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Building spiritual capital in religious communities: how and why?
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Content
BUILDING SPIRITUAL CAPITAL IN RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES: HOW AND WHY?
By
James Matthew Thomas
___________________________________________________________________
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE SOL PRICE SCHOOL OF POLICY
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements of the Degree
DOCTOR OF POLICY, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
December, 2014
Copyright 2014 James Matthew Thomas
ii
DEDICATION
__________________________________________________________________
This document is dedicated to my mother Halle “Lillian” Thomas, a former
sharecropper’s daughter who continues to be an exemplary model of Christian love and service,
which is foundational not only to this dissertation, but my life’s passion and to my wife for
loving me and not allowing me to quit and providing the maternal guidance to raise our children
to become the next generation’s agents of change.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
__________________________________________________________________
Without the support of Dr. LaVonnna Lewis (Chair and ministering sprit), Dr. Niraj Verma
and Harry Richardson, I would have never thought my ideas had any credibility beyond
providing stimulating debate after consuming a succulent holiday meal.
I would like to thank my brother John, his wife Tessa and my beautiful niece Micah for
providing a wonderful home for us while I finished this work.
I thank my children, James, Isaiah, Joshua, and Imani for being great kids who always
encouraged me and always remained patient when I would say, “we can’t afford that right
now.”
I thank my committee members Dr. LaVonna Lewis, Dr. Grace Dyrness, Dr. Elton Massey
and Pete White.
I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for helping me overcome one of the most horrific life struggles
imaginable, my brother’s murder and also helping me to understand that effective ministry
results in broad based social impacts both within and outside the church. With God’s help, I
have learned to become a force for social good by allowing faith to generate hope in the most
hopeless situations.
iv
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
__________________________________________________________
Dr. Lavonna Lewis (Committee Chair)
Professor
Dr. Grace Dyrness
Professor
Dr. Elton Massey
Professional
Odyssey Ventures
Long Beach, California
Pete White
Los Angeles Community Action Network
Los Angeles, California
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
___________________________________________________________________
DEDICATION.......................................................................................................... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... iii
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................ vii
CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................. 8
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................... 8
1.1 OVERVIEW ..................................................................................................... 9
1.2 ORGANIZATION OF THE DISSERTATION .......................................................... 9
1.3 THE PROJECT ............................................................................................... 11
1.3.1 Purpose ............................................................................................. 11
1.3.2 A Small vs. Mega Church Case Studies ........................................... 11
1.3.3 Focus ................................................................................................. 12
1.3.4 Research Question ............................................................................ 12
1.3.5 Methodology ..................................................................................... 12
1.3.6 Terms and Concepts ......................................................................... 13
1.3.7 Limitations ........................................................................................ 13
CHAPTER 2 ........................................................................................................... 15
METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN ............................................... 15
2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 15
2.2 Research Design: The Case Study Model of Analysis ........................ 16
2.3 Qualitative Research Methods: A Discussion ..................................... 16
2.4 Method of Analysis: Observation ........................................................ 17
CHAPTER 3 ........................................................................................................... 19
THE HISTORIC BLACK CHURCH .................................................................. 19
3.1 RISE OF THE MEGA CHURCH ........................................................................ 19
3.1.1 Background ....................................................................................... 19
3.1.2 Literature Review: Spiritual Capital ................................................. 24
3.1.3 Spiritual Capital and Economic Development ................................. 26
3.1.3.1 South LA Community Development Promotion .................... 30
3.1.4 Financing the Work: the Churches, Foundations and Charity ......... 35
3.1.5 Size Does Matters: Small Church vs. Mega Church ........................ 40
3.1.6 Contemporary Church for Racial and Economic Parity ................... 42
3.2 IN SEARCH OF THE BELOVED COMMUNITY .................................................. 45
3.2.1 Sanctified Capitalism ........................................................................ 45
3.2.2 The Kingdom Perspective-Urban Ministry Mandate ....................... 49
3.2.2.1 The Church’s New Political Perspective ................................ 51
3.2.2.2 Church Capacity Building by Cracking the Mirror Ceiling ... 54
3.2.2.3 Faith-Based Family Policy Implications ................................ 58
3.2.3 Power Struggle between the Haves and Have Not’s ........................ 73
3.2.4 Afro-Centric Teaching and the Jeremiah Wright Effect .................. 74
vi
CHAPTER 4 ........................................................................................................... 80
CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IMPACTING TODAY’S CHURCH ................. 80
4.1 IMPACTING CULTURE FOR GOOD ................................................................. 80
4.1.1 Diverse Contexts Considerations ..................................................... 80
4.1.2 Diverse Cultural Considerations ....................................................... 86
4.1.3 Diversity as a Economic Tool .......................................................... 89
4.1.4 New Family Systems, Child Welfare and Religion .......................... 90
4.1.5 Black Family Restoration ................................................................. 95
4.1.5.1 Incarceration/Deadbeat Dads: Fatherhood and the Church .... 95
4.1.5.2 Kenyan Model for Faith Based Community Development .... 98
4.2 TRANSFORMATION PROCESS ...................................................................... 100
CHAPTER 5 ......................................................................................................... 102
DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................................... 102
5.1 Data Collection Techniques ............................................................................. 102
5.2 Data Content: Survey and Interviews .............................................................. 102
5.3 Data Analysis ................................................................................................... 105
CHAPTER 6 ......................................................................................................... 107
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................... 107
6.1 SUMMARY .................................................................................................. 107
6.1.1 Introduction .................................................................................... 110
6.1.2 Research Questions ........................................................................ 110
6.2 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................... 110
6.2.1 Discussion ....................................................................................... 111
6.2.2 Best Practices Defined .................................................................... 111
6.2.2.1 Overview .............................................................................. 112
6.3 SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ...................................................... 113
GLOSSARY.......................................................................................................... 114
BIBILIOGROPHY .............................................................................................. 116
APPENDICES ...................................................................................................... 119
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ..................................................................... 119
LIVING WORD COMMUNITYCHURCH SERVICE DELIVERY
PROPOSAL .............................................................................................. 121
UNIVERSITY-CHURCH-CAPACITY-BUILDING-INITIATIVE (UCCBI) 130
HAVING CHURCH VS. DOING CHURCH 137
Modern Values:Strategic Planning for the Greatest Payoff 137
HOW TO DISCRIMINATE THE PLANNING LEVEL 139
S.M.A.R.T.E.R. OBJECTIVES 150
Surveying Modern Attitudes 152
vii
ABSTRACT
This project is a case study in search of identifying an effective community development
program for a small church with very limited resources. It makes the case for effective and
measurable small church community and economic development projects and focuses on
building spiritual capital when there are limited resources. It arises out of my vocation as a pastor
regarding how a small church can sustain the civil rights legacy of resiliency and black uplift that
characterized the Historically Black Church (HBC), and also provides a platform to address the
systemic problems of race, class and life chances for low-income African American residents of
Los Angeles.
8
Chapter 1
___________________________________________________________________
INTRODUCTION
When transforming and revitalizing low income urban communities, size doesn’t matter. Race
relations, cultural identity and the eradication of racism are important. The pedagogy of the
Historically Black Church (HBC) has included liberation themes that proved successful in times
of discrimination and violence starting with slavery to the early 1960s and will continue until
racial parity is achieved.
Though churches have initiated a variety of Community Development projects aimed at
transforming physical space, cultivating a positive community ethos is sustainable and a better
use of resources, and what they do well — consciousness raising. Churches must move from
developing religious capital to spiritual capital if they are to become important economic forces
in community revitalization. Spiritual capital is the link between authentic faith and civic
responsibility and social action. It is the pursuit, and acknowledgement of humanity’s best. It
reflects a world view that can be measured by a spiritual understanding that promotes peace and
goodwill toward mankind. Churches must not only talk about issues of economic equity but must
actively engage stakeholders in dialogue to develop curricula, service learning opportunities and
community service programs that restore hope and confidence in humanity and mitigate the
negative effects of racism on urban communities. An ethics-based community development
initiative is the spiritual currency that leads to sustainable community revitalization. The black
church’s faith tradition has been effective in promoting democracy through its message of
freedom, equality and justice. Urban residents are forced to choose between blight and
9
gentrification in the struggle to improve their neighborhoods. In order to increase life chances for
low income Blacks and Latinos, a better strategy must be developed, but it will take a concerted
effort from all stakeholders, friends and foes alike. Utilizing Ethnography and Narrative
Planning Analysis, I am directing a project using a program development and evaluation tool that
will help government agencies, businesses, foundations, church leaders and non-profit
professionals learn how to build spiritual capital by lessons learned from the Culturally Based
Algebra Camp (CBAC). CBAC is a small church program which utilizes standard practice
assessments, analysis and instructional tools to help African-American students become college
ready. This will maximize resources and decision making for faith-based program development,
evaluation and overall organizational effectiveness. It will also explore new avenues of funding
and lay the groundwork for establishing faith-based solutions to complex social problems.
1.1 Overview
This Planning, Design, and Development Project (PDDP) identified the best practices and
important social issues for small minority churches to consider when designing community
development projects that are culturally relevant, but also deeply impact urban neighborhoods.
This project focuses specifically on the role of Living Word Community Church in developing
spiritual capital to create faith-based socially innovative programs that promote good
governance, capacity building and measurable outcomes.
1.2 Organization of the Dissertation
The first chapter is a broad introduction of the issues facing the contemporary African
American Church and the project description of a small church program, Culturally- Based
Algebra Camp, which resulted from this work. The chapter addresses the need to reexamine how
10
urban ministries can use liberation theology as both a historical and theoretical framework for
developing ministry programs. The chapter’s first section used the literature of spiritual capital to
analyze the role of HBCs in the community transformation process. The first chapter also
describes the organization of the dissertation, the key research question and the limitations of
research. The second chapter focuses on methodology using data such as a close-ended survey
which documents tacit beliefs held by clergy, lay leaders and community stakeholders, in
addition to a comparison between the Living Word Community Church of Los Angeles (a small
church) and West Angeles Church of God in Christ (a mega church). The second chapter also
examines the methodology and research design used in this project. It groups the survey
responses of small and mega churches and their implications for urban ministry effectiveness.
The third chapter focused on the Historic Black Church and the rise of the mega church. The
fourth chapter describes the study’s general findings to bridge the gap between the urban
ministries at an inner-city mega church and a small church. The fourth chapter examines the
contemporary issues impacting today’s church. The fifth chapter summarized the responses to
the research interviews and analyzes and discusses the results. It also explains the implications
for further research and concludes that after four years of observation the Culturally-Based
Algebra Camp focuses on State educational standard benchmarks aimed at closing the
achievement gap between African American and whites. It hypothesizes that small churches are
better equipped to develop outreach ministries to align California state educational standards
with urban ministry goals that are measurable and research-based. This implies that
Governmental entities and private funding institutions should partner with smaller churches more
readily. The sixth and final chapter summarizes the dissertation and identifies policy implication
11
for small HBCs that seek partnerships with government entities and secular non-profits
organizations.
1.3 The Project
The mission of the Culturally Based Algebra Camp was using the Living Word Community
Church, a small church of less than twenty-five members, to mobilize community partnerships and
increase the efficacy of the culturally-based math curriculum and to foster high academic
achievement and college readiness among African-American students. The goal is to generate
competitive African-American educational achievement, increase the proportion of college
admissions and graduation rates, and ultimately contribute towards enlightened community and
world class leadership in the 21
st
century.
1.3.1 Purpose
The purpose of this project was to provide a framework for dialogue to help guide small
to medium Historically Black Churches in their efforts to develop, regain their role as social
innovators for urban communities by developing social action programs that encourage working
in partnership with non-profits, business, government and community stakeholders, in order to
redevelop and revitalize their communities into Beloved Communities.
1.3.2 A Small vs. Mega Church Case Studies
The best practices detailed within this project are targeted for Historically Black
Churches (HBCs) throughout Southern California. Two churches, Living Word Community
Church and West Angeles Church of God In Christ were examined as case studies to help
12
illustrate those practices which are most effective in smaller churches (those with less than 100
members) and mega churches (those with at least 2000 members or more). This project did not
include any specific policy recommendations for churches, but gives potential community
development professionals a framework for determining which small church-based programs are
best for promoting community partnerships.
1.3.3 Focus
The focus of this project was look at what churches, even small ones can do to revitalize
urban communities. All churches, especially small ones, can have the basic infrastructure and
desire required to enhance the quality of life for local residents.
1.3.4 Research Question
Does church size (especially small vs. mega churches) hinder the development of
spiritual capital in urban ministry programs?
1.3.5 Methodology
The dissertation used an observational (ethnographic) case study approach coupled with
cyber focus group interviews with regional and local economic development officials, clergy,
elected officials, lay leaders, community members and denominational leaders along with close-
ended survey of small and mega black church congregants. The aim is to obtain their opinions
concerning the religious community and its role in revitalizing urban Los Angeles.
13
1.3.6 Terms and Concepts
This dissertation uses terms and concepts such as “community development without
bricks and mortar,” “mirrored ceiling,” “beloved community,” “spiritual currency,” “brand” etc.
in various chapters (see the Glossary at the end of the last chapter for an alphabetized list).
1.3.7 Limitations
The main limitations of this study are centered on data collection and on how to maintain
trust between subjects because of the private nature of what was revealed. It was important to
make sure that the subjects felt that the researcher was respecting the institutional church and its
leadership while juxtaposed with those who reported that they had lost all trust.
Limitations (Bell, 2002), include:
The amount of time needed to commit to extensive in-depth research, as well as the
researcher’s imposition of meaning on the subject’s story. "Hardened stories," or
"narratives that become context-free, portable and ready to be used anywhere and
anytime for illustrative purposes," jeopardize narrative inquiry by "killing the spirit of
inquiry" and freezing the story in time.
Because stories are complex, the story’s truth is constructed and the researcher may be
subjective, it is necessary to determine what the assessment criteria should be for
narrative inquiry research (Conle, 2001).A narrative inquiry may be challenged in four
ways: the objective truth of the story, the emotional truth of the story, the social/moral
appropriateness of the story, and the clarity of the story. The challenge is requiring even
14
more narrative, a better way to obtain truth and to determine the degree to which its
interpretation can match the intent of the inquiry.
This dissertation limits itself to the conceptual nature of the Historic Black Church and a
single program.
It is impossible to escape altogether the subjective evaluation. The approach attempts to
highlight the importance of extending the church’s work and dialogue beyond religion, in
order to make it more relevant to civil society.
The best practices detailed within this project target one church’s math program as an
example of what spiritual capital might mean for small churches. However, this project
did not include too specific recommendations via its illustration of out-of-the-box
thinking and the unprecedented partnerships that might be required for a church to
achieve similar goals.
15
Chapter 2
___________________________________________________________________
METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN
2.1 Introduction
Collecting information about churches is almost an impossible task especially for those who are
unfamiliar and considered outsiders. Any data collected by researchers who have no affiliation
with the church they are studying can expect the data to be skewed. (Bird, 2007) Likewise, any
researcher who is affiliated with a church or an insider is also subject to skewing but for different
reasons. Church officials and members rarely speak candidly on the record about unflattering
problems or issues at their church. This is the fastest way to get fired or alienated. In many ways,
they function like secret societies. Outsiders seeking knowledge about church polity are often
viewed with suspicion (Bird, 2007). They see it as an intrusion of their rights. In fact, a common
response is “If you were a member you would know.” The assumption is that anyone who is
interested in the church but does not want to join or belong to one is not to be trusted or at best
has a selfish agenda. I decided to include the survey because it synthesizes in general the
thoughts and perspectives of stakeholders who believe in the mission and purpose of the church.
It is important to remember that the respondents are very committed leaders and members of
churches and under normal circumstances would never want to be identified with saying
anything that could be construed as disparaging to the church or its leaders, It was important to
find a way to share their sentiments while also maintaining anonymity, because churches have a
very difficult time dealing with descent. In addition, the tacit knowledge revealed in the survey
and by interviews and observation is privately held generally by many Historically Black
16
Churchgoers, who if questioned by an outsider would quickly distance or even deny the sincerely
held beliefs identified in the survey. Because of the difficulty in collecting data from such a
closed group, getting pass what religious subjects/people deem acceptable for sharing,
necessitated the synthesis of two methodological approaches for data collecting: Ethnographic
and Narrative Planning. In turn, the methodology and research design used in this dissertation
was directed to provide results that could be used as discussion points in the development and
implementation phase for community development professional and policy by leaders.
2.2 Research Design: The Case Study Model of Analysis
Narrative Case Studies in the Social Sciences
Narrative is often used in case study research in the social sciences. Here it has
been found that the dense, contextual, and interpenetrating nature of social forces
uncovered by detailed narratives is often more interesting and useful for both
social theory and social policy than other forms of social inquiry. Prominent
social scientists have pointed out that a social science expressed in terms of
narrative case studies would provide better access for policy intervention than the
present social science of emphasis on quantitative data (Academic Room, 2013).
2.3 Qualitative Research Methods: A Discussion
Qualitative research has three general techniques which includes observations, surveys,
and interviews. The object of this study was both environmental and cultural, and the
Ethnographical method of analysis was employed. It means “participant observation,” and this is
used to paint an interpretative portrait of people. This typically refers to fieldwork that involves
one investigator who ‘lives with and lives like’ those who are studied, usually for a year of more
17
(Genzuk, 2003). Qualitative methods will include a great deal of pure description of the program
and/or the experiences of people in the research environment. The purpose of this description is
to let the reader know what happened in the environment under observation, what it was like
from the participants’ point of view to be in that in the setting, and what particular events or
activities in the setting were like. The type of data that can be derived by this method was
applicable to the discussion. Using the survey alone would not properly engage religious leaders,
legislators and businessmen in a manner that would solicit a creditable response because they
have neither the time nor inclination to complete a survey (Massey, 2009) . To mitigate this
problem, those who did not complete the survey were interviewed and asked to react to it. Their
reactions and opinions were gathered through the interview process (Massey, 2009).
Trahar (2009) is a widely quoted example of the use of narrative methodologies in policy
analysis, although its specific application is limited to higher education among international
students. Throgmorton (1996) was the pioneer with respect to narrative methodologies in the
planning field, but his key application (the history and future of electric facilities in Chicago)
was very different from that pursued here.
2.4 Method of Analysis: Observation
Given the nature of this study, the observational method made most sense for
analysis. The process of analysis and interpretation involve disciplined examination, creative
insight, and careful attention to the purposes of the research study. Analysis and interpretation
are conceptually separate processes. The analysis process begins with assembling the raw
materials and getting an overview or total picture of the entire process. The researcher’s role in
18
analysis covers a continuum with assembly of raw data on one extreme and interpretive comment
on the other. Analysis is the process of bringing order to data, organizing what is there into
patterns, categories, and basic descriptive units. The analysis process involves consistency,
frequency, extensiveness, intensity, specificity of response and big ideas specificity of responses
and big ideas. Data reduction strategies are essential in the analysis. Interpretation involves
attaching meaning and significance to the analysis, explaining descriptive patterns, and looking
for relationships and linkages among descriptive dimensions. Once the processes have been
completed must report his or her interpretations and conclusions. (Genzuk, 2003)
19
Chapter 3
___________________________________________________________________
THE HISTORIC BLACK CHURCH
3.1 Rise of the Mega Church
Mega-churches receive far less funding for their development efforts than both Catholic and
Lutheran development organizations and do far less in comparison. They are often lauded for
being the standard bearer for what urban ministry should look like for all churches. However,
religious insiders, readily disagree with the business like model and fear what will happen if the
church continues to function as corporations. Often, government and private funders only
consider their grant proposals based on brand association, which is less competitive and have
funding limitations instead of funding projects based on measuring the social benefits enjoyed by
the broader community. Often times, churches lack the necessary resources and professional
skills needed to effectively analyze program outcomes. When they seek to discover best practices
and programs that will improve the quality of life for both church members and the community
at large, they are hindered by a lack of resources and end up helping to maintain the status quo
rather than encouraging social justice.
3.1.1 Background
Since the War on Poverty, government has sought to develop policy that would minimize
the number of impoverished citizens and also mitigate the collateral damage associated with
being African American and poor. Issues include crime, drugs, poor education and health, family
20
dysfunction, blight and a pervasive since of hopelessness, which makes any viable social policy
recommendation a daunting task at best. Developing institutions with the capacity to implement
policies and social programs that help mitigate the devastating effects of these social ills in
meaningful and measureable ways is seemingly impossible for most organizations, but not the
Black church. Religious education that offers a holistic approach is fundamental to the historic
African American church, coupled with the ability to provide a community development model
for poor and disenfranchised neighborhoods. Beginning with Nat Turner, a slave preacher who
believed that God told him to lead what ultimately became the most notable slave rebellion in
history, to Richard Allen the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, to W. E. B.
Dubois, the Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King’s concept of the Beloved
Community, the African American church continues to be an invaluable resource in developing
strategies and programs to transform civil society and ensure racial and economic parity (E.
Franklin Frazier, 1974). Several examples can be found in Los Angeles, the home of several
mega churches and the Mecca for faith based community development. These large churches
have a rich history of civic and community engagement dating back to one of this country’s first
black mayors, the honorable Tom Bradley.
Many large African American churches in Los Angeles have Community and Economic
Development entities that have historically focused on affordable housing, financial literacy, and
employment training programs. First African Methodist Episcopal (FAME) Church and West
Angeles Church of God In Christ (WESTA) have blazed a trail in this area and are two of the
most prestigious institutions owned and operated by African Americans in Los Angeles. Both
have amassed great wealth, political influence and attract a list of who’s who ranging from
United States Presidents to notorious former gang members. Interestingly, both also closed their
21
primary schools because of budget constraints. In other words, there was too little return on
investment (ROI). In fact one leader said, “Running a school was like dumping money into a
black hole.” Access to quality education, according to the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, is a civil right, yet these churches lacked the ability to sustain their schools. They
were not able to garner the political, social or religious capital to keep the doors open. This is
ironic because the majority of African Americans with college degrees earned them at church
funded Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Most of which, were founded by
the Historic Black Church (HBC). Both of these church-operated schools were very successful in
preparing urban children for college prep secondary schools. These schools were two of the best
in South Los Angeles. Their closures have impacted the life chances of many local children. The
pleas of parents were not enough to get leadership to reconsider the closure. The school was
replaced by an after-school tutoring program whose director shamelessly espouses the merits of
voucher programs, non-unionized merit based teacher promotion. In addition, West Angeles
and Living Word received grants for their summer math programs. Living Word’s program is
free, but West Angeles charges a fifty dollar registration fee and also received far more funding
than Living Word. Because science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) are fundamental
skills that must be mastered early, so much so, that middle school, once thought to be the best
time to begin teaching these skills, seems be too late today. Instead, elementary school might be
the best time for students lagging behind academically to work on becoming proficient in STEM
subjects. The small class sizes of these schools were certainly a plus. These schools were poised
to become great avenues out of poverty and vehicles for social change and power building, but
were closed without much community outcry or support for that matter. While the decision to
close these schools was said to be by consensus, dissenting voices were never really considered,
22
because the church’s approach to governance, more often than not, considers dissenting voices
disparaging to both the leader and institution, so real consensus building efforts are usually not
possible. Like many non-profit organizations that serve South Los Angeles, effective governance
seems to always be an afterthought. Building consensus and capacity are excellent concepts to
include when submitting funding proposals but rarely do these organizations seek to find ways to
work with those with whom they disagree. Recently, more than 400 million dollars was
designated to South Los Angeles and was to be managed by both the Brotherhood Crusade and
the Urban League. Because they were unable to reach an agreement on how the funds should be
spent, the timeline lapsed and the funding was returned to the federal government. These
organizations play a major role in helping to reduce poverty and inequality. They also encourage
wealth building through community development programs, but to allow such a large amount of
money to leave an area starved of resources is poor stewardship. They should have found a way
to work together, but also the Federal government should have done a better job selecting
organizations to fund. A similar role could have been played by the Historic Black Church
(HBC). If an HBC was able to secure this level of funding, the social benefits would be very
substantial. One would need only to look at the HBCUs to get a glimpse of the possibilities.
However, such a large sum of funding would never be considered because most funders are
simply ignorant when it comes to understanding the relevance and resources within HBCs, the
small ones in particular. Because mega churches have emphasized the same approach as non-
profits and have produced similar results, funders will consider their projects as good community
relations with very little regard for social impacts. Mega churches are effective in some ways
but operate in silos and their community development efforts rely primarily on funding from
other communities. Local community funding efforts like tithes, offerings and capital pledge
23
campaigns raised enough capital to fund the purchase of the former Pepperdine University
property, but the church could not find a way to fund its schools. The mainstream historic black
church, in its determination to remain relevant; has overlooked its role to educate the masses
which was once its greatest asset. Of the 243 Christian Schools in Los Angeles, 92 are non-
sectarian, 76 Catholic, 25 Jewish, 22 Non-denominational and 11 Baptist and 1 Church of God in
Christ. (Christian Schools Directory, 2013) No doubt, formal education with its western
pedagogical models, which fail to consider cultural competency as a necessary component, and
pervasive unemployment/underemployment has, particularly in more conservative HBCs,
contributed to a broad-based anti-intellectualism that is foundational to community and parental
apathy that helps to widen the achievement gap for low-income students of color. In order to
offset the “School to Prison Pipeline,” churches and funders alike must shift their focus from
expensive community development projects that necessitate the use of bricks and mortar to more
modest projects that grow Spiritual Capital by consciousness, consensus, capacity and power
building. I refer to this approach as Community Development “Without Bricks and Mortar” or
Spiritual Capital for low-income people of color.
24
3.1.2 Literature Review: Spiritual Capital
Trying to figure out how to explain the concept of spiritual capital is very difficult. Most
of what is important in understanding the concept is allowing healthy debate about what it
means. The definition is quite fluid but unlike some I am not convinced that that the best place to
start is looking and capital markets and economic indicators. The paper included in the appendix
provides an overview of the vast literature relevant to the study of spiritual capital. It remains
very much a work in progress, designed both to stimulate discussion and to elicit comments,
suggestions, recommendations, and additional source material. Subsequent drafts will include, or
be linked to, a much more comprehensive bibliography of publications, working papers, and data
sources. The following four sections form the initial part of our survey. They introduce spiritual
capital in relation to other forms of capital – human, social, cultural, and religious. Additional
sections of the survey concern the social and economic consequences of spiritual capital, the
effect of government on the formation of spiritual capital, theories of religion and spirituality,
causes and consequences of religious extremism, religious markets and church-state interaction,
trends and cross-national comparisons, historical lessons, and scenarios for the future of religion
and spirituality (Laurence R. Iannaccone, 2003). I have included the full literature review
because it made more sense that to include it because my aim is not so much to define spiritual
capital as it is introducing spiritual currency, the product of spiritual capital.
