The African American Church

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."

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

“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.

Black religion was no longer regarded as exemplary or special. During a time of growing segregation and violence, some black leaders attempted to counter this perspective seen by whites by embracing the romantic racialist notions that “blacks possessed peculiar gifts.” These gifts being directly connected to the importance of black churches in a time of direct exclusion of blacks from other pieces of society.

What ministry types are present within the Black Urban Church that may not take place in the Black Rural Church setting? (Chapter 6) The present picture of black urban churches is a complicated, mixed picture of some effects of privatization among unchurched sectors of the black population, and the withdrawal of some black churches into a sphere of personal piety and religiosity; but there are also numerous signs of a continuing tradition of activism and involvement in the political, economic, educational, and cultural aspects of black life among the majority of black clergy and churches (Lincoln, C. Eric, and Lawrence H. Mamiya

Such unity and self-determination was evidenced in 1801, when Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church published a hymnal by and for African Americans (Costen, 81). Hymns have served black people in their everyday lives and had and have

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.

The Church of God in Christ, better known as the COGIC church, happens to be the largest African-American denomination in the world. This denomination also believes in the Holy Trinity and the second coming of Christ. (Religionfacts.com) It is very similar to a mix of the pentecostal and baptist church, for they believe in baptisms which would be considered a conversion.

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

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 considering the subject of the role of the African American Church leadership, the question that comes to mind is. What is leadership? “Leadership deals with serving others, which empower them to become what God desires them to be.” Leadership functions as the procedures for assisting a congregation to embody the gospel of Jesus Christ. The church stands in serious need of unique leadership role models. Robert M. Franklin in “Crisis in the Village” points to the seductive hazard of the prosperity movement. He demonstrates how the “god of greed” and the “god of entrepreneurial ship” have replaced the good news regarding Jesus Christ. Consequently, leaders experience crises of integrity, compromising their churches and breeding skepticism

This book represents thirty years of searching for the truth of the gospel and is a collection of essays on Black Theology. While working on his Ph.D. in systematic theology Cone had an awakening from his theological slumber as a result of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. The more involved in the Civil Rights movement Cone became the more he realize how limited his seminary education way. Hence, in this book Cone reflects on how the Civil Rights movement caused him to raise questions such as what theology had to do with the black struggle for racial justice. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights movement helped Cone to look at theology and the struggle of black people with injustice. Thus you have James Cone drawing upon decades

In assessing theology and culture, as an African American woman recently thrust into the role of full time ministry, the theologians that spoke most intensely to me were James Cone and John Wesley. Cone brings tenacity that far exceeds that of other theologians I have studied. His approach is very direct, and relevant to my theological studies in relationship to the black church. His writings though applied to generations prior, his antiquities are yet still quite applicable. While, Wesley is also relatable, his methods differ greatly from those of James Cone.

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.

Included are the major traditions often thought to be “understood” in the African American Christian Community: “Celebration of Life” or “Homegoing Service.”