A Hidden Past, A Hurtful Present, A Hopeful Future: Pastor Jerome Gay Jr. Joins the Virtual Lunch Huddle

If you weren't at our April Virtual Lunch Huddle, you missed something special. But don't worry — we got you.

This month, we had the honor of sitting down with Pastor Jerome Gay Jr., founding pastor of Vision Church right here in Raleigh, NC, and author of The Whitewashing of Christianity: A Hidden Past, A Hurtful Present, and A Hopeful Future.

Let me tell you — he brought it!

So What Is Whitewashing?

Pastor Jerome defines whitewashing as the process of taking biblical figures, Christian history, and even early African Christians and presenting them as white men and women — removing the Black and Brown presence from redemptive history.

The impact? It wasn't just simply academic. It was personal. It was spiritual. It was generational.

As Pastor Jerome shared in response to the question about young people — especially young Black men. Many are walking away from the faith because Christianity has been presented in a way that makes them feel excluded from their own story. Some are turning to the Hebrew Israelites. Some are pursuing other forms of spirituality. Some are deconstructing all the way to atheism. That breaks his heart and breaks ours, too.

A Hidden Past We Were Never Taught

One of the most powerful parts of the conversation was Pastor Jerome talking us through the African heroes of the Christian faith — people most of us were never taught about in church or in school.

Tertullian. Athanasius. Cyprian. Origen. Perpetua and Felicity — two African women who were martyred for their faith. Then there's John Mark, an African Jew from Cyrene, who wrote the Gospel of Mark in our Bibles.

These aren't footnotes. These are pillars of the faith who were erased from the story for far too long.

Pastor Jerome also reminded us that the slave Bible removed 98 percent of the Book of Exodus. Why? Because Exodus is a story about freedom. About God delivering His people out of bondage. Slaveholders couldn't risk enslaved people reading that.

A Hurtful Present That's Still With Us

The conversation didn't stay in the past. Pastor Jerome was honest about what whitewashing looks like right now, today, in 2026.

It looks like white imagery on every screen in every church — a white Moses, a white David, a white Jesus. It looks like churches shunning passionate worship because it doesn't fit a certain cultural mold. It looks like pastors who know the truth but are afraid to speak it because they might lose their paycheck or their pulpit.

It looks like the politicization of the faith. As Pastor Jerome put it, when you lift up a political party above God, that's idolatry. Period! Whether it's the left or the right — when the Bible gets filtered through politics instead of politics getting filtered through the Bible, we end up in the wrong place every time.

Reggie didn't hold back either. She shared what she's hearing in her own racial healing groups — couples divided, families taking sides, people being bombarded with white nationalism in their own homes. It's real. It's happening right here in our communities.

A Hopeful Future Worth Fighting For

Here's the good news — and this is why we do what we do at The Encouraging Place.

Pastor Jerome sees hope. Real, tangible, gospel-centered hope.

He's seeing more Black and brown apologists rising up who know what they believe and why. He's seeing people come out of false teachings and trusting Christ through informed, honest Christians who know their Bible and their history. He's seeing white brothers and sisters stay in the room when the conversation gets hard instead of walking out.

Here's something that surprised even Reggie: For the first time in over 30 years, young men are the primary demographic returning to the church. Men are beginning to outnumber women in some congregations. The question Pastor Jerome said, is what do we have for them when they get there?

The answer? Discipleship. Not politics. Not prosperity gospel. Not Sunday-only Christianity. Real, gospel-centered discipleship. That's what Jesus told us to do, and that's what's drawing people back.

This Is Why We Gather

For over 30 years, The Encouraging Place has been bringing people together around tables — Black and white, young and old — to have honest conversations about race, faith, and what it means to be family across lines of difference.

This conversation with Pastor Jerome was a reminder of why this work matters. Why we can't give up. Why we keep pulling up chairs and making room.

As Pastor Jerome prayed at the close of our time together, we are called to walk in the ministry of reconciliation. The most important reconciliation is being reconciled to Christ through faith in Jesus. From there, He makes us ministers and ambassadors of reconciliation to one another.

That's the work. That's the call — we're not done yet.

Want to Go Deeper?

Get the book: The Whitewashing of Christianity is available on Amazon in Kindle, paperback, hardcover, and Audible formats. You can also get a signed copy at jeromegayjr.com.

Check out the apparel: Visit imapparel.net for the African Heroes clothing line. A percentage of proceeds supports Vision Church's church plant in Ghana.

Visit Vision Church: 5808 Departure Drive, Raleigh, NC. Three Sunday services at 8:00 AM, 9:30 AM, and 11:30 AM. Learn more at visionrdu.com.

Attend the conference: Vision Church is hosting an apologetics conference on June 12–13. Register at visionrdu.com/URC.

Watch the full conversation: https://youtu.be/TnGpTB1LVvY?si=dXDmhNYpejWFjzRI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnGpTB1LVvY

Join Us Next Month

Our Virtual Lunch Huddle happens monthly. Grab your lunch, log on, and be part of the conversation. We'll even accept questions close to the end of the session. Visit theencouragingplace.org to RSVP for next month's gathering.

You are welcome here.

Always.