Review: Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the U.S. by Lenny Duncan
In his book Dear Church, Lenny Duncan has written an epistle to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ECLA), which he calls the whitest denomination in the United States. He is quick to say that its whiteness is not defined by its sociology, but its theology and he pushes the denomination to change how it addresses social issues such as racism, white supremacy, toxic masculinity, sexuality, nationalism, etc. Duncan has written this book to the ELCA but after reading it I, as a Baptist, can firmly say that this book is NOT just for Lutherans. This book will also be helpful to other mostly white Protestant denominations.
I’ll be honest I was ignorant about a few things than Duncan addressed in this book. First and foremost, I did not know there were Black Lutherans and that they had been a part of this faith tradition since the 1600s. There are even Black Lutheran churches. But Duncan effectively tells the story of Black Lutherans and how they fit in and not, within the ELCA. A lot of his focus deals with the systemic racism that is built into Lutheran liturgical practices such as wearing white cassocks as a sign of holiness. Duncan purposely wears a black cassock because “Whiteness does not equal holiness, and blackness does not equal evil, brokenness, or self-denial. Black is holy.”
Some of his strongest passages are when he draws parallels between Jesus and the plight of Black men in this country. Specifically he describes Jesus’ crucifixion as a lynching akin to the killing of Trayvon Martin and Emmett Till. He makes another compelling comparison between the government surveillance of Jesus and what was done to Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
One of his most powerful chapters is titled “Dylan Roof and I are Lutheran”. He convincingly argues that Roof and himself were alot alike but took different paths. He argues that the whiteness of the ELCA’s theology probably contributed to the white supremacist beliefs that Roof held. Duncan provides solutions to prevent the next Roof from being groomed in the denomination.
What I liked most about his book was the passion that he has for the church, he really cares for the congregants and the relationships that he has with them. This short but powerful book is a dose of tough love to a denomination that has shown so much love to this Black pastor. Some of his solutions may be controversial to some, but can have the potential to stave off a dying church and to make it more vibrant and inclusive. This book ultimately empowers the reader to be the change agent in their church.
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