Segregation in the Church: White’s Only Bible Studies

I couldn’t believe it.

You’re not going to invite my friends are you?

You’re not going to allow them in…

The pastor silently stared back at me with guilt in his eyes and replied, “What do you want me to say?”

It was almost as if all hope for a benevolent world had been instantaneously sucked out of me.

We eventually shook hands and parted ways. I walked back to my car, closed the door, and sat there in silent disbelief.

To fill in the blanks from the conversation above: I was invited to join a small group bible study in the morning with a group of [white] evangelicals and I ecstatically replied, “Yes! I’ll ask John if he wants to join too!” John is also a conservative leaning evangelical, the only difference is John is of a darker skin color than them. Which lead to the above…

Nothing can prepare you to hear the words, “We just don’t want ‘them‘ there…” coming from the mouth of an active local evangelical pastor here in Princeton. Hearing this completely destroyed my ability to buy into any benefit of the doubt that I once had for this small group of Christ-claiming evangelicals.

You see, to explicitly state that you will not invite someone into your bible study, and discussion of the life of Christ, because their skin color is “not light enough” is to refuse to acknowledge the humanity of those I call my friends and family.

I later posted on my personal (as opposed to public) Facebook page,

“Not too many things are more disturbing to me than “white only” evangelical groups meeting weekly to discuss Christ.”

Thinking that this would stir conversation and create awareness on the issue of present-day racism and mainly that “white-only” groups still existed. Though it stirred more than a conversation, I was almost immediately greeted with verbal attacks, later that day over hearing negative conversations about me being “too sensitive,” or “too harsh,” or just “not nice,” while others were mocking me behind my back as friends and I painfully listened in (Might I add, from people this post wasn’t even about, but if the shoe fits…).

It was as if I was the one in the wrong for unmasking a racist. I’ve come to learn that in the words of Jeneé Desmond-Harris:

Michael Brown’s death didn’t cause a divide between you and the people in your social networks. It simply revealed one.

But at the same time this is where it gets personal, this is where I refuse to stay quiet, this is why I feel emotions such as anger, frustration, hurt, depression, and hopelessness. Because “Not too many things are more disturbing to me than “white only” evangelical groups meeting weekly to discuss Christ!” That is, except for those within white only evangelical groups to then take verbal shots at me, as a failed attempt to threaten me out of possessing autonomy and the ability to act out my freedom found in my speech.

If one’s knee jerk reaction in this instance is to victimize yourself, resort to violence, or choose passive aggressive gossip, you are quite possibly sociopathic, absolutely delusional, and [mis]justifying your oppression because:

1. It’s unintentional, or
2. Because “the bible tells you so.” This truly is not some empty slam I’m just calling it as I see it.

There’s something psychotically wrong about threatening one’s autonomy because they disagree with a racist “white-only” group in which call themselves Christian. You can say that my Facebook post was “radical,” or “just plain mean”… but since when is it “radical” to not be racist?

Let me clarify this diluted American version of Christianity – Jesus and His followers did not embark on some evangelical crusade lead by Billy Graham and Joel Osteen to essentially create a “revolution of niceness.” Whether or not American Christianity wants to accept it, JESUS is not about making the world a “nicer” place He is about making the world a just place. He is about turning the world upside down and replacing it with His kingdom, providing equal rights and opportunity to all! He didn’t speak nicely to the religious elite, in the same way I don’t think he’d speak too nicely to the evangelical elite that won’t allow blacks in their Tuesday morning bible study.

I wonder if evangelicals, who won’t allow people of color into their bible study, realize that they are Westboro Baptist, just with slightly tighter jeans, and a little bit better PR. As Rachael from the infamous Social Justice blog says so well, “Our enemies are not only the people holding “Fags Die God Laughs” signs, they are the nice people who just feel like marriage should be between a man and a woman, OH! but no offense, it’s just how they feel!” In the same way, Evangelicals that run “white-only” bible studies, oppress the LGBT community, and won’t let women speak publicly, you’re the reason why people hate the church, and people are driven to atheism, i.e. Ricky Gervais’ quote.

So though this might not sound “nice,” what I’m saying is just, it’s good, and it is a normal response for anyone to be and feel angry, and hurt, and disgusted by purposeful segregation by an active pastor claiming the name of Jesus. This is coming from someone who’s heritage is evangelical Christianity, who’s family is white, and career is ministry within “white-christian-evangelicalism”. 

But right now, what is there left to say or do…

I can change coffee shops in which this small group of men meet weekly. I can pretend that this group of evangelical pastors are few and far apart. I can pretend that they don’t have hundreds of people sitting underneath their teaching…

In the end I’m honestly not sure, what to do, I just know that I need to some how regain hope.

My faith, is hanging on by a string, I believe in God. I believe in Jesus. I’m just not so sure what to do with privileged evangelicalism, i.e. my heritage.