Grown Children

Last week featured grown folk behaving badly and adults gone wild. From Serena Williams’ temper tantrum and tirade at the U.S. Open tournament to Kanye West’s disgusting and ill-timed protest of an MTV VMA award winner and from Republican U.S. Representative Joe Wilson's disrespectful outburst during President Barack Obama’s speech at a joint congressional session to the hissyfit thrown by conservative pundits, politicians and parents who jumped up and down to prevent the President’s speech to school children from being shown in class and labeling it as a “scheme to indoctrinate our youth into the president's socialist cult,” the cuttin' up rolled on seemingly out of control.

However, while grown people acting childish - impetulant, irrational, impatient and self-preoccupied – is ugly and sad, the growing presence of children who, because of the current economic crisis are forced to prematurely bear the weight of grown-up pressures is even more shameful, disgusting and disgraceful. It is also a subject that goes almost unnoticed.

Only 20 percent of teens are able to get jobs leaving over 1.5 million unemployed and 12 million young people without food. There are 14.1 million children or one in five, who are poor and living in poverty in the richest nation on earth according to The Economic Policy Institute. In 2009 a quarter of all children in this country will be living in poverty and by 2010 the child poverty rate will be 26.6%. This would represent an increase of 10.4 percentage points from 2000 to 2010. The EPI terms it – truly a lost decade.

Nearly 800,000 homeless youth are in schools attempting the nearly impossible feat of learning while simultaneously sharing in their parents' physical and mental anguish concerning how they will eat, handle illness, buy daily necessities, and pay for utilities, rent or mortgages.

I used to fret over what was termed "the first generation of African American children who grew up outside of the black church." But to also have to grow up in the hopelessness and despair of the 21st century's economic crisis and never experiencing access to the jobs and material resources of previous generations is exponentially worse. It means that the normal stage of innocence and children's future have been stolen by having to shoulder poverty, unemployment, crime, drugs, violence, HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancy and other effects of inequality and economic disaster.

Growing up too late is a pity, but growing up too soon is a tragedy.

The Intersection of Politics and Religion

On last week President Obama unveiled his own version of his predecessor's faith based policy which makes federal grants and contracts for social services delivery available to religious groups and churches. Some of the benefits of a Church-Government partnership are non-debatable. First of all, church people are tax-payers too and should have access to the same resources as others that pay taxes. It also, when effectively administered, moves the church from a rhetoric of empowerment to the actual delivery of power when beneficiaries are enabled to experience economic, educational, or social change through the acquiring of affordable housing, jobs, and businesses. Presently many activist churches are addressing neighborhood problems and improving social conditions for the disadvantaged and distributing goods and services as a supplement to those provided by public agencies and private markets.

Despite the fact that the Faith Based Initiative increases capacity of many churches to deliver social services, provides employment opportunities, and two of my distinguished fellow alums, Dr. Otis Moss,Jr. Pastor emeritus, Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio and Bishop Vashti M. McKenzie, Presiding Bishop, 13th Episcopal District, African Methodist Episcopal Church, Knoxville, Tennesse are a part of the 25-member President's Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, the intersection of politics and religion is fraught with potential hazards and must be approached with extreme caution.

Some of the blind spots or unexpected obstacles include the following:

1. Separation of Church and State:

African American churches were formed out of a demand for social justice and have served as voices of opposition to unjust policies and politicians. It is impossible to take money from Pharaoh while criticizing him. Will taking government money buy the church's silence and compromise it's message of social justice? Can you critique the government when eating at the government's table?

2. First Amendment Protection:
A potential conflict arises when personnel matters arise as a result of religious beliefs that run counter to the First Amendment protections against discrimination. When churches bring their theology or religious dogma into their hiring or firing decisions occasions where the rights of persons whose lifestyles, behaviors, values or beliefs are different from the church may be violated.

3.Capacity of Staff for Regulation, Compliance, and Monitoring
Government funding carries with it mountains of paperwork, reports, and rules which change frequently and without notice. This exposes the church to possible inadvertant fraud, incarceration, and negative publicity. The time and attention devoted to mountains of paperwork and policies can be distracting causing the church to lose its identity and cloud it's focus.

The social problems to be addressed in early 21st century America are great. A partnership between the faith community and government that seeks to overcome these enormous problems for the common good is a noble thought. Aid to black churches in carrying out this mission is appealing but the cost in terms of the church's prophetic voice and moral leadership could be disastrous in the long run. Proceed with caution!

For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finis it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying this man began to build, and was not able to finish. Luke 14:28-30.