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Signature: __________________________________ ___________ Harold Dorrell Briscoe Jr. Date 1 There’s a Storm Comin: How the Evangelical Church Responds to the Fergusons and Charlottesvilles that Shake and Shock America’s Sociopolitical Landscape by Harold Dorrell Briscoe Jr. Duke Divinity School Duke University Date:_____________________ Approved: ________________________ Supervisor _________________________ D.Min. Director Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Ministry in the Divinity School of Duke University 2018 2 ABSTRACT There’s a Storm Comin: How the Evangelical Church Responds to the Fergusons and Charlottesvilles that Shake and Shock America’s Sociopolitical Landscape by Harold Dorrell Briscoe Jr. Duke Divinity School Duke University Date:________________ Approved: ________________________ Supervisor _________________________ D.Min. Director An abstract of a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Ministry in the Divinity School of Duke University 2018 3 Copyright © 2017 by Harold Dorrell Briscoe Jr. All Rights Reserved 4 ABSTRACT There’s a Storm Comin: How the Evangelical Church Responds to the Fergusons and Charlottesvilles that Shake and Shock America’s Sociopolitical Landscape By Harold Dorrell Briscoe Jr. Surveys taken within the last two years have indicated that the majority of Americans believe that race relations are getting worse. This is in stark contrast to what the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States seemed to signify. Many people, pundits, and papers hailed this political victory as evidence that the United States was now entering a post-racial period. Eight years later, however, after several racially charged tragedies, many Americans are now wondering whether the country can ever heal from the wounds of its racial past. During the summer of 2016, churches and faith leaders across America struggled to respond to video footage of a series of police shootings of black men. Alton Sterling died in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after an altercation with police officers. Within twenty-four hours, a Facebook live video showed Philando Castile (with his girlfriend and her four-year-old daughter in the car) dying from gun wounds suffered after he alerted a police officer that he was legally carrying a gun. The next day, five police officers were gunned down at a peaceful protest in downtown Dallas. The trio of events led to socio-political uproar. The American evangelical church is unprepared for the current socio-political climate that is generating severe racial strife and tension in American society. Highly publicized killings of unarmed black people presents an intense political issue for individuals and communities. These shootings cause considerable psychological distress in individuals and racial tension in communities and cities. The evangelical church is unprepared and thus vulnerable to division and 5 strife within its own walls, is hindered in achieving and sustaining ethnic diversity, and typically fails to provide a robust, prophetic message of hope in the midst of socio-political despair. This thesis will employ qualitative research in the form of literature reviews. Drawing from current sociological, psychological, and political research, I will make the case that the church must take proactive measures to prepare for—using my own coined term—racialized storms. Churches must prepare for these storms to reduce their severity and impact in their communities and cities. I then recommend strategies drawn from the academic and professional fields of climate change adaptation and natural hazard mitigation to reduce the severity of these storms within congregations and communities. I analyze these insights and synthesized them with biblical data to create a framework that gives churches practical steps to prepare for and respond to racially charged events that inflict trauma to the social fabric of America. 6 There’s a Storm Comin: How the Evangelical Church Responds to the Fergusons and Charlottesvilles that Shake and Shock America’s Sociopolitical Landscape By Harold Dorrell Briscoe Jr. M.A.T.S., Liberty University, 2015 M.P.A., Texas A&M University, 2009 B.A., University of North Florida, 2007 Advisor: Will Willimon, S.T.D. 7 This work is lovingly dedicated to my wife, Tracy. You are my shining star. I love being on this journey with you. 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS On the cover of his 1964 groundbreaking album “A Love Supreme,” world-renowned Jazz artist John Coltrane wrote, “This album is a humble offering to Him. An attempt to say, ‘THANK YOU GOD’ through our work, even as we do in our hearts and with our tongues.” Coltrane couldn’t have said it better. I feel the same about this thesis. It is a humble offering to God, who has inspired me to write, sustained me through the difficult times, and placed key people in my life to see me to the finish line. God has been so gracious and merciful throughout this entire process. I’m thankful to Duke University and Duke Divinity School for the opportunity to pursue my doctoral studies. It has been a dream come true to attend Duke and I’m proud to forever be a Dukie. I am deeply grateful for the support of my advisor, Bishop Will Willimon. Bishop is literally a living legend. I remember being mesmerized at how he taught during the program. His recent book, “Who Lynched Willie Earle? Preaching to Confront Racism,” was an enormous inspiration as I wrote this thesis. More than Bishop’s timeliness in responding to my numerous inquiries or his vast knowledge from the nearly seventy books he’s written, I’m grateful for his belief in me. He gave me confidence that what I was writing on was critical to the church today. There are several other faculty members who have been important to me on this journey. Craig Hill (who has gone on to become the Dean of SMU’s Perkin School of Theology) was the Director of the D.Min. program at Duke when I first enrolled. I’m thankful for his humor, wit, and belief that I would be a valuable addition to the 2015 cohort. Roman Williams’ Analysis class was instrumental. He was a challenging professor who demanded the best from his students. I appreciate him and the “come to Jesus conversation” we had in February 2016. 9 When I first enrolled at Duke, I was told that I would learn more from classmates than I would from my professors. That statement proved to be accurate. I have thoroughly enjoyed all the conversations and nuggets of wisdom from my classmates. We come from all over the United States and from different denominational backgrounds. However, we were grounded in three things, a love for Jesus Christ, a love for His church, and a love for one another. Jenn Graffius, Alice Wade, Mark Won, and Tim Mentzer were immensely helpful throughout the program. Honestly, I’m appreciative of all the laughs we have had together during the last two and a half years. Judith Heyhoe’s assistance in proofreading my thesis was immensely beneficial. I’m grateful for her taking time out of her busy schedule to look over what I was writing. I always enjoyed visiting with her and hearing about where life has taken her and what she has learned along the way. Allison Chandler continues to loom large over my academic career. She was a student advisor assigned to me by the athletic department at the University of North Florida nearly fifteen years ago. She was patient, kind, and unwavering in her conviction that I was a gifted student and needed to see myself as that. I shall forever remain indebted to her. She literally dreamed for me. I will always be thankful for The Young Professionals ministry at Southpoint Community Church. I started this journey during my time as a pastor to that group. I am grateful for their prayers and support. Matthew Iannatto, Kyrina and Krystina Moultrie, Stephen Tyner, Paula Alvarez, JJ and Rachel Porter, Latoya and Antoinette Deakle, Brooke Allred, Jackie Schwartz, DeMario Smith, Amber Bogges, Summer Spencer, Betty, Liana, Sam Her, Gaemia Tracy, Jeston Sapp, Stephen Burslem, Ksenia Panova, and many more have been critical to my success. It was one of the greatest joys in my life to serve as your pastor. Thank you for teaching me what true 10 diversity, inclusion, and brotherly love looks like. I’m thankful for the wonderful congregations at Southpoint Community Church and Hope Community Church. The love, care, and encouragement I have received from you all has been humbling. Thank you for believing in me and allowing me to serve as one of your pastors. I’m thankful to my best friend, Jon Greer, for the late-night talks and laughs. Carlos and Maribel Padial have been dear friends and incredibly supportive. Uncle Jimmy has been the best uncle a guy can ask for. I remain thankful for his humor and willingness to take in my perspective on things. Deb and Jode Ballard have been fantastic, very supportive friends during my doctoral studies. They have rallied behind us during some difficult times.