Pastor Anthony S. Davis believes it’s time for the church to become real and relevant so black men can realize that Jesus is not a hustle.
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Why don’t brothers go to church? This is a question that I often meditate on. And here are some of my reflections:
Black men go through life as probably the most saddened and disappointed group of men on the face of the planet. They are disappointed because as a group they grow up without a father in the home on a level that is disproportionate to the rest of society, leaving them with no pattern to model after in the pursuit of manhood. In addition to that they are more likely to grow up in poverty that is abject in its nature, more likely to attend poor neighborhood public school’s and are more likely to be targeted by the police in a deceitful war on drugs.
The war on drugs is deceitful in the sense that Black males use and sell drugs at the same rate as White and Hispanic males, but are six times likely than either group to see jail time. Once in jail they are labeled as felons with little to no rights when they go back into mainstream society. They cannot vote, cannot live in public housing, cannot apply for a number of jobs and in many instances cannot get public assistance. The only recourse these men have (at least in their mind) is a life of crime. The prison population has swelled as a result to 2.3 million people (the largest in the world), with well over 40% of that population being black (and many more under correctional control). This is primarily due to this so-called war on drugs, which started as an initiative by President Richard Nixon, then acted on in a legislative sense by President Ronald Reagan and finally executed in policy by President Bill Clinton. So we see a new type of “Jim Crow” developing since the Civil Right’s movement, with the center of its philosophy the disenfranchisement and destruction of the black male.
From a historical point of view, once integration (perhaps the error of the Civil Rights Movement) took place, gone were black businesses, black schools, black lawyers, doctors, dentists, teachers, etc., as well as the concept of the professional black male role model for the community. Black selfless Civil Rights leaders such as Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were murdered. As a result angry militant, and youthfully inexperienced black men formed gangs to retaliate against mainstream society with its norms. This helped in creating the perfect atmosphere for the government to deposit guns and drugs (i.e. crack in the ’80’s) in the community. Add a feigned war on drugs, hip hop culture’s glorification of street life and voila…a disenfranchised group of angry and uneducated men that society has turned it’s back on.
At one time the church was a place for leadership and direction for the community, but as soon as church became a lucrative venture (i.e. the prosperity gospel), it became very hard to differentiate the hustlers on the street from the hustlers behind the pulpit. Black leadership from the church has in many instances abandoned the community for money. This has left black men cynical and distrusting of church, education and so-called community leaders. Hustlers specialize in being able to see another hustler from miles away. As fashionable as many preachers think they are, at the end of the day they come off as pulpit pimps, drawing the ire of black men.
Black men want truth, they want to belong to something they can believe in, something they can call family (which is why they are more apt to join gangs). They are tired of wandering in the state of disenfranchisement. It’s time for the church to become real and relevant and meet brothers where they are. It’s time for pastors to live up to the calling and selflessly help carry these brothers to meet their destiny. I want to be the type of pastor to start the trend and save these brothers and convince them that this Jesus thing is real and not a hustle. Who’s with me?
Photo: Flickr/Michael D. Beckwith
Originally appeared at Anthony Davis Ministries.com
“I am an atheist (formerly a Christian for 34 years). I hope that you can help those brothers that look for your help. I’ll catch the ones who slip through the cracks,”
Just looking for answers in regard to black male success and how I can contribute to it. As a Christian man what can I do to help. Be blessed.
I think this is GREAT news actually. Hopefully Black women will catch up and JOIN us. Black folk clinging to the instruments used to keep us pacified as SLAVES is NOT a good thing. We can be greater than what we are if our women would stop chasing the ultimate Mr. Charlie in the sky. How is a Black man ever going to be truly respected by a woman who wants her ‘husband’ to be Jesus? It’s sick when you step back and look at it 🙁
Out of curiosity, what role do you see that parent(s) are or are not taking that have given way to some of these problems? I’m intrigued by your article in that as a man who is now in his very late 50’s, have seen the male population in churches decline. The I see the Brooklyn Tabernacle work tirelessly to help the less fortunate and bring them back to God and turn their lives around. You also have to perhaps put aside all the societal issues that you mentioned and take a look at a society that in general is moving… Read more »