We Are One: Reflections From the 2021 AHN Conference

by Fred TenEyck

“We cannot have coons and gorillas having guns, uniforms and badges.” This was the declaration made by a motorist who had been pulled over by a state trooper. The former trooper is now a church leader who joined other Free Methodists in sharing their stories during the African Heritage Network conference last month in San Antonio, Texas.

The AHN conferences have long been a safe place to share our stories — stories to encourage and build up our hope and faith in God. Over the past year, there have been stories of the births of children and grandchildren, healings and deliverance, and new church appointments, such as the recent appointment of AHN Executive Board member Adrian Greer to Foothill Community Church in Azusa, California. There were also stories of pain and loss. Most notably was the loss of Ronnie Hampton, the Free Methodist pastor of New Vision Community Church in Shreveport, Louisiana, who in March 2020 transitioned to glory due to complications from COVID-19. Ronnie was a longtime member of the AHN and someone I considered a friend and mentor. His loss was deeply felt by all of us over the year and was the first indication for most of us that we were in the midst of a pandemic. We sought to honor his memory this year by renaming our Community Service Award in his honor.

It has always been a common theme of our conferences that we find ourselves in the midst of unplanned moments of openness and vulnerability where personal stories have become the focal points of our gathering. We found comfort, encouragement and hope as we shared our stories, supported one another and, most of all, prayed for God’s strength and wisdom.

So much has transpired since our last conference in February of 2020. There we were in Orlando, Florida, without masks or social distancing. Just over a month later, we’d be closing the doors of our churches and sheltering in place. Soon afterward, we’d watch as Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd were killed, and now a nation already divided over so much was further fractured over whether we support the idea that Black lives matter, blue lives matter or all lives matter. For us in the AHN, there was so much to these acts of violence and the often racist rhetoric that followed.

There were our stories.

Photos courtesy of Pastor Adrian Greer

As a Black man in America, acts of discrimination and racism are a constant part of my life, just as they were a part of my parents’ lives and their parents’ lives. My grandmother’s descendants are only able to trace their roots as far back as to a slave plantation in Culpeper, Virginia, less than a two-hour drive from where we were raised and where I continue to live. I’ve been a victim of police harassment, workplace discrimination, and even housing discrimination when my wife and I got out of the car to view a home we were hoping to rent only to be immediately told by the real estate agent upon seeing us, “If you don’t have an income of at least $150,000 per year, then there’s really no need to even view the house.” Having a Dutch last name often gets me invited to spaces where I’m not really welcome.

When we see a cop kneeling on the neck of George Floyd for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, or we witness the shooting of Philando Castile after telling the police officer of his license to carry a firearm and following instructions to retrieve his license, or even when we hear of the killing of Breonna Taylor within the safe confines of her home, our own memories of trauma are triggered. While we continue to see God heal and deliver, we’re reminded through our experiences of the need to continue to fight against racism and discrimination in our world, in our nation, and even — and especially — in our churches.

So we gathered in San Antonio and shared our stories.

Photos courtesy of Pastor Adrian Greer

Free Methodist Elder Fred Lynch of Dallas, Texas, invited us to join in an exercise where attendees were invited to share personal experiences with racism and discrimination that included the phrase “and that’s when I knew the fight was real.” It was a powerful moment of reflection as we heard from the former state trooper whose station was contacted by the motorist whom he had pulled over for driving erratically.

Another attendee shared a childhood memory of playing at the home of a white friend who after the playdate said, “You have to clean up because that’s what black people are for.” She then went on to say, “You are stupid and you are ugly because you are black, and black people are for cleaning.” She told the child’s mother who simply responded, “This is silly. You need to help them clean up.”

But our stories are not about competing to see who had the worst experiences, nor an indication of our unwillingness to move beyond what happened in the past. We find within each of our stories God’s love, compassion and strength as He walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death. We find in our stories how we have survived and thrived in spite of the obstacles we’re often faced with. We find in our stories a hope that is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

Coming together around the theme “We Are One,” as proposed by AHN Director Robert Marshall, we focused on 1 Corinthians 12:26–27, which reads, “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it” (NLT).

On day one, we recounted our shared suffering related to the coronavirus and the fight for social justice. On day two, we focused our general sessions on rejoicing in the victories we’ve seen and experienced. Breakout sessions throughout the conference focused on how we could continue to be effective as parts of the body of Christ with such topics as engaging in prayer, discipleship, functioning as a church in a post-pandemic world, becoming one in the body of Christ and raising up emerging leaders. Even our worship leader for the conference and registered nurse, Tamekia Nash-Walls, shared how we can effectively engage with mental health issues in the church.

We cried together, we laughed together, and we sought the face of God together, who we had no doubt was the source of our strength and deliverance. Our stories continued to be told throughout the conference at small group dinners and conversations throughout the hotel lobby and other meeting areas. When you often operate in spaces where you are in the minority, you find comfort and encouragement in spaces with others who share in your struggles, albeit in different parts of the country.

After two days of teaching, fellowship and amazing Texas food, we all returned to our various homes around the country but not without making new friends and connections, learning new tools and strategies to help us be more effective church leaders and finding the strength and encouragement to continue to fight the good fight of faith. This AHN conference was truly a unique and rewarding experience. In the end, God enabled us to continue to live out the theme for this year’s conference, We Are One.

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