The Rural Black Church

Some who do not believe my premise that the Rural Black Church is dying, express every now and then a concern about our communities. For in many communities, there are no opportunities for our young but even worse, there are few if any youth in our churches. I feel this is the case because there are some things that need to change. I might be accused of sacrilege, however, I am going to say it. We must let go of the King James Version of the Bible. Surely, the language is beautiful and many of us have committed the verses to memory, but the King James Version of the Bible speaks in a language that we no longer speak. Why do we hold on? It was the Bible that we were exposed to when we first engaged Christianity in this land. It was the only Bible that we knew existed for years. We were impressed by preachers who could eloquently read the words. The inscription, The Authorized Version of the Bible; the caption, translated out of the original tongues; and the words of Jesus written in r...

Census data continues to show not only a decrease but an aging of the population in many rural communities. That is a troubling fact for many Black Rural Churches where memberships have been declining over the years. Are most of the members of the church you serve over 60? Are there few if any children in your church and if there are, how are they being ministered to? Are you willing to start the process of change in the church and are the members of the church willing to do so? Even though change is a way of life, change is a painful process, especially in the Rural Black Church. Many return home every year to Homecoming or Friends and Family Day to find things the same way they have been year after year. Let's talk for the next few week about the following area. Are we willing to embrace Modern Translations of the Bible? Why do we hold on so firmly to the King James Version? Are we willing to embrace women in leadership roles in the church? The majority of the members of the ...

In the last few days, I have been in conversations with ministers on Rural Churches. At a meeting of white and black ministers, a young black minister said that the rural black church is dying and that it is irrelevant when it comes to our young people. Later that day at a meeting trying to inform all communities about the dangers of diabetes, an older black pastor said, not only is the rural black church dying, many are trying to kill it. In addition to serving as a pastor and owning my own pharmacies at one time, I also teach Christian Ethics for Master of Divinity students at the seminary level. Having only a Master of Divinity Degree myself, I enrolled in the Master of Theology degree program to improve myself. I had planned to focus on the Theology of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. During a seminar on his theology, I read the book, The Divided Mind of the Black Church. Theology, Piety, and Public Witness by Raphael G. Warnock. That book caused me to take a hard look at my context, ...

The Rural Black Church has served as one of the most powerful and transformative institutions in black life. Instituted by race, most former slave masters did not want their recently freed slaves to worship with them. Also, an institution mainly of the South since a great number of slaves were needed to fuel of economy of tobacco and cotton in the South. With migration and the lack of relevance to many young people, many of these churches are dying. I have served as a pastor to rural black churches for the past 20 years. I recently completed 16 months of academic study on the rural black church. I want to breathe new life into the rural black church. Will you join with me in the discussion? Hopeful in the near future, I will have both a book and a podcast to further the discussion on the institution that I love. Comments are welcomed and encouraged.