Churches of the National Baptist Convention of the USA make extensive use of traditional black music such as spirituals and hymns as well as contemporary music that features modern harmonies and rhythms. The perceived secularity of some varieties of contemporary music presents one challenge to member churches. The dramatic and visual arts are also significant to member churches.
William Black is quoted as saying, “A Poet, A Painter, A Musician, An Architect, the man or woman who is not one of these is not a Christian.” According to Scripture, these art forms are not determining factors of who or what we are, but they are a medium through which we can acknowledge who God is. Within the black Baptist community music, drama, and artistic expression are commonly used to declare devotion to God and are central in the worship experience.
Real worship is our response to God’s revelation of himself. Musically we respond through spirituals, gospel, hymns, and contemporary music forms. Spirituals link the past to the present and future. Many of these songs were born out of the despair of slavery and social injustice that had denied a real partnership in society and the freedom to experience America. Spirituals not only encouraged the soul but allowed for the passing on of information among slaves who otherwise would not be permitted to converse with each other. “I Couldn’t Hear Nobody Pray” reassured field workers that their prayer meeting in the brush harbor went undetected last night and that all was well. “Steal Away” not only spoke of a desire for a better land but indicated that someone was going to escape to freedom. “Go Down Moses,” “Wade In The Water,” “O Freedom,” and “Over My Head” were not only messages of hope yet alive, but a balm that soothed the black souls as they languished over the unfulfilled specter of their dreams. Today these songs are sung as specialty items or by college choirs.
The hymns of the black church include those tunes in the Baptist Standard Hymnal and are common to most of the Christian community. However, there is a unique form of hymn singing in the black church, a form that has survived every form of social adjustment and environmental change. This form is the meter hymn. Metered hymns were used in worship beginning in the early eighteen hundreds. The first collection of these hymns was published in 1897 by R. H. Boyd after being requested by pastors to provide a suitable list of songs to be shared by the pastor and deacons in prayer meetings. The three standard meters or patterns are long, short, and common. Long meter is represented by a line or verse being sung in a slow, unbroken pattern with the rise and fall of the phrase describing the fervor of pathos of the message. Short meter would require that the pattern be broken or cut off in short phrases allowing a responsive part to be sung in equal time and measurement. The reference to “common meter” simply points to the manner in which a song is most often sung. Originally, the texts of meter hymns were direct quotations from the Psalms and other portions of Scripture. In our more recent history words describing the desires and needs of humanity were incorporated, for example:
I spread my wants before his face and he spreads my rewards abroad.
Father, I stretch my hands to thee; no other I know.
If thou withdraw thyself from me, O whither shall I go.
I know I am a child of God, although I move so slow.
I’ll wait until the Spirit comes and move at God’s command.
Contemporary music is one of the newer forms of music being developed in the worship of the church. Generally, the words fit the style of traditional gospel music but the harmony makes use of the more recent jazz chords. Much of this contemporary music does not fit the traditional mold but is believed to cater to the younger audience. Urban contemporary music is filled with progressive harmony and nontraditional rhythmic patterns and is considered by many to be an overidentification of the worldly music scene. Many of the urban contemporary songs written for Christian worship are so vague in their verbal message and so lost in tempo and vigorous in meter that MTV and R&B stations play them as dance tunes. This music appeals more to the young but often lacks the soundness of content to serve as an anchor of the faith or as a guide toward spiritual maturity. In far too many instances a clear reference to God and his purposes is nonexistent. These styles are called by some “creative expression.” However, as Walter Nathan says, “Creativity is an ingredient in eternity, and time in timelessness. One can see humanity’s own creative power to be nothing less than its identification with the divine.” Some of the popular performers of contemporary music that have made positive contributions are Rev. Rance Allen, Tramaine Hawkins, and the Wynans.
Drama in the Baptist church has its roots in childhood memorization of Scripture passages for Sunday school, parts in plays and speeches for Easter and Christmas such as I’ve Found A New Doctor by Mrs. Maxine Vance, the acting out of the parables of Jesus, and creative writing projects of local youth ministries. In addition, oratorical contests sponsored by the National Baptist Convention are designed to increase the knowledge of our youth in the foundational truths of faith and practice.
It is said that “art and artistic experiences should create a deeper awareness of Christian faith, hope, and love.” Art serves as visible evidence of our religious heritage and heavenly expectation. A good example of effective implementation of art in a church setting can be seen at the Prince of Peace Baptist Church in Akron, Ohio. A series of stained glass windows have been arranged around the sanctuary area depicting the life and ministry of Jesus Christ from his birth to his ascension. Art as seen in the architectural design of buildings tends to be conservative. There is a strong desire and need to be identified as a traditional place of worship where the ordinances of Christ are still central while progressive programs are being developed to serve our membership and the community. While the building structures remain generally traditional, unique pieces of artwork are being incorporated into the decor, especially when Christ-centered messages can be projected and perceived. Regardless of the wishes of any particular group, religious art and images are given facts in a pluralistic society and cannot be ignored. A religious picture on a calendar may shape a child’s mental image of Christ long before he has learned anything definite about the Christian faith. Although there is a great need for an adequate theology of art, the arts are being displayed more and more within the church community because we realize that a large percentage of communication is accomplished through visuals.
Whether singing, dramatizing or using other forms of artistic expression, our primary purpose is to worship and glorify God. Warren Wiersbe simply says, “Worship is at the center of everything that the church believes, practices and seeks to accomplish.” God the Father has given his Son, the apostle Peter has declared him, and we continue to live out the desire of the apostle Paul, to know him:
For my determined purpose is that I may know him, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person more strongly and more clearly, and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from his resurrection which it exerts over believers, and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed in spirit into his likeness even to his death, in the hope that if possible, I may attain to the spiritual and moral resurrection that lifts me out from among the dead even while in the body.