COMMENTARY: An open letter to the Rev. Henry J. Lyons

c. 1997 Religion News Service (Samuel K. Atchison is an ordained minister and has worked as a policy analyst and social worker to the homeless. He currently is a prison chaplain in Trenton, N.J.) UNDATED _ To the Rev. Henry J. Lyons, president, National Baptist Convention, USA: On behalf of the men I serve as […]

c. 1997 Religion News Service

(Samuel K. Atchison is an ordained minister and has worked as a policy analyst and social worker to the homeless. He currently is a prison chaplain in Trenton, N.J.)

UNDATED _ To the Rev. Henry J. Lyons, president, National Baptist Convention, USA:


On behalf of the men I serve as pastor of a prison congregation, I wish to express our collective concern for the issues facing you and your denomination so vividly dramatized during the church’s annual meeting that ended Sept. 5.

It seems to us that neither the facts nor allegations presented in this case have served to advance the Christian gospel. Nor has the handling of the case by the denomination’s leaders provided a godly example for young believers to follow.

To be sure, the allegations you face do not present you in the most favorable light. Charges of adultery and financial mismanagement have dogged preachers from time immemorial. And, as your supporters have pointed out, the role of the press cannot be discounted. As many of my congregants can readily attest, tabloid sensationalism titillates a public that is already predisposed to believing the worst.

Yet for many onlookers, the greatest concern is not for the accusations, but the facts. Based on their experiences, many of my parishioners are quite willing to suspend their personal judgments until the criminal probes into your affairs are completed.

However, the apparently factual revelations about your personal life have given many of us pause. For example, your failure to mention two previous marriages on your license to marry your current wife leave some believing you are unworthy of trust.

The general feeling is that if you lied about this, what else would you lie about?

Then there is the matter of the mortgage application you completed with your former public relations aide, Bernice Edwards. There, too, you indicated that you were not married. Moreover, your explanation _ that the two of you were purchasing a”guest house for developing corporate relationships … in a private setting”_ sounds specious at best.

The ethics committee and its findings prompt consternation as well. Composed of 18 of your hand-picked colleagues, the committee’s conclusion that you haven’t violated any church laws hardly seemed credible.


That your actions and those of your associates should be called into question by a group of convicted criminals may strike you as paradoxical. Yet it occurs to me that these men, whom the Lord refers to as”the least of these my brethren,”are exactly the people you need to hear from.

Many of them have made a career of doing precisely the things of which you are now accused. It is for these and other crimes that they now stand guilty, sentenced to serve many years in prison. Most of them did not come to faith in Jesus before they were imprisoned, and even now are only spiritual babes.

Therefore, as a fellow pastor, I feel compelled to ask: What do your actions _ as a prominent church leader _ convey to new believers? What example are you, as a black man, setting for the brothers who have only recently returned to the fold? What biblical standards of accountability and propriety can be gleaned from the actions of the ethics committee and the raucous shouting that erupted from the convention floor?

Please do not think us unduly harsh. Our purpose is not to condemn, but merely to chide. As our Lord requires, we seek to forgive you even as we, ourselves, have been forgiven.

But the reality is that remorse, such as you have proffered requires tangible proof. John the Baptist called it”fruits meet for repentance.” Your followers may have forgiven you, but that’s only half the battle. Now you must prove yourself worthy to lead.

END ATCHISON

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