Dr. Tisby, I would like to thank you wholeheartedly for speaking at Grove City. As a white alum (class of 2019), I can speak to the the desperate need for these conversations, particularly given the student body makeup. Thank you for speaking, and thank you for your continued advocacy.
As someone with deep connections there is much to say, and I'm processing how to do that. The starting point would be to note that this Special Committee was made up of exclusively white members. That alone should give significant pause.
Dr. Tisby. I could imagine the phrase "I don't see you as black" being employed there. I am a 1981 graduate of GCC and taught there for 11 yrs in the mid 90's to early 2000's. I have many friends still on the faculty there. I'm hearing reactions from them including a question about how the school will be able to attract students of color at this point. I also know the current president reasonably well since we were contemporaries as undergraduates. I think I could be a bit of ally with a letter to him sharing my concerns. BTW, I am a patron of the Pass the Mic and have read both of your books and am an advocate for the ARC. Keep up the good work. You have had a huge impact on my life! There are a number of us white folk who are changed and seeking to change things!
Hi, Dr. Tisby - My name is Elijah Duckworth and I am a current freshman at Grove City College. I am transferring to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill next semester. My transfer decision includes a multiplicity of factors, and some include the issues you highlighted. I have not publicly voiced my opinion of this controversy yet because speaking against the crowd often comes with consequences. But I want you to know: I stand with you.
Wow. I imagine it must have taken quite a bit of nerve and faith to decide to transfer. All the best to you in your transition and thank you for the support!
I was struck by your perception of the response you received from your listeners that day and the reaction of those former students and donors who started the petition. The latter were clearly discipled by those culture warriors who shall not be named here.
And while this observation may not be fair, I couldn’t help but notice the graduation dates listed for the members of the “special committee.” (Does the fact that I’m their contemporary give me some leeway to point out that they’re all old?) It seems as if the outcome of the investigation was thoroughly predetermined.
My point is that you hit the nail on the head with this paragraph:
“This entire report represents an extended attempt at conservative virtue-signaling. They are reassuring their donors and constituents that they still subscribe to conservative politics and an exclusivist interpretation of the Bible and race.”
The biggest obstacle preventing historically Christian colleges from leaving fundamentalism for a more Christian Christianity may well be fear of aging alumni and their donations.
I would hate to be responsible for educating new generations of believers in that environment.
I am a graduate from 1994 and I'm not at all surprised by the response. I am so sorry you had to endure such treatment for speaking truth. This grad supports you (as do my husband, and my best friend, also GCC graduates). That baseless, misguided petition does not speak for all of us. Keep doing the good work God has given you to do. You are in our prayers
As a parent of an alum I am so deeply troubled by this. My daughter, who graduated in 2015, received an excellent education in a STEM field from GCC. We have supported the college since that time because of the amazing scholarship she received. That support ends now, and I'll direct any funds they would have received to you. I'll be writing to GCC to inform them of my disappointment and decision to withdraw support.
Please continue to use your voice and speak truth to the darkness. I have been changed and believe that others can too.
Since much of this is almost certainly motivated by the fear of their legacy donors, voting with your pocketbook may be the only way to get their attention. They at least need to know that there’s more than one off switch on the money tap.
Wow. Both unexpected and not unexpected. Thank you for your response. I continue to pray for your work and have been both blessed and challenged by it.
Apr 22, 2022·edited Apr 22, 2022Liked by Jemar Tisby, PhD
Dr. Tisby.
"The fire up in my bones."
Yep. That's what preaching is. Proclaiming the message concisely and powerfully, and then letting God do the work to bring awareness and repentance.
I imagine it is hard to have your words ignored and instead have your character attacked. It probably is not possible to be someone who loves truth so much that they speak it even when it brings rejection and hostility and abuse, and not feel the pain of being so deliberately misunderstood.
But all I know is this: speaking the truth in love is how God uses us to bring salvation to the world. There's no guarantee that it happens because men and women are hardened into cynicism and rejection, and are trapped by fear and intolerance. Yet we have this message of hope of the only one who can bring change.
The church *can* be the agents of repentance and restoration. May we listen intently to our preachers and prophets and elders, and may we be moved by the Holy Spirit to bring love and hope and healing to a world so terribly, terribly wounded by the actions of broken people.
You give us the inspiration to continue to spread the truth to not only our circle of influence but also support out brother & sisters.
Will read the attached articles as well,truly sorry you have been cast this way, your books & Pass the Mic podcast are very informative & inspirational!
I am shocked - shocked! - that the committee was composed of people who all look just like me. Thank you for standing for the truth and for encouraging believers to work to fight racism.
I am a GCC alum and parent of a Junior at GCC, and I am greatly disappointed by this response from the school. I hope for a better future, but they will never attract a diverse student body if the Board continues to fail in the support of professors with integrity rather than acceding to the whims of far-right wing activist parents and donors. I only know one member of the committee, and enjoyed the classes he taught when I was there. He prayed for us before every test, something I remember quite clearly from many years ago and appreciated.
You have been mistreated by this committee at GCC. Your article is insightful. The committee’s report, like the Save GCC from CRT petition, turns the narrative upside down.
