SAN ANTONIO—The energetic call and response style of African-American preaching garners the attention of those who have witnessed its finest practitioners. But “the art of black preaching” rests in the heart of its message—transformation made possible through Christ, leaders at a recent Texas Baptist conference insisted.
“The black preacher never loses focus that I am to take what’s broken and provide a word to bring it back together,” John W. Kinney, dean of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, told the Black Preaching Conference at Baptist University of the Américas.
African-American pastors call their churches to cling faithfully to Christ, no matter how difficult circumstances become, Kinney said. Historically, African-American preachers have done this well through trials and struggles.
Pastors of African-American churches connect with their congregations because they understand the context, said Charlie Singleton, director of Texas Baptists’ African-American ministries. They often live in the same neighborhoods as their church members, and they see their struggles.
“We’re preaching in the context,” he said. “We’ve been through some of what people have been through.”
Free to address community ills
African-American pastors feel free to address the ills of their community, said Oscar Epps, pastor of Community Missionary Baptist Church in DeSoto and president of the African-American Fellowship of Texas. They aren’t concerned about being politically correct or offending someone. They follow a call to preach truth, he insisted.
“The freedom of preaching, the liberation of black preaching, is there are no limitations to stay within the parameters of your congregation,” he said.
Each week, African-American pastors are called to bring the entirety of themselves to the pulpit, including what is happening in their communities, what’s happening in their lives and what God is teaching them, Kinney said.
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In addition to Kinney, other conference speakers included Charles Booth of Columbus, Ohio, and William Blocker of Houston.
The Black Preaching Conference is a collaborative effort of the Baptist General Convention of Texas office of African-American ministries, the African-American Fellowship of Texas and BUA.
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