Majority of America's Most Dangerous Cities Are in the South - Where the Majority of America's Evangelical Christians Live

I saw this today. Forbes Magazine ranked the most dangerous cities in America according to a number of factors related to violent crime. 

It struck me that of the 15 cities, 11 of them were in states that were or have been considered Southern states. If you take out Maryland and Florida, then 7 of the 15 cities were in Southern states. At any rate, Evangelical Christianity, especially of the Baptist variety, is most prevalent in the South. Yet, the South traditionally has the most crime, divorce, alcoholism, and the worst education and social factors in the nation. The states of Lousiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas vie for which state can be last in just about every important social indicator. Here are the cities from the Forbes list:

1. Detroit, Michigan
2. Memphis, Tennessee
3. Miami, Florida
4. Las Vegas, Nevada
5. Stockton, California
6. Orlando, Florida
7. Little Rock, Arkansas
8. Charleston, South Carolina
9. Nashville, Tennessee
10. Baltimore, Maryland
11. New Orleans, Louisiana
12. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
13. West Palm Beach, Florida
14. Charlotte, North Carolina
15. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Christianity has been present in the South for 200 years in a very strong way. Why has it not changed things in a more concrete way? You can say that the legacy of slavery and racism continue to have an effect. You can say that the devastation caused by the Civil War affected the South for a long time (although when you consider how Germany and Japan were destroyed during WWII, that argument falls apart).  But, doesn't it make sense that if we lived out our faith, things would be more positive, especially among the African American community? What role do white Southern evangelicals have in this?

Recently, I had a conversation with a white man who bemoaned the state of the schools in Montgomery. He blamed integration and said that things started falling apart because of the blacks. Then, a moment later, he talked about how his Baptist church was dying. I told him that the problems in the schools had nothing to do with skin color and had everything to do with parental involvement, family breakdown, and cultural problems that existed among both poor whites and blacks. He didn't seem to understand what I was talking about.  It struck me as interesting that his disparaging remarks about black people would show up in the same conversation that he said that his church was struggling. He did not notice a connection between the two.

Why hasn't our Christianity addressed these things? Do we have nothing to say to our cities? Why don't Christians effectively address crime issues? Why don't we go into neighborhoods that are falling apart and raise up a standard? Why don't we restore schools and rescue young people? Why do we move away to the suburbs or outlying towns whenever things aren't wonderful? Why does racism still exist in our hearts and our churches?

I am not trying to be utopian here. I know that sin exists and that we cannot control people. I am not saying that we can make things perfect. But, if the South cannot become a better place to live for all people because of the Christians who live here and the churches on every corner, then please tell me how we can possibly evangelize anyone? Could it be that the SBC is declining because we have so inoculated people against the gospel by talking the talk but not walking the walk? Why would anyone believe us? Where is our power? Where is the change?

Sometimes, I think that we give in to fear too much. We try to hold on to our own life and we try and make sure that we take care of ourselves. But, God called us to trust Him and engage people. I really struggle to see how we can talk about missions to the world when we won't even engage our own cities effectively. For those that do, keep going. Praise God! You are making a huge impact! But, I am talking about the retreat of the collective whole and the abdication of our responsibility.  If we are the light, then why do we complain about the darkness? Why don't we just shine? 

Praise God that several churches are addressing this in Montgomery through prayer and action, including a stop the violence campaign and 24/7 prayer. But, so much more is needed.  65% of the 30,000 children in Montgomery's public schools live below the poverty line. That's 19,500 children! Is this not a mission field and a place to live out the implications of the gospel? If we can't do it in our own cities, then why should anyone believe us when we say that Jesus is the answer?  If we can do it in our own cities, imagine what the impact would be!  What stops us but ourselves?

I am glad that the gospel has power in spite of us. Praise God for grace! But, imagine if we truly lived it out!

Comments

[Andrew]

I uses the same maps to compare Capital Punishment states and Southern Baptist spread in my dissertation. It supports a theory of the more violent the penal system is - the more violent society gets and vica versa. Harsh sentencing produces more bitterness and violence in the offender.

[Doug]

Alan, Thanks for another insightful and thought provoking post.

Coming from outside of the South and the SBC (I have pastored an SBC church in Alabama for 8 years now), it is easy to see some of the reasons for the social deficits in the south and how they relate to the SBC Church. The typical SBC church is much more concerned about and focused on the next life in heaven at the near exclusion of the present. For example, in the next couple of months, hundreds of thousands of children will flock to our churches for VBS, yet, our focus will almost exclusively be on their eternal salvation and home in heaven, and almost no attention will be paid to the fact that a great number of those same children come from broken dysfunctional homes, are victims of abuse, live in poverty, etc.... I get in trouble with my deacons if preach on these topics from time to time and fail to have an "alter call" or mention "heaven" enough!
Regarding your friend who blamed the troubles at school on the blacks - he of course does not see that we whites (and especially white evangelicals) have fled our schools into private academies (priced out of the reach of poorer whites and most blacks), church schools and home schooling, abandoning our Christian teachers and administrators (those who are not teaching in a private or Christian school at least), and diverting much needed funds and support. We have to take the responsibility for this problem, not lay it at the feet of others.

[Brian]

We supposedly believe that the very Word of God, through whom everything was created, was incarnated as a human being two thousand years ago, namely Jesus of Nazareth, the promised Christ, who preached the Kingdom of God for three years, was put to death on a Roman cross and then rose again, in order to abolish the stain of sin and death which lay upon all men, thereby instituting a new creation that will endure forever. We allegedly believe that by putting our faith and trust in him, we take on the very righteousness of Christ and are saved from the eternal death that is inescapably incurred by our sins, such that we secure an inheritance in heaven, with eternal life that starts this day and this hour. We talk about believing that we receive the power of the Holy Spirit to defeat sin and to do God's will on earth as it is done in heaven. We say our mission is to communicate this wonderful truth to the whole world so they can share in it with us.

If, after saying we believe those things, our response is to circle the wagons, to turn inward, to keep ourselves ritually clean from the ethnic minorities, the aliens, the poor, and the outsiders, then I wonder whether we really have believed those things, or if we have just recited them because by golly if you're from Alabama you're supposed to go to church and praise Jesus.

Some people believe in Christendom; others believe in Christ. The former strive to preserve a way of life; the latter strive to serve the Way, the Truth, and the Life.