The Rev. Brad Braxton's resignation as pastor of The Riverside Church was a sad episode in a battle that has been raging for years over the soul of the historic West Side church.
A concerned group of Riverside members had gone to court seeking to block the installation of the new minister, out of concern over both his pay and his vision for the church's future. They did not succeed, at least not in court. Braxton's alleged $600,000 compensation package made headlines, since the church has struggled financially in recent years, seen its membership decline and its financial campaign fail to reach its goal, been forced to cut funding for church programs, and dug into its endowment to pay operational expenses. While church officials claimed Braxton's actual compensation was much less than had been reported, it still seemed extravagant for a church that is experiencing hard times.
The more serious conflict represented by the Braxton controversy, however, is a long-standing one over whether Riverside will continue to be a liberal, socially activist church that is welcoming to Christians of all races, genders and sexual persuasions, or whether it will take on more of the trappings of a black, evangelical church. Founded as a Baptist church by John D. Rockefeller, Riverside evolved over the years into a non-denominational church famous for its liberal social agenda and its intellectual ministers.
When it hired its first black senior minister almost 20 years ago, it was hailed as another step forward for the open-minded congregation, but internal battles broke out between those who wanted the church to assume a more evangelical and black flavor with longer services, less European and more gospel music, and a bigger national platform for its minister.
Supporters of this new direction accused members who opposed it of being racist, and in the ensuing battle, many long-standing white members left the church Membership went from 60 percent white and 40 percent black to roughly the opposite. While there is nothing wrong with the new racial breakdown, some felt the church had adopted a tone that was more hostile to anything smacking of the European heritage.
One long-time church member who questioned Braxton's suitability for the job said that when he was asked at a church meeting what he meant when he talked about wanting to have diversity at Riverside, he described it as a warm, charismatic, African-American service. That is nice, but it's not exactly inclusive. Braxton also reportedly said he had no interest in the European-type music that is often performed by the church's professional-quality choir, that he prefers foot-stomping gospel music instead. As a former Riverside choir member, I believe that while a variety of music styles have long been performed at Riverside, a steady diet of gospel is inappropriate in a Gothic cathedral-like church.
It's been sad to watch the efforts of some Riversiders to turn it into a black church, but the Rev. Braxton was apparently determined to push ahead with that transformation. He was not the right leader for Riverside, and it's good that he has decided to move on. As one member told me, Riverside needs a pastor who is forward-thinking, and that means not trying to turn a white church or a racially integrated church into a black church, but about moving beyond the boxes of race and evangelism.