The Forty-Day Journey of Promise

Day Twenty-One: Thank God I Shall Not Live Here Always!

Note: Welcome to The Journey, our forty-day blog series from MLK Day through the end of Black History Month. We’re learning life lessons from the legacy of African American Christianity. The series is based upon material from my book Beyond the Suffering. To learn more about Beyond the Suffering, including downloading a free chapter, click here.

Future Memory

Pastor Peter Randolph describes how enslaved African Americans consoled each other as they parted at the end of each secret worship service.

“The slave forgets all his suffering, except to remind others of the trials during the past week, exclaiming, ‘Thank God, I shall not live here always!’ Then they pass from one to another, shaking hands, bidding each other farewell, promising, should they meet no more on earth, to strive to meet in heaven, where all is joy, happiness and liberty. As they separate, they sing a parting hymn of praise.”

What an interesting phrase. How can people simultaneously forget their suffering and remind others of their trials?

Actually, it’s quite brilliant. We can’t truly forget the evils we have suffered. Nor should we try. Instead, we should remind ourselves and others of our trials, but we must remember the past while remembering the future. “Thank God, I shall not live here always!”

What perfect “balance.” Don’t deny the past. Do dialogue and trialogue (you, your friend, and God in a three-way spiritual conversation) about the past in light of the future—eternity, heaven.

A Slack Grip; A Taut Grip

Their grip on this world was slack. “Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. Here today. Gone tomorrow. Like a vapor. Like a fading flower and withering grass.”

Their grip on the next world was taut. “Into Thy hands I commend my spirit. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Maranatha.”

The result? They are deeply connected with one another—passing from one another, shaking hands, bidding farewell, promising to meet again, some day, somewhere.

They are genuinely content within their own souls—knowing joy, happiness, and liberty, though outwardly experiencing the opposites. They are profoundly communing with Christ—singing a parting hymn of praise, certainly not for their circumstances, definitely in spite of their situations, but preeminently because of who God is.

How amazing it would be to leave every worship and fellowship service like enslaved African American believers did. If they could, given their lot in life, why not us?

Join the Conversation (Post a Comment for a Chance to Receive a Copy of Beyond the Suffering)

1. What might it look like in your life to remember the past (hurts) while remembering the future (hope)?

2. How would our congregations be different if we did this with one another regularly?

Tags: Beyond the Suffering, Black Church History, Heaven, Invisible Institution, The Journey

Dr. Carter G. Woodson: Father of Black History Month

Enjoy this video tribute to Dr. Carter G. Woodson, known as the Father of Black History Month. Learn more aboout the History of Black History Month.

Tags: African American History Month, Black History Month, Carter G. Woodson

The Controversy Regarding Black History Month

As I speak around the country on Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction, I’m frequently asked, “What do you think about Black History Month?”

The question comes from my African American friends, many of whom are split both ways. Some think Black History Month is a net positive for African Americans, while others believe it is a net negative. That question also comes from my non-African American friends, who are equally split, and for various reasons.

Having outlined The History of Black History Month in 1,000 words, now it’s time to discuss The Controversy Regarding Black History Month in 2,000 words. Is Black History Month still a net positive or a net negative for African Americans? For America in general?

It’s In the News

Jesse Washington, AP National Writer, recently wrote the article, “Time to End Black History Month?” He opened with the question, “Should Black History Month itself fade into history?”

Many people, both Whites and Blacks, argue that Black history should be incorporated into year-round education. For instance, Washington quotes Stephen Donovan, a 41-year-old lawyer, saying, “If Obama’s election means anything, it means that African American history IS American history and should be remembered and recognized every day of the year.”

Donovan continued by saying that ending “paternalistic” observations like Black History Month would lead to not “only a reduction in racism, but Whites more ready, willing, and able to celebrate our differences and enjoy our traditions without feeling the strain of guilt that stifles frank dialogue and acceptance across cultures?”

The President Thinks So

Other portions of Washington’s article support another side of the story: the continued need for Black History Month. President Obama, like all his predecessors since the 1970s, believes Black History Month should continue. On February 2, he lauded “National African American History Month” calling upon “public officials, educators, librarians, and all people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs that raise awareness and appreciation of African American history.”

