The Southern Baptist Convention's (SBC) political
spokesperson Richard
Land recently incited controversy with comments
regarding the Trayvon Martin case. On his March 31 radio
show, he called African-American leaders
such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton "race mongers" and
"racial ambulance chasers" who are politicizing Trayvon's
murder. He added that seeing young black men as threatening
is "understandable" since they are "statistically more
likely to do you harm than a white man."
Land's comments caused understandable consternation among
black Southern Baptist leaders, prompting him to issue an open letter of apology. We
must tip our hats to Land for issuing the statement, but we
should not simply move on and miss the significance of this
situation. As Land's comments illustrate, the denomination
still struggles with matters of race.
The SBC drags behind it a shameful history on matters of
race. The first Southern Baptist churches were birthed out
of a desire to appoint slaveholders as missionaries.
Preachers in the denomination vocally opposed the civil
rights movement and supported Jim Crow laws. In 1956, Texas
pastor W.A. Criswell, still considered a paragon among
contemporary Southern Baptists, argued before a joint
session of the South Carolina legislature that
de-segregation was un-Christian.
In the last 30 years or so, however, the SBC has made
progress. Criswell apologized for his position before he
died, and the convention passed a Johnny-come-lately "Resolution on Racism" in 1989
stating, "Southern Baptists have not always clearly stood
for racial justice and equality." Better late than never.
Additionally, the denomination is expected to elect their
first African-American President in Fred Luter at the upcoming annual
convention in June. And a top-level task force will
recommend an alternate name, "Great Commission Baptists," in part
because of the racial baggage their historic name holds.
But below the surface, the largest Protestant denomination
in North America still has serious race problems, proving
once again that old paradigms die hard.
A few years ago, the publishing arm of the SBC released
Vacation Bible School curriculum largely thought to be
racist toward Asians. Titled "Far-out Far East Rickshaw Rally," the
resources drew heavily on Asian stereotypes. The materials
included chopsticks, karate uniforms, takeout boxes and
images of rickshaws, a recognized symbol of injustice. Despite passionate outcries from
Asian-American Christians, the curriculum was
distributed to an estimated 20,000 American churches.
Seeing such racial insensitivity from Christians in the
21st century -- an era that was supposed to usher in a
post-racial reality, according to some -- is maddening. It
is, in the words of Anne Lamott, "enough to make Jesus drink
gin straight out of the cat dish."
Just this week, Southern Baptist seminary professor, Nathan Finn tweeted, "I know 3 SBC
pastors in the same southern state who've resigned
pastorates in the past 5 years because of racist membership
policies." He added that he had spoken with an SBC pastor
whose former church wouldn't allow African-Americans to
become members as late as 2009.
One must add to these examples the palpable silence from
ordinarily outspoken SBC leaders in response to Land's
comments. Had Land's comments smacked of theological
liberalism, prominent white Southern Baptist leaders would
have surely spoken out. So why was there no such response
here? One can only conclude that racial unity still isn't
enough of a priority among these leaders to warrant a public
rejoinder.
Like some other conservatives, Land seems to believe that
racism is a myth or at least a problem of the past. On his
radio show he said, "the nation has changed," and that
Americans have entered "a new era" and "a new age." If
Land's comments are any indication, however, this new era
looks a lot like the old one. And that is something Southern
Baptists' cannot afford.
As our nation grows increasingly multiethnic, race is no
longer just a theological issue for Christians; it's a
matter of survival. And the only way to survive is to demand
a radical change among Southern Baptists from the top down.
An alternate name and the election of a president of color
-- both laudable steps forward in the pursuit of racial
harmony -- will not ultimately solve the Southern Baptist
Convention's race problem. Southern Baptists need a change
of heart.
As Professor Finn tweeted, "We've passed
a resolution repenting of our racist past, but some churches
haven't gotten the memo." Southern Baptist leaders and
pastors will have to distribute such a memorandum, and
quickly, or else they may find themselves wrestling both
with race and irrelevance for decades to come.
Jonathan
Merritt (@jonathanmerritt) is author of 'A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus
Beyond the Culture Wars.' He's published more than
350 columns in outlets such as USA Today, The Christian
Science Monitor and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
