Black History Month IN THIS ISSUE Use Your Ministry to Create Community THE JAZZ AGE Five Commandments for a Media Savvy Minister Preaching to the Unconvinced
FEBRUARY 2014
A THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL
THE NEW LIFE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY Presents
Church History, The First Five Hundred Years
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E X PA N D YO U R K N OW L E DGE
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Is Black History Still Relevant in the Church
By Bishop Andy C. Lewter, D. Min.
Ancient African Influence on Modern Christianity
An Excerpt by Thomas C. Oden
Use Your Ministry to Create Community
By Daniel Darling
10 THE JAZZ AGE
Posted by biography.com
11 Telling Our Story: Black Publishing and the Harlem Renaissance 12 A Brief Overview of Black History Month By Daryl Michael Scott
14 Five Commandments for a Media Savvy Minister By Phil Cooke
16 The Harlem Renaissance: A Pivotal Period of Black History Posted by the biography.com
18 Preaching to the Unconvinced By Vince Anotonucci
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Is Black History Still Relevant in the Church By Bishop Andy C. Lewter, D. Min.
H
aving been born in the mid-1950’s I was not able to learn “Black History” in the public schools that I attended. In matter of fact, one of the first “civil rights” efforts I ever participated in was demanding that the Social Studies curriculum of my Junior High School be expanded to include a class in Black History. This small victory inspired me to seek other initiative in the arena of civil rights as a youth.
Because Black History was absent from my public school, the only place that was available to me to learn Black History was my local church. It was in my local church that I learned that Black History did not start on this side of the Atlantic with the slave trade. It was in the church that I was introduced to personalities such as Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas, Denmark Vessey and Toussaint. It was in the church that I learned about Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance and the Modern Civil Rights Movement.
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When I arrived to my first pastorate in the mid-1970’s the educational landscape of the community that I was called to had not significantly changed from that which I was familiar with during my youth and adolescency. I therefore insured that the young people of our congregation had a steady diet of Black History material, especially during the month of February. During the last 35 years of my pastoring I have noticed that the conditions that made the church pivotal to young people being exposed to our history had changed considerably. First, no longer were there battles to be waged over “adding” Black History courses to the general curriculum of local school systems. Over time, the pattern had moved from separate courses to an inclusion of Black History material into the overall curriculum of the school. During this same period of time there was a gradual, but definitive, movement on the part of the church away from providing critical and comprehensive material on the subject of Black History. The assumption was that with the increased provision of Black History material from traditional educational outlets there was a diminishing need for the church to continue its role as the major provider of Black History to its members, especially the young. In time, Black History programs became more ceremonial and less comprehensive. Churches became guilty of “going through the motions” rather than offering lessons that would leave a lasting impression on the minds of the young. Now we have moved into the 21st century and the focus today seems to be on designing a ministry that is “trans-racial”. Such ministries no longer felt the need to provide Black History and because of it drifted further and further away from being the primary content provider of Black History. I contend however that before we totally abandon the assignment of keeping our story alive we remember just a few items. 1. The church continues the Hebrew tradition that History is Sacred”. The Bible, which we treasure so much is the best example that in the Hebrew and Jewish mindset history is the means that the people of God continue to know God. The Passover and Hannakah, two of the holiest celebrations in the Jewish tradition are both based upon history. 2. Only the church can provide the critical perspective that reflects the validity of a story being told internally and not filtered by an external influence. Regardless of the best intentions, history is filled with examples of
narratives being driven by the self-interest of the storyteller. Because the church has operated as an agent of change and liberation throughout the journey of Black History, the church is uniquely positioned to tell the story with the greatest amount of accuracy. 3. Black History brings a wholesome balance to what the church does and what it offers to its membership. There is always a danger that the church become so concentrated on its spiritual mission that it no longer provides to its members the tools they need to effectively navigate the social snares and traps that could goes a community to repeat its history. By reminding itself of where God has brought the members of the church from, it helps to insure that neither the church or its members will repeat the dreaded patterns of the past. With all of that in mind, we come to the conclusion that Black History has become perhaps more important than it has been in the past. With an increased usage of social media and the ability to access libraries of information with the touch a few keys on a device as common as a telephone that remains with us most of the time, the need for a purposeful and focused exercise of celebrating our past is more needed than ever before. Consequently, we should not wait until a specific month of the year to remember who we are, but rather we should celebrate who we are everyday.
