Life-changing. Not for me. So much yes.
Brett Fuller is Senior Pastor at Grace Covenant Church in Chantilly, VA. He serves as Chaplain to the NFL’s Washington Football Team now known as the Commanders, and has served on President Bush’s Advisory Board for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is known for his efforts in and emphasis on Christian peacemaking and racial reconciliation. He and his wife, Cynthia have raised seven children while staying active in their ministries.
Jim Wallis is an American theologian, political activist, and author best known for his work on social justice issues and the intersection of faith and politics. As founder of Sojourners magazine and author of several books, Wallis advocates for a form of faith-based politics that transcends traditional left-right divides, emphasizing issues like poverty, racial justice, and peace, focusing on social-justice from a Christian perspective.
Dreaming in Black and White: Life-changing
Fuller’s book, Dreaming in Black and White is aimed at educating non-Black readers about the Black experience in America. To help us better understand, Fuller interweaves the historical context of racial injustice in America along with his own story. Based on the concept of agape love, Fuller argues that justice alone is not enough to heal racial divides. Instead, those of us in the dominant culture must employ justice along with costly reconciliation. To help us with this process he suggests looking at the world through the eyes of the other as well as using these three statements:” I feel your pain.” “I’m sorry,” “How can I help.” He states, “If you can bring yourself to turn to people unlike yourself, people whom society has knocked down, both in history and today, and you can say these three things as an informed, sincere, willing person, then change can begin with you. In fact, you can lead in the changes you’ve dreamed might happen in society.”[1] Fuller inspires readers to move beyond glorifying diversity to working towards real reconciliation, no matter the cost.
A question I’d like to ask Brett Fuller:
- Has he read Dear White Peacemakers by Osheta Moore?
- He suggests those in the dominant (white) culture use these phrases, “I feel your pain.” “I’m sorry.” “What can I do to help?” to begin to make change, even to lead change in our society. I would ask him, as a man in church and matrimonial leadership, might he consider saying/asking these three phrases to women?
High Ceilings Women in Leadership: Not for me.
I cringed my way through Fuller’s book High Ceilings: Women in Leadership, for many reasons, the primary reason being the inherent gender bias implicit in the need for such work. The very need for a book addressing women in leadership positions underscores the persistent inequality in society and church structures where male leadership is presumed while female leadership requires justification and explanation. It is maddening that this conversation still has to take place, particularly within the church and is indicative of deeply entrenched patriarchal norms that continue to shape our church hierarchies as well as our theological interpretations. While Fuller may have been trying to promote a more inclusive perspective on female leadership within the church, the book inadvertently perpetuates the notion that women’s leadership roles are exceptional rather than normative.
Furthermore, Fuller’s self-described “complementary-egalitarian” falls short of a truly egalitarian perspective (I don’t think he claims otherwise) which would recognize the full equality of women in all spheres, including marriage. As a male authority figure offering guidance on women’s roles within marital and professional contexts Fuller can be perceived as paternalistic and potentially undermining to the very empowerment I think he wants to support.
Beginning in the introduction, Fuller adopts an appeasing tone, expressing a desire to contribute to the conversation on women’s roles without overtly challenging existing viewpoints. He writes, “My aim is not to disrespect another’s viewpoint, nor to denigrate another group’s corporate personnel deployment and decision-making.”[2] This cautious approach prioritizes collegiality over confrontation in addressing gender-related theological debates. Yet, in Dreaming in Black and White, Fuller argues for a more direct and uncompromising approach to addressing racial injustice. He asserts,
“For prejudice, there has to be a giving of facts. For bigotry, there has to be a confrontation with the hate, and a working under God’s hand to make a change. For racism, there has to be an exposure of the system and the culture—the temperature of the water—the individual has been living in. None of these responses are best done in a whisper. None of them are accomplished with a pleading, “aw shucks” approach. It takes clarity. It takes merciful firmness. It takes risking offense. It’s worth it, though. The prize is worth the price.”[3]
This stance emphasizes the need for clarity, firmness, and a willingness to risk offense in pursuit of meaningful change. The disparity between these approaches raises questions about the consistency of how Fuller addresses social justice issues. I would hope he would take the same stance he takes on racial equality with gender equality.
I appreciate that Fuller is trying but living the Kin-dom of God, means honoring the full equality of all humanity, and to put it in Fuller’s own language, “This is not accomplished with a pleading ‘aw shucks’ approach. It takes clarity, merciful firmness, risking offense.”
- A question I would ask Fuller: What bias, if any, do you think you carry when it comes to reconciliation between women and men?
God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It: So much yes.
Wallis’ book, God’s Politics : Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It,” published in 2005, was all the rage among my pastoral colleagues in the mid-2000s. I appreciated Wallis’ challenge of both conservative and liberal approaches to faith in politics. Wallis argues that the Religious Right has narrowly focused on select moral issues while the Left has largely dismissed the role of faith. He proposes a “prophetic politics” that transcends partisan divides and looks more closely at the life and work of Jesus, prioritizing the poor and vulnerable, promoting peace and reconciliation, and addressing issues of economic and social justice.
