Has the Christian faith of Martin Luther King, Jr. been forgotten? Some on the far fringes of society argue that King wasn't a Christian because they disagree with his theology. Others claim he was an anti-American communist or, oddly enough, a conservative who is represented best today by Glenn Beck. Critics and revisionists like these can be easily dismissed. But as we celebrate another national holiday in his honor it is worth considering whether or not we have created a safe historical vision of King where his Christianity is stripped away and the radical, transformational nature of his faith forgotten.
King was a Christian, of course, ordained to preach and teach the Gospel message. A 13-year old recently expressed surprise to me when he learned that King was a minister. But why would a child today know this? Once a year King's "I Have A Dream" speech is recited or replayed but the origin of the Civil Rights Movement - born out of the Christian church - is largely forgotten in America today. It is vital that the Christian faith of King not be lost. Churches, particularly historic African-American churches and all those within the progressive Christian tradition that King came out of, need to claim King's legacy for important reasons. If forgotten, we lose the memory of one of history's best examples of Jesus' teachings put into action.
Watch how King pushes for civil rights:
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And then how he turns his attention to issues such as war and poverty:
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King's views on role of the church in society are best reflected in his sermon "Guidelines For A Constructive Church," in which he preached:
This morning I would like to submit to you that we who are followers of Jesus Christ, and we who must keep his church going and keep it alive, also have certain basic guidelines to follow. Somewhere behind the dim mist of eternity, God set forth his guidelines. And through his prophets, and above all through his son Jesus Christ, he said that, "There are some things that my church must do. There are some guidelines that my church must follow." And if we in the church don't want the funds of grace cut off from the divine treasury, we've got to follow the guidelines. (That’s right) The guidelines are clearly set forth for us in some words uttered by our Lord and Master as he went in the temple one day, and he went back to Isaiah and quoted from him. And he said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me (Yes, sir) to preach the gospel to the poor, (Yes, sir) he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, (Yes) to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." These are the guidelines.
You see, the church is not a social club, although some people think it is. (Make it plain) They get caught up in their exclusivism, and they feel that it’s a kind of social club with a thin veneer of religiosity, but the church is not a social club. (Make it plain) The church is not an entertainment center, although some people think it is. You can tell in many churches how they act in church, which demonstrates that they think it’s an entertainment center. The church is not an entertainment center. Monkeys are to entertain, not preachers.
But in the final analysis the church has a purpose. The church is dealing with man's ultimate concern. And therefore it has certain guidelines that it must follow.
Now I wish time permitted me to go into every aspect of this text, but I want to just mention a few. Let us first think of the fact that if the church is following its guidelines, it seeks to heal (Yes, sir) the broken-hearted. Now there is probably no human condition more tantalizing than a broken heart. You see, broken-heartedness is not a physical condition; it’s a condition of spiritual exhaustion. And who here this morning has not experienced a broken heart? I would say broken-heartedness comes basically from the trying experience of disappointment. And I don't believe there are many people here this morning under the sound of my voice who have not been disappointed about something. (Yes, That’s right)...
Secondly, when the church is true to its guidelines, it sets out to preach deliverance (Yes, sir) to them that are captive. (Yes, sir) This is the role of the church: to free people. This merely means to free those who are slaves. Now if you notice some churches, they never read this part. Some churches aren't concerned about freeing anybody. Some white churches (Make it plain) face the fact Sunday after Sunday that their members are slaves to prejudice, (Yes, sir) slaves to fear. You got a third of them, or a half of them or more, slaves to their prejudices. (Yes, sir) And the preacher does nothing to free them from their prejudice so often. (Make it plain, Yes) Then you have another group sitting up there who would really like to do something about racial injustice, but they are afraid of social, political, and economic reprisals, (Make it plain) so they end up silent. And the preacher never says anything to lift their souls and free them from that fear. (Make it plain) And so they end up captive. You know this often happens in the Negro church. (Yeah) You know, there are some Negro preachers that have never opened their mouths about the freedom movement. And not only have they not opened their mouths, they haven’t done anything about it. And every now and then you get a few members: (Make it plain) "They talk too much about civil rights in that church." (That’s right) I was talking with a preacher the other day and he said a few of his members were saying that. I said, "Don't pay any attention to them. (Make it plain) Because number one, the members didn't anoint you to preach. (Yeah) And any preacher who allows members to tell him what to preach isn't much of a preacher." (Amen)
For the guidelines made it very clear that God anointed. (Yes, sir) No member of Ebenezer Baptist Church called me to the ministry. (No, sir) You called me to Ebenezer, and you may turn me out of here, but you can’t turn me out of the ministry, because I got my guidelines and my anointment from God Almighty. And anything I want to say, I'm going to say it from this pulpit. (Make it plain) It may hurt somebody, I don’t know about that; somebody may not agree with it. (Tell them) But when God speaks, who can but prophesy? (Amen) The word of God is upon me like fire shut up in my bones, (Yes, That’s right) and when God’s word gets upon me, I've got to say it, I’ve got to tell it all over everywhere. [shouting] (Yes) And God has called me (Yes) to deliver those that are in captivity. (Yes, sir)
Some people are suffering. (Make it plain) Some people are hungry this morning. (Yes) [clap] Some people are still living with segregation and discrimination this morning. (Yes, sir) I'm going to preach about it. (Preach it; I’m with you) I’m going to fight for them. I’ll die for them if necessary, because I got my guidelines clear. (Yes) And the God that I serve and the God that called me to preach (Yes; Amen) told me that every now and then I'll have to go to jail for them. (Make it plain) Every now and then I’ll have to agonize and suffer for the freedom of his children. (Yes) I even may have to die for it. But if that’s necessary, I'd rather follow the guidelines of God (Yes) than to follow the guidelines of men. (Yes) The church is called to set free (Yes) those that are captive, (Yes, sir) to set free those that are victims of the slavery of segregation and discrimination, those who are caught up in the slavery of fear and prejudice. (Make it plain)
And then the church, if it is true to its guidelines, must preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Yes, sir, Make it plain) You know the acceptable year of the Lord is the year that is acceptable to God because it fulfills the demands of his kingdom. Some people reading this passage feel that it’s talking about some period beyond history, (Make it plain) but I say to you this morning that the acceptable year of the Lord can be this year. (Yes) And the church is called to preach it.
You see, Dr. King was more than just a civil rights leader. That would by itself be a honorable legacy. But he was a Christian minister, a prophet even, who challenged the church to build up the Kingdom of God. That's radical. That's transformational. And for those of power and privilege it was terrifying because in the Kingdom the last come first. The Holy Spirit worked through King to break-up the evil of white supremacy and to lift up the needs of those oppressed by economic systems that failed to address the condition of poverty. The task of the church, in this day, is to continue that ministry in new ways and to continue - as Jesus did himself - to confront oppression wherever we find it...to set the captives free.
