I M A G O D E I
Special Six-Week Series:
Black Ministry Leaders in a White-Dominated Church World
by, Chuck Allen, Ministry Leader for 20+ Years
A Note from Jarrett Meek about the Author
Chuck Allen was one of the first names I heard when I moved to Wyandotte County to start Mission Adelante. “Have you met Chuck Allen yet?” “You’ve got to meet Chuck Allen!” Since then, our ministries have intersected many times and we’ve become friends and brothers. The Lord’s impact on our community through Chuck has been deep and significant. Reading the painful experiences he expresses in this article is both sad and disturbing. Unfortunately, Chuck is not the only minority ministry leader in Kansas City who has expressed these kinds of painful experiences to me. We have more work to do than we have even begun to understand.
Black Ministry Leaders in a White-Dominated Church World
Over the past several years, I have come to understand my position as a Black leader in a White-dominated Christian world as all but empowering. For too long, I lived in a space where many of my Christian brothers and sisters expected my compliance through my words and my actions in return for their money and resources.
I was born and raised in Wyandotte County Kansas (Kansas City) and when I left to attend Kansas State University, I said that I would never go back to what my young eyes saw as a broken, barren, and blighted community. Thirteen years after leaving, I returned with my wife and our four children to begin a ministry that would serve students and families of our community.
Wyandotte County is rich in diversity, creativity, intellect, and perseverance, but our people are poor financially. As a result, urban ministry leaders like myself go to great lengths to raise financial support, often at the expense of their own dignity.
The Parrot and The Mascot
Not long ago, a leader of a suburban church that supported our urban ministry voiced his disapproval towards posts I had made on social media. He ended his remarks with a threat “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” This was a warning that he and his church might stop supporting our ministry if I continued to speak and post on topics that made readers uncomfortable, i.e. posts that discussed racial injustices in America as well as within the Christian Church.
This was one of many experiences that solidified my conclusion that many, not all, White Christian leaders are only willing to give money to urban ministries if the leader exists as a parrot.
Most people are enamored by parrots, who are taught by their owners to mimic clever words and phrases. The owner will often take the bird out of its cage so his friends can get a closer look and hear more clearly the words its owner has taught it to say. This pattern of learning and memorization is impressive. As the parrot continues to impress, others might swoop in, teaching the bird new phrases, essentially tarnishing the special control between the owner and the bird. The bird’s voice, which no longer only repeats the owners, becomes a dangerous entity to the master, especially if the parrot begins to chirp nonsense from its beak. This seemingly obedient bird is only good when it repeats the master, and becomes embarrassing, shameful, and annoying when it speaks flaws or blurts out disparaging phrases that expose the owner. When this happens, the owner reprimands his parrot and then re-teaches him the ‘proper’ things to say. If the bird doesn’t change, he merely gets a new parrot, for there are many more to train at the pet store.
During my time as a ministry leader in a white-dominated church world, I have been reprimanded for being an outspoken, embarrassing parrot. Often, God’s resources were held hostage and the ransom was my compliance. But now, this once-caged bird sings a different song.
The Mascot
Different than the parrot who is either praised or reprimanded for what he says, a mascot is valued for his appearance and how he performs but is expected to remain silent. Playing the role of a mascot is particularly disempowering.
Some Black ministry leaders like myself have been nothing more than a mascot for some White ministries and their leaders. The role of a mascot is to be seen and not heard. Our picturesque presence and perky performance often deceive parishioners into believing their all White church is inclusive, welcoming, and most importantly, post-racial, when in fact our presence is merely a veil that covers the ugly truth that racism is still prevalent in White church culture.
When Blacks and/or other People of Color are used to increase a church’s social standing and/or soothe the consciousness of their practitioners it is both condescending and egregious. We are not parrots. We are not mascots.
Being a Black ministry leader in a White-dominated Church world is both tiring and frustrating. It shouldn’t be this way. Here are some things that you can do to change this.
Go beyond conversations about changing yourself and your church environment. Conversations should be joined with academic readings that expose our nation’s wretched treatment of People of Color. Academic readings should be joined with actions, i.e. participating in anti-racist events and financially supporting organizations that fight for change and justice within and outside of the church. Conversations without change communicate a lack of care to minority brothers and sisters.
If your only Black “friends” are urban ministry leaders, you may think you’re “woke” when in fact you are sleep-walking. Having lunch with a few Black folks once a month is not enough. If you really want to understand, make time to humbly and vulnerably enter into the pain that African Americans and many other racial minorities have and continue to endure.
Always give without expecting anything in return. This includes your time, money, energy, and resources.
Chuck Allen has been married for more than 26 years. He and his wife Tricia have four adult children and two grandchildren. He has served in urban ministry for more than 20 years.
Over the next six weeks, we will dedicate our Adelante Express to exploring themes related to the concept of the Imago Dei and racial justice. We invite you to follow this series and explore what it means to love our neighbor and see the image of God in them.