be a totally unintentional practice within an institution which is honestly seeking to be non-discriminatory.^[viii] To allow people of color "token participation" within an institutional structure without changing the performance review practice is to place them in a bad situation.

During this final decade of the twentieth century it appears that racism in North America is not only an issue between African-American and Euro-American Pentecostals, it is an issue of control, power, and domination around the globe that defines minority Eurocentric relationships with a majoritarian non-Eurocentric populace. To exorcise the demon of racism that manifests itself in the form of personal, social, structural, and cosmic evil, we must reveal it for what it is. As racism weaves its pattern of violence, destruction and bigotry, we all become losers in a system characterized by greed, wealth, exploitation, and oppression. We are challenged to dismantle any system that denies the humanity of any, and resists the redistribution of power and resources to all.

II. When the Church Practices Birth Control

The very existence of Black Pentecostals and White Pentecostals is an announcement that the church in our time has successfully and selectively practiced birth control. Such a practice has even employed the technique of genetic engineering, determining with a degree of precision the exact kind of church that would be birthed.   C. Peter Wagner, following his mentor Donald McGavran, missiologist at Fuller Theological Seminary, gave a sociological reading of the many congregations developing within a pluralistic society. Wagner argues that most Christian congregations, whether they ought to be or not, are culturally homogeneous: i.e., most Christian people meet together for worship and fellowship within the basic sociological grouping into which they were born. Even Wagner was quick to admit that with the emergence in the seventies of what has been call the "new ethnicity" or the "new pluralism," the assimilationist models for interpreting American society soon fell into disrepute among social scientists. Americans simply did not melt to the degree formerly anticipated. To the contrary, ethnicity was rediscovered and celebrated.^[ix]

Just past the glory of Azusa Street, classical Pentecostals began practicing birth control, to use the term metaphorically. Many Euro-American classical Pentecostals took their cue from Charles Fox Parham, who had been deeply influenced by Anglo-Israelism with its negative outlook toward certain minorities and more specifically, African-Americans. Ghosts from the past continue to haunt many Euro-American classical Pentecostals. Having appropriated their social consciousness from conservative White evangelicals, classical Pentecostals to the present are mute on the issue of racism. Its ethos and social consciousness is dominated by a personal ethic.

While strongly condemning sins of the flesh, such as alcohol, smoking, prohibitions, gambling, adultery, abortion, homosexuality, etc., classical Pentecostals have been virtually silent on sins of the spirit such as racism whose locus is pride. Consequently, African-American classical Pentecostals have been uneasy in forming alliances with their Euro-American counterparts whose social vision did not focus on the enemy of us all, racism. The egalitarian vision of W. J. Seymour with its emphasis on Black/White relationships in North America during the most racist period of the nineteenth century, missed the mark with Euro-American classical Pentecostals, who, like their evangelical counterparts, were wholly preoccupied with the personal salvation of lost sinners. To this day, the racial division has produced racial churches.

African-American Pentecostals have maintained an open door to those who desired to cross the racial divide. With few exceptions, Whites seem to prefer leadership compatible with their Eurocentrism. With the impact of Afrocentrism there is growing impatience with the perceived racism of Euro-American Pentecostals that is so blatant. Only in the last decade has the Assemblies of God made a concerted effort to target urban centers, utilizing resources such as Evangelist Bob Harrison to impact areas that are predominantly Black and other. Heretofore, the Assemblies has remained White and suburban. The Assemblies of God has been strong on foreign missions, but virtually quiet on the domestic social agenda.

To my knowledge, the Church of the Foursquare Gospel is yet to clearly articulate its social vision for the redemption of the city and its stance on racism. My friend, Pastor Paul Hackett of Los Angeles, has been on the cutting edge of prophetic witness within that denomination. Likewise, Foursquare Mission International has made its presence known in more than 57 countries, but has remained virtually mute on the domestic front.

My denomination, the Church of God in Christ, long noted for its deep spirituality in the tradition of its founder Bishop C. H. Mason, has not clearly articulated its social vision for the redemption of the city and its stance on racism. It formed alliances with groups working for justice such as the Southern Christian Leadership Council at the time Martin Luther King, Jr., was at the helm. Its social vision has been and for the most part left to individual churches to pursue their vision of social change. Very little has been done to cross the racial divide. Until we deal with the disunity within the body of Christ, the world will not believe.

