The Forty-Day Journey of Promise

We've Moved!

Please remember to bookmark and visit my new blog and website:

http://www.rpmministries.org/

I've posted twice as many free resources, scores of book reviews, daily blogs, and more--all because I know "You Want to Change Lives!"

So please drop by my fresh new site at: http://www.rpmministries.org/

The Forty-Day Journey of Promise
Learning Life Lessons from the Legacy of African American Christianity

Do you desire to learn how to move beyond suffering to the place of God’s healing hope?

Do you long for church community that’s truly a taste of eternity (Rev. 7:9-10) where we’ll worship together forever in unity and diversity?

Do you want to grow in your ability to relate across cultures?

Then join the journey!

Join the Journey

Join me on a forty-day intercultural journey of promise.

I’ll be blogging during the forty (+) days from Martin Luther King Day on January 18, 2010, to the end of Black History Month on February 28, 2009.

I know, technically, that’s forty-two days.

On January 18, I’ll kick-off our journey by linking the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., to some of his historic African American predecessors in the faith. In fact, from January 16-18, I’ll offer three posts related to MLK Day and Black Church history.

Then on February 28, we’ll share a day of reflection on the previous forty-day journey.

Our Journey Together: The Big Idea

We’ll focus on learning life lessons from the legacy of African American Christianity.

Each day we’ll enjoy a stirring narrative from the heroes and heroines of Black Church history.

Then we’ll ponder applications of this remarkable legacy to all of our lives today—regardless of our ethnicity, nationality, race, or cultural background.

Every post will include discussion questions so that in your family and your church you can ponder the implications for your lives and ministries.

Bonus for Joining the Journey

As an added bonus, I’ll select five people who commented the most during these 40 (42/44) days to receive:

1. A complimentary, autographed copy of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction.

2. A complimentary e-copy of the entire Forty-Day Journey of Promise.

Your Head Start on Our Journey of Promise

The Journey is your appetizer. If you’d like the full course meal, go here to learn about, read a sample chapter from, and purchase your autographed copy of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction.

Join the Conversation (Post a Comment Here for a Chance to Receive a Copy of Beyond the Suffering)

1. In your life, where do you long for help in moving beyond suffering and hurt to God’s healing help and hope?

2. What does the Church today need to do to reflect the multi-ethnic diversity commanded (Col. 3:10) and illustrated (Rev. 7:9-10) in Scripture?

3. What are some of the reasons that Sunday morning remains the most segregated hour in America?

Note: This series is based upon material from the book Beyond the Suffering. If you’d like to learn more about Beyond the Suffering, click here.

The Heroes of Black Church History Seminar

The Heroes of Black Church History
Celebrate the Legacy of African American Christianity

A One Day Seminar Presented by Dr. Bob Kellemen

Do you long to learn from African American heroes of the faith

how God uses suffering to move His people to a place of healing hope?

Dr. Kellemen equips Christians of all races to be empowered by the

Heroes of Black Church history to minister God’s healing hope to one another.

Dr. Bob Kellemen

Bob is a nationally-known speaker, writer, consultant, educator, pastor, and counselor. He’s the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction, Soul Physicians, Spiritual Friends, Sacred Friendships, and God’s Healing for Life’s Losses. He has equipped thousands of lay people, pastors, and counselors as Chairman of the Master of Arts in Christian Counseling and Discipleship Department (Capital Bible Seminary), as Director of the Biblical Counseling and Spiritual Formation Network, and as Founder/CEO of RPM Ministries.

At the Seminar, Christians of All Races Will:

*Be empowered by the founding fathers of the African American church about how to be a godly male leader.

*Be equipped by the heroic sisters of the spirit of the African American church to be a powerful female spiritual friend.

*Be enriched by past African American husbands, wives, fathers, and mothers concerning how to nurture and enjoy godly living in the home.

*Be enlightened to apply proven ways to help people find healing hope in the midst of deep pain by identifying with past African American believers.

*Be enabled to minister more effectively in cross-cultural settings by uncovering the buried treasure of wisdom contained in the legacy of African American soul care and spiritual direction.

*Be encouraged to skillfully practice the historic soul care arts of sustaining, healing, reconciling, and guiding.

*Be enthused to build healing communities where Christians find courage and comfort in God and each other.

Endorsed by Pastor Tony Evans

“Dr. Kellemen’s work shows us how the pain experienced by people from the African American culture can be redeemed to give life to people from any race or culture. The captivating true stories and first-hand narratives have a therapeutic and healing quality. After you engage Beyond the Suffering, you will have a deeper understanding of how God forged character in people through their suffering and be able to apply many valuable insights to your personal life and future ministry.”

Heroes of Black Church History Seminar Schedule

8:15-8:45 Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:45-8:55 Worship

8:55-9:00 Greeting and Prayer

9:00-10:30 Session One: So Great a Cloud of Witnesses: Following the Ancient Paths

10:30-10:45 Break

10:45-12:00 Session Two: Watered with Our Tears: Communal Comfort and Family Faithfulness

12:00-1:00 Lunch Fellowship Together

1:00-1:10 Worship

1:10-2:30 Session Three: The Old Ship of Zion: Uniting in Christ

2:30-2:45 Break

2:45-4:00 Session Four: This Far by Faith: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy

To Host or Attend a Seminar, Contact:

RPM Ministries
PO Box 270, Crown Point, IN 46308, 219-662-8138

http://www.rpmministries.org/, rpm.ministries@gmail.com
Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth
Christ-Centered, Comprehensive, Compassionate,

and Culturally-informed Biblical Counseling and Spiritual Formation

The Black Pro-Life Movement

Join the Black Pro-Life Movement

Join the new Black Pro-Life Movement group on Facebook: http://bit.ly/Se4zv

View the amazing video by by Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the horrors of abortion. http://bit.ly/12TZdg

Here's the introduction to the new group by one of its founder, Kimberly Cash Tate.

