African American Church Mission Essay

Kelly Brown Douglas begins by posing a series of questions, including, “Who is the Black Christ?” and “Is the Black Christ Enough?” (6-7) For Douglas, the Black Christ, “…represents God’s urgent movement in human history to set Black captives free from the demons of White racism” (3). The question of “Who is the Black Christ?” is addressed in Chapter 3. The question of “Is the Black Christ enough?” is addressed in Chapters 4 and 5, as Douglas critically examines the relationship of the Black Christ to the Black community and ends with addressing what womanist theology is and why there is a need for it in understanding the Black Christ.

Since the arrival of African Americans in this country blacks have always had differing experiences. Consequently, African-Americans have had to forge a self-identity out of what has been passed on to them as fact about their true selves. History has wrought oppression and subjugation to this particular race of people and as a result, certain institutions were formed in order aid African-Americans, culturally, spiritually and economically. The African-American Church has served of one such institution. From the time of slavery, though outlawed, many slaves found ways to congregate and form their own "churches", away from the one-sided and bias lessons about the bible that they were being taught in the white church. The white ministers and

In African-American history, "the church" has been the center of Black communities and has been established as the greatest source for African American religious enrichment and development. The term, "the Black Church” represents many details of racial and religious lifestyles unique to Black history. By 1700, most Protestant and Catholic slave owners came to a conclusion, that if a slave had a soul, conversion to Christianity had no effect on them being a slave. Some slave owners searched for passages in the Bible that made it sound as if the Bible approved the enslavement of black men and woman. During the 1730s, the "Great Awakening" movement brought about a demand for the use of livelier music called hymns in worship service. This new

As the only white individual entering the church on Sunday I felt extremely out of place and very uncomfortable, at first. Upon entering the church, before I could even find a place to sit, the pastor came to welcome me and showed me a place to sit for the service. The pastor was very kind and so welcoming that my nervousness and worry started to vanish. Once I was seated and more people entered the church, I was treated as if I had always been there and was part of the group. Although I was the minority at the service I did feel very comfortable with my surroundings and with the people in attendance. The whole experience was very interesting and broadened my perspective on the African American culture.

It gives one a close glimpse at what exactly kept them going strong in this period of mistreatment, and just how they were so spiritually strong even at their weakest physically. It was said to be that African-Americans established this “invisible institution” through signals, passwords, and other things. It was here in Church where they mixed their African rhythms, sang, and praised God.

For almost eight decades, enslaved African-Americans living in the Antebellum South, achieved their freedom in various ways—one being religion—before the demise of the institution of slavery. It was “freedom, rather than slavery, [that] proved the greatest force for conversion among African Americans in the South” (94). Starting with the Great Awakening and continuing long after the abolition of slavery, after decades of debate, scholars conceptualized the importance of religion for enslaved African-Americans as a means of escaping the brutalities of daily life. Overall, Christianity helped enslaved African American resist the degradation

The African Methodist Episcopal Church also known as the AME Church, represents a long history of people going from struggles to success, from embarrassment to pride, from slaves to free. It is my intention to prove that the name African Methodist Episcopal represents equality and freedom to worship God, no matter what color skin a person was blessed to be born with. The thesis is this: While both Whites and Africans believed in the worship of God, whites believed in the oppression of the Africans’ freedom to serve God in their own way, blacks defended their own right to worship by the development of their own church. According to Andrew White, a well- known author for the AME denomination, “The word African means that our church was

Black theology can be traced back to when slavery times. During this time Christianity became the blacks man’s purpose of life,

(Response to Question 2) In studying the Black Church not only as an institution, but as a transitioning tradition—I have come understand the role it plays in the lived Black experience. It is within the Black Church that one encounters a Divine that affirms and respects Black bodies, communities, and cultures. And from that affirmation and respect, derives the societal call to address the systemic oppression and disregard of Blackness.

