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An African-American Theology of Worship

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African-American theology of worship arises out of a deep sense of oppression and a high anticipation of liberation. In worship, African-Americans experience the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, which liberates them from sin and the power of the Evil One.

Introduction

When African-American Christians gather for worship, regardless of denominations, they share a mutual understanding of God’s initiative in the call to worship. Although their experiences of God and life as a “marginalized” community of faith are varied, they share common needs and common perspectives on life. Worshipers come just as they are, in response to God’s love and grace, to praise God, to offer thanks, to seek forgiveness and wholeness, and to probe the depths of God’s divine mystery in an oppressive society. Worshipers come, well aware of the liberating power of God, seeking to be empowered by the grace of God, as their personhood is affirmed. The gathered redeemed fellowship—the koinonia—is the worshiping arena of the resurrected community of hope which will scatter as the diakonia empowered by the Holy Spirit to engage in mission and ministry in the world.

African-American Christians are by choice members of diverse communities of faith. There are historical African-American (or black) Protestant denominations and African-American congregations in Euro-American denominations. There are Roman Catholics, as well as nondenominational bodies, and innumerable sects, small and large. The worship styles vary within and between denominations so that African-American worshipers defy stereotypical descriptions of their styles of worship.

The theology of worship set forth here is based on a common history of a people who, having been called by many names, have chosen to call themselves “African-Americans.” This name allows a people socially and politically marginalized by the dominant culture in America to claim two heritages: African and American.

African-Americans in worship proclaim a faith heritage which is a synthesis of African, African-American, and Judeo-Christian traditions. As sojourners, they have entered God’s story at varying points in their lives, and they can together share their stories and God’s story through the lens of familiar love relationships. The gathering itself bespeaks the human need to relate, understand, and interact in an environment where common needs, joys, struggles, and hopes can be shared. Corporate worship allows opportunities for personal and communal transformations to occur. The environment of worship is also conducive to the sharing of personal testimonies of transforming moments that might have occurred outside of worship.

Experiences of God in life and meanings applied as a result of experiences, shape the lives of individuals and also help shape forms and styles of ritual action. Encounters with God, perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes which evoke responses are determined by the cultural context in which the faith is experienced. A basic theology of worship will necessarily explore the fact that God freely encounters humans contextually, wherever they are in the world. Enabled by the Holy Spirit, the human spirit is freed and opened to receive and objectify realities. In this way, people of African descent are able to know God implicitly before knowing about God.

For Africans in America during the horrid period of enforced slavery in a strange and alien land, the freedom to consciously transcend their finite existence was the only freedom that was naturally available to them. While functioning under the constraints of “bonded-servants-by-law,” slaves were free to experience the power, love, and grace of a liberating God. The oral folk method of creating, re-creating, and disseminating songs provided for the slaves a means of shaping and recording basic theological tenets unique to the African American experience.

Foundations for Theological Reflections

It is necessary to set forth some foundational aspects of the African religious heritage in order to understand an African-American theology of worship. First and foremost, there is no monolithic African culture. Nor is there one established canon of religious beliefs and ritual practices for the whole continent of Africa. There are a plethora of societies, customs, cultures, languages, forms of social, political, economic, and religious institutions, which account for separate and distinct societal identities. Many societies had well-developed institutional structures and kingdoms dating back to the beginning of civilization. In spite of the diversity, however, there are shared fundamental worldviews which shape a basic understanding of life, ideals, virtues, symbols, modes of expression, and ritual actions, which give African peoples a common sense of identity. Basic primal worldviews are known to exist and remain operative as new worldviews and cultures emerge and take root.

Most African societies share the worldview that humans live in a religious universe. Thus, nature, natural phenomena, physical objects, and the whole of life are associated with acts of God. (See John S. Mbiti, Concepts of God in Africa [New York: Praeger, 1970], chapters 8–13.) Life is viewed holistically, and this perception is distorted if sacred and secular are compartmentalized. African ontology affirms a state of interrelated belongingness. One is considered fully human and whole in so far as one BELONGS to the divinely created universe and lives in solidarity with, and akin to all that comprises the cosmos.

