Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US – Lenny Duncan

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

‣ I love this book

‣ attn: Lutherans

‣ black, queer, Christian lit

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"The message of Jesus is radical and political."

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I am a Christian. I was raised in the Lutheran Church, as a member of a loving, caring community from long before I can even remember. Church members were our family, and still are to this day. My sister and I went to church for my mom’s prayer groups, we were in plays (once, I was a very wise King Solomon), we danced, we sang, we made strong attempts at learning to play instruments. We went to Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, sleep-away church camp. We sold empanadas from the church’s kitchen. We studied the Bible in English and Spanish (did you know James translates to Santiago?). We also participated in marches for immigrant rights, did the AIDS Walk, smiled proudly at the rainbow flag hanging in front of our church. We encouraged people to vote, even setting up voting booths for Dominican elections for those living here in the States.

In Dear Church, Pastor Lenny Duncan clearly states what is intrinsic to Lutheran living – politics. He tells us the work of Jesus is radical, and it is. He also tells us it is our job to enact his justice. I’ve thought a lot about the unique conditions of being a Lutheran, especially when talking about it with others. It feels special. It’s really nice to know, without a grain of doubt, that you’ll get into Heaven. But Pastor Lenny reminds us of the weight Christianity carries.

This book calls you out. Pastor Lenny basically says that Jesus didn’t die for you to just sit there in your pew letting injustice happen. He’s specific, in describing the injustices we let happen, and the ways we can be better. This book isn’t for non-Christians. He isn’t trying to convince you to love justice and goodness (and therefore love God), because for him, and all Lutherans, the Holy Spirit will do that. He is taking the opportunity to take those of us who claim to love Jesus, and demanding that we live out our love.

I was especially impacted by the chapter Dylan Roof is a Lutheran. In 2015, Dylan Roof went into a church. Like I’ve seen happen, he was invited to join in worship. Then, Dylan Roof killed nine black Christians. For many, myself included, this evoked images of MLK’s death. It made me think of the literal list of attacks on black churches available on Wikipedia. I did not, even briefly, think about Dylan Roof’s relationship with Christ. He is a Lutheran. Pastor Lenny reminds us that this means he is guaranteed salvation. The weight of that is so heavy.

One of my favorite church songs is Sanctuary. In it, we ask God to prepare us to be living sanctuaries for him. The church Dylan Roof went into was a sanctuary. It was a safe place where he was welcomed to join in the protections of Christ. If we are to be sanctuaries for God, should we offer safety to all, including Dylan Roof? Pastor Lenny says yes. He invites us to do the work of getting to know our fellow church goers, so that they may find sanctuary in us, and not, as Dylan Roof did, in white supremacy. He invites us to be literal sanctuaries for immigrants and refugees. He shows us how sanctuary and justice go hand in hand. When I feel particularly weak, I sing Sanctuary to myself (usually in the shower). Now, I see how that strengthens me to fight for justice.

Pastor Lenny touches on many things that we don’t usually hear in our weekly sermons. One of my favorite parts of the book is when he talks about sex. I never talked about sex in church. We didn’t discuss any aspects of it. We never had a preachy, “wait-‘till-you’re-married” sermon. I couldn’t tell you the Lutheran stance on abortion. That being said, I assumed the societal shame associated with sex applied even more so in the church. Pastor Lenny dismisses that. He tells us: “When you make love to your partner, God smiles. It is right and holy.” His message promotes self-love and the power of honest intimacy with your partner. By sharing a message in which God wants you to have sex (proven biologically by the way our bodies experience pleasure), Pastor Lenny affirms a message of fairness and joy in sex. As a queer man, he shares with readers the queerness of the church. He shows us how being specific and open about our inclusion and appreciation of our LGBTQ+ siblings is something the church has always done, and something Christ-like.

If it wasn’t obvious from my super long review, I loved this book. I finished it feeling a little called out, but also affirmed, loved, and understood. I am super excited to see Pastor Lenny on his book tour and would 100% recommend this book.