Abstract
J. Alfred Smith, Sr. is Pastor Emeritus of Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland, California, and Professor Emeritus at American Baptist Seminary of the West. Dr. Smith has also served as past president of the American Baptist Churches of the West and the Progressive National Baptist Convention.
A distinguished winner of numerous awards and commendations for his leadership in ministry, making significant contributions to affordable senior housing, scholarship, and meritorious activities, in May 2007 Smith was the recipient of the American Baptist Homes of the West Affordable Housing Award. He is a “drum major” for justice, peace, and righteousness, and a model for public theology.
His first wife, Joanna Goodwin Smith, served for many years as the Oakland Unified School District Director of Adult Education housed at Allen Temple. This program allowed persons to complete the requirements for their General Education Diploma (high school graduation equivalency), and assisted immigrants with meeting the requirements for US Citizenship. In 2007, Mrs. Smith went home to be with the Lord.
Smith is the father of five children: Amy, James, Craig, Shari, and Anthony. His son, the Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith, Jr., is currently the Senior Pastor of Allen Temple Baptist Church. Smith, Sr. is now married to the Reverend Bernestine Smith, who served as the Pastor of Allen Temple Arms for numerous years.
The state of the nation
The events of the past decade have made it clear that our society yearns for courageous prophetic leaders who are prepared to inspire, speak out, and help organize their congregations, their peers, and their communities in ways that not only shape the debate but also the outcomes of the critical moral and ethical issues of the day. From the Black Lives Matter movement to the challenges of the current political climate, the country is witnessing dynamics that will shape the next decade or more of our nation’s political and social debate.
The United States of America is facing a dramatic new set of ethical and moral challenges for which traditional training/formation of clergy has found itself to be inadequate. These challenges play out not just inside the church but also in the community. In order for contemporary clergy to be effective, there has to be a new awareness of how to engage community concerns.
Tension is growing in communities across our country. There is ever-increasing frustration and anger over promises made and promises broken by those in positions of power. Sadly, faith leaders have been hard-pressed to help their congregations understand and respond to these changes.
What you will find in this issue
The faculty and students of the American Baptist Seminary of the West (ABSW) have assembled this issue of the Review & Expositor given to addressing some of the critical topics that concern our nation today. In the limits of a single issue of the journal, we have not had space to address all the topics we deem relevant and significant for this theme, but through the articles you are about to read, the authors and I hope that you will be stimulated to pursue the topics we have addressed more in depth and to seek conversation and activist faith partners who will work with you toward developing solutions for your own communities and for our nation.
Words from, about, and from a student
In this issue, the Word from … “Claiming our equality: Equal pay for women ministers” by Pamela R. Durso addresses the continued inequity experienced by women. Durso brings her point home by noting that April 4, 2017 was “Equal pay day,” the symbolic day on which women begin to earn their annual salaries as opposed to January 1, the day men begin to earn theirs. She closes with a quote, “… all I ask of our brethren, is that they will take their feet from off our necks ….”
The Word about … “Curiosity doesn’t kill cats: Passion and pragmatism for adventurous life-long learning,” by Dr. Laura Rodgers Levens, provides inspiration for keeping the noggin exercised. In this Word, Levens gives example after example of ways and means to do continuing education. There will certainly be something for everyone in this piece.
The Word from a seminarian has been submitted by Rev. Leslie Bowling-Dyer, currently a PhD student at the Graduate Theological Union. Bowling-Dyer takes this opportunity to reflect on the recent presidential election and the first few months of Trump’s presidency. Appealing to Robert Bellah’s Habits of the Heart, Bowling-Dyer builds a case for moral maturity.
Thematic words
The first article you will encounter, “Black Lives Matter: A Call to Action” comes from Dr. J Alfred Smith, Jr., pastor of Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland, CA. In this article Dr. Smith provides an excellent overview of the current blacklivesmatter movement as well as the ethical/moral issues that have fueled the movement.
The second article you will encounter, “Solidarity of #BlackLivesMatter in Trump America: How a constructive theology classroom can speak to our world’s need for meaning and connection,” is a description by Jennifer Davidson, PhD, Associate Professor of Worship and Theology, of her classroom and process. In this article, Davidson describes the doing of theology in a diverse classroom, comparing it to a kaleidoscope that is complex, showing distinct colors and patterns that shift with each turn, causing some to become more pronounced and others less so. In the telling of stories in the diverse setting of her classroom, Davidson finds that “a picture of the divine and an image of ourselves in relationship with God and one another begins to emerge.”
Next, in “Restorative justice as a public theology imperative,” Dr. Valerie Miles-Tribble, Associate Professor of Practical Theology, uses a womanist theoethical lens to investigate restorative justice as a public square ethos warranting further deliberation as a means for us to become spiritual change agents. In her thinking, the divine directive found in Jeremiah “to seek the welfare of the city” still resonates today as we observe the intersectional crises in what she labels “Black Lives Matter times in America.”
In “Public theology and preaching in Korean Protestant churches,” Dr. Sangyil (Sam) Park, Professor of Preaching and Director of the DMin Program, takes us to Korea. He surveys the positive roles and challenges that Korean Protestant churches have had, inherently related to public theology through a style of preaching that has shaped Christian actions to fulfill the kingdom of God in public space.