Did you know that abortion is the #1 killer in the black community? Fifty-percent of black offspring are aborted each year. That’s more than 1,500 black children each day. Since Roe v. Wade, more than 50 million babies have been killed in the womb. More than 14 million of these were black babies. For too long, New York advertising agencies and the media have sown the lie that “pro-life” is a white issue for “right-wing extremists.” The facts tell the truth. This isn’t an issue for one group of people or one political party. This is a human issue of epic proportion. It is an issue—like slavery in its day—that requires us to stand boldly for life, truth, and justice.

We are taking a stand. We are standing in the gap for the innocent who are being led away to slaughter. We are standing in the gap for the mothers who have been deceived into thinking it’s their body—only to be left with the pain and shame of knowing they’ve killed their own child. We are exposing the lies and plans of those who seek to advance this lucrative business of abortion. We are aligning ourselves with Jesus Christ and the Word of God, not bowing to a political party or political agenda.

This group exists to do the following:

EDUCATE and INFORM about abortion in our nation and in the black community in particular;

IMPART TRUTH from the Word of God, so that we can possess the mind of God on this important issue;

PRAY for a move of God in our land to abolish the evil of abortion; and

SPUR YOU to spread the word so that others will join this movement and learn the truth.

This group is open to all. Join us!

“Deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, O hold them back.If you say, ‘See, we did not know this,’Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts?And does He not know it who keeps your soul?And will He not render to man according to his work?”~~ Proverbs 24:11-12 NASB

Why White Biblical Counselors Need the Black Church

Why Some Biblical Counseling Is Only Half Biblical!
Part Six:

Why White Biblical Counselors Need the Black Church

*Note: If you’re disappointed that I’m saying that some biblical counseling is only half biblical, then please read my comments at the end of my first post in this series: http://tinyurl.com/n8k799.

My Premise

Some modern biblical counseling considers the seriousness of sin—sinning, but spends much less time equipping people to minister to the gravity of grinding affliction—suffering. When we provide counseling for sin, but fail to provide counseling and counselor training for suffering, then such biblical counseling is only half biblical.

Why and How We Lost Our Way

So, why do I think biblical counseling lost its way? What historical, cultural, and personal realities help to explain why some modern biblical counseling is only half biblical?

E. Brooks Holifield, in his excellent study, A History of Pastoral Care in America (http://tinyurl.com/mo6ww8), demonstrates how pastoral ministry moved from a focus on salvation to a focus on self-realization. It moved from Christ to self, from Scripture to humanism.

In my own study of pastoral counseling in America, I’ve found that biblical counseling from the end of the Civil War (1865) to the passage of the Civil Rights Act (1964) moved from a focus on suffering and sin to a focus on self.

Interesting, isn’t it, that for these 100 years, framed by the Civil War and Civil Rights, we lost our way with Christian counseling and pastoral ministry.

In coming posts, I’ll share about the impact of liberalism and fundamentalism on pastoral ministry during this era. I’ll also describe how the modern biblical counseling movement pulled the pendulum back to a focus on sin, but not always to an equal focus on suffering.

Why White Biblical Counseling Needs the Black Church

Here’s my conviction about why pastoral ministry moved from suffering and sin to self, and why modern biblical counseling pulled the focus back to sin but not as much to suffering: church segregation.

From the end of the Civil War to the Civil Rights Act, and continuing to today, Sunday morning remains the most segregated hour in America. We lose so much by this church segregation.

White Evangelical biblical counselors lose the amazing, beautiful, biblical blending of suffering and sin that so characterizes the Black Evangelical Church from its inception in enslavement right up to our day.

In my book, Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction, readers enjoy 100s of lively narratives that consistently depict how the Evangelical Black Church never compartmentalized suffering and sin. Instead, the Black Church consistently integrated, mingled, blended, and kept united soul care for suffering and spiritual direction for sinning.

Samples and the Full Meal

If you want to read a free sample chapter on the Black Church’s personal ministry of the Word, go here: http://tinyurl.com/nykc3h.

If you want your own copy of the entire book in order to be equipped and empowered by African American biblical counselors, go here: http://tinyurl.com/cm96x6.

Conclusion

Because we White Evangelical biblical counselors pulled the pendulum back from a focus on self and because we did so in segregation from our Black brothers and sisters, we compartmentalized sin and suffering and ignored the development of biblical counseling approaches that help us to move beyond the suffering.

Where Do We Go From Here?

In my next post, I’ll share what White Evangelical male biblical counselors lost when we minimized the contribution of female soul care-givers and spiritual directors.

Beyond the Suffering: Celebrate the Legacy!

Guest Blog: Review of Beyond the Suffering by
Pastor Mark Tanious

Highly Recommended: An Extraordinary Account!

Few books have touched my heart as powerfully as Beyond the Suffering. This is no ordinary story. It is the extraordinary account of the history and legacy African Americans.

Using a biblical and historical modeling of soul care and spiritual direction, this book introduces many "heroes" of the faith. One thing is for sure, there is no sugar coating in this book! The personal accounts of slaves contained in this book will both challenge you with deep sorrow and encourage you with supernatural hope.

Great Hope for All People of All Races

But, I believe that is exactly the goal of Kellemen and Edwards. They understand that the history of African Americans is filled with terrible injustice and inequality. Yet, they demonstrate with great clarity that the history of African Americans is filled with much greater hope, healing, and forgiveness. As a person ministering in a multicultural setting, I have been able to use the stories in this book to help people understand that the principles they contain go beyond any single culture or race. These stories are filled with biblical insights I am sure will produce great fruit for the entire body of Christ.

