Woke Me Up This Morning: Black Gospel Singers and the Gospel Life

5. The Preachers

5 THE PREACHERS "The Lord told me to tell you ...." The African-American church was born as a direct rejection of segregation in established white churches. It had its origins in the late eighteenth century, when some white churches opened their doors to slaves—but restricted them to designated seating, or held separate services for them after the white services. From about 1770, slaves were allowed to hold their own chaperoned services, and, in 1773, slave preacher George Liele established the first African-American church, at Silver Bluff, South Carolina. Overt moves against white-imposed segregation in worship began in 1776, when blacks who had been attending the First Baptist Church in Petersburgh, Virginia, left to found their own Harrison Street Baptist Church.1 In 1794, the African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in Philadelphia after black worshippers at the St. George Methodist Episcopal Church refused to be segregated in the church balcony. In subsequent years, other congregations were established as African-Americans asserted their desire to worship free of racially based restrictions. This voluntary segregation of the black church continues to the present day. It has been criticized as an impediment to racial integration, but other observers see it as a symbol of ethnic identity and as a rallying point and a refuge.2 Whatever view is taken of America's religious apartheid, it has produced a striking African-American style ofworship with a clearly defined identity, especially in the more fundamentalist denominations. These The Preachers 187 groups reject the formalized rituals of "establishment" churches such as the Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, or Presbyterian in favor of a joyous, extroverted, and sometimes unruly worship, which is as much a celebration of triumph over life's adversities as it is veneration of a supreme being. Music is an important part of an African-American church service, but it is not the focal point. Those who perform it arevital in the church structure, but they are not the key figures. Both these roles belong to the pastor, the preacher, the minister. The clergy's prominent role is,of course, common to all churches, but it is more pronounced in AfricanAmerican churches, where the pastor is not only a spiritual figurehead but an activemoral and community leader. Exploringthe supra-religious role of the African-American church, Mellonee Burnim quotes a 1933 study: "Not finding the opportunity that is given to members of other racial groups in civic and political life, in business enterprises and social agencies, the Negro through the years has turned to the church for selfexpression , recognition and leadership.'^ This observation has not been rendered irrelevant by the passage oftime, and means, says Burnim, that "the church ceases to be a mere religious organization," becoming instead "an alternative means of self-development "4It is hardly surprising that the leader of such an organization should assume—and be given—a dominant role. As a corollary, a strong and assertive person is required to fill such a role. The Baptists are the largest African-American denomination and also the most loosely organized.Anational association exists, but it exerts no control on individual churches, and a minister can simply set up his own church, relying on his ability to attract a "flock." When an established church requires a new pastor, it can approach a preacher alreadyknown to it, or it can in effect hold auditions, calling in several ministers to conduct services, then voting to select the one it wants. In either case, the decision is made by the membership of the church, uninfluencedby any outside body. The two other dominant churches, the Methodists and the Church of God in Christ, have central hierarchical organizations and appoint ministers to pulpits (although a pastor can build a church independently , then affiliate with the COGIC). In rural areas, a Methodist preacher can be appointed to a "circuit" of two or more churches, holding services at each in turn on successive Sundays; a Baptist pastor may also minister to more than one church in the sameway. 188 THE P R E A C H E R S The elected pastor deals daily with a paradox. While each church has an elected "board," the pastor is very much the managing director. He is expected to provide strong leadership, and can at times find himself trying to move the flock in a direction it may be reluctant to take. But at the same time, he holds office...