Voices in the Wilderness: Why Black Preaching Still Matters

By John L. Thomas Jr.

FINALLY, a scholarly description of the development of Black preaching in the United States that is accessible to the average reader, but also contributes to the academic conversation about both style and theological content. Written from the perspective of a seasoned practitioner and tenured practical theologian, Thomas surveys Black preaching as it has responded to various social and historical time periods. Starting with the brutality of chattel slavery, early formations in segregated Southern life, rapid migration to and urbanization in Northern cities, and various events throughout the post-civil rights era, the book gives convincing details and examples of how the Black preacher helped to guide and sustain the masses of African American people through the wilderness of social change. At the heart of the book, three prime examples are presented as models of the real "genius" of Black preaching. The reader will never again think about Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the Reverend Jesse Jackson in the same way. A special chapter is devoted to the contributions of Black women preachers along with a closing chapter that makes new proposals for the future. The book is a provocative and critical analysis of why Black preaching still matters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Release date: Jan 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781498238984

John L. Thomas Jr.

John L. Thomas Jr. is Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Phillips Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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Voices in the Wilderness

Why Black Preaching Still Matters

Dr. John L. Thomas, Jr.

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Voices in the wilderness

Why Black Preaching Still Matters

Copyright © 2018 John L. Thomas, Jr. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

Cascade Books

An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3

Eugene, OR 97401

www.wipfandstock.com

paperback isbn: 978-1-4982-3897-7

hardcover isbn: 978-1-4982-3899-1

ebook isbn: 978-1-4982-3898-4

Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

Names: Thomas, John L., Jr.

Title: Voices in the wilderness : why black preaching still matters / John L. Thomas, Jr.

Description: Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2018 | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: isbn 978-1-4982-3897-7 (paperback) | isbn 978-1-4982-3899-1 (hardcover) | isbn 978-1-4982-3898-4 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: African American preaching | Preaching United States History | African Americans Religion

Classification: bv208.u6 t44 2018 (print) | bv208 (ebook)

Manufactured in the USA February 20, 2018

Table of Contents

Title Page

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1: What Makes Black Preaching Black?

Chapter 2: The Contextual Necessity of Black Preaching

Chapter 3: The Theology in Black Preaching

Chapter 4: The Wilderness: A Historical Perspective

Chapter 5: Emerging Ecclesiologies and the Challenge for Black Preaching

Chapter 6: Jordan River: Four Theological Streams

Chapter 7: Three Voices in the Wilderness: Martin, Malcolm, Jesse

Chapter 8: Women Preaching in the Wilderness

Chapter 9: The Way Out

Conclusion

Bibliography

Dedicated to the memory of my beloved daughter Elizabeth

1984–2016

Preface

There has been no other more phenomenal voice of protest, encouragement, outcry, and mythological spectacle than the black preacher in the African American church. Regardless of the region of the country or the denominational affiliation, the preacher speaks as the voice of God and reason to many of its constituents. Known for creativity, imagination, and powerful exploitation of metaphor and repetition, the preacher stands as community spokesperson in defense of those facing unjust treatment and adverse public policies. There is no more dangerous, fearless, and compassionate leader than the black preacher.

Still evident today, as in recent events of the Black Lives Matter movement, are the continuing racial tensions in America, in which repeated news of unarmed African Americans killed by police became all too common. To some of us, this was old news recast by new technologies like social media. The ensuing protests and violence helped fuel the flames of discontent not seen in such mass display since the end of the civil rights era. Some of the emotional reactions may have been related to national disillusionment after the election of the first black president in 2008. Perhaps this country was being too naïve to think that the election of President Barack Obama was going to usher in a new age of the so-called post-racial society. Amid many of the successes of his presidency, the majority of African Americans saw very little change in their life situation. The slogan Black Lives Matter was not only an outcry of discontent, but a demand for justice and equality.

The movement reflected the changing mood within the African American community, now consisting mostly of millennials. Their organizational methods were different than the previous generations, less dependent on the approval of the mainstream media. Their access to alternative forms of media contributed to much of the success of the new movement. However, some similarities with previous protests remained. Although a new generation of leadership emerged during the recent social unrest, there remained one constant among young protesters raising their arms shouting Don’t shoot and the colorful Black Lives Matters signs and T-shirts: the voice of the black preacher, who continues to be a constant presence and voice of resistance and proclamation. Dr. Leah Gunning Francis, in her book Ferguson and Faith: Sparking Leadership and Awakening Community, added her perspective by stating, What emerged from the ground up was an eclectic group of people, many of them young, and most of them black women.¹

No doubt some will argue that the role of the church and the black preacher has diminished over the years and faded into the shadows of irrelevancy. Some may even say the church in general and the pulpit in particular has become too preoccupied with its own self-maintenance. Others say that the crowning of a national holiday in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., memorialized the image of the black preacher and made it a lost relic of our time. These arguments have some legitimacy mostly through anecdotal evidence and public perceptions.

