4. Shifts: Find a Penny

Today's reading is Chapter 4 of Blue Like Jazz.

In Chapter 4, a friend warns Miller not to go to Reed College because God does not want him there. Laura criticizes the American church for harboring racism. And Miller says Reed gave him richer spiritual encounters than church ever had. These are his experiences and opinions, so treat them as something to weigh, not accept or dismiss all at once.

James 2 is about a church failing at welcome. A man in fine clothes and a gold ring comes in and gets a good seat. A poor man in shabby clothes is told to stand or sit at someone's feet. James says this makes the church “judges with evil thoughts.” He begins with a command: “show no partiality.” Then he reminds them that God has chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith. The people the church was ignoring were the people God had honored.

This shows that a church can fail at the basics. If a church seats people by status, it is not just rude. James treats it as a serious contradiction of faith in the Lord of glory. So when someone like Miller says he found more genuine spiritual life outside church, James does not give us permission to wave it away. Sometimes churches earn that criticism.

Now Laura's charge. James's own example is about wealth: rich over poor. Racism is a different kind of partiality, so applying James 2 to it extends his point beyond his example. But the extension is fair, because of James 2:9: “But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” That verse does not limit sin to partiality toward the rich. Any favoritism that ranks people by what the world values breaks the royal law, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If Laura is right that churches have harbored racism, James would call it sin, not a misunderstanding.

Be fair in both directions. Miller's experience at Reed does not prove that churches are spiritually empty or that only outsiders see God. People find real encounters with God in many places, but that does not erase what a faithful church can offer: shared worship, correction, and care across ages and backgrounds. A better question than "Which is better?" is "What did each give me, and what did each miss?"

If a church has hurt you through abuse, humiliation, or exclusion, tell a pastor, counselor, or trusted friend what happened. Faithfulness to Jesus never requires you to stay near people who harm you.