What Role Will Religion Play in the Midterm Primaries?

...From Members p1 With the theme “Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity,” thousands of delegates, observers, and participants engaged in ten days of prayer, dialogue, and reflection. Additionally, the assembly delegates revisited WCC policy, crafted statements and positions, and elected members to the Central Committee— the body governing the WCC in its interim assembly. A typical day began with morning prayer, followed by Bible study and then a plenary session around a specific theme (e.g., climate justice, global peace, and unity). After lunch, business sessions were conducted to determine the body’s goals and causes for the next nine years. On several days there were “ecumenical conversations”— structured small group discussions oriented around one of twenty-one (21) themes ranging from “Pan-African solidarity” to “sexuality” to “evangelism.” Days would close with an evening prayer service drawn from one of the various Christian communions, incorporating a diverse litany of languages and cultures. The African Methodist Episcopal Church has maintained a strong presence in the World Council of Churches. In 1991 at the 7th Assembly in Canberra, Bishop Vinton R. Anderson was elected to serve as one of the eight presidents of the WCC Assembly. Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie currently serves as president of the North American Council, a subset of the WCC. The Rev. Garland F. Pierce serves as chair of the Ecumenical Trust, a fund that supports the WCC, the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America (NCCCUSA), and Church World Service. The official AME delegation for this year included: Bishop Jeffrey Leath (delegation leader), the Rev. Garland Pierce, Mr. Herbert Mngadie, the Rev. Dr. Jennifer Leath, and the Rev. Jazmine Brooks (youth delegate). African Methodists attended the assembly and had several visible and key roles. Bishop Leath and the Rev. Jazmine Brooks served in the ecumenical worship services. The Rev. Dr. Leath was elected to serve on the central committee and as a key leader in the policy committee and evangelism ecumenical group. Reflecting on the assembly, delegation leader Bishop Leath shared: “The spectrum of opinions regarding world events is challenging within our fellowship. Adding international perspectives to our views has resulted in a more mature and urgent outlook. We often are so absorbed by the indignities of racism that we do not hear the cries of brothers and sisters who cry from abuse because of their faith. The testimonies of healing and rising from resentment illuminate a path of reconciliation we must traverse with greater intensity. The assembly is helping us see the way others are traveling, even if we have yet to walk a mile in their shoes.” The position statements of the WCC 11th Assembly are available here: https://assembly.oikoumene.org/files. ❏ ❏ ❏

By Quardricos Bernard Driskell, Columnist

The midterm election season is upon us. What hangs in the backdrop is a fragile economy, inflation, an ongoing public health crisis, and significant legislative accomplishments for President Biden and the 117th Congress. These factors make it unpredictable to determine which political party will lead Congress. Simultaneously, our country continues to deal with the consequences of the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The effects of overturning the 50-year-old precedent in Roe v. Wade have been profound and swift. And at the heart of this midterm season are a group of voters the media pays little attention to – religious voters. Instead, there seems to be a never-ending drumbeat of stories declaring the end of American religion. The story of faith in America is more complicated than any headline could ever capture. And despite declining rates of religious belief and church attendance, the U.S. remains statistically the most religious and perhaps Christian of any advanced democracy in the world. Even on January 6, 2021, when a group of insurgents stormed the United States Capitol and entered the Senate chamber, they stopped and bowed their heads in prayer to consecrate the building and their cause to Jesus. And it seems both parties depend on very devout members for their success – Republicans depend on predominantly white evangelical Christians, Democrats depend upon those who are not religious-unaffiliated or ‘Nones,” and nonwhite Democrats, especially Black Democrats, who are among the most churchgoing members of the American society. Furthermore, it is unclear if ‘Nones’’ shared distaste for the Religious Right is enough to mobilize this group as a voting bloc. Even if they are highly engaged politically, they are internally diverse in their orientations toward religion and politics. So even though the ‘Nones’ lean liberal, it is unlikely they will be nearly as unified in their partisan behavior as white evangelicals. Religion has become a key factor of division – not what faith one belongs to, but more so, how “religious” one tends to be in their faith– and the reality is regular evangelical churchgoers vote much more than non-churchgoers, at least among whites. Moreover, Trump’s most robust support continues to come from white evangelicals, where some are now embracing Christian Nationalism. And while abortion dominates as a leading issue this November in states like Kansas, where Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City publicly supported the passage of the Value Them Both abortion amendment, which would constitutionally outlaw abortion. Still, nearly 30 religious leaders were among the dozens of signatories who published a letter urging Kansans to vote “no” on the abortion amendment. But Kansas