However creditable the notion of the waning presence of the black preacher as a voice of guidance during crisis events such as the killing of unarmed black males, there is little denial of the active participation of preachers like Jamal Bryant, Al Sharpton, Dr. Leah Gunning Francis, and the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. Although there is no strong evidence that supports or denies the role black churches may have played in recent marches, few nonviolent demonstrations occurred that did not involve a member of the black clergy. The point can be further argued another time. My intent here is to highlight the long history of black preaching and its role in social transformation. In this book, I hope to show that not only do Black Lives Matter, but black preaching matters, and it has played a significant role in providing the spiritual and theological impetus for liberation and social justice.

For the last sixteen years I have been teaching full time in a seminary located in the heart of the Midwest. I am the first African American full-time faculty in the history of this seminary. My area of discipline is practical theology, which focuses on teaching students how to reflect theologically on practices of ministry. My background and ministry experience includes certification as a supervisor with the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), Inc., pastoral educator, hospital and military chaplaincy, and ordained National Baptist minister. My cross-disciplinary training has been both a strength as well as a source of confusion. Apart from my current role as Associate Dean, much of my teaching involves practices related to hospital ministry and ministry supervision. However, my passion and fascination have long been the creative genius of black preaching. So when the opportunity came for me to teach a course about the subject, it was a moment of great excitement and challenge.

The first challenge came from the question of how to teach a course about black preaching in a predominantly white seminary. It was clear to me, after one white student’s request that he wanted to learn to preach black, that this was definitely not a how to course. The seminary already offered a course in homiletics. This course was not to be about how to preach like a black preacher or how black preachers preach. Since it is my contention that preaching is an event that occurs in a specific moment in history, any course had to be highly contextualized.

Because of the contextual nature of preaching, the course was first called The History of Preaching in the Black Church Tradition. The intent was to present preaching in its historical and sociological context. Drawing from a thesis I wrote while in seminary, I was to survey the development of black preaching from its roots in slavery to present-day trends. The course was successful, with a good mix of both black and white students. However, teaching black preaching as a historical subject proved problematic. First, I am not a trained historian. Another professor with proficiencies in historical method taught a course surveying the history of the black church. Secondly, certain historical events were politically and racially charged topics. Often the tensions in the classroom between the white and black students became intense, at which time I had to remind the students, and myself, of the specific focus of the course.

In the first rendering of the course, I chose specific examples of black preachers to illustrate certain styles and content. The use of video clips from YouTube and tapes from the library proved helpful, but they also seemed to distract further from the course’s intent. Although the students seemed energized watching the various black preachers, style appeared to overshadow content. Therefore, when it came time to teach the course again, I asked the dean to rename the course.

The renaming of the course took some time and required careful reflection. I was adamant that the course did not belong in the history division of the curriculum. But I was equally intentional about the course not being a how to workshop. For me, the main objective of the course needed to be focused on the content rather than style. Too much attention has been focused on how black preachers preach and not enough on their message. It has long been my belief that black preachers have something theological to contribute for which they have not received much credit by either white or black scholars. Therefore, I requested that the name of the course be changed to Preaching in the Black Church Tradition. This enabled the class to move closer to the practical theological division of the curriculum, while also leaving room to explore its multi-disciplinary dimensions. The revision of the course as an exploration of the theological themes within black preaching generated interest among the students about what is being said as much as how it is being said, although the two are inseparable.

There are numerous people who have played a significant role in the development of this book. Bernard Brandon Scott and Elizabeth Box Price were thesis advisors in seminary during my early research and romance with the original topic of black preaching. Their encouragement over the years has been indispensable. I am equally appreciative of the many churches that have allowed me to practice my craft on a regular basis, particularly the Metropolitan, First Baptist, and Morning Star churches in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Special words of gratitude are reserved for Anna Holloway who offered her gifts for proofreading the final drafts during a time when I was overwhelmed by the grief over my daughter’s death. Thanks to my specially abled son, JL, for patiently giving me time and space to write a book he may never be able to read. Finally, I am grateful to the president, dean, faculty, and students at Phillips Theological Seminary for the opportunity to offer a course that expresses one of my greatest passions. In a time when curriculum revisions and budgetary restraints are redefining the essentials of a seminary degree, it is a privilege to be able to make the audacious claim that black preaching still matters.