For example, the committee wrote, “CRT uncharitably detects aggression where none is intended, breeds resentment, and stokes recrimination. It impedes genuine repentance and forgiveness. So it corrodes the loving, unified, “close-knit family environment” that GCC seeks to encourage on its residential campus.”
In your book The Color of Compromise, you wrote “the goal of this book is not guilt. The purpose of tracing Christian complicity with racism is not to show white believers how bad they are.” You said, “skin color is simply a physical trait. It is a feature that has no bearing on one’s intrinsic dignity.” You wrote, “white complicity with racism isn’t a matter of melanin, it’s a matter of power.” Your points in this book about Black Lives Matter and countless other things are also absolutely true.
The committee at GCC is supporting views held by the parents of a terrible petition. A petition that abandons logic when discerning the only real systemic racism is within CRT itself and through the educational institutions that are teaching CRT and falsely accusing white people. They uncharitably ignore actual racism and systemic injustice.
It is immensely uncharitable and prideful for GCC to hold a view that only political conservatives are capable of making biblical applications in chapel that are worthy of the school.
Your chapel presentation at GCC in October 2020 was cited in both the first and second Petition by the anti-CRT parents. The Petition accused it of false teaching, and gave the impression biblical text may not have even been incorporated into the message presented at chapel. You mentioned the biblical text from which you spoke in your insightful article about GCC. I will echo you in saying that anyone who has listened to the Livestream recording of this chapel presentation knows your message was grounded with a passage from the book of Esther. The fierce urgency of now to not remain silent for such a time as this. I believe some of your key points were “Mordecai identified with the people”, and “Esther took Mordecai at his word.” It was a good message with practical application to not be passive or silent about the racial tension we were all witnessing in 2020. You pointed out that if Esther did not act then deliverance will rise from another place. It is an urging to act in obedience to God’s calling for us to love our neighbors and to mourn with those who mourn. It was biblical.
Perhaps what you said is in conflict with a type of religion commonly called Christian Nationalism, but that is not gospel truth. There are many wonderful things about America, and it can be a shining example to the world at certain times. But it is no utopia and should not be idealized. Your books accurately highlight the many sins of American history, in which Christians have not been innocent. The image of America as a shining city on a hill goes too far. Jesus was telling his true followers what they should be, “a city set on a hill” (Matthew 5:14), which derives from identity in Jesus. We are not that city without Jesus. One gospel is oriented around Jesus, but Christian Nationalism serves two masters and is oriented around politics. Our only means of salvation is through Jesus. There is no Christian unity without Jesus. Unity will not be found in political identities such as our opinions about CRT, 2nd Amendment rights, size of government, fiscal policy, mask freedoms, or any other political opinion or idea about America. These things are not permanent. The kingdom of heaven is permanent.
I quoted you extensively in a failed attempt to persuade those anti-CRT parents with a response to their petition, sent with the hope of providing a different perspective to the GCC community. (I can’t write like you though!) They unknowingly reject more than you, a brother I am glad to be united with in Christ. I am sorry for all you have been accused of.
I am a current student at Grove city College and I am absolutely heartbroken at the open hypocrisy of our school leaders. I LOVED your chapel— and I know the majority of the school did too. My friends and I have spent countless nights pouring out out frustrations (and tears) over how some people can be so closed minded. Unfortunately my observations have shown me that a handful of students and staff, usually the most vocal, have seemed to replaced Christ with Conservatism. I am embarrassed to have Grove City College on my diploma. For anyone outside of GCC reading this, please know that there are so many people here who are trying to push back. We are signing petitions, organizing prayers/chapels, and showing our support for an education that doesn’t shy away from tough topics like injustice. My friends and I stand with you, Dr. Tisby.
Dr. Tisby, this GCC alum (class of '16) is praying for you as you deal with harsh and (I believe) misguided critics. Your gifts are needed in the church, but I pray you also find respite and strength in Christ and the members of his Body around you. I wish you all the best.
I think ignoring your Footnotes would make my life so much easier. However, I don't think my Christian walk would do as well. I know the perception of CRT is distorted in Christian Communities. CRT has become a political can to kick down the road. But kicked political cans often include bruised brothers and sisters. Opinions of those I love split along skin color lines. White folks see heresy in CRT. Folks of color welcome the perceived critique of CRT against the church. I think my pain derives from a refusal of generosity toward one another.
Ephesians 4 is quite clear. We are members of one another. If I fail to support you in your growth towards Christlikeness, then the body of Christ is at a loss. I will have failed to grow WITH YOU in love. The mandate seems so clear. If we do these things we will be fruitful. But politics enters into the body of Christ like a virus insisting on suspicion rather than love. There is no transformation in love only deforming suspicion.
These suspicions negate our witness and power. I implore us brothers and sisters to not be driven by the winds of politics. The trends are tossed to and fro only to gain power. Instead, let us reach out toward one another considering how we can encourage each to the good works of love and repentance found in our King Jesus.
I totally agree with you that the outrage-induced, reactionary nature of our current politics is no place for Christians to find refuge. The Ruffoian response to label anything and everything we don’t like as CRT and dismiss it out of hand or blindly fight against it is not a Christian position to take and rightfully deserves rebuke, IMO.
