Free Church Sociology

However, not all of the Black churches share the same aspirations and strategies as others, with differences reflecting the communities in which the Black Churches reside. In “The Negro Church,” the sociologist E. Franklin Frazier said, "Methodist and Baptist denominations were separate church organizations based upon distinctions of color and what were considered standards of civilized behavior."

“Just as black religion was the “invisible institution” that helped African Americans survive slavery, the black church was the visible institution that helped hundreds of thousands of migrants adjust to urban life while affirming a set of core values consisting of freedom, justice, equality, and an African heritage” (pg.

Within the book You Lost Me by David Kinnaman, the author discusses why young Christians are leaving the church and rethinking faith. He gives us an overview of the trends within the mosaic generation. Through this overview, we as student ministers can better understand the generation in which we are ministering to. With this understanding, we can reach these students and bring them back to their home, that is the Church. In this report, I will discuss the book by chapter and finish with my reflection.

Located in the heart of downtown Cedar Rapids this Historical brick building with its’ decorative molding and beautiful stain glass windows is the home of a subculture of biblically based Christians. This church family meets every Sunday like many churches who revere Sunday as being the Lord’s day, set aside for rest and worship of God. Biblically based Christianity is a vast culture of faith in God carried out by many subcultures called churches, made up of people who seek to worship God and to foster a personal relationship with him. One of the most important things that make a subculture is a question of what is it that brings these people together? This foundational question is not only the question of the subculture, but is also the defining

For my Meet the Believers assignment, I focused on Catholicism and Nondenominational Christianity. My Catholic interviewee, who I’ll refer to as John, is middle aged and was raised Catholic. My Christian interviewee, who I’ll refer to as Jane, is a young adult and was similarly raised Christian. From my interviews and attendance of worship services of both groups, several themes and concepts came to the forefront: the tensions between fundamentalism and modernism, the important conversation of gender and ethnicity, and the “true” good understood by both believers through their respective religious groups.

Galindo analyzes that the fundamental “mission” of a congregation is the same as any other congregation that exists in any part of the world. He argues that though every congregation has a mission and a vision, at the same time, it shares a basic common mission. (43) This reminds me of my home church The First Church of Evanston and my Field Site, The Evanston Vineyard Church. Both churches have a common mission of welcoming people to the church, irrespective of their ethnic, cultural, racial, and economic and, gender backgrounds. The mission is to help people be received in the house of God with due and deserved Christian love so that they feel loved and welcomed. Both these churches encourage church attendees to attend the service and receive the Eucharist.

Hispanics are transforming the nation’s religious landscape, not only because of their increasing numbers but also because they are practicing a distinctive form of Christianity. Religious expressions associated with the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements are a key attribute of worship for Hispanics in many of the major religious traditions — far more so than among non-Latinos. Moreover, the growth of the Hispanic population is leading to the emergence of Latino-oriented churches across the country . Although the vast majority of religious Hispanics identify as Catholic (Pew, 2007), a significant minority practice various Pentecostal faiths. Many of those are recent converts. The desire for a more direct, personal experience with God emerges as by far the most potent motive for these conversions.

In his book, Rah highlights cultural insensitivity of the Western white Evangelicalism and advocates for multiethnic and immigrant churches. He argues that the Evangelical churches have failed to embrace racial diversity or address the growth of the immigrant population. As the contemporary American society becomes more diverse and multicultural, the American church needs to move beyond its identity as Western and become truly multiethnic. Then, Rah goes after the church growth movement and American megachurches, arguing that they focus on marketing and mass production techniques instead of proclaiming the gospel. He boldly proclaims that "the church growth movement of the twentieth century reflects the cultural values of individualism, materialism, and racism" (2009, 107). He also criticizes the emergent church movement for remaining predominantly white and not acknowledging the non-white voices within Christianity. Ran encourages leaders to learn from multiethnic communities and the Immigrant Church in America.

“The number of blacks who received religious instruction in antebellum white churches is significant because the church was the only institution other than the plantation which played a major role in acculturating the slave “(Blassingame, The Slave Community, p. 98). African Americans found their strength in the church, because they secretly met outside of the church in invisible churches to discuss freedom, liberty, and how god is judging against the slave-owners. The church offered a sanctuary against the harsh realities of the plantation and allowed them to connect with one another and gain

Historically in the African American community the church has been a one stop shop: a welcoming spot for newcomers, a refuge for the needy, and a source of guidance for

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 study examined the role that spirituality plays in the development of African American males who attend predominately white Christian institutions (PCIs). This hermeneutic phenomenological study focused on Christian college students who were African American males ages 18-21 and identified as evangelical Christian. Findings illustrated

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

George Yancy, author of Christology and Whiteness, recalls a church he attended being less than ten percent people of color. Learning about the theology of Jesus in a segregated environment certainly impacts one’s perspective on how to treat minorities. Even though this church claims to be welcoming for all humanity, there are mainly white people who attend and are involved the service. White individuals do not experience any alienation in the Christian community. There is a sense of hypocrisy when issues of oppression and racial injustice are prayed to end even though it occurs right there in the

I jumped at the opportunity to complete the extra credit assignment because of the topic. I have always wanted to attend an African American Baptist Church. I was raised Catholic in a predominantly white community and for the chance to experience something different was appealing. I’ve seen the stereotypes in movies and on TV about what an African American Baptist church looks like but I wanted to experience it myself. I wasn’t sure on what to expect but kept an open mind about the situation.