1. Francis, Ferguson and Faith, 79.

Introduction

Dad, I have a question. An otherwise harmless request, coming at an unexpected time from an unusual source. JL is my 27-year-old son who lives with me full time, born with a condition called Fragile X Syndrome, one of several diagnoses on the Autism Spectrum. Symptoms of Fragile X include mild to severe mental impairment, avoidance of eye contact, and social awkwardness. For JL, this also includes the remarkable ability to be immediate and honest with his thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Seated on the front pew at church, for no apparent reason in his normally unpredictable way, as I began my sermon, JL stood up, and began walking toward the pulpit with his right hand raised in the air, index finger pointing toward me, with a big smile on his face and loudly spoke, Dad! Dad! I have a question. I was caught off guard by his spontaneous interruption of my preacherly flow, and immediately with a sleight of hand conspicuously gave the sign language gesture for sitting down. Normally this works, but not this morning. JL was not having it, and persisted to speak up—Dad, I have a question.

JL’s refusal to sit down showed a remarkable determination, different than his ordinary compliance with verbal and nonverbal prompting. Only the persistent beckoning of the man sitting next to him convinced JL to return to his seat. Somewhat amused and embarrassed, I searched in my mind for words to say to recapture my flow. Everyone in the audience was frozen in silence, no doubt waiting for my response and guidance. After a few moments of silence, I said to the church, That’s my son, JL. He wanted to ask a question. I wish I could get more of us to come to church with a question. The congregation burst into laughter, applause, and several Amens.

Black preaching has long been the subject of scholarly research in oral communication and homiletical style. Few studies about African American culture and history omit some attention to the unique contributions made by the preacher. Frank A. Thomas’s recent work Introduction to the Practice of African American Preaching chronicles and critiques the history of homiletical inquiry by distinguishing between the influences of folk preaching or pre-King preaching and the more academic or post-King preaching genres.¹ Their role in shaping the religious landscape of this nation is hardly debatable. Emerging primarily out of chattel slavery and the Great Awakening revivals, black preaching was a major influence in perpetuating the Christian gospel message and the progressive expansion of the American ideals of freedom and liberty. Amid violent resistance toward allowing these constitutional rights to extend to all people, the black preacher has often been the voice of protest and resistance.

Much of the research about black preaching has focused mainly on its style and delivery. The so called genius of black preaching, its creative rhetorical devices that ignite the emotional passions of its audience, its jazzy rhythmic modes, and its feverish pitch are classic hallmarks that have made this style one of the most exotic forms of public speech. It is the only form of preaching in the United States that can be readily transposed in stage plays and movies without the necessity of production editing. Even stand-up comedians like Steve Harvey or Cedric the Entertainer can mimic verbatim the particular antics of the black preacher without changing any of its style of delivery and still receive laughs and applause from their audiences.

Unfortunately, the strong emphasis on the style of black preaching has come at the expense of equal attention to and appreciation for it theological content. Words are seen as secondary. However, in a culture where words still matter, it is imperative to give as much attention to what the black preacher is saying as how it is being said. One of the ways homiletical theory has bridged the gap between content and delivery is by exploring knowledge from other rhetorical studies. For example, Richard F. Ward, in his book Speaking of the Holy: The Art of Communication in Preaching, offers a perspective about the preacher as a holy performer whose dramatic enactment of Christian liturgy is an essential component of the sermon.² He insists that it is the connection between preaching and liturgical performance that keeps preaching from being reduced to mere entertainment. More will be said later about the contributions made from both performance and rhetorical studies.

Because too often black preaching has been exploited for its entertainment value, serious inquiry into the theological content is essential. Like JL, new questions need to be asked about the what and how of black preaching. If Ward is right, and Christian liturgy is to be taken seriously and understood in the context of the lived experiences of the people of God, then the preacher’s role must be considered for its theological and sociological significance. I am proposing that we take a fresh look at black preaching through its historical development, as well as its influence on the wider theological conversation. Black preaching in the African American context has functioned not only as a source for religious guidance, but also a necessary ingredient for the survival of the African American community.

In order to understand the way in which the African American community has survived, one must be cognizant of the way in which the voice from the pulpit facilitated the shaping and interpretation of the essential meaning of God’s activity among them. Traditionally, the church has been the primary religious and social meeting place. The preacher stood as the exclusive spokesperson for articulating the tenets of the faith. Consequently, careful attention should be paid to black preaching for its theological content. However, theological interpretations from the pulpit did not occur in a vacuum. Preaching as proclamation performed by the whole community forms the basis of this book. A dialectical and dialogical perspective will show how theological and social meanings were developed through a nexus of diametrical relationships within and without the African American community.