Why Ministers Should Consider Jordan Peele’s “Nope”

Rev. Lauren Harris, Contributing Writer

Warning: Spoilers.

Jordan Peele’s latest movie, “Nope,” is a sharp criticism of people’s obsession with spectacles and their willingness to do anything, even risk their lives, to witness, create, or capture them. Peele also challenges viewers to think about the great lengths they would go to for money, fame, and notoriety. Peele even quotes Nahum 3:6 at the beginning to reinforce these themes and set the tone for the movie. The New Revised Standard Version says, “I will throw filth at you, treat you with contempt, and make you a spectacle.” Nahum belongs to the “oracles against the nations” (The New Interpreters Study Bible, 2003). In Nahum, God rebukes the Assyrian empire, specifically the capital city of Nineveh. The word spoken through the prophet Nahum is also a warning for Judah. They will receive the same punishment if they prostitute themselves by serving other gods. In the same way, Nahum is an indictment of Nineveh and the Assyrians, and “Nope” is an indictment of today’s culture. However, Peele’s criticisms can be applied to the modern-day American church. People have become obsessed with spectacles in the pulpit, and many ministers are doing the most to satisfy people’s lust. If this were not true, we wouldn’t see pastors rubbing spit in people’s eyes and ziplining into the sanctuary under the guise of illustrating sermon points. Instead, these pastors understand people want a spectacle, and like a proper seekersensitive church, they rise to the occasion. These pastors go viral, get people talking about them, and I’m sure their social media followings and memberships increase, but at what expense? What do we lose in the body of Christ when we are more passionate about creating spectacles than our integrity regarding God’s Word and serving God’s people? Jordan Peele suggests we can lose our very lives. The character Ricky Park never learns his lesson in “Nope” regarding spectacles and loses his life along with the others who come to bear witness to the alien he attempts to tame. The director, Antlers Holst, loses his life to the alien trying to get the perfect video, and the main characters, Otis, Jr. and Emerald, almost lose their lives trying to get “The Oprah Shot.” Peele wants us to realize lives are at stake when we participate in this toxic culture. When we don’t check ourselves as ministers, people’s lives are not only at stake but their souls. There are eternal consequences to what we do and say and how we do ministry. You remember what happened to Eli and his son. They lost their lives for allowing and creating a spectacle in God’s sanctuary (1 Samuel 2:27-36). Likewise, the sons of Sceva in Acts 19:11-20 saw the miracles Paul performed in the name of the Lord and tried to recreate them. Instead, they became a spectacle when the man with the evil spirit overpowered them and sent them fleeing for their lives. These are warnings, so we don’t turn the preaching moment or ministry into a spectacle. “Nope” also demonstrates that the quest for money and fame will ultimately consume you. It’s no coincidence that the alien eats its victims. If we are not careful, we will fall victim to the desire for spectacles and our vain pursuits. “Nope” is a call to examine ourselves. What is our goal for ministry and the preaching moment? Are we there to teach and preach the Word of God and edify God’s people, or are we in the pulpit to create a spectacle? Many, especially young people, are over the spectacles they see in churches. They are thirsty for God’s Word and authentic worship, relationships, and fellowship. Let us reject the temptation to create spectacles to attract people and lay aside every weight that prevents us from authentic ministry before we are consumed by our vain pursuits and lack of integrity, love, and selfawareness.

