When people ask, "what is the biggest mistake made in the Black Panther Party?" I tell them very clearly that what we did wrong was to take God out of the movement. -Afeni Shakur (Former Black Panther and Mother of slain rapper,Tupac Shakur)
I just received notification that Dr. C.A.W. Clark, one of the greatest preachers in this country, died Sunday, July 27, 2008.
I first was made aware of Dr. Clark through a CD sermon bundle offered by the African American Pulpit Journal. I bought what I consider to be one of the greatest sermons ever preached - “The Worms Got Him.” If you have never heard this sermon by Dr. Caesar A.W. Clark, you would do well to add this to your collection.
The man is a brilliant mind and with his deliberately slow introduction and distinct rhythm he’ll draw you to the core of the text inviting you to see it again with new eyes.
Here’s to one of the greatest pulpiteers of his generation, Dr. Caesar A.W. Clark. May your legacy continue to inspire preachers to be faithful to the text and the sacred art of Black preaching.
I’m making my way (very slowly) through this amazing book that I will probably end up utilizing for my young adult Discipleship at the church. My revolutionary, anti-Empire cousin recommended it to me and I went out and got it right away. Jesus for President is a very creative presentation that presents and urges readers to think about Jesus differently. The reader is urged to think about Jesus in the way that those in his context are likely to have thought about him. One of the things that I stress repeatedly in the Bible Study at the church is that we must be spiritual archeologist that dig below the words of scripture to explore the context of scripture which will help us to locate MEANING that can be applied in our 21st Century reality. The temptation for Believers today is to read everything in the Bible at face value and embrace a very literal, fundamental interpretation and application of what we read.
Jesus for President is a great way for Believers new to the Faith or even those of us who’ve been in The Way for a while to clear new paths to understanding the historical Jesus and the movement that was formed around him.
I think books and interpretations like this are particularly important for this new generation of Believers who have undeniably different beliefs about Christianity that must be taken into account in relation to worship, evangelism, discipleship, and outreach. As this Barna Group Research reveals, Christianity is losing it’s reputable standing among Americans age 16 - 29 years old. As a result, the proportion of those “outside” Christianity is growing with every generation. One of the statements made by respondents that crystallized the criticism of the young people in this research says, “Christianity no longer looks like Jesus.” Wow.
(That phrase reminds me of a statement that is attributed to Ghandi in which he is believed to have said, “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”)
Furthermore, recently The Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life released research that also point to a shift in beliefs among Americans. One of the more revealing findings says that in a sample size of over 35,000 religiously affiliated people across the nation, 70% of them believe that many religions can lead to eternal life. (This holds true even among the traditionally conservative subset of those in the Historically Black Church, with nearly 60% holding that belief.)
These are not your Father’s Christians.
What do we do in light of the paradigm shift that is happening in the minds of 21st Century Believers?
As those who are entrusted to promote and defend the Faith; what beliefs do we stand unapologetically on and what beliefs and/or doctrines do we concede?
(Remember that even the Doctrine of the Trinity is a relatively new belief that was born out of a very contentious debate about the nature of Jesus (325 A.D.). Before that, it could hardly be said that the Trinity was a mainline doctrinal belief as many believe it is today.)
Bottom line is: Beliefs change, paradigms shift, even our understanding of Jesus can evolve. So we within the ekklesia are charged to do what my biology teacher from high school - Ms. Cassily - taught us about the unspoken understanding of every living thing in a new environment. We must MOVE, ADAPT, OR DIE.
Either we must MOVE with the new beliefs about Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, etc.
Or we must ADAPT to living, preaching, and teaching the FAITH in this new context
Or if we don’t do either, we will do what Bishop John Shelby Spong warned in his 1998 book - we will DIE.
About a year ago, I received calls at work on a storm-cloud filled day with news on the other line that one of Baltimore’s most historic churches had been struck by lightning. I jumped in the car and drove to the church and joined hundreds of others who gathered at the smoldering building trying to make sense of what happened. Tears, cheers, songs, and prayers went up as the faithful and the curious watched in amazement as the billows of smoke rose higher yet into the sky.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, news reports began to surface about the church’s financial struggles and gifts that the church had given their pastor - the most scrutinized of which was a bentley automobile.
One year later the smoke has cleared and in this WBAL news report, Bishop Oscar Brown talks about where the church is now - debt free and looking forward to a new building in 2010.
