God Bless the Child...

It was the irrepressible Billie Holiday who sang, "Papa may have...Momma may have...but God bless the child who's got his own." The more I reflect upon and engage with the broader Reformed community, I am becoming more and more inclined to believe that the growing African-American Reformed community may have to consider whether or not it would be more advantageous and beneficial to our calling and cause to have our own. At current, we are a culture within a culture. The predominantly white reformed culture, while welcoming to our public embracing and articulation of Reformed thought, demonstrates a reticence to speak on the nature of this embrace. This is because of old presuppositions and stereotypes. This has lead to an unwelcomeness of us as equals at the table. I don't say this as an indictment, only as a matter of conscience. It is not coincidental that the Reformed community is not more diverse than it is. It is not coincidental that the major voices in Reformed thought all look and sound the same. It is not coincidental that the majority of African-American reformed voices are more likely to address socio-economic issues rather than theological or ecclesiastical issues. It is not coincidently that African-American Reformed voices are more likely to be heard and quoted by the majority Reformed community when speaking on socio-economic issues than on biblical-theological ones. All of these and other situations were fostered and are perpetuated by a community that is very slow, and at times even hostile, to change or the admission of wrong. To this I say "Fine." I don't embrace Reformed thought because of who embraces Reformed thought, though I am not ignorant of the brilliant minds who have gone before me and have so eloquently set forth Reformed truth. Nevertheless, I embrace Reformed thought because I am convinced that it is the thought expressed in the pages of God's infallible Word. And yet I am not so myopic in my approach to theology and Christianity as to believe that my theology and beliefs have not cultural baggage attached ( unfortunately, many in the majority culture either consciously or subconsciously operate as if they don't). Having experiences that define who we are in the world that God has created is not a bad thing. Denying these experiences or not recognizing that these experiences pull us to extremes if not continually being informed by the Word of God is a bad thing. Therefore, I am inclined to suggest to my African-American brothers and sisters who embrace Reformed Theology that rather than being nudged or pushed into denying who we are, or being pulled into the extreme of over-emphasizing who we are, God's blessing to us and our subsequent contributions to the broader Reformed Community may come in our deciding to have our own.