Book recommendation: White Too Long

I treasure my ecumenical work. I have learned so much from serving in Disciples of Christ, PCUSA, and United Methodist settings and from working with pastors and churches in at least twelve denominations. My primary identity, however, is as a Baptist. I grew up in Southern Baptist churches, at first because there was no Alliance of Baptists or Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. I was a senior in college before I learned that I had those options. (I wasn’t convinced, though, that I wanted to take them until I started attending an Alliance/CBF church full of the inclusive Baptists I aspired - and still aspire - to be.)

If you’ve grown up in the Baptist world or any other evangelical tradition, you know that the emphasis on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is strong. That’s what preaching and spiritual formation are primarily geared toward, and the altar call is the culmination of any worship service. Now don’t get me wrong - loving Jesus and spending time with him is a crucial aspect of my faith. But it wasn’t until I attended Candler, a seminary in the United Methodist/mainline Protestant tradition, that I heard of social holiness. It turns out that Jesus isn’t just a good guy to hang out with and that salvation isn’t just about our baptism or private prayer practices. It’s also about living like Jesus and advocating for his values at the systemic as well as the interpersonal level.

In his book White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity, Robert P. Jones makes the case that American evangelicals’ laser focus on personal salvation is not simply a matter or polity or theological difference from other Christian expressions. It in fact propped up slavery - the Southern Baptist Convention, for example, was formed out of a commitment to slaveholding - and still undergirds racism in insidious ways. Among other problems, this individual focus blurs vision of the larger cultural landscape and allows believers to shed responsibility for working for equity too easily. (Jones notes that mainline Protestants and Catholics are not immune to the mutual reinforcement of theology and racism either. In fact, Jones’ research shows that holding white supremacist attitudes and church attendance parallel each other across all varieties of white American Christendom.)

There’s a lot of theological reflection and repentance - meaning sustained action, not just a quick reach for forgiveness - required for the ways that American Christianity and white supremacy have become so intertwined. In particular, Jones’ book helped me understand why so many Christians leaders I know have been left scratching their heads about their inability to diversify their congregations. There are not simply differences in ritual or worship style or service length, as have long been held up as the reasons that Sunday morning at 11:00 remains the most segregated hour of the week. The very roots of our theology are preventing white people from fellowshipping with and learning alongside people of color. How do our core beliefs let our BIPOC siblings know they are right to keep us at arms’ length? How much work are we willing to put in to examine ourselves and make amends? It won’t be easy. After all, we’ve been white too long as the book title (taken from a James Baldwin quote) says. But if we love Jesus like we say we do, it’s time for us to roll up our sleeves.