I guess there’s a pretty good market for this Christian stuff, then?”
That was a throwaway line in the middle of a scene between the two romantic leads of “I’m In Love with a Church Girl,” played by Ja Rule and Adrienne Bailon, but it might as well have been the Freudian rationale for this film’s existence. Writer and producer Galley Molina may have had the purest motives for this release, but its script and direction seem to be communicating an auxiliary message from its stated intent – See? Christians can be cool! We even got a real rapper!
It pains me to say that because the central message of the film – that God uses all of our circumstances for His glory and for our transformation into who He’s called us to be – is a great message. And it’s not that its central premise of a high-rolling drug dealer falling for a church girl and his life turning upside down is a bad one. That’s Molina’s story, and I give him credit for being willing to adapt it into a feature film and invest his own resources into telling it. But pulling off a movie like this means striking the right balance between being safe enough for the church audiences who will support the film financially, but “street” enough to attract a mainstream audience. This film does the first well, but laughably flails in its attempts to do the second. And it’s not the production values that are the problem.
In terms of the look and feel of the film, “Church Girl” looks legit. The aerial shots are there, the soaring musical cues are right on the money, the slow-motion gangsta postures in the club, the getting-the-crew-together montages…it’s all there. It all feels like a “real movie…” which is, I guess, so much of the problem. This movie tries so hard. So hard! Justto feel like it’s doing everything right. If anything, it could’ve used a little indie film, rough-around-the-edges type vibe, just to help viewers relax and get into it.
Molina clearly has a lot of experience in the entertainment industry, and his pastoral heart is evident enough (he has a cameo as a pastor), but his writing, combined with director Steve Race’s visuals, makes the whole thing seem so heavy handed. I wonder if some overbearing church lady hovered over Molina and Race on set and in the edit bay, scowling and complaining that the movie isn’t holy enough (which might explain the final introductory credit listing God as executive producer). Ease up, church lady!
The film has real moments of authenticity, such as the climactic scene where Rule’s character Miles Montego cries out in anguish to God, but it starts off so stilted that it almost becomes a parody of itself. There’s a moment after Miles’ opening verbal salvo, where it cuts to the stained glass face of Jesus, looking regal, stately and distant. It probably wasn’t supposed to be funny, but it was, to me.
Ja Rule and Adrienne Bailon have decent chemistry in the film, and the supporting work from holy hip-hop veteran Rene Sotomayor (a.k.a T-Bone) as Montego’s right hand, plus brief appearances by Vincent Pastore, (“The Sopranos”), Daniel P. Conte (“Goodfellas”), and Michael Madsen (“Reservoir Dogs”) all help to elevate the proceedings, but their acting can only do so much with such clunky writing.
Israel Houghton’s involvement will be a big draw to gospel music fans, and in that respect, the film does not disappoint. The soundtrack has plenty of funk, gospel, R&B, and hip-hop to fill the movie’s pivotal moments, including a new recording of a Houghton classic, “I Surrender.” As a fan of Christian music in general, I enjoyed appearances by T-Bone and TobyMac, not only onscreen but through their musical cues. (Though I did roll my eyes pretty hard at a scene in a fictional Christian bookstore, plugging T-Bone’s “Bone-A-Fide” album. Christian bookstores with CDs, in tech-savvy northern Cali? What is this, 2003?)
Artistic sensibilities aside, I also wonder if some of the details in “Church Girl” might be sending unintentionally misleading messages about the realities of dating and courtship. I know that part of the tension in stories like this is in watching the bad boy test the good girl’s boundaries[i], but it was somewhat frustrating watching Vanessa’s character be so knowledgeable about the Bible and full of upstanding Christian conduct, and yet react so naively to Miles’ advances. Any adolescent or teenage girls in attendance should be lovingly engaged in a post-movie debrief, otherwise they may walk out of the film thinking that the moral is that missionary dating is perfectly fine as long as the dude makes enough money to regularly buy lavish gifts.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of good messages and performances in “Church Girl,” which is probably enough for many of the churchgoing faithful in the target audience. And I must admit, it’s refreshing to watch a film so doggone earnest in its presentation of its worldview–considering how much snark and sarcasm tends to rule the day. Here’s to hoping earnest makes a comeback.
