The Holy Spirit, Jesus and Social Justice in Black Churches: Making Noise or Making a Difference?

In a 1999 essay titled "A Good Time or a Good Life? The Black Church in the Twenty-First Century," I attempted to chart the opportunities and obstacles facing black churches on the eve of the new millennium. An extensive quotation from the essay revealed my concern for the lack of social justice engagement in many churches:

"In urban and suburban America, the up-and-coming trend is the 'mega' black church with state-of-the-art classrooms, administrative offices, banquet facilities, and gymnasiums. Many of these 'mega' churches have enough members to populate a small city. ... Many factors contribute to this groundswell of membership ... but, most of all, it is the resurgence of a more charismatic style of worship in the black church that has motivated much of this interest. It is the vibrant, exciting worship of the African-American tradition that is drawing people. ... Yet I am concerned that congregations cultivate spiritual lives, and not simply provide energizing worship. People are coming to church, but what are we doing in church?

...Has our style of worship become more important than the substance of worship? Has having a 'good time' in church become more important than living a good, disciplined, and empowered life before God? Has the phenomenon of stirring up feelings in church become more important than encouraging faithfulness once we are outside of the church? In the midst of all of our excitement, are we really making a difference in the world? Or just making a lot of noise?" (Spiritual Manifestos: Visions for Renewed Religious Life in America from Young Spiritual Leaders of Many Faiths, pp. 139-140).

More than a decade after raising those questions, it troubles me that many churches still are simply making noise but not making a difference. Over the clamor of our Sunday morning merry-making, God continues speaking through the prophet Amos: "I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. ... Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream" (Amos 5:21, 23-24). This Amos text reveals a divine impatience, even intolerance, for exuberant worship unconcerned with social empowerment and communal wellbeing.

By contrast, small communities of early Christians, motivated by the power of Pentecost, exerted enormous influence on their society. They were accused by their opponents of "turning the world upside down" (Act 17:6). As contemporary followers of Jesus, we must do more than simply "make noise" in church. We, like our ancestors in the faith, are called to shake the foundations of demonic injustice and in so doing turn the world right side up.

The paltry social justice engagement of many churches, and especially some charismatic churches that adamantly claim the Holy Spirit's power, is cause for alarm. Among other factors, a distorted understanding of Jesus' mission and ministry has severed the connection between Spirit-filled worship and Spirit-led activism. Having suffered through several decades of "prosperity gospel" preaching, we must now insist on more theologically sound understandings of Christian social witness.

"Fleshing Out" a Justice Agenda: Luke 4:14-30

When Jesus inaugurates his public ministry in Luke 4, it comes as no surprise that the text for his first sermon refers to the Holy Spirit. The first four chapters of Luke emphasize the Spirit's profound role in Jesus' life. When prophesying the immaculate conception, the angel Gabriel says to Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God" (Luke 1:35). Under the prompting of the Holy Spirit, Simeon, a devout man longing to see the Messiah, attends the Temple at the right moment to meet, and even hold, the infant Jesus (Luke 2:25-35).

Furthermore, at Jesus' baptism, his tangible receipt of the Holy Spirit is underscored when Luke says the Spirit descended "in bodily form like a dove" (Luke 3:22). Finally, the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness and sustains him throughout his temptations (Luke 4:1-13). Jesus' wilderness encounter with the demonic does not lessen the anointing in his life. As he begins his Galilean ministry, Jesus remains "filled with the power of the Spirit" (Luke 4:14).

Aware of the Spirit's intense presence in his life, Jesus finds some "Spirit" passages in Isaiah as he reads scripture in the Nazareth synagogue (Luke 4:17). Jesus' text is a modified version of Isaiah 61:1, 58:6, and 61:2. We should pay particular attention to the first portion of Isaiah 61:1: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor."

Jesus quotes from the Greek translation of Isaiah in the Septuagint. An interesting nuance arises if we return to the original Hebrew of Isaiah 61:1, where the verb "to bring good news" (basher) is related to the Hebrew noun meaning "flesh" (bashar). Consequently, the Hebrew of Isaiah 61:1 could be rendered more poetically: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to enflesh good news to the oppressed" (Jaco Hamman, Becoming a Pastor: Forming Self and Soul for Ministry, p. 179).

At its best, Spirit-filled preaching embodies the good news that is proclaimed. Thus, genuinely good news must involve tangible liberation for oppressed bodies as much as intangible elevation of weary souls. We must put flesh on our words in order for our words to heal and transform sisters and brothers beset with real, fleshly afflictions.