25
The best explanation of Spiritual Currency can be found in Acts: 3:1-10. The narrative
begins with two of the disciples were about to enter the temple, when a beggar, who was blind
and crippled from birth, asked for money. The disciple looked at the beggar and replied silver
and gold we do not have, but what we do have, we give to you; in the name of Jesus Christ, rise
and walk (Thomas Nelson Inc. 2002). The man with a little assistance from the disciple was
stood up and began to walk on his own and the entire village was overcome with hope. In a
similar way, Dinkie, a slave conjurer held everyone on the plantation, white or black, in his
power. Able to come and go at his pleasure, he never worked. Everyone treated him with respect
(Raboteau, 2004). Dinkie was not a Christian, but was said to possess supernatural powers and
these powers were responsible for him living as a free man though he was in fact a slave. The
same can be said of the more infamous slave preacher, Nat Turner, who was a Christian and had
such a grasp of theological concept that he confounded his masters. He was able to function
more freely than the other slaves because of his special spiritual powers (Turner, 2011).
Interestingly, Dinkie was noted as having received his power from Satan and Turners from God,
but Turner’s power culminated into the bloodiest slave revolt in history. The spirituality and
freedom go hand in hand for Blacks, leading back to the first recorded baptism of a slave child of
a couple introduced into the Virginia colony. According to the law of England by which the
colony was governed, a slave who was christened or baptized became enfranchised (E. Franklin
Frazier, 1974). Clearly, there is a link between spiritual capital and liberation. There is a system
of exchange that was accepted by both slave and master. These slaves did not formally purchase
their freedom with money, but informally with Spiritual Currency, which for slaves began with
the belief that all bad slave holders to hell (Raboteau, 2004), According to Milton and Lewis
Clarke, slaves believed that there existed somewhere a real Bible from God, “ but they frequently
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say the Bible now used is the master’s bible,” since all they heard was “servants obey your
masters” (Raboteau, 2004). Today, African Americans believe that slaveholders were Christian,
but the slaves did not (Thomas, Surevying Modern Attitudes, 2008). Slave Christianity became
the substratum for the development Black Theology and eventually led to the founding of the
historic black church. (Mamiya, 1990). American’s original sin has affected most everything
about our nation’s life ever since slavery and the subsequent discrimination against black people
in America is of such magnitude of injustice that one would think national repentance and
reparations would be called for. Even apologizing for the great sin has proved to be quite
controversial (Wallis, 2005). My hypothesis is that Black Theology is Spiritual Capital and the
Black faith tradition as demonstrated by slave religion, the abolition of slavery, the civil rights
movement and the historic black church’s quest for freedom more than suggest the ability to
cultivate spiritual capital into spiritual currency for the purpose of obtaining freedom and liberty
for those who suffer most because of hopelessness and despair (Cone J. H., 1969). The HBC
much continue to cultivate Spiritual Currency in order to restore urban communities, one family
at a time.
3.1.3. Spiritual Capital and Economic Development
The theological perspective of churches actively involved in doing
community and economic development run the full gambit, from the extremely liberal to staunch
conservative. Each church ranges in size and mission but all have in common a passion for
transforming the neighborhoods where they exist. They understand the need to provide both an
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economic base and economic opportunities for the community at large. The notion of charity for
the poor has been replaced with job training and skill building programs. While there does not
seem to be any particular theological perspective that distinguishes these community driven
churches from others, what is certain is that they are all located in poor urban communities where
there is extreme poverty. What is also interesting is that most of these are generally, made up of
middle-class African-Americans who rather not confront poverty head-on. A legislator at one of
the largest church said Los Angeles stated that “We do not deal directly with the most
impoverished because we're simply too close to it ourselves." What these churches realize the
most is that the positive effect of evangelism is hindered when prospects do not have their most
basic needs met. If the church is to continue to be relevant, it must find a way to address the
problem of economic inequity. The resources available for financing church-based programs
must be expanded to create programs that not only help develop a spiritual-social consciousness
that is beneficial to the community over all, but must also create good paying jobs.
Most Faith Based development projects usually consist of Low Income Housing
or Childcare facilities. Such projects meet a legitimate need within poor communities but neither
provides economic stability. More importantly these kinds of projects prohibit the use of
religious values and ideals even when they promote ethical standards that enhance
entrepreneurialism and self-reliance.
Within this frame of reference, economic development can
be seen as a process through which persons and communities learn to care
for and use the resources that sustain life. Economic development can be
viewed as creative management of endowed resources by stewards who act
on their faith commitments. Here, genuine economic growth is guided by
normative laws, character, and principled habits and practices that take
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into account the preservation needs of human beings, their environments,
and their physical, mental, social, cultural and spiritual lives. In the
ultimate sense, spiritual capital may be the third or missing leg in the stool
which includes its better known relatives, namely: human and social
capital.
International Relations theory and development economics
since the 1980’s have similarly argued that as more advanced
(West/North) nations progress with respect to technology, capital
formation, growth, and diversification of economic sectors, in an era of
rapid globalization and greater “interconnectivity” and interdependence
across national boundaries, a “feedback” effect on culture, politics, and
society occur. To what extents are spiritual variables or spiritual capital
the missing component ignored in much of recent academic inquiry and
policy analyses of global economic growth? (Malloch, 2003)
The African American church is different from the European church in that its primary
work is done with an emphasis on liberation. Freedom from spiritual and secular forces that
impede spiritual development and social progress of African Americans is the distinguishing
mandate. Strengthening African American families by developing fatherhood programs is only
one example of the creative thinking required when addressing urban issues within the African-
American context. The goal is to help churches strengthen their communities through Faith-
Based Urban Development and Planning. Community residents can play a more effective role in
transforming and revitalizing their communities by strategically utilizing religious, community,
business and political resources. Essential to any successful urban community development
projects is the development of a planning model that reflects the interests and passions of the
community residents and local institutions. City planning departments should work very
diligently to ensure that churches and other community based organizations, which have a wealth
of untapped resources, are included in the planning process on the front end rather than forcing
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them to react by organizing against plans that often seem, on the surface to be detrimental to the
communities they seek to help. The relationship between religion and development was best
expressed in a sermon by Father Sjef Donders, the well known professor of Philosophy and
Comparative Religion at the University of Nairobi:
Good religion enhances in innumerable ways the reverence and
generosity the Developers, Planners and workers bring to their work. It
places the program within the context of a caring community that provides
built in accountability. Bad religion cripples the development programs,
either by domineering structures that prevent people especially women
and communities from growing self-confidence and self-reliance or are so
other-worldly that members refuse to look at political issues and power
relationships. Concern for the poor is limited to handouts and no
responsibility is felt analyzing the cause of poverty or building more just
structures. Sometimes it seems that the institutional Church is a huge tree
that has blown over in the wind. There is a great deal of dead wood still
attached to the trunk, and many of the roots have been exposed, as we
have faced various scandals. Yet some of the roots still reach deep into
living water beneath the earth, the ground of our being. Always there are
shoots of new life, inspiring people and communities whose lives are
transformed by the Gospel. (James Carroll, Daedal us 2003)
According to David Korten, economic growth alone is not alleviating the conditions of
the unfolding global crisis instead single-minded pursuit of growth is causing instability.
Maximization of Profit by corporations creates poverty faster than development aid can
overcome it. Though the world’s population believes that economic growth is important to
universal prosperity, transformation of values and institutions that define how we use the Earth’s
bounty and distribute its benefits is more effect (James Carroll, Daedal us 2003) Faith-Based
Urban Development that transforms communities is a process of organic growth, enabling all the
potential within a society or person to unfold. It can also be the imposition of someone else’s
plans such as the global reach of corporations, which often leads to calculated self-interest that
seldom helps the poor. Instead, Faith Based Urban Development enables groups to read their own
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reality and write their own history by resolving their own issues and confronting systemic causes
of disadvantage in ways that are more sustainable.
3.1.3.1 South LA Community Development Promotion
The recent retreat of African American churches that once were progressive but during
the Bush administration have increasingly become more conservative might best be explained as
a consequence of spiritual capital impacting the marketplace by promoting entrepreneurialism
and ideologically bases goods and services as opposed to spiritual currency, which is reflected in
the pursuit of intangibles such justice, freedom, racial and economic parity.
The issues at question in this debate are important, not least of all for a
research program aiming to examine the varieties of spiritual capital
operative in the world today.” Whether religious or otherwise, associations
are not created equal in their impact on political and economic life. To
state the matter more theoretically, the simple structural fact of
participating in a religious or other “civic” association does not guarantee
that the spiritual capital generated by that association is democracy or
market-friendly. In assessing the impact of spiritual capital on political or
economic life, then, we have to go beyond the mere presence of spiritual
capital and examine the specific values it promotes and the ends to which
its associated networks are put (Weber, 1904).
The success of church based projects has brought with it greater fiscal responsibility. No
longer can the church abdicate its responsibility to help implement and maintain a values’ based
corporate ethic. Today’s bad economy is as much an indication of the church’s failure to promote
good stewardship in favor of modeling secular for-profit corporations. Faith institutions must
intentionally work to popularize its economic worldview (spiritual capital) as a way to promote
sustainable economic growth and development. The impact of faith on the marketplace is best
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described by Max Weber the author of the “Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.”
In this work, he argues that there is a close relationship between religion and capitalism. In fact,
some sociologists argue that it is impossible for capitalism to exist without a religious
framework. This is particularly interesting because religion has also played a major role in
liberating the downcast. While many conclude that the major contribution of religion to society is
social control and not an economic stimulus, Max Weber suggests entrepreneurialism as a
significant outgrowth of religion. The role of faith in everyday life is considered to produce a
social ethnic that increases the likelihood of a more humane society. A social ethos that includes
honesty, hard work and compassion will undoubtedly impact the marketplace. All of which are
principles common among most religions. The correlation between faith and entrepreneurialism
is an important one, not only for the business community, but the religious community as well.
Some of the most savvy business people I have ever met have been pastors of mega-churches.
However, their churches also seemed to be less likely to develop programs aimed at reaching the
poorest of the poor. Though their projects are said to be more community friendly, common
business practices gleaned from for profit entities make them no more community friendly than
any other corporation. In many cases the impact on poor communities is worse because many
religious institutions do not have adequate accountability measures. Even government agencies
and foundations tend to only intervene when business practices become illegal. For example, a
housing project was constructed in South Los Angeles that provided substantial upgrades to a
few apartment buildings near the church. Several families would be displaced but the church
agreed to allow them to return once the upgrades were completed. In the end, no residents were
allowed to return and there was little to no outcry. Any other developer would have faced harsh
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opposition and public outrage. I am particularly concerned with the way in which churches have
become increasingly more businesslike and less charitable.
Many progressives argue that supporting faith-based projects means conservatives will
eventually abrogate the government’s responsibility for the poor to religious institutions. These
are large corporations that in many ways are untouchable and in solidarity with the power elite
rather than the poor as their theology mandates. Though the CEO/pastor has become the standard
for most mega-churches, it is not a good match for those serving in the poorest neighborhoods,
because their corporate structure prohibits any significant grassroots strategy for revitalizing
urban Los Angeles. Yet in Los Angeles, the churches, which are most heavily involved in
economic development, tend to be led by CEO/pastors who have a win-win business ethic that is
often a contradiction of values and mission.
The church is one of the few organizations to take pride in not being a community of the
best and brightest, but rather the inadequate, humble, and faithful. Apostle Paul the chief author
of the New Testament gospel said that the success of his preaching was not due to eloquent
speech and persuasive words, but power from God. The church has traditionally been most
effective in meeting the needs of urban communities when resources were scarce. While an
executive at the largest church in Los Angeles, I was chided not to engage in conversations with
the receptionist because she was my subordinate. It was extremely difficult for me to adopt this
management perspective. In my opinion, the fact that she was the president of the youth choir
made her my colleague. Her leadership role among young people should have been revered
rather than belittled. Her current position, in my opinion represented a failure on the part of
human resources to adequately place someone with her skill set. To make matters worse, she
was denied a promotion to administrative assistant at the church. Although, she did not graduate
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from high school, she became a computer wiz. I would secretly allow her to use my lap top
computer. My boss was completely against my helping employees strengthen their skills; my
attending theological seminary was even frowned upon. Her faith and my company issued laptop
computer enabled this high school dropout to gain the skills to become the director of marketing
for a Fortune 500 computer software firm.
My observation is that religion most certainly encourages a strong work ethic
that impacts capitalism and leads to a more humane and just society. However for religious
institutions involved in doing business in the open market, the outcomes can be quite different.
This receptionist was not allowed to thrive because of perceived limitations. Ironically, the
church regularly teaches that business practices should be fair and impartial, when it comes to its
own staff there seems to be a different set of rules. The most fundamental issue facing faith-based
organizations has to do with who evaluates the prophet. A Major complaint is that religious
leaders do not respond well to evaluators when their programs require corrective action. All too
often, these recommendations are ignored to the demise of the program and funding is not
requested the following year. This is an extremely important concern because the social programs
that end up being eliminated usually involve the delivery of services to the poorest communities
and have the greatest impact at the grassroots level. Because the recipients of these services tend
to have no religious affiliation, and are not viewed as the church’s primary constituency, it is
easy to eliminate services without any threat of reprisals. Most of these folks have already fallen
between the cracks as it relates to the provision of social services. They believe that the services
received are charitable gifts rather than contracted government services and expect them to be
short lived at best. These systemic issues give credibility to the opponents of government funded
church-based programs. Though faith should transcend all human enterprises, its ability to create
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just and equitable partnerships within religious institutions are daunting. It is ironic that the
church has been both the strongest proponent for justice and equality and at the same time, its
greatest opponent. The nonreligious, business oriented community stands to benefit the most
from the Protestant work ethic because work is to be entered into with a great deal of reverence
and completed "as unto the Lord," ideally eliminating the need for supervision. Religious
institutions on the other hand are plagued with maintaining their religious and institutional
identities at any cost, even when their business practices are in conflict with their mission and
religious norms.
Large well established churches with substantial financial and political resources are
more likely to have Economic Development Corporations. With the popularization of the faith-
based initiative, small churches have begun to do the same. Urban church leaders feel that they
must develop programs and services that appeal to a much broader community than before. The
church’s ability to meet the social needs of the community has always been important, but
today’s urban church is defined by its effectiveness working within the context of the
community programs they have helped developed, not the community at-large. Even religious
teachings, tend to favor the wealthy through its conservative ideological frame of reference
when it comes to serving the poor. The tension between religious mission and collective social
responsibility is a real one. The mission of the church is to evangelize through teaching and
religious practices. Religious practices should impact civil society for good. They should lead
to a more compassionate and just society; theological perspectives can prohibit the devout from
taking decisive action towards positive change. As a result, churches develop programs such as
affordable housing, commercial ventures, soup kitchens and the like, which discourage them
from using their belief system as a tool for behavior modification and building life skills.
35
Empowerment is the churches most effective tool. A message of hope, perseverance and
strength is the foundation of every church’s program. Churches are best at building strong
families through a system of beliefs that not only encourage reconciliation among broken
families but provide the social network to facilitate the healing process toward wholeness.
3.1.4 Financing the Work: the Churches, Foundations and Charity
When looking at the nature of philanthropic giving, it is important to
consider the move toward greater accountability and control by donors. At a glance, this trend
appears overly intrusive, suggesting the strong-arm tactic of donors who want to control the work
of non-profits. However subtle, it suggests that wealthy philanthropists are more effective at
managing the affairs of charities than those in the field. This kind of thinking is only acceptable
for non-profits. No one would ever suggest that a non-profit manager automatically has the skill
set to manage a for-profit enterprise. At best there are transferable skills, but experience in the
for-profit sector is vitally important. Those who would seek to manage non-profits should have
experience in the field also, above and beyond simply making financial contributions.
Philanthropic behavior is becoming linked to measurable outcomes and could eventually lead to
products and fees for service. This may help generate income but it does not deal with the issue
of creating a standardized but objective means to measure a non-profit’s effectiveness. The
greatest conflict centers in how the public’s interest is represented. Maintaining the public’s
interest and donor control must be brought into balance. The extreme of either is a threat to social
progress. Foundations should be less interested in turning an investment as they are in funding
projects that impact the most at-risk communities. The extreme of this approach is very
36
paternalistic and can result in funding projects that solely reflect the convictions of funders and
further victimizes poor communities (INCITE! Women of Color Agaist Violence, 2007). Many
non-profits today are forced to develop programs based on available funding so they are always
expanding their mission, and not necessarily meeting community needs. Donors who function in
a role similar to venture capitalist must also be willing to provide technical assistance and accept
responsibility for the non-profit’s effectiveness. The nature of foundations is just the opposite.
They grant the resources but do not claim responsibility for the charity’s outcomes unless they
are positive. This new emphasis will increase the likelihood that foundation will become culpable
for the improprieties of non-profits. In addition, they will face more government scrutiny. This is
similar to how operating foundations work. Foundations will not only become responsible for
financing charities but will also have a hand in managing and developing programs. Because
foundation board members are typically very busy and have relatively little time to commit, and
most are actively managing major for-profit enterprises, they might not be able to increase their
involvement. It is hard to imagine that philanthropists would like to extend their authority in this
way. This will certainly impact the development of new foundations. With an increased
workload, the number of new foundations is likely to decrease as boards members take on a
stronger role in maintaining deliverables. The political fall-out for foundations that are heavily
involved in directing the work of charities could also impede the growth of new foundations. The
need to increase the effectiveness of non-profits is an important objective and foundations should
be concerned that their money is used in a way that maximizes its impact. Linking operational
management to deliverables and funding options forces non-profit boards into becoming more
accountable. As a result, non-profit boards will begin to take their fiduciary responsibility
seriously. The role of foundations is changing in hopes of helping more non-profits become self-
37
sufficient and sustainable. Unless charitable organizations find new and innovative ways to create
income, whatever good they do will always be vulnerable to the next fiscal crisis. While I can
agree that a few non-profit agencies act irresponsibly and others may not have the knowledge
base to operate as efficiently as some would hope, foundations have to consider that stringent
changes in the funding requirements could result in foundations funding fewer and fewer non-
profits causing many to close their doors. The notion of unrestricted funding is a positive one for
most mission driven charitable organizations, because it helps to provide operating expenses.
This is what most non-profits need. Providing funding for capacity building is important and
funding for operating costs is equally as important. Unlike what many philanthropists believe,
operating costs directly benefit the targeted population. Donors cannot on the one hand claim to
be concerned with helping to effectively serve the poor without service delivery being a priority.
If service delivery is a priority than operating costs must be as well. The reason the two are
separated out so readily is that non-profit executives know that funders often do want their
money spent on operating costs. This is a good example of what can happen with more donor
control. On the other hand, donors may feel more comfortable granting operating funds when
they have more control or how the funds are managed. In the end balance is the key.
Hurricane Katrina prompted an outpouring of support of all sorts, from food, clothing, and shelter
to counseling. Many have been moved by the devastation and have felt compelled to make a
contribution of some sort. The media’s portrayal of men, women and children begging for help
will have an indelible affect on all Americans for years to come. For African Americans in
particular, it has jump-started a ground swell of support for ethnocentric philanthropy. African
Americans across the country have pledged their support primarily on the basis of having felt that
38
the poor black folks of New Orleans’ Ninth Ward were ignored. Much like the philanthropic
efforts during the civil rights movement, the African American community has begun to organize
and raise money to aid those suffering from what some have considered a resurgence of racial
repression. In fact, people from all socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds have made
contributions. Many have viewed the outpouring of support as evidence of a broader
philanthropic spirit that is the hallmark of the Western United States. With shipments of goods
and supplies arriving in New Orleans daily, it is easy to assume that the humanitarian efforts of
good-willed Americans are making a substantial impact. The warm feeling experienced by
packing boxes of supplies to send to the hurricane victims is unrivaled. Soup kitchens and
homeless shelters are vying for the attention of donors all too often are ignored during times of
national tragedy. What is most unfortunate is that the humanitarianism exhibited by some results
in such fervor that other human need that is just as pressing, is seen as a lesser priority. Poverty
did not go away with Katrina. There was very pressing human need prior to the disaster in New
Orleans and there will no doubt be need in the future, yet most of the funds being raised today are
linked in some way to Katrina. Many regional and local organizations at the height of their
fundraising seasons were encouraged to proceed with caution because most people were focused
on Katrina and an aggressive campaign might make them appear insensitive or self-seeking. On
the other hand, relief organizations are popping-up everywhere, because the government has
made it possible to expedite the process for establishing relief organizations during major
disasters. I am sure that in a few years, we will be begin hearing that a number of these
organizations failed to provide the services promised and that others misappropriated funds and
still others scammed unsuspecting do-gooders. Most of these efforts, I am sure are well
intentioned and stem from a sincere desire to help the people on the ground rather than relying on
39
large national non-profits like the American Red Cross or the Salvation Army that are as
bureaucratic as the government. The tragedy in all of this is not so much what these organizations
can do to help alleviate pain and suffering, but that in the end, the government is the only
organization with the fiscal wherewithal to effectively impact large-scale disasters. In this case,
even the government failed. The stories of victims going into stores and bringing back supplies
and food for the elderly was probably the most effective approach, though few will admit it. The
newspapers reported it as stealing but those who were there like my friend Reverend Pansy
Bradshaw said it was the most compassionate act of service she had ever experienced. Though
many have been charged with looting, this was philanthropic behavior of the highest form. The
government’s response was unacceptable and the national relief organizations were prohibited
from responding because of gunfire. According to Pansy Bradshaw, when victims saw that some
were being rescued and others ignored they began to shoot in the air believing that this would
ensure that their location would be identified and thus rescued. It is interesting that the reporters
were not fearful and experiencing the same frustration as residents because they were in touch
with what was happening on the ground. I believe that had regional and local organizations
played a more prominent role the rescue efforts would have been more effective. In the end no
amount of humanitarian aid from private citizens would ever meet the enormous need. The
zealous acts of many served to distract our attention from the more pressing issue, which is our
inability to coordinate relief efforts effectively in the case of an impending major disaster. The
resources required to reconstruct New Orleans are solely our government’s responsibility. Our
government’s policy on providing tax breaks coupled with the war in Iraq has created a
tremendous financial burden on the people of this country that has tied up our resources for years
to come. Diverting the funds from either would provide enough money to rebuild New Orleans
40
overnight. Giving during times of disaster is in no way as important as everyday giving. It is the
everyday giving that helps to sustain organizations like the Red Cross, Salvation Army and the
church. Philanthropy at it best will never compare to what government gives and neither should
it. Our role as citizens of a democracy is to influence government to change its priorities and not
use personal income to finance public projects as massive as the reconstruction of a major urban
center.
3.1.5 Size Does Matters: Small Church vs. Mega Church
Who really matters most? Mega churches with large budgets, power and public recognition
or small churches, which work in obscurity but are on the front line serving the poorest of the
poor? Who needs Spiritual Capital more? The Templeton Foundation has explored the concept of
Spiritual Capital in business and economic terms, proposing that capitalism is most beneficial to
societies when ethical standards are employed. Their definition is too limiting and does not
explain how, during a time when laws starting with slavery to reconstruction, were designed to
keep African Americans from wealth acquisition, failed. Against the odds, African Americans
created institutions (Black Wall Street in Oklahoma) that produced wealth at a rate that exceeded
American wealth building and was planning to loan the government funds to stabilize the
economy during the depression. Instead, a racist white mob torched the area leaving only ashes,
destroying the real legacy of resiliency and self-reliance that more characterizes African
Americans than the notion of a lazy and immoral people who prefer government handouts to hard
work. Government does play a major role in the lives of today’s African Americans because laws
and policies that were put in place to deprive African Americans of their rights have also led
government to enact laws to reverses discriminatory laws, policies and practices. While the church
41
cannot seek to influence public policy, it can provide a counter narrative to the conservative right-
wing conservative Evangelicals by teaching the principles of justice, freedom and equality
espoused in Biblical texts that supports an ideology that is not hostile to, but empowers, the urban
poor. Foundational to the right-wing republican social agenda is the ideological perspective of
White theologically conservative pastors and churches (it must be noted that there is very little
evidence found in the biblical text to support the conservative approach and seldom are the most
venerable included in their discussions). A sound conclusion is that churches on a trajectory to
achieve mega status become more conservative and inwardly focused. Usually, evangelism
efforts lead to membership growth but not necessarily conversion in its truest sense. In other
words, disgruntled or disconnected members of one church switch to the larger church because of
good ministry programs, but life-changing transformation that results in the development of
Spiritual Capital rarely, if ever, occurs. Maintaining the status quo by promoting good programs
over struggling to develop great ministry programs with measurable social and theological
impacts seldom is a priority. In the end, large churches with huge bureaucracies and
denominational constraints may not be the as effective in creating community development
projects without bricks and mortar. But, a smaller church project like the Culturally Based
Algebra Camp (CBAC), where education is a major thrust is an excellent example of community
development “without bricks and mortar “and functions as a practical example of how churches
that produce Spiritual Capital can succeed by developing a consensus and capacity building
protocol. This happens naturally in small churches because every person is needed and resources
are so limited. Small church governance is creative in the way in which it seeks to reconcile
dissenting voices rather than seeking to ignore or eliminate them altogether. The narrative
analytical planning approach provides the perfect framework for what happens naturally in smaller
42
churches because it makes governance a bit more democratic as opposed to singular dominant
approach of mega church pastors. (Center for Civic and Religious Culture, 2014) It follows that
smaller teacher-student ratios contribute to academic achievement. A similar role must be played
by the small Historic Black Church. If the mega church’s mission is to teach, it may not be the
best place to facilitate learning and could be helping to contribute to the pervasive community
passivity that has come to characterize urban areas. Much like the passivity that has become
normative for urban students of color, large congregations, like large class rooms, are the perfect
setting for entertainment, but they are a challenge for quality exchanges of information and
learning. It is arguable that the smaller church functions more like a classroom and can be used to
communicate knowledge more effectively. In the same way that lower teacher to student ratios
facilitate the delivery of knowledge, lower pastor to congregation ratios can be used to educate
congregants with more difficult concepts, in much deeper ways that lead to greater capacity
building and the development of spiritual capital. What does this mean for the thousands of
smaller churches in Los Angeles? How can smaller churches maintain their relevance amidst the
mega church movement?
3.1.6 Contemporary Church for Racial and Economic Parity
In Max Weber’s book the Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism first published in
1904, introduced the concept of the protestant work ethic and is put forth as a key component
responsible for the rise of capitalism. It is hard to imagine how capitalism could have grown
without being associated with religion. The notion that work is a calling, and that honorable
work, though secular in nature, has spiritual implications that offset humanity’s insatiable desire
for wealth and power, is a powerful theory that can only be realized when churches build spiritual
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capital that is capable of not only eliminating discrimination, but also its twin brother, poverty as
well. This is however a battle that no one group can wage in isolation. Black people must work
side by side with other ethnic groups to meet this audacious challenge. To do so is a win-win for
all stakeholders. To do so via different factions, is divisive and provides an environment for
poverty to flourish, amid a more than forty year decry for justice and equality.
