Clinton Church Meeting Essay

“Roll, Jordan, Roll”, “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Had”, “Go Down, Moses”, and “Wade in the Water” are the titles of only a handful of what were called “Negro Spirituals”, which originated during the reign of slavery in the United States (Frey). Such spirituals used call-and-response, a method of communication that was popular with slaves who brought African traditions to America, and gave way to the gospel music and unique form of preaching characteristic to the Black Church. The history of the Black Church, which began during the slave era, demonstrates the way that African Americans found refuge in Christianity, where the church became the center for African American communities (Baer). Born out of struggle and oppression, the Black Church not only became the focus for the religious practices of African American communities, but also worked to “re-member” the community through rituals such as that of call-and-response, a core element of the Black Church which served as a powerful tool for the African American community in the fight for the exercise of true freedom in America.

Butler delves into the complexity, intricacy, and lengthy explanation of the Black church’s social construct within the black Pentecostal religion that established both an order and a tone for its female congregants. The Butler review chronicled one sect of the black church giving its attention to the upward mobility of leadership for the women of color within the Church of God in Christ (COGIC). Albeit, the black religious institution is a broad and differentiated one, its tenets are fluid in details and calls for this examination, which looks at the outcomes of the reformations that were made through this movement that burgeoned in early 1896, where

The General Conference of the United Methodist Church voted in 1968 to abolish the African-American Central Jurisdiction and to merge all churches regardless of race under the new United Methodist Church. It set a goal for each Annual Conference area to merge together by 1972. South Carolina began discussions on merger as early as 1966, but it took until 1972 to accomplish the goal. The two conferences, the all-white 1785 Conference, and the African-American 1866 Conference merged at the 1972 Annual Conference meetings in Spartanburg. This paper will focus on the issues that faced the merger starting with the first Plan for Merger in 1970 until the completion of the merger in 1972.

Bell and H.A. Goss issued a call to convene a general council of “all Pentecostal saints and Church Of God In Christ followers,” to meet the following April at Hot Springs, Arkansas. This invitation went only to the white saints.

Sernett, Milton C. Bound for the Promised Land: African American Religion and the Great Migration. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press Books, 1997. Explores the role of the Great Migration in transforming black churches into centers for social activism.

A church whose pastor and others in leadership have failed to put in place a proactive plan for discipleship for Believers is usually a “growing” church — growing stagnant, growing cold, growing spiritually immature Christians, and eventually, many growing closed. Patte said, “There is much at stake in accepting or rejecting the challenge of discipleship…” When a pastor or a church makes a conscious decision to make discipleship of Believers a primary focus in their

Shortly after being freed, Richard Allen joined the Old St. Georges Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, where blacks and whites worshiped together. As a free black man, he became an associate minister at the church, leading prayer meetings for the African American Congregants. Allen developed an idea to start a separate black church, an idea that was rejected by the St. George’s officials; so, he continued to hold special services for the African Americans starting as early as five in the morning. Allen’s charismatic sermons were delivered so powerfully that they drew many blacks to the Methodist Church. Allen saw that since the people of color began to fill up the church, preventing the white congregants from finding seats; but standing

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

This is a story of Will D. Campbell. He was a successful man who was honored by most and hated by some. Campbell was a Mississippi-native who played a major part in the civil rights community. Reverend Campbell was a man of many great accomplishments and goals. When he was seventeen, Campbell was ordained to be a Baptist preacher. He went on to publish many great books including “The Stem of Jesse.” Campbell took on many challenges throughout the years within the activist community. In the 1960s, Campbell became the National Council of Churches and from there he on carried out his work as director of the “Committee of Southern Churchmen.”

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

Amy Warren is a leader, mother, and wife. She works as the teaching leader at Bible Study Fellowship, a global operation for women to gather in local communities and discuss the Bible. She and other women meet once a week to discuss, learn, and apply biblical foundations in each other’s lives. Recently, she was promoted from substitute teaching leader to head teaching leader at her local BSF. Through years of experience, she has learned how to be an effective leader and instill a vision in others to create a new, reimagined BSF for the upcoming generations of women. Her responsibilities include interviewing for leadership positions, creating presentations about the week’s topic, and meeting with leaders once a week.

As a Board of Examiners Admission’s student, this year's District Conference was observed through a different lens. I was able to watch the significance of this year’s theme and it’s relation to scripture. I observed the preaching styles of both Presiding Elder Benjamin R. Finnell and Retired Presiding Elder Donna Roberson. I was able to watch closely the business of the church conducted by Presiding Elder Finnell, what things he targeted, and how he resolved any problems. Finally, I was able to witness a consistent theme of the AME church, the spirit of circuits and travel. The spirit of circuits and the willingness to travel stuck out in my mind when several people from the Kansas City District

My first few days with you, I was not here in Superior, I was at Heartwood Conference Center and Retreat in Trego attending the Fall Conference of our Northwest Synod of Wisconsin. I was able to meet many of the pastors from our synod. Thank you for giving me that opportunity. Our main speaker for the conference was Bishop Dick Graham, the bishop for Washington D.C. As we talked about priorities for congregations, synods, and our denomination, he focused on two – Caring for the Poor and Making Disciples. That's what we are to be about as a church. And that's exactly what our lessons for today talk about.

The Drama of Scripture provide helpful stories, especially as a new church plant. As it relates to focus, the writers remind me to keep the main thing the main thing. B&G share how one of the Spirit’s first works was to create a community. This onset of events encourages me as the founding pastor to not be so inwardly focused but to make sure to compel men to come. Although, Peter and Paul both were sent out to feed Jesus’ sheep, the sheep were from different folds. Consequently, this is a great reminder every pastor, every church and every call is unique.