Rev. Lauren Harris (formerly Lauren Jones) is an itinerant elder serving in the 2nd Episcopal District in the Washington Annual Conference. She’s an award-winning writer with bylines in Sojourners, Parents magazine, Washington Family, and Modern Loss. Rev. Harris also writes content for the Glorify app. She works for the Baltimore-Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church in congregational development. She is a happily married mother of two.

Dobbs v. Jackson Ruling Draws the Ire of Black Clergywomen

Rev. Samuel Williams, Jr., Contributing Writer

What many Americans feared came to fruition when the conservative Supreme Court, heavily influenced by former President Donald Trump’s selections, ruled 5-4 on June 24, 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (JWHO) that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion. The Dobbs case reversed the Roe v. Wade decision even though the Roe v. Wade decision was based on the 14th Amendment. In 1973, a liberal Supreme Court voted 7-2, ruling that a woman is entitled to privacy in the matter of abortion and was not subject to federal or state laws. However, with the 2022 ruling, the Supreme Court turned the ability to rule on abortion back to the states. This reversal will affect women nationwide, but none will feel the impact as adversely as black women and black clergywomen are unhappy. The Rev. Constance Wheeler, who served formerly as a senior pastor at St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in Northwest Washington, District of Columbia (USA), called the reversal “bad for black women.” “In my opinion, the reversal is atrocious and full of government control and should not have been allowed,” Wheeler said. “Over the past years, women who faced pregnancy due to rape, incest, or an unwanted [pregnancy] had the option to make their own decision about abortion. Now 50 years later, women’s bodies are being controlled by the state.” The Rev. Danielle Hipkins, senior pastor of St. Luke AME Church in Ellicott City, Maryland, believes the reversal could lead to problems. “My response is simply: What’s next? Interracial marriage, voting rights, segregation, slavery! I serve a God [who] graciously gives us a choice and free will! How dare we take that away from others? Whether you agree with abortion or not: my body, my choice; your body, your choice!” Here is the real statistical issue. A disproportionately high percentage of abortions occur within the black community. According to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2019, the abortion rate was 23.8 per 1,000 black women compared with 6.6 per 1,000 white women. The data was reported by 29 states and Washington, District of Columbia. The data is more staggering in the south. In Tennessee, black women accounted for about half of the 8,727 abortions in 2019, according to state records analyzed by the Kaiser Family Foundation. That year, black women had two-thirds of the abortions in Alabama and Georgia. Charlene Howard, a Catholic lay leader and member of St. Teresa of Avila Parish in Washington, District of Columbia, also voiced disappointment. “First and foremost, all life is from God; therefore, human life in all its stages has dignity and value. This is a consistent ethic of life (womb to tomb). The Supreme Court’s decision has left me numb since it is one entangled in political agendas within our government and our religious denominations. This ruling highlights the delicate, personal, and intersectional ‘-isms’ of race, economics, gender, etc. that are now more complicated due to its issuance.” ❏ ❏ ❏

Statement of the Council of Bishops – African Methodist Episcopal Church

REGARDING FINDINGS OF THE OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NEW YORK

August 31, 2022

Last week, a report from the attorney general of the state of New York regarding its investigation of a real estate developer and specific real estate transactions involving five New York AME churches, and two senior AME clergypersons with oversight and supervisory authority over the five AME churches was made public. The Attorney General’s investigation revealed that there had been an improper and undisclosed financial relationship between two AME clergy persons and the developer. Three documents from the attorney general’s office, each entitled an “Assurance of Discontinuance,” detailed findings of fact regarding the conduct of the developer and two AME clergypersons. The developer and the two AME clergypersons named in the document signed the assurances agreeing that the findings contained within were factual. Pursuant to the assurances, the two AME clergypersons are required to make financial restitution of monetary payments they received from the developer and are prohibited from being employed in a fiduciary capacity or holding a position as an officer, director, trustee, or fiduciary with any not-for-profit or charitable organization in the state of New York.