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Ancient African Influence on Modern Christianity A An Excerpt by Thomas C. Oden
Word From the Publisher- When most people think of Black History they confine their thinking to the experience of African Americans on this side of the Atlantic. However, recent definitions of Black History now include the great contributions of African prior to the Atlantic Slave Trade and the experiences of Africans in the New World. With that in mind, we offer to you an excerpt of an article written by Thomas C. Oden, who discusses the several contributions that Ancient Africans made to Christianity in the early years of its development. Alexandria Population: 250,000. Founded in 331 BCE by Alexander the Great, it became the capital of Egypt under
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the Ptolemaic dynasty and developed into "the busiest port in the ancient world,"61 exporting immense amounts of wheat to feed Rome. Rome's dependence on Egyptian wheat led to Roman rule in 80 BCE, but Roman control greatly increased after Octavian's victory over Mark Anthony and Cleopatra in 30 BCE. With its huge library and collection of famous scholars… Alexandria was the intellectual center of the Greco-Roman world. But it was even more important as a religious center. Here a very large Jewish population mingled with an unusually vigorous paganism. It was in Alexandria that the Old Testament was translated into…According to tradition, St. Mark is credited with bringing Christianity to the city, and he is believed to have been martyred there in the year 62 for preaching against the worship of Serapis, a god paired with the goddess Isis and first heard of in Alexandria. The story of St. Mark's death is probably mythical, but no doubt it served to inspire subsequent generations of Alexandrian Christians. (Rodney Stark, Discovering God) Exegesis means “to bring out,” and implies a drawing out from the bible its meaning. Septuagint (LXX) is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (Torah) produced during the third and second centuries BCE by unknown Jewish translators. The name derives from the legend that seventy elders translated the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek. In any case, the Septuagint served as the primary translation of the Old Testament for early church. It was the first great translation project of history and transmitted Hebrew concepts into the thought world of Hellenism.
Dogma/Doctrine the formal teaching of an institution (church). A useful differentiation between theology and doctrine is that doctrine is what is taught by the church, and theology is the open-ended reflection on revelation. Over the course of time theological reflection may be accepted as doctrine or it may be rejected but it is all theological. Ecumenical derived from the Greek oikoumenë which means “the inhabited world.” As a result, at least in its usage in the book, ecumenical refers to decisions or doctrinal formulations that have worldwide applicability or acceptance. These decisions are concerned with establishing and promoting unity in the Christian church. Monasticism from the Greek word monachos, a solitary person. Monasticism describes the life chosen by religious women and men who separate from society for purposes of spiritual development. It embraces both the life of the hermit living in solitude and monks living in community—cenobites. Neo-Platonism A system of philosophy developed in Alexandria in the 3rd century. Platonic in its inspiration, it incorporated Aristotelian and Stoic ideas with oriental mysticism. Rhetoric the art of public speaking; the study of writing or speaking as a means of persuasion. Persuasion was achieved through an appeal to emotion, rational argumentation, or the character of the speaker. Seven ways Africa Shaped the Christian Mind 1. The western idea of the University was conceived in Alexandria. 2. Christian Exegesis (biblical interpretation) first matured in Africa. 3. African biblical interpreters powerfully shaped most of the important Christian doctrines. 4. Africa was the region that first set the pattern and method for seeking wider ecumenical consent on contested points of scripture. 5. The African desert gave birth to worldwide monasticism. 6. Christian Neo-Platonism emerged from Africa. 7. Rhetorical and Dialectical Skills were sharpened in Africa for the Europe’s benefit.