Use It In Church Small Groups and Youth Groups

Kellemen and Edwards do a phenomenal job in articulating the value of the African American legacy for every one of us. This book should be used in Sunday School classes and small groups all around the country. I have already shared some of the book with my youth group, which has created healthy discussion and reflection. Finally, this book is written well. The authors navigate the issues with sensitivity, compassion, and humility. They realize that in many ways the personal accounts really speak for themselves.

And after navigating through such turbulent waters (the "suffering"), Kellemen and Edwards find a way to leave the reader with a profound sense of hope (the "beyond" the suffering). And that combination makes this a powerful and transformative resource.

Purchase Your Copy 40% Off for Just $9.99: http://tinyurl.com/cm96x6

The Journey: Day Thirty--The Black Puritan

The Journey: Forty Days of Promise
Celebrating the Legacy of African American Christianity

Day Thirty: The Black Puritan

Welcome to day thirty of our forty-day intercultural journey. From Martin Luther King Day to the end of Black History Month we are focusing on The Journey: Forty Days of Promise—Celebrating the Legacy of African American Christianity.

Day Thirty: The Black Puritan[1]

Lemuel Haynes affords another exemplar of African American ministerial modeling. Born at West Hartford, Connecticut, in 1753, of a white mother and a black father, Haynes lived his entire eighty years in Congregationalist New England. He completed his indenture in time to serve in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

Privately tutored, Haynes became the first African American to be ordained by any religious denomination. Upon ordination, Haynes then served white congregations for more than thirty years.

Among other accomplishments, he achieved notoriety for a sermon entitled Universal Salvation that defended orthodox Christianity against the threat of Universalism. For this work, he happily accepted the title “Black Puritan,” indicating his depth of Reformation theology. Middlebury College awarded him the master’s degree in 1804, another first for an African American.

At age sixty-five, Haynes left his Rutland, Vermont, parish due to political friction that essentially forced him to choose to resign. His farewell sermon of 1818 emphasized, among other topics, his devotion to the work of the ministry and to the people of his congregation.

Following Paul’s Model

Alluding to the words of the Apostle Paul, Haynes notes that, “He that provided the motto of our discourse could say on his farewell, I have coveted no man’s silver or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessity.”

Like Liele with his black congregation, it was important to Haynes with his white parishioners that they recognized his Christlike diligence. Few could legitimately question his work ethic given that he had preached 5,500 sermons, officiated at over 400 funerals, and solemnized more than 100 marriages.

Godly Motivation

It was also vital to him that they understood his godly motivations. “The flower of my life has been devoted to your service:—while I lament a thousand imperfections which have attended my ministry; yet I am not deceived, it has been my hearty desire to do something for the salvation of your souls.”

Haynes acknowledged and wanted his people to realize that the ultimate Judge of his motivations was Christ. “I must give an account concerning the motives which influenced me to come among you, and how I have conducted during my thirty years residence in this place: the doctrines I have inculcated: whether I have designedly kept back any thing that might be profitable to you, or have, through fear of man, or any other criminal cause, shunned to declare the whole counsel of God. Also, as to the manner of my preaching, whether I have delivered my discourses in a cold, formal manner, and of my external deportment.”

His Personal Epitaph

Haynes personal epitaph tells much about where he placed his focus.

“Here lies the dust of a poor hell-deserving sinner, who ventured into eternity trusting wholly on the merits of Christ for salvation. In the full belief of the great doctrines he preached while on earth, he invites his children and all who read this, to trust their eternal interest on the same foundation” (Epitaph written for himself by Reverend Lemuel Haynes, the “Black Puritan”).

Learning Together from Our Great Cloud of Witnesses

1. Lemuel Haynes modeled spiritual connecting through vulnerability, openness, intimacy, and grace. What godly leaders have modeled these traits for you? How?

2. How could you more effectively model these traits in your life and ministry?

[1]Excerpted from, modified from, and quoted from Kellemen and Edwards, Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction. Purchase your copy at 40% off for only $10.00 at www.rpmministries.org.

The Journey: Day Twenty--The Invisible Institution

The Journey: Forty Days of Promise
Celebrating the Legacy of African American Christianity

Day Twenty: The Invisible Institution

Welcome to day twenty of our forty-day intercultural journey. From Martin Luther King Day to the end of Black History Month we are focusing on The Journey: Forty Days of Promise—Celebrating the Legacy of African American Christianity.

Day Twenty: The Invisible Institution[1]

Historians investigating African American religious history have labeled the secretive slave worship services the “Invisible Institution” because much of it was invisible to the eyes of their masters.

“In their cabins, woods, thickets, hollows, and brush arbors (shelter of cut branches also called ‘hush harbors’) throughout the South, slaves held their own religious meetings where they interpreted Christianity according to their experience, applying the stories and symbols of the Bible to make sense out of their lives.”

Congregational Gatherings: Slipping In and Stealing Away

In order to worship freely, Christian slaves would either slip into a home or steal away to the woods. What actually occurred during these covert meetings to make them so fruitful? Pastor Peter Randolph provides the details we seek.

“Not being allowed to hold meetings on the plantation, the slaves assemble in the swamps, out of reach of the patrols. They have an understanding among themselves as to the time and place of getting together. This is often done by the first one arriving breaking boughs from the trees, and bending them in the direction of the selected spot.”

For them, worship and fellowship was worth any risk and was approached with tremendous expectancy. Does our commitment to and preparation for gathering together hold a candle to theirs?

Mutual Ministry: First Century Christianity in Nineteenth-Century America

Once there, then what?

