Recently Rev. Dwight McKissic, a leading African-American Southern Baptist pastor, declared that it was past time for the Southern Baptist Convention to elect a black president. McKissic called on the SBC to “repent of systemic, institutionalized and historic negative attitudes toward women, race and dissenters.” He continued, “When we repent of our sins and turn from our wicked ways, then God will forgive our sins and heal our convention and anoint us to go forth with power in carrying out the Great Commission.”
McKissic has again addressed the subject of race and the Southern Baptist Convention in a blog post titled Attitudes Toward Race in SBC Life
Read McKissic’s post here. I won’t attempt to summarize but here is a sampling of quotes from McKissic:
The Southern Baptist Convention needs to call a solemn assembly and repent for passive and intentional acts of racism in SBC life since the ‘95 apology statement.
McKissic points out that not a single African-American was appointed to the much-talked-about Great Commission Resurgence Task Force. Only later was an African-American put on this task force to correct what McKissic describes as an “unintentional oversight.”
McKissic notes that this unintentional oversight is an example of institutionalized racism in SBC life
Ten years after the ’95 racial reconciliation and apology statement, there has not been one African American appointed to a position as the Chief Executive Officer of a SBC entity. There are three entity executive positions currently vacant. I pray that a qualified African American will be appointed to one of them.
…One of the objections that I’ve often heard from minorities concerning SBC missions efforts is that the approach is paternalistic rather than a partnership approach.
It hard to make this stuff up:
In February, I attended the Southern Baptists of Texas Evangelism Conference where the SBC Evangelist Jimmy Davis, preached a message comparing President Obama to the wicked King Manasseh. Davis clearly communicated that President Obama was not a Christian, being fully aware that the President claims to be a Christian. He challenged the conference to pray for the President’s salvation. As Davis sees it, if the President doesn’t repent of certain social policy positions and his spiritual condition, then he encouraged the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention to “pray that God providentially remove President Obama from office”.
…The picture of hundreds of Anglo Southern Baptists on their knees praying that God “providentially” remove the first African American President of the United States from office is not a pretty picture to African American Southern Baptists or biblio-centric fair minded Americans of any color. It’s a horrible witness to the world and a poor testimony of Southern Baptists. The SBTC officials are very much aware of this message and have remained publicly silent. Does silence equal consent? If Evangelist Davis’ remarks and prayer that God “providentially” remove President Obama is not repudiated by SBC and SBTC officials, Wiley Drake is owed and apology (2010 Empower Evangelism Conference, Southern Baptists of Texas , February 15-17, 2010). I’m publicly asking Dr. Jim Richards and Johnny Hunt to publicly disavow and repudiate the portion of Evangelist Davis’ message that dealt with President Obama.
Next, McKissic cites the example of a Baptist deacon-blogger named Bill Fortner who described President Obama as “Barack the Tragic Negro.” According to McKissic, less than a year ago Ergun Caner of Liberty Seminary recently made “condescending and stereotypical remarks concerning the Black Church” in a sermon at FBC Jacksonville, Florida.
A couple more quotes:
Although the SBC claims thousands of African American members, the highest ranking Black at the SBC Executive headquarters is the head custodian. This is certainly reminiscent of the Antebellum South.
AND
All of the above incidents took place since 1995. The SBC needs to hold a Great Repentance Resurgence that precedes a Great Commission Resurgence, so that we can be cleansed of unbiblical and ungodly attitudes toward women and race. Unfortunately, my pastor friends who refuse to join the SBC are right. The SBC is “southern and racial” and this must change if God is to breathe on our Great Commission Resurgence.
It’s really hard to understand why Dwight McKissic has chosen to stick with the SBC.
He left the local association at the same time that he left the BGCT. However, our association did a resolution of support of him when he was having some issues with SWBTS a couple of years ago…and he was present at the very next meeting. I’ve seen what I believe to be some moderation in his views since that time. Still, he seems to need to “dance with the one that brought him,” so I don’t see him leaving the SBTC/SBC any time soon.