Christians are explicitly called to be shrewd, discerning, and those who test all thoughts and ideas against God’s word (1 John 4:1). Broad brushing, gaslighting, okaying lies and evil because they advance our personal political cause, is not Christian territory. It is enemy territory. I am reminded of Hebrews 11, when the author describes the posture of the heroes of the faith in this way;
“For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God… All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
The people who are noted in this chapter have their eye firmly fixed not on a “country of their own”, but a “better country—a heavenly one.” They were foreigners and strangers on earth, in the places they lived. They found no refuge in the arms of the political, nor many of the religious leaders of their days.
My concern is that while you speak so boldly and courageously against the reactionaries on the political right, you seem to find much comfort in the embrace of the reactionaries of the political left. Your message is truly a political one at heart. While you rightfully work to tear down the idol of conservative politics found in many parts of American Christianity, you seem blinded to the equally deadly idol of progressive politics.
In your article, you write;
“The climate in the nation was one where people of all political persuasions felt like the fate of the country hinged upon the election results.”
You have communicated over and over again in your talks and writings, that you personally felt/feel this way. The fate of it all rested on our shoulders in this moment, and if we do not do something to save it, all is lost. You then go on to proclaim;
“We are living in times that call us to take sides, either the side of justice or injustice. The side of righteousness or unrighteousness. Choose this day whom you will serve.”
When you wrote these words in the context of your talk at GCC, there was significant emphasis that the side the Christians must take in this moment is explicitly the side of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is an unabashedly political movement rooted deeply in unbiblical political ideology. Yours was not a call to serve a God outside of our current politics, to avoid dismissiveness, to take to mind and heart what people were crying out for, to weigh it against God’s commands, and honestly seek justice that is uniquely different from what the world tells us it is. Yours was an explicit call for Christians to link arms with a political movement, to join the millions of others, join the masses.
I find your use of Joshua 24, "Choose this day who you will serve," quite poetic, considering that the context of that specific verse is a calling out of both the idolatry of their forefathers as well as the idolatry of the place in which they were living at the time to worship God and God alone. The reference to this verse in your writing seemingly demands allegiance to a political movement, a god of the land in which we are living, and not the One who sits enthroned above all of it. If true, this is indeed a "destructive and profoundly unbiblical worldview". I will not take part.
There seems to be no room for Christians to pause and to ponder the command found in Romans 12;
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect will.”
Now, I know you are likely thinking. “If you disagree with me you would have said the same thing about King. If you weren’t the one holding the firehoses, letting lose the dogs, cheering on orders from Bull Conner, you would have assuredly been one in the complicit masses. You are no friend to those who are fighting racism.” In fact, you claimed this point almost word for word in your speech at GCC.
Personally, I disagree wholeheartedly. I see many Christians across the political spectrum (from those who voted for Trump twice to those who marched in the streets with BLM) playing their different and essential parts in the body of Christ to love God and love thy neighbor and getting demeaned by fellow Christians in the process. As a Christian, I have made my best effort to listen to the voices of people across the spectrum, and then go to God in prayer and diligent search of his word to determine how he is directing my steps and my path looks different than yours.
Is there room in the body of Christ for that?
What “side” of the binary does this put me on?
If my posture of skepticism alone automatically puts me on the side of unrighteousness and injustice, I find very little differentiation between your message and those who claim conservative Christianity is the only “true” Christianity. The idols have simply been swapped.
Now, I may very well be wrong in my interpretation of your words. I could very well be mishearing and misreading you. My heart is just as prone to deceit as anyone reading these words. And I am willing to be confronted and rebuked as necessary. I actually crave brothers and sisters confronting my errors with truth. So feel entirely free to do so.
I’ll leave you with the potent words of Dr. Carl Ellis that have resonated with me deeply in these peculiar times. Words I think are necessary for all Christians in our current cultural moment to take heed of. He says;
“Today's political ideologies of the left and the right are bankrupt. There is no salvation in politics. That's not to say we can't speak politically, but there's no salvation in politics. If you marry politics, it will pimp you. These ideologies are incapable of providing an adequate base for human flourishing.”
As Christians, I think we will bear far better fruit if we start hand in hand from this basic understanding.
You’ve said a lot and I can’t respond to all of it. I’ll simply say that issues of justice have political expressions.
Slavery was protected by politicians and legislation. The same with segregation. The same with voting rights. The same with economic policies that trample the poor.
If you want to promote the flourishing of all, then political participation is one way to do that, and it is part of our responsibility as earthly citizens in a constitutional democracy.
The fact is we have, effectively, a two-party system. You’re going to have to vote for one side or another. This has been true for over a century and a half.
In the current political landscape, both-sidesism, doesn’t work the way people hope it does. The reality is both sides aren’t doing the same thing.
Lastly, you’re going to have to contend with the fact that most of your brothers and sisters in Christ who are of African descent in the United States see clear differences in terms of justice between the two parties and overwhelming choose to support one party over the other.
If you’re concerned about the well-being of those who have been the centuries-long recipients of racial prejudice, then this fact bears pondering. Fin.
I really appreciate your response and actually respect in your willingness to honestly affirm that your message was, and is, indeed political at it's roots. I also am glad you have clarified even further that your belief is that injustice is largely perpetuated by one side of the political divide at the moment, and that Christians must choose the political left or be labeled as "pursuing injustice." Clarity is always helpful.
