Sunday evening, I was discussing with my family the current state of Black churches. As I was telling my uncle how my heart was breaking for those who are subjected to what seems to be constant attempts to manipulate and control, my uncle simply said “Well, you know there are casualties of spiritual warfare too. We just don’t talk about them.”
Wait….what???
There are casualties of spiritual warfare?!
I listened intently as my uncle talked about how, in war, there are always casualties; it’s inescapable. A soldier who enlists in the army knows there is a possibility military personnel will knock on the door of a loved one to inform them of their death. Knowing this, they take the oath to serve anyway. Saints in the church of old would sing confidently “I’m on the battlefield for my Lord. Yes, I’m on the battlefield for my Lord. And I promised Him that I would serve Him until I die. I’m on the battlefield for my Lord!” Though they sang with such conviction of their commitment to the faith and the commander of the army, even they didn’t dream their death could possibly be at the hands of the organism created to sustain them: The Church.
But that’s what’s happening.
Today’s church, though still an esteemed institution, is just a shell of what it used to be. Scholar W.E.B. Du Bois asserted that while the Black Church was the center of African-American life, the church had six major functions. They were 1) the raising of the annual budget, 2) the maintenance of membership, 3) social intercourse and amusements, 4) the setting of moral standards, 5) promotion of general intelligence and 6) efforts for social betterment. Though each function is necessary to the progression of the church and African-American community, the last function Du Bois identified is of importance to this discussion. The task of Black congregations was to provide the type of assistance that enabled its members, and those in the community, to successfully thrive in society. Paramount needs in the African-American community were education and mentoring, substance abuse and health prevention, job training and employment assistance. Those needs remain the same today. Because its mission is as social as it is spiritual, combating these issues in its community is the battle Black Churches must be prepared to fight. Through this, they engage in spiritual warfare.
But what is spiritual warfare?
Almost every Christian can recite Ephesians 6:10-12: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand again the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” We use it to explain the concept of spiritual warfare, which is a demonic attempt to prevent God’s will from being manifested in the earth. Pastors preach this text. Emails circulate daily with instructions on how the enemy is defeated and how God’s children reign victorious. Yet, has anyone asked the Church exactly what they’re fighting? It’s easy for the Church to say it’s fighting Satan but fighting him in what? When the Black Church tackles the issues plaguing the community in which it’s housed, it is engaging in spiritual warfare. But do we see it that way? As a Sociologist, I understand structural inequality. I understand how capitalism is constructed to systematically oppress. In the natural realm, institutionalized racism is credited for disparities in economics, education, employment, health and housing. However, in the realm of the spirit, I know that because structural inequality and institutionalized racism are evil, they are controlled by forces that completely contradict the force that established the Church. For that reason alone, it has to fight it. But is it winning?
All roads lead to that answer being No. When examining data from The National Congregations Study and The Institute of Church Administration and Management, less than 60% of Black Churches have ministries addressing the target areas critical to the growth of the African American community. This does not negate the great strides many churches are making in the area of community development but national statistics speak for themselves. With an unemployment rate of 15.4%, high school graduation rates vacillating between 50 and 60% and African-Americans dying at faster rates due to a significant number of health disparities, it would seem as if the Church’s arms have become tired.
On any given Sunday, it is impossible not to hear someone sing or say “The battle is not ours; it is the Lord’s.” While that is true, it is still necessary that we suit up and prepare for the fight. The African-American community cannot afford to be defenseless against the demonic forces of structural inequality and institutionalized racism and the Black Church can’t bear the cost of not being a defender. As the Black Church could not separate its social ideology from its spiritual convictions during the Civil Rights Movement, so it must be today. There’s a war going on and we can’t keep killing our civilians when we’re supposed to be protecting them.
©CMB, 2010 (08.04)
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