“Arrangements are then made for conducting the exercises. They first ask each other how they feel, the state of their minds, etc. The male members then select a certain space, in separate groups, for their division of the meeting. Preaching in order by the brethren; then praying and singing all around, until they generally feel quite happy. The speaker usually commences by calling himself unworthy, and talks very slowly, until feeling the spirit, he grows excited, and in a short time, there fall to the ground twenty or thirty men and women under its influence.”

Sound familiar? Their experience sounds like Acts 2:42-47a.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. . . . All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.”

In Randolph’s gathering, they organized the organism (“made arrangements for conducting the exercises”). That is, though valuing spontaneity and the leading of the Spirit, they also treasured purposeful planning.

They sustained and healed (“ask each other how they feel, the state of their minds”). Given the hardships and hard times, we might imagine quite the lengthy spiritual conversations. Much different than our typical Sunday morning greetings. “Hello. How are you?” Without waiting for a response, we move on to our next target. Imagine, instead, if we really asked how others feel—exploring one another’s emotional life—on Sunday morning, in church! Imagine, also, if we truly probed one another’s state of mind—dealing with each another’s thought life and mental wellbeing—on Sunday morning, in church!

They enjoyed small group fellowship (“then select a certain space, in separate groups, for their division of the meeting”).

They were edified by the preached Word (“preaching in order by the brethren”). Later we’ll see that they would enjoy testifying by many members, exhorting by some members, and preaching by one primary, called-out leader.

They engaged in hearing from God and talking to God (“then praying and singing all around”). They prayed and praised; listened and spoke.

Learning Together from Our Great Cloud of Witnesses

1. Concerning worship preparation and sacrifice, how would you compare your preparations for worship to the preparations made by African American believers in the Invisible Institution? How would you compare the sacrifices that you make in order to worship with the sacrifices that they made?

2. Reflect back on Randolph’s description of Acts 2:42-47 Christianity. In what ways are you already enjoying Acts 2:42-47 Christianity? How could you experience even more Acts 2:42-47 Christianity?

[1]Excerpted, modified from, and quoted from Kellemen and Edwards, Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction. Purchase your copy at 40% off for only $10.00 at www.rpmministries.org.

The Journey: Day Eighteen--Everybody's Heart in Tune

The Journey: Forty Days of Promise
Celebrating the Legacy of African American Christianity

Day Eighteen: Everybody’s Heart in Tune

Welcome to day eighteen of our forty-day intercultural journey. From Martin Luther King Day to the end of Black History Month we are focusing on The Journey: Forty Days of Promise—Celebrating the Legacy of African American Christianity.

Day Eighteen: Everybody’s Heart in Tune[1]

How did newly converted African American slaves grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ? How did they connect to one another in the Body of Christ?

A preacher we know only as the “Preacher from a God-fearing Plantation” offers us a glimpse.

“Meetings back there meant more than they do now. Then everybody’s heart was in tune, and when they called on God they made heaven ring. It was more than just Sunday meeting and then no more godliness for a week. They would steal off to the fields and in the thickets and there, with heads together around a kettle to deaden the sound, they called on God out of heavy hearts.”

The Old Ship of Zion

Another African American Christian described it like this.

“We used to steal off to de woods and have church, like de Spirit moved us—sing and pray to our own liking and soul satisfaction—and we sure did have good meetings, honey—baptize in de river, like God said. . . . We was quiet ‘nuf so de white folks didn’t know we was dere, and what a glorious time we did have in de Lord.”

“The church was a ‘Noah’s Ark’ that shielded one’s life from the rain. It was the ‘old ship of Zion’ fully capable of sailing the seas of life.”

Life Lessons for Today

Because we all too easily abandon meeting together, we have much to learn from the high priority that African American believers placed upon communal worship and fellowship.

“Their needs for guidance and comfort were immense. The awesome importance of this spiritual and emotional support can be seen by the fact that the time to engage in worship was taken from the already too-brief free times away from field work. Work time already ran from sun-up to sundown. Time for worship was taken from the brief period left for the personal needs of sanitation, sleep, food, and child rearing. This spiritual nurture must have been highly treasured indeed to motivate the sacrifice of such limited and precious free time.”

Learning Together from Our Great Cloud of Witnesses

1. “Meetings back there meant more than they do now. Then everybody’s heart was in tune, and when they called on God they made heaven ring.” In what ways does your worship experience already mirror theirs?

2. What could make this statement truer in your worship experience today?

[1]Excerpted, modified from, and quoted from Kellemen and Edwards, Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction. Purchase your copy at 40% off for only $10.00 at www.rpmministries.org.

The Journey: Forty Days of Promise

The Journey:

Forty Days of Promise

Celebrating the Legacy of

African American Christianity

Thirty days from now you are invited to join me on a forty-day journey. I will be blogging, Lord willing, during the forty days from Martin Luther King Day on January 19, 2009, to the end of Black History Month on February 28, 2009. The title will be: The Journey: Forty Days of Promise--Celebrating the Legacy of African American Christianity. I know, technically, that is forty-one days. February 28 will be a day of reflection on the previous forty-day journey. I will highlight each day a stirring narrative from Black Church history. Then I will ponder application of this legacy to our lives today. Finally, I will include discussion questions so that you can individually, or in your family, or corporately in your church ponder the implications for your life and ministry.

Where Are All the Brothers?

In Defense of Christ and His Church

A Review of Eric Redmond's

"Where Are All the Brothers?"

Pastor Eric C. Redmond writes with a burning passion for revitalization in the African American church. For Pastor Redmond, such revival begins with theology. While that word (theology) may terrify some, Pastor Redmond realizes how relevant theology is to everyday life.

