DEAR CHURCH

I read Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the U.S. by Lenny Duncan as part of my long-distance by-telephone book club. My reading partner chose the book for us based upon recommendations from fellow church members and friends. I've never yelled at a book as much as I did this particular book.

Dear Church is eleven chapters gathered into three major sections—"Dismantling White Supremacy Is the Way of the Cross," "Grace Is an Ever-Widening Circle," and "The Church Can Lead the Way." As I read the first eight chapters of the first two sections, I wondered what Reverend Duncan was doing. He would start to build a rhythm and have me cheering him on and then tear it down with an over-the-top statement or two. I kept waiting for the hope and Good News to arrive. I wanted more of Pastor Lenny's personal life on the page.

I was frustrated. I kept waiting for some answers from Pastor Lenny. Then, section three arrived.

Chapter nine, "Dear Church, I Love You," is what I had been waiting for. In fact, it is indeed a love letter to the church. It reminded me of the Apostle Paul writing to the church of Corinth and hammering them with the law for their lack of faith, scolding them for their errant ways, but then providing them absolutely loving and Gospel-filled lines that show how much he cares for them. This love letter from Pastor Lenny is beautifully written and rendered.

And, as if he read my mind, in chapter eleven, "It's Time for a Revolution," he wrote the following: "Dear Church, this nation is on the brink. I don't write these words lightly, but I want to reassure you, this isn't hyperbole." Which was good to finally see in print, especially since I felt I needed to hear that many times during the first hundred pages of the book.

The hope that appears toward the end of the book is ultimately a hard pill to swallow. Spoiler alert: Pastor Lenny's words of advice, grounded in the Word, are difficult to hear. "Stop waiting for some sort of transformative leader to arise from the body politic or the body of Christ. It is you." Grace becomes our cross to bear. Action becomes our watchword. Love is our guide. All done in the name of Jesus the Christ. His example is the sweetness that helps us to swallow the pill.

All of that being said, the first eight chapters of the book and the final three chapters feel a bit disconnected from one another. The first chapters feel like something that Pastor Lenny needed to write, but perhaps didn't need to be published. I felt like the final chapters could have incorporated a few of the key points of the earlier chapters. But, ultimately, it is those final three chapters that sing to me. I could (and will) read Pastor Lenny's love letter and the two following chapters over again and again. Likely this time with less yelling!