Leading the Diverse Body of Christ: An Interview with Thabiti Anyabwile (once pastor in Cayman Islands)
From Christianity Today
This week on The Exchange, catch Thabiti Anyabwile and a fascinating interview with civil rights leader John Perkins. | Ed Stetzer
Leading the Diverse Body of Christ: An Interview with Thabiti Anyabwile
Later today on The Exchange, Thabiti Anyabwile joins me to discuss a host of topics including his calling to lead and African American church. I am thankful for Thabiti’s ministry, and I think you will find our discussion fruitful.
In case you don’t know Thabiti, he is one of the pastors for Anacostia River Church in Washington DC, he served as an elder and pastor in churches in North Carolina, Washington, D.C., and the Cayman Islands, and he is the author of several books.
Thabiti’s newest book is Reviving the Black Church and it releases in just a few weeks. Here’s a brief description:
Is the Black Church dying?
The picture is mixed and there are many challenges. The church needs spiritual revival. But reviving and strengthening the Black Church will require great wisdom and courage. Reviving the Black Church calls us back to another time, borrowing the wisdom of earlier faithful Christians. But more importantly, it calls us back to the Bible itself. For there we find the divine wisdom needed to see all quarters of the Black Church live again, thriving in the Spirit of God.
It’s pastor and church planter Thabiti Anyabwile’s humble prayer that this book might be useful to pastors and faithful lay members in reviving at least some quarters of the Black Church, and churches of every ethnicity and context— all for the glory of God.
Needless to say, I’ve ordered a copy.
Most recently, Thabiti has been widely read regarding Ferguson and issues of race and justice.
Thabiti blogs at The Gospel Coalition. He wrote a post on the roots of racism back in March that helped frame the issue:
When my wife and I purchased our first home, I determined our lawn would be at least comparable to that lovely lush landscape of the guy two doors down. Our street took a lot of pride in curbside appeal. I joined them in the weekly ritual of weeding, seeding, planting, mowing, watering, raking, trimming and brimming with pride.
I spent a lot of time rooting shrubs and flowers, and sometimes digging up the roots of things that needed to go. I learned something valuable while bent over my spade, turning mulch, and worming my fingers into loam to find the extent of root balls: Only well-rooted plants survive, and sometimes that means roots must run deep.
That came home in a powerful way when someone gave me a cactus to plant. Actually, it wasn’t even a complete cactus, just a leaf. They told me it would grow anywhere and wouldn’t need much attention. So I stuck it in the dirt at the mailbox, the pretty white mailbox perched atop a white post with colorful tulips painted on its side. The cactus was meant to be the backdrop to the dancing colors of real tulips surrounding the post. Soon the cactus grew. The one leaf became two, then doubled again. Before I knew it the cactus had taken over the mailbox area, drinking up all the moisture and nutrients. My tulips drooped, faded and died.
Finally I decided to remove the cactus and replant the small bed around the mailbox. That’s when I discovered how deep and wide cactus roots run! That sprawling system of tentacles forced me to dig up a sizable section of the front yard curb area! After a couple weekends of toilsome digging and searching—and a couple of weekends of hard looks from neighbors—I dug up the cactus, roots and all, and started anew.
In the last couple of weeks we’ve gotten a good glimpse into the root system of racism. We thought we could stick the racists into the country’s past, next to a post marked “obsolete,” and gladly forget about it. But the roots of racism run deep. That’s why an entire police department and many others appear shot through with indications of that insidious root system. That’s why we’re now inundated with reports of municipal governments and court systems complying with police to raise revenue on the backs of African Americans. And that’s why we’re watching youtube videos of students on college campuses—both secular and Christian—engaging in acts that are at least stupid and insensitive and in some cases plainly racist.
The roots run deep, deeper than the natural eye can see, beneath the soil of our hearts, our cultures and our institutions.
We need to do some digging—especially Christians and Christian leaders. It’s necessary we take the shovels from our garages, put on our gardening gloves, and get to weeding.
Seems to me a few things need to be recognized perhaps more fully and even gladly than they have been.
In December, I was part of an event with Thabiti and a number of other Christian leaders called “A Time to Speak,” held at the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN to talk about the issue of racism and racial reconciliation in our churches. Thabiti said at the event regarding violence against African Americans, specifically regarding Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, “What I want for the Mike Browns is for them to survive their teenage years.” Read a full report of the event here and watch the whole discussion here.
I hope you’ll watch the interview live this afternoon at 3pm ET.
Also on today’s show, Trillia Newbell interviews John Perkins about how the gospel informs our racial reconciliation. It’s a fascinating interview between Trillia and one of the legends of the civil rights movement.
For more on this story and video go to: http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2015/september/leading-diverse-body-of-christ-interview-with-thabiti-anyab.html
EDITOR’S NOTE: Thabiti Anyabwile was Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman. He left in 2014. See his blog below:
The Most Difficult Ministry Decision I’ve Ever Made
March 10, 2014
Yesterday my family and I announced the most difficult and emotional decision we’ve ever made in Christian ministry. We shared with the spiritual family and congregation we love our plans to transition from FBC Grand Cayman to return stateside to plant a church East of the River in Washington, D.C.
I began to feel a sense of the Lord’s leading about two years ago. But the actual decision was reached over the last ten months. That’s when I first asked the elders of FBC to shepherd me through my burgeoning desires and to help me discern the Lord’s will. When we began I only knew my desires seemed consistent enough that I needed shepherding, but not so consistent that I’d made a decision. The elders allowed me to put all my thoughts and assumptions on the table. They asked questions, listened to me ramble, gave feedback and offered their support in whatever path we’d take. It was as healthy a process of discerning a call and transitioning from a senior pastor role as I’ve ever seen or known. I’m profoundly grateful to the Lord for these men.
And I’m profoundly grateful for the church family at FBC. While many were and are shocked, the congregation lovingly communicated with us and eagerly embraced the vision for expanding the wider kingdom of God. Many spoke of having a sense that God had prepared them for this moment and excitement about the unfolding chapters ahead. Their love made a most difficult announcement an occasion for yet more grace from God. We love these saints dearly. From approximately 30 nationalities, we have been deeply united in Christ our Lord and the fellowship of His Spirit. We’re going to greatly miss the saints.
If you’re a part of the FBC family and you missed our service yesterday, or if you’re a reader of the blog and you’re interested to know what I shared, my comments to the congregation are below. For those who have a moment, I’d greatly appreciate your prayers for our FBC family and for our future. And for those tempted to ask, please do not send me your resume to replace me:-. I’m sure everyone would like to “suffer for Jesus” in the Cayman Islands, but what we need most is prayer right now.
Grace and peace to all.