Daryl Scott, Chairman of the history department at Howard University and Vice President of programming for ASALH, says Black History Month is still needed to solidify and build upon America’s racial gains. “To know about the people who make up society is to make a better society,” he says. “A multiracial, multiethnic society has to work at its relationships, just like you have to work at your marriage.”

“I don’t see it going away,” said Spencer Crew, a history professor at George Mason University, adding that a diverse year-round history curriculum can still be augmented in depth during Black History Month. “There’s a Women’s History Month,” Crew said. “No one would argue that we don’t need to be reminded of women who have done things that are important.”

Is Morgan Freeman Right?

Jessica McElrath asks it this way, “Has African American history now converged with American history, and, therefore, should the celebration be eliminated?”

Some believe that this is the case. According to Rochelle Riley, yes, the time has come to end Black History Month. Riley asserts that Black history is American history. So, suggests Riley, it’s time to stop celebrating, learning, and being American separately. It’s time to be an America where learning about Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians is part of school curriculums.

Morgan Freeman, a long-time critic of the holiday, strongly believes that Black History Month is not just unnecessary but “ridiculous.” According to Freeman in a December 2005, 60 Minutes interview, Black history should not be relegated to a month. In fact, argues Freeman, Black history, after all, is American history.

Shining the Light of Truth

Jessica McElrath surmises that most historians and African Americans believe that Black History Month remains necessary. According to McElrath, Black History Month is the only time of the year when Black history is recognized in many schools. She argues that schools often focus on White history year round, and, therefore, Black History Month is a necessary celebration.

A recent visitor to my blog expressed her convictions powerfully.

“It appears that the prevalence of multi-culturalism has caused many people’s opinions to change on this subject. I remain pro Black History Month. We can be both ‘the great American melting pot’ AND celebrate the unique history of African Americans (or other people groups). These ideas can be mutually exclusive and they can coincide. The point is that American history is not Black history and based on the suffocation and/or misinterpretation of facts about Blacks in America, we therefore need to extract the history of a people whose stories remain distinct. Black History Month shines the light of truth and discovery on Blacks in a broader manner, giving much needed, much deserved attention to the subject than covering it for one week in the classroom. Filling this void is no different than filling the void that led to formal recognition of Women’s history for example. Ms. Riley and Mr. Freeman miss the point.”

Fair and Balanced

Much of the discussion about whether Black History Month is still necessary relates to whether “main stream” history is accurately covering Black history year-round. My specialty is Black Church history, so I’ll speak to that. As you’ll see, I don’t think Evangelical Black Church history is being fairly covered year round…not close.

Anecdote # 1: Research for Beyond the Suffering

As Karole Edwards and I researched the history of African American soul care and spiritual direction, we found plenty of primary sources for Black Church history from 1500-1900 (our time-frame). However, when we looked in secondary sources written today about American Church history, we found an embarrassing dearth of focus on women and minorities. Even in 2010, most general texts on American Church history continue to focus on dead White guys.

Anecdote # 2: Response from Participants of Heroes of the Black Church Seminars

As I present around the country on Heroes of the Black Church, participants are angry! Fortunately, they’re not angry at me. They’re angry because in their Evangelical Bible colleges, Christian liberal arts colleges, and seminaries, they’re taking Church history courses and hearing nothing about Black Church history, especially Evangelical Black Church history. I’m being told that even HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) are not teaching about Evangelical Black Church history.

Is Racism a Thing of the Past?

During my blog series on this topic, someone sent me a private message sharing the opinion that:

1.) Racism is a thing of the past.

2.) The election of President Barack Obama proves racism no longer exists in America.

3.) Writing about any one race promotes a “victim mentality.”

4.) We should only read about good people of all races.

I love when people respond to my posts because it inspires me to think deeply and passionately. Here are a couple of my thoughts in response to this email.

1.) Victim Mentality? No. Victor Mentality! Yes!

I’ve never written about a victim mentality in my writings on Heroes of Black Church History. In fact, the entire series comes from my book with the title Beyond the Suffering. Beyond is meant to communicate the Victor Mentality! Writing about the heroes of a given culture is designed to encourage people of all cultures.