Long before their contact with whites, Africans were a strongly religious, and deeply spiritual people. During the early history of slavery, the African American spirituality was often seen by whites as a pagan faith. These rituals and dogmas were seen by whites as Voodoo, Hoodoo, Witchcraft, and superstitions. They often commented on these "pagan practices," and fetishes, and were threatened by them. As a result, great effort was put on eradicating these practices, and many were lost within a generation.# Although tremendous efforts was placed on eradicating the “superstitious” religious beliefs of the African slaves, they were not immediately introduced to the religion of white slave masters, Christianity. Many planters resisted the idea of converting slaves to Christianity out of a fear that baptism would change a slave's legal status. The black population was generally untouched by Christianity until the religious revivals of the 1730s and 1740s. The Bible was manipulated to support the institution of slavery and its inhumane practices. Christianity was used to suppress and conform slaves. Slaveholders, priests, and those tied to the Church undermined the beliefs of the millions of African-Americans converts.# White Christianity was used to justify the enslavement of blacks. By the early nineteenth century, slaveholders had adopted the view that Christianity would make slaves more submissive and orderly.

By revealing the opposition and obstacles, the black church may seize the opportunity of becoming a force to be reckoned with in our society. America was born with a grotesque, cancerous disease called slavery. This disease lingers to this day in many forms and subtle variations. The plantation mentality is still with us. Sometimes it masquerades as democracy and free enterprise, but the effect is the same on the spirits of the poor and oppressed. When black men moved indoors to work in industry and business, they found themselves imprisoned behind the walls of institutional racism. Nothing really had

These three perceptions are distinctly different, but ultimately speak to the contextual nature of Black theology—rooting worship, adoration, and discipleship within the notion a (conscious) living G-d. The first perception explored is the image G-d adored through the lens of Sister Sweet and Mother Darling. At first glance, these women appear different in life style and theology—different churches, different abilities, and different approaches to discipleship. But upon further examination, one discovers the same paradigm at work. Both have lost children to AIDS. Both have committed themselves to a praxis centered theology to process their loss. Mother Darling is street missionary and Sister Sweet is a disabled woman confined to a wheel that feeds the birds and attends to the needs of the Little piece of Heaven Church. Both have found peace in their personalized work for the Lord. Their G-d is a “shelter in a time of storm.” The second perception is the image of G-d as seen through Deacon Zee. This G-d is one of salvation and complacence for Deacon Zee. The “White Jesus” he prayed to for his assistance in finding his copy of the Wall Street Journal—a nuanced symbol for prosperity. This G-d speaks to the corporate nature and element of

Dr. Joe Newman, secondary principal of First Assembly Christian School in Memphis, Tennessee, holds a Ph.D. in United States history and a M.Ed. in educational administration, and is also an ordained minister in the Assemblies of God having served in various positions since 1981. Dr. Newman’s credibility on the subject of race, gender, and economic issues in the Assemblies of God church is noted in his book, Race and The Assemblies of God Church: The Journey from Azusa Street to the “Miracle of Memphis”. With the genre of his book as historical non-fiction, many historical and society changing cultural events are explored and are essential to explaining and understanding the stance of the Assemblies of God church in their support of racial

African-American religion dealt with life as blacks lived it. It was about pain and sorrow, sin and shortcoming, pardon and joy, praise and thanksgiving, grace and hope. This version of Evangelicalism provided a wonderful benefit; it was able to accomplish great things in their lives that were frequently shouted about. Whether it be through a simple shout during church, or a song sung in the fields Evangelicalism took root among African-Americans. Large numbers underwent conversion, baptism, instruction, worship, and lived the life of a Christian even in face of oppression. Although, the development of their own religious institutions would await Emancipation and the war 's end, there were many thousands of Negro Baptists and Methodists by 1850, which represented what African-American religious culture had grown into.

Although this information on Liberation Theology is essential to understanding of this concept, the focus of our presentation, in relation to our class, was Black Liberation Theology. It is easy to see how African Americans relate to the idea of Liberation Theology, as a historically socially oppressed group of peoples. The encompassed theme of Black Liberation theologians is the concept of God emancipating African Americans from white racism. Jesus in Liberation Theology is commonly represented as a ‘Poor Black Man’, therefore allowing the representation of a relatable figure for the African American people. One way in which we felt the concept of Liberation Theology come together with class discussion, was in relation to the Black Liberation Theologian, James Cone, whom we had previously discussed in class time, leading up to this presentation.