In fact, "Where Are All the Brothers?" is "theology in disguise." It is a practical manual written with wit and wisdom in particular for the black male who has a litany of reasons for being unchurched. Chapter by chapter in bite-size chunks, Pastor Redmond helps men to digest biblical and practical answers to questions they have about the value of Christianity and the Church. He challenges men to give him ten minutes for nine days. His prayer is that his male readers will be transformed by truth and in turn African American churches will experience a reformation as an army of African American men march back into leadership in church and society.

In many ways, Pastor Redmond writes like the great African American pastors of the past--Rev. Richard Allen, Bishop Daniel Alexander Payne, Pastor Peter Randolph, Pastor Lemeul Haynes, and so many other stalwarts of the faith. They share in common the courage of their conviction that God's truth sets men free.

Day by day, Redmond disabuses men of lies about Christ, Christianity, and the church. Day one: addressing hypocrites in the church. Day two: explaining the inspiration of Scripture. Day three: interacting about the role of men and women in the church. Day four: exploring the preacher's calling. Day five: contrasting what Islam claims to offer Black men and what Christ offers all men. Day six: discussing the church and money. Day seven: defending organized religion. Day eight: honoring the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Day nine: outlining eight marks of a healthy church. What we have here is the ability to communicate.

Pastor Eric Redmond has penned an "ecclesiology for everyday life" (a practical defense of the relevance of the church--especially for the black male who has his doubts). But this book is not only for the black brother. It is for all brothers and sisters. And it is not only for those who are not attending church. It will strengthen the faith and resolve of church members also. "Where Are All the Brothers?" is enticing, educating, equipping, and empowering reading for all believers.

Reviewer: Robert W. Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction

Where Are All the Brothers

Where Are All the Brothers?

Pastor Eric C. Redmond writes with a burning passion for revitalization in the African American church. For Pastor Redmond, such revival begins with theology. While that word (theology) may terrify some, Pastor Redmond realizes how relevant theology is to everyday life.

In fact, "Where Are All the Brothers?" is "theology in disguise." It is a practical manual written with wit and wisdom in particular for the black male who has a litany of reasons for being unchurched.

Chapter by chapter in bite-size chunks, Pastor Redmond helps men to digest biblical and practical answers to questions they have about the value of Christianity and the Church. He challenges men to give him ten minutes for nine days. His prayer is that his male readers will be transformed by truth and in turn African American churches will experience a reformation as an army of African American men march back into leadership in church and society.

In many ways, Pastor Redmond writes like the great African American pastors of the past--Rev. Richard Allen, Bishop Daniel Alexander Payne, Pastor Peter Randolph, Pastor Lemeul Haynes, and so many other stalwarts of the faith. They share in common the courage of their conviction that God's truth sets men free.

Day by day, Redmond disabuses men of lies about Christ, Christianity, and the church. Day one: addressing hypocrites in the church. Day two: explaining the inspiration of Scripture. Day three: interacting about the role of men and women in the church. Day four: exploring the preacher's calling. Day five: contrasting what Islam claims to offer Black men and what Christ offers all men. Day six: discussing the church and money. Day seven: defending organized religion. Day eight: honoring the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Day nine: outlining eight marks of a healthy church.

What we have here is the ability to communicate. Pastor Eric Redmond has penned an "ecclesiology for everyday life" (a practical defense of the relevance of the church--especially for the black male who has his doubts).

But this book is not only for the black brother. It is for all brothers and sisters. And it is not only for those who are not attending church. It will strengthen the faith and resolve of church members also. "Where Are All the Brothers?" is enticing, educating, equipping, and empowering reading for all believers.

The Invaluable Legacy of the Invisible Institution

The Invaluable Legacy of the Invisible Institution

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, in his now famous, or infamous, depending upon your perspective, speech to the National Press Club on April 28th, declared that attacks on him are attacks on the black church “by people who know nothing about the African American religious tradition.”

Rev. Wright also stated, “Maybe now we can begin to take steps to move the black religious tradition from the status of invisible to the status of invaluable for all the people in this country.”

To that, I stand and shout a hearty “Amen!”

The True Invisible Institution

Of course . . . that requires that we provide historically accurate analysis of the “Invisible Institution.” Historians coined the term “Invisible Institution” to describe the secretive worship services that African American Christians held under slavery. Without these, enslaved black Christians were forced to endure message after message by white preachers telling them repeatedly, “Slave obey your Master. Slave don’t steal from your Master. Slave don’t cheat your master.”

In order to enjoy true worship and biblically relevant preaching, slaves had to slip away into the woods or quietly worship in their cabins—away from the ever-watching eye of the Master or overseers.

Here’s the point relative to Rev. Wright’s insistence that the Invisible Institution must become invaluable. What message was preached? Was it a message of hatred, vitriolic anger, and resentment? Or, was it a biblically-based message of hope through mutual reliance upon Christ and the Body of Christ? Perhaps some eye-witness accounts might help to answer these essential questions.