Jesus understands the fleshly implications of Spirit-led justice work. As the scripture lesson in the synagogue concludes, Jesus' sermon begins with a bold opening line: "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21). The sermon continues with a provocative interpretation of God's inclusive salvation that transcends cultural boundaries (Luke 4:25-27).

It might appear that Jesus' sermon ends in Luke 4:28-30 as enraged synagogue attendants attempt to throw him from a cliff. However, Jesus escapes their murderous machinations in order to continue the sermon. He travels to a synagogue in Capernaum where he preaches or "enfleshes" good news to an oppressed man by exorcising a demon from him. The spoken sermon in the Nazareth synagogue interprets the enacted sermon in the Capernaum synagogue, and vice versa. Sermons preached in words and sermons preached through deeds are both necessary for a holistic ministry of social justice and healing.

In contrast to Jesus' attempt to "flesh out" a justice agenda in Luke 4, James 2:14-16 provides an example of abstract, irrelevant religion. In a stinging critique of socially unengaged piety, James writes:

"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead."

According to James 2, Christians should "flesh out" a social justice agenda by fighting poverty. In the example, instead of filling a hungry stomach, the believer sends the poor person away after spouting an empty cliché. Death is the consequence of socially irrelevant faith. Physically, death will overtake the poor, naked, hungry person in the text. Spiritually, death has already overtaken the unengaged faith of believers.

James 2 concludes with a clear analogy. Faith that fails to address serious social dilemmas is like a dead body with no spirit. Indeed, apart from the Spirit, congregations will suffocate, and the body of Christ will become a handsomely embalmed corpse. The Spirit's agenda is life -- abundant life. The Spirit raised Jesus from the dead, and that same Spirit can enliven the body of Christ to "flesh out" a revolutionary social justice agenda in Jesus' name.

Jesus and Economic Justice

The alleviation of poverty should be a significant part of a Spirit-led, social justice agenda. Throughout his ministry, Jesus was greatly concerned about economic justice. However, some Christian communities preach so much about the blood and death of Jesus that they neglect the justice principles Jesus taught during his life. Bestselling journalist Barbara Ehrenreich rightly criticizes Christianity's amnesia about the living Jesus. She says that in many churches "Jesus makes his appearance ... only as a corpse; the living man ... is never once mentioned, nor anything he ever had to say. Christ crucified rules, and it may be that the true business of modern Christianity is to crucify [Jesus] again and again so that he can never get a word out of his mouth" (Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On [Not] Getting By in America, pp. 68-69).

Jesus blessed the poor and cursed the conditions that made people poor. At its core, economic injustice is "an assault upon the dignity of God" (Allan Boesak, Running with Horses: Reflections of an Accidental Politician, p. 343). From Atlanta to Accra and from Harlem to Haiti, the diseases and despair caused by poverty are an attack against God, since God has placed the divine image in every person, regardless of income.

In the name of Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians should have a holy urgency to alleviate, if not eradicate, poverty. We can do more than run revivals, put on prayer breakfasts and sponsor fashion shows. Hopeless, homeless, hungry people need us to "enflesh" our faith.

Here are some things that any congregation can do at some level. For starters, every minister and lay leader should read Marian Wright Edelman's recent book The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small. Her book provides concrete steps for congregations that want to combat poverty. Suggestions from her book and from other justice activists include the following:

1. Provide evening childcare so that parents and grandparents can attend job training classes.

2. Create a support network for seniors in handling their financial and medical affairs.

3. Encourage at least one family in each congregation to adopt a child from foster care.

4. Sponsor after-school homework centers, thereby decreasing the likelihood of after-school youth violence and vandalism.

5. Establish SAT or ACT prep-courses for high school youth.

6. In addition to sending food and clothes to our sisters and brothers in impoverished parts of the world, send money for them to buy tractors and food so they can grow their own food and make their own clothes.

7. Hold politicians accountable for the effective education of all our children, and especially at-risk children. Mayors, city council members, governors, congressional representatives, senators and even the President of the United States should know that the full prophetic witness of faith communities will be mobilized either with them or against them depending on how serious they are about educational reform. If at-risk children fail, let our politicians know that they fail.

