A member of Baylor University’s President’s Council addressed the relationship between racism and greed during Church Under the Bridge’s Annual Racial Reconciliation Worship Service during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend.
This year’s theme focused on “why the love of money is the root of all evil” and “how the church can create a new way forward.”
Malcolm Foley, author of the book The Anti-Greed Gospel and special adviser to the president for equity and campus engagement at Baylor University, spoke to a crowd under Interstate 35 in Waco, explaining race and racism is more than about identity and hate. It’s also about greed.
In his book and Sunday’s message, Foley suggested, “The strongest principality in American life is money, and race and racism are a perfect case study for understanding how that works.”
“The argument is race and racism are not fundamentally issues of identity, hate, or ignorance,” Foley said. “Rather, it is about greed.”
“If a community wants to be truly anti-racist, it must be anti-greed, inspired by the Holy Spirit to resist the death-dealing and imagination-strangling wiles of racialized capitalism. Race’s historical and social purpose is to justify systems of economic exploitation. So, it can only be resisted by communities that bear witness to Christ’s call for us to share,” Foley said.
“The body of Christ is supposed to be a place where money doesn’t matter,” which makes Church Under the Bridge so pivotal for Waco and the surrounding community, Foley added.
“What is most inspiring about the Church Under the Bridge is the economic solidarity and diversity present in the congregation. In this country, the primary mode of segregation has always been along the lines of money and opportunity,” Foley said.
Modeling anti-greed
Jimmy Dorrell, pastor and founder of Church Under the Bridge and Mission Waco, said his ministry work targets the issue of need and helplessness daily by meeting people with the gospel and service.
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“We’ve been doing this for 25 years and it continues to grow,” Dorrell said. “We believe the church needs to be intercultural and break down barriers. We deal with the poor and the unchurched, and we get to be creative and do things we believe are important for the kingdom.”
Dorrell said his goal was not to blame but instead empower Christians to respond to community needs.
“I believe in the church. I love the church. But I believe we lost our way in some ways,” Dorrell said. “My goal is not to blame people and point fingers but show how the church can do something about these things.”
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