Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Associated Baptist Press Foundation
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site
Featured
Featured

Some pastors face big challenges preaching on Charlottesville, white supremacy

NewsJeff Brumley  |  August 18, 2017

The white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Va., represented, for some of the nation’s pastors, a clear moment to preach against bigotry and hate last Sunday morning.

One counter-protester was killed and others were injured, inspiring ministers like Elizabeth Mangham Lott to ditch previously planned sermons to confront the violence that erupted in Virginia.

Lott, senior pastor at St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, said she felt compelled to tackle the ugly events and the evil behind them.

“I can’t deny it,” she said. “It would be like standing up to read the phone book if I didn’t come up with a new sermon.”

Elizabeth Mangham Lott

Elizabeth Mangham Lott

Lott’s congregation is accustomed to difficult subjects. But other pastors encounter pushback — and the possibility of losing their jobs — when calling out hatred, bigotry and racism. A congregational coach in North Carolina tweeted Monday about a pastor who had been asked to resign or be fired for doing just that.

It can be a difficult call for ministers who lead congregations with political or moral compasses calibrated differently than their own.

The pressures to remain silent on difficult topics originate from more than current events like Charlottesville. They also tap into existing concerns about church decline and growth and a desire for ministers be pastoral, not prophetic, in their ministry.

‘Direct and dire consequences’

“There is such high anxiety in congregations today, just with mere survival, that it’s a challenge to preach challenging sermons,” said Michael Cheuk, a leadership and congregational coach who has been a pastor of Baptist churches in Virginia, including Charlottesville. “Congregations fear anything controversial will drive members away.”

Cheuk said he’s experienced that tension. But he also knows the call to the daring side of faith: he provides internal and external communications for the Charlottesville Clergy Collective, which helped organize the resistance against white supremacists gathering in Emancipation Park.

Whatever the nature of the opposition, it often comes in brief comments after worship. The message is clear: don’t rock the boat.

Cheuk said he knows of churches where members wear political buttons on their clothing, including Trump-Pence logos. Meanwhile, pastors want to speak out against the hatred they hear emanating from Washington and from events like Charlottesville. They often ask how to lovingly serve those conservative members while heeding the call to preach the gospel.

Michael Cheuk

“I have spoken with ministers here [in Charlottesville] who say, ‘I want to preach about this, but I also know such a message … might have direct and dire consequences for me or my family,’” Cheuk said.

But that also can be the reaction when a pastor doesn’t deal with the politics of hate in a sermon. Cheuk described a pastor whose recent lectionary-based message — the same one which had been delivered three years before without negative reaction — offended some in the pews this time.

“They said, ‘Why are you politicizing all of this,’” Cheuk said. But it was the times that had changed, not the message.

“The politics in Jesus’ message hit home,” he said.

Another common attitude is that the pastor is primarily a shepherd who should focus on pastoral care of the flock, Cheuk said. The stress of everyday life and politics spoils the peace of worship, some congregants insist.

“There is a part of me, I get that,” he said about the priestly role of the pastor. “That is a challenge and a tension that so many of our pastors are walking each and every day.”

‘The joy of difficult times’

Garrett Vickrey said he knows the tension of being a pastor during challenging times.

“There’s a burden and a privilege of speaking out in these moments,” said Vickrey, senior pastor at Woodland Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas. “That’s the joy of difficult times.”

Vickrey said he doesn’t know anyone who got into trouble preaching about Charlottesville last Sunday. However, he has seen Facebook posts where people suggest leaving a church if the pastor didn’t speak against the protests.

Garrett Vickery

Rather than toss out his prepared sermon, Vickrey said he chose to rewrite the ending to cover the subject. Preachers have a range of options like that, including prayers and letters to the congregation or adding concluding remarks.

“Tying this completely to preaching — I think that’s a judgment call.”

Lott said she’s sometimes gotten out ahead of congregations when preaching on controversial issues, such as the protests of police shooting in Ferguson, Mo. in 2014 and the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church massacre in Charleston, S.C. the following year

“I was in some ways making some assumptions that people are in the same place I am,” she said.

Lott suggests that it’s a good idea to meet to define terms to ensure everyone is on the same page in using terms when discussing race and prejudice. But but those messages must be preached, she added.

“The challenge for many white people is to connect those dots and not see them as singular events. They must see that there is this bigger energy of white supremacy.”

