“Minister, Activist, Mystic”: A Review of Enlightenment by Rev. Michael J. S. Carter

 (Pisgah Press, 2023). ISBN: 978-1-942016-81-6

Amongst the masses of every generation, there are those who possess such a strong Vision, clear Voice, and dedication to the betterment of humankind that they rise above the noise with a message of Hope, Love, and Enlightenment to which we all should pay attention.

Reverend Michael J. S. Carter, who shepherds a flock of Unitarian Universalists (UUs) in western North Carolina, is one of those rare individuals who possess both strength of Conviction and depth of Humility.

If you watch the History Channel’s Ancient Aliens, you may have seen Rev. Carter. He is easy to spot—a rare African American voice in the world of UFOlogy and the paranormal. Having an actor’s training (he has led many intersecting, cumulatively synergistic lives), Rev. Carter has a pleasant voice, soothing cadence, and commanding presence.

He knows of what he speaks.

I first met my Reverend Brother several years ago, through a mutual colleague in UFOlogy. I have since read and reviewed two of his books on UFOs and the Bible (which include his contactee experiences) and had him on my podcast three times to talk about this subject. As he is with his congregation, Rev. Carter is measured, well read, and passionate as he talks about biblical misinterpretations, spontaneous personal healings, and time spent with a wide array of interdimensional or ultraterrestrial beings.

The rest of this review will focus on Rev. Carter’s latest book, Enlightenment, which is a collection of thirty sermons given to his congregation, grouped by subject matter: Religion, Justice, Spiritual Growth, and Holidays.

UUs, in case you are unfamiliar, are a unique and open-minded group of spiritual seekers. They come from many religious backgrounds and some members come from none at all. As the publisher tells us in the Foreword, their sacrament is the “Search for Truth.” As dedicated truth-seekers know, one cannot afford to dismiss any religion, field of knowledge, or experience out of hand. To do so is to limit one’s chances of finding the Truth that we seek.

To appreciate the transdisciplinary nature of UU, I recommend the sermon “A Spirituality of the Ordinary,” which draws from numerous religious, spiritual, and philosophical systems and points of view.

In my life as an artist-activist and spiritual storyteller, I have had the pleasure of presenting my theatre company’s original, socially conscious plays to a variety of UU congregations. I have found them to be some of the most intelligent, open, passionate, and vocal audiences I have encountered. They were one of the few groups that did not feel threatened or offended by our name, New Mystics. They inherently understood its meaning, as does Rev. Carter, as evidenced by several of the essays in this collection.

There is no way to do justice to the profound wisdom and breadth of inspiration that comprise these thirty sermons. The best that I can do in this two-page review is to highlight recurrent themes beyond the four section headings and whet your appetite for the feast that is this not quite two-hundred-page gift to a troubled, angry world.

The first overarching theme is defining loaded words such as Christian, God, god, spirituality, religion, biblical interpretation, revelation, and the distinctions, connections, and dynamic tensions that empower them. Rev. Carter not only draws on a plethora of theologians and philosophers who have tackled these abstractions—he details his own determined journey of navigation upon the river in which each of these complex words represents both an obstacle and potential point of refuge.

This dance of macro and micro, of universal and personal, is the mark of a trustworthy leader, shepherd, minister, or activist… “Join me in this cave of unknowns” is far different than, “Go and explore, knowing God is beside you…”

Taking a transdisciplinary approach over the course of the thirty sermons, Rev. Carter tackles such traditionally thorny Dyads as Science and Religion, Dark and Light, Black and White, and Activist and Mystic (the latter being the title of an essential chapter for those of us committed to Equality and Justice). In each case, he finds the points of nexus and, where they are detrimental to society, reconciles their contradictions, creating a vibrant Triad, of which we (the congregation) are an indispensable part.

He also explores issues of race, such as the relationship between African Americans and the Fourth of July and the benefits and liabilities of African American History Month.  

The sermon “Beginnings and Endings” echoes comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell’s dynamic and circular Hero’s Journey. If you believe in the power of Story, this is essential reading. The oft-examined life of the Truth Seeker and Storyteller necessitates numerous separations, initiations, and returns. This sermon—and this book—are the food and journey instead of merely the menu and map so often offered in the typical Sunday sermon.

The section “On Spiritual Growth” covers manners, the inner landscape, the heart, feelings, caring for self and others, ancestors, and pain and healing. Rev. Carter employs all of the tools in his considerable toolbox in these sermons, which, at five pages and about a 20-minute read per sermon, make for start-your-day reading, meditations, and repeated visits and contemplation.  

The final section, Holidays, provides historical and cultural background (often missing in the sermons by Christian clergy because they are loath to admit that almost everything in their religion has been coopted and reconstituted from pagan rituals and myths) and new perspectives on Easter, Yom Kippur, Thanksgiving, Hannukah, and Christmas.

Enlightenment is not a read once and put it on the shelf by the Bible (or Torah, or Koran, or Vedas) kind of book. It is a beautiful Book of Days (if you were to read each sermon one day a month for each month of the year), a prayer book, an extended sutra embedded with myriad koans, and an encouraging, resonant guidebook to a richer and more fulfilling inner and outer life.

I applaud Pisgah Press for publishing these thirty sermons, so that countless UUs (and everyone else!) outside of Reverend Michael Carter’s congregation can benefit from his deep well of Wisdom, Faith, and Love.