A Theology of Race and Place. Andrew Thomas Draper

      A Theology of Race and Place

      Liberation and Reconciliation in the Works of Jennings and Carter

      Copyright © 2016 Andrew T. Draper. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

      Pickwick Publications

      An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

      199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3

      Eugene, OR 97401

      www.wipfandstock.com

      paperback isbn: 978-1-4982-8082-2

      hardcover isbn: 978-1-4982-8084-6

      ebook isbn: 978-1-4982-8083-9

      Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

      Names: Draper, Andrew T.

      Title: A theology of race and place : liberation and reconciliation in the works of jennings and carter / Andrew T. Draper

      Description: Eugene, OR : Pickwick Publications, 2016 | Includes bibliographical references and index(es).

      Identifiers: isbn 978-1-4982-8082-2 (paperback) | isbn 978-1-4982-8084-6 (hardcover) | isbn 978-1-4982-8083-9 (ebook)

      Subjects: LSCH: Carter, J. Kameron, 1967– | Jennings, Willie James, 1961– | Race—Religious aspects—Christianity. | Racism—Religious aspects—Christianity.

      Classification: BT734 .D52 2016 (print) | BT734 .D52 (ebook)

      Manufactured in the U.S.A. 08/24/16

      Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      “As the bullets are flying and the bodies are falling across the race line in America once again, precious few Christian theologians dare examine the issue at its theological roots. Andrew Draper’s concise and insightful engagement with the bravest and most exciting thinkers doing so today is a real gift. His own contribution takes the conversation a big step forward by offering us a winsome vision of a church that does not aspire to go beyond race, but to learn what it means to embrace a vulnerable communion in the middle of a world characterized by racial strife.”

      —Brian Brock, Reader in Moral and Practical Theology, Department of Divinity, History and Philosophy, King’s College, Aberdeen

      “In this deeply engaging and transforming book, Andrew Draper teases out the Christological and ecclesiological implications of the theories on the origin of the racial imagination posited by noted theologians Willie James Jennings and J. Kameron Carter. His constructive task is to ground Jennings’ ‘ecclesiology of joining’ within the lived space of his multicultural congregation. Those yearning to overcome the tortured ways that ‘reconciliation’ gets deployed by the racial logic and practices inscribed within Western Christian theology must read this book.”

      —James W. Lewis, Retired Dean, Anderson University School of Theology, Anderson, IN

      This book is dedicated to Bishop H. Royce Mitchell, whose faithful love and patient mentoring guided me through many of the relational processes that led to the writing of this text. I do not take his sacrificial investment for granted.

      “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh . . . remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

      —Ephesians 2:11–12

      “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you . . . So do not become proud, but fear.”

      —Romans 11:17–20

      Acknowledgments

      I would like to thank my parents, Dr. and Dr. David and Linda Draper, who have consistently encouraged me in my pastoral and scholarly work. They have modeled for me lives committed to Jesus Christ, which is the greatest of gifts. Three pastors whose counsel has been important at key points in my life are: Charles Gifford, Guy Pfanz, and David Smith. I would also like to thank my teacher Phil Harrold for teaching me to love reading theology.

      The congregation of which I am senior pastor, Urban Light Community Church, has been generous in respecting the space I needed to complete this research and has been the space in which I have experienced joined lives marked by difference. I am thankful for the opportunity to participate in one another’s ongoing conversion. I would especially like to thank Toddrick Gordon, Joe Carpenter, Maria Wilson, Dori Granados, Nichole and Danny Smith, Lezlie McCrory, Elisabeth Taylor, Jody Powers, Shameka Gordon, James Rediger, Carol Jackson, Brenda Miller, Emilie Carpenter, and Seth Winn—the pastors, ministers, and leaders with whom I work. I also thank the leaders of the Churches of God, General Conference and Midwest Region for their support of me and my work.

      The Lilly Endowment’s provision of a pastoral sabbatical grant was indispensable in allowing me and my family to journey to Aberdeen as I began the doctoral process that would lead to the writing of an early draft of this text. I thank my father-in-law, Russ Wood, for suggesting the Scottish divinity milieu as an environment appropriate to my research. I can credit only the hand of God with allowing me to find Brian Brock, whose hospitality, gentleness, and humility led me in directions I would never have been able to find on my own. I am privileged to call him both a doctoral father and a friend. Stephanie, Adam, Caleb, and Agnes joined Brian in welcoming me and my family.

      I also credit the writings of John Perkins and conversations with Wayne Gordon, the founders of the Christian Community Development Association, with initially alerting me to many of the issues I later sought to address in this text. As my questions have matured, Willie James Jennings has consistently gone above and beyond my expectations in offering me guidance and hospitality as I have dialogued with him about issues in this text. Prof. Jennings’ generosity is more than I could have hoped for. I also thank J. Kameron Carter for meeting with me and pointing me in fruitful directions. I would like to thank Andre Mitchell, Kevin Hargaden, Josh Arthur, Danny Smith, Terrance Bridges, Eric Wood, Adam Stichter, and Leslie Draper for reading portions or the entirety of various versions of this text and patiently conversing with me about the material and its presentation. Thanks are due to Stanley Hauerwas and Jonathan Tran for offering invaluable constructive criticism that helped me clarify my positions. I deeply respect Prof. Hauerwas’s grace and humility in disagreeing with me. I would also like to thank my colleagues at Taylor University. They have been an encouragement in my research, teaching, and ministry.

      Finally, I would like to acknowledge and thank my wife, Leslie Eleanor, whose pursuit of the truth and whose commitment to justice have discipled and guided me. I respect her more than words can say and I am so thankful for her love in our shared journey. My two sons, Aidan and Alister, are supportive beyond their years as our family seeks to follow the Way together. The path is often circuitous and I am so thankful that we do not walk it alone.

      Introduction

      The Racial Imaginary at Work

On February 26, 2012, an unarmed African American teenager named Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was detained by police, questioned, and then released