2.) Valuing Diversity throughout Eternity

Even if racism were wiped from the face of the earth, the Bible still commands us to value diversity throughout eternity. We’ll celebrate unity in diversity in heaven for all eternity according to Revelation 7:9-10.

The end of racism would not be the end of diversity. It would be the beginning of unity in diversity. There’s a world of difference.

3.) Racism Has Yet to Be Defeated

I’d love to believe that one election implies the end of all racism, prejudice, and bias in America. I fear that would be a naïve conclusion. Practically, we have no way of knowing what motivated the 49% of people who did not vote for an African American President. But more importantly, theologically, we know that we are born totally depraved people, and even after salvation we struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Sin will not be eradicated until our glorification in heaven. So, sadly, the hideous sins of prejudice and racism will never totally be eliminated until all sin is eliminated.

4.) Walking the Talk

I always find it interesting when someone says, “Let’s just read about good people of all races and not focus on just one race!” I like to follow-up with the question, “So tell me the most recent book you’ve read, especially the most recent American Church history book, that talked about anyone other than dead White guys…”

Or, I’ll ask, “So tell me some great heroes of the faith who are from a culture different from yours…”

Of course, 99% of people can’t provide an answer. In theory, we say we want to read about all people of all cultures. In reality, most general studies books on American Church history are only about the dead White guys. And most of us read only about people who are like us.

Now, I’m not against the dead White guys. One day I will be one of them! I wrote my Ph.D. dissertation on one of them: Martin Luther.

I’m of the conviction that fair and balanced history is still not being written. That’s why I also write and speak on Heroes of Black Church History. It’s why I also write and speak on Heroines of Church History (Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith). As I said earlier, writing about the heroes of a given culture is designed to encourage people of all cultures.

God’s End Game

The controversy is clear, yet complex: is Black History Month still necessary? A net positive? Is it fair to have one month designated for one cultural group? Does it actually minimize African American contributions by relegating them to only one month? Wouldn’t it be better to integrate all cultures year-round in all our historical studies?

On and on the questions go. Sometimes they cause more cultural tension rather than building intercultural harmony.

Here’s my take; my Readers’ Digest version answer to this important question.

1. God’s End Game: Culture Is Everlasting

As I’ve noted, according to the Bible (Revelation 7:9-10, among many other passages), cultural, ethnic differences will be celebrated for all eternity. God’s end game is not one homogenous group, but unity in diversity. Such unity in diversity reflects God. Our Trinitarian God is Three-in-One: unity in diversity.

So, while people may debate whether “race” is culturally-constructed, the Bible is clear that culture is God-constructed and approved. God does not want us to be “culture-blind.” He wants us to recognize, appreciate, and celebrate our differences in biblical unity.

2. Our Game Plan: Celebrate Unity in Diversity

Ideally, life could and should be both/and. We could have books that highlight the unique accomplishments of various cultural groups—celebrating their legacy. And, we could have books that integrate in a fair and balanced way the contributions of all cultural groups.

The same could be true of “history months.” We could have months celebrating specific cultural groups. And, we could and should, year-round, celebrate the contributions of all cultural groups.

3. Our Current Game Strategy: Bring Balance to Historical Imbalance

Given the clearly documented lack of past historical balance (dead White guys getting all the press and other cultures and women given little honor), it still makes sense to me to highlight “minority cultures” and women in special months, books, etc. We can do this while also working toward integrating men and women, and people of all cultures, into year-round study and into overview books.

A Final Summary: One Man’s Convictions

Here’s another way to summarize my convictions.

 When history becomes truly integrated, then we can enjoy special recognition (special books, special months) and fair and balanced recognition (survey books, year-round study) simply out of the joy of unity in diversity.

 Today, we still need special recognition (special books, special months) and fair and balanced recognition (survey books, year-round study) to make up for the past and current lack of fair treatment.

Join the Conversation

What do you think? Is Black History Month still necessary?

Tags: African American History, Beyond the Suffering, Black History Month

The Forty-Day Journey of Promise

Day Twenty: The Invisible Institution

Note: Welcome to The Journey, our forty-day blog series from MLK Day through the end of Black History Month. We’re learning life lessons from the legacy of African American Christianity. The series is based upon material from my book Beyond the Suffering. To learn more about Beyond the Suffering, including downloading a free chapter, click here.

