6. Reexamination And Reconciliation

The Quest For Patriot Nourishment – 1995-2001

My friend John Jenkins and I collaborated on a novel titled Bloodlines and it was published by Vine Books in 1993. Our contract with the publisher included some marketing assistance. Numerous radio interviews were set up and John and I prepared a list of questions for the radio hosts.

One afternoon we did a live, on air interview with a radio host from Arizona. During the course of the interview, the host asked a rather unusual question. “So, when researching your novel, were you able to actually speak with any Civil War veterans?”

Silence.

Neither of us wanted to correct the host on air, but we didn’t know quite how to respond, either. The poor fellow must have realized his faux pas, and after a few moments of dead air, went on to the next question. We had prepared, but apparently, the host had not.

Something unexpected emerged during Bloodlines’ post-publication. And it came out as we prepped for our on-air interviews. When writing the novel, John and I had considered that for many years, our view of American history had neglected the unpleasant things, the things that typical, American white boys don’t generally consider. Our book reflects some of that. But afterward, when the interviews began, we really started to look more closely at racism.

Our pursuit of this topic led us down an unexpected path. While not in any way throwing out the incredible story of our nation’s brilliant founders, and of the strong, almost exclusive influence of Christianity during our colonial years, we came to understand more fully that some members of our society still bore wounds and scars from the past. We began first by reexamining our views of American history, acknowledging that yes, some of the founders had been slave owners. And that yes, some Christian pulpiteers in the South actually preached that the Bible taught that Africans were an inferior race. We also looked at the Native American story, at the multitude of broken treaties, and the misguided methods our nation’s leaders employed to deal with our land’s indigenous people.

Most importantly, we looked at the Church, the Body of Christ, or at least the Church within our sphere of understanding. After all, it is said that “the most segregated hour of the week is 11:00 o’clock on Sunday morning.”

We moved from reexamination into reconciliation when we joined a local group of racially and culturally diverse Christians dedicated to reconciling the racial divide within the Body of Christ in our community. We attended bi-weekly meetings, made new friends, and heard many stories. But we didn’t feel as though that was enough.

In 1995 we created HEAL, a ministry dedicated to healing the racial divide within the Body of Christ. Our acronym H.E.A.L. stood for Humility, Endurance, Affirmation, and Love. We put action together with our words and began, once a month, to visit African American congregations in our community. We met several black pastors, and even struck up new relationships with a few.

In addition, we wrote a musical entitled The Covenant: Dance of Nations. The musical took the listener on a musical journey through American history and into the presence of a Holy God. Here are a few stanzas from some of the songs:

The Truth – A Bard Examines America’s First Two English Plantings
Jamestown and Plymouth, were colonies of old
Plymouth loved the Bible, Jamestown worshiped gold
Down the years together, first a mixture, then a twofold cord
God’s truth is clear, we cannot serve, both Mammon and the Lord

The Dawn – a Husband and Wife On The Mayflower, Reflecting on The Future
When the gray morning mist on this virgin land lifts
What will this new world be?
Will the shoreline abound with cities and towns
Will ships bring more souls ‘cross the sea?

Will our dream stay pure? Will our vision endure?
Will our hearts be always toward Thee?
When the gray morning mist on this virgin land lifts
What will this new world be?

The Breach – The Crack in the Wall Protecting America’s Christian Culture
Where Dutch men’s ships first set ashore, black cargo in their holds
Where auctioneers made trade in flesh, where lives were bought and sold
Where chains of slavery bound a race, where cries of grief were heard
Where Mammon ruled the hearts of men, it was there the breach occurred.

It was there the breach was opened wide
In the place where dark and light collide
Yes at these points of compromise
Where evil rushes in
Where evil rushes in

Four more songs took us up to 1890, and three more took us into the presence of a Holy God.

Our musical group consisted of a mixture of black and white performing artists. We performed the musical in several local churches. We also had the privilege of presenting the very first live musical performance at The Hylton Memorial Chapel in Woodbridge, VA.

Being involved with HEAL and writing and performing The Covenant: Dance of Nations helped me to understand that as rich, as bountiful, as Christian as American history truly is, it must be approached with our eyes firmly set on truth. We do not aid our cause as American patriots by whitewashing American history to make it more palatable.

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