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Use Your Ministry to Create Community By Daniel Darling
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s a pastor of a small church, I’m particularly sensitive about building a sense of community. I don’t think community is just another 21st-century buzzword; I think it reflects the body life described for the church in the New Testament. For example, in the Lord’s Prayer, I’ve been struck by Jesus' intructions for how to pray. You will notice the use of the plural: “Our Father,” “Give us our daily bread,” “Forgive us our debts.” This pattern is all through the Gospels, the epistles, the pastoral letters—commands and encouragements given in the plural. The point is this: Christianity was not meant to be lived individualistically. When you put your faith in Christ, you are baptized into a body, joined to a people. So it is an important function of the church to create environments where this body life, this community, can flourish. Much of this falls on church leadership. They must work hard to create environments for God’s people to fulfill the “oneanother” commands, where Gospel fellowship, confession, repentance, friendship, encouragement and life can happen together. But there is a role for the church member as well. Since I’ve been in some form of church leadership for a long time, I’ve really never had the experience that many Christians have in choosing a church. But in talking to people who have joined our church, and in talking to friends, it seems finding community is at the top of the list when deciding between equally strong, Gospel-preaching churches. People will attend and stay at a church where they have friends. But what role do the church members, not the leaders, have in creating such an
environment? I want to offer five ways for church members to create community. You’ll notice that these are more pragmatic in nature. I didn’t mention things like small groups, Bible study, etc. Those are sort of assumed. I’m talking here really of just developing friendships. 1. Attend the potlucks. I realize that if you attend a large church, you may not know what a potluck is. And if you attend a small church, maybe you think it’s outdated. I realize that I’m speaking out of my own experience at a church of under 100 in attendance. But my larger point is this: Attend social functions at your church. You may think that potluck or chili cook-off or ice-cream social is kinda lame. Maybe there is an NFL game on that night. Maybe you’re on a vegan diet. Maybe you’d rather clean out your car. You should attend the potluck anyway and here’s why: You can’t create community simply by going to church on Sunday morning, checking it off your list and going home. At some point, you need to break bread with people, to experience life with people, to see where your church is going as a body. There is a lot in Scripture about “breaking bread” together, because something beautiful happens when people enjoy a meal together. It breaks down differences and unites you in your need to sustain yourself with food. I’ve often said that what happens at a potluck may be as important as what happens in church. Don’t mistake what I’m saying. Preaching and corporate worship are vital to the body. So is good doctrine. But you can do those two things and not have community, and therefore not experience body life, and therefore experience a void in your relationship
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with God. So, go to the potluck and eat the bad lasagna. You’ll thank me later. 2. Host other people at your home. If you want to experience community, you need to invest yourself in creating it. In my five years of pastoring, I’ve noticed something kind of funny. All the friendly people who go out of their way to make friends somehow manage to develop deep friendships. And all the stand-offish people who don’t lift a finger to create friendships seem to complain about not being able to make friends. Relationships take work, they take time, they take effort, they take intentionality. And if you believe the local church is important, if you think that the way we love each other is a picture to the world of God’s love for us in Christ, then you’ll not consider your church friendships as a sort of neat option, but as something vital to God’s mission. Maybe you’ve never thought of this before, but it could be that having another family over to your house for dinner and developing lifelong, deep Christian friendships may affect the Gospel proclamation in your community. Putting that extra roast in the oven may seem sort of pedestrian, but it may be contributing to God’s mission in your community. There is a level of discipleship and spiritual growth that only happens in long conversations over food. 3. Help someone move. It’s amazing how much you can learn about a person as you are lifting a couch with them. I know it sounds weird, but working with someone outside of church, outside of the sort of dressed-up official Christian functions, goes a long way to developing life-long relationships. Plus, as Christians, we’re supposed to serve our brothers