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
Tags:Mike PenceCharlottesvilleGarrett VickreyMichael CheukCharlottesville Clergy CollectiveWoodland Baptist Church San Antonio TexasDonald TrumpAll Souls Charlottesville VAElizabeth Mangham LottSt. Charles Avenue Baptist Church
More by
Jeff Brumley
Read Next:

Nonreligious young adults say they are more open to religion than older adults, but campus ministers say that’s still a delicate opportunity

AnalysisMallory Challis

More Articles

  • All
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Biblical orthodoxy 2023: Sign or get ‘churched’

    OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

  • Zimbabwean pastors flee ministry to join more lucrative care work in the UK

    NewsRay Mwareya

  • Jesus and Buddha are talking with me about loving and blessing my enemies

    OpinionH. Stephen Shoemaker

  • Biden administration urged to remove Cuba from list of state sponsors of terrorism

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Why most everything you think you know about global migration is probably wrong

    AnalysisMark Wingfield

  • What did Pope Francis say, and what did he mean, in AP interview on homosexuality?

    AnalysisMallory Challis

  • Transitions for the week of 2-3-23

    NewsBarbara Francis

  • Letter to the Editor: Kudos all around for Baptist News Global

    OpinionLetters to the Editor

  • Letter to the Editor: Jesus expects us to follow him; Trump expects us to follow him

    OpinionLetters to the Editor

  • Humor and hope mark the dark journey taken by a creative and brave photojournalist

    OpinionKathy Manis Findley

  • ‘Can you imagine looting the religious artifacts that help strengthen the Christian faith from the Vatican?’

    NewsAnthony Akaeze

  • One year of sobriety

    OpinionGlen Schmucker

  • Panelists discuss how the Hamline University controversy could have been handled better in a diverse culture

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Men’s ministry needs more than, eggs, bacon and football

    OpinionMaina Mwaura

  • Nonreligious young adults say they are more open to religion than older adults, but campus ministers say that’s still a delicate opportunity

    AnalysisMallory Challis

  • Pope Francis arrives in Africa on a two-nation tour seeking peace amid decades of conflict

    NewsAnthony Akaeze

  • The church must show the world a more excellent way of nonviolence

    OpinionRodney Kennedy

  • Museum of the Bible to host Wednesday morning event to pray for God’s judgment on America, and breakfast is not included

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • National Prayer Breakfast gets new sponsorship but still looks like government-sponsored religion, BJC leaders say

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • del Toro’s Pinocchio is a tale of faith that is not wooden

    AnalysisRick Pidcock

  • Ministry jobs and more

    NewsBarbara Francis

  • Zimbabwe Theological Seminary names new principal

    NewsBNG staff

  • What happens when church and state merge? Look to Nazi Germany for answers

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Church historian Richard Hughes reflects on a lifetime of ‘Troublesome Questions’

    OpinionTed Parks

  • Reverend Roboto: Artificial intelligence and pastoral care

    AnalysisKristen Thomason

  • Zimbabwean pastors flee ministry to join more lucrative care work in the UK

    NewsRay Mwareya

  • Biden administration urged to remove Cuba from list of state sponsors of terrorism

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Transitions for the week of 2-3-23

    NewsBarbara Francis

  • ‘Can you imagine looting the religious artifacts that help strengthen the Christian faith from the Vatican?’

    NewsAnthony Akaeze

  • Panelists discuss how the Hamline University controversy could have been handled better in a diverse culture

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Pope Francis arrives in Africa on a two-nation tour seeking peace amid decades of conflict

    NewsAnthony Akaeze

  • Museum of the Bible to host Wednesday morning event to pray for God’s judgment on America, and breakfast is not included

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • National Prayer Breakfast gets new sponsorship but still looks like government-sponsored religion, BJC leaders say

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Ministry jobs and more

    NewsBarbara Francis

  • Zimbabwe Theological Seminary names new principal

    NewsBNG staff

  • What happens when church and state merge? Look to Nazi Germany for answers

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Southwestern Seminary student arrested for alleged ‘felony sexual assault’

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Trial date set for Patterson and Southwestern versus Jane Roe

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Faith groups must fight online hate, Interfaith Alliance urges

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Colorado cake maker back in court, this time for refusing service to a transgender woman

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • For every critic of Jesus and John Wayne there are many more positive responses Du Mez says

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Bob Banks, longtime SBC missions leader, dies at 91

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Members of Florida church required to sign ‘biblical sexuality’ statement or be removed from membership

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Eight months later, there’s renewed interest in Adam Hamilton’s video on why he’ll remain a United Methodist

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • 165 religious leaders plead with White House to abandon immigrant travel ban

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Ministry jobs and more

    NewsBarbara Francis

  • Knowing a church’s history on slavery can be a nudge toward redemption, historians say

    NewsJeff Brumley

  • Sandra and Andy Stanley: ‘We’re not perfect parents, but we’ve learned some things along the way’