Gambling Away Our Principles
Sunday, May 18, 2008; B08
It is easy to get caught up in the false promise of slots — of easy money and a quick fix to all that ails Maryland. But the simple truth is that Maryland can’t win and that Marylanders will lose if slots are legalized.
Gambling is becoming an increasingly pervasive element of American society, and legalizing slot machines in the state would be one more example of our society’s eagerness to abandon hard work and ingenuity in favor of a Band-Aid for a gaping wound. Encouraging gambling in our communities would be irresponsible and would result in lasting and irreversible harm.
Proponents of slots contend that their legalization would help finance public education. We ask: What lessons are we teaching our children? That they should throw hard-earned money away in the false hope of a big payday? Those who say slots will create revenue for the state don’t acknowledge the catastrophic ramifications of such a decision. For the state to win, the player must lose. As people of faith, we are called on to speak out to protect Maryland from the insidious vice of gambling.
“The ruling clique approaches its task with a “what to think” program; the vanguard elements have the much more difficult of promoting “how to think.”
And that conceptual statement guides me as I lead the Bible Study at the church where I am blessed to serve as Pastor - Pleasant Hope Baptist Church in Northeast Baltimore.
Bible Study has never been something that I’ve been overwhelming excited about namely because in my many experiences it has been either an opportunity for the Pastor to “preach” a lesson or it has looked like a facilitator standing in front of the audience telling them what they should think with very little meaningful interaction. I always said that if I ever became a Pastor that I would have a Bible Study that folks would want to come to.
So far we’re well on our way to creating that type of study experience. Pleasant Hope Baptist Church is on track to have the most dangerous Bible Study in Baltimore simply because I push the people to THINK. I don’t answer a whole lot of questions. I help folks to re-read the scriptures with “fresh eyes” and question what they read. I dissuade them from taking anything they read in the Bible at face value. EVERYTHING is open to questioning, criticism, challenge.
We read the scripture in its context understanding that it was written at a certain time, in a certain location, by a certain person (or persons) within a certain culture, for a certain reason.
The amazing thing is that as we engage in textual criticism and exegete the text in a way that honors the scripture’s original meaning (or likely meaning), my students then begin to draw parallels between the context and/or meaning of the passage we’re studying and their everyday realities.
Two weeks ago as we were studying the persecution of Jesus a discussion was born about the persecution of so many others who stood up against the status quo power structure and were viewed as a threat capable of organizing the masses thus necessitating their assassination or exile. It was such an invigorating discussion. It eventually led to us analyzing the Roman Empire and the Religious Order of Jesus’ time and looking at Baltimore’s Government and Shadow Government today. (We love dealing with “problem texts” by the way - like when Jesus called the syrophoenician woman a dog.)
In addition, we’ve started our studies off with warm up activities designed to get people’s juices flowing. We started with analyzing a Baltimore Sun article one night, we played a Jill Scott song the following week, and we read a Paul Lawrence Dunbar poem the following week. Who knows I might drop some Kanye West on them next time. They don’t know what to expect from week to week. I keep people on their toes and prayerfully am helping them to realize that critical study of the Holy Writ is just as much an act of worship as singing songs on Sunday morning.
We even have the teens coming out to Bible Study faithfully…and bringing their friends!
As we continue in our time of weekly critical study, it is obvious to me that this group will be a very dangerous sect of Believers. They won’t be walking around talking about “Bless me indeed” and “enlarge my territory” while hiding behind sofas when the Jehovah Witnesses knock on their doors.
They’ll be walking around with a heightened awareness of how the revolutionary message of God’s love toward humanity was understood over the centuries and how it applies to their lives and responsibilities to community today.
This Bible Study is a Bad Mutha - Shut yo’ mouth! What? I’m only talking about the MOST DANGEROUS BIBLE STUDY IN BALTIMORE!
Be there!
Every Tuesday 7:00PM
Pleasant Hope Baptist Church
430 E. Belvedere Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21212
(410) 435-0851
It is with great excitement that I share good news related to the next phase of my service to God and community. I have recently been called to serve as the Pastor of the Pleasant Hope Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland. (430 E. Belvedere Avenue, Baltimore, 21212) Pleasant Hope is a loving congregation situated not far from the intersection of Belvedere Avenue and York Road in North Baltimore City.
I am truly thankful to God for this opportunity to serve God’s people and the broader community in this way.
All are invited to attend my first Sunday at Pleasant Hope Baptist Church which will actually be this Sunday, June 1, 2008. Sunday School begins at 9:30AM and morning worship begins at 11:00AM. As we are anticipating a crowd, I invite you to get there a bit early if you do plan on coming.