Dr. Horacio Da Valle, Visiting Professor of Theology, addresses the obliteration of personal and collective identities of US Hispanics in his article entitled “Constructing liberating identities: Power, resistance, and dignity in the Latino diaspora.” Through this article Da Valle argues that Foucault’s notion of care of the self articulates a resistance that is liberating—that in their encounter with Jesus and in walking together (in solidarity) there is affirmation of Jesus’ revelation of what it means to be fully human.
On a more creative note, “Singing our way to justice: A conversation with Dan Damon—hymn writer, composer, and pastor,” by Dr. Nancy Hall, Associate Professor of Liturgical Music, takes us into the hymnal for a walk through the hymns, old and new, that emphasize justice themes. This article provides a wonderful introduction to the variety of hymns that address the social issues of our times. Our resident social activists will testify to the power of song and hymn in the movements and the marches.
A relatively new topic of ethical and moral concern comes from the End of Life Option Act that was recently enacted in California. In an article entitled, “When choosing death is an affirmation of life: A public remembrance of our family’s journey,” Dr. H. James and Karen D. Hopkins share their family’s powerful story of Karen’s mother’s choice to take the end-of-life drugs. The personal testimonies paired with theological reflection provide helpful insights for a contemporary world.
Expository words
In “Job as Dispossessed,” Dr. LeAnn Snow Flesher, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Professor of Old Testament, has addressed some frequent questions related to the biblical book of Job. In this article, she specifically addresses Balentine’s emphasis on the hiddenness of God as well as the struggle to comprehend the retributive justice emphasis of the book. Her article is a liberation reading of Job in which she ferrets out evidence of Job coming to understand the systemic evil that creates poverty and the role the privileged play in sustaining it.
Rev. Michael McBride, Visiting Professor of Preaching and Social Activism, expounds on Joel 2:28 in his article entitled “Prophesy or Perish.” Rev. McBride is a national leader in the Black Lives Matter movement, and as such exemplifies a pastor who can partner across ecumenical as well as religious lines for the well-being of the city. His article is unabashedly Pentecostal, and simultaneously engaging and accessible to all. His message is grounded and clear: we must make our faith public if we are to have impact in our world.
In “The women gather,” the reader will catch a glimpse of the grief and pain experienced by mothers of sons and daughters who have become victims of gun violence. Rev. Tammie Denyse, ABSW alum and Executive Director of Carrie’s Touch, is herself a grieving mother. Rev. Tammie embodies Jer 9:17–18, where God tells Jeremiah to call the professional mourning women and helps us see that the grieving mothers are in fact professional mourners—that they have a skill and an insight unique to their circumstance.
“Another look at the Good Samaritan” reminds us of one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s most pointed statements on racial reconciliation: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” In this exposition of Luke 10:25–37, Dr. Ronald Burris, Associate Professor of Church History, moves us from a call to love the challenging neighbor to a love for all humanity that is deep enough and great enough to enable one to participate in night walks on the streets of Richmond, CA—a city riddled with gun violence.
In “In saving paradise: Could Detroit be the New Jerusalem?” Rev. Tim Phillips, Senior Pastor at First Baptist Seattle, relates his personal experience of the ebbs and flows of the great city of Detroit that he has personally experienced as a visitor over many years. Using Rev 21:1–6, Phillips, an urban pastor, uses John’s vision in Revelation as a window for both resisting a retreat from the city and imagining “city” in new spiritual terms.
Similarly, Jean Jeffress, ABSW Alum, imagines church in new spiritual terms. In her final thesis project for her MDiv program, Jeffress committed to living into the vision of being church as found in Acts 2:42–47. The result was “Radical Hospitality and Table Fellowship in a Time of Unwelcome: Being Church.”
Staying with the theme of being church in Acts, Dr. Liliana DaValle, Visiting Professor of Practical Theology, emphasizes the need for integrity in public life. Her article, based on Acts 4:15–20, is a call for churches and church leaders to present themselves as authentic, consistent, and filled with integrity. Within the framework of authority and responsibility, DaValle establishes the church’s unique position as truth-teller.
Margaret Ann Cowden, PhD, was the ABSW commencement speaker in May 2016. As is typical of a commencement address, Cowden first describes the dilemmas of the times and then inspires the graduates to dig in and make a difference. In May 2016, Cowden addressed the considerable breach our nation experienced in the midst of presidential campaigns. Using the closing verses of Isaiah 58, Cowden quotes, “You shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.” It was, and still is, an inspiring word!
The Expository Words for this issue of the Review and Expositor close with an article from another ABSW alum, Rev. Dr. Rogelio Ovalle. His article, entitled “Nothing” is a pastor’s poetic response to having been called out of a traumatic life of drugs, crime, and violence; and, having been reduced to “nothing,” called by God to minister.
Summarizing comments
This issue is rich, addressing the topics of moral maturity, equal pay for female clergy, life-long learning, doing theology in diverse contexts, restorative justice in Black Lives Matter times, public theology in Korea, the making of Latino identity, ethics and morality in public educational structures, hymns and songs of justice, the right to die, structural evil and the dispossessed, prophetic faith, grieving mothers, taking the story of the good Samaritan to the next level, eschatological visions for the city, radical hospitality in an age of unwelcome, integrity and truth-telling in public discourse, repairing the breach, and resisting consumerism.
There are many more issues that could have been addressed, but time and space do not allow. It is our hope that these articles contribute to your theory and praxis.