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JAMES H. CONE #JamesConeWasRight

Earlier this year, on a six-acre site overlooking the State Capitol in Alabama, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice opened to the public. The country’s only memorial dedicated to remember the thousands of black lives that were cut short by state supported terrorism–lynching.

That very same day, the Reverend Traci Blackmon, Executive Minister of the United Church of Christ for Justice and Witness, described to a nearly all white crowd gathered at the International House on the campus of the University of San Diego her recent pre-opening visit to the memorial as a powerful witness to a horrific history.
The holograms, the 800 steel monuments carrying the names of more than 4,400 people killed between 1877 and 1950, and the life-like statues recall America’s greatest sin against Black America–black blood crying out from the ground. The terror of lynching in this country is a sin that the

The Rev. Dr. James Hal Cone called the country to reckon with injustice whenever he spoke from pulpits and platforms, or wrote from his professorial desk at Union Theological Seminary in the City New York. He named lynching as modern crucifixion and further connected lynching with mass incarceration–and called upon white Christians in particular to see their complicity in the state-sanctioned murder of their black siblings.

On the opening weekend of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, in the small hours of the morning, Dr. Cone, the author of the ground-breaking theological masterpiece, The Cross and the Lynching Tree and more than 11 other books (including a posthumous memoir entitled, Said I Wasn’t Gonna Tell Nobody) and 150 articles, went home to be with the Lord.

Dr. Cone was a distinguished professor of systematic theology and prophetic voice who boldly declared, in a field dominated by white men who were advancing the thinking of other dead white men–that God is not only the side of the oppressed, but that “God is Black [and] Jesus is Black.” Cone’s uniquely pitched voice, rising and falling like a masterful preacher, was the first to critique the dominating presence of whiteness in the theological academy, and in so doing forced the academy to accept what Black folk had been saying, singing and praying on slave plantations over 400 years ago and in Black Church across the country–“Yes God is real, for I can feel, him in my soul!”

In 1969 Cone wrote his first book, Black Theology and Black Power, in a makeshift office space in his brother’s AME church. Cecil Cone, like his brother was a theologian and AME preacher who by the age of 16 had been appointed by the bishop to his own church. It was in that safe safe that Dr James Cone wrote with righteous rage about need to celebrate blackness and faith in Jesus. In a lecture given at Union Theological Seminary, where he spent nearly 50 years teaching, he recalled writing Black Theology and Black Power from 7AM to Midnight every day except on Sunday, and how the spirituals and the blues keeping him company throughout his writing journey.

In God of the Oppressed Cone argued, as forcefully as he did in his previous work, that American has developed a insensitivity to Black suffering, and rendered white theology bankrupt in its refusal to see how the structures of systemic violence and racism embedded in the very fabric of this country consistently pushed Black folks to the margins of society. Cone not only pushed the black church–but he challenged the white church to join God in the struggle for black liberation in this country. He consistently questioned “Why didn’t we hear from the so-called nonviolent Christians when black people were violently enslaved, violently lynched, and violently ghettoized in the name of freedom and democracy?”, demanding a response that would side with a God who always stands on the side of freedom and liberation and against oppressors and oppression. Critiquing the Black Church Cone said, “You go to almost any black church today, and you don’t hear spirituals anymore. What you hear is this happy, ‘I’m prosperous’ kind of stuff. I’m not for that. You don’t come to church to be entertained. You come to wrestle with your spirit.”

Cone wrestled throughout his life and developed the case for Black Liberation Theology. It was “the voices of black blood crying out” from the ground that compelled him to never forget their fight for freedom, even amid the whip and the lash, and make it his own. Cone’s Black Liberation Theology was most visibly articulated in the preaching and teaching of the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr, pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Wright who led largest church in the United Church of Christ for over 36 years encouraged congregants like Common, Barack and Michelle Obama, to exercise their faith as people who are “Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian.” In breaking with traditional theology, Cone made the Black experience the backbone of his Christian thinking– using slave narratives, the spirituals, the blues, and the empowering prophetic witness of Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X. As Cone’s thinking matured he began to push his writing and teaching to wrestle with the religio-cultural experiences of marginalized voices like James Baldwin–remarking in a Huffington Post interview with former student Paul Raushenbush in 2015: “God is red. God is brown. God is yellow…I don’t use blackness as a way to exclude anyone.”