Tim
Pastor Robert Anderson Jr. is a member of the EC board and is black, so he would be the highest ranking African American, and not the custodian.
Pastor Robert Anderson is not an employee of the EC board. Clearly, you know the difference between a high ranking staff member and a trustee?
I’m glad Dwight has stuck with both the SBTC and the SBC. Change must come from within. Dwight leads a church that is a model for every SBC congregation in the country in terms of evangelism, growth and ministry to the community, and I believe he and his wife started it in their living room. There is a spiritual annointing on his preaching and in their church worship services that I’ve not experienced in many other places.
I’ve found leaving a denomination is not so much a decision as something that “just sorta happens” as you realize your evolving perspective no longer sufficiently lines up with the denomination’s emphasis.
I don’t have a problem with a fellow Christian thinking Obama is the Devil (based on a political or social perspective), and I don’t necessarily think it’s racism. But I DO have a problem when a fellow Christian preaches “Obama is the Devil” at an associational meeting and has attendees get down on their knees to pray fort his removal. It’s not necessarily racism, but it’s a group I wouldn’t hang out with.
Every believer, much more than a denomination such as the SBC, must get down on their knees daily and thoroughly confess their sins of attitude, thought, action, commission, omission, and self-reliance.
The SBC doesn’t necessarily need an African American agency head–it needs God’s chosen man or woman.
Sometimes the one who finds racism behind every door is the one who himself is racist.
I don’t believe an African American pastor who for two decades led his African American congregation to partner with anglo American Baptist churches is likely a racist.
Maybe some suspect racism more than others because they’ve experienced a lot more of it.
And I don’t believe “Southern Baptists” who have sought for decades to bring the good news of the gospel to individuals of all races and ethnicity, in partnership with and sponsorship of, churches of all those races and ethnicity, are likely racists either.
I agree.
To Rev. McKissic:
After spending all my childhood and an unfortuate percentage of my adult life in the SBC, the first thing that comes to mind is “good luck with that.” The SBC is quite secure in the grips of patriarchal White privilege.
There’ll be those who may express regret for the racist past, and may even repent to a degree, but as long as people can say, with a straight face, that God’s chosen man or woman doesn’t need to be African-American and to suggest otherwise may suggest they are racist, things will never change. Making that argument doesn’t make one a racist, but it is a safe and comfortable place from which to give tacit approval to the status quo and perpetuation of institutionalized racism.
However, change does come within and you are to be commended for being the voice crying out in the wilderness.
Jimmy Davis is by no means a racist. What he preached that day and what he asked the members of the convention to do that day is the exact same thing he has done for every single president over the past 33 years. He asked people to pray for Obama’s salvation and his leading this country in the way of the Lord. I have seen Davis pray for Reagan, both Bush’, Clinton and now Obama in this fashion. I should know he is my Dad.
I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears when I saw my old friend Jimmy Davis on TV Thursday night.
I think I would agree with Jake that Jimmy is not a racist, but I don’t understand how people who have lived the faith and preached the gospel for so many years, who I know to be people of much prayer, can make such intemperate and inflammatory statements.
The problem is not what Jimmy might or might not be advocating. The problem is how others might hear him. Anyone who speaks for a living should always consider his or her audience. And while the general public may not have been Jimmy’s audience, his words have been heard by many who are looking for justification for their hatred.
