c. 1999 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 _ In February 1986, I attended a local meeting of ministers affiliated with the historically black denomination of which I was then a member.
Young, idealistic and already disillusioned by what I felt were the church’s questionable priorities, I was frustrated further by the political and financial issues dominating the meeting. That I was not the only person who felt that way became evident when, during a discussion of financial disbursements to denominational auxiliaries _ with no mention of serving the needs of people _ a veteran minister behind me grumbled,”Hrmmph! All this money, and ain’t a soul got saved yet.” I submitted my resignation a few weeks later.
Memories of that meeting _ and of my colleague’s comments _ flooded my memory as I contemplated two issues currently facing the Christian church.
The first concerns the recent Florida racketeering conviction against the Rev. Henry J. Lyons, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA. While the Lyons saga is particularly embarrassing to members of his denomination, let’s be blunt: All clergy _ particularly black clergy _ are tainted by his conviction.
The published accounts of womanizing and financial wrongdoing on the part of Lyons only serve to underscore the similar albeit whispered allegations against many of his fellows. As the Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart scandals proved more than a decade ago, clergy misconduct cuts a wide swath in the American psyche, causing all ministers to be viewed with a jaundiced eye.
Moreover, that the source of the current distress is a black preacher is cause for even greater consternation. At a time when black men have left the church in droves _ due in large part to the mistrust of the clergy _ the Lyons episode, with an encore presentation scheduled in federal court next month, provides little hope that this trend will be reversed any time soon.
Meanwhile, white evangelicals are experiencing their own crisis of faith. With the recent decision by Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Mo., not to enter the presidential race in 2000, would-be kingmakers among Christian conservatives are left without a charismatic candidate around which to rally their forces.
This comes at a time when Republican officials are attempting to move their party away from the strident rhetoric of recent years to a more pragmatic approach designed to win moderate votes.
Furthermore, given President Clinton’s continuing popularity during the recent impeachment trial _ which some view as a bellwether of the nation’s moral climate _ many evangelicals are wondering whether the nation’s soul can be saved through the political process.
And well they should. For, as my colleague’s comment suggests, the work of the church and many of its leaders appears to be proceeding without the divine imperative in mind _ the saving of people’s souls through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This is not to say that people of faith should have no say in public discourse and the development of public policy. That society should be governed by those who lack the church’s moral insight is a frightening thought indeed.
Nor is it to suggest, as Lyons’ supporters correctly point out, that business acumen and entrepreneurial initiative should be lacking among the clergy. The lack of such expertise would spell doom for community revitalization efforts around the country.
Rather, the point is that neither the use of political skill nor the exercise of business savvy are at the heart of the church’s message. At its heart, the gospel speaks of the forgiveness and spiritual renewal that are made available through the death and resurrection of the Son of God.
It is our failure to focus on our message that has brought us to the crises we currently face.
DEA END ATCHISON