[i][i][i] A riskier version of this film would’ve included Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” somewhere in the initial meet-cute scenario. As much as I detest the message of that song, it could’ve been used here to good effect.
When Facebook’s No. 2 executive and billionaire, Sheryl Sandberg, released her book entitled, “Lean In: Women, Work, and The Will to Lead,” earlier this year, it was sure to become a success. The back cover reveals an endorsement by Oprah, who labeled the book, “The new manifesto for women in the workplace,” followed by the raving reviews of The New York Times, The New Yorker, Fortune, Forbes, The Atlantic, and Entertainment Weekly. It’s no secret; everyone wants to hear what Sandberg has to say on the topic of women and leadership.
For experienced professional women in the workplace, Sandberg is actually not saying anything new. On the other hand, she is a woman who has been privileged to have education, access, opportunity, mentorship, sponsors, and coaches, all of which increased her likelihood of success in the workplace. When people look at Sandberg, they a see a white woman and it is important to recognize that her experiences are not typical of the average woman who works. From her privileged experiences, she paints a broad stroke in her assessments without fully acknowledging all of power dynamics at play, particularly when considering the experiences of women of color.
As an African-American woman who has encountered professional power struggles while serving in the military and federal government in predominately white male-dominated environments, I wanted to have a conversation with an African-American woman in the corporate arena to discuss the applicability of “Lean In” for Black women who work. I am honored to have this talk with Dr. Ancella Livers, who is the author of “Leading in Black and White: Working across the Racial Divide in Corporate America” and Senior Design Faculty of the global Center of Creative Leadership in Greensboro, NC. Dr. Livers is an expert in designing programs for leadership training and coaching.
Dr. Livers, thank you for taking the time with speak with UrbanFaith. What were your initial thoughts after reading “Lean In?”
Sandberg hasn’t said anything new. She does speak from a white privilege perspective and when considering the implications of racial or ethnic minorities, she does not know what she does not know. I thought the book was good for the purpose of bringing this long-standing conversation to the forefront with a new generation of leaders. This is not the first time that we are having this conversation, though the issues are still current and a young audience needs to hear the conversation introduced from a new teller. Sandberg is the new teller who shapes this conversation to raise the consciousness for a younger generation of women who do not have to fight to break into entry level positions because the generations before them have broken threw to gain access for them. For the younger generation, the disparity and continuation of the gender struggle is sometimes not evident until later in their professional careers. Even in the gender struggle, we must be careful to understand, however, that the middle and upper-class white woman’s experience is not the experiences of everybody.
Is Sandberg’s perspective one that fits only within the white female experience or can it be universalized as women’s experience regardless of race or ethnicity?
Sandberg possibly does not see how a person’s race impacts their view. She seems to have no awareness of how her race and economic status help her navigate society, work, and the world because her “norms” obviously colors how she sees and navigates the world. She wrote a book for professional women and she wrote from the perspective of a privileged white woman. However, just because her perspective is somewhat limited, does not mean that others who do not share her privilege cannot benefit from reading her book. “Lean In” introduces the conversations of women, work, and leadership in a way that we haven’t been doing in years. It introduces a conversation to a new generation that may not be aware of these challenges in the past. These conversations are important. We need to talk about the implications, barriers, and circumstances for professional women that work, and just because the book does not completely meet our needs as African-American women, does not mean that it has no value.
I recently read a review of the book that was written by an African American male leader who wrote: “I wonder if the author is using the term “men” globally or for white men in particular. I find as a man of color that her assumptions are primarily about white men. Her illustrations of success are primarily about white women. Black women have been leaders for a long time–but have not had access. The author has had money, education and networks. She has also has had access–and now wants ownership. Many women of color are just trying to get in the door–and men of color as well.” What are your thoughts on this comment?
Sandberg is at the top of the ladder and her environment mostly includes white men. She should want ownership. When we have put in the work, we should all want ownership. Throughout American history, we have consistently seen this battle between race and gender. This was the source of many conversations when Hillary Clinton was campaigning against Barack Obama for the presidency—the underlining question became, “Who is going to become President first, a white woman or a black man?” Even within the African-American community, on many levels we are asking the question, “Does maleness trump blackness?” In the same way that white women don’t see their race as a physical norm that may benefit them professionally, black men often don’t see the benefits of their gender.
