The thirteen sermons included in this volume were born of a unique cultural perspective and an unwavering Christian faith. These sermons were chosen because they are examples of the best preaching done in black churches today.
The thirteen sermons included in this volume were born of a unique cultural perspective and an unwavering Christian faith. These sermons were chosen because they are examples of the best preaching done in black churches today.
Say It! A Celebration of Expository Preaching in the African American Tradition argues that Biblical Exposition is most dynamic when coupled with the African American preaching tradition. Charlie Dates, Romell Williams, George Parks, Jr., Terry D. Streeter and a cast of pastors and preaching professors collaborate to demonstrate the power of exposition in the cradle of the Black pulpit. The contributors in this volume give examples of African American Biblical exposition in every section of the Old Testament and New Testament. They also explain how to preach from narrative, poetical, prophetic, epistolary, and apocalyptic genres throughout the Scriptures. This important and powerful resource celebrates the faithful, biblical preaching of African Americans that is so often overlooked because it's stylistically different than the style of most white preachers. Appropriate for training associate ministers or use as a textbook in homiletics, Say It! will give the preacher what is needed to speak to real life from every page of the Book!
The overlooked African American religious history of the phonograph industry Winner of the 2015 Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize for outstanding scholarship in church history by a first-time author presented by the American Society of Church History Certificate of Merit, 2015 Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research presented by the Association for Recorded Sound Collections From 1925 to 1941, approximately one hundred African American clergymen teamed up with leading record labels such as Columbia, Paramount, Victor-RCA to record and sell their sermons on wax. While white clerics of the era, such as Aimee Semple McPherson and Charles Fuller, became religious entrepreneurs and celebrities through their pioneering use of radio, black clergy were largely marginalized from radio. Instead, they relied on other means to get their message out, teaming up with corporate titans of the phonograph industry to package and distribute their old-time gospel messages across the country. Their nationally marketed folk sermons received an enthusiastic welcome by consumers, at times even outselling top billing jazz and blues artists such as Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey. These phonograph preachers significantly shaped the development of black religion during the interwar period, playing a crucial role in establishing the contemporary religious practices of commodification, broadcasting, and celebrity. Yet, the fame and reach of these nationwide media ministries came at a price, as phonograph preachers became subject to the principles of corporate America. In Preaching on Wax, Lerone A. Martin offers the first full-length account of the oft-overlooked religious history of the phonograph industry. He explains why a critical mass of African American ministers teamed up with the major phonograph labels of the day, how and why black consumers eagerly purchased their religious records, and how this phonograph religion significantly contributed to the shaping of modern African American Christianity. Instructor's Guide
The Christian life isn't very complicated; but we've made it so through our ignorance of principles central to the Christian walk. There are some basics with which people need to be equipped to live a more victorious Christian life. Tony Evans has heard the people's cry for these sometimes difficult principles to be made simple and explained clearly and succinctly. In his new Tony Evans Speaks Out . . . booklet series, Evans tackles four basic elements of Christianity with a clarity and simplicity characteristic of his popular style.
The Introduction to African American Preaching is an important, groundbreaking book. This book acknowledges African American preaching as an academic discipline, and invites all students and preachers into a scholarly, dynamic, and useful exploration of the topic. Author Frank Thomas opens with a “bus tour” study of African American preaching. He shows how African American preaching has gradually moved from an almost exclusively oral to an oral/written tradition. Readers will gain insight into the history of the study of the African American preaching tradition, and catch the author’s enthusiasm for it. Next Thomas traces the relationship between homiletics and rhetoric in Western preaching, demonstrating how African American preaching is inherently theological and rhetorical. He then explores the question, “what is black preaching?” Thomas introduces the reader to methods of “close reading” and “ideological criticism.” And then demonstrates how to use these methods, using a sermon by Gardner Calvin Taylor as his example. The next chapter considers the question, “what is excellence in black preaching?” The next chapter seeks to create bridges and dialogue within the field of homiletics, and in particular, the Euro-American homiletic tradition. The goal of this chapter is to clearly demonstrate connections between the African American preaching tradition and the field of homiletics. Thomas next turns to questions about the relevancy of the church to the Millennial generation. Specifically, how will the African American church remain relevant to this generation, which is so deeply concerned with social justice?
