The Need for Theological-Ministerial Wood-Cutters

By Rev. Troy L. M. Denson

Oct. 8, 2020

These days we need authentic theological, ministerial, laity "wood-cutters." At first they are not popular and often disliked, but their works change the trajectory of the direction of religious laws and human laws, and the lives of people living in the margins for the better. Throughout bible and contemporary histories, God has called people to do arduous works in praying, studying, writing and pontificating words that inspired works for changing and sustaining the reform of laws, which moved people to improved lives amidst the human-race; and I call those collective works "cutting down the wood." People such as Abraham, Jochebed, Moses, Joshua, Rahab, David, Zephaniah, the NT-Ethiopian, John Mark, Rev. Leille and Rev. Bryan, Richard Allen, WEB Dubois, George W. Carver, James Cone, Martin Luther King, 

Barbara Jordan, Barak O'Bama (among many many other women and men), all "cut-down wood." It is easy to enjoy going to the shed and retrieving wood that is already cut-down. Anyone can quote words, tune-up, and march as our ancestors and "burn the wood already cut-down" for warming people's hopes. However, the world has come to a point that quoting our ancestors to support a biblical message or former ideological thought is not good enough for inspiring and sustaining a message, mission, and praxis in changing cultural nuances and reforming laws. We need "wood cutters" that will do the arduous works for moving people beyond burning the "wood of liberation" into the "tall trees of reform" for "cutting down the wood of 'living into' the entire human race", so that we all can partake of God's covenant given to Abraham, embodied by Jesus, given to the disciples, trajected through Africa, and brought to the U.S. I am reminded of Joshua, after having burned the wood of Moses for 40 years and arrived across the Jordan river "beyond liberation," where they would "live into" a reformed/ covenantal lifestyle, he told the protesting children of Joseph, "... If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself..." (Joshua 17:15). Yahweh told the same to Haggai due to the protesting people, "Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and be glorified..." (Haggai 1:8). Then after the Branch had become human (Jesus) and he had breathed his Spirit into the disciples, he told them to likewise become "wood-cutters," in their local vicinity, regionally, and abroad (Acts 1:8), for improving the spiritual and physical lives of those who had been disenfranchised by Roman gentrification. Today, the message and mission of liberation accomplished its course, it changed laws enabling black men and women to vote, work, and live freely. However now, at the dawn of the 21st Century whereas we must take on new responsibilities for "living equitably," we need new "wood-cutters" to take us beyond liberation... for partaking in "reforming laws and living into a Christ-like covenantal lifestyle", which will enable all of us to live equally, alongside, and even among fellow people as a part of the human-race. #WoodCutters

It Is Amazing to Realize that An Earnest Prayer has been Answered

It has been a while since I last left a thought. So much has happened, but yet praying for other manifestations. First and foremost, eight years ago we started a school of ministry and then I was stretched in so many other ways teaching in other colleges and seminaries, til I had to transition leadership to someone else. Well, finally God called me back to duty and after long hours and arduous works with other people who were/are equally as inspired and committed as I was/am, May 1, 2020, National Collaborative Institute of Leadership became "official". At the time of becoming "official", there were no leader-learners (students), however, upon the "launch date", September 8, 2020, there were 10. And so tonight as I was working on other works, it dawned to my thoughts that there is a class going on in the Institute. When I logged in, I noticed the instructor logged in and students, and when the floor was yielded to me upon entrance... I was humbled. Humbled for leaders with high honors and achievements and serve extensively in the community, but yet say to me "Rev. Denson, this service is not about money". Having Instructors who share the same sentiment as mines to serve the Lord by "making disciples" is a humbling moment in seeking to do the will of the One (Jesus) who sent me. On a different note, I have a new respect for our 11-years of age son's classroom teachers. Having to attend to his moving from class to class (virtually), ensuring his hot lunch, ensuring his exercise, ensuring his homework is a new level of understanding and responsibility. To all of my son's teachers, I say "Thank You, keep up the good work." Last but not least, I am humbled on Sunday morning when we login to "Worshipping God with the Densons" there are people there on Facebook and then there are those on Zoom who are online waiting for us to login and get started. I am truly humbled and grateful. So this week is the fall graduation week at Boston University... and needless to say... I am yet writing. All I can say is.... "Pray for me". 