and sisters in the Lord in their needs. So maybe it’s giving an elderly person a ride to the doctor or maybe it’s helping a Christian brother with his basement remodeling job or maybe it’s shoveling snow for a widow. Either way, you develop deep, good, rich friendships as you are working and sweating and struggling alongside people and learning their unique sorrows and joys. I’ve found, myself, that once I’ve spent a day with someone doing something other than church stuff, I’ve gone somewhere with that person. I’ve learned about their job, their family, their history. I’ve earned a bit of relationship capital, the right to speak into them, and they’ve earned that with me. 4. Get involved in a ministry. Again, I’m showing my small-church bias here. In a larger church, ministry opportunities may not be as readily
available. Maybe they are. Regardless, you begin to make the church community your own by rolling up your sleeves and getting involved, taking ownership of an area where you can apply your unique set of gifts and talents. And in many cases, you get a chance to work alongside someone you may not know. Perhaps it’s folding bulletins or maybe it’s working on a church project. Last year, we remodeled the outside of our building. Many of our guys came out to work on Saturdays—as a result, we got to know each other very well and developed deeper friendships. Many who work in our children’s ministries have said the same thing—they’ve had the chance to get to know and make friendships as they’ve worked alongside others. Plus, by serving in whatever capacity you are gifted and wherever there is a need, you demonstrate to the church body that you care about them, that you’re not just at church to receive but to give, that the welfare of the church matters to you. So much so that you’re willing to give time and effort to ensure the community is served. 5. Know and pray over the needs of others. Do you pray for the people of your church? Do you know what to pray for? In order to pray rightly for your brothers and sisters, we actually need to know what their needs are. And to receive intercessory prayer, we need to be a bit vulnerable and share our own needs with others. Every church has a different mechanism for prayer requests. You have the formal lists that go out via email and other forms—we should take these seriously and pray for them. But you might also find that person who sits next to you at church this coming Sunday and just lean over and say, “Is there anything I can pray about for you today?” And perhaps if you’re having a difficult season, you might ask someone in church to pray for you. Open up a bit and say to them, “Hey, I could use some prayer—would you mind praying with me?” I’ve found this to be a vital part of my own spiritual life. I have several folks in the church that pray for me specifically. I’ve had moments where I’ve pulled in a brother and said, “Hey can we pray over this really quickly?” And I’ve had brothers and sisters pull me in and ask for prayer. Something powerful happens in a friendship when you pray together.
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THE JAZZ AGE Posted by biography.com
W
ith the conclusion of WWI came an end to wartime frugality and conservation. In an era of peace, Americans experienced an economic boom, as well as a change in social morays. Nicknamed “The Roaring 20s” for its dynamic changes, the decade became known for its celebration of excess and its rejection of wartime ideologies. Americans also began investing more time and money in leisure activities and artistic endeavors. Around this same time, Congress ratified the Prohibition Act. While the amendment did not ban the actual consumption of alcohol, it made obtaining it legally difficult. Liquor-serving nightclubs, called “speakeasies” developed during this time as a way to allow Americans to socialize, indulge in alcohol consumption, and rebel against the traditional culture. One of the best speakeasies in Harlem was the Cotton Club, a place that intended to have the look and feel of a luxurious Southern plantation. To complete the theme, only African-American entertainers could perform there, while
only white clientele (with few exceptions) were allowed to patronize the establishment. This attracted high-powered celebrity visitors such as Cole Porter, Bing Crosby and Doris Duke to see the most talented black entertainers of the day. Some of the most famous jazz performers of the time - including singer Lena Horne, composer and musician Duke Ellington, and singer Cab Calloway - graced the Cotton Club stage. Attending clubs in Harlem allowed whites from New York and its surrounding areas to indulge in two taboos simultaneously: to drink, as well as mingle with blacks. Jazz musicians often performed in these clubs, exposing white clientele to what was typically an African-American form of musical entertainment. As jazz hit the mainstream, many members of older generations began associating the raucous behavior of young people of the decade with jazz music. They started referring to the 20s, along with its new dance styles and racy fashions, as “The Jazz Age.”
