The Theology of the Rural Black Church

Even though in the words of Raphael Warnock in his book, The Divided Mind of the Black Church states, the Black Church was born fighting for freedom. I have found too many instances a focus totally on piety or Personal Salvation. We were taught that as slaves, things would be better for us in the sweet bye-and-bye to make us good slaves, so that would not rise us against the oppression of our enslavers. And that same theology enslaves too many of us spiritually, economically, and educationally today.Too many allow that oppression to continue and we fail to preach the liberating Gospel of Jesus. Yes, Personal Salvation is our first and most important goal, however, our members have to live in a cruel world every day, where they lack the means that others take for granted. For too long we allowed people to exist in conditions, less than where God wants them to be, for we have made suffering more tolerable by explaining that our suffering here on earth will be rewarded in glory. To that personal piety, I feel we should add some Social Christian. Jesus wants us to have an abundant life. Ass a pharmacist who is also a pastor, when I question the lack of health ministries in many churches, the response is, all I preach is Jesus. Those who give that response will always speak of the healing when they go to the cross. If Jesus was about healing, shouldn't we be concerned with the health of our members today? The Black Church is the only institution in many black rural communities. If the Masons or the NAACP are a part of that community, most of their members are members of the Church. It is the role of the Church to address the poor housing, limited educational and economic opportunities, and little or no political powers that most of our members face. You can say that your powerful words blessed, or that the people were slain by the power that came from the public. And the latter might have been the case. For you have sentenced good people to a hell, right here on earth when God expects so much more from all of us.

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