Preacher’s Study Notes 1993
I appreciate the invitation to share some views on this topic, although I feel that I am not the best man for the job. There are brethren with more experience in this area. Some that come to mind are: Brother Art Lynch of Glendale, Arizona; Brother Richard Reed of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Brother Keith Brown from Kansas City, Missouri; Brother Cleo Gaston from Farmerville, Lousiana; Brother Booker T. Price from Hazelhurst, Mississippi; Brother Doug Young of Houston, Texas; and Brother Russell Hall of Los Angeles, California. These brethren, and others that I am familiar with, have spent a large portion of their lives working in the black community as I have, and we welcome the opportunity to share some of their experiences with you.
First, let me say that I am not an evangelist, therefore I cannot do the work of an evangelist (2 Timothy 4:5). I am simply a local teacher that works with a local congregation that happens to be black. I do not hold myself out to be some expert in evangelizing black people or any other people. Just because I am black does not mean that I am an expert in understanding black people or the best ways to teach them. Therefore, all of my remarks must be understood from this perspective
At this point some clarifications and definitions are in order. First, briefly, the word “evangelism” There are only three passages of Scripture that contain the word “evangelist” that I am aware of, from which we get the noun “evangelism”:
- 1. Acts 21:8 refers to Philip as being an evangelist.
2. Ephesians 4:11 says that God had appointed some for perfecting the saints, for the work of the ministry, and the building up of the body.
3. In 2 Timothy 4:5, Timothy was reminded to do the work of an evangelist.
At the outset of this discussion let me say that as I understand the use of the word “evangelist” and the Bible pattern of evangelism, I see no distinction, separations, special arrangements, or accommodations for any group, racial or otherwise, except what falls in the category of “all creatures.”
Next, the term “African-American.” In being totally honest with you from a personal point of view, I find the term very inaccurate. I understand the intent of those who coined the term — keeping in touch with one’s heritage and roots and so forth. However, I am not as concerned about my roots as I am about my soul. Paul was concerned with his future as a soul in Philippians 3:13 — “forgetting those things which are behind.” Certainly, I try to do that. There are many, many bad experiences that black people have suffered, not only at the hands of white Americans, but at the hands of many peoples. So I try to prevent remembrance of those things at all cost. “African-American” is simply the politically correct label that is in vogue at the moment. I was not born in nor have I ever been to Africa. I prefer to simply be identified as an American.
In my opinion, herein lies some of the symptoms of the problem that we face today on this issue. We have a strong tendency in society to identify, to separate, to distinguish, to make a difference in people; both blacks and whites. We strive to be different, unique, one-of-a-kind. This seems strange to me that in the face of all the Scriptures that teach oneness in Christ (Romans 12:5 — “So we being many are one body in Christ”). The Scriptures teach the unity of all believers in Christ and that is what He prayed for in John 17:21 (“that they all may be one”). The Scriptures admonition against partiality and respect of persons and doing anything by partiality (1 Timothy 5:21; Acts 10:34ff). There is a very pointed Scripture that declares the ultimate equality of man beyond race, gender, and status (Galatians 3:28). This Scripture says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” In the face of all these Scriptures, we still continue to make by race differences in people by the most convenient means, and that is by race.
What makes this topic so difficult for me is that when I read it, it struck me that there was an inherent assumption present. Evangelism among African-Americans --- the statement itself assumes a position that I am not convinced is true --- that spreading the gospel to black people is different from spreading it among whites, or Hispanics or Asians, or even the Russians. There is a very popular belief among many people that the best way to be most effective in evangelism is to send people of their own race to work with them. That seems like a very reasonable premise at first thought. It certainly has a lot of intuitive appeal to it. The only problem is that we cannot fully support that with the Scripture. For example, consider one passage of Scripture. When Peter went to the Gentiles in Acts 10, it certainly could have been argued that Peter was not the best man for the job, because of his race. Had he come to them strictly as a Jew, promoting and
advancing Jewish causes and positions, he would not have been the right man for the job. But he came as a messenger of God only, with good news concerning the opportunities that awaited them in fellowship with Jesus Christ.
