A statement about my understanding of my vocation, calling, and purpose in the church and academy.....

The election of Donald J. Trump to the American presidency poses a great threat to the ever increasing diversity of our nation. The post-Obama/pre-Trump America is a racially, sexually, and politically divided America that endorses authoritarian nativism, xenophobia and white supremacy. Consequently, with a right-wing congress and the possible addition of three conservative Supreme Court Justices, America’s only hope for a just and civil society rests in the hands of the learned religious, moral, and ethical leaders of our nation. If America is to truly be a great and unified nation, then she must be willing to participate in multi-cultural, multi-racial, multi-ethnic, non-gender exclusive, and sexually inclusive dialogues on culture and otherness. In order for justice and equality to remain synonymous with American ideals, these dialogues will need the morally and ethically trained leaders of our nation to establish a new theology of Christian praxis and a new pedagogy for communal harmony. This new praxis and pedagogy will require the theological and religious branches of the American academy to re-establish a connection with the church and the world that embraces the ever increasing diversification of our country and world. If theological schools wish to remain relevant in the upcoming four-year pursuit to heal a racially, religiously, and culturally divided country, they will need to be broadly inclusive of racial/ethnic constituencies and strategically organize their institutional efforts to subvert white male dominance in the American academy. As a pastor/scholar, I perceive the development and implementation of this new praxis and pedagogy as my life-long calling and vocation.

My Commitments and aspirations as a theological educator

As a thirty-one-year-old African American academician and pastor living in America, I have dedicated my life to the destabilization of white supremacy and heteronormativity in the American academy and the Christian church at-large. In the academy, my blackness, queerness, and indebtedness to the prophetic writings of Martin King, W.E.B. DuBois, Michel Foucault, and Walter Rauschenbusch compel me to not only endeavor to contribute to the fields of practical theology and ecclesiology; but in a sense, I feel called to move beyond the existing research to essentially queer the very frameworks of dominant white ecclesiology and Christian theology itself. I find myself, much like DuBois, wrestling with a double consciousness. [1] On the one hand, I am an ivy-league educated but on the other hand I am a black male whose mere presence is a threat to the white American majority. In The Souls of Black Folks, DuBois writes, “One ever feels his twoness ... two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings, two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.”[2] Despite the complexity of this tormenting duality, I have an unquenchable thirst to remain in the academy thereby forcing it to make room for the cultural narratives of “the other”.

I feel called as a religious educator to employ my cultural awareness, the human experiences of others, and scholarship in the class room in order to fashion cerebral spaces of communal and formal religious learning. As a black religious educator, I seek to use my scholarship and lectures to subvert the non-essential white hegemonic categories of masculinity and femininity by rethinking what it means to be a whole person in a global community. By calling into question the hegemonic structures of Christian institutions, American institutions, and the oppressive systems within the academy itself, I aim to generate new theological dialogues, ideas, and frames of reference constructed with passion and imprudence. With this new praxis and pedagogy, I will attempt to unearth the learning needs and the cultural hindrances of seminary students from diverse backgrounds which often prohibits them from actually learning and growing. 

How my Core Commitments Relate to the Community(ies) beyond the Academy

All of the seven major historic black denominations have refused to affirm the presence of “out” LGBTQ persons of color, whether silently or publicly.[3] Consequently, many LGBTQ persons of color, writes Darnell Moore, “end up dispossessed because of others' refusal to accept them ‘as they are’ within their communities.”[4] In contrast to what is perceived as a lack of radical hospitality within black churches, there are a few historically black churches that unashamedly provide unprejudiced pastoral care, hospitable spiritual formation, and radically affirmative ecclesiological settings for LGBTQ persons of color.[5] To date no ecclesiological or practical theological research has been conducted on the practices of radical hospitality that are being displayed by these open and affirming black congregations across the country. Within my dissertation I will examine the ways these historically black churches have queered their ecclesial contexts despite the gruesome history of homophobia within the black community.

Why should and would this research matter? In her book, Sexuality and the Black Church, Kelly Brown Douglas argues that the silence of the black church on the topic of sexuality is due, in part, to its conscious and unconscious desire to maintain White hegemonic, racist, sexist, classist, and heterosexist structures.[6] She argues that the most critical discourse that is needed in the black community is a sexual discourse of resistance to help Black Christians to recognize how the White exploitation of Black sexuality has corrupted Black people, corrupted the Black church, and tainted our Black liberationist understanding of God. For this reason, I argue that an ecclesiological investigation of how these three churches have amplified the unheard voices of their LGBTQ congregants matters because it could significantly change how African American churches understand human nature, church missions, Christian practice, and ecclesiology.

Contributions I have/hope to Make Beyond the Academy as Theological Educator

While I am sure the findings of this research will contribute to the fields of black church studies, ecclesiology, and practical theology, my goal as a theological educator will also be to preserve the history, protect the dignity, address the needs, examine the obstacles, foster understanding, reflect on the experiences, humanize the narratives, and analyze the ecclesiological elements of these particular congregations in order to develop a practical form of black ecclesial queering for black churches. Essentially my research will aid black churches in reaching out to the LGBT communities. I hope to make overtures toward a queered black ecclesiology that will intentionally bring attention to the ignored suffering and unheard narratives of LGBTQ Christians of color.

MY PHILOSOPHICAL UNDERSTANDING OF MY OVERALL PASTORAL DUTIES

The office of Senior Pastor, which I presently occupy, is a position that is ordained by God. I  have been called to serve as the chief overseer and teacher of Myrtle Baptist Church. I provide holistic direction and training for the people of God. As a pastor my preaching and teaching ministry is scripturally based. As an active student of the Bible and teacher of the word, my actions should always encourage parishioners to study, learn and understand the Bible and to apply God’s teachings in their daily lives.

As Myrtle’s Pastor, I also unify the local Church’s collective activities around goals and efforts that support members individually and collectively who are growing in Myrtle’s Christ-centered environment. I am responsible for teaching the church to be good stewards over our physical and monetary blessings. I am also responsible for establishing an even balance between guiding the church and letting the spirit lead our works through fellowship and worship. I am also called by God to develop strategic plans to effectively manage resources and activities while not being inhibited or controlled by an inflexible structure. Serving as an ambassador for Myrtle, I am also responsible for engaging in meaningful dialogue with community groups and public officials in order to promote an agenda of Social Justice. As the church’s official visionary, it is my responsibility to nurture and support all of our ecclesial endeavors and guide parishioners in developing a closer relationship with God. It is also my responsibility to develop and lead the various ministries including pulpit staff, deacons, trustees, music department and all other church initiatives in acts of worship and spiritual development.

[1] The word ‘queer’ Through the interpretive frameworks of queer theorist like Michel Foucault and Judith Butler, the process of queering encourages humans to rethink the categorizations of normativity and non-normativity.

[2] W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, 1903 (New York: Penguin Books, 1993) 170.

[3] According to C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya, the seven major black denominations are: The Church of God in Christ, The Progressive National Baptist Convention, The National Baptist Convention of America Unincorporated, The National Baptist Convention, USA Incorporated, The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

[4] Darnell Moore, “Tongues United: Black, Gay and Sanctified,” The Blog: Gay Voices, The Huffington Post, November 19, 2012, accessed November 17, 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/darnell-l-moore/tongues-untied-black-gay-and-sanctified_b_2140666.html.

[5] Horace Griffin, Their Own Received Them Not (Cleveland, Ohio: The Pilgrim Press, 2006), 185-207.

[6] Kelly Brown Douglas, Sexuality and the Black Church: A Womanist Perspective. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1999, p. 20-25.