For those who are unable to come, I certainly solicit your prayers for me and my family. I’ve had the distinct privilege of serving alongside many of you as we advocated for justice for Isaiah Simmons, III, the removal of liquor stores from Park Heights, a quality education for Baltimore City public school students, a peaceful remedy for the people of Darfur, Sudan, engaging in civil disobedience at the gates of the White House in reference to the American invasion and military occupation of Iraq, and so many other important issues. Now more than ever I need your support as I have become an heir to a great tradition in my family and community. The Black Church, in my estimation, is the most valuable institution in the African American community and I will strive to honor the legacy of the Great Ancestors and Elders who have gone before me. With your prayers and God’s guidance, I will be successful in my quest.
Let’s continue to work together in an effort to usher in the realization of the Beloved Community in this world - starting right here in Baltimore City!
May God’s Peace be yours,
Pastor-Elect Heber M. Brown, III
Pleasant Hope Baptist Church
Baltimore, MD
I’m putting the finishing touches on my presentation which I will share at The Johns Hopkins 58th Institute for Spirituality and Medicine. The conference started Monday, May 12th and will continue until Wednesday, May 14, 2008. National and local presenters have converged on Charm City to talk about “Violence and the Challenge of Healing in Our Communities.”
Notables such as Rev. Eugene Rivers (Boston), Bishop Doug Miles (Baltimore), Dr. David Kennedy, Dr. Harold Carter, Sr., Rev. Karen Brau, Pastor Billy Stanfield, and a whole slew of others are sharing on a variety of topics.
I’m honored to be invited to present on the topic “Faith in Action: Examining Religious Outreach and Activism in Baltimore.” I’ll be profiling some members of the clergy and Faith communities who have welcomed the expression of their Faith beyond the boundaries of their sanctuaries. Contrary to the opinion of some, Baltimore has a very rich history of religious civic engagement and only as of late have we as a community drifted from our roots and centered moreso on a gospel that speaks primarily to a middle class who is hungry for personal advancement at the expense of social justice for the marginalized.
Hopefully, my presentation will resurrect and rehash the legacies of those strong clergy women and men who have, in days past, pointed the way to the Beloved Community.
Black preachers agree to disagree
Area pastors react differently to the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. scandal
By Kelly Brewington
Sun reporter
May 1, 2008
The Rev. Alvin C. Hathaway Sr. considers the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. to be a tremendous pastor and a brilliant theologian. But sitting in the audience of the National Press Club in Washington this week, Hathaway found himself wincing at some of the remarks by Sen. Barack Obama’s embattled former pastor.
“When Jeremiah Wright says an attack on him is ‘an attack on the black church,’ that’s kind of stretching things,” said Hathaway, pastor of Baltimore’s Union Baptist Church. “I think it’s potentially dangerous.”
He is not the only one who thought so.
On Tuesday, Obama condemned Wright’s remarks, characterizing them as disrespectful, offensive and not accurately portraying the perspective of black churches.
Wright’s plunge back into the national spotlight - in which he has defended his fiery remarks, praised the Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan and accused the media of distorting his words - has sparked an intense reaction in Baltimore’s black faith community. Some pastors assert that Wright is not the spokesman of the black religious tradition - one as diverse as the black community itself.
Others have defended Wright’s remarks as rooted in a rich history of black ministers using the pulpit to challenge injustices. They fear that the Wright backlash has overshadowed the black churches’ history, value and good deeds.
“Many of us pastors are pained,” said the Rev. Johnny Golden, pastor of New Unity Church Ministries in Baltimore and president-elect of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance. “We see a lot of what he is saying and we understand it, but his comments have wounded the opportunity of Mr. Obama to make gains and opportunity for America to embrace its ideals.”
Shout out to Reality Speaks of the Solvivaz Nation. They are bringing Dr. Ray Hagins to Baltimore again TOMORROW, April 26, 2008 7PM. Check out their note below and please do all you can to support this valuable engagement.
Greetings Family,
Reality Speaks of Solvivaz Nation would like to invite the entire Afrikan family to join us as we feature Rev. Dr. Ray Hagins this Saturday @ the Sojourner Douglass College 200 N. Central Ave from 7pm-10pm doors open at 6pm. Tickets for this event are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
America is Falling: How will the Black Man and Woman Survive???
This is a don’t miss event!!! Dr. Rev. Ray Hagins challenges the way we as Black people think about ourselves and our worldview. This will definitely be an informative event for Afrikans of all ages.