You know I applaud the brethren that had the courage to put this topic on the agenda. However for it to even be on the program at all is evidence that something is dreadfully wrong. Somebody realizes that the brotherhood has dropped the ball of evangelism to the black community. And that is good. What I am saying here is that if we feel that we have dropped the ball of evangelism among black people, then we have dropped the ball of evangelism. No one can feel good about what is being accomplished in this area, or any part of the world where we are working at present, until it is being carried out in a non-partisan fashion.
I do not care how many congregations we have established in Africa Australia, or wherever --- those works are good --- but we need to understand that there is much evangelism that needs to be done Stateside. It will keep us all busy from now until the Lord comes back if He waits another two thousand years. We cannot offset the lack of effort in the American black community by concentrating on Russia, Mexico, or even Africa itself. Do we really believe that Paul on any of his journeys made his visits to places based on how many Jews or Gentiles were in the area? Or to be more specific, how many of his own kind was there? Paul’s kind was the upper crust, the rulers, the chief priests. Those were the kind of people he grew up around and learned from.
Fellows, if we know anything about Paul or any of the apostles, we know that they were not concerned about cultural differences, family background, or race, when it came to evangelizing. We need to stop kidding ourselves. On the contrary he was incensed at such hypocrisy, especially among his fellow laborers. You will recall his encounter with Peter in Galatians 2:11. He withstood Peter to the face when Peter’s true prejudices were forced into the open, when he refused to eat with the Gentiles when the Jews came to call. These were non-issues with Paul and he showed great courage in letting his feelings be known publicly. He did not spend his time looking for excuses not to go, and do what he knew deep down needed to be done. He was concerned with one thing: gaining more people to Christ. He did not care who they were, what they were, or where they were, he wanted them in Christ. Until we focus on the goal and not these insignificant stumbling blocks, there will still be a need to put this subject on programs such as this.
There is one passage of Scripture that I want to talk about. I think this passage shows Paul’s attitude and vision, and it should be ours:
“And unto the Jews I became as Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; to them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:20-22).
You see, brothers and sisters, it is about gaining people. It is not about highlighting differences. To paraphrase: Paul would say, “And unto the blacks, I became as a black, that I might gain the blacks.” That is what it is all about. It is about saving people. It is not about who and what they are. It is about gaining people. Is this not what we should spend our time thinking about? Peter evidently reasoned that some came shorter of the glory of God than others. That is the reason he acted that way. But did God not give Paul the best approach --- to evangelize every creature on earth? Did He not say in Isaiah 55:11, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send it”? It is the Word that does it, brothers and Sisters! It is not us! We keep leaning upon our own Understanding and thinking that there is some better approach to these things. There is no better approach than the Word! After all, it is God’s Power to save (Romans 1:16).
Those of you who know anything about the efforts in America to support the spreading of the gospel to black people by the brotherhood at large, know that it has almost been non-existent Stateside. This is not a put-down, it is just the truth as I understand it. A few scattered congregations have supported black preachers, however the number is few. Why? I think we do know the reason why --- we tend to stereotype people. You know the stereotype: we tend to think that all blacks are lazy and shiftless, they are on drugs or dope dealers. This is largely not of our own doing; it is the media that portrays that it is dangerous to be a black male in this country because the murder rate among black males is the highest in the country. I think that the ultimate stereotypical example that I could use to show you that it is very, very wrong to stereotype anybody, is our Lord and Savior and Jesus Christ. You know what they said Jesus in John 1:46, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth? He can’t be anything good, --- He came from Nazareth!” This is the ultimate humiliation that they inflicted Upon our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters, to stereotype anybody for any reason is very wrong.
The Sunday school brethren have made tremendous strides in establishing congregations in black communities in the United States. Many of you already know that. When it was not wise for white preachers to work in black neighborhoods, in the early l940s and l950s, they supported black preachers, and this is why they have strongholds in many major U.S. cities today. You are not going to go into any major city today without finding a Sunday school congregation somewhere there. This is not to say that only black preachers could have accomplished this. In the midst of segregation in the l940s and l950s, it would have been difficult for them to accomplish this in any other way, so they were wise in using that approach. Today, that approach is suspect in my opinion. For many years my family and I attended a predominantly white congregation. We invited all our many friends to come there and worship — black friends. They informed us that they did not feel comfortable. “Blatant shades of racism,” they would say.