Are Riots Justifiable for Gaining Legislative Attention about Ethnic Injustices?

Rev. Troy L. M. Denson (May, 2020)

All will admit that riots are destructive, whose results are costly, and are unlawful; however, throughout history, riots are considered as peoples' expressions of flagrant and public injustices gone unchecked by the national and/or regional legislative governance(s).

The fires in Minneapolis, Minnesota typify many frustrations and disappointments in the U.S., in which the victims, mostly African Americans, have been considered by the law as the criminals, and many are arrested for these expressions despite the injustices that continue mounting up throughout the country's history. In the photo, George Floyd was arrested due to being policed concerning a $10 bill alleged as counterfeit by a store clerk. Without resisting arrest, Floyd was forcefully apprehended and died after 10 minutes of the police officer's left knee and weight resting on Floyd's neck. 

In a novels written by Walter Dean Myers (2009), titled "Riot", and another book written by Iverson Bernstein (1991), titled "Their Significance for American Society and Politics in the Age of the Civil War" ...both describe a riot started due to Black peoples' unrest but yet they become double-victims of the riot. Dean and Iverson describes, "... a long hot July in 1863, the worst race riots the United States has ever seen erupt in New York City. Earlier that year, desperate for more Union soldiers, President Abraham Lincoln instituted a draft–a draft that would allow the wealthy to escape serving in the army by paying a $300 waiver, more than a year’s income for the recent immigrant Irish. And on July 11, as the first drawing takes place in Lower Manhattan, the city of New York explodes in rage and fire. Stores are looted; buildings, including the Colored Foundling Home, are burned down; and black Americans are attacked, beaten, and murdered. The police cannot hold out against the rioters, and finally, battle-hardened soldiers are ordered back from the fields of Gettysburg to put down the insurrection, which they do–brutally." In Dean's writing, this is the context of a story told by a 15 year old girl (Claire) who is the daughter of a white man and black woman. She wars within herself trying to make sense of society as well as her own identity (2009). And this is also the confusion bestowed on many African American children borne in the U.S.'s 21st Century, whether they hold a love for their country, as it exudes injustices on their own Black people.

Personally, in my 50 year lifetime, I have lived through the reports of 6 riots due to African American's unrest with law enforcement's injustices, and I have experienced one riot personally. In Baltimore, Maryland, in 2015, riots erupted due to the unjust exoneration of officers after the death of a young black man, Freddie Gray, while being transported to the police station, riding handcuffed and unprotected in the back of the police van. Consequently, a mall and many businesses were ravished. While I understood the duress of my fellow African Americans, as well understood the presence of National Guards, I joined a group of 100+ clergy in a peace march on the west side of Baltimore, which assisted in comforting and/or quelling the rioting. However, if one reflects only on the most recent 20 years of governance, wars, policing, employment, housing, prosperity, healthcare, and public dignity in the U.S., although there exists an equal share of cultural contributions, there also exists a glaring tilt of favoritism given to the cultures whom are not minorities. 

Simply, in the most recent 20 years, there has been enough public unfairness to justify unrest, disturbance, continual activism, and "acts" within the nation's minority generations whom are less than 30 years of age. A rhetorical question might be, "With a nation who exudes so much gross unfairness, how can we preach a gospel of God's favor to our children?" Rather than "God Bless America", we must say "God Help America". What is your opinion about recent rioting in the last 20 years in the U.S.?

Speak in Tongues or Not?

Troy L. M. Denson

(Please share your opinion after reading this.) 

The argument of "speaking in tongues" dates back to the first centuries (1AD) following their first occurrence documented in the Holy Bible's NT book called the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:1-3). The Apostle Paul referred to "tongues" in comparison to other "Spiritual gifts", in which he concluded "love" (charity) as his preferred "gift" (1st Corinthians 14:4-5). Scholars such as Mae Henderson, in her book titled "Speaking in Tongues and Dancing Diaspora: Black Women Writing and Performing", she asserts that "...The oral tradition has always played an important role in African American literature, ranging from works such as Zora Neale Hurston's 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' to 'Toni Morrison's Beloved'. These and countless other novels affirm the power of sonance and sound in the African American literary canon. Considering the wide swath of work in this powerful lineage -- in addition to its shared heritage with performance -- Mae G. Henderson deploys her trope of "speaking in tongues" to theorize the preeminence of voice and narration in black women's literary performance through her reconstruction of a fundamentally spiritual practice as a critical concept for reading black women's writing dialogically and intertextually" (2014).