Eye-witness Accounts

One ex-enslaved African American Christian known to us as “the Preacher from a God-fearing Plantation,” offers us our first glimpse of the Invisible Institution. “Meetings back there meant more than they do now. Then everybody’s heart was in tune, and when they called on God they made heaven ring. It was more than just Sunday meeting and then no more godliness for a week. They would steal off to the fields and in the thickets and there, with heads together around a kettle to deaden the sound, they called on God out of heavy hearts.”[1]

What occurred during these covert worship services? Pastor Peter Randolph, himself an ex-slave, provides the details we seek. “Not being allowed to hold meetings on the plantation, the slaves assemble in the swamps, out of reach of the patrols. They have an understanding among themselves as to the time and place of getting together. This is often done by the first one arriving breaking boughs from the trees, and bending them in the direction of the selected spot.”[2]

Once there, then what? “Arrangements are then made for conducting the exercises. They first ask each other how they feel, the state of their minds, etc. The male members then select a certain space, in separate groups, for their division of the meeting. Preaching in order by the brethren; then praying and singing all around, until they generally feel quite happy. The speaker usually commences by calling himself unworthy, and talks very slowly, until feeling the spirit, he grows excited.”[3]

But that’s not all. Randolph elaborates on the inner condition and the interpersonal consolation they experience. “The slave forgets all his suffering, except to remind others of the trials during the past week, exclaiming, ‘Thank God, I shall not live here always!’ Then they pass from one to another, shaking hands, bidding each other farewell, promising, should they meet no more on earth, to strive to meet in heaven, where all is joy, happiness and liberty. As they separate, they sing a parting hymn of praise.”[4]

The Visible Institution

Of course, in the North, and later after Emancipation in the South, there arose the great African American churches. Historically, what type of preaching of the Word do we uncover? Bishop Daniel Alexander Payne, the great pastor, educator, and historian of the African Methodist Episcopal Church speaks about the Word preached in the Church. “So that whensoever the Gospel is preached in this house, it may descend with all its purity, power, and demonstration upon the hearts of the unrepentant, turning them from darkness to light, and from power of sin and Satan unto God; that its sanctifying influences may be felt in the souls of all believers, lifting their desires, their hopes, and their affections, from earth to heaven, and leading back the wandering sheep of the house of Israel, into the fold of eternal life.”[5]

According to Bishop Payne, the Word preached in the church was then to be lived out and depended upon in every day life during the week as daily nourishment and spiritual direction. “An individual man or woman must never follow their own conviction in regard to moral, religious, civil, or political questions until they are first tested by the unerring Word of God. If a conviction infringes upon the written Word of God, or in any manner conflicts with that Word, the conviction is not to be followed. It is our duty to abandon it. The only safe guide for man or woman, young or old, rich or poor, learned or unlearned, pastor or people is the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible.”[6]

Celebrating the Historic Value of the Black Church

Absolutely—the Invisible Institution of the historic Black Church is invaluable—when we understand with historical accuracy the nature of the Invisible Institution. These brief glimpses can only whet one’s appetite. For a full course meal, you may want to consider my work, Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction.

Throughout this book we learn that African American Christians—pastors and lay people—unlike the caricature displayed in Rev. Wright’s recent comments, lived Word-based lives that focused upon applying biblical truth to their horrific suffering. Never minimizing their suffering; instead they maximized God’s grace and the healing power of salvation from sin and the hope-giving power of a caring Savior and a connected congregation. Indeed, these are invaluable lessons of the Invisible Institution!

[1]Johnson, God Struck Me Dead, p. 73.
[2] Randolph, From Slave Cabin to Pulpit, pp. 112-113.
[3] Ibid., p. 113.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Washington, James, ed. Conversations with God: Two Centuries of Prayers by African Americans, p. 36.
[6] Payne, Daniel Alexander. Recollections of Seventy Years, pp. 233-234.

Church Racism

Church Racism

Let’s be clear—there is no “typical” African American church. Just like there is no “typical” white church. Any statement coming from any person of any color that suggests there is one, monolithic, stereotypical style of “doing church” that represents and summarizes all black churches, is quite simply wrong at best, and racist at worst.

So, what has my dander up today? The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, former Senior Pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago (Barack Obama’s home church), launched into a diatribe at the National Press Club on Monday, April 28. Now, lest someone label me “racist” for taking on the Rev. Wright, please realize that even Barack Obama, who until recently tried to give his former pastor the benefit of the doubt, has now expressed outrage at Wright’s recent comments.

My outrage is directed primarily toward one specific claim in Wright’s speech to the National Press Club—that his fiery denunciations of white America and his radical accusations against the American government (which Barack Obama disavows) are par for the course for the typical African American church, and that historically, the African American pulpit has always spewed such vitriolic, hateful, and angry messages.

As just one example of many that counter Wright's contention, consider Charles Babington's (of the Associate Press) interview with John Overton of Chapel Hill, NC. Overton noted, "I was the only white person" for about a year at a black church in Beaufort. "I never heard anybody talk like that."

Rev. Wright claims that disagreements with him are an attack on the black church. Such could be the case only if one viewed Wright as representative of the typical black preacher.

Having studied in detail the historical African American church (please see my book, Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction), having worshipped and preached in scores of African American churches, having trained hundreds of African American pastors, and being friends with scores of faithful African American ministers, I can tell you authoritatively that many pulpits in black churches historically and today have focused on rightly dividing the Word of truth. When they have exhorted America and/or white Americans, it has been in a humble spirit of biblical and prophetic ministry, calling all Americans, including blacks, to salvation in Christ and social justice for all.

But the Rev. Wright is not the only man of color who has recently stereotyped the black church. In an otherwise excellent book (The Decline of African American Theology), the Rev. Thabiti M. Anyabwile declares that the stereotypical black church has moved from biblical faith to cultural captivity (for my full review go to: http://www.rpmbooks.org/labels/Anyabwile.html).

Again, while respecting the Rev. Anyabwile, I respectfully disagree with his stereotyped assessment. Many black pulpits historically and currently highlight the biblical preaching and teaching of the Word.

Honestly, I’m confused what value people think it may bring to offer one-sided, stereotypical, inaccurate views of the black church and the black pulpit. If we are ever to heal racial divides, then we must start with facts and with truth. And the facts are clear—the black church, just like the white church, comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors—many remain faithful to the Lord and to the Word. To say otherwise is, frankly, church racism.