Every February urban communities throughout the United States commemorate the
advances and achievements of African Americans. Carter G. Woodson, the father of Black
History Month understood the importance of making sure African Americans were aware of their
contributions to larger society. However, what has become increasingly frustrating to African
American religious leaders, who seek to transform communities of color, is a perceived and
growing tension among progressive groups and organizations toward the faith based institutions
and leaders who should be natural allies in the fight for justice, freedom and equality. Many
progressive leaders are increasingly ignoring the influence of the Historical Black Church (HBC).
This tendency is more apparent among blacks vying for political office representing
predominately white constituencies. The President Barak Obama first campaign was the best
example of this approach. The most activist religious leader, in a major battleground state (Los
Vegas, NV) explained that he supported Senator Hillary Clinton over Senator Barack Obama
because she spoke with him for about an hour. She scheduled several trips to his church, while
Obama talked to him for about three minutes, on the way to his next meeting, almost assuming
that he would have his support, without so much as a commitment to visit his church once. He
went on to say that while it is true that President Obama’s bid for the White House was both
inspiring and history making, it is very important to remember that the Black Church is one of a
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few faith-based institutions that has been able to maintain its Evangelical perspective, while also
holding to a very progressive political agenda. It was clear that campaign workers expected
Blacks to vote for Obama because he was Black, at the same time, most Blacks claimed they
supported him because of his qualifications. No real time was given to convincing African
American constituencies that an Obama administration would have tangible benefits beyond the
pride evoked when envisioning a Black man as President of the United States of America. Few
democrats worked as interns for the campaign and many were voting democrat for the first time,
It was very hard to take the work seriously because the staff was so young and inexperienced, but
where they lacked experience; they more than made up for it in their optimism. Working with the
Obama campaign was refused to allow an African American to get so close to winning without
my support. In other words, if he lost it would not be because I failed to do whatever possible to
get him elected. This was the first time I ever worked in a campaign and probably my last, the
researcher discovered that my optimism and idealism was just that and that flawed people
coordinate flawed campaigns and lead flawed governments. The end of our time as volunteer
campaign interns resulted in few Blacks receiving paying jobs. The nepotism involved in the
hiring process, was far more devastating than imagined, because these were such impressionable
black young men and women. Most everyone working left the experience with a bad taste in their
mouths and only hoped that their experience was not a reflection of the character of the
presidential candidate. It was clear that a terrible riff had occurred between Hillary supporters
and the Obama supporters and many blacks thought that race played a major role, but no one in
the Obama campaign was ever allowed to engage such issues. It did find its way to the floor of
many coalition meetings but was quickly quashed, with the persons who made it public being
made to feel alienated, it was obvious that very little time and resources could be committed in
45
these communities. Senator Obama won his bid for the Presidency and it has been argued that
Blacks would vote for the Black candidate, even if it meant voting against their own self-interest.
Even though I could have secured a paying position with the campaign, I soon realized that the
time away from my family was not worth the sacrifice, so I went home trusting that God would
promote the best man for the job. The young white evangelicals that Senator Obama was able to
attract is a new occurrence that I hope he can repeat, but not at the expense of alienating black
church leaders, who have successfully survived the dichotomy of views for more than two
hundred years. This ability within the black church has been a major distinction that was until
now, non-existent within white churches. Eventually President Obama’s political views will clash
with those of both white and black Christians, as was the case in Las Vegas with Clinton and
Obama competing for the blind loyalty of the masses rather than working to raise consciousness
in order to jump start a social movement that encourages power building at a grassroots level. A
common thread within most effective social movements, particularly among African Americans
has been the role of faith, faith based institutions, and at the very least, religious leaders.
3.2 In Search of the Beloved Community
3.2.1 Sanctified Capitalism
Sanctified Capitalism is the church’s version of trickle-down economics,
which claims that it is expedient to ensure that large corporations are financially solvent in order
that money might have a trickle-down effect that guarantees prosperity to those at the bottom. In
the church, the pastor’s prosperity is seen as a way to encourage broad based prosperity of
46
congregants. There are countless citizens at the bottom, like myself, who are waiting for their fair
share to trickle down. The opposite tends to occur amongst most Christian churches. Well
financed organizations like mega churches, if not careful, are likely to function like monopolies,
instead of exhibiting more social responsibility and direct action (INCITE! Women of Color
Agaist Violence 2007). Hardly ever do the benefits trickle down. Many focus their time and
energy on international human rights issues, and fail to directly confront issues that most impact
their congregations and communities. This work represents a search for common ground, to
explore the possibility of collective faith based action that not only leads to policy change, but
more importantly, move society closer to becoming a Beloved Community.
1
When successful,
Spiritual Capital producing churches work to build a social ethos that is not race based, but leads
to a socio-economic equity agenda that is sustainable and promises community transformation.
By explicitly, conceptualizing the concept of the Beloved Community in practical ways, secular
non-Christian organizations can share tenets that both support a progressive agenda, and provide
the capacity for diverse groups to relate to Christian groups, in ways that unify, build power, and
restore hope. An important theological perspective that is often over looked can be found in
Bible in the book of Acts 4:23. It begins with the church receiving supernatural power from God
to continue the work of God.
They were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word boldly (Freedom
of speech, frankness, candor) It is important to understand that the church in its earliest form was
mandated to speak about the plans of God even when they were in opposition to the powers of
1
The tangible manifestation of the Kingdom of God as referenced in the Bible.
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the day. Because the Messiah was humiliated and killed, his disciples were naturally afraid given
the threats from the government officials. Prior to the death of Christ, his followers were
convinced that he would liberate them by overthrowing current authorities and establishing his
own Kingdom. Instead, they were forced to accept the possibility of committing a capital offence
if they continued teaching about Christ’s death, burial and resurrection.
An impressive story of the early church is found in Acts 4:23-37. (Thomas
Nelson Inc. 2002) It began with the persecution of the early church leaders. The religious
aristocracy was responsible for the crucifixion of Christ. The leaders of the movement warned
by religious and government dignitaries to never teach in this name (meaning Jesus). Acts 5:28.
Tithe Apostles understood the severity of the charge against them and sought refuge in joining in
prayer with the body of believers. Petitioning God for the courage and ability to share the
message of Christ in spite of imprisonment and ever impending wrath, the corporate prayer ended
in unity, great power and the sharing of possessions, so that none lacked. This spiritual action
resulted in a shift of consciousness that led to measurable action (sharing economic resources)
and creating a Beloved Community, the tangible manifestation of the supernatural utopia
reflected in civil society. Spiritual capital is the link between authentic faith and civic
responsibility and social action. It is the pursuit, and acknowledgement of humanity’s best. It
reflects a world view that can be measured by a spiritual understanding that promotes peace and
goodwill toward mankind. It is embodied by Christ’s teaching which says “they will know you
are a Christian by your love (Thomas Nelson Inc., 2002). It is a community where love is the
driving force behind all human action. During an interview for a top job at a local social justice
organization the employer suggested that there was a need to “check my religion at the door.”
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For most pastors religion can be checked, but not love for humanity, for it is the substratum for
whom pastors are. They wanted to talk about change and power building; the urban stakeholders
need to see their communities transformed in ways that transcend political action and public
policy. In other words, voters don’t want to see an end to legislation that grants women the right
to choose, they would rather see a world so interrelated with concern and caring for each other
that no woman would ever feel pressure to abort or not to abort. Living among the Beloved
Community transcends reality and gives rise to the potential for human conditions which help
refuse such permanent action. Political critics will view the concept of The Beloved Community
as unbelievably idealistic and not short of impossible. No more unrealistic or impossible as a
Black Baptist preacher’s (Rev. Martin Luther King) ability to transform the social and political
landscape so much so that has been honored among Presidents with a statue on the Washington
Mall. The faith community becomes a very important starting point, given how most understand
the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God is a concept that most Christians understand,
particularly from an eschatological point of view. When Christ returns, He will reign as king
over the earth and its people. Many churches are now teaching that believers must maintain a
kingdom understanding meaning that God’s kingdom rules today for those who believe.
(Thomas, Los Angeles Ecumenical Congress, 1994) The reality of His kingdom cannot be seen,
measured or examined, but spiritual capital can. The church must revive its old mission of
making sure the disenfranchised communities around them thrive. That health, education,
economics and crime remain at bay rather than spiral out of control.
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3.2.2 The Kingdom Perspective-Urban Ministry Mandate
Maintaining a kingdom perspective is vitally important. As it ensures that
even the most disenfranchised have the opportunity for social progress. This notion of the
kingdom on earth was a prominent plank in Martin Luther King’s philosophy of religion. It
was in stark contrast with the teaching of his day. Particularly those of his own father, who
held that heaven was not to be enjoyed on earth, but that black people, would be vindicated in
the afterlife. Most traditionalists of the day feared a loss of spiritual capital in exchange for
immediate gratification, through teaching that diminished the necessity of refusing to wait
until “we all get to heaven.” King’s philosophy could be considered the first prosperity
message in one sense, and social revolution in another. Prosperity in that he hoped to
strengthen the economic future of Blacks by access to mainstream. Interestingly enough,
King was considered a socialist by many of his opponents, when he actually can be credited
with introducing Blacks to capitalism. A way that would eventually lead to the dismantling of
the equitable partnerships he organized to empower Blacks. Though King’s dream was
inspired by his sincerely held religious beliefs, Black progress would soon become the
nemesis to authentic Black faith that encouraged resiliency and would eventually lead to
liberation. Today’s kingdom perspective espoused by many Pastors do not emphasize social
justice but often, supports or spiritualizes contemporary Western values that include an
insatiable desire for material wealth, power and prestige. The ethic of hard work for a future
pay-off has been replaced with an almost slot machine mentality among church goers. Give a
little and get 100 times more than you put in. This notion is especially prevalent in large
churches whose members are unaware of the savvy capital campaign strategies that are
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common in most mega ministries. Most of these projects are bankrolled by a fraction of the
congregation. Many earn less than the cost of the pew they occupy on Sundays, but they give
10% of their income. Most of these churches have budgets totaling in the millions, major
donors who give amounts that rival substantial donors of some of the most influential
foundations. According to the mission statement of faith for most churches, the primary work
of the church is evangelism that is inspired through prayer. Yet, one would be hard pressed to
find 100 people who regularly attend prayer meetings at any of the largest churches in Los
Angeles. Ministries are considered effective based on the number of large donor members
rather than the number of people who offer prayers on a regular basis, yet scripture refers to
the church as “the house of prayer (Thomas Nelson Inc., 2002). In most cases, a substantial
gift is negotiated and enormous praise is heaped on the philanthropists, while the church edict
that each member is supposed to give 10% of his/her income is hardly ever expected of the
very wealthy. Instead, large one time donations are prized. On the other hand, church laymen
and women are disqualified from serving as church leaders when they cannot meet the 10%
(tithe) financial commitment. Anything less according to scripture is robbing God. How can
the church applaud wealthy who do not tithe and have disdain for impoverished faithful who
do not tithe? This researcher’s experience as an executive board member of one of the largest
churches in Los Angles observed that large ministries do not simply thrive because of
fundraising strategies, and when they do, they do so at the detriment of their most needy and
committed members. In other words, can the black church thrive without being the standard
bearer for justice and equality for black people? The basic power distinction between Black
churches and other Black enterprises have been the fact that these institutions financed
themselves and could therefore fight for liberation unfettered. The notion of freedom has all
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but vanished from the pages of most church programs in exchange for a more sensible
approach to black achievement. Instead of wanting Pastors to develop sermons which
challenge parishioners to support equality and justice for all, many prefer the right to say, “I
sat next to a celebrity at church today,” just as important: These churches have burgeoning
members. My aim is not to tarnish the reputation of any mega ministry, nor do I insist that
anyone change his/her mission and purpose. A very pointed question that begs an answer is
who will champion the cause of the “least of these?” Traditionally, it was the Black church.
In many mega church development campaigns, pledges are made but are unfulfilled. The bill
is left for those who are at the bottom of the economic scale. Those who are the most
committed to the mission, work and purpose of the church. A double standard is prevalent
among large churches. The wealthy are lauded for what little they do, while the poor are
considered burdensome and unwanted, yet they provide the bulk of the resources necessary to
sustain the church and its projects. In the race for equality the baton has not been passed, it
has been dropped somewhere along the way. The church seems to now believe that progress
is best made through supporting a political agenda that leans either to the right or the left.
3.2.2.1 The Church’s New Political Perspective
An important historical achievement occurred with the election of Barack Obama. At the
same time, Blacks have accepted that he will not be able to select the best and the brightest for
his cabinet, especially if the majority of these potential candidates are Black, which is likely
given the racial polarization of Chicago. It would not be a stretch for President Obama to be
familiar with a cadre of well qualified Black professionals. Can you imagine what would
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happen if President Obama had an all-Black cabinet? Community leaders like Tavis Smiley
continue to argue that President Obama has not done enough for African Americans. In 2005,
the Chair of the Tomas Rivera Institute remarked during his keynote address that “President
George W. Bush’s cabinet had done more for blacks than any other President because he had so
many Blacks in cabinet positions.” Can you imagine what people would think if the first
African American President appointed an all-Black cabinet? Most Presidential cabinets have
been mostly white. Homogeneity seems to be expected in the White House and no one has
really questioned it. It is as if Blacks fail to have the capacity to be patriotic Americans. Black
individual success often involves denying or placating Black culture for one said to be
colorblind. Being color blind is never celebrated except where race is concerned. It is
interesting that Blacks refuse to admit their rejection of Black culture even when it is most
obvious. The Ebonics debate was valid in that it pushed for the need to accept urban dialect that
is normative for most low-income black neighborhoods. However, some middle to upper class
Blacks found it offense to acknowledge a lesser standard of education. They believed allowing
what they refer to as,” poor English” only undermines Black children’s ability to thrive
academically. They ignore the fact that many urban youth speak this way and that there is a
greater need for understanding how they communicate, than labeling them with an academic
deficiency because they are linguistically challenged. I have god-children who have the most
beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen. I must admit they would be beautiful to me even if they
had no eyes, but the fact that they are ocean blue, make them all the more striking. A major
distinction in their physical make up is their blue eyes. Should we say they don’t matter or say
we see brown instead of blue? Maybe we should just pretend to be color blind so if we are
talking to someone who prefers another color, we won’t run the risk of offending them, even if
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to do so marginalizes my god-children. Blacks are marginalized in this manner often.
Successful Blacks tend to tolerate these kinds of statements in the name of personal progress or
promotion. Some simply agree that race and ethnicity are of limited or diminishing importance.
An example of what makes racism so insidious, in today’s political economy, is that we
will never know if an all-black cabinet could have made President Obama’s capacity to lead this
country out of its dire state into prosperity might have more effective, if issues of race and class
had not been used to discredit the Presidents social agenda. A popular criticism among African
Americans is that the President failed to address the issues facing African Americans with the
same vigilance as he has others. Not that he does not know the issues or doesn’t want to, but the
political climate is such that he is strongly rebuked. If the most powerful man in the world, who
happens to be black is constantly challenged and ridiculed because he is black, the Talented
Tenth is a myth. This proves that even when educated Blacks lead, the race remains unaccepted.
The myth of the exception that most Americans, white and black have bought into serves as an
enabler to racism. A similar effect occurs when a handful of blacks succeed. Suppose our
president’s cabinet were 90% African American and turned out to be one of the most effective
administrations this country has ever seen. This would do more to eliminate the negative stigma
of race than any policy, or government mandate. Instead of looking for the next President Barak
Obama, we could find potential in an entire race. Rather than arguing that President Obama is
exceptional, it makes more sense to lift up the fact that he has had access to exceptional
resources and opportunities. The current economy was as much of an impetus for his rise to the
presidency as his excellent campaign strategy. This is not an attempt to dismiss his
accomplishments in anyway. It’s mentioned because his life gives us a clue to what a world
without racism might mean to the common man. For blacks, the promotion of the exceptional,
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produce what I call the mirrored ceiling because it makes it seem that only a few blacks (the
exceptional ones) are capable of great success.
3.2.2.2 Church Capacity Building by Cracking the Mirror Ceiling
The metaphor of the glass ceiling was reintroduced when Hilary Rodham Clinton, a
according to journalist was said to have made millions of cracks in it, as she rose to become the
first female presidential nominee of a major party. The notion of the mirrored ceiling is simply
nuanced. The same barrier to opportunity results except that the person who is holding you back
look just like you. Some refer to these folks as gate keepers. These are they who sustain the
mirror ceiling because they have accepted that exceptionally successful people (black) who lead
major organizations must be careful not to hire too many black folks even when they are well
qualified, because to do so will in some minimize the credibility of the leader and organization.
Also, too many African Americans decrease the organization’s marketability. The excellent work
of black colleges proves my point. Most of them have a majority black staff, very small budgets,
and crumbing physical plants and infrastructures, yet they continue to turn out black professionals
at a rate that puts to shame better financed white universities and colleges. Nothing was more
apparent to me than a fiftieth birthday party I attended celebrating a member of my college
fraternity while a student at Fisk University. Of those who showed up, 3 were executives at
fortune 100 companies, three doctors, two lawyers, and one heading one of the largest
governmental agencies in the country. Just typical frat guys, who came to understand through
their black college matriculation that all people can succeed and not just those who appear
exceptional. This is not to suggest that any of these successful men were mediocre, or that Fisk
55
University is not a haven for the best and the brightest. Instead, let’s press the point that each
received exceptional opportunities and their belief in both the human potential and determination
propelled them to the top of their fields. Attending Fisk University and seeing so many successful
blacks accepted to law school, medical school or graduate school was no leap of faith. At least
40% percent of Fisk graduates go on to attend graduate school. Pursuing graduate school is seen as
an extension of college much like the transition from middle school is to high school. In some
cases, just getting a student to follow through with the application process is a major
accomplishment. Understanding that Martin Luther King was little more than C students, while in
high school, gives hope to students who feel they cannot succeed in college with average high
school grades. Obviously, the genius of King was not adequately measured in high school or at
the very least, his grades failed to reflect their ability. This is true for so many children of color. If
the vehicle used for measuring intellectualism is flawed, how is it possible to develop standards
that definitively determine academic achievement and success in college? A better indicator of
academic achievement and success might be the teacher’s ability to observe and to know a
particular student, and to understand the student’s motivation and passion. I believe this happens
naturally in every classroom, but it is hardly ever openly acknowledged. However, because of
racism, black parents are often convinced that teachers do not care for their kids and are usually
afraid to give so much power to teachers, so grades have become the greatest achievement index.
However, teacher recommendations are a major component of the very exclusive high performing
private school application process, so this lack of trust on behalf of parents can hinder admissions
to good private schools. In order to prepare students to understand the important role culture plays
in their educational experience, our church has chosen to address this issue by developing a
college preparatory program called Club 22. The program is designed to provide a rigorous
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academic environment for children of color, with African-American educational advocates and
educators encouraging and supporting them to succeed. Most of the students, after the first couple
of meetings, began to excel academically. It is important to note that these are African-American
children who attend predominantly white suburban private and public schools where there are few,
if any, African-Americans teachers or administrators. An important comment that helped to set the
context for our programmatic work occurred when a parent shared, in our first meeting that an
African-American teacher confidentially said, “your daughter is very bright but will continue to
have difficulties at this school because she is too black.” This particular teacher felt as if she was
doing a good service by informing this parent about how to instruct her daughter to transition from
what is considered normative black culture to what is considered acceptable at this white
independent private school. This is a classic example of what is called the mirror ceiling.
The mirror ceiling is an important obstacle for blacks to overcome especially as multi-
culturalism expands and successful blacks become leaders of major organizations in America.
This phenomenon seems not to affect other communities of color. As the world becomes more
diverse, the black church’s role in teaching and sustaining black culture and values will become
increasingly more important and intensifying over time. How to promote black culture without
alienating potential allies of social justice, poses a tremendous challenge for Twenty–First Century
Christianity. The black church in particular seems to be producing church leaders who more and
more desire to see the church become race neutral (Thomas, Surevying Modern Attitudes, 2008).
Some are sounding more like rightwing political conservatives than prophets declaring freedom
from the vestiges of oppression and inequality. As a result, young blacks are walking away from
the church to explore Islam or some other religious sect that seeks to affirm black culture and fight
57
oppression (Wilson, 2005). The Hebrew Israelites represent a small number of African Americans
who are convinced of their own divinity. More than anything, they reject the second class status
that is often associated with Western Christianity, amid growing frustrations regarding the racial
background of Christ. Reconciliation at the expense of dismissing the role of black cultural norms
is not an option for groups like this (Association Religion Data Archives, 2010). Ironically, the
black church is probably the more normative expression of black culture than any other black
tradition. Unlike these groups, the church is uniquely called to seek reconciliation, but the
mirrored ceiling helps to thwart healthy relationships among the black community residents who
fail to see the destructive nature of nepotism and its negative effects on black power building.
Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois refers to this as striving for middle classness.
The consequence of such, according to the architects of the Black Value System, prohibits
African-American people from the possibility of benefiting from their own high achievements.
Often this process is explained away by the myth of the talented tenth first introduced by W. E. B.
Dubois who believed that a few well trained blacks would lead to the acceptance of all blacks. The
mirrored ceiling perspective is the practical application of the talented 10
th
philosophy regarding
black progress. I consider WEB Dubois analysis an important component to understanding
African-American people, but I in no way endorse it as the most effective means to achieve black
progress. I do however believe it was effective in ensuring that light-skinned African-Americans
would be selected over the darker skinned ones. During the Dubois’ era many of the southern
black colleges, particularly Fisk University were founded to educate the bi-racial children of
former slave owners, so I am not surprised that Dubois would find a way to see white privilege (in
the that sense meaning a few wealthy people maintain power over the masses) differently and
with a more positive spin.
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3.2.2.3 Faith-Based Family Policy Implications
“Family Policy refers to objectives concerning family well-being and the
specific measures taken by governmental bodies to achieve them. By incorporating specifically, the
definition limits family policy to programs consciously undertaken to affect families in a positive
way. Our definition of families is a broad one. It includes cohabiting groups of some duration
composed of persons in intimate relations based on biology, law, custom or choice and usually
economically interdependent. Family policy is in many ways a new policy paradigm that was
backed by the “New Christian Right” and other advocates for a pro-family welfare program during
the Ronald Reagan presidency (Joan Aldous, Wilfried Dumon, Journal of Marriage and Family,”
“Family Policy in the 1980s Controversy and Consensus, pg. 1137, 2000). Reagan’s view of how
government could encourage family well-being was different from that of his predecessors. His
ideological perspective reflected in legislative initiatives such as welfare reform. His understanding
of what families need relate to his religious beliefs. Promoting healthy families always starts with
an ideological perspective on the origin, purpose and concept of what a healthy family should look
like. Any differences in understanding regarding the conceptualization of family is ideological in
nature and must be taken seriously and not treated as simply a difference of opinion that can
mutually exist without weakening the effectiveness of family policy. Policy that is so closely linked
to a religious ideology is best understood within the context of religion. The Christian right’s allege
pro-family stance can be challenged quite easily on religious grounds. Biblical text regarding the
role and responsibility of the religious states, “Pure and undefiled religion is concerned about
widows, orphans, and the fatherless.” One might easily ask, what humanitarian efforts are Pat
59
Roberson and the Christian Coalition accomplishing? How many social programs have they
sponsored and what impact are they making? I do not think that these conservative organizations
and the Republican party in general, can ever claim that their policy initiatives represent concern for
those they consider a social underclass. “The efficacy of governmental intervention to aid families,
a consensus on what policy initiatives needed to be taken had emerged by the end of the decade.
The major concern expressed by liberals and conservatives alike was that existing programs were
not doing enough to provide ladders for able-bodied family heads to climb out of poverty. (Joan
Aldous, Wilfried Dumon, Journal of Marriage and Family,” “Family Policy in the 1980s
Controversy and Consensus, pg. 1137, 2000) In fact, research shows that child support policy tends
to disproportionately affect low-income African American men and that many of those who do not
pay are poor and lack the ability to pay. Other studies have focused on inner-city nonresident fathers
and found that they have limited ability to pay child support. Research targeting young nonresident
fathers found that they have considerably lower earnings and higher poverty rates than other men in
their age groups. Still other research that examined nonresident fathers who had their children out of
wedlock and have a child support order found that their income is, on average, half that of divorced
fathers with a child support order. However, none of these analyses can be used to prepare a
national profile of nonresident fathers.” (Elaine Soresen, Journal of Marriage and Family, “Nation
Profile of Nonresident Father and Their Ability to Pay Child Support,” pg 786 2003) The need for
more data in this area is vital if family policy is to be effective. The impact and stigma of those
affected by child custody policies has become a major concern for many religious institutions who
seek to nurture strong families as a way to strengthen their institutions and communities. “Federal
money and greater public awareness of family poverty will not address the basic threat to sound
family policy—its emotional nature . . . (Joan Aldous, Wilfried Dumon, Journal of Marriage and
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Family, “Family Policy in the 1980s Controversy and Consensus, pg. 1148, 2000) Daniel
Goleman’s work is significant to this issue because it bridges the gap between the “head and heart.”
Religious organizations have always struggled to understand the dichotomy of religious ascension
to faith. The notion that rational ascension (head) alone was not enough, but that the soul (heart, the
seat of the emotions) and head in tantamount, was required for genuine faith. Any approach to
effect positive change in individuals that does not include appealing to the heart will be fruitless.
This duality makes it impossible to legislate behavioral modification, thus family policy continues
to fail. Most family policy has relied too heavily of the courts to resolve issues that could
effectively be handled elsewhere, particularly the Black church. Religion is a logical place to start
because of its work in the social development and familiarity with the dichotomy of human nature,
which is referred to within the religious tradition, as the flesh verses the spirit. There are within any
African American church, stories of tremendous triumphs against great odds. Common to each of
these stories is a persuasion at the deepest level that positive change occurs, despite a horrific social
environment plagued with violence and hopelessness. Many African American children, who
escape poverty and overcome family dysfunction to become high achievers, attribute their success
to a belief that they would achieve with God’s help. Martin Seligman, the University of
Pennsylvania psychologist, when speaking on the rises of depression among children proposed:
“For over the last thirty or forty years we’ve seen the ascendance of individualism and a waning of
larger beliefs in religion, and in supports from the community and extended family. The result has
been a loss of resources that can buffer you against setbacks. To an extent, failure is seen today as
something that is lasting and which you magnify to taint everything in your life, you are prone to let
momentary defeat become a lasting source of hopelessness. But if you have a larger perspective like
the belief in God and an afterlife, and you lose your job, it’s just a temporary defeat.” (Emotional
61
Intelligence, Daniel Golman) The church is equipped to deal with raging emotions associated to
separation, divorce and child custody in a manner that no other institution can. With compassionate
accountability, parents can be encouraged to act responsibly without feeling victimized.
