I've always thought it was odd that the content of the preaching at white and black churches are so different when they both claim to revere the same scriptures. Ideally we wouldn't have black and white churches but just Christian churches. I don't think that's ever going to happen, but it should.
I think both groups want a church that suits their agenda and that tells them what they want to hear. Personally, I think both should sound a little more like the other. I think white churches should be not only preaching but doing more to help the poor. Instead of dismissing that as liberation theology and blowing their cash on these mammoth palaces in the suburbs, they should be dusting their Bibles off and going into the ghettos to build drug treatment centers, soup kitchens, and homeless shelters and using them to spread the gospel. They should be working with local churches (including black churches) in the ghettos to make it happen. Would black churches cooperate with them? A few would not, but most would. Regardless, they should try.
On the flip side, I think the black churches should be a bit more universalist in their message. I don't think they should try to be more like Joel Osteen. Osteen is just a motivational speaker telling people what they want to hear in order to sell books and make money. He's part of the problem.
However, while preaching to the oppressed and the poor is fine, the Bible is about more than that. It's also about teaching people how to live responsible lives and condemning those who don't.
I think both groups want a church that suits their agenda and that tells them what they want to hear. Personally, I think both should sound a little more like the other. I think white churches should be not only preaching but doing more to help the poor. Instead of dismissing that as liberation theology and blowing their cash on these mammoth palaces in the suburbs, they should be dusting their Bibles off and going into the ghettos to build drug treatment centers, soup kitchens, and homeless shelters and using them to spread the gospel. They should be working with local churches (including black churches) in the ghettos to make it happen. Would black churches cooperate with them? A few would not, but most would. Regardless, they should try.
On the flip side, I think the black churches should be a bit more universalist in their message. I don't think they should try to be more like Joel Osteen. Osteen is just a motivational speaker telling people what they want to hear in order to sell books and make money. He's part of the problem.
However, while preaching to the oppressed and the poor is fine, the Bible is about more than that. It's also about teaching people how to live responsible lives and condemning those who don't.