I disagree with you very strongly. There is plenty of injustice to go around from both parties. In fact, in my own recent personal experience, I have seen legislation and policy coming form the political left that has done immense and incalculable amounts of damage to the very communities they are claiming to care so much about. I'd be happy to give you very specific examples, but as I said to Kah, I am not here to be an apologist for any political party. Whichever side one chooses, they better be willing to clearly see and address the brokenness of their side of the isle. As Dr. Ellis warns, we must not be pimped, and have our personal Christian witness exploited by either political party, because both are so fickle and, at their foundations, full of brokenness and sin and incapable of producing human flourishing in and of themselves.
I have thought quite a lot about the question of why black Americans vote so strongly for the Democrat Party, and have found myself with far more questions than answers, TBH. While you discuss actions like your efforts to remove the Confederate Battle Flag from Mississippi's State flag (an effort which I totally support), you then claim that anyone fighting racial injustice must support the Democrat Party. Similar to how the Confederate emblem was a constant reminder of injustice, shouldn't the Democrat Party also elicit strong reminders of racial injustice? I mean, the Democrat Party was the party of slavery, Jim Crow, the HOLC, the GI Bill, the KKK, Bull Connor, Japanese internment, abortion, and the 1994 crime bill, to name a few things off the top of my head. Why doesn't the party with this peculiar history elicit a strong aversion from black Americans? I know the left talks a lot about injustice in the present, but honestly, talk is cheap, and we don't have to look very far to see policies of the political left accentuating and accelerating disparities and injustice.
Honestly, how do you personally rectify this dissonance?
One one side I agree with you, the choice is not between justice and injustice. Justice in the Bible is not only about giving evryone what he is due ( equity, helping the poor etc.) it is also about moral justice. And in this case it becomes quite complicated to choose a side.
I am an afro-french woman who is going to have to vote tomorrow between more or less the same thing. One has injustice ( mistreatment and rejection of strangers which is clearly a sin in the Bible) as her main goal and platform. The other one is more geared towards enabling the rich that withold the money they have been blessed with (and should share, again, according to the Bible) and demonizing the poor. But it's not its main platform or goal. So the question is... the right in the US might be anti abortion and stuff but what is the main thing they are going to work towards ? We could ask the same question for the left.
I agree that Brother Jemar's views seem to be a little too infused with this false dichotomy. And I understand very well because I used to be the same. It took me a lot of rest and time spent alone with God to start to be able to see the nuances and to understand where my white brothers and sisters are coming from. I do not agree with them, I think some of them are just defending themselves against what they see as a threat against who they are. But while justifying their behaviors they make points that are not false, like the fact that establishing justice on this earth is not our ultimate goal and our priority should be to share the Gospel. We should be open to listening to these points too.
As for you, David, I am curious to know what you had to pray about regarding the issue of racial injustice. Do you doubt there is racial injustice, do you doubt it is a result of historical events and patterns, do you doubt christians or perpetuating these patterns, or are you unsure what you should do about it ?
I appreciate your willingness to think deeply about these decisions and not fall into the false binary. I am not here to be an apologist for any political party. I think both parties have their own pros and cons. Both have their fair share of injustice to claim.
If you are totally unfamiliar with recent beneficial policy on the political right apart from their stances on abortion, I recommend having a read through Jason L. Riley's new book "The Black Boom". IMO, he does a great job at cutting through the emotional narratives of both the left and right and looking at on-the-ground impacts of recent policy and legislative decisions. If you don't have time to read the book, he does a decent overview of his findings in this C-Span interview:
To answer your question regarding what I am praying about regarding racial injustice. My wrestling isn't about whether there is injustice, and particularly racial injustice, in our current context. As a Christian I, of all people, should not be surprised at the injustice we see all around us and have a deep conviction to rectify it where I see it. That is not the question. What I am praying through is where God wants my eyes to be opened to it and how He wants me to go about confronting it and rectifying it in my personal walk with Him. We have many historical examples of political movements claiming that they were "fighting injustice" that led to deep tragedy, human suffering, and even greater injustice being perpetuated. Therefore, as a Christian I must "test the spirits" (1 John 4:1), before hitching my wagon to any particular movement.
I have personally come to the conclusion that while the political left and BLM use the word "justice" at nauseum, much of the time, they are using the word in a different manner than what I find as biblical justice defined in scripture. Justin Giboney puts it really well when he says;
"Contemporary concepts of compassion and justice that ignore human brokenness and individual sin can only lead to the same desolate destination...
But gospel-driven compassion doesn’t conceptually refashion or normalize our brokenness in vain attempts to evade categories of sin. True justice isn’t inclusive of sin, because sin leads to moral disorder, and moral disorder is where injustice thrives."
Dr. Tisby, I would like to thank you wholeheartedly for speaking at Grove City. As a white alum (class of 2019), I can speak to the the desperate need for these conversations, particularly given the student body makeup. Thank you for speaking, and thank you for your continued advocacy.
I appreciate your kind words. We’ve all got a calling. It’s not always comfortable, is it? :-)
As someone with deep connections there is much to say, and I'm processing how to do that. The starting point would be to note that this Special Committee was made up of exclusively white members. That alone should give significant pause.