In attempting to deal with the consequences of family change, policy makers become
embroiled in morality issues. Highly vocal pressure groups, billing themselves as pro-family
groups, are apt to urge a return to a time that never was, when all mothers stayed at home to care for
their children, secure in the knowledge that husbands would support them. I think there is
something to be said for the role of parents in the early years that must not be minimized or ignored
though conservatives tends have a romanticized view of a times past. Competing interest of work
and child rearing is very real, especially for the urban poor who often work long hours and still
struggle to meet financial obligations. Christian religion teaches that any person who does not take
care of his own family is worst than an infidel. There are also Biblical texts, which state that if a
man does not work he should not eat (Thomas Nelson Inc., 2002). These are common religious
perspectives and themes that find expression in the way some view the government’s role in
providing a safety net for families. Fatherhood is an important theme of many religious gatherings
because the hallmark of the church’s teaching centers on ones ability to understand and relate to the
notion of Fatherhood, as espoused in phrases like Our Father who art in heaven and the children of
God. With no clear understanding of what fatherhood means, embracing a heavenly the Father is
increasingly difficult, if not impossible. Discussions on fatherhood have become a major
component of most religious gatherings that involve African American men. Perhaps an illustration
based on a personal experience can illuminate the challenge faced by the African American
Community.
62
Perhaps an illustration based on a personal experience can illuminate the challenge faced by
the African American Community. While in South Los Angeles, facilitating a discussion regarding
men’s perceptions of God and faith, the session outlining what was considered the essential
teachings of scripture. When asked if anyone found it difficult to understand or relate to God as a
loving father, the central theme of the text and a foundational tenet of the Christian faith.
Overwhelmingly the response was “yes.” It was important to explain that to view God as a
supernatural being waiting for the opportunity to punish those who fail to do what He desires is
counterproductive to the development of an empowering faith experience, and lacks in
understanding the duty of the religious institutions. Negative perceptions such as this one is most
prevalent among those who have not had a nurturing relationship with their fathers. For the next two
hours these men explained their need to connect with fathers they had never met and often with
their voices would crack as they suppressed their tears. Their candor was fascinating and the
sensitivity at which they shared life histories. It was an opportunity to get a glimpse of the pain
many experiences in adulthood due to having nonresident or absent fathers. Under different
circumstances, these men would have seemed frightening, but the way in which they shared their
stories revealed such gentleness. Two men expressed that their fathers had more than thirteen
children by several different women and most of these siblings they had never met. All were angry
with their fathers for not meeting their emotional needs and expressed that what they needed most
was not money. They figured that their dads were poor and could not contribute anything
financially, but thought their total absence was incomprehensible and difficult to forgive, there-by
undermining another key element of their faith tradition.
My experience working with at-risk families has taught me that fathers who have been
reared without fathers themselves have an extremely difficult time comprehending, without
63
considerable intervention, the emotional needs of their children and the emotional trauma caused by
their absence. (Wilson 2005) I have heard over and over, “my mother did it.” Many black fathers
seem to think their fathers’ absenteeism is a plausible in justification to explaining their frustrations
with having to give money to a spouse they no longer live with. (Wilson 2005) In most African
American homes, female headed households with no consistent income contributions from a former
spouse, is no longer an exception but the norm. Family dynamics have changed tremendously but
public policy tends not to recognize or is at best behind emerging trends, especially when they
reflect realties that were once considered taboo, such as divorce and unwed mothers. Divorced
families, families with unwed mothers, and families with women in the labor force exist in
overwhelming numbers. The government’s simplistic solution to this situation is to do as little as
possible to assist these families. Presumably, neglect would cause people to desist from the
behaviors that lead to their need for assistance. (Joan Aldous, Wilfried Dumon, Journal of Marriage
and Family, “Family Policy in the 1980s: Controversy and Consensus;” pg. 1137, 2000) State
intervention is haphazard and arbitrary and does not introduce in any real way strategies to deal
with the psycho-social dysfunction experienced by many fathers impacted by welfare reform. Worst
yet, many nonresident African American fathers neither understand the importance of their role in
the developmental process of their children’s lives, nor the significance of meeting their financial
obligations.
The main objective of all religions is spiritual development evidenced through the
practical application of beliefs and principles. The notion is known as living out your faith, which
is always accomplished by sharing ones faith with the expectation that the hearer will embrace it.
Like every other field of human endeavor, a religious organization’s ability to survive hinges on
64
its ability to reproduce itself by seeking to have core values and perspectives introduced and
accepted as normative for influencing positive change within civil society. Because the State’s
“family policies” represent ideological perspectives found most readily in religion, policy
recommendations must include an interdisciplinary analysis that includes the field of religion. The
terms such as out-of-wedlock, marriage and traditional family systems are in directly interrelated
and generally defined within a religious context.
An important aim of this project is to offer recommendations for faith-based rehabilitation
services to African American fathers who fail to pay child support, and are facing incarceration. In
addition, we suggest a therapeutic intervention strategy, which can be coordinated within the
church; by emphasizing prominent religious teachings and the peculiar influence and role African
American religious institutions have played in directing civic affairs among the urban poor. We
will examine the issue of child support collection and their punitive consequences to decide if the
extremely complicated strategy of eliminating child poverty and the deep-seated psychosocial
dysfunction of nonresident African American fathers is best implemented within a religious
framework. The preliminary research has revealed the following assumptions: The role of faith
should not be diminished as religious organizations seek public funding for social service
programs. Financial support alone is no substitute for a father’s role in promoting character
development. Welfare reform policies should not be punitive; instead they should seek to promote
a positive self-identity and a sense of security and help to develop emotionally well-balanced
children. Efforts to collect child support are supposed to lead to greater economic stability for
children and families ultimately moving them toward self-sufficiency. The time, money and effort
put into bringing fathers to justice often result in total abandonment, ending whatever means of
65
financial and emotional support the children formerly had. The penalties for not paying child
support ranges from incarceration to revocation of professional licensees and certificates including
drivers’ licenses, which all but guarantee that, these children receive no financial support further
straining the family relationship.
For centuries, government has attempted to determine how to best eradicate poverty and its
effects on social progress, while stabilizing families. Widespread social development has often
used morality as a means to achieving stability within the family structure. With family systems
changing rapidly, with traditional families (father, mother and children) becoming less common,
single parent families will soon outnumber traditional families; the government’s approach to
family stability must be broadened in order to maximize effectiveness. In some communities, this
is already occurring. The nightly news revels most certainly that our civilization is at risk. Daniel
Goleman in his book Emotional Intelligence puts it this way: “the last decade has seen the steady
drum roll of reports portraying an uptick in emotional ineptitude, desperation, and recklessness in
our families, our communities, and our collective lives. These years have chronicled surging rage
and despair, whether in the quite loneliness of latchkey kids left with a TV for a babysitter, or in
the pain of children abandoned, neglected, or abused, or in the ugly intimacy of marital violence.”
(Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Golman)
Those who would suggest that faith can be compartmentalized, or reserved for religious
matters do not understand that faith is an all-encompassing concept whose objective is be the
leading influence in every aspect of one’s life—transcending realism. To be less prominent, is to
be weaker in the faith. The same applies to religious institutions. The Black church, because of its
rich heritage is more equipped to impact African American culture. It is the only institution that is
66
solely owned and operated by African Americans, the seat of black culture, the impetus for black
progress and is trusted above any other institution in the within the African American community.
However, its respect and prominence is slowly waning, as many seem to have become infatuated
with the notion of promoting a Black capitalist ethos as way to redress poverty and injustice
within struggling neighborhoods. One of the fastest growing churches in Los Angeles receives as
many three-business proposals each day. The tension between charity driven religious
organization and capital development in a very real one, the former is often compromised in the
name of cost effectiveness. This is a significant paradigm shift in the attitude of charitable service
and volunteerism; from how can I serve, to what I will get in exchange for my service. Thus,
contradicting the entire notion of charity and decreasing their effectiveness in gaining respect of
those with the greatest need, the surrounding neighborhood, creating commuter churches which
have no real connection to their communities where they exist.
The value of religion has proved most effective when it impacts and influences culture.
Most religious leaders are not willing to share, in mixed company that an essential objective of
every membership-based organization and churches especially, is to recruit more and more
members. Members fund most religious organizations. There is a direct relationship between
membership size and budgetary capacity. It is both unreasonable and ineffective to stipulate that
religious institutions that receive government funding for providing social services may only do so
if they deny their need to sustain themselves by pursuing their primary goal to reproduce. The
strength and effectiveness of any religious institution lies in its ability to articulate its worldview
through its members. The commitment and passion exhibited by frontline service workers is the
hallmark of religious groups and key to their effectiveness. The civil rights movement was the
67
brainchild of the Black church. Those who would participate in direct action were told to meditate
on passages of biblical text. In the face of fierce opposition and the threat of violence, they were
charged to recite these passages in order to remain calm. The TV footage of civil right marchers
being beaten by police and attacked by dogs revel tremendous strength and determination, which
characterizes most social movements that have originated from a religious ideology. “To be
religious, in the view of the many that are not, involves a form of psychological immaturity. But
more troubling is the suspicion that religion itself is a fundamental source of radical discord-a
suspicion that has its origin in the European wars of religion between the Catholics and Protestants
in the sixteenth and seventieth centuries, but which has been broadly renewed since the 9-11
savageries were enacted in the name of Allah. Some of the religions give primacy of value to
mystical union; some to works of charity, some to justice, and some to ritual observance. But all
great religions have tracked the movement from God as unknown, to God as fearsome, to God as
love itself” (James Carroll, Daedalus: Why Religion Still Matters,” pg. 9, Summer 2003) Religion
and its role in helping to define social policy can be traced as far back as the beginning of
civilization from the elaborate preparations for the afterlife (the treasures found in the tombs of
Egyptian royals) to current debates over when life begins and the theory evolution. Ideology has
and will continue to play a major role in how we define or world, social structures, peoples and
the extent to which government intervention either promotes, discourages or chooses partnerships
with organizations working for positive change within civil society. The Black church is by
default the first line of defense against poverty among African Americans. It has been forced to
provide a safety net for poor inner-city residents in a time when no one else would. Whenever
there is a community issue the church is expected to provide leadership and resources. Most Black
churches go far beyond traditional feeding programs by helping to counter social policy that
68
further disenfranchises its constituency (the African American community at-large both religious
and non-religious). The perception within the community is that the church has an obligation to
serve the poor and to speak out on issues of political and social concern. Advocacy is viewed as a
means to empowerment. Clergy are quickly realizing that if they are to remain relevant, they must
do more to help ensure that neighborhoods gain economic stability. The difficult question is how
to do so without compromising the church’s mission. Is there a middle ground? This notion goes
against the very nature of the African American religious experience. It suggests a giving of
ground, the neutralizing of values and principles that are unique to African American culture.
Some would call it “selling out.” From a historical perspective, African American religious
institutions must reject the notion of finding a middle ground for fear of losing the essence of what
makes their faith community distinct. As a result many have chosen to provide social services, but
with extremely limited resources where proselytizing is paramount. However, there are some
churches that can quantitatively and objectively present data that shows the effectiveness of their
social programs and should be given the option to compete for government funding on the merits
of their good work, even at the risk of proselytizing. Teen Challenge, a Christian in-patient
substance abuse treatment center, boasts a 86% success rate among its residents, with the majority
going on to become counselors themselves. Even though the State of California acknowledges
their effectiveness, they could never qualify for funding because their therapeutic model is
unapologetically Christian. In fact, the organization enthusiastically refuses government funding
because it fears that its effectiveness is compromised by the exclusion of religious teachings. Any
religious organization that agrees to accept money based on the promise not to proselytize is
disingenuous at best. Most argue adamantly that that their doctrine will not allow them to remain
neutral and that the greatest reason for their effectiveness is attributed to their sincerely held
69
religious beliefs and the ability to share their perspectives with their clients. On a shoestring
budget, churches are making a significant difference, how much more might they achieve with
government funding?
Many today are unwilling to consider the possibility of allowing religious institutions to
compete for government funding without making sure that the funding does not promote religion.
Most of the negative perceptions attributed to religious people or organized religion, stem from
the church’s inclination to give blind trust and loyalty to a few individuals. Inadequate
accountability measures, both fiscal and otherwise have contributed to the impression that
believers sanction anything done in the name of religion. The decision making process in most
churches is achieved through a neo-democratic process. The intent is to represent the majority,
but they sometimes fail to develop effective ways, which assure the voice of members and the
community at-large reach the ears of the hierarchy. On rare occasions, when members’ views are
in conflict with religious texts that are clearly understood in the context of church doctrine,
religious leaders adopt a less democratic approach. When this occurs, congregations split and a
new religious organization forms. In other instances, apathy among members reduces
effectiveness by giving power to a limited few. Much like what happens in today’s local political
elections. The actions of a few can chart the course of the whole unless measures are in place to
ensure a balance of power. Even when the worse becomes inevitable, the “faithful few” have
tended to move on to religious organizations that better represent their goals and objectives. Many
of the actions of Catholics and Protestants during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries did not
reflect the values and principles of their own religious creeds. For every person or religious group
that has been criticized for committing atrocities in the name of religion, there have been voices of
70
descent within the ranks (Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther
King, etc.) working tirelessly exposing hypocrisy and pushing for reform. Even today, many
Catholics condemn the molestation that has occurred among them and are pushing for justice, but
the courts have decided that most of these cases are not prosecutable. In spite of the court
decisions that exonerated many priest accused of sexual abuse, the laity within the church
continues organizing and making sure their voices are heard. In the final analysis, these priests
will escape prosecution because of the courts, not due to any lack of vigilance on the part of
Catholics.
Leaders of organizations tend to sustain and protect their identity by any means necessary
and for religious institutions there are few greater objectives. The task of determining a church’s
capacity to compete for government funding and program effectiveness is extremely difficult and
often viewed controversial, but absolutely necessary. Currently, size, fiscal strength and political
contacts determine what projects get funding. Unfortunately, these considerations do not
guarantee effectiveness at a grassroots level. Many times the exact opposite is often the case.
Greater sensitivity and specialized knowledge is required. Analyzing the doctrines and creeds of
religious institutions and comparing their business practices, social programs and community
involvement in light what they purport to believe, is a better way to judge whether or not a
religious institution is a positive force for change in civil society and merits government funding,
or contributing to its devolution. “The Roman Catholic theologian Karl Rahner articulated broadly
that religious institutions: God does not simply create something other than himself--He also gives
himself to the other. The world receives God, the infinite and the ineffable mystery, to such an
extent that He himself becomes its innermost life. This mystery he further writes, is the inexplicit
71
and unexpressed horizon which always encircles and upholds the small area of our everyday
experience…We call this God…however hard and unsatisfactory it may be to interpret the deepest
and most fundamental experience at the very bottom of our being, man does experience in his
innermost history that this silent, infinitely distant holy mystery, which continually recalls him to
the limits of his finitude and lays bare his guilt yet bids him approach; the mystery enfolds him in
an ultimate and radical love which commends itself to him as salvation and as the real meaning of
his existence.” James Carroll, Daedalus: Why Religion Still Matters,” pg. 11, summer 2003) the
tangible expression of faith is found in the religious institution’s doctrines, creeds and social
conciseness. This is a major part of what religious institutions or churches do. There are those who
would argue that this is not true for all churches, however this is the legacy of the African
American faith tradition. Religious institutions must resist achieving relevance through
secularization. The tension that exist between those religious organizations that receive
government funding and those who refuse it, stems from an understanding that social service work
is to be conducted within the church, utilizing vital church resources (human and otherwise), but
that the values and belief system that church members believe will ultimately lead to effective and
positive programmatic outcomes, those which gave rise to the institution itself, is often viewed
with malicious intent. The tremendous good achieved through people of faith like Martin Luther
King and Mahatma Gandhi should serve as an example of role faith organization can have in
achieving positive change. Religious institutions that work to establish peaceful solutions to
complex societal issues should be recognized for their contribution to social development and
cultural advancement, by policy makers and not viewed as a threat to democracy. Significant
policy outcomes resulted from the work of King and Gandhi, who practiced their faith in the
public square. Neither their message, nor their approach was changed in order quell controversy,
72
contradictory cultural norms or conflicting public policy. It is ironic that the one of greatest
advances in civil society originated with the African American church whose mandate was a push
for liberation, and today many progressives hold such a negative view of the Christian faith
tradition. For many religious leaders, it is becoming increasingly difficult for these two groups to
maintain their historical synergy around social change and human development.
Political conservatives on the other hand, are seizing the moment and promoting Faith
based programs, while progressives vehemently argue that funding church based social programs
promote State sanctioned religion. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, western
Protestantism does not allow for such cooperation. Most religious institutions maintain local
autonomy. For example, Baptist Pastors are not beholden to any authority other than their local
memberships. Anyone who is remotely familiar with the leadership and organizational
development within an African American religious context would agree that it would be
impossible to gain the kind of consensus among religious leaders and congregations necessary to
establish a State church. Authentic faith that is a positive and effective influence in civil society is
achieved through private reflection on religious teachings, and critical analysis rather than mass
acceptance or brain washing, as many critics have argued. Instead, progressives should be
concerned that for the first time in decades, African American church leaders are welcoming
political conservatives. Some social issues and the development of effective “family policy” such
as child support, which requires behavior modification of African American inner-city residents,
is best accomplished by the African American church even at risk of proselytizing. The end
justifies the means. To remove all risk, is to transform a religious institution into a secular one. If
religious leaders fear that their institutions are becoming less relevant, “dumbing down” their
73
religious perspectives is not the best alternative. It is out of a sincere faith and call to promote
social change that many faith-based organizations thrive.
3.2.3 Power Struggle between the Haves and Have Not’s
In the year of 1967, wrote James Forman the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee, SNCC, marks an important milestone in the struggle for the liberation of black
people in the United States, and was the year the revolutionaries throughout the world began to
understand more fully the impact of the black movement. That liberation will only be achieved,
when there is final destruction of this massive octopus – the capitalistic system of the United
States with all its life sucking tentacles of exploitation, and racism that choke the people of
Africa, Asia and Latin America. It was a year of unprecedented massive and widespread urban
revolts. It was the year that the so-called riots became an institutionalized form of black protest.
Attempts to build black united fronts were taking place around the country. There was the Black
United Front of Washington DC, the North City Congress in Philadelphia, the United Front in
Boston, the Black United Congress in Denver, and the Black Congress of Los Angeles. These
were coalitions which sought to alter power relations in the cities where they existed and to
establish some measure of black control or influence in those cities. They also faced the same
dangers of manipulation and co-option. They had to come to grips with the threat of gradual
takeover by more conservative blacks who have little desire to serve the community. (INCITE!
Women of Color Agaist Violence, 2007).
74
The simple but unfortunate fact is that the militants were usually less well
organized than the Urban League, the NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference,
preachers, teachers, and social workers who are invited to participate in the struggle for black
liberation. Consequently, it is relatively easy for these representatives of the privilege black to
take control of organizations ostensibly dedicated to militant reform, to enabling black people to
assume control over their own lives. If this process of takeover goes unchecked, the United Front
is transformed into an instrumentality serving the interests of the black middle class alone. To the
extent that they fall in the hands of privileged and opportunistic elite, they become added burden
on the back of black America. It is only to the extent that the United Fronts serve the needs and
aspirations of the great bulk of black people that they can be regarded as progressive
organizations. (INCITE! Women of Color Agaist Violence, 2007). It appears that there has been
a concerted effort by the Black middle class leaders to usurp the authority and will of the working
poor, who make up the majority.
3.2.4 Afro-Centric Teaching and the Jeremiah Wright Effect
The Jeremiah Wright effect triggered a trend in Black Church political and
civic engagement that caused many within the black community to withdraw their support, not
only for Wright but also his Afro-centric ministry approach. Some Black church leaders fear
reprisals for endorsing a traditional civil rights social action agenda characterized in the ministry
of Wright and the Trinity Church of Christ. Most black folks, though unstated, support both
Wright’s work and his church’s message in helping to strengthen Black families, particularly
75
Black men. The Color Blind rhetoric of President Barak Obama has made it taboo and driven
them underground. Just as racism went underground after it was outlawed, many activist
ministers have as well, leaving the fate of urban communities in the hands of elected officials
and no prophets speaking to power in the tradition of Biblical Moses or Martin Luther King.
A second strategy used to address inequality has been Afro Centric teaching of the black
persons in the bible. Many black scholars have continued to write on the importance of blacks
learning that many of the biblical characters were black. The most successful example can be
found at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. This church is now infamous because the
first black president was a member for more than two decades and its pastor’s fiery messages
about American exceptionalism. Not to forget those famous words.” God Damn America….”
Billy Graham’s remarks at the National Cathedral, just days after the 911 attacks were far more
critical of America than anything Wright ever said, but Graham received no public outrage.
There seems to be no transcript of Graham’s remarks on line. There are just references to what he
said. Graham said, “If God does not judge America, He will have to apologize to Sodom and
Gomorrah.” The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is found in the Bible. They were destroyed after
God concluded that the entire city was corrupt as evidenced through the attempted rape of the
visiting Angeles. God rained down fire and brimstone and the city was destroyed. Only one
family escaped, Lot and his relatives, but when his wife glanced backward to see the destruction,
she was turned into a pillar of salt. As you can see, Wrights comments were quite mild in
comparison. He was not the angry black man as portrayed, but a compassionate community
leader who was able to gain the support and confidence of some of the most powerful man in the
world, the president. In addition to our president, another prominent member included media
mogul Oprah Winfery, to name a few. Clearly, this church became a magnet to those wishing to
76
enter the ranks of the Black elite. What some do not know is that this church is located on the
Southside of Chicago, walking distance from the crime ridden 95
th
street train station. In fact,
while visiting Trinity this summer, I witnessed a brutal attack perpetrated by several youth on a
single black older gentleman. They were defending a black female who might have been a drug
addict, but certainly was the agitator of the entire incident. After being hit several times by the
youth, the victim quickly drove off with his door partially opened. I stood watching, amazed by
what had just happened. I did not know what to do for it was apparent that anyone who
intervened would receive a similar fate. The guy who was attacked was an innocent bystander
trying to break-up a fight between two women, one a drug addict and the other a patron on the
bus. The police came and began to talk to the youth. I wanted to point them out but was not sure
given the body language of the police that they would protect me, so I shamefully continued my
journey to church and tried to rationalize my lack of involvement. After all no one really got hurt,
there was no blood that I could observe from where I stood and this was just another day in the
life of a person living in urban Chicago. They are used to this sort of thing. I am an outsider who
fails to understand the way things work in the City. I could not help but wonder if our President
had ever been to the 95
th
street train stop. I am sure he had because it is almost impossible to be a
black man living in Chicago who never has taken the train to that location. When this context is
given, the passion and message of former pastor Jeremiah Wright is far more palatable. His view
was that the people in this community had to become responsible for themselves because no one
else seemed to care. This church single-handedly took on the challenge and development
ministries and social services to mitigate the neglect and apathy of governmental officials and
others who should have been concerned about of the growing poverty, crime and inferior
education that had become the norm for many urban communities. This pastor developed a public
77
religious education teaching program that focused on celebrating Black culture. The classes are
developed around Black progress, recognizing and celebrating African culture found in the Bible.
It is the basis of everything they do. The church’s main emphasis is social justice. In fact, they
refer to themselves as a social justice church. They believe it is important to be in solidarity with
the less fortunate, in this case those trapped in poverty and without hope—the African American
community. The Southside of Chicago is replete with most every demographic, from the very
poor to the extremely wealthy. It has through the work of this church become a symbol of
African American progress. Yet the means to this end is far from conventional and quite
controversial in the eyes of those who ignore the devastating effects of racial polarization among
urban communities. According to Reverend Otis Moss, current pastor of Trinity, “developing and
growing a church with an Afro centric worldview is less difficult amid communities that are
racially polarized, where the dominant culture overshadows all others, particularly the African
American culture. For example, at African American Colleges and Universities, Afrocentrism
looks quite different than it does at predominately white Universities and Colleges.” My
experience as a Black college student at Fisk University was that students were very well
adjusted to the significance of embracing the perspectives of the dominant culture without
compromising the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of the Black pioneers. Because Fisk was
established as a school for bi-racial slave children, it is likely that they would function differently
and would know how to provide excellent strategies that would lead to their graduates’ success in
a white dominated society. Fisk students got a bird’s eye view of white culture through unfettered
dialogue with African-American students and professors about the effects of failing to understand
the significant role race, class and life chances plays in shaping the expectations of low-income
urban communities. Having the ability to talk through these social issues, and in knowing that
78
their views will not have an alienating effect, resulted in Fisk University graduating more African
American students who pursue PhDs in science than any other university in the nation. Could this
success be attributed to cultivating a learning environment that does not sanitize the presence or
role of Black culture in the development of world leaders? Could an appreciation of all things
black play a key role in what it takes to turn our communities around? Trinity Church of Christ
seems to believe that affirming black culture as it is reflected in their Black Values System has
been important in the process of community transformation, poverty reduction, and economic
equity. Afrocentric fabric is proudly displayed as a decorative theme in every part of the church
along with the motto—“Unapologetically Black”. Even President Barak Obama, the most
powerful man in the world must have been confronted with this teaching. I believed he embraced
it, whether he ever admits it or not. Whatever the case Rev. Wright’s vision of better world made
such an impact on our President that he titled his book (The Audacity of Hope) after one of his
pastor’s sermons. Trinity offers a series of courses that addresses inequality highlighting the
presence of people of African descent that traditional Eurocentric perspectives have failed to
acknowledge in explaining the characters found in the biblical narratives. I believe that President
Obama's experience at Trinity was very similar to what students glean from attending an African-
American college or university. Black college students are usually welcomed into the mainstream
because the confidence gained from celebrating cultural strengths, according to the Department
of Education. Michelle Obama did in fact attend an all-black public high school on the Southside
Chicago. I find it highly ironic that the first African-American man to be accepted
overwhelmingly by mainstream society would be one who was so steeped in what some would
consider pro-black and anti-American rhetoric. This discussion is important to have as we
consider education reform. Currently schools are being evaluated based upon academic rigor, but
79
cultural competency is an important factor as well. Simply mandating that history books contain
chapters on African-American history and providing space for Black history month celebrations
during the month of February in no way equates to cultural competency. If anything, it decreases
the value of the cultural experience by isolating it to a couple of days within a particular month or
an entertaining program.
80
Chapter 4
___________________________________________________________________
4.1 CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IMPACTING TODAY’S CHURCH
4.1.1 Impacting Culture for Good
The value of religion has proved most effective when it impacts and influences culture.