III. Demons With a New Address

Blatant Racism

Currently, racism is blatant, subtle and conveniently concealed behind a denial-reality syndrome. Racism is idolatrous self-worship, a violation of the Creator's grand rainbow design and intent that there should be variety among the races. Racism is a perversion of this variety. Racism as a cultural phenomenon is deeply entrenched in the fabric, psyche and warp and woof of the North American religious landscape. The Pentecostal Movement resides within this landscape.

In our time the Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement reflects the class, gender, and racial polarization so predominant in our society and must be indicted as being accommodationist. It has failed collectively and prophetically to indict racism in word and deed. When pastors/evangelists, both Black and White, begin to address racism with the fervor that they preach on faith and healing, a major change will take place. Repentance is the key and only road to racial liberation and reconciliation. Our ethnocentric pride must be broken and crushed by the power of the Kingdom beyond caste. The Kingdom agenda must always exceed our foolish pride and lay waste our claim to sovereignty.

Just past the interracial period 1906 to 1924, White Pentecostals with few exceptions tore asunder the interracial worshipping community of equals, and in their struggle for dominance and conformity to particular fundamentalistic interpretations of the Bible destroyed Seymour's dream on the altar of racial supremacy.^[x]   When the Pentecostal Fellowship of North America, founded in 1948, met at Des Moines, Iowa, to demonstrate the prayer of Jesus Christ in John 17, that they all may be one, not one African-American Pentecostal was extended an invitation, even though many were in attendance at the World Pentecostal Conference in ensuing years.

Today racistic demons utilize the bold "in your face method" as they survive in various ways. A graduate seminary student was recently invited to apply for a minister of youth leader position in a growing Charismatic church in the Carolinas. The real problem began when this intelligent, former military policeman walked out of the airport. He had the wrong color. He was extended the usual courtesies and all appeared to have gone well. A few conservative White hardliners had premonitions of too many Blacks showing up with the hiring of an African-American youth leader and threatened to withdraw their financial support to the church. Instead of confronting the "sickness," the gutless pastor told the student that the reason he was not being considered for the job was that his teaching message was inadequate. (It should be noted, however, that the youth were raving about his message.) A young couple who had endeared themselves to this young candidate invited him to dinner and shared with him the real reasons for his rejection. Without any fanfare, the church hired an Anglo couple that had been waiting in the wings to come in and develop an interracial youth ministry. I tried to console this wounded young man to prepare for spiritual warfare against racism in the body of Christ on earth.

More recently, the son of a prominent leader in the Word of Faith Movement in the Southwest publicly told his vast congregation in his multi-million-dollar church that he was not racist, but that he was against the races intermarrying. He stated that he feared that Blacks would soon be decimated within a few years if allowed to intermingle with other races. A situation where a White teen had become impregnated by a Black male and parental pressure from the more conservative faction of the church prompted this public statement. The pastor went on to say he feels it's okay to socialize with Blacks, but that he was opposed to marriage with them. To cover his tracks, he inferred that he had received sanction from prominent Blacks in his church, and they, too, were opposed to intermarriage.

After reviewing the audiotape, I wa stunned as to the profound ignorance displayed. Ignorance is the soil of racism and bigotry. Thank God a prominent Word of Faith pastor-teacher from the West Coast took this pastor to task by demanding a public apology and withholding a major annual contribution for the annual camp meeting. This incident occurred over a year ago, and to my knowledge, a sincere apology has not been made. I am more disturbed about the "domesticated" African-Americans who remain under this kind of blatant abuse than I am about the racist posture of this pastor.

Unfortunately, this pastor has been victimized by the myth of superiority and the process of sacralization. Sacralization is a process where one develops theological and religious constructs designed to serve the interest of a particular ethnic or racial group. The consequence of sacralization generates a distorted anthropology, which is the basis for an enslaving psychology, sustained by a perverted sociology, which invariably leads to a twisted theology. It is apparent that this Word of  Faith pastor and his cohorts are on the wrong page at this juncture in history. The Word of Faith ought to be stressing the Word of Love, which is the primary virtue in the New Testament. Says Jesus, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35).

Subtle Racism

Perhaps the most convincing way of viewing racism in a subtle form is to see how it has become institutionalized and ensconced within the structure of Pentecostal institutions. Institutionalized racism has revised its form, changed its address, but not its nature. Eurocentric racial superiority is displayed, implemented, and practiced as the norm to which all others must conform on a daily basis within most Pentecostal institutions, whether it be a church, school or publishing house. All one has to do is check the track record and raise the right questions.

