Someone needs to write a comparative article or series on the effect of CRT/IS on congregations vs. the effect of those who oppose it?

From what I can tell, the opponents have had a much bigger and far more negative effect on local churches than CRT/IS ever did or could.

/1
For example, faithful pastors in sound churches across the country are reporting the loss of significant portions of their membership and loss of long-time friends who have been influenced by the anti-CRT crowd. I'm talking small churches and megachurches.

/2
I'm hearing (been hearing for a couple of years!) from large church pastors who have lost 15-25 percent of their memberships after some folks get involved in anti-CRT writing and slander. Those folks leave after 1st slandering their pastors insisting on CRT's influence.

/3
In all the cases I'm thinking of, again, small and large churches, these are faithful gospel men who have not even been particularly outspoken about race, racism, injustice, etc. But their people have been entangled in the conspiracy theory that is the anti-CRT movement.

/4
The consequences are good and faithful servants are slandered, relationships are broken, gospel work is slowed or halted, countless hours are spent fighting distractions not of your church's making, churches are split and re-segregated, and untold pain spread.

/5
In recent years, much has been written about the "quiet exodus" of BIPOC folks from predominantly white spaces. But much more needs to be written @ the "white flight" that's happening from multi-ethnic, predominantly BIPOC, and even predominantly white churches "because CRT."

/6
Folks are ravaging churches and claiming to be faithful. Many of them don't know what spirit they are of.

In the end, the Lord will preserve His church. But I suspect a lot of folks will feel a lot of shame before Him on that Day when we all give an account.

/end
One other thought:

The thing that really flabbergasts me is how ppl take the word of online folks they DON'T know over the word of their actual pastors who they've known and listened to for years.

Don't let online ppl discolor your view of your pastors who give an acct for you.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Thabiti Anyabwile

Thabiti Anyabwile Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @ThabitiAnyabwil

3 Feb
Can we talk about this a little? I don’t want to discourage anyone’s effort at diversity, but a couple of pointers are in order here:

“IMB celebrates Black missionary and church planter George Liele; designates February as Diversity in Missions month” imb.org/2021/02/01/imb…
2/ Let’s start with the renaming of Black History Month. That’s not a good look. The month begins with Negro History Week, which was, in part, a pushback against to erasure of Black people from history and a counter to white supremacist narratives. You can’t just rename that.
3/ Then there’s the use of George Liele. Liele is a Christian hero to be sure. I like the idea of honoring him.

But don’t be selective w/ his history and his theology. The article omits any reference to the Baptist Wars of Jamaica which were critical in Jamaica’s independence.
Read 9 tweets
13 Jan
It strikes me that much of the anti-CRT pieces that charge Black Christians with being CRT proponents go to great lengths to root CRT in European philosophical streams of thought. This despite actual proponents rooting their thoughts elsewhere in the Black intellectual trad.
/1
So one has to ask the question: Why this tendency? Why press a movement often self-consciously located in one tradition into a tradition it sees as foreign to its thinking?

I'm sure there are many answers. But one answer seems to me to be it's an attempt to control the debate./2
A lot of the historical and philosophical excursus, insofar as it overlooks what the actual proponents claim, is simply another effort at colonizing thought, of insisting on a certain philosophical priority, and of demeaning the constructive thoughts of a group being rejected.
/3
Read 9 tweets
10 Jan
This action is not just the GOP folks demonstrating fear of man, cowardice or political expedience. It’s not even merely a sincere hope for unifying the conference.

/1
It’s an request, if considered, that fits a long historical pattern of the country accommodating the seditious interests and acts of southern actors.

That tendency began with the concessions to slaveholding states in the constitutional convention.

/2
It continued with the country’s abandonment of Reconstruction and it’s turning a blind eye to the south’s racial terror and political sedition in counter-Reconstruction and the rise of the Klan.

/3
Read 7 tweets
26 Nov 20
Earlier tonight, @AlsoACarpenter tweeted a link to the article below on CRT. It's a long article reflecting on several contributions in an issue of that journal. It's a good peek into the intramural discussions of people in the field. In the middle, Carbado lists CRT commitments.
@AlsoACarpenter If you have the time, you should peruse the article. But for those not inclined or who feel lost in a lot of the technical jargon, etc., here's a series of tweets quoting the topic sentences in the section where Carbado lists core commitments of CRT:
@AlsoACarpenter 1/ “One might start by saying that CRT rejects the standard racial progress narrative that characterizes mainstream civil rights discourse namely, that the history of race relations in the United States is a history of linear uplift and improvement.”
Read 21 tweets
19 Nov 20
Brothers and sisters, I want to make an ask of you.

It's not for me. It's for the gospel. It's for churches. It's for often-neglected, overlooked and avoided communities of people made in God's image.

I want to ask you to help us impact time and eternity.

Bear with me....
We have seen a revival of church planting over the last three decades. There are untold numbers of new churches in communities all across the country. Praise God!

We've seen an effort to support and revitalize struggling churches. And there are many comeback stories. Praise God!
But the vast majority of these new churches and these comeback stories exist and minister in suburban areas and in gentrified parts of cities. At best, the lion's share are only hood adjacent rather than hood located.
Read 13 tweets
17 Nov 20
Psalms 16
A Miktam of David.

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.

/1
The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.

/2
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

/3
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!