Individual Acts of Kindness and a Movement of Ministry

There is a difference between individual acts of kindness and a movement of ministry. I think that the culture of fear, war mongering, hate, classism and extreme individualism has created the context for people of conscious to invest the best of their energies in individual acts of kindness. I also think that for Africans living in America this has created some very difficult challenges. People of African descent have thrived our best when we operated as a community. A community is forced to put up with one another's idiosyncrecies, likes dislikes, moods, and differences of opinions for the greater good. But in the times we exist in that is no longer necessary (a) because we are not in our homeland where it once was the norm, (b) we are no longer situated in the South during slavery, Segregation and Jim Crow where we were forced to be a separate community. People now days do not feel they should nor have to be around people that tend to rub them the wrong way. Many people now days do not feel thay should find common ground; many people do not feel they have to make peace, not put up with people they don't particualrly like. In fact because of the nature of this Absurd American context of isolationism many people do not see value in staying close regularly with people they like, are biologically link with or married to. Thus among many conciously inclined folks who want to do something Individual acts of kindness serves as the outlet for the drive to do something about the conditions of other people. In individual acts of kindness I can regulate my interaction, I can choose when and where without anyone from outside challenging me to go father or do more; i can pick the person(s) I will help and I can feel good that I have done some good. I think some of this was the case when Harry Belafante called out Beyonce & Jay Z. Their publicist quickly rolled out the list of charities that they have been giving large sums of money to and making spot appearances. Yet this never addressed the heart of what Harry was getting at concerning Black entertainers these days. Harry put his career and public persona on the line to tell the True story of our people. Harry used his talent, notoriety and money to say and do that which aided a movement that was very unpopular among America's white population. Harry took humanitarian risk to fight consistently for the liberation of Black brown and white by saying and supporting that which his agents, record company execs and media personalities found distaateful. Beyonce and Jay Z give money but hold their silence tightly in order to not offend the Corporate white power structure of the record labels, media, Hollywood and agents. Individual acts of kindness will never free a people, nor move the masses nor subversivly change systemic evil. Yet no movement of ministry can exist without Individual acts of kindness but those acts are a carefully orchestrated symphony of people striking at the designed times and in strategic ways in order to organize masses of people to change oppression into liberation. Finally, I believe the Black Church is still the best place for Movement ministry. I know what is going on and am sick to my stomach of stale, stagnant and self centered spirituality that has seeped into the Black church. Constantian Christianity of the Imperial cult has created the mindset among far too many Black believers that the state is to be upheld while focusing on personal and sexual activities as most important. That way the Empire would not cultivate insurgents against itself (L.H. Whelchel's "History and Heritage of African-American Churches) Constantine knew that he had to control this group of peasants proclaiming their liberation brand of religion or it would eventually bring down the empire itself. Thus the Empire called the great meetings to deal with issues but covertly co-opt control of how the faith would from then on be communicated and WHO would do the communicating. That is not how it started however. When Jesus made his calcualted assault on the Imperial Cult of Rome which ended at calvary in his Murder Jesus had already established a "Shadow Conferacy" in his Disciples to strike and keep striking. He was not a "Lone ranger" he did not waste time on a persons personal sexual behavior. Liberation for the Black people of Palestine was far more important (Ched Myers - "Binding the Strongman) And when Africans in America were presented with this European Constantinian form of the faith they covertly rejected it while overtly feigning acceptance. They covertly defaulted to their original activities in the faith because they were the ones who were first vouchsafed with the "Religion of Jesus" (Howard Thurman). Now far too many Black Clergy and Black parishoners have let Jesus the revolutionary, Bookman, Dessalines, Rev. Gabriel Prosser, Rev. Harriet Tubman, Denmark Vesey, Rev. Nathaniel Turner, Rev. Jerena Lee and David Walker be pulled out of their hands and replaced with Billy Graham, Norman Peale, Joel Osteen, Paula White, Kenneth Hagan and Kenneth Copeland. I name the white one's because they pull the strings of the Black ones. Yet I still believe that the Black church is the place for Movement Ministry! Movement Ministry allows us to not get oo inpressed with ourselves because everybody has worth. Movement ministry forces us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus who also had to put up with the idiosyncrcies of the people closet to him; Jesus had be patient with their issues; Jesus taught them to not try to correct one another until they had connected with one another; Jesus taught them by example that people don't care how much you know until the know how much you care. Movement ministry knocks all of us down from our Horses of arrogance to find common ground for a greater cause than ourselves. There are still are Soldiers of Emmanuel both Black and White who have never taken off our uniforms of Liberation in the Church. Many have had to go into hiding secretly moving about recording names and places of both sympathizers and betrayers to the Faith of that African Warrior of hope Jesus. While many of our troopos have turned to Individual acts of kindness to help feed the need to do something we need you in the ranks. The Black church needs an Influx of Insurgents to build up the ranks. Only Movement Ministry will ultimately tear down Satan's stronghold and the willing Host to Satan's oppressive schemes through Governmental systems, Corporate militarism & materialism, classism, Sexism, Homophobia and Racism. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. asked "Where do we go from here: Chaos (Only Acts of Individual Kindness) or Community (Movement Ministry through the Black Church)? You decide!