Congregational Gatherings: Slipping In and Stealing Away

Historians investigating African American religious history have labeled the secretive slave worship services the “Invisible Institution” because much of it was invisible to the eyes of their masters.

“In their cabins, woods, thickets, hollows, and brush arbors (shelter of cut branches also called ‘hush harbors’) throughout the South, slaves held their own religious meetings where they interpreted Christianity according to their experience, applying the stories and symbols of the Bible to make sense out of their lives.”

In order to worship freely, Christian slaves would either slip into a home or steal away to the woods. What actually occurred during these covert meetings to make them so fruitful? Pastor Peter Randolph provides the details we seek.

“Not being allowed to hold meetings on the plantation, the slaves assemble in the swamps, out of reach of the patrols. They have an understanding among themselves as to the time and place of getting together. This is often done by the first one arriving breaking boughs from the trees, and bending them in the direction of the selected spot.”

For them, worship and fellowship was worth any risk and was approached with tremendous expectancy. Does our commitment to and preparation for gathering together hold a candle to theirs?

Mutual Ministry: First Century Christianity in Nineteenth-Century America

Once there, then what?

“Arrangements are then made for conducting the exercises. They first ask each other how they feel, the state of their minds, etc. The male members then select a certain space, in separate groups, for their division of the meeting. Preaching in order by the brethren; then praying and singing all around, until they generally feel quite happy. The speaker usually commences by calling himself unworthy, and talks very slowly, until feeling the spirit, he grows excited, and in a short time, there fall to the ground twenty or thirty men and women under its influence.”

Sound familiar? Their experience sounds like Acts 2:42-47a.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. . . . All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.”

In Randolph’s gathering, they organized the organism (“made arrangements for conducting the exercises”). That is, though valuing spontaneity and the leading of the Spirit, they also treasured purposeful planning.

They sustained and healed (“ask each other how they feel, the state of their minds”). Given the hardships and hard times, we might imagine quite the lengthy spiritual conversations. Much different than our typical Sunday morning greetings. “Hello. How are you?” Without waiting for a response, we move on to our next target. Imagine, instead, if we really asked how others feel—exploring one another’s emotional life—on Sunday morning, in church! Imagine, also, if we truly probed one another’s state of mind—dealing with each another’s thought life and mental wellbeing—on Sunday morning, in church!

They enjoyed small group fellowship (“then select a certain space, in separate groups, for their division of the meeting”).

They were edified by the preached Word (“preaching in order by the brethren”). Later we’ll see that they would enjoy testifying by many members, exhorting by some members, and preaching by one primary, called-out leader.

They engaged in hearing from God and talking to God (“then praying and singing all around”). They prayed and praised; listened and spoke.

Join the Conversation (Post a Comment for a Chance to Receive a Copy of Beyond the Suffering)

1. Concerning worship preparation and sacrifice, how would you compare your preparations for worship to the preparations made by African American believers in the Invisible Institution? How would you compare the sacrifices that you make in order to worship with the sacrifices that they made?

2. Reflect back on Randolph’s description of Acts 2:42-47 Christianity. In what ways are you already enjoying Acts 2:42-47 Christianity? How could you experience even more Acts 2:42-47 Christianity?

Peter Randolph's Peculiar Institution

Tags: African American History Month, Black Church History, Black History Month, Invisible Institution, Peter Randolph

The History of Black History Month

As I speak around the country on Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction, I frequently hear the question: “What do you think about Black History Month?”

The question comes from my African American friends, many of whom are split both ways. Some think Black History Month is a net positive for African Americans, while others believe it is a net negative. That question also comes from my non-African American friends, who are equally split, and for various reasons.

The Father of Black History

To answer the question intelligently and fairly, we need to understand the history of Black History Month. With these compelling words, African American historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950) explained his purpose for founding what in 1926 was known as Negro History Week.

“We should emphasize not Negro history, but the Negro in history. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice.”

A decade before he conceived of Negro History Week, Dr. Woodson launched the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (1915). He was motivated by the belief that publishing scientific history about the Black race would produce facts that would prove that Africa and its people had played a crucial role in the development of civilization. As a Harvard-trained historian, Woodson believed that truth would prevail over prejudice.

