WHAT IS THE BLACK CHURCH? QUESTIONS GALORE, PT. I

Necessarily, much discussion is being fostered on the identity of the Black Church. This conversation is prevalent as well as it is problematic. Problematic, if only from the perspectives of its derivation, composition and reflection in the contemporary scene. My initial modus operandi in addressing this subject, which I will pursue in subsequent blogs, is to tackle it by posing a series of insistent questions. First and foremost is, naturally, what is the Black Church?

Is it the collection of churches under the umbrella of the major Black denominations, namely, National Baptists, Missionary Baptists, African Methodist Episcopal (AME), African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ)? Do these alone represent and circumscribe the Black Church? It might be profitable to note that large masses of Blacks were converted and mostly joined the Methodist and Baptist churches after the American Revolution, thereby completing(?) a courtship which began in the Great Awakening in New England. These denominations therefore have historical roots as far as major membership is concerned. Do they demarcate the contours of the Black Church?

Or, should we view the Black Church as the totality of individual institutions with predominant Black congregations? That is to say, does the Black Church include not only the members of major Black denominations but also those predominantly or only Black congregations within major White denominations? Here, individual local bodies within such denominations as the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC); the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA), the Presbyterian church USA (PC USA); the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (the ARP); the Assemblies of God; United Methodist Church; etc., are being addressed.

Further, is it comprised of the Black mega-churches -- typically those with at least two thousand members? Black mega-churches are growing at faster rates than those of their Anglo counterparts. George Barna and Harry R. Jackson, Jr. report in their High Impact African-American Churches that the percentage of large Black churches surpasses that among White or Hispanic congregations and that ".. there are at least a dozen black churches whose attendance exceeds either of those well-known congregations [Willow Creek and Saddleback] by at least a couple thousand people per week!" (p. 26) The high visibility and rapid fecundity of these huge institutions have caused both Blacks and Whites to afford them the status as due representatives of Black religion. Is this accolade well-founded? Is this status accurate ?

Or, is it the aggregation of all African-American church members, whether these are in African-American churches are not? That is to say, is the Black Church constituted of Black members wherever they worship and regardless of their denominational affiliation?

Lastly, is the Black Church a(ny) religious institution furthering the general advancement for African-Americans? "As long as they are people who cannot help themselves there is going to be a need for the Black church." Heard on the Al Sharpton (barbershop) television talk show, “Sharp Talk”(?) on Sunday, January 22, 2006. Many Black churches now have home-ownership programs; community assistance programs; economic development training; entrepreneurial classes; counseling of many kinds; crisis intervention training; and so on, as part of their "curriculum." Is the Black Church therefore a religious entity for furthering the civil, economic and social rights and responsibilities of its people?

These are a few questions that come to mind in the first of three Questions Galore.

Public Edu--what?

The word educate derives from the Latin, educare, to lead out -- very likely from darkness into light. It speaks of a process, even a lifelong process, increasing in intensity, varying in formality and progressing in complexity. Sadly, most of the children in the U.S. are educated in public school systems. Sadly, because these systems are monstrous juggernauts trying to keep up with a culture that is being swallowed up by godless, irrational, neo-pagan, anarchistic currents vigorously striving for official acceptance. Along with jumbo shrimp; bureaucratic efficiency; police protection; gay pride; prosperity gospel; women preachers, and so on, the term public education is a principal member of my list of favorite oxymorons.

Take the DeKalb County, Ga system in which I serve as a substitute teacher. Throughout the spectrum, from elementary to high school, the conversations and conduct of students are indicative of:

Rampant Egocentrism: emphasis is on the immediate and indiscriminate satisfaction of the self. All of life's rivers culminate at a self-appointed apex called "me." The entirety of life serves the regnant, ruthless self. In particular, life's unrequited debt to the self consists of lavish and ludicrous outlays of clothing, unending collections of CDs, videogames, multi-functional cellular phones, and the unrestricted freedom to do as I will. Such values as sacrifice, selflessness, altruism, charity, temperance, kindness, honor, community, and so on, are epistemologically absent from their vocabulary of life. Everyone exists to serve and to meet my needs; the community’s only import is as a subservient instrument of my needs.

Insipid Materialism: thoughts and actions stem from and are locked into the hic et nunc, the here and now. Their paradigm of life is the acquisition of more for the sake of more. This insatiable thrust has as its aim more—more jewelry, amusements, entertainments, clothing, "articles of strong prevailment in unhardened youth" (Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream), fueled by a naked greed and fortified by a corrupt psychology of self-entitlement and self-fulfillment.


And, ultimately of,
Practical Nihilism: In the final analysis, to them nothing really matters; nothing matters, really. Their riveted focus on the temporal and ephemeral; their unswerving insistence on being instantly gratified; their social Darwinist, belligerent tendencies; the prevailing preoccupation with the crass, vile and filthy, all fueled by destructive Hip-Hop lyrics and intoxicating rhythms, point to and strengthen a philosophy of life which logically speaks of all reality being nothing. How? Why? Because in their quest to achieve their aims, destruction of others and self are plausible and even necessary. It is a sub-culture which lives out the existential realities of Nietzschean nihilism and of Sartrean pessimistic futile passion.

To make matters worse, it's a sorrowful reflection of a larger, godless society sinking into the engulfing quicksand of pagan futility, in increasing hostility to any mention of an absolute, transcendent truth.

Whence did this condition arise? Ultimately from fallen culture which insists on and guarantees its stultification and self-destruction by determining to live life apart from God, “under the sun.” But now, does the fault primarily lie with the school system or with the parents? Clearly, both yet major culpability must extend to the latter who are God's first social plank in the construction of society in His image. All humans are required to produce their own kind in the image and likeness of God. This requires parents to execute their God-given covenant role of educating their children. In the case of Christian parents it means:

Instructing them in and modeling to them the importance of living in a covenant relationship with God and with one another. This relationship is generational in its extent, cf. Ps 78:2-6; Acts 2:38, 39; etc.

Inculcating in them a comprehensive, unifying Christian worldview in stanch opposition to its secular counterpart which cannot even adequately meet the needs of this world.

Nurturing them in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 Pe 3:18, Who alone is their ultimate Satisfaction, Sufficiency and Goal, both in this life and in the one to come.

Equipping them to glorify God in all they do and to witness to others, as a rule of life.

Grounding them in the eternal, foundational precept that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom and knowledge, Ps 110:2; Pro 1:7; 9:10; etc. This is the basis of all education.

Home-schooling in a covenant context and with a covenant content is most effective for raising Kingdom-oriented children and home-schoolers ought to be eternally grateful to God for this wonderful privilege of e-duc-ating them. This gratitude manifests itself both upward to God in praise and worship and outward in overflowing empathy and intercession for those unable or unwilling to extricate themselves from the woeful grasp of this dark and oppressive system. After all, aren't we children of light?

PS: I know I've painted with a pretty broad brush but nevertheless the strands are sufficiently accurate and apropos in their identification and application.