GEOPOLÍTICAS INDÍGENAS

African American pastors who serve congregations with different race compositions are uncommon and their narratives are critical for establishing a course for intervening against the present social order and towards a more just social race frame in the United Methodist Church and in American society. Through their personal narratives, African American Pastors Rev. Barrett and Rev. Douglas offer important insights as they convey their affective responses about serving congregation with majority White constituencies. In their

narratives, they offer observations about the social order of their present context. They provide perspective about being in exile in race settings that are not only different that theirs, but which have been historically hostile to their own race social frame.

Rev. Barrett’s and Rev. Douglas’s asymmetric power relations (Casey, 1993) contribute to ambiguity in their contexts. In their role as pastor, they have a measure of implied power. However, their ex-officio power as pastor is in tension with their deficit of power related to their race. About serving in a primarily White denominational context, African American pastor Rev. Barrett observed, “There are so many areas, if you sat on the [Board of an agency of the Western North Carolina Conference], you’d see it all the time. If you’re in these committees, you see it. It’s there. But we fight our way through it” (personal interview, 2013, August 7). About the salary disparity between pastors of Black congregations and pastors of White congregations in the Western North Carolina Conference, Rev. Barrett protested, “I don’t think it’s fair that this pastor should make this and that pastor doing the same job should make less” (personal interview, 2013, August 7). More locally, Rev. Barrett described her reception into the congregation where she serves as pastor. Rev. Barrett anticipated a hostile exchange. She was surprised by the way in which she was received by the congregation. She remembered, “The Lord’s already prepared me for

something different and I’m ready to go. Or, so, I thought. When I got there, the people were warm and loving” . . . “And they just received me so openly”

(personal interview, 2013, August 7). Later she discovered that, while on the surface, the reception was cordial, all congregants did not share the same

sentiments. One congregant carried a disdain towards Rev. Barrett that she did not discover until that person’s funeral. Rev. Barrett recalled, “I never was made

aware that there was a real issue. You always know some undertones and some things that are going on. But I never heard any outward statements” (personal interview, 2013, August 7). Overall, though, Rev. Barrett’s reception into the local congregation was amicable.

While it was not hostile, Rev. Douglas’s reception into the congregation where he serves as pastor was not quite as amicable. Rev. Douglas mentioned, “I’m still breaking down some and building on some relationships where people are just hesitant about the fact that they’ve got an African American pastor at this church” (personal interview, 2013, July 25). Further, Rev. Douglas recalled:

There’s one man at [the church] that I know right now in this church that said, some years ago that “there’ll never be a woman or an African American in the pulpit of this church.” He’s had to live with both and he’s here every Sunday. That’s why I say, “you have to be flexible,” because you’re gonna hit some of that stuff face to face. You have to be able to stand and present the Gospel. Not argue with somebody. But present the Gospel . . . Now, didn’t win everybody over. Didn’t expect to. Don’t

expect to do that in any church. (personal interview, 2013, July 25)

Rev. Douglas encountered blatant bigotry, but continued in his task as pastor. The person demonstrating bigotry had to adjust his perspective as he was confronted by the presence of an African American in the pulpit every Sunday. Rev. Douglas revealed how this phenomenon occurs at a denominational level. Rev. Douglas noted, “Churches are asked if you are willing to accept a pastor of another ethnicity, are you ready to accept a cross-cultural appointment? And many of them, according to the Bishop, are saying they do not want it” (personal interview, 2013, July 25). That churches are asked if they will accept a pastor of

a different race identity is troubling. The query empowers local churches to dictate their level of engagement with persons who have different race identities than the majority constituency of the congregation. Rev. Douglas observed a general resistance against African American pastors among White

congregations. Whether explicit or implicit, Rev. Barrett and Rev. Douglas anticipated resistance and received a measure of resistance as they entered the White church context as the pastor. Yet, both pastors courageously continued to serve as pastor, even in hostile settings.

The pastors anticipated resistance from the White congregants at the churches where they were appointed. They also received destructive feedback from their African American colleagues as they assumed their appointments across race boundaries. Rev. Barrett lamented, “Honestly, I think that when the word got out that I was being sent to [the present church appointment], I thought, I think my colleagues said, ‘Why her?’ I didn’t have nothing to do with it. I didn’t ask for it” (personal interview, 2013, August 7). Rev. Douglas added:

I’ve heard comments from some of my colleagues that they have forgotten who they are. Some have said about people that, “they just trying to climb a ladder in the church.” Negative things. Not looking at the fact that, you know, that this is God’s church and we are to minister to whomever. (Personal interview, 2013, July 25)

Unfortunately, in exile, the African American pastors serving White congregations were not fully accepted in their new social context. Social schizophrenia is

forget who they are. At the same time, they were no longer fuller accepted in their own social context. Again, both pastors continued to serve courageously.

As they continued to serve courageously, they have attempted to

transgress race boundaries with grace and dignity for all involved. Rev. Douglas recalls bringing the predominantly White congregation together with a

predominantly Black congregation for a special worship service. While sharing physical space, Black congregants and White congregants segregated

themselves from one another with a church aisle as the dividing line. Rev. Douglas responded:

Before the service started, I said, “No, we’ve gotta stir this up. We’re not sitting on . . . “ And I said it this way, “. . . Black on one side, White on the other. We’re not gonna sit like that. We’ve gotta stir it up. So, get up and move.” And people did get up. But, you’ve got to force the issue in a loving way [laughter]. (Personal interview, 2013, July 25)

Towards an eternal perspective, Rev. Barrett concluded:

When we get to heaven, aint gone be no White heaven, aint gone be no Black heaven. It’s gone be one heaven where there is one Lord. And we gone all worship there together. Now, I might go down a couple of clouds to the Black church where we be just patting [clapping] and having a good time [laughter]. (personal interview, 2013, August 7)

As evidenced in the last two excerpts and several others, Rev. Douglas and Rev. Barrett often shared their narratives through laughter, even at times what they were sharing was not obviously humorous. West alludes to this phenomenon in his discussion of black Christian eschatological praxis against suffering. West

(1999) submits, “The radically comic character of Afro-American life―the

pervasive sense of play, laughter and ingenious humor of blacks―flows primarily from the profound Afro-American Christian preoccupation with the tragedy in the struggle for freedom in a tragic predicament” (p. 439). Even in a tragic

predicament, with radically comic character, Rev. Barrett and Rev. Douglas demonstrate courageous leadership towards transgressing race boundaries in ways that maintain dignity for representatives from each race group. Rev. Barrett and Rev. Douglas model practices, behaviors, and attitudes have

socially transformative potential for those to whom and for those from whom they have been exiled.