As a result of the findings of the attorney general of New York and the signed agreement of the two AME clergypersons, the Council of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church expresses our disappointment and condemns the inappropriate practices of our colleague and the former presiding elder in the New York Conference, who currently pastors in the New Jersey Conference. The Council of Bishops believes that we are responsible for holding each other accountable and taking appropriate action to ensure that each of us follows the Book of Discipline and, more importantly, Christian values and standards. Meeting on Tuesday, August 30, 2022, the Council of Bishops made the following decisions effective immediately:

1. That Retired Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram shall not sit with the Council of Bishops, process, or participate in connectional meetings, worship, or other activities until the close of the 52nd Quadrennial Session of the

General Conference in 2024. Hearing the discussion and discerning the intent of the Council of Bishops, Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram agreed to withdraw from participation in all Connectional meetings, services, and activities of the Council of Bishops immediately.

2. The Council of Bishops reserves the option to modify its decisions if other violations are brought to our attention. 3. Any decisions regarding the former presiding elder of the Brooklyn-

Westchester District, currently pastoring in the New Jersey Conference (Rev. Melvin Wilson), should be made by the presiding bishop of the

First Episcopal District.

4. The five churches in the New York Conference affected by the inappropriate actions of the developer, former bishop, and former presiding elder be provided effective remedies due to their compliance with agreements made with the developer. The incumbent bishop of the First Episcopal

District shall keep the Council of Bishops informed of the progress of these remedial measures.

The Council of Bishops lifts and asks the Connectional church to join us in prayer, asking God to have mercy and be gracious unto us as we ask for forgiveness and repent, seeking earnestly to become the church God desires us to be.

Prayerfully Submitted,

Bishop Ronnie E. Brailsford, Sr., President, Council of Bishops Bishop Stafford J. N. Wicker, Secretary, Council of Bishops

“The Man (Person) in the Mirror”

“I’m starting with the man in the mirror. I’m asking him to change his ways. And, no message could’ve been any clearer, if you’re going to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make that change.” (written by Glen Ballard & Siedah Garrett)

2 Samuel 11:26-12:1-7 (NIV): “When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But, the thing David had done displeased the Lord…..The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, ‘There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, he had bought. He raised it and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. Now, a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the one who had come to him.’ David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb with four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.’ Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man.’”

Politically speaking, David is the all-powerful king, commander-in-chief of the armies of Israel. But, theologically speaking, David is “the second elected and consecrated king” of God’s people and, as such, he is so much more than just a product of “right-wing” or “left-wing” politics of his day. He was a shepherd, he is the “second elected and consecrated” king of Israel, who has been divinely anointed, appointed and assigned to be the shepherd and servant leader of God’s people… And, yet, David is “licking his lips,” “dapping up” his comrades and inner circle, smugly satisfied with the triumphant and unquestioned success of “the thing” he has done. First Samuel chapter 11 records and recounts a mountain of evidence about “the thing” which David has done. He has masterminded and manipulated the murder of Uriah (one of his most elite, most loyal soldiers, perhaps a body guard who has put himself in harm’s way to protect David’s life); he has committed malfeasance of office and abuse of his power and of his divinely appointed position; he has devised and orchestrated a “fool proof” cover-up that would have been envied by both Nixon and Trump to escape detection and discovery and exempt himself from scrutiny of his shameful, sinful shenanigans and skullduggeries. And, with his cleverly devised and executed cover-up, David has both “flipped his finger,” “thumbed his nose” at God and placed himself “above the law,” while he freely operated with impunity and with immunity in the king’s own “ethic-free zone,” where the king can do whatever he wants to do, totally devoid of any restrictions, constraints, or accountability, by virtue of his position and power. On the night when Will Smith was to receive an Oscar for Best Actor and slapped Chris Rock, Denzel Washington reportedly said to Will Smith, “At your highest moment, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you.” Just when David appeared to be at his highest moment, celebrating the success of his having flexed his power, “fetched” Bathsheba to be the head of his harem and the mother of his son, and is feasting his having to answer to nobody for his having committed and “gotten away” with “the perfect crime,” that’s when “God SENT Nathan to David.”

