Black Church Reflections from a FB thread on Prosperity vs Social Justice
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… my comment was to serve the same purpose—critical thinking.
In order to think of it critically, I believe there are two (or three) slivers nuance that must be taken into account. First, popular media culture does not reflect the masses of Black Churches. Prosperity ministry is a particular strand and, by its nature, very visible.
Second, some pastors and churches may not be strong on public social justice but that does not put them in the prosperity ministry camp. It’s not an either or analysis.
Third, I was very surprised when recently reading Dr. King on the state of the Black church in Montgomery when he first arrived in his first pastorate. He described a large number of timid and conservative church bodies. That caught me by surprise.
I’ve always understood and lived by the Black church as a liberating institution en masse. I’m not sure that’s as accurate as I thought.
Lastly, there are national and local bodies with social justice platforms. We will not often hear of them.
Here is just one example…
“The Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., (PNBC) is a vital Baptist denomination with an estimated membership of 2.5 million people. PNBC was formed to give full voice, sterling leadership and active support to the American and world fight for human freedom. The convention was the convention -denominational home and platform for the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who addressed every annual session of the Convention until his death in 1968. New generations of Progressive Baptists are continuing the struggle for full voter registration, education and participation in society, economic empowerment and development, and the realization of universal human rights and total human liberation for all people.”
