Posted by Min. Paul Scott on 1/19/2002, 1:50 pm Min. Paul Scott The condition of the Black church in the 21st century As we enter into 2002, the Black church is at a First ,the church must become more user friendly. While many have rightly seen the mission of the church Also, when some get too holy to watch sitcoms they Next, the pastors must feed the sheep with KNOWLEDGE Most importantly, what is needed in the church is an We as a people have been too quick to give away Church folks must take the chip off their shoulders Min. Paul Scott is founder of the New Righteous
What the Black Church Must do in 2002
can be best summed up in the words of a friend of mine
who recently left the church. Brother, it isnt the
religion that turns people off, its the
representatives. Or to borrow from the Hip Hoppers,
yall aint representin; yall aint keepin it
real.
crucial point in its history, whether it will be that
pillar of strength which it was at its apex or if it
will remain the Sunday morning social club that many
have become since the Civil Rights Era. There are
several things that the church must do this year in
order to seek that which was lost and not loose
even more in the process.
Too many times instead of spreading the Gospel we are
more interested in promoting the idea that the spirit
of God only dwells in my church. So we limit our
whole religious experience to a two hour period in a
building on Sunday morning instead of manifesting it
in our ways and actions. Our spirituality becomes a
ritual instead of a way of life, which is totally
against the teachings of Yeshua (misnamed Jesus). The
Messiah was a Liberator and a Revolutionary and those
who follow him must be involved in the upliftment of
the Afrikan community. I never understood how people
could be " screamin' and shoutin'" inside a church
while there are "lost" brothers and sisters on the
front steps. The word must be brought to them, as
well. No man has the right to copy write a religion;
it must be open to all who seek TRUTH.
in the 21st century to reach the young Hip Hop
generation, that does not mean that every Sunday
morning service should become Hip Hop Central. I
always tell folks if I want to hear DMX, I will buy a
DMX CD. Many people who get saved feel that they are
above secular music so they compensate their urge to
still get down by playing gospel rap. However,
just because someone gives a shout out to Jesus does
not make the song spiritually edifying. A spiritual
song should inspire one ,to borrow from the old Goodie
Mob lyrics, "Get up, get out and do somethin'"
trade them in for so called gospel plays like the
gospel musical thatis sweepin the nation Mama, when
will I findsomebody to treat me right? As the
scriptures teachwe are too quick to go after things
that do notprofit or raise our level of consciousness
in the name of religion.
instead of playing the classic I know something you
dont know game. With all the Biblical knowledge that
some pastors possess, what they give the people rarely
surpasses Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible
tells me so or stories from that big Blue Childrens
Bible Story book with all those pictures of white
folks in it that many of us had to read in Sunday
school.The subject matter must change. What effect
would it have on the young folks in the congregation
if Pastor Jones told them that Messiah was a Black man
and his message of LIBERATION is still relevant for
the struggle of Afrikan people even today?
How many more sermons must we sit through with a
pastor telling the poor people who sit in the back
that they should suffa on earth (not for speaking
TRUTH to power as Yeshua did, but just for the sake
of sufferin) while the big money folks who sit up
front drive to church in Cadillacs, every Sunday.
Afrikan Reformation Movement. There have been
reformation movements initiated by Europeans, but
since we have considered Christianity a gift from the
white man and did not claim any kinship to the people
of the Bible, we did not feel that we had the
spiritual authority to change a thing. So we have
accepted the religion as is. What is referred to as
Christianity in its essence has just as much claim
to Africa as any other religion practiced by Black
folks when it is properly understood. The Afrikan
Reformation Movement will state boldly that the people
of the Bible were mostly Black people, so the first
move of the reformation would be for Black churches to
remove the blue eyed, blond haired pictures of the
white man posing as "Jesus" and replace them with
pictures of Yeshua, the Black Revolutionary Messiah.
everything that the European claims is theirs;
religion, land, culture, etc. This is especially
exemplified in popular music such as Rock and Roll,
Jazz and Hip Hop. A hundred years from now I would not
be surprised if the history books record that Vanilla
Ice discovered Hip Hop, Kenny G discovered Jazz and
Michael Jackson was a white man who revolutionized
music videos. We must keep what is ours very close to
our hearts and put it in the memory of our children.
One need not denounce the church to embrace
Afrocentricity nor does one have to denounce
Afrocentricity to go to church. We need a reformation
movement that is not concerned with where one sits on
Sunday morning, but with the renewing of the mind. The
call for an Afrikan Reformation Movement in the Black
church must come from those inside of the church and
not those on the outside looking in. Unfortunately,
most of the criticism of the Church (both constructive
and other wise) comes from those who wouldnt set foot
in a church even if Marcus Garvey was preachin and
the Black Panther Party served as ushers.
when someone asks honest questions regarding
Christianity. Every question is not a diss and
should require a deeper response then there yall go
again, messin with my Jesus.
If church folks want to stop being referred to as
those who follow that white man;s religion they must
stop following the white mans religion (The
Eurocentric version of Christianity) The stereotype in
some Afrocentric circles that those Black folks that
go to church do so cause they just dont know any
better must be broken. This will happen when the
church begins to see the Messiah as more than a
picture on a wall but embraces the message of
LIBERATION found in the scriptures.
Even though the Black church has been historically
resistant to change, (look how long it took choirs to
even decorate their robes with kente clothe, once in a
while) I believe that if a enough church folks want
change, change will happen. As Sam Cooke beautifully
sang years ago, it's been a long time commin but I
know change gonna come.
Movement based in Durham NC, which teaches Afrikan
Liberation Theology. He can be reached at
operationmedia@yahoo.com
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