okay…all you people saying that Jimmy Davis is preaching that “Obama is the Devil” your out of your mind! Jimmy Davis was my pastor since i was about 6 or 7 years old. im 15 now. he recently went into evangalism. my family and i followed him to 3 different churches because he was kicked out for PREACHING ON SIN AND LETTING BLACK PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH! he believed that if someone wanted to hear the truth they were welcome into Gods church house. members of the church felt differently. well, the way i see it, Obama does need to be prayed for, any leader in this nation needs to be prayed for. and if the man that is running our country is NOT christian, then america will just keep getting worse. if Obama was a christian, why would he believe in ABORTION, which is MURDER! and gay marraige, which the bible clearly states is WRONG! Jimmy Davis is a great man. dont let one remark about our president, who by the way is only HALF black, the other half is white, make you play the “racist” card. its really childish, and im 15 and having to tell this to adults. quit trying to find something wrong with everyone else in the world and look in the mirror and look at your own heart and fix your own problems. Matthew 7:3-5 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Cassie,
No person has accused Jimmy Davis of equating President Obama with the Devil. Jimmy Davis did, however, compare President Obama with the wicked King Manasseh.
Jimmy Davis also prayed that “God providentially remove President Obama from office.” Do you understand what that means? Do you understand how that comes across to others: a white guy before a white audenience praying that God remove President Obama from office. Presidents that leave office early generally leave due to an untimely death. The next best thing that Davis could have been praying for was a terrible scandal to cause our President to resign.
I’ll let your rant here stand. This is my blog. I don’t appreciate folks who imply that those who share different perspectives regarding the legality of abortion and gay marriage are somehow not-Christian. Last I checked, opposition to the same-sex marriage and abortion rights are not prerequisites to salvation through Christ.
Oh, and Cassie, our president is black. If your mother was black or your father was black, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t say “Oh I’m ONLY half-black”….
Big Daddy Weave,
First off, i totally understand everything your saying, and i see how it would come across to a white audience what Brother Jimmy said, but i do stand my ground on what i said before. Jimmy Davis is not racist.
You say to look at how it would come across to a white crowd, but the more important question is how does it come across to God? I personally think that God would be pleased that Brother Jimmy wants a Christian leader for our nation. Jimmy said what he said to please GOD, not PEOPLE. So just ask yourself this question, “Am i a PEOPLE PLEASER, or a GOD PLEASER?”
Ok, Jimmy Davis is not a racist. You’re missing the point though.
I don’t think this about Jimmy Davis wanting a Christian leaders for the United States. This is about Jimmy Davis asking God to providentially remove our President from office. What does that mean to you? What do you think Davis was calling for? Sure sounds like an imprecatory prayer…
I believe he was asking God to either bring Obama to Christ OR for God to get involved and bring us a CHRISTIAN leader. What’s wrong with either of these?
Cassie,
What means did Jimmy Davis have in mind when he asked God to “providentially remove” President Obama? He surely wasn’t asking God to bring Obama to Christ. You are correct to point out that Jimmy clearly wants God to bring the United States a “Christian” leader. The question is; what was Jimmy recommending God do in order to bring about that “Christian” leader? Sure sounds like he was at best calling for God to bring down our President via a horrible scandal or at worst calling for our President’s untimely death.
My query is this: why is Jimmy, Cassie or anybody else praying for President Obama’s salvation.The President has confeseed his faith in Christ openly and it is no secret he is a Christian.
That his Christian beleifs on any given issue do not square with yours is no reason to call his profession in faith into question. If you must question Obama’s Christianity, then do question the faith of those whites folks who kicked Jimmy out for “letting Black people in the church.” As a matter of concern, maybe they are the ones whose salvation Jimmy should be praying for.