These suggestions represent a variety of entry points for congregations to become more socially engaged. As congregations gain proficiency with these tasks, they will grow more confident and competent for increasingly sophisticated forms of social justice activism including 1) creative partnerships with public and private institutions to foster economic development in neglected urban areas and 2) public policy advocacy to ensure greater political protection for socially marginalized persons and more equitable resource distribution for economically vulnerable persons.

When the final history is written, and the roll is called up yonder, let it be said that Spirit-led people did more than make noise on Sunday. May it be said of us that we made a difference -- a serious difference -- every day of the week!

 

 

 

Comments

[lawgrace]

11:24 PM on 03/16/2011

Thank you for writing a MUCH needed exhortation to the Black Church –to any church actually that has an “at ease in Zion” (Amos 6:1) agenda. It is disheartening that far too many people who say they are Christ’s followers do not have Christ’s agenda concerning social conditions and public corruption!

Too many church goers have a ‘go along to get along’ mentality, as long as someone other than them performs unpleasant or messy details. Such people are self-serving, “COZY” church folk who aren’t better than harlots (Matthew 21:31). Even with my MANY faults, it never dawned on me to ignore the harvest (Matthew 9:37). It is amazing how some “spirit” that gives church people good and pious feelings during church services, seems to not prompt them to emulate Christ’s performance afterward.

[PJsThreeDogLife]

08:18 AM on 03/10/2011

Important message. From an old gospel song: "My house is full but my fields are empty. Who will come and work for me today?"

[sunshine14]

07:32 AM on 03/08/2011

Whole upper galleries were not built for them. They existed.

[sunshine14]

07:30 AM on 03/08/2011

Slaves were brought to church at first, then others complained. Not all slave owners where good to their slaves. Agreement came,  could sit in the back of the church.. Then lead to further debates arose,  then whites did not want to gaze upon, then made them go stairs,  then after that, still complain put curtains in front of them. Why later not allowed and built their own tiny churches of worship, where ever they lived . Why we see small churches all over. Read many books, on slavery and the question was asked why we see so many small churches all over. That was the answer in the book which sadly I cannot remember the name. Will look for it.

[ZENNEPHI]

08:52 PM on 03/07/2011

..."Pure and undefiled religion before God and the father is this; to aide the fatherless and too
assist the widows in there time of need, and keep one unspotted from the world..."
NKJV 1798 {Epistle of James} [Thomas/Nelson Trans.]

"But I'm strong. Strong enough to carry on. He ain't heavy, he's my Brother"
[Olivia Newton-John] Arista-E.M.I. Ascap ltd Records & Tapes.

[sunshine14]

08:13 AM on 03/08/2011

HE ain't heavy HE is my brother, a song also is remember MORE then if one read it right? Deuteronomy, Chapter 32 -44. So Moses, together with Joshua, son of Nun, went and "RECITED" (from memory) all the Words of this "SONG", FOR THE PEOPLE TO HEAR".  The laws of God given by WORD to Moses. Telling them to their children children for generations to come.

[iLdoRight]

08:01 PM on 03/07/2011

I can not remember just where in the Bible the illustration is about not tearing down the old storage building before you have a new one that is capable of completely replacing the old one is, but it seems to me that sometimes one storehouse may have some faults that should be corrected and yet it still functions for good in some areas that are needed, though they may not be doing as good as one would expect. I like the sounds of some religious music while not liking what the words say because they are not in agreement with what the Bible says and have many times thought that I would be willing to review a religious song writers words and make correcting suggestions free of charge, however I understand how difficult that would be. I saw a Spanish religious CD and wondered, "How will I ever know what message I am listening to. I have never learned enough Spanish to understand it that well.

[sunshine14]

08:00 AM on 03/08/2011

Songs where song, orally, their faith. All of us could speak BEFORE we every began to read or write. That is true not only of individuals but of ENTIRE Nations. Can be even be said of the Deity-God said: "Let there be light" In the beginning the (spoken) Word already WAS. On this Jews and Christians are in agreement, so are their bibles. That there was a Word of God  BEFORE there was EVER a a written Bible of any kind. That the God of the Bible is the God who speaks.-taken from "Whose Bible is it? pg3-mentions also The difference between the Jewish Bible and all the Christian Bibles is the greatest.
They song to memory over over again, handed down for generations, all was transformed -Orally sung, orally in poems repeated in songs. All prophets did not get a letter from God, all were spoken to ORALLY, directly to the prophets. In OT over over again The Word of the Lord came to Moses, Nathan, Jeremiah, Abraham, Jeremiah. Now thinking Moses wrote the first 5 books of the OT, or could be Joshua?

