Rev. Barbara Reynolds: Preachers Would Leave Us at the Back of the Bus

There was a time when Black preachers could be counted on to confront the ruling pharaohs of their day when the powerless were receiving a raw deal. But if Black folks had to depend upon today’s clergy for leadership, they would still be confined to the back of the bus. At a time when black America is in murky, troubled waters, too many of the Black clergy, especially those heading mega-churches, are either apolitical or apologists for the status quo. The Rev. Clarence James, a social critic and author of the “Lost Generation? Or Left Generation,” says the trouble with today’s clergy is there are too many priests and not enough prophets. “The priests are the servants of the privileged, criticizing little crimes at the bottom while ignoring those at the top. The prophets remind the rulers they are not exempt from the laws of God, but the priests are blinded by wealth and power.”  Recently a small group of conservative preachers (the priests) have been hotfooting it over to the White House. But these are not the kind to trouble the water. With no agenda that encapsulates the needs of Black America, they are in danger of being perceived as sell-outs. One group is the newly established High-Impact Leadership Coalition, formed by Maryland pastor Bishop Harry Jackson. It has unveiled the Black Contract with America on Moral Values to gain more clout within the Republican Party. Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr, senior pastor of the 25,000-member West Angeles Church of God in Christ and the Rev. Fred Price, pastor of the Crenshaw Christian Center are among the West Coast leaders of the movement, according to the Christian Examiner. Even the Right wing, anti-Black Heritage Foundation is organizing a group of Blacks to focus African-Americans on moral issues. Jackson says the new movement supporting President Bush would return the Black church to its once-prominent place. That, of course, sounds reasonable only to Blacks suffering from amnesia. [more]