Jason Miccolo Johnson has authored the powerful book Soul Sanctuary: Images of the African American Worship Experience. This is a picture of images of the Black Church. The images are over a full worship service.
Category: blog
Black Bible Reading Through the Years
Vincent Wimbush provides a history of African American interaction with the Bible in his book The Bible and African Americans. The Bible has often been held in high esteem by Black Americans and thus it is interesting to look at how this came to be.
Black Preaching to Name God in all Human Experience
In The Heart of Black Preaching Cleophus LaRue describes the different domains of experience in a sermon. These are different ways a sermon address Black (or any other) culture. Explicitly he states on page 20 of his work that:
Should You Use Visual Aids?
The Unashamed Workman blog has a list of arguments for and against the use of visual aids like PowerPoint in sermons. It is a compilation of the comments that the blog received on a previous post. Some of the interesting ones are:
FOR
1. Visual images were frequently used by Jesus to illustrate the word he preached.
AGAINST
1. It shows a lack of confidence in the word preached.
3. It can produce a ‘lecture feel.’
The African Jesus
At the JESUS MAFA website you will find a number of pictures of Jesus depicted as an African.
When asked why should they do this the answer brought forth is:
Take Your Pen and Write it Down!
Isaiah 25:6-10
The Pervasiveness of Death
It has been said that we begin dying as soon as we are born. I don’t know how true that is, but at some point all that God has created eventually slows down and dies. We all begin our life with the limitless possibilities of an open future. Almost imperceptibly each of those open doors begin closing until the last door closes on our fragile existence.
Who is Left Outside in Our Preaching?
The Faith in Action blog has a picture up that the author says is a sermon by itself. The picture is of a homeless man sleeping in front of the closed gate at a church with a sheet over his head. The author states:
It causes me to meditate on how many others are sleeping on the outside of the “Beautiful†gates of the church.
Black Preaching On-Line Radio
I think that preachers should listen to other preachers whenever you get the chance. I have found two online radio stations that provide 24 hours or Black sermons. The first of these is the WTAM Black Sermon Radio found on Live 365.
Another website is the Preach Radio Network which you can findat this link.
Both sites provide music and sermonic content.
Black Church Spotlight – Marcus Cosby and Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church
Marcus Cosby is the pastor of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston Texas. You can find a list of video sermons on their site. Marcus Cosby is one of the premier preachers in the country and is on the Advisory board of the AFrican American Pulpit.
Darfur – What is your congressperson’s Grade?
At this link you will find how your congresspeople have voted on issues related to Darfur. The Genocide continues and it doesn’t seem to be on the radar of either the general public or the media.
See how your congressperson has voted…encourage that one to do better. The best of the Black Preaching Tradition has always cared for and advocated for the powerless. Let us be the voice of the voiceless.
Is Gift Based Ministry an Excuse?
Chuck Warnick in his Confessions of a Small Church Pastor blog asks the question, “Has gift-based ministry given us an excuse not to serve?” He notes that often we hear people saying, “that is not my gift” when asked to serve.
Warnick notes that we have allowed the idea that all have been given a gift to be perverted into the idea that “if you don’t have THIS gift you don’t have to do anything.”
You Can Preach E-Book
Please go to this page:
http://shermancox.wpengine.com/freeebook/YouCanPreach.html
I’m Gonna Sing That Song!
Psalm 33:6-9
Introduction
My father was a district leader of the NAACP during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Because of this, he used to tell my brothers and me about the Civil Rights Movement. My father simply called it “the movement.” I heard stories about marches, bus trips called freedom rides, and lunch counters. My father would have a smile on his face when he spoke about the accomplishments of the movement.