Cone, born in Fordyce, Ark, was a devoted son of the Black Church–and it was to the Black Church that he committed his full life. Raised in the New Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal Church in Bearden, Cone’s preachers during his formative years preached about a God who was fundamentally on the side of the oppressed; a God who deeply cared about the conditions of the poor and marginalized people–especially black people whose backs were broken from having picked cotton all day, and whose fingers bled from having woven reed basket under southern suns, and whose children, barefooted and often barely clothed, were indeed the powerful hope and dream of the enslaved.

Cone embodied the hope of the slave, and in 1958 and 1961 respectively, earned a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Divinity from Philander Smith and Garrett Theological Seminary. He then went on to earn the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy from Northwestern University in 1963 and 1965. In My Soul Looks Back, Cone asks, “What is the relationship between my training as a theologian and the black struggle for freedom? For what reason has God allowed a poor black boy from Bearden to become a professional systematic theologian?” He concluded, “As I struggled with these questions…I could not escape the overwhelming conviction that God’s Spirit was calling me to do what I could for the enhancement of justice in the world, especially on behalf of my people.”

Cone lived a passionate, spirit-filled life, and yet his most enduring legacy is not to be found in the intellectual library he left behind, but the lived experience of freedom and hope by Christians of every color and hue. Cone contended that “any talk about God that fails to make God’s liberation of the oppressed its starting point is not Christian [and] Any message that is not related to the liberation of the poor in a society is not Christ’s message.” Although Cone definitatively functioned within an African American Christian context, his message of love, liberation and justice for all is one that continues to resonates across countless cultural, ideological and even religious boundaries.

Bro. Rev. Dr. Cone, thank you for allowing the fire of God’s Spirit to burn so freely and ferociously within you. By your witness you have taught us to live not only unashamedly Black and unapologetically Christian, but you have taught us that liberation is not only freedom from evil, but freedom to love. Well done, thy good and faithful servant. Rest in peace, and Rise in POWER!

Webcast of the Funeral Service for Dr. Cone

Inward Spiritual Disciplines: Fasting

In the Gospel of Matthew, after the Transfiguration of Jesus in the presence of James, John and Peter, Jesus walks into a nearby crowd that is gathered by the mountain. While there a Father finds his way to Jesus, desperate for a divine intervention from the Master Healer. The father’s son is not well, and suffers greatly from epileptic episodes that causes him to fall into bodies of water and open flames. The father confesses to Jesus that he has brought his son to the Disciples, but they were unable to heal him—so he is bringing the concern of his son directly to Jesus. Jesus performs a miracle in that moment and sets the young boy and his worried father free. After watching the healing of the young lad, the Disciples ask Jesus why they weren’t able to heal him. Jesus’ response to them is somewhat stunning. He says that they, the Disciples, were unable to perform the healing because they lacked in faith, and did not compliment their lives with fasting and prayer (Matthew 17:21).

Biblical Fasting is a Spiritual Discipline that must always begin with a sacred purpose and intention. It is one of several Inward Spiritual Disciplines designed to stretch and mature us in the faith. Throughout the biblical cannon there 77 different references to fasting, and among those who practiced the Spiritual Discipline were Moses, Esther, David, Anna, Jesus and many others. In each of these instances those who fasted, abstained from eating foods of any kind, and sometimes abstained from drinking water too. While in our modern world we have stretched the idea of fasting to not find itself “confined to the question of food and drink…[but also] to include abstinence from anything” that keeps from closer relationship with God–mobile devices, driving cars, spending money, etcetera [1]. For the purposes of this discussion, fasting is defined as abstiaining from food (and sometimes water) for spiritual/religious purposes.

It must be noted that fasting is not a Spiritual Discipline that stands isolated from other religious traditions. Some form of fasting, for spiritual purposes, is practiced by nearly every religious tradition in the world. In the Muslim tradition the season of Ramadan is established as a time for fasting. During this season Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, every day for a month. In the Jewish and Hindu religious traditions fasting is also encouraged and takes place on holy days like Yom Kippur (Jewish) and Purnima (Hindu). This is to say that fasting is not solely a Christian practice, but that it is a religious practice that is used throughout the world to discover and renews one’s connection with the Architect of the Universe.

