By Bishop T.D. Jakes
Special to CNN
Thursday, July 6, 2006; Posted: 6:00 p.m. EDT (22:00 GMT) Thursday, July 6, 2006; Posted: 6:00 p.m. EDT (22:00 GMT)
Editor's note: Bishop T.D. Jakes is founder and senior pastor of The Potter's House of Dallas, a multiracial, nondenominational church with more than 50 outreach ministries. A best-selling author, Jakes was named "America's Best Preacher" by Time Magazine.
Bishop T.D. Jakes, pictured here in his Potter's House church, would like to see fewer black preachers involved in partisan politics.
DALLAS, Texas (CNN) -- Members of the black clergy face a challenge in the upcoming political season to refrain from being used by any political party or ideological agenda to further their aims at the expense of the critical issues facing our communities.
As we approach the midterm congressional elections, poverty -- at home and abroad; economic and educational parity -- or the lack thereof; voting rights and accessibility; reconstruction of the Gulf Coast; and the war in Iraq are all critical issues that African-Americans should consider as we head to the ballot box.
Overcoming many of the existing challenges African-Americans face can be achieved with a plan that encourages a more cohesive community relationship and the spawning of entrepreneurial endeavors and business initiatives, including investments and a thoroughly considered community development initiative.
Many people share these concerns and as a Christian leader committed to the equality of all people and the betterment of people of color, I believe that from the most secluded country church to the largest megachurch, the black church as a corporate body has and will play a vital role in the attainment of these aspirations.
I do not believe that African-American ministers should allow their political views to dictate the subjects and tone of their sermons. Some believe their calling is to consistently petition society to address its role in depriving African-Americans of the full benefits of citizenship. Others believe they are called to inform, encourage, coax and propel people of color to provide for themselves, shape their own reality and build institutions to better their communities.
Though the black community was served well by ministers who doubled as political leaders in an era when the pulpit was often our only podium, today, the African-American community is no longer limited to the pulpit as our primary lecture post. We now have thousands of African-American politicians elected to serve our interests, nonprofit leaders funded to lead our communal efforts and academics educated to research our options, and convey their findings to the world.
Just as the black community is not monolithic in its religious choices, personal opinions, or political affiliations, the black clergy is not limited in its sermonic topics to one perspective. Enforcing unanimity of voices is a dangerous proposition.
Throughout our history, various voices have served our communities well simultaneously. Booker T. Washington shared the public spotlight with W.E.B. DuBois. Ida B. Wells worked against the lynching of black men, while Mary Church Terrell worked on behalf of black women. Martin Luther King Jr.'s voice calling for nonviolent integration echoed alongside that of Malcolm X demanding freedom to do for self by any means necessary. As it is in all American communities, no one person or perspective speaks for all African-Americans.
If we as African-American ministers allow anyone to script our sermons for us, where will it end? I respect each minister's views and recognize his right to tout them, but it is dangerous to try to force all members of any group to align themselves with anyone's viewpoints, including my own. Each of us must answer the call that he or she receives from God, not the direction of any man.
In the final analysis, no singular approach will end America's most pressing problems. Rather, a multiple approach that includes direct assistance, personal empowerment lessons and self-help initiatives as well as speeches, marches and organized resistance, will help to dismantle the political and civic structures working against us. We are better together than we are apart.
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