Faith in Action

I’ve always been interested in how much pastors decide to get involved in local politics.  Some pastors choose to maintain public silence on political issues and others involve themselves extensively as the ones featured in this video.

Pastor John Wright (First Baptist Church of Guilford) and Pastor Marvis P. May (Macedonia Baptist Church) have a long record of being actively involved in the political arena.  Here they team up to give their support to Baltimore mayoral candidate, Keiffer Mitchell.  Widely believed to be the “white candidate” in the mayoral race, Mitchell obviously believes that he can gain some ground among Black voters by having Wright and May on his side.

Preached a year to the day of his assassination; Dr. King offers one of his most powerful sermons entitled, “Why I am Opposed to the War in Vietnam.”  May this be encouragement to those preachers who publicly stand in opposition to the occupation of Iraq and may it be conviction to those preachers who’ve chosen to be silent - knowing that as Dr. King says in this sermon - there comes a time when silence is betrayal. 

For today’s Sunday Sermon, I invite you to enjoy this snippet from a giant of a preacher who’s legacy stands tall despite his passing this year.  Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson was the presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ, Inc.  He went home to be with the Lord in March 2007.  It would be extremely difficult for me to summarize his impact on the Body of Christ.  Allow me simply to say that the works he has done speak for him.  Enjoy.

I was blessed to be a part of the last class that had the opportunity to sit under the teaching of the prolific professor, Dr. Miles Jones at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University.  He left an indelible mark on me and thousands of others who were privileged to cross his path.  Enjoy this offering from one of God’s choice servants.

As a Black preacher who truly studies the powerful art of the sermon as proclaimed in the Black Church tradition; I celebrate the unique vessels who have come before me preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The moment of proclamation in the Black Church is one of the most divine and mystical experiences in the existential reality of Blacks in America.  As a way to pay homage to great Black preachers and to preserve the story of Black Christians in America, I will post a sermon clip every Sunday for your enjoyment and our edification. 

The first featured preacher is Dr. C.L. Franklin, (1946-1984) former pastor of the New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan.  Dr. Franklin, a colleague of Dr. Martin L. King, Jr., was shot during a robbery attempt at his home and died in 1984 after being in a comatose condition for 5 years.  Click here to read more about his life and legacy. 

Enjoy.