Mega Church Analysis

In response to the controversial sermon given by his pastor and the racial remarks that followed him during his 2008 campaign, then Senator Barack Obama, was inherently forced into delivering a speech that would address the comments and prove to the American people that he did in fact shared their “American Dream” and was not an Anti-America charity case. Obama gave his famous “A More Perfect Union” speech in Philadelphia, where he seized the opportunity to address the controversy as an indication of a much larger issue, race relations in America and introduce his mission of moving the country toward “a more perfect union.” His speech often coined, “the Race Speech”, had several factors play into its success, one factor being the way the speech was delivered, his speech incorporated the jeremiad form and constitutive form of rhetoric, the use of those two forms helped Obama address the issue while at the same time creating an identity that would encompass all Americans who would then come together in this identity and work toward the solution of the race issue and providing the “American Dream” for everyone.

In 1963, minister and rights activist, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a speech in front of Lincoln memorial to bring awareness to the unfairness of injustice for black people. King's speech was an effort to try and mandate the coming together of the black and white race and finally have the equality between us all be put into force for a free nation. As the speech left King’s mouth and entered 250,000 citizens ears, it left them to think about what point he was trying to make because he uses pathos, logos, and ethos.

Today I have chosen two speeches which are critical to the growth and development that our nation has gone through. Two men from different backgrounds and different times with one common goal, equality for all. The Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” both address the oppression of the African-Americans in their cultures. Though one hundred years and three wars divide the two documents, they draw astonishing parallels in they purposes and their techniques.

In the year 2008 the world was a much different place. Before countless racial protests and riots in streets, before NFL players knelt during the National Anthem for what they believed in, and before our president spoke of nonsensical chauvinistic principles on a regular basis, our country appeared to have a greater sense of unification. This unifying bond between the American people was due in part by Barack Obama, whose entire campaign to become president may have been the most difficult struggle for anybody in the lineage of presidential candidates to go through. As part of his strategy to win over voters and soothe the skepticism of whites who may have had any doubting questions, Obama gave this speech on race; a speech which still

-- “Amazing Grace”, Remarks by the President in Eulogy for the Honorable Reverend Clementa Pinckney

Martin Luther King Jr. introduced the audience to his mission of eradicating racial inequality through his personal experiences of segregation. He recalled “last September, came the opportunity to talk with leaders of Birmingham’s

However, even though both George W. Bush and Martin Luther King Jr. make valid arguments for their cases, King’s approach to racial equality was unprecedented, making him a true pioneer of this cause. His claims and counterclaims, use of language, and his credible experience and opinion, results in the arguments in his speech, "the Letter from Birmingham Jail," defending racial equality in a manner superior to those in George W. Bush's "Ending Racial Inequality.”

In the church, the pastor or preacher has an innate responsibility to address sin and nominalism without hesitation or fear of retribution. The church’s focus on mere building membership, no matter the cost, overshadows God’s abhorrence of sin. Further, both sin and nominalism seems to have intensified as many point to the religious concept of being a Christian without having a changed heart or life through Jesus Christ. Charles Spurgeon shares, “There will always be trouble in the churches as long as men are afraid to denounce sin and error. To confront sin, it is without doubt a pastor’s responsibility to challenge the sins of this present time.

He acknowledges that the resentments of the black and white communities “aren’t always expressed in polite company,” but these resentments are manifested within our society in destructive ways, like racism (Obama, par. 31). The audience feels that he is knowledgeable and credible on the immediate topics affecting our future and our daily lives.

Throughout time the Catholic Church has had a gigantic effect on each and every society. The Church effected each society in its own unique way, yet it is prevalent that each society had one thing in common, and that is as time went on the church had less and less of an effect on the people. Ever since the middle ages the Catholic Church’s influence has declined. The Church went from being the most powerful institution in the world, to barely having any influence in the world Today.

President Obama’s victory speech and Martine Luther King’s speech are two of the most famous discourses that everybody is discussing today. The speeches are representation of racial progression, which starts from the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement to the election of the first black president in the American history. Both speeches are a symbol of hope and a new start of the upcoming changes. In fact, both speeches called for unity and inclusion to achieve the American dream. Furthermore, both occasions had loud voices echo not only in the United State, but also in the global level. Despite the similarity of Obama’s and King’s speeches in the persuasive and inspirational tones, their goals were for different purposes and audience, also the effects on the audience were different.

The election of President Obama marks the most noteworthy political accomplishment for African Americans in the United States during the post-civil rights revolution, thus bringing about a change in the country’s social and political landscape that was steeped in racial discrimination since the founding of this great nation. Because social and political conditions are subject to constant change, President Obama’s

Even though Booker mentions, “Money, leadership, respect for children can be aimed,” (117) our church still could not solve the difficulties of finding high quality leaders for children, which has been always hard. It is more difficult to find a right children’s pastor than finding staff for the adult. We used to have a children’s pastor who has been in our church from baby and grown up and come back to serve our church again. This works better than looking for any children’s pastor. That is just an alternative ways of others to get a children’s pastor.

In the January/February 2017 edition of The Atlantic, Ta-Nehisi Coates takes a look at the last eight years of American history, a time when the Commander in Chief of the United States of America was an African American. The article, entitled “My President Was Black” focused on the implications of having an African American in office. Within the first subheading, which focused on the different styles of music that were being performed at the White House, my mind was off on a number of tangents. This article really showcased how much music can matter to an African American.

Butler argues that with the volume of social needs and the limited resources of the church, the church has to make a choice as to the priority it gives to social ministry. This, he contends will have implications for the life and ministry of the church. These implications, he points out has to do with both financial resources and human resources. Rev. Butler argues that the church will have to manage the conflict as to whether the gospel is a spiritual gospel or social gospel. This is necessary, he contends because the position taken will determine if the church is seen as a social institution or spiritual house. He holds the view that there needs to be a balanced between social and spiritual ministry because the extreme of each position does not represent the mission of the