It’s like they’re colorblind?!? LOL. But really a very sad kind of insular ideology and reasoning.
Dr. Tisby. I could imagine the phrase "I don't see you as black" being employed there. I am a 1981 graduate of GCC and taught there for 11 yrs in the mid 90's to early 2000's. I have many friends still on the faculty there. I'm hearing reactions from them including a question about how the school will be able to attract students of color at this point. I also know the current president reasonably well since we were contemporaries as undergraduates. I think I could be a bit of ally with a letter to him sharing my concerns. BTW, I am a patron of the Pass the Mic and have read both of your books and am an advocate for the ARC. Keep up the good work. You have had a huge impact on my life! There are a number of us white folk who are changed and seeking to change things!
Hi, Dr. Tisby - My name is Elijah Duckworth and I am a current freshman at Grove City College. I am transferring to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill next semester. My transfer decision includes a multiplicity of factors, and some include the issues you highlighted. I have not publicly voiced my opinion of this controversy yet because speaking against the crowd often comes with consequences. But I want you to know: I stand with you.
Wow. I imagine it must have taken quite a bit of nerve and faith to decide to transfer. All the best to you in your transition and thank you for the support!
Thoughtful as always.
I was struck by your perception of the response you received from your listeners that day and the reaction of those former students and donors who started the petition. The latter were clearly discipled by those culture warriors who shall not be named here.
And while this observation may not be fair, I couldn’t help but notice the graduation dates listed for the members of the “special committee.” (Does the fact that I’m their contemporary give me some leeway to point out that they’re all old?) It seems as if the outcome of the investigation was thoroughly predetermined.
My point is that you hit the nail on the head with this paragraph:
“This entire report represents an extended attempt at conservative virtue-signaling. They are reassuring their donors and constituents that they still subscribe to conservative politics and an exclusivist interpretation of the Bible and race.”
The biggest obstacle preventing historically Christian colleges from leaving fundamentalism for a more Christian Christianity may well be fear of aging alumni and their donations.
I would hate to be responsible for educating new generations of believers in that environment.
Fear governs so may if these types of actions. But I read somewhere that “there is no fear in love”…
I am a graduate from 1994 and I'm not at all surprised by the response. I am so sorry you had to endure such treatment for speaking truth. This grad supports you (as do my husband, and my best friend, also GCC graduates). That baseless, misguided petition does not speak for all of us. Keep doing the good work God has given you to do. You are in our prayers
Wow. Really means a lot coming from an alum. Thank you!
Dear Dr. Tisby,
As a parent of an alum I am so deeply troubled by this. My daughter, who graduated in 2015, received an excellent education in a STEM field from GCC. We have supported the college since that time because of the amazing scholarship she received. That support ends now, and I'll direct any funds they would have received to you. I'll be writing to GCC to inform them of my disappointment and decision to withdraw support.
Please continue to use your voice and speak truth to the darkness. I have been changed and believe that others can too.
Oh wow! Thank you for your candor and your tangible demonstration of support! Grateful!!!
Since much of this is almost certainly motivated by the fear of their legacy donors, voting with your pocketbook may be the only way to get their attention. They at least need to know that there’s more than one off switch on the money tap.
Wow. Both unexpected and not unexpected. Thank you for your response. I continue to pray for your work and have been both blessed and challenged by it.
Thank you for your prayers!!!
Dr. Tisby.
"The fire up in my bones."
Yep. That's what preaching is. Proclaiming the message concisely and powerfully, and then letting God do the work to bring awareness and repentance.
I imagine it is hard to have your words ignored and instead have your character attacked. It probably is not possible to be someone who loves truth so much that they speak it even when it brings rejection and hostility and abuse, and not feel the pain of being so deliberately misunderstood.
But all I know is this: speaking the truth in love is how God uses us to bring salvation to the world. There's no guarantee that it happens because men and women are hardened into cynicism and rejection, and are trapped by fear and intolerance. Yet we have this message of hope of the only one who can bring change.
The church *can* be the agents of repentance and restoration. May we listen intently to our preachers and prophets and elders, and may we be moved by the Holy Spirit to bring love and hope and healing to a world so terribly, terribly wounded by the actions of broken people.
Absolutely agree. Grateful that despite the resistance to these messages, many are listening, learning, and taking action. Grateful for you!
Dr Tisby,
You give us the inspiration to continue to spread the truth to not only our circle of influence but also support out brother & sisters.
Will read the attached articles as well,truly sorry you have been cast this way, your books & Pass the Mic podcast are very informative & inspirational!
Blessings, Chris & Brian
Thanks so much for your close reading and engagement!
I am shocked - shocked! - that the committee was composed of people who all look just like me. Thank you for standing for the truth and for encouraging believers to work to fight racism.
My goal was to bring actions like these to light. I imagined people of good will would be just as upset as I am.
I am a GCC alum and parent of a Junior at GCC, and I am greatly disappointed by this response from the school. I hope for a better future, but they will never attract a diverse student body if the Board continues to fail in the support of professors with integrity rather than acceding to the whims of far-right wing activist parents and donors. I only know one member of the committee, and enjoyed the classes he taught when I was there. He prayed for us before every test, something I remember quite clearly from many years ago and appreciated.