In A Healing Homiletic: Preaching and Disability, Kathy Black offers a unique and effective approach for preaching about disabilities. By going to the heart of the gospel and drawing on the healing narratives or miracle stories, Black shows how preaching affects the inclusion or exclusion of forty-three million persons with disabilities from our faith communities. A Healing Homiletic provides a new method of preaching about healing, based on Scripture, for understanding the needs of the disability community.
From the Hood to the Hill is Chaplain Black's story of overcoming unpromising beginnings in the ghettos of Baltimore. His travels through uncharted waters exemplify God's power for change. Read his story and discover how you, too, can move toward unprecedented satisfaction through a living faith in God. "With Barry Black, you don't just hear a sermon, you see the sermon. That sermon is captured vividly in this story of his life. A life shaped by love, humility, confidence, courage, strength, and hope." - from the Foreword, THOMAS R. CARPER, US Senator "Barry Black is a leader among leaders. Brilliant and articulate, yet humble and approachable, he is a force for integrity, goodness, and compassion on Capitol Hill . . . this narrative, From the Hood to the Hill, is a fascinating read." - DR. RICK WARREN, Best-Selling Author, The Purpose Driven Life, and Pastor, Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, CA "Chaplain Barry Black embodies the best of the American Spirit and the Christian tradition-a man of great erudition who has never forgotten his humble roots; a man of great faith who remains open to all the wisdom of all people; a man of great seriousness who knows how to laugh. The Senate and the country are grateful for his service." - BARRACK OBAMA, US Senator "From a wonderfully unique man comes a powerfully unique story. Barry Black is a testimony to God's faithfulness and grace." - MAX LUCADO, Pastor, Oak Hills Church, San Antonio, TX "This is an inspiring autobiography by an outstanding man of God, a great leader, a powerful preacher, and a true patriot . . . Barry Black is my cherished friend. I'm honored that he succeeded me as Chaplain of the United States Senate. From the Hood to the Hill is a stirring and power-packed book of the way God uses whom He chooses." - DR. LLOYD J. OGILVIE, Former US Senate Chaplain
Founder of the phenomenon social media account PreachersNSneakers tackles how faith, capitalism, consumerism, and (wannabe) celebrity have collided and asks both believers and nonbelievers alike: how much is too much? What started as a joke account on Instagram has turned into a movement. Through this provocative project, the founder of PreachersNSneakers is helping thousands of Jesus followers wrestle with the inevitable dilemmas created by our Western culture obsessed with image and entertainment. In PreachersNSneakers: Authenticity in an Age of For-Profit Faith and (Wannabe) Celebrities, Ben Kirby approaches many of the difficult questions plaguing countless Christians’ minds, presenting experiences and input from both sides of difficult questions, such as: Should pastors grow wealthy off of religion, and can their churches ever be too large? Do we really believe that divine blessings are monetary, or is that just religious wallpaper to hide our own greed? Is there space in Christendom for celebrities like Kanye and Bieber to exist without distorting the good news? What about this: Is it wrong for someone—even wrong for author Ben Kirby—to call out faith leaders online and leverage “cancel culture” to affect change? PreachersNSneakers will navigate these challenging questions and many more with humor, wit, candor, and a few never-before-published hijinks. Each chapter will explore the various sides of the debate, holding space for us to make up our own minds. This book is not about finding the perfect, “right” way to do something, but instead learning how to articulate what we believe, why we believe it, and what to do when we want to stand up against cultural norms. This book will doubtlessly become a staple for church small groups, college ministries, and book clubs, emboldening struggling believers who want to live a more genuine faith. After all, the Lord works in mysterious colorways.