Based upon his conviction, Woodson established The Journal of Negro History in 1916. However, a decade into his work, he recognized that scholarship alone was not defeating the race problem. Unfortunately, many White historians were not promoting the truth even when they read its riches.

It Takes a Community

If the scholarly community would not be moved by truth, then how could the legacy of Black achievements ever become appreciated? Dr. Woodson began to urge Black civic organizations to promote the achievements that researchers were uncovering.

Woodson prodded his fraternity brothers at Omega Psi Phi to take up the work. In 1924 they responded with the creation of Negro History and Literature Week, which they renamed Negro Achievement Week.

Within a year, Woodson knew that the Association had to expand its program. They reorganized their goal: popularizing the truth of Black achievement. The Association had to reeducate Blacks as well as Whites, and its doors had to be opened to all, not just to historians and scholars.

When the Association announced Negro History Week for 1926, Woodson was overwhelmed by the response. Black history clubs sprang up, teachers demanded materials to instruct their pupils, and progressive Whites, not simply White scholars, stepped forward to endorse the effort.

So Why February?

People ask, “Why February?” Some African Americans say, “Yeah, first they give us just one month. And then they give us the shortest month of the year!”

It wasn’t “they.” It was our African American friend Dr. Woodson who selected a week in February for the initial Negro History Week. Why?

The week in February included the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Lincoln, of course, issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Frederick Douglass had been one of the great African American leaders of the previous century.

From a Week to a Month

By the time Woodson passed away in 1950, Negro History Week had become a central part of African American life. Progress was being made in bringing more Americans to appreciate the African American legacy and to embrace the celebration.

However, people recognized the need to devote more time to Black history. The nation was coming to recognize the importance of Black history in the drama of the America story. So, in 1976, fifty years after the initial celebration, the first Black History Month was celebrated. Since 1976, all American Presidents have issued Black History Month proclamations.

So Now We Know the Rest of the Story

Here’s what we’ve learned about the history of Black History Month.

1. Original Need: There existed in the 1920s a horrible imbalance in historical study. Most history was written by “White guys” about “dead White guys.”

2. Original Motivation: Dr. Woodson and other African American scholars recognized this imbalance. In response, they did not want to emphasize “Black history.” They simply wanted a factual, scholarly study of Blacks in history. In fact, they insisted that what we needed was not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national, racial, and religious prejudice.

3. Scholarly Disappointment: Being a Harvard-trained historian, Dr. Woodson assumed that the truth would set us free. He believed that when White historians saw the facts of history—that all people of all ethnicities have made sterling contributions to civilization—that their biases would die. He was wrong.

4. Spreading the Word: Seeing the failure of White historians to face the facts, Woodson and others now realized that it would take a community. The average, everyday citizen needed to be educated in the historical truth of the beautifully diverse nature of the history of civilization. Thus was birthed what we now know as Black History Month.

5. Historical Clarity: For those who say, “Why should Blacks have their own month?” we need to answer historically. “Minorities needed their own month to begin to overcome the distortion not only of the other eleven months, but of the preceding 1,000s of years of recorded history.” Minority leaders like Dr. Woodson never insisted on the supremacy of any one race. They simply wanted to uncover the buried historical riches of any neglected cultures. (That’s the identical motivation that led to my writing Beyond the Suffering).

Join the Conversation

1. Now that you know the history, what is your view of the original need for Black History Month?

2. Do you believe that Black History Month is still needed? Why or why not?

Dr. Carter G. Woodson

Tags: Beyond the Suffering, Black History, Black History Month, Carter Woodson

The Forty-Day Journey of Promise

Day Nineteen: Cross-Cultural Ministry

Note: Welcome to The Journey, our forty-day blog series from MLK Day through the end of Black History Month. We’re learning life lessons from the legacy of African American Christianity. The series is based upon material from my book Beyond the Suffering. To learn more about Beyond the Suffering, including downloading a free chapter, click here.

Pulpit Ministry: Expounding the Scriptures Relevantly

Solomon Northup was born free in Rhode Island. Well-educated, a successful businessman, a loving husband, and a devoted father, he traveled to Washington, DC on business. There he was kidnapped and then enslaved in Louisiana from age thirty-three to forty-five.