You have been mistreated by this committee at GCC. Your article is insightful. The committee’s report, like the Save GCC from CRT petition, turns the narrative upside down.
For example, the committee wrote, “CRT uncharitably detects aggression where none is intended, breeds resentment, and stokes recrimination. It impedes genuine repentance and forgiveness. So it corrodes the loving, unified, “close-knit family environment” that GCC seeks to encourage on its residential campus.”
In your book The Color of Compromise, you wrote “the goal of this book is not guilt. The purpose of tracing Christian complicity with racism is not to show white believers how bad they are.” You said, “skin color is simply a physical trait. It is a feature that has no bearing on one’s intrinsic dignity.” You wrote, “white complicity with racism isn’t a matter of melanin, it’s a matter of power.” Your points in this book about Black Lives Matter and countless other things are also absolutely true.
The committee at GCC is supporting views held by the parents of a terrible petition. A petition that abandons logic when discerning the only real systemic racism is within CRT itself and through the educational institutions that are teaching CRT and falsely accusing white people. They uncharitably ignore actual racism and systemic injustice.
It is immensely uncharitable and prideful for GCC to hold a view that only political conservatives are capable of making biblical applications in chapel that are worthy of the school.
Your chapel presentation at GCC in October 2020 was cited in both the first and second Petition by the anti-CRT parents. The Petition accused it of false teaching, and gave the impression biblical text may not have even been incorporated into the message presented at chapel. You mentioned the biblical text from which you spoke in your insightful article about GCC. I will echo you in saying that anyone who has listened to the Livestream recording of this chapel presentation knows your message was grounded with a passage from the book of Esther. The fierce urgency of now to not remain silent for such a time as this. I believe some of your key points were “Mordecai identified with the people”, and “Esther took Mordecai at his word.” It was a good message with practical application to not be passive or silent about the racial tension we were all witnessing in 2020. You pointed out that if Esther did not act then deliverance will rise from another place. It is an urging to act in obedience to God’s calling for us to love our neighbors and to mourn with those who mourn. It was biblical.
Perhaps what you said is in conflict with a type of religion commonly called Christian Nationalism, but that is not gospel truth. There are many wonderful things about America, and it can be a shining example to the world at certain times. But it is no utopia and should not be idealized. Your books accurately highlight the many sins of American history, in which Christians have not been innocent. The image of America as a shining city on a hill goes too far. Jesus was telling his true followers what they should be, “a city set on a hill” (Matthew 5:14), which derives from identity in Jesus. We are not that city without Jesus. One gospel is oriented around Jesus, but Christian Nationalism serves two masters and is oriented around politics. Our only means of salvation is through Jesus. There is no Christian unity without Jesus. Unity will not be found in political identities such as our opinions about CRT, 2nd Amendment rights, size of government, fiscal policy, mask freedoms, or any other political opinion or idea about America. These things are not permanent. The kingdom of heaven is permanent.
I quoted you extensively in a failed attempt to persuade those anti-CRT parents with a response to their petition, sent with the hope of providing a different perspective to the GCC community. (I can’t write like you though!) They unknowingly reject more than you, a brother I am glad to be united with in Christ. I am sorry for all you have been accused of.
Hi Dr. Tisby,
Thank you for your article and the links you provided. I found the Newsweek article especially helpful for context.
This situation deeply troubles me. I will keep you and the American church in prayer.
Thank you for reading, Laura! And thank you especially for your prayers!
Dr. Tisby,
I am a current student at Grove city College and I am absolutely heartbroken at the open hypocrisy of our school leaders. I LOVED your chapel— and I know the majority of the school did too. My friends and I have spent countless nights pouring out out frustrations (and tears) over how some people can be so closed minded. Unfortunately my observations have shown me that a handful of students and staff, usually the most vocal, have seemed to replaced Christ with Conservatism. I am embarrassed to have Grove City College on my diploma. For anyone outside of GCC reading this, please know that there are so many people here who are trying to push back. We are signing petitions, organizing prayers/chapels, and showing our support for an education that doesn’t shy away from tough topics like injustice. My friends and I stand with you, Dr. Tisby.
Dr. Tisby, this GCC alum (class of '16) is praying for you as you deal with harsh and (I believe) misguided critics. Your gifts are needed in the church, but I pray you also find respite and strength in Christ and the members of his Body around you. I wish you all the best.
I think ignoring your Footnotes would make my life so much easier. However, I don't think my Christian walk would do as well. I know the perception of CRT is distorted in Christian Communities. CRT has become a political can to kick down the road. But kicked political cans often include bruised brothers and sisters. Opinions of those I love split along skin color lines. White folks see heresy in CRT. Folks of color welcome the perceived critique of CRT against the church. I think my pain derives from a refusal of generosity toward one another.
Ephesians 4 is quite clear. We are members of one another. If I fail to support you in your growth towards Christlikeness, then the body of Christ is at a loss. I will have failed to grow WITH YOU in love. The mandate seems so clear. If we do these things we will be fruitful. But politics enters into the body of Christ like a virus insisting on suspicion rather than love. There is no transformation in love only deforming suspicion.
These suspicions negate our witness and power. I implore us brothers and sisters to not be driven by the winds of politics. The trends are tossed to and fro only to gain power. Instead, let us reach out toward one another considering how we can encourage each to the good works of love and repentance found in our King Jesus.
