My Statement Regarding Leadership Issues at Hope Community Church

July 9, 2022

I have had the opportunity to work with Michelle Reyes in the co-authoring of our book The Race-Wise Family. I have been grateful for her partnership on this project, without which it would never have reached the finish line.

But I have recently learned about the allegations of spiritual abuse and mismanagement which are deeply concerning regarding the ways in which Michelle, her husband Aaron, and certain elders have led Hope Community Church in Austin, TX. I was unaware of any of these allegations until just this past week. I have since been sent and read numerous documents related to the various investigations that have already taken place. And I have spoken both with Michelle and with a number of people who have intimate knowledge about the alleged abuses. Although I wish that we could have just kept all these conversations private, the nature of these allegations is public, and I have been asked multiple times already to offer my input on the matter given my professional connection with Michelle as a co-author. Thus, I have chosen to address this publicly.

The net result of my own process of discernment is that I believe those who have made the brave choice to come forward with their stories. Given the allegations, it’s clear to me that a credible third-party investigation of all that has transpired under the Reyes’s leadership is necessary and crucial to discerning the full truth. Prior to my publishing this statement, I made clear to Michelle that my actions are not of a vindictive or slanderous nature, but they are an attempt to speak the truth in love and friendship. I still believe that God brought Michelle and I together to write The Race-Wise Family, not because we were race experts who had figured everything out on this topic, but because we were two fellow Christian moms of color raising children of color, and we had both given enough thought to these issues that we could potentially help those a step or two behind us on the journey. I’m grateful for all those who supported the book, whether as our foreword author, endorsers, launch team members, and/or friends who shared about it, not to mention our publisher (WaterBrook). It grieves me that this controversy may negatively affect anyone who has stood behind the book along the way.

That said, I am not concerned if this present issue for Michelle and Aaron means that fewer people learn about or buy this book. There are more important matters at hand that have eternal significance far exceeding book sales or platform growth, neither of which means anything in God’s economy. As profoundly coined by my friend and author Marlena Graves, “the way up is down.” The only “up” that matters in this life is reaching toward faithful Christlikeness.

I believe this is a pivotal moment of potential learning for Michelle, Aaron, and anyone else at Hope Community Church (or elsewhere) who enable a toxic and abusive culture to survive and even thrive. I do not write this to cancel any of these individuals, but instead to affirm that which I know is good while calling for humility and repentance at the same time. I have personally witnessed Michelle’s prodigious gifts and talents in action, and I trust God will continue to use those for his purposes and for his kingdom, because she has much to offer. But for the present moment, my fervent hope and prayer is that repentance will be sought and forgiveness requested (and when appropriate, extended) so that all may eventually heal.

(PS: I will be making no further comments about this matter, and I will be largely off social media starting on July 10th, so do not be surprised by my reticence in the coming days and beyond. Thank you for your understanding.)