Denouncing AKA

Over the past few years, I've watched a lot of videos, read a few blogs, and had a number of conversations with women who have wholeheartedly decided to denounce AKA. And this denouncing "movement," if you will, was instant intrigue for me. I gave a neutral, unbiased ear to every video, every blog, and every personal conversation because I like to hear a person's heart, especially with something as serious as denouncing (to give formal notice of the termination or denial of). 

After watching my first two videos and curiously deciding to watch more, I was intentional in seeking out common threads for why women chose to disconnect themselves from the sorority. I wanted to see if those who were denouncing were doing so for reasons all their own or because, as I alluded to, there was a "movement" in our midst. What I found is that every testimony I heard or read (not to say that this is every woman’s testimony) was from someone who had discovered a new relationship with Jesus or was developing and maturing in her walk with Him.

That was all I needed. 

I knew, without a doubt, what every woman would say after realizing the Lord had gripped her heart. I knew that she would be dismissing herself from AKA because she had, as one YouTuber put it, "pledged her everything to AKA and was too wrapped up in it."

Now, there were other reasons that these women mentioned, and those are not the focus of this blog (maybe I'll tackle those another day), but a desire to have a committed, undivided devotion to the Lord is the one reason that was paramount in every account I witnessed.

And I get it. 

I am completely sold out to God. Every inch of my being belongs to Jesus and the work of spreading the gospel in the earth. I, too, would scratch anything and anyone out of my life that had my heart more than He did. And I have, in fact! I wrote a whole book about the relationships in my life that "weren't it" and that had to bow to Jesus. So, I know what it's like to want to “love the Lord your God” with all your heart, your mind, your soul, and your strength. I know what it's like to want to toss anything that gets in the way of that.

But for me, AKA is not one of those things. 

One thing about Iantha is this: I'M BOLD. In fact, my big sisters in the sorority, the ones who pledged me in, gave me the line name AUDACIOUS. They saw my audacity the moment they met me, and they saw it every second of every day thereafter. I'm steadfast in my decisions and firm in my convictions. I always have been, and I always will be.

At the time I pledged into the Theta Lambda Chapter at Louisiana Tech University on February 6, 2000, I had been walking the Christian walk for only a year. I was a babe in Christ, but my mentor and I still joke about how I was a babe in Christ in date only. When I tell you I had instantaneous growth in the Lord! Whew! Now, I don't claim to have known it all at that time. Lord knows my act WAS NOT together. Again, I wrote a book aaaaall about it. Whew, chile! 

And I still don't have it all together, but I was fully aware, then, that God had grown me up very quickly in His word and in what it means to walk by the Spirit. There were some things I just wasn't gon' do; there were some things I just wasn't gon' say; there were some places I just wasn't gon' go. 

And I didn't. 

And I didn't care how my line sisters felt about it. 

I didn't care how my big sisters or the rest of our sorority sisters felt about it. 

I didn't care if I was missing out on "the party of the century". 

I. Did. Not. Care. 

If I knew it didn't glorify God, I wasn't involving myself in it. I knew that I was to be His example. I was His ambassador, and I knew everything I did, especially in the Greek life “spotlight,” had the potential to ruin people's view of Christianity. And I wasn’t ‘bout that life. I wanted to draw people to Christ. I didn't want to push them away. 

See how I'm the only one in dark blue jeans? Just BOLD! But, AKA taught me when to be bold. Every time ain't my time to stand on my own. We were supposed to all be together as one.

At that time, AKA had my commitment. I had decided, of my own volition, to pledge to serve my community through her exploits. I committed to involve myself in the sorority's programming and give my time to its outreach. And I did. I gave AKA what I said I would.

And she gave right back to me. Through my time in my chapter, I learned what it means to serve my community, wherever that may be. AKA taught me what it means to be a business woman. I learned problem solving and conflict resolution skills through AKA. I developed lasting friendships and grew to understand what sisterhood is and what it is not. AKA served her purpose in my life, and her values and mission I still uphold. 

But AKA didn't have my heart. Jesus did. 

AKA doesn't hold my life in her hands. The Lord Almighty does.

AKA has her respected place with me, but her place has never been, and never will be above God's place. 

There was never a need for me to denounce, but I understand others' need to, and I actually encourage it in extreme cases like the ones I witnessed. These women's hearts and minds didn't even belong to them anymore. They decided, of their own volition, to overcommit and offer an unhealthy allegiance to the sorority.

• There were confessions of little to no focus on school, grades dropping, and failing classes because of their involvement with sorority activity. 
• There were testimonies of only wanting to wear pink and green and/or clothes that displayed the sorority letters. 
• There was even an unveiling of an incident where a young woman ended all of the friendships she had before she pledged so she could build new friendships with her sorority sisters. 

In all of these instances, I would've encouraged the women, if I knew them personally, to move forward with their decision to denounce. And I wouldn't have stopped there. I would've encouraged them to denounce any other thing in their lives, too, that had engulfed them so. I'm grateful the Lord was able to show them that something had taken a seat on the throne of their hearts where only He should rest.  

And if you, Soror, reading now, feel like you're too wrapped up, worshipping the letters that you wear on your chest, or giving more time to sorority meetings, events, conferences, and the like than you offer to God, I would suggest you do a heart check and put AKA in her place. And do the same for PTA, New Orleans Saints (oh, because we worship our sports teams too), your job, social media, Netflix, church (I said it; we worship that too)--anything that has your heart more than He does. Put it to rest or lay it down for a time to learn how to put it in its rightful place. 

Although I haven't been an active member for some time, I am still very much an Alpha Kappa Alpha woman, and as long as she's in her rightful place, we gon' be alright. 

Happy Founders' Day, Sorors! 

#J15 #Sisterhood #ServiceToAllMankind #AKA

@ianthasinsight / www.ianthasinsight.com