...From The “Man…” p16 to David on such a risky and perilous mission… to express to David, who has just murdered Uriah, that God is not pleased with “the thing David has done.” Knowing David’s power, position, propensity for murder, and his proclivity for prioritizing and protecting his “squeaky clean” “public image” above the loyalty, love, and life of a valued servant and soldier like Uriah, imagine what trepidation, terror and trauma most have come over Nathan?

The Word of God says, “God was displeased with the thing David had done.” David was a prolific psalmist, a master musician, and a “man after God’s own heart,” but, this time, David has gone too far, and “God was displeased with ‘the thing’ which David had done.”…and “God SENT Nathan to David.”…with a story of a man who is the exact mirror image of David and of “the thing which David has done” that has “displeased” God…a story with a man in a mirror in which David recognizes a man who has a striking resemblance to himself…and, when David pronounces judgment upon the man in the mirror, Nathan tells David, “You are the man.”…That man is you. As Nathan’s story unfolds to David in 2 Samuel chapters 11-12, it does not consist of 48 pages, as does some other heart-breaking revelations. But, it does amount to a mountain of indisputable evidence. And, both Nathan and David know too well that it would be fruitless, futile, and foolish to try to take that mountain of irrefutable evidence and turn it into a molehill of insignificance…and to treat something so nefarious as “the thing David had done,” as if it were nothing that had “displeased” God. David was so “displeased” that he explodes with anger when he sees the man in the mirror and pronounces deatheligibility and four-fold restitution, the severest of justice and judgment upon the man in the mirror for “the thing” which he has done.

When David recognizes that “the man (person) in the mirror” has a striking resemblance to himself, that’s when Nathan, ever so sensitive to why God SENT him to David in the first place, makes a subtle, delicate, but necessary shift in his GOD-SENT assignment away from God’s justice and judgment to God’s goodness and mercy and God’s amazing grace. God’s grace is not “cheap grace.” Making a molehill out of a mountain and treating something which has displeased God as if it were Nothing at all, is “Cheap Grace. And “Cheap Grace is not enough to provide David with internal self-control and selfdiscipline to filter his greed, restrain his lust (since there are no external restraints on the King). Cheap Grace is not enough to move David from abusing and flexing his power again. Cheap Grace is not enough to keep David from murdering (again) another loyal, elite servant like Uriah and fetching another Bathsheba. Cheap Grace is not enough to move David from a festival of feasting the apparent success of his unscrupulous schemes and Machiavellian abuses of his power and position for the satisfaction of greed and lust for power. The God of justice and judgment who is “displeased” with “the thing David has done” is also the God of mercy and “amazing grace”….He is one and the same. And, when David recognizes himself to be the man in the mirror, and confesses (“I have sinned”), and repents, then Nathan makes that delicate, subtle shift from zeroing in on God’s justice and judgment to zooming in on God’s mercy and grace, and fulfills the purpose for which God SENT Nathan to David (2 Samuel 12:7-8), and reminds us that God’s justice and judgment must always be balanced on a tightrope with God’s grace and mercy. I shall never forget the time, many, many years ago, when Bishop William Phillips DeVeaux, like Nathan, reminded me of God’s grace. At one of our Connectional meetings, I had been on the microphone, ranting, railing, and calling down God’s justice and judgment on some official about something or other. At a break in the meeting, Bishop DeVeaux gently pulled me aside and said to me, “Leodis, it’s good you have the courage of your convictions, and you’re concerned about justice and judgment. But you focus too much on judgment and not enough on grace. I hear your justice and judgment, but where is your grace? What about grace?” After many years, I am still very grateful to Bishop DeVeaux for being Nathan to me. Nathan, in verses 9-12, reminds David and us that God’s grace is not cheap grace. It is not until Nathan reminds David that God’s grace is not cheap grace that David, in verse 13, confesses “the thing” which he has done and repents of “the thing” which he has done: “Then David said to Nathan, ...continued on p22