ok, I must comment here…to bar logos. how does a Christian cancel a National day of prayer but call a Muslims togeher for day of worship? That is TOTALLY anti-christian. And I know for a fact Bro. Jimmy has prayed for the churches in our community…He has a heart for the lost, and all sheep who have gone astray…and Mr. big daddy weave…Did Jimmy Davis ask for disaster or death upon the President? Couldn’t God providentially remove Obama from office any other way, like impeachment? And who should recommend to God what he should do, other than His will, which is perfect. Jimmy Davis is not taking matters in His own hands,he had no “means”, but rather he is relying on God…isn’t that what we all should do? Did David not pray in Psalm 59 “O, my Strength, I watch for you,you are my fortress, my loving God. God will go before me…but do not kill them…in your might make them wander about and bring them down for the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride…consume them in wrath…then it will be known to the ends of the Earth that GOD RULES OVER JACOB”…Many times through the scriptures God does things and allows things for HIS Name’s sake. Would we ever wish bad upon anyone for no reason…NO! But if we know God is in control and would turn those bad circumstances into an awesome faith-filled life…then so be it! That requires great faith & trust in the Lord. If we had more men like Jonah, John, or Jimmy Davis to preach repentance, this might be a changed nation…but there are too many ear ticklers out there who afraid to step on toes…so lives go unchanged…God called them to be a preacher, really? Is it God’s message they are delivering? Maybe Jimmy Davis didn’t want to end up in “the belly of a whale”…but rather did as God was calling him to do? And maybe, like David, asking God to do something, Jimmy Davis is a man after God’s own heart….Could it be?
and btw…your friend MCkissick…really owes Jimmy Davis an apology. There may be racists in the SBC, just like in our community, but Jimmy Davis is definitely not one of them! He never used a racial term in his sermon. He has preached the same sermon about past white presidents. To picture him as the target on TV with pictures of the KKK burning crosses is totally wrong! The devil is so cunning and those who stand firm in the truth are always under persecution.
Sorry Darla and Cassie, I know Jimmy Davis was your pastor and family friend and naturally you want to defend the man. I don’t think he can be defended here.
The guy called for our President to be “providentially removed from office.” Whatever that means to you, I don’t know. I do know what it means to most listeners. As McKissic noted, Jimmy Davis provided “a horrible witness to the world and a poor testimony of Southern Baptists.” There’s no getting around that.
Perhaps you’ll be able to step back, remove the blinders and realize that your former pastor and friend was wrong to say what he said.
[...] Lonnie Massey, an Anglo brother, makes it clear and I agree with him, that Evangelist Jimmy Davis is not a racist. However, he described the “exile” quote as “intemperate and inflammatory.” Brother Davis’ statements may not have been race based. They could have been simply personal preference and personal judgment based. Nevertheless, they were clearly inappropriate and without foundation. Bro. Massey made another relevant and insightful statement; “Anyone who speaks for a living should always consider his or her audience.” I believe Bro. Jimmy failed to give full consideration to the diversity of his audience. There were Anglo persons in the audience who disagreed with Bro. Jimmy’s statements as well. To call President Obama’s Christianity into question using a different standard than what is used for Southern Baptist Pro-Choice advocates, Baptist slaveholders, Presidents Clinton, Bush I and II, and to call for prayer requests for God to send President Obama into “exile”, or “providentially” remove him from office – are personal judgments not policy differences. [...]
I believe the standard used for calling the president’s salvation into question was God’s Holy Word…not Southern Baptist or slave holders or anything else. Dr. McKissick needs to remove his blinders and see the truth.
Mr. Bdw…do you see how mckissick labeled Jimmy Davis a racist to prove a point about the sbc? Do you see how he now has changed his whole story about Jimmy Davis to “ok I never said he was racist but he sure is judgemental”…Maybe you & mckissick do not agree that he should have prayed for the President’s salvation and you surely agree with the “exile” quote being uncalled for…but that is a whole different story. He used Jimmy Davis as a target for racism…his poster boy on channel 11. Bro. Jimmy has worked hard at bringing blacks & whites together in our community and he did not say one racial comment in that sermon. If Obama were a white man, you can bet the same sermon would have been preached, because it has, for past presidents. McKissick doesn’t have to agree with the sermon, but should acknowledge his mistake & apologize for labeling Bro. Jimmy as a racist. He has done a lot of damage to Davis’ family & reputation. His point of Davis being a racist is being disproven, so now he is labeling him as judgmental, but will not swallow his pride and apologize for the first accusation. Maybe your blinders need to be removed. THAT’S MY POINT ON THE RACIST ISSUE
Trust me…I have no blinders. I have been deceived by preachers at a level you could not comprehend & I don’t trust any man holding a Bible until I see his walk with God for a long, long, time. I sense evil on many pastors & “Christians”. (I guess that is judgemental of me to put that in quotes.) It is not fun to have the gift of discernment.
