by Blake » Sun Feb 10, 2013 6:04 pm
Sandy, similar to what Dave said, suggesting that forced integration is the alternative is alarmist, flatly untrue and absurd. I believe that God wants His Church to look like the Kingdom of Heaven now. I think white privilege and the sin of racism that entails from our unintentional support of a normative monocultural narrative and system can deafen us to what the Holy Spirit does want for the Church. If we are unwilling to allow our own prejudices and status quo to be challenged then we will not be able to be lead by God in this area. However, if believers and congregations were intentional about seeing through the eyes of the Other we might also begin to be able to imagine and hear the call of God beyond our puny socially conditioned imaginations. I thank God for the churches you describe, but from my experience and studies I'm afraid such churches are the exception and not the rule in the SBC. Forced integration would be disobedience to the Holy Spirit, but what have we to fear from opening our eyes, ears and minds to understanding others struggles and the ways we may unconsciously play into perpetuating the systems of injustice that cause their struggles, inhibiting them from the fullness of God's calling?
The ratio of people of color to white people at SBTS, SEBTS and NOBTS doesn't tell me that those schools are in need of an affirmative action program. What it tells me is that the leadership of those schools have a view of what is and is not valuable for the mission of that school and the perspectives and worldviews of people of color are clearly included among what is not valued. Do I think it is intentional? I hope not and doubt it is. I suspect they just can't fully appreciate and imagine God's plan and the value of the contribution of a person of color sufficiently to make it a reality at their institutions. If they bothered to expand their own minds to what others besides white males considered valuable to the Kingdom and authentic calling they would put in far more effort to seek out professors of color to help disciple that vision of the Kingdom into their students. They would enable more professors of color to respond to God's call to disciple the future leaders of churches and the denomination.
"But for our parts, to take a carnal weapon in our hands, or use the least violence, either to support or pull down the worst, or to set up or maintain the best of men, we look not upon it to be our duty in the least..."
- Henry Adis