In practicing the Spiritual Discipline of fasting within the Christian religious tradition a fast must begin and end with God, and the fast itself must be littered with prayer. To fast one must have a clear intention, from the outset, that it is designed to seek union/communion with God, otherwise the fast is simply a missed meal. In my own practice of this discipline I discovered a clear difference between fasting and missed meals. There are often days when I arrive to my study early in the morning to begin the work of the pastorate having not eaten breakfast. I settle in and begin praying, writing sermons and prayers, and exegeting Biblical texts—and hear my stomach growl. It is often late in the afternoon and I realize I have gone the entire day without eating. While I have been consuming myself with very important and life-giving holy work, the fact that I have missed meals does not make that time a fast—because I did not begin my day with a clear intention to fast. The truth of the matter is that in my zeal for holy work, I actively chose not eat–which is very different than fasting. Fasting in this regard is not about missing meals, but fasting, as Spiritual Discipline, is about seeking God. A Christian fasting must be led by the Holy Spirit, and have holy purposes and intentions in mind from the very beginning. Donald S. Whitney writes,

[w]ithout a purpose, fasting can be a miserable, self-centered experience about willpower and endurance.[2]

It cannot be said enough that fasting, as a Spiritual Discipline, is not about dieting, losing weight, preparing for a medical appointment, or presenting religious superiority or soleminty. Jesus says, “And when you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They distort their faces so people will know they are fasting…When you fast, brush your hair and wash your face. Then you won’t look like you are fasting to people, but only to your Father who is present in that secret place.”[3] Fasting, when practiced as a Christian Spiritual Discipline, is about holiness, seeking godliness and transformation into the likeness and character of Jesus while still being present to fulfill the ordinary demands of one’s day.[4]

John Wesley, often hailed as a father of Methodism, would refuse ministerial ordination to those who would not subscribe to the Inward Spiritual Discipline of Fasting twice a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays.

What happens when is fast is that we place our bodies under submission, and utilize the roaring, groaning and churning of our stomachs (bodies) to remind us of the holy purpose for which we fast and reset our minds and hearts on things that are holy and just.[5] Fasting is not a difficult Spiritual Discipline to practice, and to be sure there are no hard and fast rules for the Christian on fasting–Jesus encourages it as a regular practice of our faith and offers in his silence, a freedom to practice it reguarly. The biblical text invites us to practice the discipline to mature and grow in holiness as did the many who fasted before us.[6] To be sure, when Jesus spoke to the Disciples about their inability to bring about healing in the body of the young epileptic lad, Jesus expressed the need for the disciples to compliment their lives with fasting and prayer. There are many reasons Christians are led by the Holy Spirit to the Spiritual Discipline of fasting, a few of them are:

A desire to strengthen one’s prayer life
To seek Divine guidance and direction for one’s life
To express grief and loss
To seek deliverance and protection for life
To express Repentance and Reconciliation with God
To humble oneself
To express concern for the work of God
To minister to the needs of others
To overcome temptation and rededicate oneself to God
To express love, devotion and worship of God

If you have not practiced this Spiritual Discipline before, I want to encourage you to try it. Maybe you’ve practiced it years ago, but had not given it much thought until now, I want to encourage you to try it anew. Maybe you’ve witness the extremes of fasting and said, “…that’s not for me!” I want to encourage you to prayerfully reconsider it, as spiritual practice worthy of testing out and experimenting with; just as you’ve tested the Inward Spiritual Disciplines of Prayer and Meditation in previous weeks. In your discernment time, before you begin the practice of this discipline, ask the Lord to reveal to you a clear purpose and direction as it relates to your fast. What do you need? What are the needs of your community? your church? the neighborhood? the nation? the world? Perhaps you’ll begin the practice by setting aside a few hours on a certain day once a week. Maybe those few hours will lead to its practice a couple of times a week, from dawn to dusk. Perhaps that will then lead to a yearlong weekly commitment with a Sunday School class, men’s/women’s ministry or choir group. Whenever it is that you are led, or pulled by the Spirit, to begin the practice ease your way into it —and do so with godly intentionality and holy purpose. And who know, perhaps the sacred Scriptures we read and recite each week just might be true and the God who sees in secret will reward publically for the inward work on spiritual lives.

Some things will only change when we led by the Spirit, just like Jesus, into seasons of prayer and fasting.[7]

Faithfully,

Dr. Hill

[1] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Press, 1960), vol. 1, 38.

[2] Donald S. Whitney, 199.

[3] Matthew 6:16-18, CEB.

[4] Romans 12:2, CEB.

[5] Philippians 4:8, CEB.

[7] Matthew 16:21, NRSV.