    NewsMaina Mwaura

  • United Methodists on alert for dissidents ‘poaching’ members and pastors

    NewsCynthia Astle

  • The other speech Martin Luther King gave at Southern Seminary in 1961

    NewsMark Wingfield

  • Biblical orthodoxy 2023: Sign or get ‘churched’

    OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

  • Jesus and Buddha are talking with me about loving and blessing my enemies

    OpinionH. Stephen Shoemaker

  • Letter to the Editor: Kudos all around for Baptist News Global

    OpinionLetters to the Editor

  • Letter to the Editor: Jesus expects us to follow him; Trump expects us to follow him

    OpinionLetters to the Editor

  • Humor and hope mark the dark journey taken by a creative and brave photojournalist

    OpinionKathy Manis Findley

  • One year of sobriety

    OpinionGlen Schmucker

  • Men’s ministry needs more than, eggs, bacon and football

    OpinionMaina Mwaura

  • The church must show the world a more excellent way of nonviolence

    OpinionRodney Kennedy

  • Church historian Richard Hughes reflects on a lifetime of ‘Troublesome Questions’

    OpinionTed Parks

  • What churches could learn from the Pub Choir phenomenon

    OpinionMike Frost

  • Living into lament: A white response to the killing of Tyre Nichols by police

    OpinionRobert P. Jones

  • Of church cemeteries, pulpit committees, crafts and sweet potato casserole

    OpinionChris Ayers

  • Of Margie, mountains and ‘El Shaddai’

    OpinionBert Montgomery

  • What I learned from meeting Martin Luther King in Louisville and Josie in Hopkinsville

    OpinionBill Thurman

  • On the baptism of our firstborn

    OpinionEmily Hull McGee

  • Has virtual worship actually harmed Christianity?

    OpinionSara Robb-Scott

  • ‘What can we forgive?’: An interview with Matthew Ichihashi Potts on Forgiveness

    OpinionGreg Garrett, Senior Columnist

  • My father’s faith

    OpinionBrett Younger

  • The apology that never came at Bubba-Doo’s

    OpinionCharles Qualls

  • Trump and his allegedly disloyal white evangelical supporters

    OpinionRobert P. Jones

  • Doom-scrolling, sourdough starter and three kinds of kin

    OpinionJustin Cox

  • Putin needs to be taken down

    OpinionMark Wingfield

  • How my eyes were opened to America’s broken immigration system

    OpinionChristian Vaughn

  • Meditating with Buddhists and other Asian lessons

    OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

  • The Black resistance tradition and its fight for U.S. democracy

    OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

  • Marvin Olasky Still Wants to Make Journalism Biblically Objective

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Progressive National Baptists to deploy $1 million grant to boost ‘compelling preaching’

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Church of England sheds light on ‘shameful’ slave trade ties

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Chinese Christians remain in Thailand fearing deportation

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Black police officers aren’t colorblind – they’re infected by the same anti-Black bias as American society and police in general

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Ohio is investigating a Nazi homeschooling network that teaches children to love Hitler

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Omar says some Republicans don’t want a Muslim in Congress: ‘These people are OK with Islamophobia’

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Tyre Nichols police beating video prompts faith leaders to react with grief, goals

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • How Egyptian police hunt LGBT people on dating apps

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • N. Carolina church says it lost nearly $800K in email scam

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • On A Mission To Fill Empty Pulpits: A Couple Addressing The Preacher Shortage

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Second gentleman Emhoff visits Auschwitz, part of a push against antisemitism

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • A Buddhist disaster relief organization offers key support after Monterey Park shooting

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • It shouldn’t seem so surprising when the pope says being gay ‘isn’t a crime’ – a Catholic theologian explains

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • USCCB official: The church must admit its role in destroying Native American culture

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • House bill would limit government authority over religious events

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • ‘He Gets Us’ organizers hope to spend $1 billion to promote Jesus. Will anyone care?

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • The Rise of Spirit Warriors on the Christian Right

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Twitter reinstated white nationalist Nick Fuentes. He lasted 24 hours.

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • In Rare Rebuke, Elaine Chao Calls Out Trump’s Anti-Asian Attacks

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • How Southern California helped birth white Christian nationalism

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Extreme Israeli group takes root in US with fundraising bid

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Review: Decolonizing Christianity

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Two Leaders Of The New US House Could Put Baptist Diversity In The News Spotlight

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

  • Making Sweat Feel Spiritual Didn’t Start With SoulCycle

    Curated

    Exclude from home pageBNG staff

Conversations that Matter.

© 2023 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS