Martin Luther King Jr's Dream

I am probably going to be getting emails about this article too. However, you must bear in mind that I'm an international Missions major at a conservative Christian college, and this is how we think about things.

God bless the USA!

~Princess Ouch~

Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream for the American Church
What the election says about our progress and decline.
by Skye Jethani

Amazing. How else can you describe what happened last week when Barack Obama became the first African American elected President of the United States? However you voted, whatever your politics, the election reveals something about the progress of our society. As George W. Bush said the morning after the election, it "showed a watching world the vitality of America's democracy and the strides we have made toward a more perfect union."

Amid the reflections there have been numerous references to Martin Luther King Jr.'s pioneering civil rights movement and his "dream." One Chicago news commentator on election night said the day King delivered his famous speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial he could not have known that a two year old boy in Hawaii would become the fulfillment of his dream. That got me wondering—is Barack Obama really the fulfillment of King's dream?

I've been fascinated by Martin Luther King Jr. since seminary—not just as a civil right leader, but as a preacher. In 1967 he told a Chicago congregation, "Before I was a civil rights leader, I was a preacher of the gospel. This was my first calling and it still remains my greatest commitment." It's King's powerful prophetic proclamation of the gospel into our American reality that I've been drawn to. It is only within this larger calling that we can make sense of his civil rights work. For King, combating the injustice of segregation and Jim Crow fell under the umbrella of gospel proclamation.

I've read a number of books about King including his autobiography (which I highly recommend), King Came Preaching by Mervyn A. Warren, and right now I'm reading
A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. The book contains a sermon he preached early in his career titled, "Paul's Letter to American Christians." Showing his creative communication, King composed a modern day epistle in the voice of Paul both praising and warning the American church.

The letter is a glimpse into the values and convictions of MLK, and it might be surprising to discover that his focus isn't just racial justice. In fact, he frames the letter by contrasting the scientific progress of America with its moral decline. I was struck by how Dallas Willardian King sounds. He says,

"It seems to me that your moral progress lags behind your scientific progress ….Through your scientific genius you have made of the world a neighborhood, but through your moral and spiritual genius you have failed to make it a brotherhood."
King then warns against giving one's loyalty to the country:

"Your ultimate allegiance is not to the government, not to the state, not to nation, not to any manmade institution. The Christian owes his ultimate allegiance to God, and if any earthly institution conflicts with God's will it is your Christian duty to take a stand against it."
That's a timely word as many Christians (black and white) find themselves pouring their hopes (or fears) into President elect Obama. Where is our hope? Where is our loyalty? Where is our allegiance? No doubt Martin Luther King Jr. would be celebrating the election of Barack Obama, but his dream transcended any single leader, any one nation, and any earthly power.

King's epistle to the Americans goes on to diagnose the dangers of materialism:

"I am afraid that many among you are more concerned about making a living than making a life. You are prone to judge the success of your profession by the index of your salary and the size of the wheelbase on your automobile, rather than the quality of your service to humanity."
How many of our churches need to hear that message today? This is where King reveals his prophetic gifting most clearly. Many today assume that MLK was a single-issue preacher; always railing against racial injustice. Nothing could be farther from the truth. King's commitment to the gospel illuminated all kinds of sins within the American church, and while we've clearly made progress on the racial front I wonder if we haven't fallen deeper into the grip materialism.

MLK does include a lengthy section in his epistle about disunity within the church—a topic also important to Paul two millennia ago. He denounces competition between denominations as well as racial segregation. This sermon includes his famous remark about 11am Sunday morning being the most segregated hour of the week. In response King also outlines his belief in non-violence and the conviction that love stands "at the center of the cosmos." And then we discover these amazing words about the purpose of life:

"I still believe that standing up for the truth of God is the greatest thing in the world. This is the end of life. The end of life is not to be happy. The end of life is not to achieve pleasure and avoid pain. The end of life is to do the will of God, come what may."
So, I'm left with this question: What was Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream? And was it fulfilled last week when Obama won more than 270 electoral votes?

The election of an African American to the White House certainly fulfills part of MLK's dream. He wanted to see a society where people would be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. Obama, who described himself earlier this week as a "mutt," gives all of us with a mixed racial heritage and a funny name hope.

But MLK dreamt of so much more than simply an African American president. He wanted to see an America as morally good as it is technologically advanced. He hoped to see a society that valued people more than things; life more than making a living. And he longed for a community of Christians who valued God's will ahead of personal comfort. To see these elements of King's dream fulfilled we're going to need more than presidents—we're going to need a new breed of gospel preachers.
Skye Jethani is the managing editor of Leadership and a teaching pastor at Blanchard Alliance Church in Wheaton, Illinois.