- A question I might ask Jim Wallis: What are some studies and spiritual practices I could bring to my congregation to help them deepen their faith so their spirituality informs their social justice work?
[1] Brett Fuller, Dreaming in Black and White, BookBaby, Kindle Edition, 146.
[2] Brett Fuller, High Ceilings: Women In Leadership, 2021, Kindle Edition, 5.
[3] Brett Fuller, Dreaming in Black and White, BookBaby, Kindle Edition, 113.
About the Author
Kally Elliott
Mom of four. Wanna-be Broadway star. PC(USA) pastor. Wife. Friend. Sometimes a hot mess. Sometimes somewhat together. Is this supposed to be a professional bio?8 responses to “Life-changing. Not for me. So much yes.”
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I think it was around 2006 when I first heard about the work of Jim Wallis (about the time you said your pastoral colleagues were raging about this book). Alas, I had NOT read God’s Politics, but I enjoyed inspectionally reading it recently. What book(s) have you found to be better (or a complement to Wallis’s) for the past 5 – 8 years, given the current political and polarized climate? I’ve recently become somewhat familiar with David French, and I think he has some interesting things to say for the current moment, but I’ve only read articles.
I think you have some great questions for Fuller and Wallis — and I’m looking forward to hearing what they say.
I don’t know David French! Thanks for mentioning him. I’ll have to check out his work.
Hi, Kalli,
I always appreciate your honesty. Brett is a friend of our family so I will be interested to hear his responses. I figured this book would raise some different responses than his book on racism. It is always a risk to write something that has differing views. I do appreciate him showing the reader how he came to his conclusion and that his opinion is in the mix which he does state.
Looking forward to seeing you next week!
Hi Esther,
I loved his book on racism and reconciliation. I just couldn’t get behind the High Ceilings book. I realize that people are at different places with women in leadership but I have a difficult time respecting the opinions of those that think women are not equal in every way with men. That sounds harsh and it probably is, but I’ve been living this (as have all of us women) for too long and I’m just not willing to compromise about it anymore. (That said, I have family members who I love dearly who would disagree with me – so it really is the opinion I don’t respect and not the person!)
Kally~ You wrote: “He suggests those in the dominant (white) culture use these phrases, “I feel your pain.” “I’m sorry.” “What can I do to help?” to begin to make change, even to lead change in our society. I would ask him, as a man in church and matrimonial leadership, might he consider saying/asking these three phrases to women?”
I do understand why you had the response you did to Fuller’s “work” on women in leadership. I think the reasons I didn’t have a knee-jerk reaction like I normally would is because I really believe he wrote the book for a specific audience of people who are not seeing this issue as we would. Been there done that.
Ironically, when I read the book, I found myself making lists of my complementarian friends/colleagues and those who take a more egalitarian stance. I would say that even at a place like Fox, it’s 75/25, even in the student population. My point is, a book like this may be helpful for those who haven’t done the work to determine what they believe.
See you soon!
Pam, I appreciate your perspective and I get the need to “bring those we lead along” on the journey – wherever that journey may be leading. In this case, it’s the journey to fully accepting women as full equals in all areas of life, including marriage.
However, I just do not have patience for it anymore.
In no other circles than in the Church do I ever have to justify my leadership as a woman. I’m not saying the secular world is doing a great job in terms of justice for women – just look at the guy who is running as a presidential candidate – but I rarely, if ever, have to justify or explain why women should fully be considered equals in any other arena. Yet, some churches/denominations are still claiming male leadership is what God wants. I’m over trying to justify who God has made me to be. If a sibling in Christ has a problem with it they can wrestle with it themselves but I’m not going to try to “prove” my worth to them anymore.
No man has ever had to justify his leadership to me. Why should I have to justify my leadership to a man? (leadership based on our genders)
Now I’m venting.
Blech. I can’t even be mature about it anymore 🙂
Kally, I really appreciated you working out your thinking in your blog. I was not as irritated by his concepts as you, but I can certainly see the nature of your concerns. I especially liked the question you landed on about bias- certainly a good thought for all of us as we pursue critical thinking. I can not wait to hear his answer!
I want to echo all that Jennifer Vernam just posted as a comment to your blog. That’s what I want to say!
And I will add…
“Dreaming” and “God Politics” were YES and AMEN to books for me. “High Ceilings” just affirmed what I already knew and believed. I am a part of a denomination that was founded by a women, and we believe in the full release of women in any and all leadership roles. So, I appreciated his stance. In my blog I quoted him saying:
“Women are graced by God just like men. They have gifts and callings just like men. They are as spiritually capable as men. Their distinctions in capacity to carry the burden and their potential upside impact upon the world are not limited by gender but by the “version” of humanity they inherited, their calling, their gifting, and their life experience, just like men.”
My only differ with you on this matter is that I think we have to keep saying this. We need more books, articles, podcasts, etc on the matter. I wish we didn’t. But we do. I wish there wasn’t inequality, but there still is. Therefore, the more voices that ring clear and true, the better, in my opinion! 😉