Most religious leaders are not willing to share, in mixed company that an essential objective of
every membership-based organization and churches especially, is to recruit more and more
members. Members fund most religious organizations. There is a direct relationship between
membership size and budgetary capacity. It is both unreasonable and ineffective to stipulate that
religious institutions that receive government funding for providing social services may only do so
if they deny their need to sustain themselves by pursuing their primary goal to reproduce. The
strength and effectiveness of any religious institution lies in its ability to articulate its worldview
through its members. The commitment and passion exhibited by frontline service workers is the
hallmark of religious groups and key to their effectiveness. The civil rights movement was the
brainchild of the Black church. Those who would participate in direct action were told to meditate
on passages of biblical text. In the face of fierce opposition and the threat of violence, they were
charged to recite these passages in order to remain calm. The TV footage of civil right marchers
being beaten by police and attacked by dogs revel tremendous strength and determination, which
characterizes most social movements that have originated from a religious ideology. “To be
religious, in the view of the many that are not, involves a form of psychological immaturity. But
81
more troubling is the suspicion that religion itself is a fundamental source of radical discord-a
suspicion that has its origin in the European wars of religion between the Catholics and Protestants
in the sixteenth and seventieth centuries, but which has been broadly renewed since the 9-11
savageries were enacted in the name of Allah. Some of the religions give primacy of value to
mystical union; some to works of charity, some to justice, and some to ritual observance. But all
great religions have tracked the movement from God as unknown, to God as fearsome, to God as
love itself”(James Carroll, Daedalus: Why Religion Still Matters,” pg. 9, Summer 2003) Religion
and its role in helping to define social policy can be traced as far back as the beginning of
civilization from the elaborate preparations for the afterlife (the treasures found in the tombs of
Egyptian royals) to current debates over when life begins and the theory evolution. Ideology has
and will continue to play a major role in how we define or world, social structures, peoples and
the extent to which government intervention either promotes, discourages or chooses partnerships
with organizations working for positive change within civil society. The Black church is by
default the first line of defense against poverty among African Americans. It has been forced to
provide a safety net for poor inner-city residents in a time when no one else would. Whenever
there is a community issue the church is expected to provide leadership and resources. Most Black
churches go far beyond traditional feeding programs by helping to counter social policy that
further disenfranchises its constituency (the African American community at-large both religious
and non-religious). The perception within the community is that the church has an obligation to
serve the poor and to speak out on issues of political and social concern. Advocacy is viewed as a
means to empowerment. Clergy are quickly realizing that if they are to remain relevant, they must
do more to help ensure that neighborhoods gain economic stability. The difficult question is how
to do so without compromising the church’s mission. Is there a middle ground? This notion goes
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against the very nature of the African American religious experience. It suggests a giving of
ground, the neutralizing of values and principles that are unique to African American culture.
Some would call it “selling out.” From a historical perspective, African American religious
institutions must reject the notion of finding a middle ground for fear of losing the essence of what
makes their faith community distinct. As a result many have chosen to provide social services, but
with extremely limited resources where proselytizing is paramount. However, there are some
churches that can quantitatively and objectively present data that shows the effectiveness of their
social programs and should be given the option to compete for government funding on the merits
of their good work, even at the risk of proselytizing. Teen Challenge, a Christian in-patient
substance abuse treatment center, boasts a 86% success rate among its residents, with the majority
going on to become counselors themselves. Even though the State of California acknowledges
their effectiveness, they could never qualify for funding because their therapeutic model is
unapologetically Christian. In fact, the organization enthusiastically refuses government funding
because it fears that its effectiveness is compromised by the exclusion of religious teachings. Any
religious organization that agrees to accept money based on the promise not to proselytize is
disingenuous at best. Most argue adamantly that that their doctrine will not allow them to remain
neutral and that the greatest reason for their effectiveness is attributed to their sincerely held
religious beliefs and the ability to share their perspectives with their clients. On a shoestring
budget, churches are making a significant difference, how much more might they achieve with
government funding?
Many today are unwilling to consider the possibility of allowing religious institutions to
compete for government funding without making sure that the funding does not promote religion.
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Most of the negative perceptions attributed to religious people or organized religion, stem from
the church’s inclination to give blind trust and loyalty to a few individuals. Inadequate
accountability measures, both fiscal and otherwise have contributed to the impression that
believers sanction anything done in the name of religion. The decision making process in most
churches is achieved through a neo-democratic process. The intent is to represent the majority,
but they sometimes fail to develop effective ways, which assure the voice of members and the
community at-large reach the ears of the hierarchy. On rare occasions, when members’ views are
in conflict with religious texts that are clearly understood in the context of church doctrine,
religious leaders adopt a less democratic approach. When this occurs, congregations split and a
new religious organization forms. In other instances, apathy among members reduces
effectiveness by giving power to a limited few. Much like what happens in today’s local political
elections. The actions of a few can chart the course of the whole unless measures are in place to
ensure a balance of power. Even when the worse becomes inevitable, the “faithful few” have
tended to move on to religious organizations that better represent their goals and objectives. Many
of the actions of Catholics and Protestants during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries did not
reflect the values and principles of their own religious creeds. For every person or religious group
that has been criticized for committing atrocities in the name of religion, there have been voices of
descent within the ranks (Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther
King, etc.) working tirelessly exposing hypocrisy and pushing for reform. Even today, many
Catholics condemn the molestation that has occurred among them and are pushing for justice, but
the courts have decided that most of these cases are not prosecutable. In spite of the court
decisions that exonerated many priest accused of sexual abuse, the laity within the church
continues organizing and making sure their voices are heard. In the final analysis, these priests
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will escape prosecution because of the courts, not due to any lack of vigilance on the part of
Catholics.
Leaders of organizations tend to sustain and protect their identity by any means necessary
and for religious institutions there are few greater objectives. The task of determining a church’s
capacity to compete for government funding and program effectiveness is extremely difficult and
often viewed controversial, but absolutely necessary. Currently, size, fiscal strength and political
contacts determine what projects get funding. Unfortunately, these considerations do not
guarantee effectiveness at a grassroots level. Many times the exact opposite is often the case.
Greater sensitivity and specialized knowledge is required. Analyzing the doctrines and creeds of
religious institutions and comparing their business practices, social programs and community
involvement in light what they purport to believe, is a better way to judge whether or not a
religious institution is a positive force for change in civil society and merits government funding,
or contributing to its devolution. “The Roman Catholic theologian Karl Rahner articulated broadly
that in religious institutions, God does not simply create something other than himself--He also
gives himself to the other. The world receives God, the infinite and the ineffable mystery, to such
an extent that He himself becomes its innermost life. This mystery he further writes, is the
inexplicit and unexpressed horizon which always encircles and upholds the small area of our
every day experience…We call this God…however hard and unsatisfactory it may be to interpret
the deepest and most fundamental experience at the very bottom of our being, man does
experience in his innermost history that this silent, infinitely distant holy mystery, which
continually recalls him to the limits of his finitude and lays bare his guilt yet bids him approach;
the mystery enfolds him in an ultimate and radical love which commends itself to him as salvation
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and as the real meaning of his existence.” James Carroll, Daedalus: Why Religion Still Matters,”
pg. 11, Summer 2003) The tangible expression of faith is found in the religious institution’s
doctrines, creeds and social conciseness. This is a major part of what religious institutions or
churches do. There are those who would argue that this is not true for all churches, however this is
the legacy of the African American faith tradition. Religious institutions must resist achieving
relevance through secularization. The tension that exist between those religious organizations that
receive government funding and those who refuse it, stems from an understanding that social
service work is to be conducted within the church, utilizing vital church resources (human and
otherwise), but that the values and belief system that church members believe will ultimately lead
to effective and positive programmatic outcomes, those which gave rise to the institution itself, is
often viewed with malicious intent. The tremendous good achieved through people of faith like
Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi should serve as an example of role faith organization
can have in achieving positive change. Religious institutions that work to establish peaceful
solutions to complex societal issues should be recognized for their contribution to social
development and cultural advancement, by policy makers and not viewed as a threat to
democracy. Significant policy outcomes resulted from the work of King and Gandhi, who
practiced their faith in the public square. Neither their message, nor their approach was changed in
order quell controversy, contradictory cultural norms or conflicting public policy. It is ironic that
the one of greatest advances in civil society originated with the African American church whose
mandate was a push for liberation, and today many progressives hold such a negative view of the
Christian faith tradition. For many religious leaders, it is becoming increasingly difficult for these
two groups to maintain their historical synergy around social change and human development.
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Political conservatives on the other hand, are seizing the moment and promoting Faith
based programs, while progressives vehemently argue that funding church based social programs
promote State sanctioned religion. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, western
Protestantism does not allow for such cooperation. Most religious institutions maintain local
autonomy. For example, Baptist Pastors are not beholden to any authority other than their local
memberships. Anyone who is remotely familiar with the leadership and organizational
development within an African American religious context would agree that it would be
impossible to gain the kind of consensus among religious leaders and congregations necessary to
establish a State church. Authentic faith that is a positive and effective influence in civil society is
achieved through private reflection on religious teachings, and critical analysis rather than mass
acceptance or brain washing, as many critics have argued. Instead, progressives should be
concerned that for the first time in decades, African American church leaders are welcoming
political conservatives. Some social issues and the development of effective “family policy” such
as child support, which requires behavior modification of African American inner-city residents,
is best accomplished by the African American church even at risk of proselytizing. The end
justifies the means. To remove all risk, is to transform a religious institution into a secular one. If
religious leaders fear that their institutions are becoming less relevant, “dumbing down” their
religious perspectives is not the best alternative. It is out of a sincere faith and call to promote
social change that many faith-based organizations thrive.
4.1.2 Diverse Cultural Considerations
One can not count the number of dynamic and encouraging presentations
developed involving the theme of race and culture. What is most interesting about this strategy is
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that it involves the allegiances of black folks and appears to be segregating, but the end result
overwhelmingly is racial and economic parity that helps to develop equitable partnerships that
bridge the color line. As with most programs that celebrate black culture, the audience is usually
black. Just about every black cultural program I have ever witnessed left me wishing that the
audience was filled with whites not blacks. Though blacks need to be reminded of their former
struggles and encouraged to help other blacks, the dominant culture needs to be better informed
about more than just the contributions of blacks. The relationship between Africa and the Bible
should be important to most Americans who hold the Word of God so dear to their hearts. It is
impossible to claim an authentic faith and that the Bible is error free and at the same time, fails to
mention the connection between Africa and the Bible. It is amazing how many African
American churches refuse to engage on the subject of race. How many want a race neutral faith
tradition while scripture is replete with cultural norms and demographic descriptions. The trend
running through the entire Bible is one of genealogy tracing back through the Old Testament to
the New Testament. Refusal to acknowledge race has more to do with the negative stigma
associated with being black than any theological or sociological perspective. When black people
are equal to whites rather than presumed inferior, it will not be as difficult for mainstream
Christians to discuss openly and unapologetically that many of the characters in the Bible were
people of color or of African decent. In order for real reconciliation to occur, the church must
stop pretending that the Bible or religion is race neutral when Sunday mornings at 11:00 a.m. is
the most racially polarized time of the week (Thomas, Surevying Modern Attitudes, 2008). Most
churches are organized around racial lines and even those who claim to approach ministry from a
multicultural perspective are more apt to be influenced by the dominant culture’s European
perspective rather than an Afrocentric worldview. James Cone, the father of Black Liberation
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Theology is considered a radical among many conservative circles of black and white Christians
alike. The primary thrust for his work consists of a synthesis of Martin Luther King’s theological
perspectives and Malcolm X’s emphasis on black power. While it is not uncommon for a white
pastor to lead a black congregation, the reverse is extremely rare. While sharing a facility with an
Episcopal church, in Lemert Park, one of the last strongholds of Afrocentric culture in Los
Angeles, it was amazing to think that the largest and most prominent black congregation in the
area was lead by a white minister. It was interesting to see this minister teach and preach to an all
black congregation in such an Afrocentric area. I will add that many of the members were from
Belize and were his strongest supporters. When asked if he had at anytime felt discriminated
against, for being white, he responded, “Yes…because of my sexual orientation.” It turned out
that he was gay. This was quite unbelievable given the ethnic make up of the church. His sexual
orientation had never entered my mind, but he considered it a major issue during his 5-year
tenure. I was very shocked because he seemed to be so beloved by the church. In fact, several
members left when he resigned for health reasons. For a black church to embrace him given his
sexual orientation was extremely unusual, because most blacks are theologically conservative
regardless of denomination. This was indeed a paradigm shift away from tradition. A tiny
minority helped him to serve without an unpleasant incident for several years. I concluded that
his unwavering support for the black community became more important to his parishioners than
his sexuality. This is far too controversial a position for most black churches and so is promoting
black culture. Many black pastors with a majority black congregation readily disavow black
cultural norms in hopes of appealing to a more multicultural audience, which is usually only
imaginary. If this Episcopal pastor can risk being removed for his beliefs about sexuality, black
misters are without excuse. Until the truth about Christianity’s ties to African people is embraced
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by the religious community at large, it will be impossible to live out the mission to unify the body
of Christ. We will never reach the goal of reconciliation, and with each passing day, creating the
Beloved Community becomes more and more a dream deferred.
4.1.3 Diversity as a Economic Tool
Often, diversity seems to have very few economic benefits, but with an
ever expanding global market understanding student education that fails to see diversity’s
potential as economic stimulator is a mistake. The results from a study of metropolitan
Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky, the largest urban area in the nation’s most integrated
state, showed students both black and white, reported very positive results on a broad range of
questions regarding educational and social outcomes. Ninety-three percent of white juniors and
95 percent of African American, for example, reported that they were comfortable working with
students of other races on group projects. Even higher percentages of whites and black students
said they were comfortable in classes learning about each other’s cultures (94 and 97 percent
respectively). Ninety-three percent of whites and 88 percent of blacks said they had been
encouraged to go to college, and college aspirations were similar across racial lines (A
Multiracial Society with Segregated Schools: Are We Losing the Dream, The Civil Rights
Project; Harvard University, Frankenberg, Lee, Orfield, Jan 2003 p.13). Private education is the
means by which parents prepare their children to succeed. Success in the twenty-first-century
includes cultural awareness and sensitivity of diverse ethnicities. The need to develop a
systematic approach to encouraging sustainable inclusion will become increasingly important
over time, as society continues to become more and more diverse.
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4.1.4 New Family Systems, Child Welfare and Religion
The church may need to rethink its approach on how to best to promote and healthy families
because a changing family systems and the influence of media. The MTV’s hit television program
about pregnant teens was criticized by most, but especially clergy because it “glamorized” teen
pregnancy (Dinh, 2010). It turns out that 82% of the teens say the hit TV series helped them to
understand the trials of parenthood, according to a report by National Campaign to Prevent Teen
and Unplanned Pregnancy. Clergy must understand the reality on non-traditional families
developing effective programs that promote healthy families. Like it or not, the faithful would do
well to notice the decline in the number of traditional families. Clergy might have fared better by
encouraging teens to watch the show and developing a framework for a structured dialogue with
youth who attend church.
The decline of the traditional family and the increasing incidence of out-of
wedlock births have of late become hotly debated political issues. In the
United States the erosion of family values and traditional morality has been
blamed for a variety of social and economic ills not only by conservative
politicians, but by a number of prominent scholars as well. Indeed, according
to the National Center for Health Statistics the proportion of all children born
outside marriage had reached 30% in 1992-a rate four times as high as just 25
years earlier. By 1996, the rate had edged up to 32.4% of all births and today
it has reached 40.7%. As David Murray, an anthropologist at the conservative
Heritage Foundation put it: "America is becoming a nation of bastards."
(Wolfgang, P. Hirzy de Mino, Journal of Comparative Family Studies, “From
bastardly to equality: The rights of non-marital children and their fathers in
comparative perspective,” 2000, pg.231-32)
This particular viewpoint represents a religious construct and should be refuted within the same
context. Any attempt to rebut a moral argument without appealing to a higher moral authority
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common to most religions, exalts one person’s skewed perception of humanity to the level of
absolute truth, which can lead to Fascism. Silent religious leaders indirectly contributed to the
cultural environment that enabled Adolph Hitler’s skewed perception of Jews to thrive.
However, a few religious leaders exerted their moral authority by peacefully resisting. Today,
Progressives cannot afford to patronize or ignore the usefulness of religion. Instead, religion
must be embraced if faith-based public policy initiatives and programs are to flourish. In
addition, religious language and concepts should be considered in developing approaches to
solve societal ills. An excellent example of this is “The Pastor’s Guide Book on HIV,” which
was developed to teach pastors how to talk about HIV and Aids prevention during Sunday
morning worship. The problem with developing a dialogue on HIV and AIDS was revealed in
the survey which found that many believe that the disease is in some way connected to a
government conspiracy against people of color. Unfortunately, this distrust was bolstered by
AIDSVAX, the first vaccine to enter the Phase III trials was dismissed as worthless and
abandoned even though some data indicated that it actually protected blacks and Asians from
HIV infection quite efficiently (Washington, 2006). AIDSVAX by VaxGen of Brisbane,
California cut the infection rate in Blacks by 78 percent and Asians 66.8 percent (Washington,
2006). There are many example of unethical practice visited on blacks , so most are skeptical
making it very difficult for pastor to approach the issue. However, when they did, the outcome
was successful. Likewise pastors could discuss in great detail the impact of non-traditional
family systems and how to respond appropriately to the changing demographics. “But the
phenomenon is by no means limited to the United States. It constitutes a rather widespread-
though not universal-demographic trend in industrial societies (Bums and Scott, 1994), with rates
in Scandinavian countries exceeding the figure causing alarm in the U.S. by a considerable
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margin. In the United States the link between out-of-wedlock births and child poverty has played
a prominent role in the welfare reform debate, which culminated in passage of the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193). Some
commentators have excoriated illegitimacy as the root of all social ills, or at least as a major
contributing factor (Wattenberg, 1993; Krauthammer, 1994, Murray D., 1993, 1994; Murray D.,
1994). Empirical data showing correlations between out-of-wedlock birth and societal decay
serve as ammunition in the ideological and political skirmishes over the family and its future.
Along with calls to re-stigmatize childbearing out of wedlock and to end welfare dependency,
some conservatives tout marriage as the obvious solution and as the best anti-poverty program of
all (Joan Aldous, Wilfried Dumon, Journal of Marriage and Family, “Family Policy in the 1980s
Controversy and Consensus,” pg. 1137, 2000 (Blankenhorn, 1995; Popenoe,1996) Though I
believe that the all children need two parents, it is impossible to promote marriage as a solution
to the poverty because divorce occurs as readily among the wealthy as it does the poor and the
trauma experienced by the children of either socioeconomic class is equally devastating to both.
“A comparison with other nations readily demonstrates, however, that the relationship between
out-of-wedlock births and poverty is not inevitable. While a surge in non-marital births has
occurred in many industrialized nations, child poverty is a more serious and more pervasive
problem in the United States. This difference reflects at least in part the greater tolerance for
economic inequality in America and comparatively less generous income, welfare, and family
support policies.” (Wolfgang, P. Hirzy de Mino, Journal of Comparative Family Studies, “From
bastard to equality: The rights of non-marital children and their fathers in comparative
perspective,” 2000 pg. 231-32) The truth of this data rang clear in our men’s group meeting. One
gentleman explained how he needed to learn to be patient and “Wait on God.” He told the story
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of needing to buy food for his children but having no money so he went into the store and stole a
pound of ground beef. He was caught but explained that he was willing to go to jail but pleaded
with the store manager to call his children so that they would know that he had been arrested.
The store manager told him to put the meat back and to get a larger portion. He also gave him
money to pay for it and let him go. This man was very adamant that had he given God a chance
to answer his prayer he would not have had to risk going to jail. My view is that God did indeed
answer his prayer by providing him with more than he could steal and showing him mercy by
letting him go free. The manger in my view displayed what a loving father would do in order to
reveal to this gentleman that there is never a reason to steal. Lower income people seemingly
have a greater sensitivity toward religious matters than the well-to-do (Thomas Nelson Inc.,
2002) Even among homeless populations, religious beliefs are a constant source of hope. This
man had recently separated from his wife in an effort to sustain his freedom for drug addiction.
His wife continues to use and does not appear to be interested in quitting at this time. They are
destined to live in poverty. “As each successive generation of children becomes absorbed into a
social process that involves the criminalization of a growing underclass, involvement in the
criminal justice system is increasingly becoming part of the family system for many low-income
families, particularly in communities of color.” (Carl Mazza, Families in Society, “And then the
world fell apart: The children of incarcerated fathers,” Sept-Dec. 2002. Vol. 83, Iss. 5/6; pg.
521-530) One African American man described his living in the inner-city as living under siege,
meaning that the police are constantly harassing them. As I stood outside the building, a squad
car passed by every two or three minutes. I was not bothered at all but one young man was
extremely irritated and began to tell me how the Los Angeles Police Department cleaned up the
streets by putting people in jail. He also mentioned that most of the gang violence was being
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instigated by “dirty cops” driving in gang infested neighborhoods brandishing their guns and
starting turf wars by waving gang signs. Many residents (males) of South Los Angeles and
African Americans in general are suspicious of police, courts or any governmental agency.
Among South LA residents there is a prevailing distrust of authority and a belief that the
“system” was developed for the disempowerment of black men, implemented by incarceration.
Interestingly, when asked what impact their fathers’ incarcerations had on them, most reported
that they had overcome the negative impact. However, after some discussion, they discovered
that they had actually followed in their dads’ footsteps and their children were suffering as a
result. “A U.S. Department of Justice jail study (1992) found that 44% of women and 34.5% of
males reported having a close family member who served time in jail or prison. Bloom et al.
(1994) found that nearly 75% of women incarcerated in California prisons had family members
who had been arrested and 63% reported having close relatives who had been incarcerated. The
American Correctional Association (1990) reported that up to 50% of incarcerated juveniles have
a parent who has been incarcerated.” (Carl Mazza , Families in Society, “And then the world fell
apart: The children of incarcerated fathers,” Sept-Dec. 2002. Vol. 83, Iss. 5/6; pg. 521-530)
Inner-city children have many obstacles to overcome in addition to poverty. The data needed to
address this issue fully is yet to be collected because there are so many variables. It is important
to note that none of the data on children with incarcerated fathers was collected in an attempt to
explore the impact of incarceration on a child whose parent was jailed for failure to make child
support payments. Incarceration has become the legacy and birthright of many urban youth and
if we are to revitalize our communities we must start with changing or establishing the
community identity by confronting head-on issues that hinder the psycho-social development of
our communities.
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4.1.5 Black Family Restoration
A key component in the construction and maintenance of a local church is working with
families. What seems to be missing in this work is the church’s ability to promote a broad based
affirmation of black culture that includes the importance of restoring not only the nuclear family
structure, but also promoting connections with the with the continent of Africa.
4.1.5.1 Incarceration and Deadbeat Dads: Fatherhood and the Church
There are increasing numbers of children forced to grow-up without fathers in their
homes. Criminalizing “deadbeat dads or non-custodial fathers,” will mean that more children will
experience first hand the effects of estranged parental relationships brought on by having a parent
incarcerated. “Almost two million of the seventy-two million minor children in the United States
have a parent who is currently incarcerated. This is an increase of almost a half a million since
1991 (Hairston, 1998; U.S. department of Justice, 2000). Ninety-three percent of the incarcerated
parents are fathers. Black children are nine times and Latino children are three times more likely
to have an incarcerated parent than are White children. Over 750,000 Black children, 400,000
White children and 300,000 have fathers who are imprisoned. Current research regarding the
emotional and economic hardships faced by children whose parents have been incarcerated
suggest, many will be permanently scarred by their fathers’ incarceration and its impact can affect
every aspect of the children’s world. They are emotionally traumatized. Physically, they are
affected by economic changes. The spillover of incarceration often affects the children’s school
performance, behavior, peer relationships, sense of self, and feeling about the future. Young
children of incarcerated fathers often experience deception by their relatives. They are lied to for
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their own good.” (Carl Mazza, Families in Society, “And then the world fell apart: The children
of incarcerated fathers,” Sept-Dec. 2002. Vol. 83, Iss. 5/6; pg. 521-530). While the above data is
not specific to those incarcerated as a penalty for not following a court order to pay child support,
it does make clear that incarcerating fathers is extremely detrimental to the welfare of their
children, and even in cases of violent crimes where the child is at risk, It is frowned upon. Even
more so, incarcerating non-compliant fathers should not be viewed as an appropriate means of
collecting child support payments for a program whose fundamental aim is strengthening
vulnerable family systems? Likewise, the State’s implementation of welfare reform policies that
purport to be what is good for children, when it results in incarcerating non-custodial fathers for
failure to pay child support is both counter-productive and contradictory. How can the legislators
claim to be acting in the best interest of children when research shows that poverty, despair and
feelings of hopelessness, are common among young people with incarcerated fathers especially
those living in the inner city? Even though legislation has been passed to address the issue of
“deadbeat dads,” and many nonresident fathers are being forced into making provisions for their
children, the problem of neglect among African Americans fathers continues to worsen. The
threat of incarceration has not proven to be an effective deterrent in keeping fathers from
abandoning their children nor does it in any way offset the emotional damaged associated with
children growing up without fathers. In fact, it appears to have the opposite effect. African
American men are walking away from their children because they resent the courts usurping
authority within an already fragile family system. Many believe that Family Court judges and the
justice system overall is at best, disingenuous in its efforts to improve the quality of life of their
children, and worst yet, is continuing the unfinished work of the late 1960’s welfare program. A
program that is remembered by many African Americans for the Gestapo like practices of social
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workers raiding the homes of poor people looking for men’s shoes as evidence to enforce their
policy of compulsory eviction of fathers so that their spouses would remain eligible to receive Aid
to Families With Dependent Children.
Like the canaries that served as an early warning about poisoned air, the
children of incarcerated parents alert us to the grave consequences
resulting from a polluted political environment that sustains these larger
trends. It is possible to check the course of present policy development
and its intergenerational consequences, but for this we need to learn the
lessons these children's lives can teach us. As a first step, the millions of
children affected by incarceration, need to be identified and acknowledged
(Mazza, 2002).
I disagree with the author here. These children are clearly identifiable. These are
the children who live in the poorest areas of our cities; they are often referred to as throw-a-ways,
at-risk, and any number of titles given to perpetual victims. The problem is not who they are, but
what do we do with them, especially since their ranks are increasing beyond the urban centers
into the suburbs. “Much more direct work with these children and their parents is needed to fully
understand their circumstances and to develop meaningful responses. The public must be
educated about the families and children who are caught in the "tough on crime" net along with
the individual offender, and policymakers must be supported to seek less punitive, more pro-
family, community-based alternatives for victimless and nonviolent crimes. Law enforcement,
correctional facilities, child welfare service systems, schools, and other community-based
agencies need to collaborate in developing coordinated responses to affected children and their
families.” (Carl Mazza , Families in Society, “And then the world fell apart: The children of
incarcerated fathers,” Sept-Dec. 2002. Vol. 83, Iss. 5/6; pg. 521-530)
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A major hurdle to be overcome is the perception that most lawbreakers are people
of color. Historically, it has always been easier to maintain unjust laws, which negatively impact
all people when it is perceived that they only affect a venerable few.
4.1.5.2 Kenyan Model for Faith Based Community Development
Any serious discussion on spiritual capital must include the Historic Black Church
because of the role it has played as an advocate for justice throughout the years. “Less developed
by far is this emerging concept of spiritual capital. The concept is pregnant with possibilities
drawing on the intersection of economics and religion and such classic works as R.H. Tawney’s,
Religion and the Rise of Capitalism and Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism as well as more recent political economy thinking on economics and development.
