Church policies and values that cause black seminarians to scorn their own culture or that fail to recognize black pastors as full partners in ministry can only produce churches in the favored mold rather than dignify other ways of thinking and doing church in the PCA.

I live and work in an urban community undergoing gentrification. I see hallmarks of my culture being erased or pushed aside. I see black institutions, including the church, grasping for relevance in a community that is “safer and cleaner” but that has little affinity for African-American culture.

Sure, there are new folks who love ethnic food or black theater productions, but in gentrifying communities nationwide, culturally specific programs, it seems, are becoming passé in the minds of “tolerant” and “open-minded” urbanites.

This post-racial (a society where racial differences have receded) sentiment values cultural homogeneity. Unconsciously, perhaps, it strives to assimilate minorities into dominant — predominantly white — culture. I’m a product of such assimilation. After teaching in the Central District of Seattle, a traditionally African-American neighborhood, my wife and I moved across the country to attend seminary.

There — just as in elementary school, high school, college and graduate school — I was one of just a few African-Americans. After four years of excellent instruction and spiritual formation, I graduated in May 2009, the only black student with a Master of Divinity who was pursing ordination in the PCA.

Gentrification Strikes

Once my wife and I arrived back in Seattle, we found the Central District had changed. Low-income families, mostly our black and Latino neighbors, had been priced out by gentrification. Blacks, once forced to live in the Central District because of restricted covenants in other Seattle neighborhoods, had been pushed out in the name of safer streets and affordable housing.

It’s no wonder that black and other ethnic institutions find themselves bitterly clinging to their cultures and jostling with one another for community impact. This includes historic inner-city churches that were once the hub of the community.

So what is a black PCA pastor to do if he hopes to minister among people of color in a rapidly changing community? My wife and I began working bi-vocationally and volunteering in organizations that served black or ethnic minorities still in the community. One responsibility I had was hosting community forums on race, class, and neighborhood issues.

Read More: http://byfaithonline.com/page/in-the-church/race-in-the-pca-preserving-cultures-while-showing-respect

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