Holy Scripture -is a body of ORAL material that has been , almost but not quite accidentally, captured in a book like a fly in amber- Taken from the book " Whose Bible is it?

[cymarie1964]

07:50 PM on 03/07/2011

If the church would follow the scriptures in the following ways, then perhaps the world would not be the shape it is in:

1. Witness- Not heal, not save, not judge, JUST witness and let God do the rest

2. Love Thy Neighbor as Thy Self- NOT judge, JUST Love

[sunshine14]

08:30 AM on 03/08/2011

fanned

[nmeade56]

03:35 PM on 03/09/2011

I agree except I would say "Do not condemn but judge" - judging is nothing but an evaluation based on some standard - so if the standard is the Bible and someone is measured against that standard and shown to be out of step with God's will they will never know that they are lost. But we are not God to say definitively that someone is lost or going to hell just because of behavior.

[sunshine14]

07:36 PM on 03/07/2011

The poor were not lazy were they? But the poor those held in bondage, from getting an education, because they were the labors to the wealthy. King Pharoah used his own citizens to build his many houses of ill gotten,  great wealth, by defrauding his own citizens, of their true value of labor, human beings, treated as being nothing.  Cheap labor, hardly given  human beings, even enough food to eat even daily. Feeding them only to get more hrs of labor out of them. The poor were hard hard workers, were not lazy, putting in long hrs a day, some even died on the job, to be pulled, dragged out of the way not to stop any work. human beings, being dumped on the side. Pure greed.  Cheap labor,  human beings,  of no value, just used till they died, for cheap labor.

[sunshine14]

07:08 PM on 03/07/2011

I do not believe if Moses was Pres to day, there would be wealthy tax cuts for the few. Moses would be demanded much. Tithes were not taxes either.  Tithes were required by all, and those who had much , were required, or else to give MUCH. And those who had little gave what they could give. Tithes were then given out to all those who had less, thus Moses his Nation in obedience to the Laws of God, were blessed. The blessings of others, were to become  a blessing to others. Thus the Nation prospered. No greed with Moses. Life is not about $$, but to be lived, shared, in peace, joy and experienced. Thus Moses was called a Righteous man of God, Righteousness means the distribution of equality rights to all, and for all to share in what God has freely given to ALL. Why God said. No one can boast, for all have been given to.
Jesus was not greek was HE?  Nor was Issiah greek either? Jesus was a Jew. Greeks conquered did they not? Held under them all prophets served their greek masters, did they not who held them in bondage? But were they greek? Abraham came  from Africa. Ethiopian is mentioned over 3,500 times in OT> is  it not? Jesus spoke Aramaic did he not? Just asking. Love all. Jesus apostles were not greek either were they? But Jews, belonging to the Judaism religion. Did Jesus come to start a new religion? I do not believe so.

[sunshine14]

06:56 PM on 03/07/2011

Jesus knew why there was poor among the innocent suffering at the hands of men of greed. Greed creates poverty, greed creates innocent suffering, greed has destroyed more human life, then all wars put together, since the begin of time. Why God sent Moses, to take his chosen people out of the greed of King Pharoah, who oppressed, and ruled by a military power. King Pharoah built his houses of wealth, by defrauding his own citizens of their hard earned labor $$. King Pharoah was a unrighteous King, of greed. There was no such thing as slavery with God, they were called servants. Abraham and all righteous men of God, took good care of all their servants, they were like family members.  Jesus was a servant unto the Lord, we are all called to become servants of God, Moses were all servants of God. God took care of all He loved his servants, God's family. Abraham was a faithful servant of the Lord, thus God then called HIS servant Abraham a Righteous man of God, like Moses, Jacob, Job, Noah etc. Shepherds are to be good servants unto God under the authority of God, to whom they are subject to. God's Government Laws, God's Commandments are Laws of Righteousness, what not to do, what King Pharoah did to his people. Laws given to God's chosen people BEFORE they entered the Promise Land, God's Laws of equality rights for all. One law for all. God's Commandments are not meant for punishment, but for good, for the good of all.