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Telling Our Story: Black Publishing and the Harlem Renaissance CULTURE COMES TOGETHER ne of the first notable events of the Renaissance came shortly after the NUL began publishing Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life. Believing that art and literature could lift African-Americans out of their situation, the magazine’s editor, Charles S. Johnson, began printing promising black writers in each issue. During Johnson’s work for Opportunity, he met Jessie Fauset, the literary editor for Du Bois’ NAACP magazine, Crisis. Fauset told Johnson about her first novel, There Is Confusion (1924), a story about middle class black women. In 1924, Johnson organized the first Civic Club dinner, which was planned as a release party for Fauset’s book. The party was an instant success, and served as a forum for emerging African-American artists to meet wealthy white patrons. The party managed to launch the careers of several promising black writers, including poets Langston Hughes andCountee Cullen. In 1925, shortly after the success of the Civic Club dinner, the magazine Survey Graphic, produced an issue on Harlem. Edited by black philosopher and Howard University professor, Alain Locke, the magazine featured work by prominent black writers of the time period. The magazine published work by writers Cullen, Hughes and Fauset, as well as poet Claude McKay and novelist Jean Toomer. Later that year, Locke expanded the special issue into an anthology called The New Negro. The collection fueled America’s growing interest in African-American writers, pushing black artists to the literary forefront. African-American fine artists such as Aaron Douglas and Charles Alston also got their start through Alain Locke and Charles Johnson, who started publishing the artists’ works as illustrations and cover art. Pulled into the spotlight, these fine artists used their fame as an opportunity to delve into the themes they found problematic to American culture. By introducing the “exoticizing” of Africa and notions of “the primitive” to white America, African-American artists had their first opportunity to explore how these ideas could be used for and against their race.
O
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A Brief Overview of Black History Month By Daryl Michael Scott
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he Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society. As a Harvard-trained historian, Carter G. Woodson, like W. E. B. Du Bois before him, believed that truth could not be denied and that reason would prevail over prejudice. His hopes to raise awareness of African American's
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contributions to civilization was realized when he and the organization he founded, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), conceived and announced Negro History Week in 1925. The event was first celebrated during a week in February 1926 that encompassed the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The response was overwhelming: Black history clubs sprang up; teachers demanded materials to instruct their pupils; and progressive whites, not simply white scholars and philanthropists, stepped forward to endorse the effort. By the time of Woodson's death in 1950, Negro History Week had become a central part of African American life and substantial progress had been made in bringing more Americans to appreciate the celebration. At mid–century, mayors of cities nationwide issued proclamations noting Negro History Week. The Black Awakening of the 1960s dramatically expanded the consciousness of African Americans
about the importance of black history, and the Civil Rights movement focused Americans of all color on the subject of the contributions of African Americans to our history and culture. The celebration was expanded to a month in 1976, the nation's bicentennial. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” That year, fifty years after the first celebration, the association held the first African American History Month. By this time, the entire nation had come to recognize the importance of Black history in the drama of the American story. Since then each American president has issued African American History Month proclamations. And the association—now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)—continues to promote the study of Black history all year.
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Five Commandments for a Media Savvy Minister By Phil Cooke
As a media consultant, I have the opportunity to help some of the largest churches and ministries in the country create effective, high quality media outreaches. In most cases, they are experienced, committed Christian leaders who understand the value and the power of the media. But I also have the opportunity to spend time with less experienced pastors and ministry leaders who feel just as called to use media in a meaningful way, but have serious questions like: “Will it compromise my message?” “Will it be too expensive?” “Will my preaching or teaching ministry really work on television?’ “I only have 100 people in my congregation, can I still use the media?” “Is it an effective use of our money?” There are many questions, and many options as well. Perhaps you’ve wondered about many of these issues before, or listened to Christian radio or watched Christian television late into the night thinking, “I could do that” but just have no idea where to start. I feel your pain. But the good news is yes – even if you have only a handful of people in your congregation, you can use the media. I’ve taught media classes and workshops around the world, and I’ve seen people in the most remote places in Russia, Africa, India, and South America producing programs. Today, there’s a young Russian woman producing a local Christian television program in one of the most isolated cities in Siberia. She started with a department store video camera and a VHS tape deck, and yet it’s reaching thousands of people with a message of hope. Before you start, there are some critical things you need to know to be effective. Here’s five vital principles as you begin your journey. 1) Think Quality People Before Quality Equipment – Most churches and ministries are happy to spend serious money on equipment, and then hire untrained volunteers to operate it. But remember – God works through people, not equipment. I would much rather have creative, innovative people working with second rate equipment, over great equipment operated by average people. When you allocate your budget – concentrate on qualified and committed people before you purchase state-of-the-art equipment. 14 | BISHOP FEBRUARY 2014
2) Consult with Someone Who Understands the Media – Your brother-in-law may be a wonderful guy who loves your ministry, but chances are he doesn’t know anything about the media. Find someone with real experience in the business who can guide you and give you the best advice. Perhaps there’s someone in your church with experience. If not, call a media ministry you watch and respect, or Christian college with a mass communications department, and ask for their recommendations. 3) Learn How to Tell a Story – It’s no surprise that the most watched programs on secular television are story based. Even reality programs are built around a story. It’s critically important to remember that ultimately – as a pastor, you’re telling a story. A simple story about how God chose to become one of us and share His eternal plan with people who didn’t deserve it. That’s it. It’s not just about close-ups, cuts and dissolves, better lighting, or quality sound. It’s about telling a story. This coming Sunday, thousands of pastors will step up to the pulpit without telling a single story. And yet, when you study the life of Jesus, that’s just about all he ever did. Stories touch people, and change their lives. 4) Forget Christian “Lingo” – Christian media is so filled with it’s own “lingo,” that most of the people we’re trying to reach can’t even understand us. But when I read the New Testament, Jesus spoke in a language and style people understood. Why have we lost that ability? Why have we created an entire vocabulary of words and phrases that only church members can understand? 5) The Importance of the Package – On our home cable TV system in Los Angeles, we have nearly 500 channels. With TV remotes, our experience and research indicates that most people take an average of two to three seconds to decide which program to watch. Therefore, it doesn’t matter how powerful your message is – if the rest of the program can’t keep their attention, they’ll never watch long enough to hear it. We need to package our messages in an innovative and exciting way so people will want to watch and listen.
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A Pivotal Period of Black History Posted by the biography.com
T
he end of the American Civil War in 1865 ushered in an era of increased education and employment opportunities for black Americans. This created the first black middle class in America, and its members began expecting the same lifestyle afforded to white Americans. But in 1896, racial equality was delivered a crushing blow when the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case declared racial segregation to be constitutionally acceptable. This created even harsher conditions for African-Americans, particularly in some Southern states that sought to minimize the equality that former slaves and their descendants might aspire toward. The South also became gradually more and more economically depressed as boll weevils began to infest cotton crops. This reduced the amount of labor needed in the South. As a result, blacks began to head to the Northern United States by the millions. Racism, while still a serious obstacle, was considered much less brutal there than in the South. In addition, the North granted all adult men with the right to
vote; provided better educational advancement for AfricanAmericans and their children; and offered greater job opportunities as a result of World War I and the industrial revolution. This phenomenon, known as the Great Migration, brought more than seven million African-Americans to the North. HARLEM: THE BLACK MECCA Housing executives planned to create neighborhoods in Harlem designed specifically for white workers who wanted to commute into the city. Developers grew overambitious, however, and housing grew more rapidly than the transportation necessary to bring residents into the downtown area. The once exclusive district was abandoned by the white middle-class, and frustrated developers were forced to cope with lower purchase prices than they first anticipated. White Harlem landlords started selling their properties to black real estate agents such as Philip A. Payton, John E. Nail, and Henry C. Parker. They also began renting directly to black tenants.