So what could we do to remedy that? Well, we started a congregation in a predominantly black neighborhood, thinking that this would be more “effective.” How wrong could we be?! It was not the people at all — those people we invited have not showed up yet. It was the truth that made them uncomfortable, not the people in the white congregation.
There is just not enough time to talk about this subject fully. It could be the theme of an entire study. However, in closing, I want to notice something that Jesus said. The Lord said many things that are so simple and yet so profound and full of truth. We may totally ignore them because they are so simple. In Mark 12:33, Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Think about that for a minute. What makes this so easy or so difficult to do? Among other things, one of the things that He might be saying with this statement is this: “Love your neighbor like yourself, because your neighbor is just like you.” He loves his children. He wants to be happy. He wants to live in a decent neighborhood. He wants his children to go to a good school. He wants to be able to worship as he pleases. Take me for instance. I am just like you. My name may be different maybe. My name is Bob — there may be some other Bobs out there. I am from a little small town in Louisiana, but I want the same things that most people want; I just happen to be black. I love my wife just like you love yours. I hate going to work sometimes, just like you do. I even love the Lord and the church, just like you do. When we get to know people we realize, “These guys are just like I am. They want the same things that I do!”
I do not go through any special preparation to talk to a white person about the gospel, and I make a point that they feel that I have not, because I have not. I just talk to them in the same manner that I would talk to anyone. My personal philosophy of evangelism is one patterned after Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:20-22— “I have become all things to all men.”
Not long after you begin association with anybody, you are going to learn their interest — sports, family, gardening, exercise, and even the Bible and religion. More times than not, when I talk to these people I find we have similar interests. I simply build on this common ground to take the relationship to the level where I want it to go. People are the same everywhere. They all have similar interests. I believe that whites can understand blacks better by simply realizing that we want the same things that you do --- pure and simple.
I believe that anybody can evangelize anybody if they realize that it is God that does the increase, we only do the planting.
In the black community we evangelize anybody and everybody who will listen. We support each other when we can, but time, funds, and resources are limited From a brotherhood perspective, I do know that there are few congregations that support black preachers or even consider it a priority Many times the black Churches do not even feel a part of the brotherhood, because they are not even included in occasions such as this on a regular basis. What message is this sending to our young people or to the world that we are trying to evangelize? Today, in 1993, many of us know first-hand of congregations that do not accept black people in their fellowship [still today 2008? dc]. Before we can live up to the call for evangelizing the world, we have some internal evangelizing that is long overdue.
Peter had to be convinced through a vision that God is no respector of persons (Acts 10:34). He said, “I perceive that God is no respector of persons” Do we perceive that too? Or better yet, do we want to perceive it? I would not serve a God who was a respector of persons. I am embarrassed to say that I do not know of a single black preacher who is totally supported by congregations in our brotherhood. Brother Richard Reed and Brother Doug Young have been fully supported at various times in the past, but at present the support is just not there. Sad, but true.
So what is the solution? It does not lie at this Study. We can kick the issue around, but solutions come from people not Studies. We need individual commitments: to not be carried along with every wind of doctrine and belief, and to not conform to the world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2). The real challenge before us today is to give in to loving the Lord. We can talk about this until the cows come home, but the real challenge is to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. If we give in to that, that leaves no room for partiality; for prejudice toward anyone, whether in evangelizing or socializing.
Looking back thirteen years ago, I was a Methodist preacher. When I obeyed the gospel I had been in the Methodist organization a long time. One of the greatest disappointments I had when I became a Christian — it hit me like a ton of bricks — was the prejudice I encountered as I began to go around and teach and preach. Even the Methodist people, as wrong as they were (I would not even begin to support the things that they teach), did try to bridge this racial gap by going into black communities. They just spread their false doctrine, but I have to give them credit for going into black communities. Prejudice was really a big disappointment to me. But it explained the lack of effort to concentrate in the black community. Prejudice has such a stifling effect on evangelism! It was so amazing to me then. Today, thirteen years later, little has changed.
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