Bolt of Lightning
DallasNews.com | News for Dallas, Texas | Opinion: Viewpoints
So, there I was, sitting in the Shrimp Plantation, sipping on some heavily sweetened Iced tea, and trying desparately to ignore one of the innumerable occasionally amusing but persistantly annoying conversations that the teeny-boppers I work with were having when the above article grabbed a hold of me and wouldn't let go. The topic is one that is close to my heart. I am a self described church boy and became as such at almost the precise point that such boys went out of style. Let me explain.
In 1987 I found myself on the front page of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. This may seem like no big deal to you, but just how often have YOU been on the front page of a major daily newspaper. That many, huh?
What struck me was the attention I received as a result.
What?
Oh...WHY was I on the front page of the newspaper?
Because I was a young black male who went to church.
A lot.
And I actually acted like I wanted to be there(and,truth be told, about 70% of the time, I did.).
Apparently, the powers that be in the media thought this was news. I don't remember exactly how it was that I became one of the two young men this reporter interviewed for the story. What I do remember is that the older I got, the fewer males there were at the church functions I attended, and that the ones I did see, tended to be there out of obligation. And bear in mind, this was back then, when I was HALF the age I am now. So clearly the trend has become more pronounced.
The reality is that the black church has suffered from a disconnect with African-American men since there has BEEN a black church.
There are pastors. And deacons. And Trustees. And Musicians. Men with a proverbial dog in the hunt, men who have a definitive purpose in being there Sunday after Sunday.
But just regular Dudes, in church on the regular just getting fed with the word and trying to grow in God tend to be few and far inbetween.
The author of this piece states:
What happened? Probably the same thing that has happened to thousands of African-American men who now file into coffee shops or baseball stadiums on Sundays instead of heading to church, or who lose themselves in the haze of mowing the lawn or waxing their cars. Somewhere along the way, for us, the church – the collective of black churches of the Christian faith, regardless of denomination – lost its relevance. It seems to have no discernible message for what ails the 21st-century black male soul.
I will say that there is a perception that the black church as a mythical whole has been slack in it's responsibility to it's parishioners, male AND female.
I will also assert that much of the disconnect is a function of the move of the country at large to a more secular mindset. Today isn't the time or place to argue the merits of that, so I will resist the urge to romp off down that tangent.
The problem is that the black church is NOT a mythical whole. It is a collection of MANY small independently functioning parts. If one doesn't work for you, there is another one on the next corner.
Literally.
Once I left the church of my youth, a small but vibrant church that had literally NO men between my age of whatever teen year I was and the pastor, who was my mother's age, I have been fortunate to be a part of churches that have had fairly significant men's ministries. They are out there. You have to go from corner to corner until you find one that you like.
The fact is that churches are in many ways a reflection of their leaders. My Church is exactly that. While the Men's ministry (which I am ashamedly not an active member of, although that is soon to change) is not nearly as prolific as the women's ministry, there IS one.
There is so much to this topic that I will have to let you marinate on what HE wrote, and sniff at what I am brewing in this pot. I am going to go gather some ingredients and return to cook some more.
Anyway...read the above article and stay tuned. Errands persist and the Plantation beckons. But I am NOT done with this topic. Not by a long shot.
So, there I was, sitting in the Shrimp Plantation, sipping on some heavily sweetened Iced tea, and trying desparately to ignore one of the innumerable occasionally amusing but persistantly annoying conversations that the teeny-boppers I work with were having when the above article grabbed a hold of me and wouldn't let go. The topic is one that is close to my heart. I am a self described church boy and became as such at almost the precise point that such boys went out of style. Let me explain.
In 1987 I found myself on the front page of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. This may seem like no big deal to you, but just how often have YOU been on the front page of a major daily newspaper. That many, huh?
What struck me was the attention I received as a result.
What?
Oh...WHY was I on the front page of the newspaper?
Because I was a young black male who went to church.
A lot.
And I actually acted like I wanted to be there(and,truth be told, about 70% of the time, I did.).
Apparently, the powers that be in the media thought this was news. I don't remember exactly how it was that I became one of the two young men this reporter interviewed for the story. What I do remember is that the older I got, the fewer males there were at the church functions I attended, and that the ones I did see, tended to be there out of obligation. And bear in mind, this was back then, when I was HALF the age I am now. So clearly the trend has become more pronounced.
The reality is that the black church has suffered from a disconnect with African-American men since there has BEEN a black church.
There are pastors. And deacons. And Trustees. And Musicians. Men with a proverbial dog in the hunt, men who have a definitive purpose in being there Sunday after Sunday.
But just regular Dudes, in church on the regular just getting fed with the word and trying to grow in God tend to be few and far inbetween.
The author of this piece states:
What happened? Probably the same thing that has happened to thousands of African-American men who now file into coffee shops or baseball stadiums on Sundays instead of heading to church, or who lose themselves in the haze of mowing the lawn or waxing their cars. Somewhere along the way, for us, the church – the collective of black churches of the Christian faith, regardless of denomination – lost its relevance. It seems to have no discernible message for what ails the 21st-century black male soul.
I will say that there is a perception that the black church as a mythical whole has been slack in it's responsibility to it's parishioners, male AND female.
I will also assert that much of the disconnect is a function of the move of the country at large to a more secular mindset. Today isn't the time or place to argue the merits of that, so I will resist the urge to romp off down that tangent.
The problem is that the black church is NOT a mythical whole. It is a collection of MANY small independently functioning parts. If one doesn't work for you, there is another one on the next corner.
Literally.
Once I left the church of my youth, a small but vibrant church that had literally NO men between my age of whatever teen year I was and the pastor, who was my mother's age, I have been fortunate to be a part of churches that have had fairly significant men's ministries. They are out there. You have to go from corner to corner until you find one that you like.
The fact is that churches are in many ways a reflection of their leaders. My Church is exactly that. While the Men's ministry (which I am ashamedly not an active member of, although that is soon to change) is not nearly as prolific as the women's ministry, there IS one.
There is so much to this topic that I will have to let you marinate on what HE wrote, and sniff at what I am brewing in this pot. I am going to go gather some ingredients and return to cook some more.
Anyway...read the above article and stay tuned. Errands persist and the Plantation beckons. But I am NOT done with this topic. Not by a long shot.
posted by DP at 8/03/2005 07:19:00 AM
2 comments