But does “spiritual capital” pass the so-what test? Is it possibly the hidden motivation in
economic booms in different societies such as Ireland (for a time) and Singapore? How exactly
does religion affect economic behavior at both the macro and micro levels? Can we fully
demonstrate the relevance, validity, and potential of the notion that spiritual mores and
underpinnings demonstrably affect development? Here is the hypothesis: In the ultimate sense
spiritual capital is the missing leg in the stool of economic development, which includes its better
known relatives, social and human capital.” The importance of this concept of spiritual capital
will increase over time as Muslim countries gain more influence. United States relations to
Middle Eastern countries must include understanding the role and significance of spiritual capital
on the country’s economy. (Malloch, 2003)
One can rightly ask which factors and issues development
economists and practitioners should add to their future studies to gauge this
missing link. In other words, can we operationalize spiritual capital so that
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the concept and empirical findings can be made more plausible and
evident? Since the notion of spiritual capital is closely connected to on-
going debates on trust, corruption, governance, sustainability, and
entrepreneurship, this is a critical next step. Some things to look at
include:
- The role and scope of personal religious ethics on private
economic decisions which face all persons and groups;
- The exegetical, economic and historical roots and
traditions which give rise to contrasting work ethics and economic
systems;
- The role of societal institutions based on faith ranging
from companies to trade unions to political parties to non-governmental
and intermediating structures;
- Interpretations and practices concerning interest,
investment, inflation, growth, government authority, charity and trade in
various spiritual world views;
- The impact of religion on conduct and rules as employees
and employers, consumers and producers; and citizens at every level of
existence; and
- The degree to which religious practices and policies directly
or indirectly affect economic behavior, choices and economic policy.
There may be no one set of religious principles regulating
any given economic polity but all religious peoples, regardless of their
faith community, make individual and collective choices in which
personal faith colored by longstanding and deeply rooted historical
religious traditions are highly relevant and important factors. Spiritual
capital can become a useful concept and term for a vital feature of
economic development that has been largely overlooked in modern
theories of development. Indeed, the often used terms social capital and
human capital themselves are based to a large extent on the existence of
good faith, trust, stewardship, a sense of purpose and other moral
characteristics which cannot persist in the absence of the piety, solidarity
and hope that come from religion and spiritual sentiments. When this is
lost, societies and economies often decline rather than grow. When this
abounds societies and economies prosper. (Malloch, 2003).
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When social action groups have no religious guideposts or at least cursory understand of the role
religious people can play in transforming communities, it becomes difficult for natural allies
such as the church to partner with like minded organizations.
4.2 Transformation Process
Transformation is best described as sustainable social change and should always
reflect a shift in personal perspective and social outlook. The Kenyan Model suggests that
transformation cannot be legislated nor can it be forced upon any people group. It must rise out
of the consciousness of a spiritual process with practical goals. It demands strong motivation,
selfless hard work, cooperation, commitment, perseverance and courage. (James Carroll, Daedal
us 2003) African American churches have distinctively and historically embodied the values
listed above. All of which are pivotal in developing a good work ethic. Most African Americans
view religion as a way of both understanding their suffering within a larger context and as a way
to transform their destitute plight to one of hope with Christ as the chief liberator. How much
more effective would the church be if it took on the role of training the next generation of
leaders, workers and entrepreneurs.
The Kenyan Model is a good example of what can happen when the
church utilizes its spiritual capital to transform poor communities. From
1973 to 1980 a development education program was initiated to link
practical development projects to the Catholic Church in Kenya. Over 500
people were involved in phased training programs to become animators
within these projects on issues like literacy, sheep and goats schemes,
water projects, women's groups, etc. (Anne Hope and Sally Timmel, 2003)
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Though some may argue that because the Kenyan Model lacks a scientific
approach that would lead to greater objectivity and effective program
development, I propose that culturally based program development and
evaluation are not limited to empirical data and a sterile research
environment. What is most significant about this model are not so much
the measurable results, but the number of people familiar with the project.
In 1984, a master's thesis estimated that over 3 million people have been
involved in some aspect the program. A series of books called Training for
Transformation grew out of this experience. Through these practical
handbooks, this integrated approach to development has been taken up in
at least 60 countries of the South. (Anne Hope and Sally Timmel, 2003)
Of all the enterprises in low-income communities of color, the church is by far the most
successful industry. Researches need to explore how to define and develop Spiritual capital that
increases the impact of economic benefits to poor communities by creating jobs.
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Chapter 5
___________________________________________________________________
DATA ANALYSIS
5.1 Data Collection Techniques
Ethnography: Observational Research Strategy
5.2 Data Content: Survey and Interviews
Narrative Inquiry
Narrative inquiry runs deeper than being a research tool used in case studies. "Narrative inquiry
rests on the epistemological assumption that we as human beings make sense of random
experience by the imposition of story structures." Narrative inquiry makes valuable contributions
to the social sciences because of its "open-ended, experiential and quest-like qualities."
Narratives are not productions of individuals, but rather are "shaped by social, cultural, and
historical conventions" and the relationship between the story-teller and recorder (even if it’s an
invisible audience). Therefore, the details of story structures and contents reveal much about the
social, cultural, and historical context in which the story-teller exists., Narrative inquiry is
conducted with the understanding that stories that people tell are often at the surface of a more
complex underlying story. The qualities of narrative inquiry and the potential contextual
information that stories may reveal make narrative inquiry beneficial to several disciplines
including psychology, anthropology, and education, , , ,.
Narrative inquiry research, like any other research tool or methodology, has advantages and
limitations. According to Bell (2002), the benefits of narrative inquiry include the following:
narrative provides the researcher with an understanding of an experience; narrative gives the
researcher access to stories or themes that the story teller may not even be conscious of; narrative
highlights changing perspectives and understanding of people and events as a function of time in
the evaluation of an experience. Another advantage of narrative inquiry is that the process is as
important at the product. In terms of educational research, the stories investigated by teachers
and graduate stories "became the objects of their research and the medium for their professional
development," adding another dimension to the benefits of narrative inquiry (Genzuk, 2003)
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Affordable Housing Developer (Insider)
“Working with Mega Churches is very difficult because they never seem
to operate in the manner most expect. They are sometimes worse than
corporation and getting a return on their investment is what is most
important. I was often referred to as “money bags.” I do not go to
church and my work with churches certainly did not help.” I have found
that smaller churches, with pastors who are less know, have been a
pleasure to work with, but their resources are just so limited and are
usually not viewed as viable community development partners. It takes
longer to get things done, but they seem to be more charity driven.
I believe there is a strong relationship between the numbers of African
Americans who accepted predatory loans for homes they could not
afford and some Mega preachers whose ultimate goal is money, power
and influence.
Real Estate Developer (Insider)
“I had to threaten to sue in order to get paid. I had no idea a church
could be so ruthless and claim to be helping the poor. I now attend a
small struggling church where the pastor knows me and my family
personally. He married me and was there when we had our first child.
He is known as an advocate for the community and is well respected for
his compassion for the community not his status as a pastor. He has
about 60 members, but he has helped thousands.”
Regional Banker Official (Outsider)
“I used to feel guilty about churches defaulting on loans. It is the last
thing you want to do as a bank because of the bad PR. Smaller churches
are easier because they often go away quietly. The large ones, on the
other hand, declare war and usually win, because they are so well
connected. Honestly, I think smaller churches do more with less, but they
are not as connected, so they end up closing. I wish foundations and
social investors would do more to help keep the doors of small churches
open. In the end they are forced to appeal to Mega churches. Even when
Mega churches come to their rescue, it is not without a price.”
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Affordable Housing Attorney (Outsider)
“I tried to advise them (the church) on how the process works but they
insisted on doing things their way. Their way, got their management
contract cancelled, which was a huge blow to their bottom line.
Most of the folks who do work in the South LA are poverty pimps; they
do not really care about the community. Our community is suffering for
a reason; enemies without and within. Two of the most prominent black
organizations in the city missed the chance on secure four-hundred
million dollars in Federal aid for South LA because they could not get
along. If smaller, less known organizations had been able to compete
for those funds, the residents of South LA would have benefitted
tremendously.”
Denominational Leader (Insider)
“The church used to have such spiritual power that even non-believers
respected us. Today, we are seen as prophets for profit; everybody has
a price. We have reduced the church’s message to what is acceptable in
the marketplace: our message should be transforming the marketplace
towards a more just society. When we were forbidden to read or gather
alone for worship; without money and second class citizenships, our
message became a movement that transformed the world. We can do the
same today, but the movement won’t be led by a high profile wealthy
minister: It never has been and it never will be. ”
Grant Maker (Outsider)
“We have been giving a grant to several large churches each year for
the past 7 years. They never fully meet our deliverables but they do help
us by allow us to be associated with their brand. Unfortunately, that is
the most we can hope for because in comparison, what we give them is
not even a drop in the bucket considering what they generate on their
own. In the end, the kids suffer because they do not get their needs fully
met. It’s a necessary evil. I have learned that the real work happens at
the grassroots level but these folks are hard to find and difficult to fund
because their organizational infrastructures are often underdeveloped
and investors won’t take the risk”
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Small Church Pastor (insider)
“I do a lot in my local community and would love to do more. But
honestly, when I get invitations to partner with certain large churches, I
know somebody will get paid and it most likely won’t be me, so do what I
can by myself because I refuse to be used again.”
Elected Official (Outsider)
“We recognize that many think churches should not get involved in
politics or policy. On the surface this is true, but if you know that at
some point you will have to pray for sick people, it only makes sense that
you would also at least understand the Affordable Care Act. They are an
excellent resource.”
5.3 Data Analysis
This section summarized and analyzed the findings of the research interviews, a survey,
site documents and observation. The interviews reveal different perspectives about a similar
problem, and were very consistent with the researcher’s experiences as the pastor of a
community church. The feeling that churches are perceived as having lost their way as the
purveyor of justice and freedom and adopted a more corporate approach that prizes institutional
identity and benefits, over serving the community through producing Spiritual Capital in order to
distribute Spiritual Currency to solve complex social issues for needy urban residents. The
perspectives were classified from the vantage points of insiders or outsiders. The perspective of
each group was examined in the sections below.
The insiders represent those in church leadership who are responsible for decision
making or lay members of a Christian community, and outsiders represent those who seek to
partner with the church but have no affiliation with the institution and may not even be Christian.
Outsiders can also include individuals who identify as Christian, but did not know their pastor’s
106
name. All were concerned about how the church might better support community development
efforts with personal development strategies and programs that help revitalize poor communities.
The insiders and outsiders both agree that a theological shift that includes freedom and
equality in developing Beloved Communities best represents the righteousness of Christ, a key
component in transforming civil society.
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Chapter 6
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 Summary
In the beginning, the primary goal of this project was to develop a program development and
evaluation tool that could be used by government agencies, non-profits, foundations and
benefactors to identify and recommend grassroots community-oriented faith-based initiatives.
Similarly, church leaders and non-profit professionals would learn how to use narratives as a tool
to bring together opposing views, build greater capacity, and to use as a program development
process to forecast increases in profitability, maximize resources and decision making, improve
faith-based program development, evaluation and effectiveness while exploring new avenues of
funding.
Many are shocked by the low level of funding mega-churches receive, compared to
other organizations, because they lack industry-accepted evaluation processes. Often,
government and private funders only consider brand association, which is less competitive and
have funding limitations instead of funding projects based on measuring the social benefits
enjoyed by the broader community. Churches often lack the necessary resources and professional
skills needed to effectively analyze program outcomes. When they seek to discover best practices
and programs that will improve the quality of life for both church members and the community
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at large, they are hindered by a lack of resources and end up helping to maintain the status quo
rather than encouraging social justice.
The goal is to help smaller churches that are unrestricted by orthodoxy
develop competitive grant-worthy ministry programs and strategies aimed at raising
consciousness, power building and cultural awareness for low-income communities of color. For
example, with respect to transforming civil society, The African-American church has been
extraordinarily successful in providing ministry programs that lead to shared prosperity among
an extremely impoverished and oppressed people. The early African-American church has been
referred to by historians as the invisible church.
Even before the erection of physical places of worship, the
"invisible churches" of the Southern plantations gave cohesion and
commonality to an oppressed people who had been snatched from
their homeland and raped of their culture and language. These
gatherings were often contrary to the pleasure of the slave owners
and had no fixed site or meeting place. Thus, the term “invisible
church" is used. It was in this setting primarily that the transfer of
African culture took place, and as a result, Christianity was
Africanized. Personal and social development took refuge under
the umbrella of the black church. Burial societies, insurance
companies, and business enterprises of every stripe frequently
began in the church. The free black churches of an earlier day
served as models. By the turn-of-the-century, black churches were
playing a dominant role in the total life of freedmen, as has no
other institution to date (Walker, 1979).
Today however, many churches have begun to partner with public and private entities
in order to better address social issues such as poverty, illiteracy, joblessness and disease
prevention. Most of these partnerships claim to be making great strides, but there is little
objective evidence to support these claims. Even when ministry program outcomes are very
successful, there is usually no agreed upon matrix to measure deliverables. Many religious
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leaders are very cynical of the utility of evaluation tools especially when researchers are not
familiar with their specific faith traditions and are outsiders. For insiders, there is much tension
between objectivity and bias. Objectivity can lead to alienation from natural allies and bias
reduces the work to merely supporting the organization’s public relations campaign. The
appropriate evaluative tool could prove helpful in determining what specific social programs are
best implemented by smaller churches that seek to be change agents for a civil society.
The most important outcome as it relates to the study of religion is to recognize the
contributions of small churches and their leaders, because they can provide a hotbed for
innovative social science research and experimentation at the grassroots level. The African
American church in particular must begin a serious dialogue on how to rediscover the
entrepreneurial spirit of earlier years that created jobs, training opportunities and provided a
system of developing cohesive communities among low-income people of color. In addition, the
hope is that small church ministry programs will be funded for their viability as pilot projects
that focus on ways to advance social and economic stability in low-income communities of
color. Unless a more standardize method of evaluation is developed, the large church will settle
for brand association, in the name of community development, instead of being positioned to
compete for large-scale development funds. In the meantime, poor communities will continue to
spiral downward towards socio-economic disasters and small churches will risk closure.
A survey was developed that collects data from African American clergy, lay leaders
and parishioners regarding their attitudes and perceptions about what community and social
concerns are best addressed by urban ministry programs. The preliminary data will be used to
establish a baseline because it proves that the ethos of the “invisible church” continues to exist,
and is a driving force in programming for historic black churches today. It reflects the tacit
110
understanding of what many African Americans believe today’s church should be doing. In the
end, the hope is to develop a multimedia presentation to not only help encourage the best
ministry practices and programs for churches but also provide denominational leaders, pastors,
and prospective funders with a tool to manage continuity and streamline the work of church-
based projects.
6.1.1 Introduction
The stated purpose of this project was to determine the best practices of the small HBCs
during the formation process of deciding what community development program will best serve
the community, cope with a very limited budget, and remain consistent with the HBCs’ mission,
both past and present. This section summarizes the key concepts of each chapter and discusses
how each relates to the research questions. Finally, there is a detailed summary of the best
practices of the Civic Entrepreneur during the theme formation process.
6.1.2 Research Questions
The dissertation answered the following main research question:
Does church size (especially small vs. mega churches) hinder the development of
spiritual capital in urban ministry programs?
6.2 Conclusions and Recommendations
This desertion provides a general blueprint for helping local, state and federal
governments, as well as private foundations support the community and economic development
initiatives of churches, non-profits, and community residents who seek to collaboratively
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transform blighted urban areas, filled with despair into Beloved Communities that promote unity
and hope. The Culturally Based Algebra Camp was designed to meet all our objectives.
6.2.1 Discussion
Defining the role of Spiritual Capital is an important discussion for African Americans because it
helps to explain both the role and significance of the Historic Black Church and strategy for
garnering resources for social projects, a primary task of small HBCs in poor communities. The
literature on social capital is important because of its relationship to social action. Spiritual
capital goes even further. It includes attitudes and beliefs necessary for effective social action
and community transformation. For example, during the Civil Rights movement, Martin Luther
King would have the participants of the march read and meditate on biblical texts, which
encouraged calm and discouraged retaliation for racial violence. While the police beat protesters
with clubs, used fire hoses for crowd control, and dogs attacked. In the end marchers, would
recite scripture and maintain their resolve in the midst of great opposition. With such inner
strength, slavery was abolished and the Jim Crow era ended. Today, the President of the Unite
States is both a black man from the Southside of Chicago and a 20 year member of an
unapologetically Historic Black Church.
6.2.2 Best Practices Defined
A good way to view best practices is as a set of guidelines, ethics or ideas that represent
the most efficient or prudent course of action (Investopedia USA, 2014). In this case, we define
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the best practices as a way for small HBCs to develop Spiritual Currency that can be used to help
the poorest of the poor. The purpose of this project was to provide a general guide to the small
HBCs and stakeholders as they create programs to redevelop and revitalize their communities
without “Bricks and Mortar, meaning that they can expand the impact of small scale programs on
a shoe-string budget rather than large scale capital campaigns. More specifically these
community development programs “Without Bricks and Mortar” focus on power building
through consciousness raising, capacity building and the production of Spiritual Capital
generated within the framework of the Beloved Community. What is most important is that it
does not require large sums of money, but only the political will and the spiritual capacity to
work to make a difference.
6.2.2.1 Overview
The goal of this project was to derive best practices for the religious innovators during
the program development process for small churches. The practices listed below are drawn from
of lessons learned during the implementation and development of the culturally based Algebra
Camp, work as a senior pastor and more than 30 years of tacit knowledge working closely with
clergy and lay leaders of historically black churches. It is interesting that today’s church must
regain its relevance by returning to its old mission. The baseline for measuring the HBCs must
continue to be framed as a strategy for helping communities achieve equality and economic
parity. The production of Spiritual Currency is the most important asset for revitalizing blighted
areas. Real Spiritual Currency can only exist where there is powerlessness and where the
righteousness of God is characterized by vindicating the poor.
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6.3 Suggestions for Future Research
This dissertation addressed a number of issues; however spiritual capital has expanded church-
initiated development projects beyond the usual housing and job training programs. HBCs much
provide viable currency to offset poverty. In the case of the Historic black church, spiritual
currency can be exchanged for assets that reduce the effects of poverty and restore hope. The
formation is a matter of economic survival and further academic research is suggested including:
Like historically black colleges and universities, how will the HBCs remain relevant as
they relate to racial justice?
Globalization and technology seem to have made reaching the world with the Christian
message possible now more than ever, and HBCs may be forced to change its message to
one less Afro-Centric.
Should churches be funded by government to teach hard skills such as math and science?
What is the impact of African Americans being a double minority?
Should the traditional role of the historic black church be reexamined in search of a less
polarizing role?
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GLOSSARY
__________________________________________________________________
Brand: “Brand” is defined as the process of marketing and selling the theme of a
community. In order to build a brand, the theme must first be defined. A theme is
the spiritual or perceived essence of a community. For example, New Orleans,
Louisiana, has been traditionally a party town and is marketed as a party town.
Capacity building: is defined as the mobilization of individual and organizational assets from
the community and the combining of those assets with others to achieve
organizational and community goals (Hull, 2001; Partners, 1996).
Civil Society: The London School of Economics Centre for Civil Society website defines “Civil
Society” as the arena of uncoerced collective action around shared interests,
purposes, and values. In theory, its institutional forms are distinct from those of
the state, family, and market; though in practice, the boundaries between state,
civil society, family, and market are often complex, blurred, and negotiated. Civil
Society commonly embraces a diversity of spaces, actors, and institutional forms,
varying in their degree of formality, autonomy, and power. Civil Societies are
often populated by organizations such as registered charities, development
nongovernmental organizations, community groups, women's organizations, faith-
based organizations, professional associations, trade unions, self-help groups,
social movements, business associations, coalitions, and advocacy groups.”
Community: To paraphrase Heaton, Markey and Susman, a community is defined as collection
of persons with similar backgrounds, income levels or ethnic heritage settled as a
group (Heaton, 2003; Markey, 2000; Susman, 2003).
Creative Class: The Creative Class describes a new cultural class that is college educated,
diverse and seeks to live and work in environments that incorporate a more
bohemian” lifestyle rise due to enhanced economic prosperity (Florida 2002 (a),
p.8).
Culture: “Culture is defined as a the way of life for an entire society and includes the codes
of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, norms of behavior and systems of
belief” (Susman 2003, p. xx)
Cultural Heritage: Cultural heritage is defined as “…heritage is the instrument of this two-way
process between past, present and future. As a receptacle of memory, it embodies
the symbolic value of cultural identities and constitutes a fundamental reference
for structuring society. Insofar as it enables us to understand ourselves, the
cultural heritage is one of the keys to understanding others. Our respect for and
appreciation of human diversity hinges on our capacity to be surprised and to
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marvel at others. And insofar as it contributes to an uninterrupted dialogue
between civilizations and cultures since the dawn of time, the heritage contributes
to establishing and maintaining peace between peoples.”(UNESCO, 2007)
Governance: Governance is defined as “…the processes and institutions, both formal and
informal, that guide and restrain the collective activities of a group” (Nye 2000,
p.12).
Nongovernmental Organization (NGO): To paraphrase Benthall and Carapico, a
Nongovernmental Organization is an organization that can act as a proxy and can
constitute any person, group or tandem that will include all locally significant
community and economic stakeholders required to advance the cause of themeing
the community (Benthall, 2000; Carapico, 2000)
Social Capital: “Social Capital attempts to label and quantify the benefits of trust and cohesion
seen in social networks” (Coleman, 1988, p. 5).
Spiritual Capital: In the ultimate sense spiritual capital is the missing leg in the stool of
economic development, which includes its better known relatives, social and
human capital (Laurence R. Iannaccone, 2003).
Spiritual Currency: The medium of exchange required to obtain freedom and liberty. It is most
in the black faith tradition that resulted in the abolition of slavery and laws
foundational to the civil rights movement.
Sustainability: The definition of is an organization’s ability to maintain themselves, their
services, and their growth. Also, it refers to an organization’s contribution to the
community's economic growth and well-being (Hull, 2001; Partners, 1996).
Sustainable Capacity Building: Refers to an organization’s ability to utilize assets to obtain
sustainable revenue stream (Hull, 2001; Partners, 1996).
Placeholder: To Paraphrase Dean MacCannell and Paddison, a “marker” or placeholder serves
the same role as the original site (MacCannel 1999; Paddison, 1992).
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APPENDICES
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Organizational culture refers to the way things get done. It is the inter-subjective reality
representing group consensus resulting in a fulfilling work environment and maximum
productivity.
Problem Statement:
The way SCOPE's theory of social change (explain SCOPE upfront rather than a little
later) is expressed and understood within the management by objective framework has
created an organizational culture that discourages new ideas, fosters religious bigotry
and creates intense competition that leads to an overall aversion to working across
components beyond what is necessary to meet quarterly benchmarks.
Staff Management Issues based on Strategic Plan
forging a management collective with a greater capacity to manage and lead the
organization and to train and mentor other staff members;
focusing the role of the President in political education, skills training, and the
cultivation of contacts for the new Executive Director and other senior managers;
developing and implementing clear systems and standards for staff development
and evaluation;
providing regular staff orientation, supervision, political education and training.
promoting greater transparency in decision making and improving internal
communication.
SCOPE Mission Statement
The mission of Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE) is to
build the power of communities most impacted by poverty, racism and discrimination in
order to achieve social and economic justice.
SCOPE Strategies
To pursue its mission, SCOPE will:
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1) Promote models of community organizing and civic participation to increase the
involvement of poor and disadvantaged communities in public policy making and
initiatives that affect their lives;
2) Build strategic alliances among diverse communities and constituencies that link
local organizing around social and economic conditions with similar regional,
statewide, national and international initiatives to respond to the challenges of
regionalization and globalization.
3) Engage poor and disadvantaged communities in research, strategy development
and policy analysis; educational tools and methodologies; and the new
technologies needed to understand the nature of structural economic and social
problems and to develop proactive responses which address their issues and
needs;
4) Provide technical assistance, training and strategic facilitation to ally
organizations in order to increase their organizing and alliance building capacity
and to strengthen their social change theory, analysis and practice.
SCOPE Vision Statement
SCOPE, together with its allies, struggles for a world where:
People exercise power over politicians, public policy makers and corporate CEOs
through strong, progressive social movements in an authentic democracy;
All human beings, regardless of the color of their skin or ethnicity, their class or
economic status, their gender or sexual orientation, their language, national
origin or immigration status, are treated as equals in all spheres of life;
Each person’s potential to succeed is recognized and realized;
Everyone has access to quality education, meaningful work at living wages, first-
rate healthcare, and decent, affordable housing in safe, pollution-free
neighborhoods.
SCOPE Values
SCOPE’s work is informed by and infused with a set of core values:
Meeting human needs is more important than economic profits.
Community needs should take precedence over individual needs.
All people have a right to a quality, prosperous, and balanced life.
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All cultures and communities deserve respect; racism, anti-immigrant
discrimination and all forms of bigotry must be eliminated.
Another world is possible; organized communities have the potential to
change their social and economic conditions through collective action to
confront oppression.
Multiracial alliances based upon cooperation and mutual respect are
critical to achieving social change.
Authentic democracy requires active civic participation, social justice and
racial equality.
Membership goals for the three-year period of this plan are:
SCOPE could use membership development, recruitment and training as the practical
approach for branding. Anyone interested in becoming a member of SCOPE would do
so by filling out a membership application or signing up on the web. Dues paying
members will receive a newsletter. Institutional memberships would include $500 flat
fee and would includes two TPE trainings. Activist could be recruited from the general
membership of SCOPE based on geography i.e. AGENDA, SHEPMA, Metro-Alliance
(West LA). A sliding scale could be developed as a more equitable way to determine
how much dues each member is required to pay.
1) to establish criteria for SCOPE membership;
2) to further develop SCOPE’s membership orientation materials and hold regularly
scheduled orientation sessions for new members;
3) to hold quarterly membership meetings for all members;
4) to establish a system of member education and training; and
5) to establish a dues collection system.
LIVING WORD COMMUNITY CHURCH SERVICE DELIVERY PROPOSAL
The following are recommended principles to help guide our work with, members the
community at large and each other.
The following tenets represent basic principles on how we should interact with our
constituents and each other on a daily basis. These tenets require commitment and
vigilance. Please know that it is always appropriate that we hold each other accountable
in order to ensure that we live out these principles.
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Documenting Calls – I will leave thorough notes of each constituent interaction for the
benefit of both our constituents and coworkers.
Learning - I will be committed to my continued development and total understanding of
all applicable tools and policies, and I will strive to share that knowledge with those
around me.
Interacting with Constituents - I will pay attention to our constituents when they are
explaining their issues. I will always address constituents at their level of understanding
and avoid using jargon or the names of internal tools.
Educating Constituents - I will empower and educate our constituents. I will set
appropriate expectations to avoid unwanted surprises, and if I have to say “no”, I will
suggest alternate methods of resolution.
Dealing with Transfers - I will not transfer calls I can handle myself. I will fully explain
the transfer before I release the call. I will warm transfer whenever possible, and I will
call the constituent back should we be disconnected if at all possible.
