By Derrick D. Rogers
Special to the Milwaukee Times
Part two of a two part series
I am convinced that the inherited formulas will not work anymore and I am not alone in this view. There is a massive roaming of minds going on here in Milwaukee and elsewhere as the search for an alternative heats up. There is a radical remnant of Christ followers who are trying to avoid the present paradigms of church ministry in a desperate effort to put distance between the widespread negative perceptions of organized religion and their genuine faith in Jesus. Our Savior paid the redemptive price for a people who would reflect the radiance of his glory and the liberating transformative reality of his presence to every tongue, tribe and nation, but somehow we seem to have squandered his legacy amidst a mess of ecclesiastical misdirection. Over the next few months I hope to take a journey with you as together we take a cursory peek into things that are very deep; things that if recovered, resurrected, and applied could have considerable ramifications for American Christianity, the black church, and the Milwaukee community. Collectively let us experience intrigue, alarm, challenge, and hope. Exercising a Sankofan spirit let us build upon the finest of what the saints have done and are currently doing, and explore a fresh and provocative view of the church, Jesus, and his teachings. We can discover how an emerging understanding of Jesus and his core message can infuse us with purpose and passion to both transform individuals and address the economic, political, environmental, and social dysfunctions that have overtaken our world. A “change is gonna’ (has to) come” y’all. Be assured that I write as someone who is not claiming this fact as my own. If anything, like all who receive grace from God, I feel that I am the humble recipient of but a miniscule portion of clarity and an infinitesimal fragment of revelation. There is an unearthing of something primal occurring in which I feel privileged to participate. In upcoming articles I will share portions of my stumbling attempt to articulate some of this elusive revelation: something that belongs to the gospel itself and therefore to the whole of the faithful who live by it.
Rev. Derrick D. Rogers is Pastor of Compassion Ministries of Milwaukee and Director of The XodusED Group.