Like cancer, racism within religious structures is pervasive. Review the staff of mega-Pentecostal/Charismatic churches where African-Americans attempt to assimilate. Invariably, Blacks are called upon to sing and are utilized in nonessential "window-dressing" tasks in order to appear authentic. Camera crews are instructed to pan shots of African-Americans in the audience frequently to provide an interracial flavor to the setting as a lure. Many White Pentecostal churches are recruiting Black organists and singing Black Gospel in order to lure unsuspecting Blacks., Few if any will invite a Black to preach or integrate them into the decision-making structures of the church. The primary qualification to preach in most Anglo-Pentecostal churches is to fit the profile of a "safe Negro," and you will be screened and referred by other "safe Negroes" who honestly believe that is the way to become upwardly mobile in the religious sector.

Pentecostal colleges and seminaries must be taken to task for recruiting African-Americans to their campuses in order to lure federal dollars, but placing them in classrooms dominated by White insensitive faculty, staff and administration. Having a token Black is like having no Black presence at all. After all, a token is a token. How can such institutions prepare students for a future characterized by diversity. The old "no qualified Blacks can be found" excuse is no longer valid. Many of us are constantly in touch with growing numbers of African-Americans who are waiting to be challenged by an innovative and creative approach to a past riddled by racism.

Pentecostal-Charismatic conference leaders are known for finding one token Black and placing that person on a brochure with an "all is well" grin and brag that they have an interracial conference. Such conferences are planned, financed and run by the traditional "good ol' boys" network with a hardliner as the gatekeeper. Unless you can play strictly by their rules and clamor your way into the network, you may never get a hearing, even though you may have something to contribute. Look at the conferences in the Pentecostal-Charismatic magazines, and you will find the same White faces with the same Blacks who for the most part have joined the club. Whites continue to decide who will emerge as the gatekeeper for African-Americans and therefore define and control our leadership.

The late Dr. George Buttrick, legendary pulpiteer and former pastor of the Madison Avenue Church of New York City, once said that if he had lived his life over again he would not invite any  Blacks to join his church, because he had come to the conclusion that the White church had nothing to offer Blacks but stolen funds. This scathing denunciation by one of the great giants of Protestantism is more than commentary on racism as it is manifested in White religious institutions.^[xi]

One should review the issues discussed at most White Pentecostal-Charismatic conferences. Except for gifts and issues of personal morality, it is a replay of the White conservative evangelical agenda. I have yet to see or hear of one conference where the issue of racism was brought up and discussed, since it is primarily a White problem. Given the context of power as we know it, Blacks can be prejudiced and biased, but it is highly improbable that they can become racist, since racism presupposes power within a set of given relationships. To what degree do African-Americans define, utilize and control major institutions within American society?

Denial-Reality Syndrome

If it is verbalized, it may be enjoyed for the moment, but once it is written, it is around for posterity. We must take responsibility for what we write for present and future generations. I would like to keep the following example issue-oriented rather than personal. As a trained ethicist I take seriously the task of keeping it as such. I see this as an excellent forum to relate this, particularly because it involves people of color everywhere.

In the November/December 1993 issue of Ministries Today, an article appeared under the title, "Racial Reconciliation, the Possible Dream," an interview with Wellington Boone of Richmond, Virginia. The interviewer, Louis Templeman, asked Boone whether he had ever been called an "Uncle Tom." Boone responded: "One of the things that awakened the nation to the evils of slavery was the book Uncle Tom's Cabin, and one of our goals is to restore the reputation of Uncle Tom. He's one of the tremendous literary examples of Christian character. Uncle Tom had a real revelation of heaven. He was able to forgive his tormentors. He was able to see his evil slave master, not from an ethnic perspective, but from heaven's perspective. What a role model for unqualified love! Blacks need to restore his name. I have a T-shirt that some brothers did for me that says on the front, 'I am an Uncle Tom,' and on the back, 'a slave of righteousness.'"

Templeman responded: "I can't imagine you preaching that publicly. I mean . . . without being stoned or jeered."

Boone replied, "No doubt about it, but it's the heart of Jesus."

Unfortunately, Boone used the wrong metaphor of Uncle Tom to challenge people of Color. He confuses servitude with humility. Apparently Boone does not understand that in the kingdom of God, the slave is master, and the master is slave, that the first shall be last and the last shall be first (Mark 10:31). In the words of Dr. Mack King Carter, pastor of Mt. Olive Baptist Church, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, "Jesus in His kingdom teachings never advocates any 'Stepin Fetchit' response to oppression."

Denial of reality is the first sign of imminent death. It is the same as the old "I am not a racist" cover that is so staid. Jesus warned, "Ye shall know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16). The prophet of God brings humankind face to face with one's sins. The "Woe is me" must always precede the "Here am I" (Isaiah 6).