Solomon Northrup's Homecoming

In the narrative of these dozen horrible years, he boldly confronts the evils of slavery and his evil slave masters. Of one of his masters, his view is different. Though recognizing the inconsistency of this master, William Ford, a slave-owning Baptist preacher, Northup still notes:

“It is but simple justice to him when I say, in my opinion, there never was a more kind, noble, candid, Christian man than William Ford.”

Northup details Ford’s pastoral ministry to his slaves.

“We usually spent our Sabbaths at the opening, on which days our master would gather all his slaves about him, and read and expound the Scriptures. He sought to inculcate in our minds feelings of kindness towards each other, of dependence upon God—setting forth the rewards promised unto those who lead an upright and prayerful life. He spoke of the loving kindness of the Creator, and of the life that is to come.”

Pastor Ford related truth to life cross-culturally. Emphasizing the two great commandments, he taught Christians how to love one another and how to love God. Ford highlighted the character of God and the hope of heaven. Northup even recounts how Ford’s preaching led to the conviction and salvation of another slave, Sam.

Personal Ministry: Encouraging the Saints Relationally

Ford coupled his pulpit ministry with his personal ministry. Speaking of his time with Pastor Ford, Northup notes:

“That little paradise in the Great Pine Woods was the oasis in the desert, towards which my heart turned lovingly, during many years of bondage.”

Perhaps hard to imagine, but even in enslavement, even through ministry offered by a Baptist slave-owner, Northup experienced the ark of safety that is the “old ship of Zion.”

What was it about Ford’s life and ministry that so impacted Northup? During an extended trip by horseback and on foot to the Bayou, Ford “said many kind and cheering things to me on the way.” Ford knew how to speak life-giving words (Proverbs 18:21).

In exemplary fashion, Ford also used probing soul questions and spiritual conversations as he ministered to Northup.

“He interacted with me in regard to the various fears and emotions I had experienced during the day and night, and if I had felt, at any time, a desire to pray. I felt forsaken of the whole world, I answered him, and was praying mentally all the while.”

Northup testifies to Ford’s relational competence.

“So did that benignant man speak to me of this life and of the life hereafter; of the goodness and power of God, and of the vanity of earthly things, as we journeyed along the solitary road towards Bayou Boeuf.”

Join the Conversation (Post a Comment for a Chance to Receive a Copy of Beyond the Suffering)

1. Pastor Ford demonstrated cross-cultural competency in his pulpit and in his personal ministry. What specific aspects of his ministry could you emulate today?

2. How in the world was Northrup able to see any good in a man who kept him separated from his family?

Tags: Beyond the Suffering, Black History Month, Crosscultural Ministry, Pastor William Ford, Solomon Northrup, The Journey

The Forty-Day Journey of Promise

Day Eighteen: More Than Just Sunday Meetings

Note: Welcome to The Journey, our forty-day blog series from MLK Day through the end of Black History Month. We’re learning life lessons from the legacy of African American Christianity. The series is based upon material from my book Beyond the Suffering. To learn more about Beyond the Suffering, including downloading a free chapter, click here.

Everybody’s Heart in Tune

How did newly converted African American slaves grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ? How did they connect to one another in the Body of Christ?

A preacher we know only as the “Preacher from a God-fearing Plantation” offers us a glimpse.

“Meetings back there meant more than they do now. Then everybody’s heart was in tune, and when they called on God they made heaven ring. It was more than just Sunday meeting and then no more godliness for a week. They would steal off to the fields and in the thickets and there, with heads together around a kettle to deaden the sound, they called on God out of heavy hearts.”

The Old Ship of Zion

Another African American Christian described it like this.

“We used to steal off to de woods and have church, like de Spirit moved us—sing and pray to our own liking and soul satisfaction—and we sure did have good meetings, honey—baptize in de river, like God said. . . . We were quiet enough so the white folks didn’t know we were there, and what a glorious time we did have in the Lord.”

“The church was a ‘Noah’s Ark’ that shielded one’s life from the rain. It was the ‘old ship of Zion’ fully capable of sailing the seas of life.”

