A Word from Bob: You’re reading Part 1, in a several-part blog mini-series on Black Church History. I’ve developed this series from my book, Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care. I’ve also based this blog series on a presentation I shared last year at Bethel Church in Gary, Indiana. You can find the PowerPoint presentation of that session here (here’s a shortened link if you’d like to easily share it: http://bit.ly/10LegaciesPPT). The focus of this blog mini-series will be on:
Learning from the Legacy of the Heroes of Black Church History
Addressing the Elephant in the Room
As I launch this mini-series on Black History Month, I want to start the way I begin every time I present this material in person—especially if I’m presenting to an African American audience. I start something like this…
“So, let’s start by being honest about what everyone is thinking. Or, put another way, ‘What’s the elephant in the room today as I teach on Black Church History?’ It’s okay. You can say it. You won’t offend me. Right—I’m the elephant in the room! Whenever I teach on the legacy of the Black Church, people ask me, ‘Why are you, a white guy, talking about Black Church History?’”
My Story/My Calling
That’s a fair question, so you deserve to know that what I’m sharing is part of my story and my calling—from God. This isn’t about “Bob becoming ‘woke’ in 2021.” This is about God calling Bob to a multi-ethnic ministry in 1968…
If you check out that PowerPoint presentation (slide 3), you’ll see some pictures of “Little Bobby,” ages 5 and 10. I was born in downtown Gary and lived at 11th and Hovey on the west side of Gary as a youngster. When I was born in Gary in the late 50s and lived there in the early 60s, Gary was a multi-ethnic city with a wonderful diversity of cultures.
God’s Sovereign Leading
It was no accident that God placed me in Gary and it was no accident that God placed within my DNA a passion for what we now call “multi-cultural ministry.” I was nine-years-old when Richard Hatcher was elected mayor of Gary. He was the first African American mayor of an American city with a population over 100,000. I remember saying to some adults that it would be awesome if Mayor Hatcher someday became President Hatcher. (Since it was 1968 and I was 9, I may have used the word “groovy” instead of “awesome”!) Those adults informed me that an African American would never become a US President in my lifetime. So much for their prediction…
I remember a couple of years later as a sixth-grader writing a poem about Neil Anderson’s first footsteps on the moon. I called the poem, “The Sea of Tranquility,” and it was about racial harmony. This was before I was even a believer in Christ. God has hardwired into my DNA the desire for diversity.
God then placed me as a Professor at Capital Bible Seminary near Washington, DC for seventeen years. Our school had no majority culture: we were about 40% Caucasian, 40% African American, and 20% Hispanic, Asian, and International Students. You can find a picture on the PowerPoint (slide 4) from our student body that captures beautifully our diversity. It was no accident that God placed a kid from Gary at one of the few multi-cultural Evangelical seminaries in the world.
It was while I was at Capital Bible Seminary that I co-authored the book, Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction. On slide 5, you can see my co-author, Karole Edwards, who is an African American graduate of the program I chaired. So, what I’m sharing in this blog mini-series about the Black Church comes not only through my eyes, but through the eyes of an African American sister, Karole Edwards.
Karole and I saw ourselves not just as co-authors, but even more so as co-editors. We researched 100s of primary source documents. So, what I’m sharing about the legacy of the Black Church comes also through the eyes, the pens, and the experiences of 100s of African American Christians who lived this legacy.
The Bible Story/The Black Church History Story
That’s a part of my story, but our focus in this series is on the Black Church History story. Whenever I reflect on the legacy of Black Church history, my mind also reflects on Hebrews 12:1-3. In this passage, God instructs us to listen to the stories of believers who have gone before us—to learn from the stories of the great cloud of witnesses. Here’s how the author of Hebrews says it in 12:1-3:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
Surrounded by a Great Cloud of World-Class Spiritual Witnesses
When we read these verses, we might think that when the author is talking about witnesses, he’s speaking of fans in the stands watching a sporting event and cheering on the Olympic athletes. That would be a mistake.
Hebrews 12 is not referring to a bunch of out-of-shape, couch-potato fans—like us watching the Super Bowl this February munching on . junk food while world class athletes are competing. . Hebrews 12 is not talking about out-of-shape fans watching athletes.
Hebrews 12 is talking about world class spiritual athletes watching us. Verse 1 starts with “therefore” which refers us back to Hebrews 11 and the great Hall of Faith—heroes from the Old Testament like Noah, Abraham, and Daniel.
These world class spiritual athletes surround us, watch us, and cheer us on as we run the Christian life. And they say to us:
“When the Christian race gets hard, do what we did. Look to Jesus!”
When life gets hard, and we get weary, and we’re tempted to lose heart, the Bible says:
“Remember the great heroes of the faith who faced horrible suffering and great temptation to sin, yet they persevered spiritually because they looked to Jesus.”
Learning from the Legacy of World-Class African American Spiritual Witnesses: Look to Jesus!
In this blog mini-series, we want to surround ourselves with world-class African American spiritual athletes from the halls of Black Church history. Like the great cloud of witnesses from Hebrews 11 and 12, the saints from Black Church history leave us a legacy of looking to Jesus.
If anyone knows what it is like to suffer horribly, and then to face suffering face-to-face with Christ, it’s our African American brothers and sisters from Black Church history. They teach us that we endure suffering and resist temptation only by fixing our eyes on Jesus.
The Rest of the Story
Join us for Part 2: Learning from the Legacy of African American Christian Family Life.
Join the Conversation
I introduced you briefly to my story. How has and is God weaving together your story so that your heart is open to multi-ethnic Christian relationships and multi-cultural Christian ministry?
The premise of this blog series—building on Hebrews 12:1-3—is that all of us have much to learn from the legacy of African American heroes of the faith. To this point in your life, how open have you been to learning from Christians of different backgrounds from yours?
