“Walk with [God] this morning and believe in him and do what is right and he’ll be with you even until the consummation of the ages. Yes, I’ve seen the lightning flash, I’ve heard the thunder roll, I’ve felt sin’s breakers dashing trying to conquer my soul but I heard the voice of Jesus saying still to fight on, he promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone; no, never alone, no, never alone. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone.”

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “But If Not”

Dr. King was a man who possessed unshakeable moral principles. Indeed, in the sermon quoted above, he argued that if one did not possess principles for which they were willing to die, they were not fit to live. King knew that, as a leader, he could not merely follow the ebbs and flows of popular opinion but rather must seek to shape the way that others saw the world. In perhaps the most famous example of King exercising prophetic leadership, he publicly offended the Johnson administration, the liberal and conservative press, and even the majority of his own advisors and colleagues in the civil rights struggle by opposing the Vietnam War at Riverside Church. “I have come to this magnificent house of worship tonight,” King stated at the beginning of that speech, “because my conscience leaves me no other choice.” With the benefit of history, we remember King’s denunciation of Vietnam as courageous and prophetic, but at the time of his address it was perceived by many as foolish and reckless. 

Certainly King’s prophetic work against injustice required a strength of character and clarity of vision that is aspirational for us all. He was utterly unwilling to compromise his bedrock commitment to the dignity and worth of all people. Yet, for the remainder of this essay, I want to reflect on the capacity for doubt that, perhaps counterintuitively, worked in concert with clear resolve to make his ministry possible. Put differently, I suggest that there is a certain kind of doubt that ought to be paired with clarity to make creativity and collaboration possible as we collectively struggle for a more just and peaceful society. This combination of clarity and doubt was a key factor in the resilience that King displayed during his years in the fight for the Beloved Community. 

Specifically, I want to highlight two forms of doubt that empowered King to press on in the midst of the complexity he faced. The first is doubt regarding the needs of others. That is to say, King regularly questioned whether his campaigns were in the best interests of those he intended to serve and was open to critique from local leaders and organizers. This kind of doubt served him especially well when he brought his campaign north to Chicago and other cities wherein he had far less experience. King went so far as to move his family into a Chicago slum in order to know the area better, and there, he regularly met and learned from even people who disagreed with his methods, such as local gang leaders. 

The second form of doubt is related to the first, and it regards the efficacy of methods of protest. King did not intend to become a protest leader in Montgomery, and when he found himself in a position of leadership, he accepted help from experts in nonviolent protest, such as Bayard Rustin, to train him. Later, during the Birmingham campaign, he relied heavily upon the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, which altered the protest strategies they pursued considerably. Finally, when the Johnson administration broke ties with King over Vietnam, King and his advisors formulated the Poor People’s Campaign (PPC). The PPC was designed to shut down Washington, D.C., until comprehensive anti-poverty legislation was passed. In this campaign, King listened to his more radical advisors and planned increasingly militant yet nonviolent protests. King recognized the God-given wisdom of others and respected it.

In other words, King’s mixture of a fixed moral foundation and creative doubts led to innovation in his campaigns, which freed him to be led by the Spirit. It was from the Spirit that King ultimately drew his resilience. Other people were the primary conduits of God’s Spirit to him, though he did have mystical encounters with God as well. So, though King was an imperfect man, I believe that we can learn from his recipe for resilience. We ought to have an unshakeable moral and spiritual bedrock while remaining free to grow and learn from others. God’s Spirit was at work during King’s Day, and I believe the Spirit is still at work, guiding us and empowering us to seek the Beloved Community.