Pastor Ferguson Chapter 14 Analysis

“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.

“A basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor

Despite Conwells experiences, his audience repeatedly tried to prove him wrong and noted how awful it was that a Christian minister prefered to advise people to get rich rather than to preach the gospel. But Conwell believed that to make money honestly was to preach the gospel and to be poor was wrong. What the people did not understand was that a wealthy person can also be a pious person. Conwell tells the people that they should have money and it is their Christian and godly duty to do so. To be pious is to be carful of the duties owed by created beings to God; devout, godly, religious¹. The people associated wealth with being dishonest, dishonerable, mean, and contemptible. He told them that to think that to be pious you must be poor and awfully dirty is an terrible misconception.

Luke’s Gospel greatly emphasizes the social justice aspect of Christian living. Throughout the third book in the New Testament, the story and history of Jesus Christ is written, and Luke preserves the many sayings of Jesus warning that those with material possessions have a

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.

Earley & Gutierrez (2010) “Ministry Is…How to Serve Jesus with Passion and Confidence” (Nashville: Broadman & Holman).

For many years the Apostle Paul and his pastoral leadership has given me great insight as to how live life daily. His missionary journey’s as God’s representative has had great influence on my own theological thought and preservation of my faith. The book of Colossians is filled with stories of redemption, knowledge and the power of prayer. The Apostle’s extraordinary life from darkness to light can only be attributed to the Grace of the Lord.

Mr. Hooper had the reputation of a good preacher, but not an energetic one: he strove to win his people heavenward by mild, persuasive influences, rather than to drive them thither by the thunders of the Word. The sermon which he now

As we have peeled away the layers of what evangelicalism and fundamentalism means throughout history, especially in our Western culture I am intrigued as to both and their very intense presence in many of our modern-day congregations. “Yet, the vast majority of evangelicals around the world today hail from Holiness, Pentecostal, and charismatic congregations”. After visiting Grace Covenant Church of Austin Texas, much of those aforementioned ‘typical’ contributions that have been emphasized in books such as The American Evangelical Story by Douglas Sweeney and American Apocalypse by Matthew Sutton, I experienced ever present at Grace.

Mid-nineteenth century southern America, the writer asserts the churches in America are failing mankind by not being inclusive rather than exclusive and turning a blind-eye to the topic. Failing to live up to the core tenants of Christianity are things that erode the church and society alike. He also recalls his personal experiences with his grandfather, who was a minister, and his uncle. How his uncle had the job of being the caretaker of

It was Monday night. The praise and worship service was excellent! Pastor Mundell’s wife led it. I was surprised to see her husband stand when it was timed to preach. They called her Pastor Mundell as well. I had never heard him preach before, other than previews of him on television. He began talking about debt cancellation and being debt free. He got my attention right then and there. He wanted us to know that it was God’s will that we prosper. In Third John v.2, the Word says, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” As Pastor Mundell elaborated on that verse, he said, “We have to believe that God wants us to have it!”

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

In chapters 1-14 of the autobiography Black Boy by Richard Wright, the story takes place in the Jim Crow American south. Richard grows up with a father who soon abandons him and strict, religious elders. His family is overcome by poverty, so Richard struggles with both figurative and literal hunger. As he grows up, he moves around to different places with family and realizes the harsh meaning of race. He finds himself working for white people and discovers a lot more about his personality in the process. Luckily, Richard is intelligent and is able to move to Memphis where he has more freedom. There, he makes plans to travel north to Chicago.

He goes on to show that ministers must come to the realization that presenting the Gospel to today’s culture is “when we arrive at the ‘proof’ that some [become a customized] to it, and others will reject it,” therefore we must not quit at the first indication of resistance. Much of the negative connotations of the gospel, he surmises, are the result of the consumerist culture in which we live. Societies at large have for all intent and purpose become a replacement for the church. The days are well past when the churches are considered a driving force of moral influence, therefore, what we experience today is an indifference exhibited by many in the church pews, and a general manipulation by the populist segments of society to the extent that the Ecclesia is viewed as impotent in the engagement of that society.

When it came to the Theology of Prosperity we discovered that it boiled down to this: those who have money, health, and are essentially successful in every facet of life have been rewarded for their faith in God. This theology predicts that those who are not successful in every aspect of their lives, whether it be financially, martially, health, general well-being, have not been completely faithful to God. The Theology of Prosperity (Also referred to as ‘Prosperity Gospel,’