High Street's legacy

Most people outside of Roanoke’s black community know me as Dr. Reginald Shareef — a professor, writer and Islamic thinker.

But, for the first 23 years of my life (I am now 53), I was Reginald Thomas — student, fun guy and a member of High Street Baptist Church. The revered Dr. Noel C. Taylor was my minister and a friend for all of my formative years. We remained friends until his death.

I was baptized and grew up in that church. My parents and both sets of grandparents were devoted members, and I have living relatives who have been a part of its community for more than 60 years. A portrait of my mother, painted by my brother, has hung in the church for nearly 35 years.

My association with High Street did not stop when I became Reginald Shareef. I took my grandmother to the annual Christmas dinner each year until her death in the late 1980s. I continued that tradition with her best friend until her death in the late 1990s. My wife and children always attended these occasions with me. Although I professed a different religious faith, I was always made to feel a part of the High Street family.

The church was the genesis of any God-consciousness I possess; it formed the moral code by which I live. Any notion of a cause-and-effect relationship between good deeds and good outcomes was first inculcated at home and then strongly reinforced in the institution’s Sunday school, Sunday services, and summer vacation bible school.

I have a deep psychological, emotional and social connection with the “place” known as High Street Baptist Church.

That’s why the departure of Rev. Floyd Davis, and the resulting split of the church family, has troubled me. As both an outsider and insider viewing the situation, I don’t have a side or position about the controversy. My only emotion is sadness that any of this is occurring at all.

As a scholar who studies Leadership and Organization Change, however, I see that many of these problems could have been predicted. Numerous studies have shown the difficulty a successor has in following a charismatic leader like Noel C. Taylor. That is, unless the incumbent leader anoints an heir or grooms a successor. When this doesn’t happen, it is highly probable that the organization or institution will suffer a crisis.

The business world witnessed this phenomenon last week with the firing of Carly Fiorina by computer giant Hewlett-Packard. Her flashy “cult of personality” style of leadership clashed with the more traditional corporate culture that founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard initiated 65 years ago in a Palo Alto, Calif., garage. Her termination was predictable — she had never truly been endorsed any of the organizations formal and informal leaders.

None of this implies that Fiorina was not an inspiring and visionary leader. The endorsement of her vision for HP was needed to give her legitimacy as a leader. When this was not forthcoming, her days as head of the organization were numbered.

Not planning for a successor can be particularly devastating for a religious organization. We hear a lot of commentary in the news about Sunni and Shite Muslims. Given this commentary, one would think that there are significant theological differences between the two groups. There aren’t.

This division occurred because the Shites believe that the prophet Muhammad anointed his son-in-law, Imam Ali, to succeed him. Sunni Muslims do not believe this endorsement took place. Thus, the acidic split. Shite is Arabic for “the followers or partisans of Ali.”

A reconciliation at High Street may not happen. Yet, other churches can learn from this experience. This is especially true for black congregations that had to struggle for decades raising the resources to build the nice facilities they now own. Powerful and beloved leaders such as  Bill Lee at Loudon Avenue Baptist, Sweet Union’s E.T. Burton, and Kenneth Wright at First Baptist should begin the public grooming process of a successor or slate of potential successors. That endorsement will positively influence how the congregation perceives and accepts the next minister.

In his famous 1858 debate with Stephen Douglas, Abraham said “a house divided by itself cannot stand.” This is true for religious organizations as well as nations. My hope is that High Street can find a leader who possesses the vision, personality and healing capability that allows the church to make steady progress in the future.

That would be an appropriate legacy for a great institution.