Inward Spiritual Disciplines: Prayer

Over the door of my childhood home hangs a beautiful piece of framed art that defines the theology of prayer for our family. It is a simple piece of art with only twelve words, all written in a beautiful script. Like most of us who purposefully place pieces of art on the walls of our home, we notice their beauty occasionally—but less and less as the months and years go by. Soon it becomes part of the wall and our eyes linger less, which in turns makes our minds and thoughts linger even less. I suppose that piece has been hanging on the wall of our family home for nearly 20 years now, but this fall I paused to take notice of its beauty, simplicity and the theology that is speaks to those who leave the serenity of our family home to walk once again in world.

"Prayer is less about Changing the World and more about Changing Ourselves" — “Prayer is less about Changing the World and more about Changing Ourselves”

Richard Foster affirms this theology of prayer as writes, “[t]o pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives.”[1] Prayer is fundamentally an act of change. In prayer, even before one word is spoken aloud, or within our hearts, we give life to a desire to be changed in the act of bowing our heads, lowering our eyes, and in clasping our hands. To enter into a posture of prayer is to fundamentally confess a willingness to be changed by prayer—to confess a need to live into a different reality than what is present.

None of us come into the knowledge and wisdom of God knowing how to pray. Even the disciples, after having been withJesus himself for a number a years—still needed to be taught how pray and so they asked the Good Teacher, “Lord, teach us how to pray.”[2] Prayer is a learned Spiritual Discipline and therefore prayer must be practiced again and again. A South African minister once said,

“Reading a book about prayer, listening to lectures and talking about it is very good, but it won’t teach you to pray. You get nothing without exercise, without practice. I might listen for a year to a professor of music playing the most beautiful music, but that won’t teach me to play an instrument.”[3]

The Holy Spirit is our tenured Professor of Prayer. Her job is to teach and instruct the people of faith how to pray, and to beckon us all in an uninterrupted life of prayer. Scottish Theologian P. T. Forsyth, who penned a wonderful book on prayer entitled The Soul of Prayer observed that

“Prayer is to religion what original research is to science.”

If we are to unearth new discoveries, reach new zeniths in faith we must commit ourselves fully to engage in this life-giving work of original research with the Holy Spirt serving as our Primary Professor and Research Advisor.

What is true is that developing a consistent prayer is not as easy as it may seem. There are so many things and activities in our world which constantly seek to pull us away from the practice of this Inward Spiritual Discipline. But with time and commitment, a healthy consistent prayer life can be achieved, developed and nurtured. Nearly two years I ago began a weekly practice of gathering, on a conference call, with a group of about 50 African American pastors at 4:20AM (PST) every Sunday morning for prayer.[4] It has been a tremendous commitment to say the least—but each Saturday night I prepare for the call by checking my weekly alarm, ensuring my phone is charged, and volume loud enough to wake me up. I then turn over to rest comfortably until I am pulled away by the Spirit for that weekly early morning prayer call. On the occasions when I fail to pull myself from rest to prayer, it shows in the pulpit—and on the Sundays when I rise to the occasion—it too shows in the pulpit. What I can attest is that the weekly early morning discipline makes a significant difference in my pulpit; prayer indeed is less about changing others, and more about changing us.

Prayer, like all other Spiritual Disciplines, is not something that is to be mastered but it is a discipline that is to be practiced. To be sure there will be good days, and not so good days—but the measure of one’s success is not about good verses bad, but consistent practice and persistence to the very end.

Faithfully,

Dr. Hill

[1] Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (New York: HarperCollins, 1998), 33.

[2] Luke 11:1, Common English Bible

[3] Andrew Murray, as quoted in Christian Today, February 5, 1990, 38.

[4] Bishop John E. Guns(Florida), Dr. Victor S. Couzens(Florida), and Dr. William Curtis(Pennsylvannia) convenue a weekly prayer call for Pastors and Clergy each Sunday at 4:20AM PST. The number to dial is 712-432-0370, the access code is 262425. #PastorsPray

Inward Spiritual Disciplines: Meditation

I remember the first time I encountered the idea of developing a Spiritual Discipline. I was either in my first or second year of Divinity School at Wake Forest, taking an Independent Study course with Dr. Kitty Amos on Christian Mysticism, from which I wrote a paper entitled “Christian Mysticism in the Black Church.” During the course of the semester I completely immersed myself in the works of Christian mystics like Howard Thurman, Evelyn Underhill and Basil the Great. I remember sitting in Dr. Amos’ office when the study made a sudden and quick shift from being an academic venture to one of praxis. In that moment Kitty invited me to begin putting into practice all that I spent the first part of the semester reading and exploring, and to keep a journal to that effect as well. I left her office both excited and terrified of what would be next.