Go to that blog of mckissick’s you got posted above and find the video clip of Obama. discern for yourself but use God’s Word, the Holy Bible as the standard for Obama’s salvation. THAT’S MY POINT ON THE JUDGMENTAL ISSUE
Pray that God opens your eyes if your wrong…That’s what I did. I follow Jesus, not Jimmy. and I pray you follow Jesus, not Mckissick.
I guess it’s always commendable to see someone put so much emotion and energy into defending a person they respect and care about…
I’m sticking with everything I’ve written here. I see no need for McKissic to apologize. Jimmy Davis was wrong to say what he said, essentially calling for the death of Barack Obama or the demise of his presidency.
That’s not defensible.
Just as an FYI, I have no intention of removing this post as it seems that’s what you’d like. If folks happen to Google “Jimmy Davis” and “Obama,” they’ll find this post listed and McKissic’s post. If so inclined, folks can choose to read the comment threads for your perspective and the perspective of Jimmy Davis’ family and friends.
So, that’s that.
Would it be considered racist for Rev. Jesse Jackson or Rev. Al Sharpton to make the same statements about any of the white presidents in our recent history? I call it like I see it; McKissic needed something to get his message on TV and he used my dad for that. He has asked for proof that my dad has asked the same of God for every president in the last 33 years, my dad has not been fortunate enough to preach in the high dollar, high tech churches that others have.
BDW, you are wrong about one thing: what my dad said is defensible! You want to know why? Because as long as I have breath in me I will defend him to people who take the parts of the Bible that fit them and discard the parts they dont like and call it Christianity. So, that’s that!
The bible tells us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Jimmy Davis was not wise in saying what he said.
Many Pastors need to get back to doing what the bible says by preaching Jesus in the pulpit instead of defaming and slandering others and trying to be Political Pastors. The bible teaches against this defaming and slandering others and it is certainly not Christian. Maybe some of these pastors need to decide if they are a Pastor or a Politician.
President Obama has also said he is Christian. However, if he wasn’t how would the way many Christians have acted towards him and the way Jimmy Davis has acted draw him to Christ and Christianity? It certainly wouldn’t draw me if I were not Christian. Non-Christians are watching us and God will judge us for being a stumbling block to non-Christians by saying we are Christians but our actions say something totally different in the way we treat others. We read a bible but don’t follow it’s principles. I’m sure we are making God proud.(sarcasm):)
Who am I to question President Obama’s faith? I didn’t question President Bush faith when he said he was Christian and I won’t treat President Obama any differently either.
Darla, your comment: “Couldn’t God providentially remove Obama from office any other way, like impeachment?”
Uh, I hope you know this but as Christians we are not to be praying for BAD things to happen to people. So you think we should pray that he does something BAD/CORRUPT and that he is impeached. Wow, what kind of Christian are you is what we should be asking?
I think many people view the treatment by some of President Obama as racist because they see how these same people treated President Bush differently. They didn’t call President Bush the Anti-Christ, Hitler, etc. I heard a retired old Evangelical Pastor say that he has lived through a lot of Presidencies and he has never seen such vitriolic and venomous attitudes like this directed at any other President so he believes the real reason is racism.
You really do have to question why some of these people have such hatred towards President Obama. He hasn’t done anything bad and appears to be an intelligent and good leader. He also seems to have high integrity, appears to be a good father and husband, and seems to actually care about others. So you really do have question if behind all of these venomous attacks lies racism.