Saving our Black Boys in America

By Jim Holley

CBN.com – And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.… And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. (Mark 9:17,21-23)

There are considerable problems facing our family, community, and nation. One really doesn’t know where to begin to address the multitude of circumstances and misfortunes within our collective lives. On a daily basis, our community faces a wide array of problems—poor housing, inadequate school systems, crime, violence, drugs, lack of health care, unemployment, underemployment, and family disengagement. Although I am concerned about all the aforementioned conditions, there is one issue that cuts to the core of my heart that I would like to discuss in this message. That issue is the disadvantaged status of our young black males.

Many organizations and civic groups are quick to render their perspectives on how and what to do about the crisis of our young black boys here in America. The Muslims say the solution is separation; the NAACP says it’s voting power; the Urban League says it’s educational programs; the government’s answer to the crisis is to lock them up and throw away the key. Even many of our churches attempt to address the problem by constantly offering different kinds of programs.

I have come with a word that is from the stylus of a Gospel called Mark. I have a word, my brothers, that may cause you to be ill at ease with the practice of your religion as you have come to know it. I have a word that may cause some questions about the focus on your faith and the content of your commitment. I have a word that may make you squirm on the padded pews of your brand of comfortable Christianity. I have a word that may stop you in your tracks of “pseudo-piety” (as H. Beecher Hicks Jr. calls it), presumptuous religiosity, and self-indulgent spirituality—because when it comes down to saving all God’s children, black males in particular, our religious lifestyles are inadequate and insufficient.

Unfortunately, many of our people have been characterized on a daily basis as valueless. In this country, millions of African American families live in poverty, yet this is the richest country in the world. If the church leadership and civil rights organizations have no real programs to save our boys, then who holds the agenda for them? For some reason, we are obsessed with talking about the problem, but are not doing what it takes to solve it. It troubles me that many African American leaders are able to articulate the social ills of our day, but only a few are able to step up and do something about them. Our churches and civic organizations must do a better job of dealing with our young black men.

Brothers, as you take a moment to think about the length of time that you have been in the church, how many relevant and life-changing programs have you participated in? You can count the years, decades, and scores of the revolving members, but you must admit, there has been a noticeable absence of black boys in the church. This is indicative of our failure to accommodate their unique needs! Somehow, somewhere, we have to interject the question, How can black boys be saved in America?

This is a ministry that we can no longer ignore. But before we can deal with their issues, we must first address our own. Brothers, we must deal with our issues and admit our faults so that the younger brothers can feel more comfortable expressing their hurts, pains, and concerns. This is a ministry that we can no longer leave up to some other culture or generation to address! It is time for us as black men to position ourselves to be available for the younger males. They are our children, our boys, and our responsibility.

We all have sons, nephews, brothers, and relationships to other boys in the neighborhood. We know that 70 percent of homes are without the presence of a father on a regular basis; 20 percent of the children live with another caregiver. And yet, we kiss the problem off. Where did we go wrong? How did we get this way? How did it end up like this? Is there any hope for these young, robust, intelligent, and talented young black boys—so many of whom, if projections are correct, will end up incarcerated, dead, on drugs, or disengaged from their families? Is there any hope for this future generation? Is there any hope for their becoming socially, economically, and educationally empowered? Again, I ask you, How can black boys be saved in America?

We have some soul searching to do in ourselves, our churches, and our homes. When I looked at this biblical text, I saw our black communities, our neighborhoods, our culture, and our dilemma—all under the microscope of scriptural scrutiny. You see, I’m not ready to give up on saving our young black boys! I don’t want to accept the prognosis of the prognosticators. But, brothers, if we don’t step up to the plate and do for our children the things that God has called us to do, then we can’t blame the consequences on anyone else.

Brothers, if we don’t take a stand, what does that say about the way we view our responsibility to serve our God, church, community, and families? Brothers, can we say that we have done our best to help our young black boys? Can we say that we have truly exhausted all of our resources to invest in their future? I’ve seen many attempts to teach and reach our younger brothers; some methods were successful and some methods failed. I have watched experts gather and debate, discuss, define, and conclude that they simply don’t know how to save our black boys in America. May we see if we can get some answers to this question in our text?

Look at Mark 9:14, which says, “And when he came to the disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning them.” The Bible records that there were several crowds: the dialogue crowd (the people), the symposium crowd (the teachers and experts in the law), and the workshop crowd (the disciples). And all of them are arguing, debating, discussing, and asking the same question that we are asking today: How can the boy be saved? While the experts are arguing, the boy is suffering. While the people are murmuring, the boy is being tormented. While the disciples are discussing, the boy’s problem is going unsolved.

Isn’t it the same for us today, here in America? While we are fighting over superficial, irrelevant things, our young black boys are suffering. While we argue over who is the better basketball player, our young black boys are suffering. While we are arguing with their mother, our young black boys are suffering. While we are debating whether or not the boy should go pro, the boy still can’t read. While we are arguing, demonic forces are still saturating the spirits of our sons with evil thoughts. Brothers, we have done enough arguing, enough debating, enough discussing, and enough asking to last us three lifetimes. It is time for us to start doing, start praying, start believing, start investing, start inviting, start caring, start sharing, and start working on the solutions. It is our responsibility as black men to step up to the challenge. Simply put, it time for us to handle our business!

Then, there is the community, which puts distance between itself and the boy in order to ignore the problem. Black men, too many of us do the same thing today that the community did in the text. We brush this epidemic off as though it doesn’t affect us directly. Well, it does. While we are arguing and pushing the issues of our youth onto someone else, the entire community is hurting. The father is hurting. The boy is hurting. And the community is hurting. The father can’t enjoy his son. The boy can’t enjoy his father. The community can’t enjoy any unity.

