c. 1997 Religion News Service
UNDATED _ As members of the National Baptist Convention, USA, returned home after a tumultuous annual convention, questions lingered about the eroded credibility of their controversial president, the Rev. Henry J. Lyons, and its possible effect on the denomination.
By the end of the Sept. 1-5 meeting in Denver, Lyons had succeeded in remaining president of the predominantly black denomination, in part because of a theological belief in forgiveness that has long played a role in African-American religious life. But his continuing tenure may depend on whether the 8.5 million-member denomination gets its financial house in order.
At the same time, Lyons, a minister in St. Petersburg, Fla., must attempt to regain his standing as not only a pastor and denominational leader but also as a representative of the wider black community.
These challenges come after a firestorm of controversy that began when his third wife, Deborah, was charged with committing arson July 6 at a luxury home Lyons bought with a female church official and culminated at the Denver meeting in which Lyons successfully turned back efforts to oust him.
When questioned about his marital fidelity and use of church funds, Lyons admitted to unspecified mistakes, but denied having an affair with the co-owner of the house and said he did not spend church money on personal purchases.
Though he received forgiveness from some members of the denomination, others say his credibility with the general public has eroded and may cause some allies to distances themselves from him. In addition, federal and state officials continue to investigate his finances.”He may have answered questions for the Committee on Ethics, Integrity and Accountability, as it was called, but the questions for the courts and the court of public opinion still remain unanswered,”said the Rev. Robert Franklin, president of the Interdenominational Theological Center, a consortium of African-American theological schools in Atlanta.
In fact, added Franklin, the committee only dealt with 20 of about 100 questions about Lyons before it decided to drop its investigation.
Why were members of the denomination able to forgive and move on?”I think he appealed to sensitive areas in the black psyche,”Franklin said.”He appealed to protecting vulnerable leaders, embattled leaders. He appealed to the longstanding tradition of redemption in the black community.” Lyons, 55, gained pardon from a community whose members have taken deep into their heart the biblical theme of God’s forgiveness, just as they have had to learn to forgive other injustices, including lynchings by racists.”It’s not just Henry Lyons, but it’s a history that runs deep in the very identity of our churches,”said the Rev. Cheryl Townsend Gilkes, an associate minister of Union Baptist Church in Cambridge, Mass., a congregation dually aligned with Lyons’ denomination and the racially diverse American Baptist Churches USA.”When we say the Lord’s Prayer, `Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive’… we have to stop and think about this process of forgiveness.” Gilkes, who also is an associate professor of African-American studies and sociology at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, said the denomination may only have found a short-term calm.”Peace may have been established temporarily, but next year should be interesting,”said Gilkes, looking ahead to the denomination’s next meeting in Kansas City, Mo., and the next scheduled presidential election in 1999.”1998 will be an important year in the process of reflection for everyone in the convention and everyone concerned about the convention and I think that process of reflection, self-examination and analysis will have great implications for the elections the next year,”she said.
Both Franklin and Gilkes predicted the denomination will establish more financial controls at the national level.”I think it’s inescapable,”Franklin said.”He (Lyons) will not be able to sign a check unless there’s a co-signer.” But Gilkes said the need for financial controls conflicts with the Baptist notion of congregational autonomy.”Solving that problem, that tension between both decentralization and lack of centralized authority and the needs and demands for certain kinds of fiscal accountability is going to basically be the problem of the convention,”she said.”It’s going to take not only changes in practice but it’s going to take widespread education.” Franklin, who attended part of the annual meeting in Denver, was so concerned about public impressions of the denomination’s crisis he issued a three-page statement,”A Wake-Up Call for the Black Church and Call to Action for America.” Although he believes many churches _ black and white _ already have appropriate financial controls in place, others need to pay more attention to this crucial area of church affairs.”There is a lesson here for both churches and clergy,”wrote Franklin.”The Lyons episode is a wake-up call urging them to get their financial management practices and personal decorum in order.” In an interview, Franklin said political leaders are less likely to provide money for church-run social welfare programs if the churches are viewed as economically irresponsible.”This now represents a real threat if … black churches are perceived to be institutions with relaxed financial management,”he said.”There’s too much at stake.” At the same time, however, Gilkes said there has been a growing”professionalization of the laity”in African-American churches, especially those dominated by people in their late 20s to early 40s, that has prompted some congregations to become more businesslike.”Their understanding of professionalism is applied fully to their churches,”she said.
Although Lyons’ troubles could reinforce a negative stereotype of African-Americans among those unfamiliar with the nuances of the black church, Gilkes thinks black church members will take this opportunity to talk about how to prevent such occurrences in the future.”For the vast majority of African-American Christians who belong to historically black churches, it will not cause them to question the overall church,”she said.
MJP END BANKS