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Meanwhile, the re-development and gentrification of midtown pushed many blacks out of the Metropolitan area. As a result, African-Americans began moving to Harlem en masse; between 1900 and 1920 the number of blacks in the New York City neighborhood doubled. By the time the planned subway system and roadways reached Harlem, many of the country's best and brightest black advocates, artists, entrepreneurs, and intellectuals had situated themselves in Harlem. They brought with them not only the institutions and businesses necessary to support themselves, but a vast array of talents and ambitions. The area soon became known as “the Black Mecca” and “the capital of black America.” THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE During the early 1900s, the burgeoning African-American middle class began pushing a new political agenda that advocated racial equality. The epicenter of this movement was in New York, where three of the largest civil rights groups established their headquarters. Black historian, sociologist, and Harvard scholar, W. E. B. Du Bois was at the forefront of the civil rights movement at this time. In 1905 Du Bois, in collaboration with a group of prominent African-American political activists and white civil rights workers, met in New York to discuss the challenges facing the black community. In 1909, the group founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), to promote civil rights and fight African-American disenfranchisement. At this same time, the Jamaican-born Marcus Garvey began his promotion of the “Back to Africa movement.” Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL), which advocated the reuniting of all people of African ancestry into one community with one absolute government. The movement not only encouraged African-Americans to come together, but to also feel pride in their heritage and race. The National Urban League (NUL) also came into being in the early 20th century. Founded by Ruth Standish Baldwin and Dr. George Edmund Haynes, the fledgling organization counseled black migrants from the South, trained black social workers, and worked to give educational and employment opportunities to blacks. Together, these groups helped to establish a sense of community and empowerment for African-Americans not only in New York, but also around the country. In addition, they provided a rare opportunity for whites to collaborate with black intellectuals, social activists, educators, and artists in an attempt to transform a largely segregated and racist American society.
Instead of using more direct political means to achieve their goals, African-American civil rights activists employed the artists and writers of their culture to work for the goals of civil rights and equality. Jazz music, African-American fine art, and black literature were all absorbed into mainstream culture, bringing attention to a previously disenfranchised segment of the American population. This blossoming of African-American culture in European-American society, particularly in the worlds of art and music, became known as The Harlem Renaissance. THE END OF THE RENAISSANCE As the 20s came to a close, so did white America’s infatuation with Harlem- and the artistic and intellectual movements surrounding it. The advent of The Great Depression also crushed the wild enthusiasm of “The Roaring 20s,” bringing an end to the decadence and indulgence that fueled the patronage of Harlem artists and their establishments. The depression hit the African-American segment of the population hard; layoffs and housing foreclosures shut many blacks out of the American Dream that previously seemed so close at hand. The increased economic tension of the Depression caused black leaders to shift their focus from arts and culture to the financial and social issues of the time. In addition, the strained relationship between the black community and the white shop-owners in Harlem finally tore the two groups apart in 1935. That alienation was expressed in the Harlem Riot of 1935, the nation’s first modem race riot. The resulting violence finally shattered the notion of Harlem as the “Mecca” for African-Americans, and broke the fleeting truce between white and black America. While the Renaissance as a historical movement was over, the effects it had on modern society were far from finished. The artistic and political movements of the 20s would live on in American culture in the form of new musical expression, award-winning writing and, most importantly, the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s. These events, and the role Harlem would continue to play after the Renaissance, would change the American cultural landscape forever.
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Preaching to the
UNCONVINCED By Vince Anotonucci
C
hristians believe, want to know God’s Word and come eager to hear your preaching. Non-Christians don’t believe, aren’t that interested in God’s Word, but sometimes end up in your services. So how do you preach to the unconvinced? How do you destroy the negative stereotypes they have about God, the church, and you as the preacher? And how do you help them to have ears to hear what God has to say to them? This new eBook from church planter Vince Antonucci is divided into seven practical principles Antonucci has found to be critical and effective in preaching to the unconvinced. With each principle, he offers helpful examples of how he puts them into action, as well as inspiring real-life stories of how the unconvinced have become convinced. Download the FREE eBook. Key highlights: Seven proven principles for preaching to the unconvinced Strategies for busting stereotypes of pastors, churches and Christians How to evaluate and use your preaching to create a safe place for the unconvinced How to creatively use culture to build bridges How to anticipate and proactively respond to questions and objections How to tell a story and present Jesus as the hero Sermons for the Unconvinced Principles are great, but sometimes we need to see something in action before we really grasp it. This companion piece to Preaching to the Unconvinced provides you with messages preached in a church where 70 percent of the people who come were unchurched, non-Christians when they first showed up, and where cynics, skeptics and atheists are coming to Christ regularly. The sermons are annotated to help you see the principles behind the message, and why and how they’re being used to convince the unconvinced.Download the FREE eBook.
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THE NEW LIFE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY Presents
The Life of Moses
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Understanding the Old Testament
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