Conclusion

There are two basic impediments to racial reconciliation within the Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement, as I view it from where I stand in history. The first is lack of repentance on the part of Whites to collectively view themselves as racist. The second major impediment is tokenism by Blacks who enjoy the privileges of living in the big house on the plantation and who enjoy the accolades of being selected by "the man" to perform a particular task.

1. White Denial of Racism

Dave Claerbaut, a White urban missionary makes a rather telling point that should be heeded by Euro-American Pentecostals/Charismatics about the source of racism and asserts that it is not meant to be an indictment. I quote:

. . . to be white and somewhat racist is normal. For just as a person who regularly breathes polluted city air should not be the least defensive about having some pollution in his lungs, so a person who is regularly exposed to a racist and prejudice-laden society could hardly be expected not to be somewhat prejudiced.  . . .if white racism is defined as having notions of white supremacy, it becomes rather easy to see how these tendencies become subconsciously internalized at a very early age. Thus, these racist notions calcify. All agree that a person's environment is a major influence on his attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviors. Thus, a white pastor or urban worker is by conditioning and environment at least partly racist.^[xii]

After listening to the most liberal of the liberal Whites talk of their love for Blacks, simply look them straight in their eyes and ask, "Would you have any concerns if my Black son married your White daughter and produced some special grandchildren?" Step back and watch the response on their faces even if they admit it would be fine. It is still true, we can be your brothers and sisters, but not your brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.

2. Tokenism

A token is a person who has sold out to whiteness on the basis of the belief that white is not only right, but that it is superior: one who believes that white ice is colder. The following anonymous letter surfaced on the campus where I taught this past year. The following is a digest of same: It is entitled, "The Speech," by Willie Lynch, dated 1712. This slave overseer wrote from his modest plantation in the West Indies. Lynch provided what he called a "fool-proof" method for controlling slaves. If implemented correctly, the method would control slaves for at least 300 years. He warned slave masters against hanging slaves, "for it will cause you to lose valuable stock, causing uprisings, crops will go untended while your animals will be killed."

Lynch goes on to suggest how fear, distrust and envy can be used for the purpose of control. He suggests that the first thing to do is to stress the differences among slaves. Use age, shade of color, kind of hair, where one lives, and even physical size. The slave, after receiving this indoctrination, shall carry on and become self-refueling and self-generating for hundreds of years. He urges, "not to forget" to pit the old slaves against the young, the dark-skinned slaves against the light-skinned ones. You must make sure all your overseers distrust all slaves. This plan, if used intensely for a year, will remain in place perpetually.

Whether the letter is authentic or not, it makes a rather telling point: tokenism will destroy a people.

Within the slave environment, the field slave's role was simple, to remain healthy and work the fields. The house slave enjoyed the privilege of taking care of Massa at any cost. The house slave was usually lighter skinned from being in the shade most of the time. The house slave would eavesdrop at times on the field slaves and keep Massa informed. If entertainment was needed, Massa would select a special kind of slave to entertain. Of all things to be done, the entertaining slave had to know how to "buck dance" and keep ol' Massa laughing.

Transposed to our times, the need is for some Whites to surround themselves with "safe Negroes" of the domesticated kind who are so glad to be on Massa's show, they just sit and grin. They entertain because they have no message. Whites continue to define our leadership by selecting a "gatekeeper" to screen all other Blacks for whatever the next show calls for. Somehow the list is getting shorter.

Together we must unite and categorically condemn "side-stepping," "two-stepping," "feet-shuffling," "head-scratching," "double-talking," "handkerchief-headed," "buck-dancing," Negroes (a term assigned to us by Europeans with the Niger river in mind, but without any geographical reference), whose function is to sell us out before we can organize. Blacks need to repent of the disservice we have done to each other in an attempt to seek special favors.

At this juncture in history and in my personal pilgrimage before God, I must be true. Tokenism is a curse and consists of deceit and the worst kind of betrayal. I am ill prepared to make a call for racial reconciliation between Black/White Pentecostals until such a call is preceded by repentance, a call for remedial and distributive justice, and authentic reconciliation between people of color all over the globe. We long for the day when we will lay aside our warring allegiances, our racial divisions, our gender divisions, our double standards, all in light of, and under the judgment of, the Kingdom that knows no end, as we seek the shalom of God. The journey must begin in a radical way within each of us, and hopefully this will be the beginning of a new future for all of us.

Grace be with you.