I totally agree with you that the outrage-induced, reactionary nature of our current politics is no place for Christians to find refuge. The Ruffoian response to label anything and everything we don’t like as CRT and dismiss it out of hand or blindly fight against it is not a Christian position to take and rightfully deserves rebuke, IMO.
Christians are explicitly called to be shrewd, discerning, and those who test all thoughts and ideas against God’s word (1 John 4:1). Broad brushing, gaslighting, okaying lies and evil because they advance our personal political cause, is not Christian territory. It is enemy territory. I am reminded of Hebrews 11, when the author describes the posture of the heroes of the faith in this way;
“For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God… All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
The people who are noted in this chapter have their eye firmly fixed not on a “country of their own”, but a “better country—a heavenly one.” They were foreigners and strangers on earth, in the places they lived. They found no refuge in the arms of the political, nor many of the religious leaders of their days.
My concern is that while you speak so boldly and courageously against the reactionaries on the political right, you seem to find much comfort in the embrace of the reactionaries of the political left. Your message is truly a political one at heart. While you rightfully work to tear down the idol of conservative politics found in many parts of American Christianity, you seem blinded to the equally deadly idol of progressive politics.
In your article, you write;
“The climate in the nation was one where people of all political persuasions felt like the fate of the country hinged upon the election results.”
You have communicated over and over again in your talks and writings, that you personally felt/feel this way. The fate of it all rested on our shoulders in this moment, and if we do not do something to save it, all is lost. You then go on to proclaim;
“We are living in times that call us to take sides, either the side of justice or injustice. The side of righteousness or unrighteousness. Choose this day whom you will serve.”
When you wrote these words in the context of your talk at GCC, there was significant emphasis that the side the Christians must take in this moment is explicitly the side of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is an unabashedly political movement rooted deeply in unbiblical political ideology. Yours was not a call to serve a God outside of our current politics, to avoid dismissiveness, to take to mind and heart what people were crying out for, to weigh it against God’s commands, and honestly seek justice that is uniquely different from what the world tells us it is. Yours was an explicit call for Christians to link arms with a political movement, to join the millions of others, join the masses.
I find your use of Joshua 24, "Choose this day who you will serve," quite poetic, considering that the context of that specific verse is a calling out of both the idolatry of their forefathers as well as the idolatry of the place in which they were living at the time to worship God and God alone. The reference to this verse in your writing seemingly demands allegiance to a political movement, a god of the land in which we are living, and not the One who sits enthroned above all of it. If true, this is indeed a "destructive and profoundly unbiblical worldview". I will not take part.
There seems to be no room for Christians to pause and to ponder the command found in Romans 12;
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect will.”
Now, I know you are likely thinking. “If you disagree with me you would have said the same thing about King. If you weren’t the one holding the firehoses, letting lose the dogs, cheering on orders from Bull Conner, you would have assuredly been one in the complicit masses. You are no friend to those who are fighting racism.” In fact, you claimed this point almost word for word in your speech at GCC.
Personally, I disagree wholeheartedly. I see many Christians across the political spectrum (from those who voted for Trump twice to those who marched in the streets with BLM) playing their different and essential parts in the body of Christ to love God and love thy neighbor and getting demeaned by fellow Christians in the process. As a Christian, I have made my best effort to listen to the voices of people across the spectrum, and then go to God in prayer and diligent search of his word to determine how he is directing my steps and my path looks different than yours.
Is there room in the body of Christ for that?
What “side” of the binary does this put me on?
If my posture of skepticism alone automatically puts me on the side of unrighteousness and injustice, I find very little differentiation between your message and those who claim conservative Christianity is the only “true” Christianity. The idols have simply been swapped.
Now, I may very well be wrong in my interpretation of your words. I could very well be mishearing and misreading you. My heart is just as prone to deceit as anyone reading these words. And I am willing to be confronted and rebuked as necessary. I actually crave brothers and sisters confronting my errors with truth. So feel entirely free to do so.
I’ll leave you with the potent words of Dr. Carl Ellis that have resonated with me deeply in these peculiar times. Words I think are necessary for all Christians in our current cultural moment to take heed of. He says;
“Today's political ideologies of the left and the right are bankrupt. There is no salvation in politics. That's not to say we can't speak politically, but there's no salvation in politics. If you marry politics, it will pimp you. These ideologies are incapable of providing an adequate base for human flourishing.”
As Christians, I think we will bear far better fruit if we start hand in hand from this basic understanding.
You’ve said a lot and I can’t respond to all of it. I’ll simply say that issues of justice have political expressions.
Slavery was protected by politicians and legislation. The same with segregation. The same with voting rights. The same with economic policies that trample the poor.
If you want to promote the flourishing of all, then political participation is one way to do that, and it is part of our responsibility as earthly citizens in a constitutional democracy.
The fact is we have, effectively, a two-party system. You’re going to have to vote for one side or another. This has been true for over a century and a half.
In the current political landscape, both-sidesism, doesn’t work the way people hope it does. The reality is both sides aren’t doing the same thing.
Lastly, you’re going to have to contend with the fact that most of your brothers and sisters in Christ who are of African descent in the United States see clear differences in terms of justice between the two parties and overwhelming choose to support one party over the other.
