The God of DEI
ATLANTA — Our God is a God of diversity, equity and inclusion. That was Orpheus Heyward’s message to the Renaissance Church of Christ. The sermon title: “God’s DNA in DEI.” Yep, he went there!
And wow, what a thought-provoking message!
But I’m getting way ahead of myself.
Before I tell you about the Sunday sermon (and before you write me angry letters), let me back up to that Friday, when I arrived in Atlanta for the funeral of Andrew J. Hairston.
Andrew J. Hairston sits among the pews of the Simpson Street Church of Christ during a 2012 interview with The Christian Chronicle.
It was gray and drizzly as I drove past Morehouse College and into the packed parking lot of the Simpson Street Church of Christ, where Hairston preached for about 55 years.
Inside, about 50 fellow preachers gathered for a “Ministers’ Memorial Moment” to celebrate Hairston’s life. Richard Barclay, minister for the Stonecrest Church of Christ in nearby McDonough, Ga., moderated the event. He called Hairston “a giant sequoia” in the forest of faith. Terry Wallace, minister for the West Oak Grove Church of Christ in Hernando, Miss., called Hairston “a good soldier” for the Lord. John Iverson, retired minister for the Southside Church of Christ in Valdosta, Ga., added that Hairston was “a great servant” who believed the church should be active throughout the week and throughout the community.
Don McLaughlin, minister for the North Atlanta Church of Christ, speaks during a ministers-only memorial service for Andrew Hairston.
The preachers shared a sense of “gratefulness and grief,” said Don McLaughlin, minister for the North Atlanta Church of Christ. He prayed for Marcus T. Watkins, who began preaching at Simpson Street about five years ago.
Watkins promised that Hairston “will not be forgotten as long as I am breathing. He is the fabric of these walls.”
John Iverson talks about his friend Andrew J. Hairston during the Friday night memorial service.
One thing about the Friday night service made me chuckle. Some ministers (I won’t name names) are known for going just a bit over their allotted time. So when I found out I’d be in a service by ministers, for ministers, full of ministers, I figured we’d go over the allotted two hours — way over.
No joke, we finished the program with 20 minutes to spare.
The Saturday “Homegoing Service” lasted a bit longer. I think I was at the church building for the better part of five hours.
But it wasn’t a funeral — it was a “fun-eral,” as Wesley T. Leonard put it.
Mourners visit the casket of Andrew J. Hairston before the minister’s “Homegoing Service.”
“It’s a bad thing to go to church on Sunday and a funeral break out,” said Leonard, minister for the Southside Church of Christ in Orlando, Fla., who moderated the service. “But it’s a good thing to go to a funeral and church break out.”
I grew up at another Southside Church of Christ, about an hour south of Atlanta in Macon, Ga. And I was absolutely thrilled to get a tap on the shoulder from Norma Baker, who was singing with the Andrew Hairston Memorial Chorus. She and her husband, Michael, were members at Southside before they moved to Atlanta. Michael Baker was one of my Lads to Leaders teachers. They’re two of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.
The Andrew Hairston Memorial Chorus sings hymns during the Homegoing Service at the Simpson Street Church of Christ. Norma Baker is on the left end of the front row.
Erik Tryggestad reunites with his Lads to Leaders teacher, Michael Baker.
The Simpson Street church catered a wonderful reception after the service, so I got to catch up with the Bakers. Then I headed northeast to the Northlake Church of Christ in Tucker, Ga. Charity Armstead, the wife of worship minister Chris Armstead (and fellow Georgia Bulldog) invited me to their Worship Weekend. I witnessed a spirit-filled performance by A Cappella Alliance.
Clifford Mills of Dallas talks about the once-forbidden use of tritones in church music.
The group, based in Dallas, is made up of church members from across the Dallas-Fort Worth metro. Clifford Mills, a member of the Lawrence and Marder Church of Christ in Dallas, formed the group in 1989 at the request of the minister at his former congregation, the Marsalis Avenue Church of Christ. This was their first trip to Atlanta.
@christianchronicle TUCKER, GA. — A Cappella Alliance performs “Father,” by Mills Manna Music, for the first time in front of an audience during Worship Weekend at the Northlake Church of Christ in the Atlanta metro. #acappella #acappellaworship #acappellagroup #acappellaalliance #acappellaalliancemusic #worshipweekend #churchofchrist ♬ original sound – The Christian Chronicle
Finally, that brings me to Sunday morning, the Renaissance church and “God’s DNA in DEI.”
Brother Heyward shared his perspective. The government’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiative certainly has flaws as it attempts to provide a guardrail to ensure that minorities have a fair chance at government jobs and advancement opportunities. But the answer should be to fix the guardrail rather to eliminate it entirely, he said.
But that wasn’t the thrust of his message. He presented an example of what I’d call “DEI done right.” It starts in Acts 10 when God speaks to a centurion named Cornelius and sends him to find Peter. About the same time, God gives Peter a dream where he lowers a sheet from heaven with all kinds of animals — clean and unclean — and tells Peter to “kill and eat.” Imagine how bonkers that sounded to Peter, a devout Jew his entire life!
Members greet each other at the Renaissance Church of Christ in Atlanta.
Soon, Peter is in Cornelius’ house, saying “God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.” That’s divine diversity. When he hears about Cornelius’ vision, Peter says “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism.” That’s heavenly equity. Finally, the Holy Spirit comes upon all who hear Peter’s words, Jew and Gentile alike. That’s inclusion.
The church has a “Renaissance Live” broadcast from its lobby before the service. It’s like a Sunday bulletin meets NBC’s “Today” show — a really neat idea. Oh, and we sang an incredible, upbeat rendition of “Salvation Has Been Brought Down.”
@christianchronicle ATLANTA — An upbeat version of a classic hymn fills the auditorium of the Renaissance Church of Christ on a Sunday morning. #renaissance #renaissancechurchofchrist #acappella #acappellaworship #salvationhasbeenbroughtdown #churchofchrist ♬ original sound – The Christian Chronicle
There were about 900 folks at the service, and several introduced themselves to me, including a woman with a British accent. She moved to Atlanta from London and never had heard of Churches of Christ before worshiping with Renaissance.
I recommended a few congregations in London, should she ever get back there.
Texas-based A Cappella Alliance performs a Saturday night concert for the Northlake Church of Christ in Tucker, Ga.
ERIK TRYGGESTAD is President and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact [email protected], and follow him on X @eriktryggestad.
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