Beyond the Suffering Seminar

On Saturday, February 23, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., on the Main Lanham Campus of Washington Bible College/Capital Bible Seminary in Lanham, MD, I will present a seminar based on my latest book, Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction.

Interactive Seminar

This interactive seminar will discuss ways lay people, pastors, and Christian counselors of all races can learn from the history of African American soul care to grow in Christ and to minister to those who are suffering pain or loss.

Lay people, pastors, counselors, and students of all races will:

• Be empowered to apply proven ways to help people find healing hope in the midst of deep pain and sorrow.

• Be equipped to minister more effectively in cross-cultural settings.

• Be enabled to skillfully practice historic soul care.

• Be enlightened about how to be a godly male leader by the founding fathers of the African American church.

• Be enthused about how to be a powerful female spiritual friend by the heroic sisters of the spirit of the African American church.

• Be enriched by past African American husbands, wives, fathers, and mothers concerning how to nurture and enjoy godly living in the home.

Beyond the Suffering Seminar Schedule

8:00–8:45 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:45–9:00 a.m. Worship with WBC OneVoice
9:00–9:10 a.m. Greetings and Prayer: WBC/CBS President Larry Mercer
9:10–10:30 a.m. Session One: So Great a Cloud of Witnesses: Following the Ancient Paths
10:30–10:45 a.m. Break
10:45–12:00 p.m. Session Two: Watered with Our Tears: Redeeming Pain and Suffering
12:00–1:05 p.m. Lunch Provided
1:05–1:15 p.m. Worship: WBC OneVoice
1:15–2:30 p.m. Session Three: The Old Ship of Zion: Uniting in Christ
2:30–2:45 p.m. Break
2:45–3:55 p.m. Session Four: This Far by Faith: Living the Drama of Deliverance
3:55–4:00 p.m. Closing Comments
4:00–5:00 p.m. Optional Campus Tour and Book Signing

Seminar Registration Fee:

$50.00 ($80.00 for two): Breakfast, Lunch, Copy of Beyond the Suffering, Seminar Notes, and Seminar Sessions are included.

Register Now! http://www.bible.edu/index.cfm?PAGE_ID=2296

Brief Synopsis of Beyond the Suffering:

The African American Church has always helped hurting and hardened people through the personal and corporate ministries of sustaining, healing, reconciling, and guiding. This four-dimensional model is the traditional and widely recognized pattern for understanding lay spiritual friendship, pastoral care, and professional Christian counseling. Beyond the Suffering uncovers the buried treasure of wisdom about soul care and spiritual direction contained in the history of African American Christianity. Written with the blended perspectives of an African American woman and a Caucasian man, Beyond the Suffering offers an in-depth exploration of this rich tradition, showing Christians proven ways to help people find hope in the midst of deep pain and sorrow. Pastors, counselors, and lay people, as well as African Americans hungry for the legacy of their ancestors, will appreciate both the history and the practical applications found in this book.

Caucasian Writer Co-Authors Book on African American Ministry

Caucasian Writer Co-Authors Book on African American Ministry

*Note to My Blog Readers: Please feel free to forward this news release to your local newspapers.

The Elephant in the Room

When Bob Kellemen offers seminars on his new book Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction, he starts by addressing the proverbial “elephant in the room.” “Why did a white guy write a book about African American church life?”

As Kellemen explained, “First, I didn’t write it, I co-wrote it with Karole Edwards who is a wonderful African American friend and a graduate of the seminary where I teach. Second, we like to say that we didn’t co-author the book as much as we co-edited Beyond the Suffering. We wove together first-hand accounts of the amazing narratives concerning how African American Christians found courage and comfort in God and each other to move beyond the suffering of slavery to a place of healing hope.”

Kellemen continued, “But that still doesn’t address what prompted my interest in this fascinating topic. I grew up on 11th and Hovey in downtown Gary, IN. I’ve spent my whole life in a multi-cultural environment. Currently I teach at a school (Capital Bible Seminary in Lanham, MD) with no majority culture. God has called me to a life-long, multi-cultural ministry.”

A Mutual Passion

Kellemen’s co-author, Edwards, shared her own passion for Beyond the Suffering. “For me the journey began as I delved deeper into historical African American stories and discovered a cavern of invaluable truth. As I was being changed by the story unfolding before me, I wondered how others might also be changed by seeing God’s story unfolding through our history.”

Baker Books

According to the publisher, Baker Books, “Beyond the Suffering is the African American story told by African Americans for the benefit of all Americans. The African American Church has always helped hurting and hardened people through personal and corporate ministry. Beyond the Suffering uncovers the great spiritual riches of this African American Christian tradition.”

Kellemen concurred. “Beyond the Suffering desires to inspire today’s generation as they hear the voices of past African American Christians speaking through its pages. By listening to its historical narrative, readers learn to speak to today’s world with relevance. Beyond the Suffering assists African American and non-African American lay people, pastors, and Christian counselors to become more spiritually aware and skillful by deriving modern implications from these recovered resources. And it equips all believers for more effective cross-cultural ministry.”

Pulling the Rope in Unison

Of the 100s of real-life vignettes recorded in the book, Kellemen shared one story (“Pulling the Rope in Unison”) illustrative of the practical nature of the entire book. “Venture Smith was born in Guinea about 1729. Kidnapped at age eight, Robertson Mumford purchased him a year later. After living with Mumford for thirteen years, Venture married Meg at age twenty-two. They remained together for over forty-seven years, through many trials and tribulations, until parted by death.”