Ownership and Accountability - I will be accountable for every constituent interaction
I handle. I will identify myself to our constituents, and I will take a solutions-oriented
approach to all the issues I receive. I will never blame others, whether they are our
coworkers, our partners or competitors.
Unity - I will be a team player. I will always work to support my fellow employees in a
courteous and professional manner, and I will recommend solutions rather than merely
point out problems.
Communication - I will be open and honest at all times, and I will communicate
effectively by asking questions, listening critically and analyzing the information without
rushing to judgment.
Quality - I bear the awesome responsibility of being the voice of Living Word
Community Church. I will be enthusiastic, positive and will give each and every
constituent a WOW experience. I will not let outside distractions reduce the quality of
my interactions.
Attitude - I will be positive and resourceful at all times. I will embrace change and help
others to have a positive outlook.
Creativity - I know I must abide by the rules, but not die by them. Each interaction is
unique and may require a unique resolution.
1. We respect the individual, and believe that individuals who are treated with respect
and given responsibility respond by giving their best.
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2. We require complete honesty and integrity in everything we do.
3. We make commitments with care, and then live up to them. In all things, we do what
we say we are going to do.
4. We believe that work is an important part of life, and it should be fun. Being a good
businessperson does not mean being stuffy and boring.
5. We are frugal. We guard and conserve the agency's resources with at least the same
vigilance that we would use to guard and conserve our own personal resources.
6. We insist on giving our best effort in everything we undertake. Furthermore, we see a
huge difference between "good mistakes" (best effort, bad result) and "bad mistakes"
(sloppiness or lack of effort).
7. We believe that clearly understanding our mission, our goals, and what we expect
from each other is critical to our success.
8. In all our dealings, we will strive to be friendly and courteous, as well as fair and
compassionate.
9. We feel a sense of urgency on any matter related to our constituents. We own
problems and we are always responsive. We are community driven.
These are indicators of poor service delivery:
1. Give lousy service-busy signals, disconnects, downtime, and ring no answers.
2. Rely on outside vendors who let us down.
3. Make internal procedures easy on us, even if it means negatively affecting or
inconveniencing constituents.
4. Joke about how dumb the constituents are.
5. Finger point at how other departments and people are not doing their job.
6. Constituents cannot get immediate "live" help or support from staff.
7. Poor coordination across departments.
8. Showing up at a meetings or presentations unprepared.
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9. Ignoring the competition; they are far inferior to us.
10. Missing deadlines that we commit to internally and externally.
11. Make recruiting, hiring, and training a lower priority because we are too busy doing
other tasks.
12. Look for the next job assignment, instead of focusing on the current one.
13. Office gossip, rumors, and politics.
14. Rely on dissatisfied constituents to be your service monitors.
15. Resist change. Believing that the way we have been doing things is always the best
way.
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THE LIVING WORD COMMUNITY CHURCH
ABOUT US
The Living Word Community Church has weekly services in the San Fernando area.
We are a casual, contemporary, Christian church designed specifically to meet the
needs of the San Fernando Valley area.
Imagine a church that is not afraid to:
...talk openly about relationships
...use technology to assist you in your spiritual journey
...play together by going to the movies, theater or sporting events
...use the arts to worship and celebrate God
...talk authentically about work, life and the next steps in our relationship
with God
Not sure if you will fit in? We hope you will! (NOTE: I SHOULD NOT EDIT
THIS. IT IS PROBABLY A CIRCULATED DOCUMENT.)
Whether you have questions about God, church, or anything else, come check us out.
Single? Married? Single again? Student? Working? Looking for the right job? We'd love
to meet you.
We don't have all the answers, but we believe in a God who does. So take some time
and join us to laugh, think, sing, pray, and participate.
MISSION AND PURPOSE
The Living Word Community Church exists to give you the best opportunity to become
a fully developing follower of Jesus Christ by
Inviting you to an intimate relationship with God, strengthening families and connecting
you in healthy relationships with other Christians of different ethnic backgrounds
Guiding you toward an authentic commitment to God,
Involving you in life-changing ministry and mission in our city
and the world that you may
Honor God completely and love unconditionally.
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MISSION STATEMENT
To give you the best opportunity to become a fully developing follower of Jesus Christ
by inviting you to an intimate relationship with God and strengthening communities and
families through unconditional love.
CORE VALUES
B - Be available to Jesus, He matters most
E - Evangelism that is powerful, creative and authentic
L - Real love is unconditional and life changing
O - Our city’s NEEDS are important and relevant to our ministry
V - Victorious sermons and Non-threatening worship environments
E - Encourage healthy relationships and families
D - Devoted to serving people of all ethnic backgrounds
Our Beliefs
The Living Word Community Church believes...
In being as relevant as today's newspaper while holding to the timeless teachings
of Jesus Christ.
God loves us...unconditionally...and continues to invite us to follow Him.
In Jesus Christ, His virgin birth and that He is God's one and only Son.
The Bible is a flawless handbook that helps us succeed in life and gives straight
answers for issues relating to work, family, relationships, and anything else we
encounter.
Effective life change begins when we follow Jesus.
Each person has a gift, ability, or experience that can help others.
The Living Word Community Church is a place...
To be yourself.
To ask tough questions and get honest answers.
To meet new friends and build authentic relationships.
To grow spiritually and relationally.
To make a difference in your community and world by serving others.
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COMMUNITY CHURCH OF LOS ANGELES
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Project Background
This project was conceptualized five years ago when Living Word Community Church formed a
focus group of 1st through 12th grade students attending public, private and Charter schools in the
San Fernando Valley, in order to develop a strategy to address African American underachievement.
The prevailing narrative expressed by African American students was that they did not like school,
especially Algebra/math, because they could not relate to it. They expressed feeling alienated given
their double minority status. They believed issues of race, class and ineffective schools played a
major role in their discontent and limited their life chances. In addition, very few students had ever
been taught by an African American teacher. Our initial aim was to provide a predominately African
American learning environment and to observe student responses, which included, attendance, class
participation, motivation, completed homework and to provide credentialed teachers, who were
willing to be trained to implement a culturally competent pedagogy. Our plan was to recruit fifteen
students. Instead, more than 45 enrolled and the Culturally Base Algebra Camp (CBAC) was born.
This year, as in previous years, we expect to face an interesting challenge: the camp is growing larger
than the space we have available to accommodate students. CBAC moved to Cal-State Northridge
believing that space limitations would no longer be an issue because the departments of Pan African
Studies (PAS), Math and the Equal Opportunity Program (EOP) were so excited to become
programmatic partners. However, due to the number of programs hosted during the summer at Cal-
State Northridge and the number students in our program, the Vice Provost of Cal-State Northridge
and the Director of Enrollment Services at Cal-State Bakersfield agreed to accommodate only 50
students, which meant we would have to turn away more than 100 students. With more than 50
percent of Cal-State’s students of color failing the algebra proficiency exam, we could not in good
conscious turn away 100 African American students. Unlike many programs at Cal-State, our
program is free to attend and the student population is predominately low-income, African American
and underrepresented students from various schools throughout Los Angeles County. Because the
program has been so successful, we hope to expand to other areas within the City of Los Angeles. At
the end of six weeks, our students are culturally competent and confident about their ability to
compete in math. In fact, most go on to earn at least a “B” in advance math courses when they
returned to school in the fall.
Project Overview
CBAC offers a range of math courses and culturally based curriculum designed to enhance student
skills and success, at no cost to the participant. This program has eliminated math phobia, motivated
students to exceed minimum expectations and provided students necessary tools to excel in
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mathematics. The program is being held at CSUN for the second year in conjunction with Living
Word Church, the Departments of Pan African Studies and Mathematics. It is partially funded by a
grant from the CSU Summer Algebra Institute (SAI) and has received support from the Educational
Opportunity Program. The Pan African studies department helps students tackle what can sometimes
be a difficult subject while at the same time we expose them to the richness of the black community.
The algebra camp is a culturally based program, which is a wonderful opportunity for African-
Americans to learn about math in an environment that also respects their culture and heritage. The
Department of Mathematics provides support to help ready students to enroll at CSUN and
encourage an interest in the fields of math and science. African-Americans have been traditionally
underrepresented in all STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields, and they
still are underrepresented. STEM careers offer some of the most attractive and rewarding careers.
The uniqueness of the project is the professional development designed to cultivate core cultural
competencies in CBAC teachers and staff, as well as the follow-up technical assistance for
implementing the unique culturally relevant and standards-based math curriculum, music therapy,
psychotherapy and mentoring. Pre-tests and post-tests of students have shown significant
improvement for mathematics achievement due to this program.
Project Mission & Goal
The mission is to mobilize community partnerships and increase the efficacy of the SAI/CBAC
culturally-based math curriculum, in order to foster high academic achievement and college readiness
among African-American students. The goal is to generate competitive African-American
educational achievement, increase the proportion of college admissions and graduation rates -- and
ultimately contribute towards enlightened community and world class leadership for the 21
st
century.
Target Population
The CBAC project targets underserved African-American 1
st
-12
th
grade students whose math skills
are at or “below grade level” proficiency.
Background Literature
In Radical Equations: Civil Rights from Mississippi to the Algebra Project, Robert Moses alerts us to
the urgency of African-Americans acquiring math/science proficiency. Framing the math/science
skills competency as a civil rights issue and stressing its importance to college admissions, he
emphasizes the expanded significance of math skills mastery. Changing times have shifted the
primary skills necessary for college admissions from reading to math. Bourgeoning progressive fields
of ethno mathematics and critical-mathematical literacy strongly support the premise that math is not
culturally neutral. Eglash states that “Ethno mathematics, in contrast, has emphasized the possibilities
for (African) indigenous intentionally in mathematical patterns.” (Eglash, 2002:186) Frankenstein
concludes an important goal of critical-mathematical literacy involves “reconsidering what counts as
mathematical knowledge.” (Frankenstein, 2002:214) Using the California Content Standards as a
curricular framework, the CBAC curriculum personalizes math, so that African-American students
can visualize their cultural heritage connected to math and science.
Project Goals & Objectives
Through this multi-faceted approach, the overall goal is to create a pipeline of competitively eligible
African-American students for admissions to selective universities and other schools of their choice,
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thus demonstrating promising program strategies for closing the achievement gap. In addition, the
project has cognitive and affective learning objectives.
Cognitive Learning Objectives
Increase enrollment in and successful completion of college preparatory (A-G)
Mathematics courses by focusing on algebra readiness
Improve readiness for 4-year colleges, including the UC and CSU systems
A residual impact would be to increase the number of students who complete the CAHSEE by the
10
th
grade and pass the mathematics section.
Affective Learning Objectives
Instill knowledge of the role of Africans in the development of Algebra/Mathematics
Transmit values of learning Algebra
Promote positive attitudes in parents and students to reinforce the importance of
Algebra/Mathematics
Intervention Strategies
Building on the foundational CCC Summer Algebra Institute pilot project, the cornerstone of this
project is a standards-based culturally relevant math curriculum compiled to enhance the academic
performance of underserved and vulnerable students, in order to nurture college-going aspirations,
and accelerate math skills acquisition. Intervention strategies combine psycho-social academic needs
and active learning styles with a culturally relevant curriculum, which have proven to be effective
“best practices” in the progressive math educational literature. At the end of the summer session,
each program participant will receive an individualized academic plan, tracking performance in
Algebra 1 and progress in the requisite college preparatory coursework. We also provide wrap-a-
round services such as counseling and tutor referrals, dispute mediation and training in accessing
educational resources such as scholarships and financial aid.
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University-Church-Capacity-Building-Initiative (UCCBI) to
Strengthen the Research Capacity of Community Development Professionals,
Universities and Churches working to ensure proficiency in Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math (S.T.E.M.) for urban youth.
2
Training of Trainers in Strategic Thinking, Planning and Program Development
The Problem Defined:
This project was conceptualized five years ago when Living Word Community Church formed a
focus group of 1st through 12th grade students attending public, private and Charter schools in the
San Fernando Valley, in order to develop a strategy to address African American underachievement.
The prevailing narrative expressed by African American students was that they did not like school,
especially Algebra/math, because they could not relate to it. They expressed feeling alienated given
their double minority status. We concluded that issues of race, class and ineffective schools played a
major role in their discontent and limited their life chances. In addition, very few students had ever
been taught by an African American teacher.
A Church’s Strategic Solution:
Our solution was to provide a predominately African American learning environment and observe
student responses, which included, attendance, class participation, motivation, completed homework
and to provide credentialed teachers, who were willing to be trained to implement a culturally
competent pedagogy.
Strategic Thinking/Plan:
Our plan was to only recruit fifteen students. Instead, more than 45 enrolled and the Culturally Base
Algebra Camp (CBAC) was born. The camp continues to experience exponential growth larger than
the space we have available to accommodate students. CBAC partnered with to California State
University Northridge believing that space limitations would no longer be an issue because the
departments of Africana Studies were so excited to become programmatic partners. Unlike many
programs at Cal-State, our program is free to attend and the student population is predominately low-
income, African American and underrepresented students from various schools throughout Los
Angeles County. Because the program has been so successful, we hope to expand to other areas
within the City of Los Angeles and the nation.
2
Adapted from a model entitled “University-NGO Coalition-Building Initiative (UNCBI) in Nairobi and
Eldoret, Kenya, to Strengthen the Research Capacity of Professionals Working with Vulnerable
Children.” Used by permission of author, Dr. Grace R. Dyrness, University of Southern California.”
131
Programmatic Outcomes:
At the end of six weeks, our students are culturally competent and confident about their ability to
compete in math. In fact, most go on to earn at least a “B” in advance math courses when they
returned to school in the fall.
Introduction to Module
This document outlines a module that provides a general blueprint for helping local, state and
federal governments, as well as private foundations support the community and economic
development initiatives of churches, non-profits, and community residents who seek to
collaboratively transform blighted urban areas, filled with despair into Beloved Communities
that promote unity and hope. The Culturally Based Algebra Camp was designed to meet all our
objectives. This training workshop is for community-based organizations, especially pastors who
desire to work in collaboration with other groups to provide proficiency in Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math (S.T.E.M.) or to develop need based programs that are both measurable
and fundable. Specifically, the training will focus on the following areas: 1) Stakeholder
Analysis/Resources, 2) Traditional Planning vs. High Pay-off Results, 3) Strategic Planning:
Community Development, “Without Bricks and Mortar,” and 4) Strategic Thinking and the
Planning Process Development.
Training facilitators are expected to adapt the contents of this module to their specific needs and
target populations, as well as the context in which the training takes place. This module is
expected to be administered in approximately 6-hour training session. The module also aims to
increase participants’ knowledge and understanding of how Strategic Planning process can be
used in the development of community service engagement programs and projects. It focuses on
how churches can become leaders of community service engagement, as well as strengthen
participants’ skills in working with other non-faith-based organizations such as schools,
Universities and government entities in areas of mutual concern. The primary target group for
this training is religious, Non-profit and governmental professionals working within low-income
communities of color in the United States. Others may find the material of use (e.g., teachers,
parents and community members), but modifications may be required. The contents of this
module are compiled from existing work of numerous trainers and resources.
The training is designed for facilitators who are familiar with the organizational structure and
culture of churches and the needs of low income communities of color. These facilitators will
possess the necessary skills and expertise to adapt the module contents to the specific target
group of trainees. There should be at least 2 facilitators and a maximum of 25 participants in any
one training session.
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR THE WORKSHOP
At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to successfully:
1. Understand the concepts of Spiritual Capital in Strategic Planning and the role the church
can play in developing Community Development Service Programs for low-income
communities.
2. Learn to Strategic Thinking and use change as tool for organizational growth and
personal development.
3. Conduct community needs assessment; assess the organization’s readiness for change in
order to initiate new or improved community development programming.
4. Recognize the difference between Having Church and Doing Church through review and
analysis of the Modern Values Survey responses representing how members and leaders
perception about the church.
5. Identify appropriate strategic partnerships with people and organizations to enhance
community service effectiveness.
6. Identify and clarify the concept of the Mirror Ceiling as a formidable barrier to
collaborative community efforts: Mirror Ceiling to engagement in services.
7. Identify an appropriate community development method that could be employed at
grassroots organizations on shoe-string budgets.
8. Understand the Planning Process for developing SMARTER Goals and Objectives
9. Conduct their own strategic planning process and trainings for their own organization
and/or communities.
NOTES FOR FACILITATORS
Defining Spiritual Capital as religion capital
The degree of mastery of and attachment to a particular religious culture. (Roger Finke
(2003)
Patterns of religious beliefs and behavior, over the life-cycle, between generations, and
among family and friends. Laurence R. Iannaccone & Jonathan Klick (2003)
Spiritual capital might be thought of as a sub-species of social capital, referring to the
power, influence, knowledge, and dispositions created by participating in a particular
religious tradition. Peter Berger & Robert Hefrer (2004)
Spiritual Capital is the effects of spiritual and religious practices, beliefs,
networks and institutions that have a measurable impact on individuals,
communities and societies. Spiritual Capital Research Program (2003)
Defining Spiritual Capital as what makes life meaningful
In literal sense, spiritual capital should be understood as that which gives
vitality, life and animation to wealth, profit, advantage, and power (Samuel D. Rima).
The spiritual in human beings makes us ask why we are doing what we are
doing and makes us seek some fundamentally better way of doing it. It makes
us want our lives and enterprises to make a difference. Zohar and Marshall (2004)
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Discussions about the role of the church today can sometimes become contentious, emotional
and intensely personal, in particular if training participants are part of the church, organization or
denomination being discussed and feel their work is being criticized. It is important to explain
that the workshop is designed to cultivate new ways to increase effectiveness. If someone
becomes extremely upset during the training, you should have a plan to deal with this – for
example, stop the workshop and know how to refer the person to appropriate support structures.
An important part of your role is to listen and to provide a safe space for discussion and
reflection. You should be ready to reinforce a sense of respect for all participants. Given the
personal nature of training discussions on community development programs, it is important
for you to create a safe space in which participants can openly discuss these issues. Respect
for fellow training participants should be established as a group norm to facilitate open
sharing. Confidentiality cannot be guaranteed, given the group setting; yet the facilitator
should encourage training participants to not disclose the content of training discussions
outside of the group.
Remember that the workshops are intended for adults and should focus on adult learning
principles. Specifically, adults are autonomous and self-directed, and need to be free to
direct themselves. Adults have accumulated a foundation of life experiences and
knowledge. They need to connect learning to this knowledge base. Adults are goal-
oriented. If they attend trainings, they usually know what they want to obtain from the
training. Adults are relevancy-oriented and must see a reason for learning something.
Adults are practical and focused on the aspects of a lesson that are most useful to their
work. As with all learners, adults need to be shown respect. Acknowledge their wealth of
experiences and let everyone have an equal voice.
There may be a need for flexibility in the timing of exercises. Try to go with the dynamics of
the group (taking a break where it most naturally fits) but also be aware of the need to cover
a lot of material.
In preparing for administering this training, facilitators may find the following suggestions
helpful:
o Read background materials on education, community development; strategic
planning and at-risk youth of color.
o Be aware of where your audience is at with the training topics. Try to encourage
them to understand the topics, but anticipate challenges in doing this (e.g., moving
too quickly through topics).
o Know your own comfort levels with the topics at hand.
o If you do not know the answer to a question, it is ok to say that to the participants.
Work with your training participants on locating together the answers to difficult
questions for which you do not have the answers.
o Engage your participants as much as you can in the activities and discussions.
o Check in continuously with training participants for understanding on the topics.
Make sure they understand the topics before moving on.
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AGENDA FOR (SPIRITUAL CAPITAL: DON’T JUST HAVE CHURCH: JUST DO
CHURCH)
TITLE LEARNING OBJECTIVES ELEMENTS APPROXIMATE
TIME
1. Introduction
and opening
exercises
Objectives of this session are to:
1. To ensure that the objectives of the
workshop are clear.
2. To establish trust and respect.
1.1 Introduction and overview of
module objectives
1.2 Participants are invited to
share their expectations and fears
for the workshop
Exercise 1.3: Establishing ground
rules for the workshop
10 minutes
20 minutes
10 minutes
2. Introduction:
Exploring How
A New
Generation
Thinks about
Having Church
vs. Doing
Church
Objectives of this session are to:
1. To introduce tacit knowledge
common to church members about
issues impacting the church.
2. To foster an understanding of what
some believe the church should be
doing to better impact urban
communities.
Exercise 2.1: Modern Values
Survey: Fact or Myth: It’s how we
feel
2.2. Overview of Issues raised in
Modern Values Survey
2.3. Discussion
20 minutes
30 minutes
30 minutes
3. Introduction:
Planning For
Success:
Traditional
Planning vs. the
High Payoff
Results-
Oriented
Paradigm
Objectives of this session are to:
1. To identify the need/readiness for
strategic change.
2. To understand Traditional
Planning vs. the High Payoff
Results-Oriented Paradigm.
Exercise 3.1:
1. How to Discriminate the
Planning Level
2. Checklist for Assessing
Strategic Change
30 minutes
30 minutes
4. Introduction
& Discussion:
Kenyan Model
for Faith-based
Community
Development
Objectives of this session are to:
1. Identify an appropriate community
development method that could be
employed at grassroots organizations
on shoe-string budgets.
Exercise 4.1:
4.1. Overview of Kenyan Model
as a Faith-based engagement
methods
4.2. Discussion:
Community Development
“Without Bricks and Mortar”
30 minutes
30 minutes
135
5. Strategic
Thinking and
the Planning
Process in
Program
Development
Objectives of this session are to:
1. Understand the Planning Process
for developing SMARTER Goals and
Objectives
Exercise 3.1:
5.1 Overview and Observation of
Critical Success Factors for
Strategic Thinking, Planning and
Doing
5.1. Community Development
Programming: What to do and
How?
5.2.1 Overview and Discussion
about the Kenyan Community
Development Program: What can
my organization/church do?
5.2.2. Flow-Chart Overview
Planning Process SMARTER
Goals and Objectives
30 minutes
30 minutes
30 minutes
30 minutes
TOTAL TIME 6 hours
136
1. Introduction and Opening Exercises
1.1. (10 minutes) Overview of learning objectives is to:
1. Establish trust/respect among participants and explain workshop objectives and ground rules.
2. Identify types of substances most prevalent among street-living youth.
3. Recognize the symptoms associated with youth substance abuse.
4. Identify several appropriate engagement methods for working with youth who abuse
substances.
5. Identify several appropriate treatment methods for working with youth who abuse substances.
1.2. (20 minutes) Participants are invited to share their fears and expectations for the
workshop to develop rapport and trust among participants.
Each participant is asked to write down, on two separate cards, one expectation or topic area
they would like to learn (e.g., increase in knowledge or skills related to community
programs or mental health) and one fear (e.g., lack of existing knowledge or skills on a
topic) for the workshop.
Participants should then place both cards on a board at the front of the room and one
member of the group should read the cards aloud to the group.
A general discussion can follow summarizing common fears, concerns, and areas where
participants express the need for more knowledge and/or skills. Facilitator should note that
fears and concerns are common in trainings on new topic areas. It should be stressed that
the training is a safe but challenging place where participants support one another to feel
confident in their knowledge and skills and comfortable in their professional development.
1.3. (10 minutes) Establishing ground rules for the workshop.
Exercise 1.3: Workshop Collective Ground Rules
Time: 10 min Handout: None
Objective
To arrive at commonly agreed upon and mutually respectful norms of behavior
during the course of the workshop.
Materials Flipchart, pens
Method 1. Explain to participants the importance of everyone expressing their views and
sharing their experiences, while being respectful of the views/experiences of others.
2. Ask the group for suggestions for rules that should be adhered to, and make it clear
that the rules should be agreed upon by the entire group.
3. Write the agreed rules on the flip chart and keep them in full view throughout the
workshop. These will be the group’s “code of ethics” throughout the training.
Notes for
Facilitators
A sample of some common ground rules:
Start on time, end on time.
Do not interrupt while others are speaking.
Everyone should try to listen as well as speak.
Maintain confidentiality of what is shared, no gossiping.
Show respect for others, and other’s experiences.
Do not make personal attacks.
Do not judge others.
Be aware of language difficulties (i.e. speak slowly if needed).
137
2. Introduction: Exploring How A New Generation Thinks about Having Church vs.
Doing Church
2.1. Modern Values: Strategic Planning for the Greatest Payoffs
Exercise 2.1: Measuring Modern Values
Time: 20 min
Handout: (Pass out Modern Values Survey and have the group complete it)
Objective
To identify the common (tacit knowledge among leaders and parishioners about
the perceptions the churches’ role in society as it relates to serving low income
communities of color.
Materials
Survey/pens
Method 1. Explain to the participants that the survey represents observed over twenty-five
years of working in urban communities. Fact or Myth, the survey measured how
closely church members and leaders held to these, often unspoken perceptions.
2. Ask the group to circle the questions that resonate most with them.
3. Review the survey collectively and ask individuals from the group to state their
answers and their rationale for providing that particular answer. Noting particularly
those that norm.
3. Share the answer sheet with the group.
4. Ask the group to debrief their experiences: Are some of the perceptions being
acted upon? Do any of the organizations programs relate directly to these
perceptions? Was the group surprised by their answers?
Notes for
Facilitators
Be clear that there is no wrong or right answer. Using the Modern Values
Survey as a baseline for analyzing the norm for each participant is really
impost. It will help participant to see possible shifts in old paradigms.
There should also be some discussion on the need for change and paradigm
shifts in order to think more strategically.
3. Introduction: Planning For Success: Traditional Planning vs. the High Payoff Results-
Oriented Paradigm
3.1. (30 minutes) Overview Planning for a New Paradigm
Sources: Strategic Planning For Success: Aligning, People Performance and Payoffs (Kaufman, et al. 2003),
Unchristian: What A New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity and Why It Matters (Kinnaman 2007)
Traditional Planning vs. the High Payoff Results-Oriented Paradigm (Kaufman, et al. 2003)
Traditional Planning
The High Payoff Results-Oriented Paradigm
1. Improve the present model—more
of the same. Incremental changes
to the present way of doing things.
Stick to same old rules but do it
better.
1. Strategic thinking is by definition “paradigm
busting” and involves the design and creation
of a new paradigm. It involves new concepts,
realistic new rules, new techniques, and new skills to
be successful. It often requires leaving the
comfortable behind.
138
2. Short-term profit or funding.
Objectives project five
years at the most.
2. Long-term objectives that design a better world for
both today’s and tomorrow’s citizens.
Sustainability* (and continuous improvement) and
profit objectives are five to one hundred
years plus.
3. Dwells on tactics and activities
unconnected to measurable results.
Wants are often confused with
needs.
3. Focuses on designing future results in measurable
terms before selecting relevant strategies and tactics.
Results are long term
and set and linked at three levels Mega,
Macro, Micro.
4. Objectives define financial results
only. Internal clients and future
citizens are ignored. Positive
societal impact is left to chance.
4. Objectives are designed for a balanced range of
stakeholders
4.1. Future citizens
4.2. Today’s clients
4.3. Internal clients
A balanced range of performance indicators is
chosen to evaluate success.
5. Sustainability is not an issue in
planning.
