wfn.org | Disciples struggle with diversity in church

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leadership
Date: December 2, 1997
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: Clifford L. Willis
E-mail: CWillis@oc.disciples.org
on the web: http//www.disciples.org

97b-64

     INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- Four months after the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) opened its
most prayerful and intentional discussion on
racism to date, race was at least one factor in
the rejection of an African American candidate as
regional minister of Georgia.  

     Had he been called, the Rev. William H.
Edwards would have been Georgia's first African
American regional executive. He also would have
been only the second African American regional
minister called in any of the denomination's 36
regions.   Edwards is currently executive pastor
at Memphis' Mississippi Boulevard Christian
Church.

     At the 1997 General Assembly, Disciples
General Minister and President Richard L. Hamm
drew attention to the fact that no person of color
presently is serving as a regional minister. 
"Unfortunately, that's still the case," he said,
in reaction to news about Edwards. 

     At the same Denver assembly, the church
launched a "process of discernment" on racism. 
The long-term process uses a variety of spiritual
and discussion disciplines to try to hear God's
will on a topic.  

     Hamm was in Chicago for a meeting of the
steering committee for the racism discussion when
he learned of the decision in Georgia. For him,
the action reinforces the importance of the
discernment process in helping the whole church
grapple with the issue of racism.

     Edwards failed to receive the two-thirds vote
necessary from the regional board to forward his
name to the assembly, meeting Nov. 14-15, said
Georgia Regional Minister David L. Alexander. The
Georgia constitution requires a two-thirds
majority vote to forward a nominee's name to the
assembly. The individual must also receive a
two-thirds vote from the assembly to receive a
call.  

     For Alexander, however, race was but one of
several factors in the board's decision. The
decision really was not based solely on color or
racism, he said. There were some theological
issues and "many other factors involved." 

     Edwards received four of seven search
committee votes during that group's deliberations,
according to the Rev. Byron H. Wells, Marietta,
Ga., chairperson. Two persons who previously voted
for other candidates later supported the
recommendation to forward Edwards' name to the
regional board.

     Edwards' nomination then was defeated over
alleged concerns about theology, spirituality,
lack of pastoral experience and -- race. "Much as
we hate to admit it, this is still the South and
we have a long way to go in the area of race,"
said Moderator Elizabeth Hamm, Atlanta. 

     Opponents also reportedly cited concerns that
some congregations would drastically reduce their
support of Basic Mission Finance, or consider
withdrawing from the region because of Edwards'
election. 

     Alexander offered that "there were  . . . 
persons on the search committee who wanted to
believe that the whole region would be able to
accept this big change." Nevertheless, Alexander
mused that some board members may have believed
other Georgia Disciples were not ready for a young
African American to serve as regional minister.

     "Where is the region ready for this?" he
asked. "There was an African American on staff
years and years ago, but not in the last 20
years." For Alexander, "the fact that we got that
close says something" about the region's openness
to consider an African American candidate.

     "It would have been great to be on the
cutting edge but that didn't happen," said
Elizabeth Hamm. She called it a "crying shame that
the color of someone's skin has to be a ruling
factor. At least we had the guts to make that step
forward . . . we're learning from it."  

     Alexander recalled that his own election as
Georgia regional minister occurred after a
somewhat similar experience in which race was not
a factor.  

     In this case, too, a new search committee
will be appointed to conduct another search. An
initial task, however, will be identifying an
interim regional minister as soon as possible.
Alexander retires December 31.

     "It's a sad state of affairs," said Hamm, the
regional moderator. "This is something . . . which
needs to be addressed." Nevertheless, she sees the
experience as an opportunity for Georgia Disciples
to tackle the issue head on. That's also a hope
Edwards shares.

     "The Georgia region has a tremendous
opportunity to move light years ahead of the rest
of the church in the area of race," he said. "The
question now is,  What does this mean?'" And 
" What do we do about it?'" 

     "All I want is for the church to honestly
deal with it (the race issue) and move on,"
Edwards said. It would "be a tragedy" if the
region is unable to struggle with members' various
concerns about race, he added. Nevertheless, the
former Homeland Ministries executive feels Georgia
is "in a scary but exciting place  . . . if they
will respond openly and honestly instead of out of
defensiveness."

 
                    - more -add 2-2-2/diversity
Disciples News Service 
97b-64

     That's also a sentiment shared by Wells, the
search committee chairperson. "We recommended the
candidate we felt called by God to this position
(regional minister). I hope this causes a frank,
open and honest discussion about racism" in the
church, said the pastor of Chestnut Ridge
Christian Church, Marietta, Ga.

     With pastoral leadership by General Minister
and President Richard L. Hamm and retiring
Regional Minister David L. Alexander, Edwards
foresees the region struggling to develop a
meaningful response to this experience. The
question to the whole church then will be, "What
are you going to do about it?"  

     What the region and the church can do is
engage in open and honest dialogue, according to
Edwards.  "How can we be intentional in our
acceptance of leadership from another
perspective?" he asked. 

     "There needs to be a real intentional
process," according to Edwards, for wrestling with
the issue of race in the life of the church. 

                     - 30 -

DISCNEWS - inbox for Disciples News Service, Office of Communication, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), PO Box 1986 Indianapolis, IN 46206, tele. (317) 635-3100, (DISCNEWS@ecunet.org) Wilma Shuffitt, News and Information Assistant; (CWILLIS@oc.disciples.org) Cliff Willis, Director of News and Information; (CMILLER@oc.disciples.org) Executive Director