Black Preaching Matters

I have been a student of preaching for as long as I can remember. When I was growing up in the ’60s and ’70s in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, preachers of all types came to our little town. Some were pastors, some evangelists, and some were bootleggers of the gospel message. On Sunday afternoons the local radio station played sermons and speeches by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. No other preacher was more influential in my decision to become a minister than Reverend King. I was seventeen years old when I preached my first sermon. My call to ministry grew out of a series of events that included participation in a public speaking contest at school. Thirty-seven years later I am still fascinated by the power of the pulpit and its preacher.

Particularly interesting to me has been the impact of black preachers on social, religious, and political movements. The sphere of their influence reaches beyond the pulpit into the community in ways that no other personality has or does. There are many reasons for this. First, the role of the preacher in the black community emerged out of a necessity for survival during slavery. There were few other leaders better suited for articulating the needs of the people, which enabled them to organize and sustain slaves during antebellum existence. This continues to be an important role of the preacher in the life of the community. Secondly, the holistic worldview of the black preacher allows a broader perspective about the preaching task. All of life is sacred, and therefore must be included in the sermon. Preaching is not regulated to addressing only spiritual matters. Finally, even today in many African American communities, the preacher is the only autonomous leader whose economic security and social status is not threatened by the other powers-that-be.

But there is another significant role the preacher plays that is one of the primary motivations behind this book, that of resident theologian. In the following pages we will look at how theological content is formulated in order to bring about social transformation. I am concerned that the over-emphasis on style, even from most African American scholars, has come at the expense of attention to the content. Therefore, I will further explain the relationship between theology and social context. Black preaching does not flow from a set of orthodox beliefs and practices. Rather, the theology in black pulpits comes directly from its dialectical engagement with public life. Its practical, empowering, and inspiring messages moves people to take action against forces that are destructive to the community. The unique content in black sermons made preachers the public theologians of our times.

The Genius of Black Preaching

Much has been written about the genius of black preaching. However, most attention has been paid to the unique style of its rhythmic prose, musicality, and the call-response conversation between the pulpit and the pew. These aspects are essential for understanding the contribution black preaching has made to the study of religious rhetoric. However, they are not simply style without meaningful content. Black preachers are not only performers, but they actually have something significant to say, interpreting the faith in light of changing contextual realities. As Allen suggests, thinking theologically is an interpretive process that is influenced by the social and theological location of the preacher and the congregation.³ Historically, black preachers have been the voices in the wilderness. They have been the voice for and to the voiceless, expressing their pain through imaginative speech. But black preachers are not just performers of creative rhetoric. They participate in constructing and deconstructing established theological norms.

My intention in this book is to survey the history of black preaching as it has evolved through various social and political movements in the United States. Most research portrays a monolithic, static perspective about the content and style of black preaching. As with any distinctive cultural expression, preaching in the African American religious community is dynamic, dialogical, and dialectical. In addition, special attention will be paid to theological themes (I will call streams) that flow through black preaching as each generation has sought to guide and interpret the faith amidst the social conditions of its people. The spectrum ranges from the otherworldly themes of slavery to the here and now demands of contemporary preaching. Each theme is an attempt to make sense out of the concrete social and political realities of its own time. Once the conditions change, the theological content evolves; however, earlier themes do not entirely dissipate. For this reason, sermons by African Americans on any given Sunday will have residual traces of previous themes from early historical periods.

Historically, the African American population has primarily been transitional with each period calling for a particular theological response to the present Sitz im Leben. From the west coast of Africa, to slavery in North America, from southern Reconstruction to northern migration and urbanization, they have been continually confronted with new challenges. The preacher has attempted to construct a system of beliefs necessary for whatever situation the people found themselves in. Although the theological theme has been consistently focused on God’s liberating activity, the specific content, as expressed through preaching, has changed dialectically as African Americans found themselves confronted by and having to contend with dehumanizing forces threatening their existence in the world. I contend that a dialectical model of reflection is the principle socio-theological paradigm in which such preaching evolves.

The Dialectical Method

In order to explain the theological content in black preaching, an appropriate socio-theological model must be identified. Historically, this task has relied mainly on various social science research models. For instance, Hart and Anne Kusener Nelsen, in their study The Black Church in the Sixties, constructed three traditional models used to study the African