[sunshine14]

06:42 PM on 03/07/2011

Jeremiah Chapter 17 -5- cursed is the man who trust in human beings. Jesus LOUDLY spoke of God praising God in public where ever HE walked and to the crowds who gathered. That is what disturbed and threaten those of Power. Yes thou Jesus was SILENCE-stood before God, nor dare council God. But obeyed the Commandments of God and loudly praised God daily in his works in life. NO Jesus was not nor ever was silent in his praising and glorying God. Silence means, to do not argue with God, stand before God in silence accepting the WILL and DESIRE of God, and suffered through in silence his trial and tribulations. Raise up your voice in Praising and dance in God in God's Present, in worship. HOLY HOLY HOLY LORD, all glory and Might. The Heavens SING LOUD AND CLEAR their praises onto to the LORD> Love all for all are dearly loved.

[sunshine14]

06:29 PM on 03/07/2011

Morality is not determined by the church you attend, nor the faith you embrace. It is determined by the quality of ones character and the positive impact one has on those you meet along ones journey. What is the spiritual character IMAGE of God?
What Jesus, visible works, were all about, so all could  SEE the spiritual character of the IMAGE of God and who God is. Christians "slaveholders" profaned Christianity by racism" which degrades the sacrality of human persons and "materialism" $$, which values things-over people and so effaces the IMAGE of God in which WE are all created.
Jesus taught his whole message, life on earth, Jesus teaching was about obedience to the Laws of God, not man made traditions. Jesus taught all the only way to enter the Kingdom, was in obedience to the Commandments, which Jesus fully observed obeyed--IN SILENCE-in the present of God, Jesus never whined, poor me.
But Jesus boldly REBUKED -out LOUD- for ALL TO HEAR, spreading the Word of God, did not do so in silence EITHER. But out there daily, was Jesus life a daily life of Prayer, PRAISING LOUDLY, in public, Jesus work was a daily prayer of worshiping God in all His works, for ALL TO SEE. Yes Jesus LOUD AND CLEAR, got his message teachings out there. NO Jesus was NOT SILENT in praising God and all that did Jesus did.
In our rooms, behind closed doors SHOUT and LIFT your voice in praise to the LORD> But be Silent in whining and disobeying the Commandments of God, do so IN SILENCE.

[sarahinez]

06:16 PM on 03/07/2011

I was with you till you got to the ACT/SAT prep classes.NO, NO, NO. Most of those aren't worth anything and, if your church doesn't have someone who can discern the difference, your time, money and effort will be wasted, leading to unwillingness to try anything. More importantly, such a class suggests that students can can doze off for 30 hours a week, 36 weeks a year for 12 years and miraculously, in this one course, learn what's on a college entrance exam. Spend your time encouraging kids to read and study hard AND discouraging them from working during the school year. Most kids just flat aren't smart enough to work and learn at the levels necessary to earn a to get into a good college with a scholarship. (Don't say they got all A's--some schools give A's for turning up, neat papers, and no trouble.)

Don't buy the notion that high school work translates into college money. Kids will make a lot more in scholarships with good grades and solid test scores and good application essays than they ever could working in a store or restaurant. If a kid is entrepreneurial enough to make big bucks at 16, college has a different purpose, but most aren't.

[sunshine14]

07:54 PM on 03/07/2011

Odd what God calls those who call themselves wise. Not wise at all. Funny if one can get lots of free, free labor, or cheap labor,  I am sure one will not care if one is educated think?

[want2run527]

06:13 PM on 03/07/2011

I had a conversation with a cousin the other day and it was discussing a family-in-law that had collapsed and died suddenly. This cousin is a churchgoer and one of her many god-filled comments were that this family member said she went to church but yet still went out. She then went on to say that "she" doesn't play with God like that. It was sad, the ignorance and it made me even more disgusted with where we as blacks are being kept ignorant, and disillusioned when it comes to the church. Parishioners are required to keep their noses in bible and prayer and not much else. I learned not to argue with her logic and I try not to knock her faith but I think the church can and should do more to elevate the intelligence of its parishioners. Start a book club that reads books other than faith-based literature. I like the ideas presented above concerning caring for the children and the elderly and have seen churches raise thousands of dollars for new churches that could have gone to such causes. The cult mentality is not helping poor communities it is not enough to say pray, read your bibles and pay your tithes.

[Kathryn Ernst]

05:51 PM on 03/07/2011

Many churches are doing both. I believe that Jesus himself said in the book of Luke "woe unto to you pharasees who tithe of every mint and rue yet forget the weightier matters of the law such as love and justice, you should not do one and forget the other".