The insanity of contemporary Christianity
A Sugar Land man wants to know if he’s “too white to be your pastor.”
That’s the question Pastor Patrick Kelley of River Pointe Community Church in Fort Bend County is asking in a bold new ad campaign.
“This is out there,” said Kelley. “I was nervous.”
Kelley said he wants to diversify what he calls the most segregated hour of the week: Sunday morning church services. He said, right now, 65 percent of the members of his church, located in the 5000 block of Ransom Road, are white.
“Our goal is that we reflect our community, which is the most diverse county in the state, and one of the most diverse in the country,” he said.
Earlier this week, he began walking the circle at the Sugar Land Town Square, carrying a sign that reads: “Am I too white to be your pastor?” And he wants people to answer.
“Being a white pastor, we just said we’ve got to get out there and hold up a sign that says all are welcome here. The sign was a bit unusual,” said Kelley.
So far he said the feedback has been good, but no one has answered ‘yes’ to his question.
“My real hope was people would tell me you are too white to be my pastor and here’s why,” said the pastor.
Kelley said he would take that information and incorporate it into his church to attract people of different racial backgrounds. He’s going back out on Friday with his sign in hand.
Meanwhile, River Pointe High School Pastor Terrace Clayton, who is African-American, says he will be carrying a sign of his own, but he’ll be posing a different question.
“Am I the wrong color to be your pastor?” said Clayton. “I think it’s a sign that makes you think, and it’s a question that makes you go, ‘Well, would I go to a white church or would I go to an all black church.’”
Kelly said ten years ago they sent out mailers with the word ‘diversity’ written across the top. He said their message is still the same:
River Pointe Community Church isn’t about a specific race, but rather a community.