If you’re concerned about the well-being of those who have been the centuries-long recipients of racial prejudice, then this fact bears pondering. Fin.
Jemar,
I really appreciate your response and actually respect in your willingness to honestly affirm that your message was, and is, indeed political at it's roots. I also am glad you have clarified even further that your belief is that injustice is largely perpetuated by one side of the political divide at the moment, and that Christians must choose the political left or be labeled as "pursuing injustice." Clarity is always helpful.
I disagree with you very strongly. There is plenty of injustice to go around from both parties. In fact, in my own recent personal experience, I have seen legislation and policy coming form the political left that has done immense and incalculable amounts of damage to the very communities they are claiming to care so much about. I'd be happy to give you very specific examples, but as I said to Kah, I am not here to be an apologist for any political party. Whichever side one chooses, they better be willing to clearly see and address the brokenness of their side of the isle. As Dr. Ellis warns, we must not be pimped, and have our personal Christian witness exploited by either political party, because both are so fickle and, at their foundations, full of brokenness and sin and incapable of producing human flourishing in and of themselves.
I have thought quite a lot about the question of why black Americans vote so strongly for the Democrat Party, and have found myself with far more questions than answers, TBH. While you discuss actions like your efforts to remove the Confederate Battle Flag from Mississippi's State flag (an effort which I totally support), you then claim that anyone fighting racial injustice must support the Democrat Party. Similar to how the Confederate emblem was a constant reminder of injustice, shouldn't the Democrat Party also elicit strong reminders of racial injustice? I mean, the Democrat Party was the party of slavery, Jim Crow, the HOLC, the GI Bill, the KKK, Bull Connor, Japanese internment, abortion, and the 1994 crime bill, to name a few things off the top of my head. Why doesn't the party with this peculiar history elicit a strong aversion from black Americans? I know the left talks a lot about injustice in the present, but honestly, talk is cheap, and we don't have to look very far to see policies of the political left accentuating and accelerating disparities and injustice.
Honestly, how do you personally rectify this dissonance?
One one side I agree with you, the choice is not between justice and injustice. Justice in the Bible is not only about giving evryone what he is due ( equity, helping the poor etc.) it is also about moral justice. And in this case it becomes quite complicated to choose a side.
I am an afro-french woman who is going to have to vote tomorrow between more or less the same thing. One has injustice ( mistreatment and rejection of strangers which is clearly a sin in the Bible) as her main goal and platform. The other one is more geared towards enabling the rich that withold the money they have been blessed with (and should share, again, according to the Bible) and demonizing the poor. But it's not its main platform or goal. So the question is... the right in the US might be anti abortion and stuff but what is the main thing they are going to work towards ? We could ask the same question for the left.
I agree that Brother Jemar's views seem to be a little too infused with this false dichotomy. And I understand very well because I used to be the same. It took me a lot of rest and time spent alone with God to start to be able to see the nuances and to understand where my white brothers and sisters are coming from. I do not agree with them, I think some of them are just defending themselves against what they see as a threat against who they are. But while justifying their behaviors they make points that are not false, like the fact that establishing justice on this earth is not our ultimate goal and our priority should be to share the Gospel. We should be open to listening to these points too.
As for you, David, I am curious to know what you had to pray about regarding the issue of racial injustice. Do you doubt there is racial injustice, do you doubt it is a result of historical events and patterns, do you doubt christians or perpetuating these patterns, or are you unsure what you should do about it ?
Kah,
I appreciate your willingness to think deeply about these decisions and not fall into the false binary. I am not here to be an apologist for any political party. I think both parties have their own pros and cons. Both have their fair share of injustice to claim.
If you are totally unfamiliar with recent beneficial policy on the political right apart from their stances on abortion, I recommend having a read through Jason L. Riley's new book "The Black Boom". IMO, he does a great job at cutting through the emotional narratives of both the left and right and looking at on-the-ground impacts of recent policy and legislative decisions. If you don't have time to read the book, he does a decent overview of his findings in this C-Span interview:
https://www.c-span.org/video/?517373-1/after-words-jason-riley#!
To answer your question regarding what I am praying about regarding racial injustice. My wrestling isn't about whether there is injustice, and particularly racial injustice, in our current context. As a Christian I, of all people, should not be surprised at the injustice we see all around us and have a deep conviction to rectify it where I see it. That is not the question. What I am praying through is where God wants my eyes to be opened to it and how He wants me to go about confronting it and rectifying it in my personal walk with Him. We have many historical examples of political movements claiming that they were "fighting injustice" that led to deep tragedy, human suffering, and even greater injustice being perpetuated. Therefore, as a Christian I must "test the spirits" (1 John 4:1), before hitching my wagon to any particular movement.
I have personally come to the conclusion that while the political left and BLM use the word "justice" at nauseum, much of the time, they are using the word in a different manner than what I find as biblical justice defined in scripture. Justin Giboney puts it really well when he says;
"Contemporary concepts of compassion and justice that ignore human brokenness and individual sin can only lead to the same desolate destination...
But gospel-driven compassion doesn’t conceptually refashion or normalize our brokenness in vain attempts to evade categories of sin. True justice isn’t inclusive of sin, because sin leads to moral disorder, and moral disorder is where injustice thrives."