Life Lessons for Today

Because we all too easily abandon meeting together, we have much to learn from the high priority that African American believers placed upon communal worship and fellowship. One Black Church History scholar summarizes it well:

“Their needs for guidance and comfort were immense. The awesome importance of this spiritual and emotional support can be seen by the fact that the time to engage in worship was taken from the already too-brief free times away from field work. Work time already ran from sun-up to sundown. Time for worship was taken from the brief period left for the personal needs of sanitation, sleep, food, and child rearing. This spiritual nurture must have been highly treasured indeed to motivate the sacrifice of such limited and precious free time.”

Join the Conversation (Post a Comment for a Chance to Receive a Copy of Beyond the Suffering)

1. “Meetings back there meant more than they do now. Then everybody’s heart was in tune, and when they called on God they made heaven ring.” In what ways does your worship experience already mirror theirs?

2. What could make this statement truer in your worship experience today?

Tags: Beyond the Suffering, Black Church, Invisible Institution, The Journey

The Forty-Day Journey of Promise

Day Seventeen: From Hellcat to Heaven Saint!

Note: Welcome to The Journey, our forty-day blog series from MLK Day through the end of Black History Month. We’re learning life lessons from the legacy of African American Christianity. The series is based upon material from my book Beyond the Suffering. To learn more about Beyond the Suffering, including downloading a free chapter, click here.

“How Can You Forgive Me, Charlie?”

African American believers clung to their identity in Christ. They understood that who they were in Christ redefined how they related to those who had sinned against them.

Charlie provides a remarkable example. He had been enslaved by “Mars’ Bill” who kept his back constantly sore from whippings. Charlie then escaped, joined the “Yanks,” and became a Christian. As a freeman, he met Mar’s Bill again thirty years later.

Recognizing each other across a crowded street, Bill hollers to Charlie, “Charlie, do you remember me lacerating your back?”

Charlie replies, “Yes, Mars.”

Bill then asks, “Have you forgiven me?”

By now, a large crowd has gathered, for Charlie and Bill are some distance apart and talking loud. After Charlie shouts that he has indeed forgiven his old, cruel master, Bill is shocked.

“How can you forgive me, Charlie?”

I Serve a God of Love

Charlie’s answer is amazing.

“What is in me, though, is not in you. I used to drive you to church and peep through the door to see you all worship, but you ain’t right yet, Marster. I love you as though you never hit me a lick, for the God I serve is a God of love . . .”

Old Mars’ Bill then moves toward Charlie, hand held out, tears streaming down his face.

“I am sorry for what I did.”

Charlie grants forgiveness.

“That’s all right, Marster. I done left the past behind me.”

The Power of Redeeming Love

Charlie then testifies to Christ’s redemptive power.

“I had felt the power of God and tasted his love, and this had killed all the spirit of hate in my heart years before this happened. Whenever a man has been killed dead and made alive in Christ Jesus, he no longer feels like he did when he was a servant of the devil. Sin kills dead, but the spirit of God makes alive. I didn’t know that such a change could be made, for in my younger days I used to be a hellcat.”

From hellcat to heaven saint. From a hateful spirit to Christlike love. That’s the power of our new identity in Christ.

Join the Conversation (Post a Comment for a Chance to Receive a Copy of Beyond the Suffering)

1. African American converts celebrated their new identity in Christ. How aware are you of your new position in Christ as a saint and your new relationship to Christ as a child of the King? How do you apply your new identity in Christ to your personal life and relationships?

2. If Charlie could forgive his former master for such unspeakable cruelty, what does this say to us today about forgiveness and reconciliation in our lives and relationships?

3. Charlie teaches us that racial reconciliation begins with our reconciliation in Christ. How could this principle impact current attempts at racial reconciliation in our nation?

Tags: Beyond the Suffering, Identity in Christ, Racial Reconciliation, Reconciliation, The Journey

Black History Month Video: Lift and Every Voice and Sing

Lift Every Voice and Sing (1900) was written by James Weldon Johnson for a presentation in celebration of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. The music was composed by his brother and songwriting partner, J. Rosamond Johnson. The song was originally performed in Jacksonville, Florida, by children. The popular title for this work is The Black National Anthem. 

This rendition is by the Metropolitan Baptist Church on 1/18/09 in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. 

You can find the words below the video.

 Lift every voice and sing, till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of liberty; Let our rejoicing rise High as the listening skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.

Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; facing the rising sun of our new day begun, let us march on till victory is won.

Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod, felt in the days when hope unborn had died; yet with a steady beat, have not our weary feet come to the place for which our fathers died?

We have come over a way that with tears have been watered, We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou who hast brought us thus far on the way; thou who hast by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray.

Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee; lest our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee, shadowed beneath thy hand, may we forever stand, true to our God, true to our native land.

Tags: Black History Month, Black National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing, Video

The Forty-Day Journey of Promise

Day Sixteen: Leaping to My Feet

Note: Welcome to The Journey, our forty-day blog series from MLK Day through the end of Black History Month. We’re learning life lessons from the legacy of African American Christianity. The series is based upon material from my book Beyond the Suffering. To learn more about Beyond the Suffering, including downloading a free chapter, click here.

Jarena Lee and the Wonders of Forgiveness

African American conversion accounts splendidly assimilate the “two sides” of reconciliation. First, God’s Spirit hooks in the heart—he loads the conscience with guilt, bringing the sinner to the point of saying, “It’s horrible to sin.”

But the Spirit never leaves us there. He causes sinners to leap to their feet—he lightens the conscience with grace, bringing the sinner to the place of saying, “It’s wonderful to be forgiven!”

Jarena Lee’s conversion narrative displays the potency of these twin Gospel themes. Born on February 11, 1783, in Cape May, New Jersey, Lee grew up with parents ignorant of the Gospel. At age 24, she was converted under the preaching ministry of a Presbyterian missionary and of Reverend Richard Allen.

The year is 1804, and Lee undergoes deep conviction as she hears the Presbyterian minister preach from the Psalms. “Lord, I am vile, conceived in sin, born unholy and unclean. Sprung from man, whose guilty fall corrupts the race, and taints us all.”

In response, she writes:

“This description of my condition struck me to the heart, and made me feel in some measure, the weight of my sins, and sinful nature. But not knowing how to run immediately to the Lord for help, I was driven of Satan, in the course of a few days, and tempted to destroy myself.”

In fact, Lee senses Satan suggesting to her that she drown herself in a brook near her home, in which there was a deep hole where the waters whirled about among the rocks. Resisting this temptation, her mind reminds tortured. Continuing to search for peace, she finds only doubt.

Grace for Our Disgrace

Experienced soul physicians recognize her symptoms as the result of preaching guilt without grace. Guilt minus grace always equals Satan’s condemning narrative of despair.

The Apostle Paul prescribes his antidote. “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more” (Romans 5:20). Competent ambassadors of reconciliation know that grace is God’s prescription for our disgrace.

Richard Allen: An Expert Soul Physician

Reverend Richard Allen was such a man. Attending an afternoon service in which Allen was preaching, Lee perceives in the center of her heart the sin of malice, and she receives the forgiveness of God.

“That instant, it appeared to me as if a garment, which had entirely enveloped my whole person, even to my fingers’ end, split at the crown of my head, and was stripped away from me, passing like a shadow from my sight—when the glory of God seemed to cover me instead.”

Like Adam and Eve in the Garden, God covers Lee’s shameful nakedness with garments purchased in and cleansed by blood. Immediately, she celebrates the wonders of forgiving grace.

“That moment, though hundreds were present, I did leap to my feet and declare that God, for Christ’s sake, had pardoned the sins of my soul. Great was the ecstasy of my mind, for I felt that not only the sin of malice, but all other sins were swept away together.”

Lee and a multitude of other African Americans depicted conversion using the biblical metaphor of rebirth. The result of being born again by forgiving grace was twofold: a new nurture—having a new relationship to God as beloved sons and daughters, and a new nature—having a new identity in Christ as cleansed saints.

Join the Conversation (Post a Comment for a Chance to Receive a Copy of Beyond the Suffering)

1. African American soul physicians understood salvation to be more than a quick praying of a “canned” prayer. What do you think of their view of salvation?

2. African American soul physicians taught that grace super abounds over guilt. In our Gospel presentations today, do we tend to highlight only guilt, only grace, or a “splendid assimilation” of both?

Tags: Beyond the Suffering, Black History Month, Jarena Lee, Richard Allen, The Journey