When I was growing up, preachers had a tendency to hit the streets.
Images of white ministers, most of them "collared," and black ministers, most of them Baptist, marching in the streets of most major, and some not so major, American cities remain etched in my memory.
The life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. included lots of this "street work." His message mobilized the nation and led to significant changes in civil rights legislation, as well as national attitudes concerning race, poverty, fairness and equal opportunity.
His impact also "turned out" the pastors who marched at his side.
Many of the images were extremely impressive. They still affect me.
King's message remained thoroughly biblical from start to finish. Thus, his success with the pastors and thousands from their congregations.
These preachers engaged in fairly radical behaviors.
They organized mass demonstrations, participated in economic boycotts, supported and took part in sit-ins and protested based on their clearly defined, values-based agenda.
These ministers made it very clear as to where they stood on these matters.
Racism was an evil that needed to be challenged and eradicated from American culture, economics and law.
Poverty was an enemy against which the nation's resources could and should be marshaled with determination and moral courage.
War with no moral basis could not be accepted. At the very least, honest, open debate had to be defended and championed as a legitimate and accepted fact of life in our democratic system.
The preachers I watched on television as a young boy were not trying to build their churches. There were no megachurches back then. No, these ministers were attempting to lead their congregations and the nation in the ways of God out in the public square.
The actual results of their actions on American life and policy remain impressive.
These days I find myself longing for those days.
From my point of view it is not for the absence of moral issues that the streets are empty of preachers today.
Our economy and the public policy that sustains it continues to crush the poor while promoting the rich.
We are enmeshed in an unbelievable war with no end in sight.
Here in Texas our legislature left Austin for the second session in a row without passing a school finance plan. They did manage to get a marriage amendment approved for voter consideration in the fall--like Texas needs that! But, they left our children and our teachers hanging. Now our governor has called for a special session. I wonder if the poor children of Texas will fare better at the end of this next round of debate than they did during the first?
Yet, the preachers remain locked away in their churches. The streets remain empty.
It appears to me that the vacuum relates to courage, depth and direction of message and the widening gap between current theology and daily reality, especially for the poor in our nation.
The silence haunting our empty streets may also relate to the growing chasm dividing the poor and the rich in our nation. Speaking out, organizing and taking action may be too costly to consider these days. I don't know.
A few years ago while attending a seminar in Atlanta as part of the Interfaith Health Program at Emory University, I met a Cambodian monk who was the national leader of his part of Buddhism. During the bloodiest part of his nation's recent history that produced the "killing fields of the Khmer Rouge, he risked his own life to walk across Cambodian protesting violence and promoting peace.
His words about the life of monks challenged me when I first read them:
"We Buddhists must find the courage to leave our temples and enter the temples of human experience, temples that are filled with suffering. If we listen to the Buddha, Christ, or Gandhi, we can do nothing else. The refugee camps, the prisons, the ghettos, and the battlefields will then become our temples. We have so much work to do.
"This will be a slow transformation, for many people throughout Asia have been trained to rely on the traditional monkhood. Many Cambodians tell me, 'Venerable, monks belong in the temple.' It is difficult for them to adjust to this new role, but we monks must answer the increasingly loud cries of suffering. We only need to remember that our temple is with us always. We are our temple." (Step by Step: Meditations on Wisdom and Compassion, Maha Ghosananda).
My Cambodian friend speaks the truth here.
Life for the poor will not improve until people, and especially leaders, of faith begin to publicly engage and challenge injustice once again.
Great post, Larry. Ministers do have special responsibility as leaders, but what would churches say if they're not in the office and available to members because they're walking the streets or lobbying? Especially for interests that (sadly) probably wouldn't match those of the church's biggest donors. Most churches want ministers focusing on them, and that kind of internal focus leads to isolation. We get the leaders we want, and probably the ones we deserve.
ReplyDeleteAs to school finance, don't forget that the state has reduced the amount that it pays to districts by jiggering the recapture formula to transfer more between them. Who needs a protagonist with politics this fun?
Thanks for calling us to accountability, Larry! You are dead on about our leaders.
ReplyDeleteDU
I read not long ago that 80% of the school districts in Texas are just fine with the current system of school finance (the so called "Robin Hood" approach). Of course the more affluent districts oppose it in general. What is needed in Texas is a more equitable tax system for education that would call on the business sector to pay more and would call on the state to close business loop holes. As I understand the current "Perry Plan," submitted yesterday by Governor Rick Perry to the Texas special session, it would close some business loop holes--not sure which ones or by how much--and it would impose an increase in the state sales tax of 7/10 of a cent. Of course, this sort of tax is the most regressive type of all and falls most heavily on the backs of the poor. The current tax rate in Texas is among the lowest in the U. S. in terms of what businesses pay. At the same time, a viable system for public education is essential to the future productivity and success of Texas business interests. Business should be more than willing to pay.
ReplyDeleteWhat has always amazed me is that a state as relatively affluent as Texas in so many capacities (oil, real estate, timber, gulf, pro sports, etc.) is so far behind even the average in dollars spent on kids for school. You can kind of understand Miss, Alabama, Ark, etc. - but Texas?
ReplyDeleteOur state should be in the upper 1/3 easily on dollars spent - what a travesty.
But, hey, we did get that needed cheerleader suggestive dance routine bill passed ;-)
ibreakcallphones, I respectfully disagree. school finance is not a tough nut to crack at all: it is our fundamental duty as Americans to support the education of America.
ReplyDeleteThe tough nut to crack is the presumption by the wealthy that their funds should only be used on their own kids, as if isolationism or this economic form of "rugged individualism" were somehow building a stronger country for us. This is weakening our country - an attack on education that is something our "terrorist" enemies would applaud.
Funny, I bet that many of these same people are criticizing the outsourcing that is going on. If they want to combat that, they need to invest in a stronger, more educated workforce.