tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615496199721498323.post7921418080094408336..comments2024-03-22T08:29:51.173-05:00Comments on UM & Global: Otto Harris: Race, Mission, and The United Methodist ChurchDavid W. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17024204453848260271noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615496199721498323.post-86893073040708053122021-07-17T13:12:06.560-05:002021-07-17T13:12:06.560-05:00Dr. Harris, partnering with AME, AMEZ, and CME see...Dr. Harris, partnering with AME, AMEZ, and CME seems a logical path for expanding missioloigical conversations within Methodism. Good idea! <br />As for the book, The Practice of Mission in Global Methodism: Emerging Trends from Everywhere to Everywhere, it is available as an e-book for less than $50. A paperback edition will be released Fall 2022. In the meantime, please encourage your seminary library to purchase a copy and, if they cannot, utilize ILL for a loan. Darryl W. Stephenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16047354608966787813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615496199721498323.post-39466724078980143012021-07-16T11:12:44.244-05:002021-07-16T11:12:44.244-05:00Greetings. Dr. Stephens. Thank you for your respon...Greetings. Dr. Stephens. Thank you for your response and additional perspective. Also, for sharing the details about The Practice of Mission in Global Methodism. I look forward to reading. I am searching for the best way to purchase. Please share any recommendations you may have.<br /><br />The Pew statistic that I referenced is US centered, but still seems to be outside of a reasonable margin of error in comparison with GCFA data. Perhaps, there is a difference between the source data and/or methodology. Or, perhaps, there is another agenda. However, as we both conclude we have opportunity within United Methodism to include Black voices in missiology, including African American voices in the US.<br /><br />1) Probably, the lowest hanging fruit is to engage with our AME, AMEZ, and CME sisters and brothers with whom we are in full communion, who have evidence of fruitfulness in global missions. 2) More longitudinally, for the 1% or 6% African American United Methodists in the US, we have opportunity to be more intentional about exposing, preparing, and including them/us in global missions. 3) Certainly, the more locally focused concerns of many African American congregants claim many of their/our resources. They/we could stand to hear more about how the good news of Jesus Christ can transform our immediate communities AND be spread abroad to our global neighbors. Perhaps, congregations and/or Conferences, who are fruitfully engaged in global ministry can intentionally include African American United Methodists in planning, preparing, praying, administration, and logistics. <br /><br />I praise God for your listening with earnest!Otto D. Harris, III, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04322992643653128122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615496199721498323.post-34779957528740815202021-06-27T12:48:35.676-05:002021-06-27T12:48:35.676-05:00Dr. Harris, thanks for your advocacy for Black per...Dr. Harris, thanks for your advocacy for Black persons in missiology. We need your voice and the voices of others to supply the much-needed missional counternarrative you describe. I'd like to offer a more complicated statistical narrative, affirm your main point, and suggest a recently published resource with a significant number of Black voices. <br /><br />According to denominational records, about 6% of members of the UMC in the US are Black. The Pew study you referenced marginalized the voices of Black United Methodists through significant undersampling. Accordng to GCFA, African Americans accounted for more than 6% of the UMC's membership in the US in 2017 (https://www.gcfa.org/services/data-services/statistical-resources/). As you noted, Pew reported only 1% in 2014 (https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/religious-denomination/united-methodist-church/). If we include the other half of this denomination (those members who reside ouside the US), then it would be more accurate to say that Black persons represent about 50% of The United Methodist population globally. <br /><br />Whether we count Black persons as 1%, 6%, or 50% of the total UMC membership, your main point stands affirmed. We need to hear Black voices in missiology. I wonder why Pew had difficulty sampling Black voices in the UMC and if a similar problem exists for hearing Black missiologists in the US. What is the cause of undersampling and how can improve our listening skills so as to hear these voices? <br /><br />You may already be familiar with a book I co-edited with David Scott, The Practice of Mission in Global Methodism. Of 19 contributors, more than half are persons of color. Five are Black, though almost all of them are from beyond the US. As for Black missiologists in the US, we are still listening with earnest. What are your proposals for providing them opportunity and support? Darryl W. Stephenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16047354608966787813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615496199721498323.post-91065091524939849942021-06-17T07:27:02.371-05:002021-06-17T07:27:02.371-05:00Hello Bill. Thank you for your profound question a...Hello Bill. Thank you for your profound question and recognition of nuance. I hear the heart and plea of your students and do not immediately dismiss their claim. Justice is a priority in the Black Church, as it should be in all churches. And justice and global mission are not mutually exclusive. You're exactly right, the AME Church, as well as our AMEZ and CME sisters and brothers have global emphases, while attending to justice. Certainly, we can glean from their vision and heart through conversation and engagement with those with whom we are in "full communion." Our familiarity and access to one another through tools to facilitate virtual connection can make this much more feasible. While this is a broadly general statement, I think it bears some merit: United Methodist congregations with majority Black constituencies can learn from our "full communion" about heart and vision for global mission, and United Methodist congregations with majority White constituencies can learn about heart and vision for struggle, suffering, and justice more locally. May God continue to bless and strengthen you, your colleague from Lagos, your students, and the Church.Otto D. Harris, III, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04322992643653128122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4615496199721498323.post-81745647979181158932021-06-15T07:50:29.382-05:002021-06-15T07:50:29.382-05:00Otto Harris asks important questions. Since I teac...Otto Harris asks important questions. Since I teach in Cleveland, Columbus, and Detroit, I have interaction with Black students on a regular basis. It is true that many come from traditions that do not emphasize foreign missions. When they take my Kingdom Mission in the Global Church course, some push back because the class educates about global Christianity and equips them to engage in global missions. A typical critique is this. "An emphasis on the global context removes the emphasis from us and our suffering. We need to stay focused on our own struggle and not be distracted by global missions at this point. We need to remain focused on mission to our people, not mission to other people. Our great mission is to fee Black people from the chains and legacy of racism." Some have suggested that social justice is the primary mission of the church. Also, instead of saying that American Blacks mostly belong to churches that do not emphasize global missions, why not ask how we can help those churches to catch the vision and heart for global missions. The AME is fairly involved in the global scene. I am using an adjunct from Lagos, Nigeria to teach my required Kingdom Mission course in its online format. Some Black students say the same thing to him. However, others are really transformed by his teaching and his social location. He is going to stay with me during September. We will make the rounds to all the cities and try to build interest in global missions in Africa. Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14141558221519018805noreply@blogger.com