In chapter 5, Sandberg raises the important topic of the need for mentorship and sponsorship in the workplace. She has succeeded largely because others have sponsored her by opening doors and giving her access. Andy Crouch is the executive producer of Christianity Today’s This is Our City project and executive editor of Christianity Today. He just released his new book titled, “Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power,” which reminded me of our need to have more conversations about the power dynamics in the work place. One of his promotional video clips for the book is entitled, “Playing the Cello.” In it, he shares how he started taking cello lessons from an expert cellist who is investing his time in teaching Andy, the amateur, how to play the cello. Through teaching, the expert is making room for Andy to learn how to play the cello, which increases the “power” and gift of cello playing in the world. The expert cellist’s power to play the cello is not diminished by Andy’s new found ability and increased skill to play the cello, but as a result of his teaching and mentoring, the power to play the cello has flourished in the world. I think that’s a beautiful example of what we can see in the workplace when our understanding of what is available to us is increased. When the fear of another person taking our power goes away, the people who have power are more generous with the offerings they make to others and to the world. Do you agree?
There is research about scarcity or even the perception of scarcity in the workplace and its direct connection to the unwillingness to help others, even those who are like us.
In their scholarly article, “Evolution and Patriarchal Myths of Scarcity and Competition,” Michael Gross and Mary Beth Averill present scarcity and competition as two related themes in the patriarchal image of nature. Even the connectedness of the two themes, speaks to the importance and need of diversity in the workplace where all people are valued because of their differences and the experiences they bring to the table. As more diverse people are included and their contributions are valued in leadership positions, board meetings, and organizations, then the power of creating and producing increases, and the perception of scarcity and competition is minimized.
UrbanFaith readers, what are your perceptions of Sandberg’s “Lean In?” Does it speak to the Black woman’s experience? How does this book contribute to the field of leadership development and the relationships between men and women in the workplace?
WASHINGTON (RNS) Suzan Johnson Cook, the State Department’s ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, will announce this week that she is resigning after 17 months on the job, according to two sources familiar with her office.
President Obama nominated the former Baptist minister to serve as his top adviser on protecting religious freedom around the world. When confirmed by the Senate in April 2011, she became the first woman and the first African-American in the position, which had been held by two people before her.
Obama had been criticized for taking too much time after his own swearing-in to nominate a religious freedom ambassador, a position created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
He first nominated Johnson Cook in June 2010, but her nomination expired in January 2011 and Obama was forced to renominate her several weeks later.
During the nomination battle, Johnson Cook likened herself to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
“They called Margaret Thatcher the ‘Iron Lady,’” she said just after being renominated. “Change the name. It’s mine now.”
Obama was criticized for choosing Cook, who had strong religious credentials and ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton’s political network, but scant diplomatic experience.
But she had a track record as a high-level counselor. She advised President Bill Clinton as a White House fellow on the Domestic Policy Council, and worked with the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development on faith-based issues.
Cook also founded Wisdom Women Worldwide Center, a global organization for female faith leaders.
During her Senate confirmation hearing, Cook cited her travels to five continents. She has led interfaith delegations to Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the Caribbean.
Cook said U.S. diplomacy on religious freedom should involve not just forging relations with government officials but working with religious leaders abroad who can help influence political leaders.
“The front lines demand strategic action, not emotional nor reactionary tactics, but strategic, prayerful action,” Cook said in 2011. “Either we deal with it now or fundamental extremists can fill the power vacuums where regions have lacked democratic institutions.”
In recent months, her office has been eclipsed by the appointment of Shaun Casey, a Christian ethicist and longtime Democratic consultant, as head of the State Department’s Office of Faith-based Community Initiatives, where he oversees religious engagement for Secretary John Kerry.
Cook received her doctor of ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in 1990 and spent much of her career in her native New York City, where she was senior pastor and CEO of the Bronx Christian Fellowship Baptist Church in New York City from 1996 to 2010. According to her State Department biography, she was also a chaplain with the New York City Police Department for 21 years and served on the front lines during 9/11, where she was publicized as “America’s chaplain.”
Sources who said she was leaving the job, who declined to be publicly named because the announcement had not been made public, said they did not know what she would do next, or who might be nominated to replace her.
Copyright 2013 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written permission.