Similarly, Mark J. Carthelege, in his book, "Speaking in Tongues: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives", identify spiritual tongue-talking as "gosolalia", and contributes to the dialogue from various point-of-views: "Speaking in tongues (glossolalia) is a common spiritual phenomenon in the Pentecostal and Charismatic streams of the Christian church. Such Christians believe that when they speak in tongues they are communicating with God in a language that they have never learned--spiritual prayer language given to them by the Holy Spirit. This innovative volume seeks to enhance our understanding and appreciation of glossolalia by examining it from a range of different angles. Christian scholars from diverse academic disciplines bring to bear the insights of their own specialist areas to shed new light on the practice of speaking in tongues" (2012).


Personally, regarding "Speaking in Tongues", I neither promote "tongue talking" nor criticize or ostracize it... I simply wait on the "fruit" of those who do such. Why?, because I believe that "Love" is the assessment, outcome, proof, litmus test, or validity of all religious actions... whether I understand them or not. That said, if one visits a Pentecostal, Holiness, or Church of God in Christ church, which makes up an estimated 279 million people, (4% of the world population and 12.8% of the world's Christian population)... one should expect to hear some "tongue talking", whether understood or not, because it's neither the words nor language that one should seek, it would be the "fruit of the spirit" that one should assess. To those who publicly criticize 12% of the Christian population because they "speak in tongues", one could make a special case for likewise neither visiting the "tongue opposer churches" nor listening to their sermons, because they display very little love for their fellow Christians. The question of this discussion is, "In our present-day, 21st Century contexts in the U.S., whereas there exists many cultures, many religions, as well as diverse sects who claim Christianity or Christ-likeness, or Jewish heritage, and there exists many "tongues"... i.e. languages, can the argument opposing "tongue talking" yet hold water amidst such diversity? (Click the comment link below to leave your thoughts on my blog. Thanks).

Should We Report Back to our External Sites of our Employment?

Now that millions of employees have dipped their toes into the world of remote work, a decent portion of them may not want to go back once coronavirus-related restrictions ease up. Some 60% of U.S. workers told Gallup that they'd prefer to work from home as much as possible even after the pandemic calms, The New York Times reports. It's easy to see why: No need to spend time and money commuting, you can escape coworkers when you need to focus, and you have more control over your day. Granted, not all workers have the option to skip the office. But for those who do, this shift may be a permanent one.

What do you think? Do you want to go back to the office after the coronavirus is in our pasts?

Kiss The Ring

Often when I attend conferences, associations, and meetings consisting of pastors of predominantly African descent, there always exist many leaders who exude the "kiss the ring" persona. The "kiss the ring" persona derives from a series of motion picture movies titled "GodFather", which depicted a grown man of a certain other culture that possessed excessive community influence to the extent that their culture-group's grown men prioritized the needs of the "GodFather" over these men's day-to-day participation in their own families' events. Well, pertaining to pastors of African descent, often there are those whom were trained by other distinct Black leaders in different regions of the country, and God led them to eventually settle in places away from their home city or home state. However, these transplanted clergy possess the same or better leadership skills and experience than the natives of the new region, which speaks for transplants' own stature. Nevertheless, the Africentric pastoral leaders in the new region exude a "kiss the ring" persona and maintain an arms-length distance from the transplant, sometimes for years, waiting for that person to express an endearment that was never earned. I have often found myself in this same place ill/wrongly viewed in "less than" ways by Black clergy leaders who did not lead their congregations nor communities with the pastoral-care necessary for enduring and transforming the church and community, nor for increasing the church's relevance in its new community. Don't get me wrong, I have served the church with humility, honored my senior clergy, and looked to colleague-clergy for advice, all due to their different experiences. However, when one never allows oneself to co-serve in an "excessively subservient" posture to preexisting Black pastors, then these leaders place influential barriers between oneself and one's opportunities. (Which is critically unbiblical). What do you think about this? Have you ever obtained a new job, or moved into a new neighborhood, or joined an association in which its long-time leaders or fellow colleagues (native to the region) treated you "less than" for no apparent, moral, or personal reasons, to the extent that barriers were placed for preventing your promotion or ascension within the group or professionally? Share your experience.