Whenever the disciples of God—particularly the men—aren’t in their rightful places and doing what God has called them to do, all the community suffers. Jesus expects us to be his disciples. As disciples, we are expected to assist Jesus by way of assisting others. It is when we serve the least of these that we are truly serving Jesus. But like in the text, all too often we are impotent—void of Jesus’ power. The disciples couldn’t save the boy then, and we are having problems saving the boys now.

Here is the father: bewildered, upset, disturbed, irritated, and agitated because the people whom he expects to be able to provide help aren’t able to do anything. After all, the church had a reputation and résumé. What a powerful scene, and this is the picture of our community. This is a biopsy of living tissue in the early twenty-first century. This is the analysis of the status of our community! Meanwhile, the experts are arguing about “three strikes and you’re out.” The experts are arguing for a stronger crime bill. They argue that there should be less money for Head Start programs but more money for casinos. They argue that there should be less money allocated to fund after-school programming but more money to fund the building of more jails. They argue against improving the quality of our school system but argue for the privatization of our penal system. In effect, they say it is more economically feasible to incarcerate than it is to educate. They argue while our children are dying! And we, as saved brothers, allow it to happen. The question is still on the table: How to save the black boy in America?

In the text, the father has stepped up, but the “experts” only tell him what he already knows. “Your son has a demon.” “He is ill.” “He is dangerous to himself and others.” “He is too unstable to stay at home and is disobedient in school.” Some people have written him off as uneducable, unemployable, impossible, irresponsible, violent, dangerous, endangered, and he is branded “unsalvageable.” Our boys are dying from self-destruction or benign neglect or both! How can black boys in America be saved?

There was a boy with a problem, and all the grown ups were arguing while the boy was suffering. Adults debate while our children suffer! Brothers, you and I must take some responsibility for changing the conditions of our communities. The world is not what it used to be, and yes, the church isn’t what it used to be—or could be. One church says, “Use the rod”; another says, “No way.” One says, “Discipline”; the other says, “No, no, now.” We are having problems saving our boys because we are spending too much time arguing and debating when we should be about the business of loving and protecting.

There is a problem, and we have to identify the problem. Is there is a conspiracy as some claim? I believe that there is more than one conspirator. Long before Northerners invaded Europe, long before Christopher Columbus, long before the Mayflower, long before the Virginia settlement or Plymouth Rock, long before 1619, long before Crispus Atticus, long before Reconstruction, long before Plessy v. Ferguson, long before Brown v. the Board of Education—there was another conspirator, Satan. In the book of Job, while the sons of God were gathering, Satan showed up (see Job 1:6-12). You see, some preachers want to dismiss the devil, but if you are not careful, when you dismiss Satan, you may try to dismiss God next!

There are those who may be the instrument of a conspiracy, but the real conspirator is Satan. No human being or institution developed it; this is a satanic conspiracy. There is a devil because God said so! God asked the question, “What are you up to, Satan?” The enemy replied, “I am going to and fro in the earth, walking up and down in it” (Job 1:7)—and the New Testament tells us his intention: “seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

When you look at this Scripture in Mark, there is a boy who was dominated by the devil. He was supervised, he was managed, he was lead, he was co-opted, and he was directed by the devil. The devil was his role model. The devil animated him, activated him, instigated him, and provoked him. The devil was his boss!

Any boy or man who would rather plan his funeral than his future has to be dominated by the devil. Any man who believes his addiction is more important than his children—that man is dominated by the devil. People who steal and rob for their drug habit are dominated by the devil. Any time a brother shoots another person over T-shirts, tennis shoes, sweaters, leather jackets, or another man’s car, he is dominated by the devil. How can a father drive a Cadillac, while his children have no home? Why does any man, much less a young boy, commit rape? Why do our young boys keep their arguments in the streets rather than join debate teams in school? Why do our boys fight in the streets rather than wrestle and box in the gym? Why do our boys pack guns rather than books? I want to know, how can our black boys be saved?

In the text, the boy had a ‘devil’ problem! When the devil dominates our youth, he gives them a whole new ideology. Our children are being dominated by a mature manipulator and a master deceiver. And while everyone is still arguing, our black boys are suffering.

If our boys are going to be saved, fathers have to get involved. The last word from God in Malachi, before Christ was born, says, “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:6).

Fathers, you must escort your boys from childhood to adulthood! If you are not involved in your son’s life, don’t blame it on the school system. Don’t blame it on the penal system. Don’t blame it on the political system. Don’t blame it on the economic system. It is time for us to share the blame. Blame it on the parental system—or the lack thereof!

All of us must find a black boy and take responsibility—and him—to Jesus! In this text, the father asked Jesus for pity on behalf of his son. To save our black boys, they may need pity, but they also need deliverance! They need salvation. They need healing. They need mercy. They need grace. They need direction. They need hope. They need self-esteem. They need internal fortitude. They need black men to show them the way to Jesus. They need black men to pray for them. They need black men to stand in the gap for them. They need black men to be a part of their lives. They need black men to reflect what men of God look like. So brothers, as you do all that you can for our young black boys, don’t forget to take them to Jesus. Jesus can raise them up. Jesus can make a change. He can help us save our black boys!

God can make a difference in their lives. He healed the woman with the issue of blood, didn’t he? He healed blind men and gave them sight, didn’t he? He healed the lame and allowed them to walk, didn’t he? He turned the water to wine, didn’t he? God has the power. He is omnipresent. He is omnipotent. The best psychologist cannot compete with God. The best sociologist cannot compete with God. The best lawyer cannot compete with God. The best teacher cannot compete with God. The next time the question is presented, “How can black boys be saved in America?” you reply, “By taking them to Jesus."

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