5. Societal value added and sustainability are the
priority issues in planning.
6. “Needs” are defined as gaps in
resources methods and means
(We “need” more buildings, we
want more computers).
6. Needs are defined as gaps in results between current
and desired results. Requirement for more resources
are quasi-needs.
7. Level of planning focuses on
immediate clients and major
shareholders. Society and internal
clients are not formally or
rigorously considered.
7. Planning includes the integration and linking of
three groups of clients.
7.1. Society now and in the future
7.2. Immediate external clients
7.3. Internal clients
8. Goals are more often general,
vague, and exclude measurable
elements.
8. Objectives are SMARTER. They are written for
results at three levels, and include a measurable
element.
9. Visions are more often short term.
Organizational missions are
“fuzzy” and sound good but don’t
include the next generation of
citizens. Societal value added is not
an issue for the organization.
9. An Ideal Vision states in measurable terms
the kind of world we want to design for our
grandchildren. The organizational vision defines the
contribution the organization will make to the ideal
vision in measurable terms. Visions are about
societal value added—now and in the future—not
about what an organization alone wants to
accomplish.
10. No shared meaning of what an
organization is or must deliver—
usually treated as collection of
unrelated parts.
10. Shared meaning on the elements common to
all organizations, systemic mental models emphasize
relationship between the parts.
* While “sustainability” is a frequently touted word and concept, we suggest that it might, unfortunately, imply that we just want to keep things,
including the environment, the same way it is now—no further deterioration. We suggest that we seek to find ways to not just sustain or
maintain, but to improve—improve constantly toward perfect natural balance.
139
How to Discriminate the Planning Level (Kaufman, et al. 2003)
Question Planning Level
Are you uncertain whether
society and tomorrow’s
citizens will benefit in
measurable terms from what
you deliver? Do you want to
be proactive and plan
the difference?
Then choose to implement Mega
level strategic planning. Develop
(or ratify) an Ideal Vision. (Refer
to Chapter Seven.) This is the
only
level that is strategic.
STRATEGIC
Are you uncertain whether
you are delivering high
quality and useful Outputs in
measurable terms to your
external clients
and society? Do you want to?
Then choose to plan at the Macro
level of tactical planning and link
the results to the Ideal Vision.
TACTICAL
Are you uncertain about
whether individuals and teams
are turning out high quality
and useful products for
internal clients? Do you want
to be certain that all add value
to the organization and
society?
Then choose Micro level
operational planning and link the
results to Macro and the Mega
Ideal Vision
OPERATIONAL
Do you want to be holistic,
systemic, systematic, and
integrated in your planning?
Then start at the Mega level
outside the organization and
develop an Ideal Vision; then link
Macro and Micro to the Mega.
INTEGRATIVE
The Modern Values Survey questioned sincerely committed members, lay leaders and clergy.
Interestingly, their responses are very similar to non-Christian outsiders. It is clear that Christians
are primarily perceived for what they stand against rather than what the stand for. We have
become famous for what we oppose, rather than who we stand for. (Kinnaman 2007)
Reproduced from Strategic Planning for Success by Roger Kaufman, Hugh Oakley-Browne, Ryan Watkins, & Doug Leigh.
Copyright © 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published by Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, San Francisco, CA.
140
Checklist for Assessing Strategic Change (Kaufman, et al. 2003)
Code Question Unsure No Yes
1 Is the change concerned with linking and relating results at the three levels of
planning (Mega, Macro, and Micro)?
2 Will the change require the planners to shift their paradigms for planning, thinking,
and operating?
3 Will the change be a response to a set of new realities agreed to by the planners
(rather than just more of the same)?
4 Will the change require you to unlearn some things that made you successful
yesterday?
5 Does the change involve contributions to your client’s survival, health, and well-
being?
6 Does the change contribute to the quality of life of clients and citizens in the
communities you work with?
7 Does the change require you to set different objectives from the past?
8 Will the change require changes in your major processes (capabilities)?
9 Will the change require you to design and select different methods and means to
achieve desired results?
10 Will the change require you to develop new skills and competencies for key roles?
11 Will failing to respond to the new realities produce unacceptable consequences and
increase your risk levels?
12 Will the change require the whole system to change?
13 Will change in any one unit, process, or system have implications for other parts?
14 Is the cost of keeping on doing the same things unacceptable?
15 Is the change concerned with your balanced score card and does it impact external
clients or society?
16 Is the change concerned with the sustainability of the organization in the long term?
17 Is the change one of opportunities that will have negative consequences if ignored
(for example, fall behind your competitors, go broke)?
18 If you don’t change, will you be able to recover in the worst instance?
19 Will the change have implications for a wide range of people?
Reproduced from Strategic Planning for Success by Roger Kaufman, Hugh Oakley-Browne, Ryan Watkins, & Doug Leigh.
Copyright © 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published by Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, San Francisco, CA.
141
Checklist for Assessing Strategic Change (Kaufman, Oakley-Browne, Leigh, & Watkins,
2003). (Continued)
Code Question Unsure No
Yes
20 Will the change elicit a degree of pain for some?
21 Will the change elicit high degrees of resistance from some?
22 Will the change require the previous planners and sponsors to learn
new paradigms?
23 Does the change require shifts in patterns of behavior that define
your present culture?
24 Will the change yield high impact results to help to create a better
world for tomorrow’s children?
Reproduced from Strategic Planning for Success by Roger Kaufman, Hugh Oakley-Browne, Ryan Watkins, & Doug Leigh.
Copyright © 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published by Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, San Francisco, CA.
142
4. Introduction & Discussion: Kenyan Model for Faith-based Community Development
4.1 Overview of Kenyan Model as a Faith-based Engagement method
Any serious discussion on spiritual capital must include the Historic Black Church
because of the role it has played as an advocate for justice throughout the years. “Less developed
by far is this emerging concept of spiritual capital. The concept is pregnant with possibilities
drawing on the intersection of economics and religion and such classic works as R.H. Tawney’s,
Religion and the Rise of Capitalism and Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism as well as more recent political economy thinking on economics and development.
But does “spiritual capital” pass the so-what test? Is it possibly the hidden motivation in
economic booms in different societies such as Ireland (for a time) and Singapore? How exactly
does religion affect economic behavior at both the macro and micro levels? Can we fully
demonstrate the relevance, validity, and potential of the notion that spiritual mores and
underpinnings demonstrably affect development? Here is the hypothesis: In the ultimate sense
spiritual capital is the missing leg in the stool of economic development, which includes its better
known relatives, social and human capital.” The importance of this concept of spiritual capital
will increase over time as Muslim countries gain more influence. United States relations to
Middle Eastern countries must include understanding the role and significance of spiritual capital
on the country’s economy. (Malloch, 2003)
One can rightly ask which factors and issues development
economists and practitioners should add to their future studies to gauge this
missing link. In other words, can we operationalize spiritual capital so that
the concept and empirical findings can be made more plausible and
evident? Since the notion of spiritual capital is closely connected to on-
going debates on trust, corruption, governance, sustainability, and
entrepreneurship, this is a critical next step. Some things to look at
include:
143
- The role and scope of personal religious ethics on private
economic decisions which face all persons and groups;
- The exegetical, economic and historical roots and
traditions which give rise to contrasting work ethics and economic
systems;
- The role of societal institutions based on faith ranging
from companies to trade unions to political parties to non-governmental
and intermediating structures;
- Interpretations and practices concerning interest,
investment, inflation, growth, government authority, charity and trade in
various spiritual world views;
- The impact of religion on conduct and rules as employees
and employers, consumers and producers; and citizens at every level of
existence; and
- The degree to which religious practices and policies directly
or indirectly affect economic behavior, choices and economic policy.
There may be no one set of religious principles regulating
any given economic polity but all religious peoples, regardless of their
faith community, make individual and collective choices in which
personal faith colored by longstanding and deeply rooted historical
religious traditions are highly relevant and important factors. Spiritual
capital can become a useful concept and term for a vital feature of
economic development that has been largely overlooked in modern
theories of development. Indeed, the often used terms social capital and
human capital themselves are based to a large extent on the existence of
good faith, trust, stewardship, a sense of purpose and other moral
characteristics which cannot persist in the absence of the piety, solidarity
and hope that come from religion and spiritual sentiments. When this is
lost, societies and economies often decline rather than grow. When this
abounds societies and economies prosper. (Malloch, 2003).
When social action groups have no religious guideposts or at least a cursory understanding of the
role religious people can play in transforming communities, it becomes difficult for natural allies
such as the church to partner with like minded organizations.
144
5. Strategic Thinking and the Planning Process in Program Development
5.1 (30 minutes) Overview and Observation of Critical Success Factors for Strategic
Thinking, Planning and Doing
Source: Strategic Planning For Success: Aligning, People Performance and Payoffs (Kaufman, et al. 2003)
Code
Critical Success Factors Comments and Guidance
1 Shift your paradigm—move out of your comfort zone and
use new, wider boundaries for thinking, planning, doing, and
continuous improvement and evaluation.
1. Challenge current wisdom.
2. Challenge assumptions.
3. Search for hard evidence.
4. Identify the new realities and adjust.
5. Reflect on your mental models.
2 Distinguish between ends and means.
1. Define and plan the results before
selecting the means and methods.
2. Challenge fads and methods posing as
ends.
3. Identify the consequences of rushing to
the wrong means.
3 Use all three levels of planning and results—Mega, Macro,
Micro.
1. Identify the consequences of results at
one level to results at other levels.
2. Learn to think systemically,
systemically, and holistically—think in
wholes and link results.
3. Identify relationships between parts.
4 Link Smarter objectives at Mega, Macro, and Micro levels.
Smarter objectives are measurable. They should create new
paradigms. Don’t include methods in the statement of
objectives.
1. Challenge vague “fuzzy” objectives.
2. Challenge objectives that maintain
the current wisdom and status quo.
3. Contemplate the impossible and
make it measurable.
4. Imagine a better future in
measurable terms. Use ratio and interval
measures.
5 Use an Ideal Vision as the foundation for strategic thinking,
planning, and doing—including continuous improvement.
1. Define the world you would like to
create for your grandchildren.
2.Think bigger than before—think global
and then act locally.
3. Define an Ideal Vision in measurable
terms, not vague “nice sounding”
platitudes.
4. Think wider than just the organization’s
impact on immediate clients—think
about the impact on the whole planet.
5. Plan to move closer to the Ideal Vision.
145
6 Define need as a gap in results. Needs are not gaps in
methods, means, strategies, tactics, or resources.
1. Challenge fads posing as needs.
2. Challenge solutions unsupported by
needs assessment evidence.
3. Ask for needs assessment data to support
problem solving.
4. Spend sensible time formulating and
defining the right problems.
146
5.2. Community Development Programming: What to do and How?
5.2.1. Overview and Discussion about the Kenyan Community Development Program:
What can my organization/church do?
5.2.2. Flow-Chart Overview Planning Process (Kaufman, Oakley-Browne, Leigh, & Watkins,
2003)
Sources:
Strategic Planning For Success: Aligning, People Performance and Payoffs (Kaufman, et al. 2003)
Reproduced from Strategic Planning for Success by Roger Kaufman, Hugh Oakley-Browne, Ryan Watkins, & Doug Leigh.
Copyright © 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published by Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, San Francisco, CA.
Step 1. Prepare to Plan
Step 2. Develop Ideal Vision
Step 3. Analyze Scope and SWOTs
Step 4. Review Strategic Objectives (Mega,
Macro and Micro)
Step 5. Develop Tactics/Propse Program
Step 6. Implement, Evaluate, Continuously
Improve
147
SWOT Sample Rating Codes (Kaufman, Oakley-Browne, Leigh, & Watkins, 2003)
Strengths Opportunities
Use these rating rules to assess
the impact of the strengths data
and to establish priorities.
Rating
Use these rating rules to assess
the impact of the opportunities
data and to establish priorities.
Rating
A significant advantage; a
perfect match between
customers needs and societal
needs, and our services/products
and capabilities; defines
uniqueness.
3 A must win opportunity; it has
the greatest impact on the Ideal
Vision and our primary
mission objective.
3
Advantageous for us but
insufficient by itself to be
competing.
2 A key opportunity that should
be pursued, but its loss would
not
be critical.
2
Offers us some advantages but
can be copied by competitors.
1 An interesting opportunity that
may evolve to be critical in the
long term. More evidence
required before response
justified.
1
Weaknesses Threats
Use these rating rules to assess
the impact of the weaknesses
data and to establish priorities.
RATING
Use these rating rules to assess
the impact of the threats data
and to establish priorities.
Rating
A significant weakness; could be
a fatal flaw; has obvious
negative impact on results at
Mega, Macro, and Micro levels.
Customers badly affected.
Directly impacts on results.
3 A significant threat. Major
barrier to achieving results at
Micro, Macro, and Mega
levels. Major negative impact
on service/product quality.
Demands strong action on our
part.
3
An important weakness; could
have serious implications if not
fixed, but requires more
evidence before action.
2 A serious threat that cannot be
dismissed. Require more data
before action.
2
An annoying weakness, but can
be overcome. Concerned with
adequacy
of methods and means.
1 A remote threat; caution is
necessary, but it is not a major
worry. We could delay any
action.
1
Reproduced from Strategic Planning for Success by Roger Kaufman, Hugh Oakley-Browne, Ryan Watkins, & Doug Leigh.
Copyright © 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published by Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, San Francisco, CA.
148
Flow-Chart on SMARTER Objective and Goal Setting (Kaufman, Oakley-Browne, Leigh, &
Watkins, 2003)
Reproduced from Strategic Planning for Success by Roger Kaufman, Hugh Oakley-Browne, Ryan Watkins, & Doug Leigh.
Copyright © 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published by Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, San Francisco, CA.
Organizational
Contribitions
(Macro)
Individual and Small
Group Contributions
( Micro)
Activities, Programs,
Processes and
Interventions
(Processes)
Resources [ Human,
Financial., Physical]
(Imputs)
External Client
(Mega)
149
S.M.A.R.T.E.R. OBJECTIVES (Kaufman, Oakley-Browne, Leigh, & Watkins, 2003)
S Specific performance: Written for a specific result, single topic or area of performance
M Measurable in ratio or interval terms: How much, many, well or How successful, audacious, proactive
A Audacious: Aims at change and challenges the status quo,
R Results Focused: Method and means accomplished at Mega, Macro, Micro
T Time bound: Objectives must have a target time for completion
E Encompassing: Objectives are aligned and supportive of each other—inclusive and linked
R Reviewed frequently: Objectives should be evaluated and reviewed to check for relevance and progress
towards the results
Developing Strategic Goals and Objectives: Key Result Classifications (Kaufman, Oakley-
Browne, Leigh, & Watkins, 2003).
Result Level Common Key Result Areas
MEGA
(Outcomes)
Across most cultures, organizations should
contribute to one or more of these global key result
areas.
Societal Impact Areas
Security and safety
Health and well-being
Quality of life
Self-sufficiency
Murder-free
Poverty-free
Safety and well-being
Incapacitating accident-free
MACRO
(Outputs)
These are the four most common areas for the
organization to deliver results.
Organizational Impact Areas
Employee satisfaction
Customer satisfaction
Organizational capital/capability
Investor profits
MICRO
(Products)
These key result areas define those areas in which
leaders and individuals are expected to achieve
measurable results.
Individual/Leadership Roles
Team performance
Team member performance
Information management
Innovative item
Performance improvement
Colleague support
Special projects
Effective police
Reproduced from Strategic Planning for Success by Roger Kaufman, Hugh Oakley-Browne, Ryan Watkins, & Doug Leigh.
Copyright © 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published by Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, San Francisco, CA.
150
Process for Deriving Objectives (Kaufman, Oakley-Browne, Leigh, & Watkins, 2003)
Discussion Question
1. What are some programs that you believe these new tools might help to better develop
effective strategies to serve your community?
2. What are some of the distinct cultural, ethnic or religious groups you work with? How do you
integrate culture and/or religion successfully into programs/services?
3. What are some of the strengths of the youth/families you work with? How are these strengths
used in working with them to achieve program goals?
4. Among your ministry/community programs/services targeting urban communities, what
interventions appear to be working well?
5. What are some challenges among your church/organization’s leaders, members and
community stakeholders when seeking to impact your community?
6. Which area would you like to learn more about to be able to better serve your community?
Reproduced from Strategic Planning for Success by Roger Kaufman, Hugh Oakley-Browne, Ryan Watkins, & Doug Leigh.
Copyright © 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published by Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, San Francisco, CA.
Develop Action Plans
Develop SMARTER Objectives
Needs Assements (Identify and prioritize results)
Select Performance Indicators for Key Results Areas
Mega, Macro and Micro Key Results Areas
151
Surveying Modern Attitudes
3
I believe the church is impacting society in a positive way.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response
Count
Strongly Agree
19.8% 17
Agree
29.1% 25
Somewhat Agree
36.0% 31
Disagree
14.0% 12
Strongly Disagree
1.2% 1
answered question 86
skipped question 0
Surveying Modern Attitudes
I believe the church should be at the forefront of forging relationships among diverse groups.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response
Count
Strongly Agree
32.9% 28
Agree
34.1% 29
Somewhat Agree
10.6% 9
Disagree
11.8% 10
Strongly Disagree
10.6% 9
answered question 85
skipped question 1
Surveying Modern Attitudes
I think racism exists among Christian communities.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response
Count
Strongly Agree
30.6% 26
3
This is a closed ended survey that was given to determine the degree to which respondents
agreed to tacit knowledge about the church. It was later used to craft the Culturally Based
Algebra Camp because of the strong connection between the church’s role in education,
fatherhood, racism and the Beloved Community. The cultural component of the camp focuses
on unpacking these beliefs from and academic perspective and dispelling myths and exploring
the benefits of the African/African American cultural experience. It may be more appropriate
to move this to the appendix so it is less confusing. I would however, like to use this survey in
the future when and write extensively on the algebra camp.
152
Agree
37.6% 32
Somewhat Agree
15.3% 13
Disagree
5.9% 5
Strongly Disagree
10.6% 9
answered question 85
153
Surveying Modern Attitudes
Racism may be bad for America, but Black people who continue to bring up the past make
things worse.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response Count
Strongly Agree
2.4% 2
Agree
8.2% 7
Somewhat Agree
21.2% 18
Disagree
38.8% 33
Strongly Disagree
29.4% 25
answered question 85
skipped question 1
Surveying Modern Attitudes
It is a good idea to downplay race or cultural heritage if it leads to advancement.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response
Count
Strongly Agree
0.0% 0
Agree
3.5% 3
Somewhat Agree
11.8% 10
Disagree
44.7% 38
Strongly Disagree
40.0% 34
answered question 85
skipped question 1
Surveying Modern Attitudes
The church should fight for the poor.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response
Count
Strongly Agree
48.8% 40
Agree
42.7% 35
Somewhat Agree
6.1% 5
Disagree
2.4% 2
Strongly Disagree
0.0% 0
answered question 82
skipped question 4
154
Surveying Modern Attitudes
If Sunday morning worship service is the most segregated time of the week, then the church
has not eradicated its own racism.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response Count
Strongly Agree
24.4% 20
Agree
31.7% 26
Somewhat Agree
12.2% 10
Disagree
25.6% 21
Strongly Disagree
6.1% 5
answered question 82
skipped question 4
Surveying Modern Attitudes
I think developing a church that promotes Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision of the Beloved
Community* could reduce hate and encourage understanding.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response Count
Strongly Agree
27.7% 23
Agree
42.2% 35
Somewhat Agree
19.3% 16
Disagree
9.6% 8
Strongly Disagree
1.2% 1
answered question 83
skipped question 3
Surveying Modern Attitudes
I could/should speak out against racism more often.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response Count
Strongly Agree
23.5% 19
Agree
56.8% 46
Somewhat Agree
9.9% 8
Disagree
9.9% 8
Strongly Disagree
0.0% 0
answered question 81
skipped question 5
155
Surveying Modern Attitudes
I want to make a positive impact in our society by improving race relations at work, school,
home and church.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response Count
Strongly Agree
49.4% 41
Agree
39.8% 33
Somewhat Agree
9.6% 8
Disagree
1.2% 1
Strongly Disagree
0.0% 0
answered question 83
skipped question 3
Surveying Modern Attitudes
The US government should formally apologize for slavery as it has for other ethnic groups.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response Count
Strongly Agree
56.0% 47
Agree
20.2% 17
Somewhat Agree
9.5% 8
Disagree
13.1% 11
Strongly Disagree
1.2% 1
answered question 84
skipped question 2
Surveying Modern Attitudes
It is more likely than not that Jesus was of African descent.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response Count
Strongly Agree
42.5% 34
Agree
20.0% 16
Somewhat Agree
15.0% 12
Disagree
15.0% 12
Strongly Disagree
7.5% 6
answered question 80
skipped question 6
156
Surveying Modern Attitudes
I believe Jesus was of European descent
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response Count
Strongly Agree
1.3% 1
Agree
3.8% 3
Somewhat Agree
6.4% 5
Disagree
37.2% 29
Strongly Disagree
51.3% 40
answered question 78
skipped question 8
Surveying Modern Attitudes
Jesus' ethnic background does not matter
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response Count
Strongly Agree
36.6% 30
Agree
31.7% 26
Somewhat Agree
12.2% 10
Disagree
7.3% 6
Strongly Disagree
12.2% 10
answered question 82
skipped question 4
Surveying Modern Attitudes
I have seen Images of a White Jesus in my church.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response Count
Strongly Agree
15.9% 13
Agree
34.1% 28
Somewhat Agree
2.4% 2
Disagree
30.5% 25
Strongly Disagree
17.1% 14
answered question 82
skipped question 4
157
Surveying Modern Attitudes
I have seen Images of a Black Jesus in my church.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response
Count
Strongly Agree
9.8% 8
Agree
24.4% 20
Somewhat Agree
2.4% 2
Disagree
40.2% 33
Strongly Disagree
23.2% 19
answered question 82
skipped question 4
Surveying Modern Attitudes
The Black Church was founded in opposition to racism.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response
Count
Strongly Agree
18.8% 15
Agree
28.8% 23
Somewhat Agree
16.3% 13
Disagree
20.0% 16
Strongly Disagree
16.3% 13
answered question 80
skipped question 6
Surveying Modern Attitudes
I have personally experienced racism.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response
Count
Strongly Agree
55.3% 47
Agree
32.9% 28
Somewhat Agree
4.7% 4
Disagree
5.9% 5
Strongly Disagree
1.2% 1
answered question 85
skipped question 1
158
Surveying Modern Attitudes
Racism has had a negative effect on my life.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response
Count
Strongly Agree
14.3% 12
Agree
23.8% 20
Somewhat Agree
17.9% 15
Disagree
33.3% 28
Strongly Disagree
10.7% 9
answered question 84
skipped question 2
Surveying Modern Attitudes
I resent other ethnic groups because they seem to get better treatment (education, services,
and economic opportunities) than Blacks.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response
Count
Strongly Agree
1.2% 1
Agree
3.6% 3
Somewhat Agree
15.5% 13
Disagree
39.3% 33
Strongly Disagree
40.5% 34
answered question 84
skipped question 2
Surveying Modern Attitudes
Schools with small numbers of Blacks indirectly dismiss the significance of celebrating Black
culture.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response
Count
Strongly Agree
30.1% 25
Agree
32.5% 27
Somewhat Agree
21.7% 18
Disagree
14.5% 12
Strongly Disagree
1.2% 1
answered question 83
skipped question 3
159
Surveying Modern Attitudes
I feel uncomfortable in classes where I am the only Black.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response
Count
Strongly Agree
2.5% 2
Agree
6.2% 5
Somewhat Agree
16.0% 13
Disagree
38.3% 31
Strongly Disagree
37.0% 30
answered question 81
skipped question 5
Surveying Modern Attitudes
I am offended by the image of a White Jesus.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response
Count
Strongly Agree
13.4% 11
Agree
6.1% 5
Somewhat Agree
9.8% 8
Disagree
54.9% 45
Strongly Disagree
15.9% 13
answered question 82
skipped question 4
Surveying Modern Attitudes
I am familiar with the Tuskegee Project.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response
Count
Strongly Agree
32.9% 28
Agree
48.2% 41
Somewhat Agree
8.2% 7
Disagree
7.1% 6
Strongly Disagree
3.5% 3
answered question 85
skipped question 1
160
Surveying Modern Attitudes
Many whites continue to resist any law, policy or program that promises equality for Blacks.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response
Count
Strongly Agree
23.8% 20
Agree
38.1% 32
Somewhat Agree
25.0% 21
Disagree
10.7% 9
Strongly Disagree
2.4% 2
answered question 84
skipped question 2
Surveying Modern Attitudes
Slave owners were not Christians.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response
Count
Strongly Agree
13.4% 11
Agree
7.3% 6
Somewhat Agree
13.4% 11
Disagree
50.0% 41
Strongly Disagree
15.9% 13
answered question 82
skipped question 4
Surveying Modern Attitudes
It seems possible that HIV/AIDS was created by the US government as a weapon for Bio-
warfare or population control.
Answer Options
Response
Frequency
Response
Count
Strongly Agree
15.9% 13
Agree
22.0% 18
Somewhat Agree
19.5% 16
Disagree
24.4% 20
Strongly Disagree
18.3% 15
answered question 82
skipped question 4
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
This project is a case study in search of identifying an effective community development program for a small church with very limited resources. It makes the case for effective and measurable small church community and economic development projects and focuses on building spiritual capital when there are limited resources. It arises out of my vocation as a pastor regarding how a small church can sustain the civil rights legacy of resiliency and black uplift that characterized the Historically Black Church (HBC), and also provides a platform to address the systemic problems of race, class and life chances for low-income African American residents of Los Angeles.
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Thomas, James Matthew
(author)
Core Title
Building spiritual capital in religious communities: how and why?
School
School of Policy, Planning and Development
Degree
Doctor of Policy, Planning & Development
Degree Program
Policy, Planning, and Development
Publication Date
09/15/2014
Defense Date
09/12/2014
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
black church,capacity building,church,Civil rights,Community development,community relations,diversity,faith-based,Kenya development,Living Word Community Church,Los Angeles,mega church,ministry,OAI-PMH Harvest,outreach,Racism,religious institution,slave religion,spiritual capital,strategic planning,urban affairs,Urban Planning,West Angeles Church of God in Christ,worship
Format
application/pdf
(imt)
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Lewis, LaVonna Blair (
committee chair
), Dyrness, Grace (
committee member
), Masseyy, Elton (
committee member
), White, Pete (
committee member
)
Creator Email
jameslwcc@gmail.com
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-477835
Unique identifier
UC11287683
Identifier
etd-ThomasJame-2941.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-477835 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
etd-ThomasJame-2941.pdf
Dmrecord
477835
Document Type
Dissertation
Format
application/pdf (imt)
Rights
Thomas, James Matthew
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...
Repository Name
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA
Tags
black church
capacity building
church
community relations
faith-based
Kenya development
Living Word Community Church
mega church
religious institution
slave religion
spiritual capital
strategic planning
urban affairs