“Venture’s narrative contains an explanation for their marital faithfulness. On the occasion of their marriage, Venture threw a rope over his cabin and asked his wife to go to the opposite side and pull on the rope hanging there while he remained and pulled on his end. After they both had tugged at it awhile in vain, he called her to his side of the cabin and by their united effort they drew the rope to themselves with ease. He then explained the object lesson to his young bride. ‘If we pull in life against each other we shall fail, but if we pull together we shall succeed.’” According to Kellemen, “premarital couples, newlyweds, and seasoned married spouses would all do well to heed Venture’s guiding wisdom.”

Dr. Tony Evans

Internationally-known African American pastor and author, Dr. Tony Evans, in his Foreword to Beyond the Suffering noted that “Most students of history focus on the pain of the African American experience in America. There was a lot of pain! And we should not minimize that pain. However, as the title suggests, Beyond the Suffering goes further. It shows us how the pain experienced by people from the African American culture can be redeemed to give life to people from any race or culture. The captivating true stories and first-hand narratives have a therapeutic and healing quality for the reader and those they serve. After you read Beyond the Suffering, you will have a deeper understanding of how God forged character in people through their suffering and be able to apply many valuable insights to your personal life and future ministry.”

So About That Elephant?

So, about that elephant in the room? Kellemen said, “Regardless of the color of our skin, we are all human beings with similar struggles and suffering, hopes and dreams. Beyond the Suffering listens to the voices of a people who ministered in the crucible of suffering. Everyone, from every race, can benefit from hearing these voices, from reading and applying these courageous stories.”

To Order

Beyond the Suffering is available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Nobles, Wal Mart, and other bookstores and bookselling websites.

Founding Fathers, Part I

Founding Fathers, Part I[i]

Historians of American history frequently emphasize our “founding fathers.” Politically speaking, they highlight white males like George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Paine, and James Madison. Spiritually speaking, they feature white males such as Roger Williams, Cotton Mather, John Winthrop, Jonathan Edwards, and Isaac Backus.

Sadly, they have often left African American founding fathers missing in action. In particular, the spiritual founding fathers of independent African American church life have been neglected, relegated to the back seat of the historical bus.

Walking the Talk: Modeling Christian Manliness

Throughout church history, developing and displaying the character of a soul physician was the absolute prerequisite before focusing upon competence in soul care and spiritual direction. This has certainly been the case with African American founding fathers as they strove to practice what they preached. In particular, we learn from them that we sustain, heal, reconcile, and guide as much by our actions (our model) as by our interactions (our message). People listened to their words of counsel because they witnessed them heeding their own counsel.

E. Franklin Frazier contends that the historic Black Church was somewhat passive due to its other-worldly focus.[ii] However, firsthand accounts draw a different portrait altogether. Traditionally, manhood has been a central theme in the independent Black Church.[iii] Bishop B. W. Arnett described the organizing conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC) in 1816 as “the Convention of the friends of Manhood Christianity.”[iv]

Bishop Daniel Alexander Payne, an early leader in and the official historian of the AMEC, believed that the separation of the AME from the white Methodist Episcopal Church was “beneficial to the man of color” in two ways. “First: it has thrown us upon our own resources and made us tax our own mental powers both for government and support.” Secondly, it gave the black man “an independence of character which he could neither hope for nor attain unto, if he had remained as the ecclesiastical vassal of his white brethren.” It produced “independent thought,” “independent action,” and an “independent hierarchy,” and the latter “has made us feel and recognize our individuality and our heaven-created manhood.”[v]

Personally, Payne experienced numerous opportunities to live out his Christian manhood. Payne was devastated when a new law forced him to stop teaching his fellow African Americans. Wavering on the precipice of doubt, he girds up the loins of his mind with the solemn words, “‘With God one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. Trust in him, and he will bring slavery and all its outrages to an end.’ These words from the spirit world acted on my troubled soul like water on a burning fire, and my aching heart was soothed from its burden of woes.”[vi] Payne engages in a spiritual conversation with himself in which he exhorted himself to see life from God’s eternal perspective.

Payne then pens a lengthy poem expressing both his feelings and theological reflections. Of this spiritual exercise, he concludes, “The writing of this poem was the safety-valve which let out the superabundant grief that would otherwise have broken my heart and sent me headlong to an untimely grave.”[vii] Some males decry poetry or journaling as less-than-masculine. However, Payne, like King David before him, understands the manly value of candid “psalming.”

Other males disparage depending on others during times of spiritual despondency. Not Payne. In response to his internal battle with his external situation, he received letters of spiritual consolation from the poetess, Miss Mary S. Palmer, and her sister Miss Jane Keith Palmer. He reflects in response to these letters, “At a time when my heart seemed ready to burst with grief and my lips ready to deny the existence of God, or to blaspheme his holy name for permitting one race to grind another to powder, such white friends were exceedingly dear and precious to me. I looked on them then, and regard them now, as God’s angels sent to strengthen me when the powers of darkness seemed to be let loose against me and against the race which I was so earnestly serving. I can never cease to remember them without emotions of gratitude and love.”[viii]

Given Payne’s circumstances and the culture of the day, we find here triple humility. He models the humility to dependently receive help, to gladly receive help from females, and to non-judgmentally and non-defensively receive help from whites.

[i]Excerpted from Kellemen, Beyond the Suffering, Baker Books, 2007.
[ii] Frazier, The Negro Church in America.
[iii] Becker, “The Black Church,” in Fulop, African-American Religion, p. 180.
[iv] Arnett, Proceedings of the Quarto-Centennial Conference of the A.M.E Church, p. 384.
[v] Payne, A History of the A.M.E. Church, I, pp. 9-12.
[vi] Payne, Recollections of Seventy Years, p. 28.
[vii] Ibid., p. 34.
[viii] Ibid., p. 39.