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There has been a lot of chirping in the black church . We are currently in a wilderness period in the church or a restructuring . And that may not even be a correct term for what is going on but we are certainly in a slump. Walking around like the children of Israel and maybe we need to be more like the children of Issachar, understanding the time and the seasons. Needless to say we have strayed or gotten away from our one assignment and its definitely time to renew and rebrand.
I was born into ministry . I never had a choice in the matter . I wish I would have been around when my dad got the call because I would have said…” are you SHHHHURE!” Extra emphasis on the shhhhh. He had to be sure because by the time I was born he was 6 years into his ministry . During that time there were only a hand full of churches. We had our staple Baptist and Methodist churches that had been around for many years. By the time our church moved to Tupelo , the population of the city was 23, 000, we had one Church of God in Christ on the North Side of the city and we were located on the South Side ( I am sure there was another church too ) . By 1990 , my hometown had grown by about 7, 000 and by then we had at least 10 full Gospel churches along with our staple churches.
By the mid 1990’s there was a mass exodus out of the more traditional churches and into the full gospel ministry. People had began to hear a new word and wanting to be apart of a movement. Listening to faith pastors like Bishop TD Jakes, Prophets like Juanita Bynum and being able to attend large conferences like AZUSA was a big thing in the 90’s . With that , there was an increase of new churches. Now I can remember when there were about 5 churches in my city, kinda. Now I can’t tell you how many churches there are but I can tell you that the population has only increased by 7,000 since the late 1990’s. I know that we aren’t the only city that experienced the shift in churches. About 4000 churches are planted per year in the United States. Within those 4000 churches that were planted each year there are 3700 that closes its doors . There are a lot of factors that contribute to this , funding, finding real estate , maintaining real estate and having consistent people to help the vision. But then there are other factors , like recognizing that maybe having a church wasn’t a great idea.
Covid did a number on the church in 2020. Many churches were not equipped to keep up with the latest trends to keep the church together. Others braved it and loss a great number due to the spread of the virus and there were some that didn’t skip a beat. But it wasn’t just covid that hit the church in 2020. The roof was blown off the church and it has gone uncovered for some time. We were more concerned about how much money the church was making and how much others were losing in the process . We worried about any money that was passed to churches and we began to talk. It was sort of like , if I opened the door to my house and you were able to take a look at my imperfect marriage and begin to dissect it. Once you begin to break it a part and take away from it, it can altogether disappear .
The office of pastor is a serious call. You don’t take an oath of poverty but also you’re not a parasite sucking the finances out of the members . If anything you’re trying to survive. I can only really speak for my house. My parents work but that doesn’t make them better than anyone who doesn’t it just means that they have jobs/businesses outside of ministry. Truth be told ministry is so consuming that Pastors don’t need to work . Pastoring is a full time job with no off time. Spending time praying and staying connected emotionally and spiritually with the members is a skill that isn’t genetic, you have to definitely be called to even want to do that . But they do it and have done it my entire life . Which is why I cannot understand for the life of me , why no one wants to pay the pastor. I also don’t understand why there are so many pastors and there has not been an increase of disciples. ( Matthew 9:37) Are we laborers or royalty. And not the royalty that is used in the scriptures.
ahhh
I’ve watched things go from sacred to ridiculous. And though church is full of traditions and rituals that we may or may not understand , the foundation of church is still constant. Doesn’t your faith still matter? We have invited clothes , technology , and gossip into our faith experience. And though there is nothing wrong with dressing well and showcasing your ministry in excellence we still need to get back to the foundation of church . Are we showing the love of God. Are displaying Christ like behavior? Are we giving grace as much as we would like to receive it?
I started this blog in 2021 and just stopped, Time is always a major factor for me but though time has gotten away from me the message remains the same. The church needs a rebrand. What does that even mean, well, rebranding means to change an image of an organization, or to change the identity of a brand. This is important because my age group and the age groups below me rarely even want to attend church . Do we love God? Absolutely ! The thing is we don’t want to deal with all the legalism and the tactics people have used over the years to get people into the church . We just want to love God.
The truth is that God doesn’t need a large platform to move. (And when I say platform I just really mean a huge building )Two men were on the roadside and heard Jesus was coming shouted, Lord , Son of David have mercy on us. . Now the people around were like yall can’t do this , this is Jesus. Jesus stopped and called to them. Now we have to go through 10 secretaries just to say , Pray for me. And I get it , we all want privacy and professionalism but when someone needs to be ministered to , they don’t have time to keep calling and not getting any help.
Fashion has been a big deal in the church . And there is nothing wrong with it. The problem is when it takes precedence over the message. We don”t mind knowing what you wear or how to wear it we just really don’t want it to be the title of your message. We look to people like me for that . We want our faith to be built , we want to know that what you got I can have also (Psalms 24 :1, John 15:7). What is it to preach a gospel where someone else has something that makes you feel you can never achieve. I think honestly this is the downfall of the black church , its not always how people see it but sometimes it can take center stage above the word. I actually think that part is a character problem/perception and not so much a church deficit. I’ll get into that in another blog.
We put too much emphasis on humans and then don’t show grace. As a PK I know this all too well. When I had Peyton the church ( as a whole and not really my church ) treated me terribly. But I could remember how much love and grace was giving to their families. Once we hear anything we are so ready to blast, share and talk .Do we understand that some things are better left quiet ?Not as in condoning the situation but in not giving into the gossip. Do we not pray anymore or hope for the best? We used to sing, it could have be me and honestly it could have .
Being a disciple is simple, its to follow the word of God and to show others the way to Christ. Discipleship is probably one the least things that we as the church commit to following . But without it , would there even be a church . The church is not just the pastor, the church is the members too…Basically
Tesha