Of the many different disciplines that I had spent the first part of the semester studying, meditation seemed like a perfect beginning. I prepared myself by decluttering my apartment, lighting a scented candle and I sitting down in my father’s old, brown Lazy-Boy chair. In my mind I held a small portion of Scripture in focus, something from the Psalms I’m sure, and closed my eyes. It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon. When my eyes opened again it was well past 7 o’clock in the evening—and I had drool all down the side of my face. I decided to try the discipline again, but at a different time, and the same thing happen. I tried again, and the same exact thing happen once more. Frustrated and embarrassed, I confessed my failure to Dr. Amos when she inquired about my practice the following week. In her brightly colored office—overflowing with local sacred folk art, she flashed a smile of pride as I went on ad nauseam about my inability to practice the discipline properly. Kitty’s response was simple and defining. She asked “…was it a good, deep and restful sleep?” I sheepishly confessed that is was, to which she announced with pride in my practice, “Well, keep up the good work!”

I thought the practice was lead to some transcendental enlightenment, but what it produced was rest, presence and peace. I wanted the discipline to take me to a new spiritual vista, but what Dr. Amos knew was that the practice of the discipline was more important than the perfection of the discipline. She was pleased, over joy even, that I continued to practice even after encountering what I thought to be bitter failure. Dr. Amos took my frustration and redefined my sense of failure as great success—believing that with good and right intention, the Spirit would direct me to what was needed most for that particular moment in my life—a deep and restful abiding in God’s divine presence.

The Spiritual Discipline of meditation is the creation of emotional and spiritual space for God in our lives. In the Christian tradition, the focus of meditation is on the filling of oneself with holy thoughts. It is the intentional giving of one’s time and energy to God. It is a purposeful act of love, worship and devotion. Meditation is nothing less than holy and rejuvenating rest in God. In Genesis 24:63, Isaac is said to have “went out to the field one evening to meditate.” In Psalm 119:15, David says “I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.” We are encouraged in Joshua 1:8 to create space in our lives to meditate “day and night” on the word of the Lord.

While there is no one way to create space for the sacred in our lives through meditation, there are a few suggested methods to help Christians to explore this practice as a Spiritual Discipline. One ancient method is to simply use Scripture as a point of reference (meditation Scripturarum). In this method Scripture is suspended and held in thought—or repeated or chanted aloud. The purpose of this method is not to interpret the text, offer commentary or thoughts about it—but to ponder the Scripture in one’s heart, mind and spirit; to allow the text to fully and completely speak to us.

Another method is what Howard Thurman has called “centering down,” and what others have named as contemplative prayer. Here, the idea is to rest in silence and stillness. Centering, as meditative practice, is to surrender to God the worries, difficulties and challenges of life, and to posture oneself to receive from the Lord love, strength and courage for the journey. Another method of contemplative meditation invites individuals to be in nature, to appreciate the beauty of creation and recognize God’s role as Creator and Sustainer of life.

A third method of meditation as a Spiritual Discipline involves reflection on one’s own journey in life. Here, the idea is that one’s life is not to be separated from the biblical story, but understood through the biblical story. This is the experience of contemplating Christ’s experience on Calvary alongside the experience of marginalization and oppression that unliberated bodies experience in the world. It is what James Cone notes as the experience of the cross and the lynching tree, or what Karl Barth suggests when he invites Christians to read their Bible and their newspapers together.

Developing one’s Spiritual Life takes time, and is often compared to that of weight training. When strengthening one’s physical muscles diversity in strength training is needed–any good trainer will tell you that you must work your entire body not just the parts that show well. You cannot work your arms and chest, and forget about your legs and thighs, just as you cannot work your legs and thighs, and forget about your shoulders and back. A wholistic practice is needed in weight training, and is also needed in strengthening one’s spiritual muscles. Weight training for the Spirit requires that we work our inward spiritual muscles through meditation, prayer, fasting and study, our outward spiritual muscles through simplicity, solitude, submission and service, and also our communal/corporate spiritual muscles through confession, worship, guidance, and celebration. It takes hard work for sure, but what is needed is not perfection of the Spiritual Disciplines, just sacrifice, commitment, continued practice, and the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.

May you discover new joy in yielding to the Spirit as we grow together in God!

Faithfully,

Dr. Hill

JAMES H. CONE #JamesConeWasRight

Inward Spiritual Disciplines: Fasting

Inward Spiritual Disciplines: Prayer

Inward Spiritual Disciplines: Meditation

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