The North African heritage includes direct involvement in the shaping of Judeo-Christian theologies. Africans were vicariously involved from the time that Abraham came out of Ur and settled in Egypt through the time when the Christian church wrestled with faith statements. Africans were directly involved in the formulation of theological statements and creeds. Nine North Africans who were prominent theological leaders in these struggles included: Clement, Origen, Tertullian, Cyprian, Dionysius, Athanasius, Didymus, Augustine, and Cyril of Alexandria.

Many of the Africans who ultimately helped shape the theology of African-American worship were enslaved and brought largely from the west coast of Africa, from northern Senegal to the southern part of Angola. Prevailing primal worldviews evident in African-American theologies of worship can be summarized as follows:

• God created an orderly world and is dynamically involved in on-going creation throughout the world.
• Human beings are part of God’s creation, and they are therefore divinely linked to, related to, and involved with all of creation. This cosmological perspective undergirds an understanding of beingness (ontology) which is relational and communal.
• Communal solidarity is expressed in terms of kinship in an extended family. This involves an “active” relationship with both the living and the “living dead” or those who have died and are in the living memory of the community. This concept is often explained as a vertical and horizontal community where those that live on earth are in communion with the saints.
• An understanding of the holistic “sacred cosmos” which is relevant for individual and communal life must be internalized if one is to find meaning and purpose in life.
• “Cosmic rhythm” is an embodiment of divine order, harmony, and permanence, and is the foundation for the “rhythm of life.”
• Time is relative and cyclical and is governed by the past and a broad understanding of the present. These two basic dimensions of time (past and present) are connected by a rhythm of natural phenomena which includes events that have occurred, and those which are taking place now and will occur immediately. John S. Mbiti is helpful in his observation that for the African “The Future is virtually non-existent as actual time, apart from the relatively short projection of the present up to two years hence.” (John S. Mbiti, African Religions and Philosophy [New York: Anchor Doubleday, 1970], 27–28). Two Shahali terms, Sas and Zamani, are proposed by Mbiti to avoid the English linear conception of time as past, present and future. Sasa, the period of immediate concern for African peoples, has a sense of immediacy and nearness of time. Future events are likely to occur within the inevitable rhythm of nature, but cannot constitute measurable time. Zamani, which encompasses an unlimited past, is not confined to the English conception of past since Zamani has its own past and also involves the present and an immediate future.
• Space and time are closely related experiential concepts in which the same word often used in either context to mean virtually the same thing. Space, like time, is relative and must be experienced in order for there to be any indication of meaning. Just as Samsa includes contemporary life which people experience, space is determined by what is geographically near. Land, therefore, is sacred to African peoples, since it is the source of their existence and mystically binds them to those now dead and buried in the earth.

Africans generally understand and affirm the sacredness of God’s creation, the harmonious structure of the cosmos, and the fundamental need for human wholeness. Ritual action is one of the ways to relate holistically to God and to God’s world. Modalities of the sacred and of interrelational existence are revealed through the natural world and through cosmic rhythms which are called upon in rituals. In worship, the divine connectedness is “activated” through symbols and symbolism. For instance, water, like the land, symbolizes the origin and sustenance of life. Water is often understood as synonymous with God the Creator whose presence and continual creation is evidenced in large bodies of water, flowing streams, and rain. Water is also symbolic of a means of death and new life. Contact with water signifies a return or re-incorporation of finite life into the creation process. Water is used in many rituals, especially rites of passage, to symbolize cosmical relatedness, death of the old, re-creation, regeneration, and purification. (see Melva Wilson Costen, “Roots of Afro-American Baptismal Practices,” Journal of the Interdenominational Center 14 [Fall 1986–Spring 1987]: 23–42)

For African peoples, human responses through ritual actions are necessary in order to establish and maintain an ontological balance in a world fraught with negative and evil forces. Responses may be formal or informal, spontaneous or regularized, personal or communal. Certain divinely gifted individuals can determine particular forms of ritual action necessary at given “imbalances” or periods in the life of a community. These persons are identified by the community as “diviners” or “intermediaries,” and are called upon to “intervene or behalf of the community,” and to facilitate contact with divine spirits.

Worship is generally expressed vocally and physically rather than meditationally (Mbiti, African Religions and Philosophy, 75). The corporate worship of God is more experiential than rationalistic, focusing upon the communal sharing of reality, rather than simply transmitting information. In traditional African religions, God’s existence is not determined merely by a series of ideas which someone passes on to others. God exists simply because God can be experienced in all of creation. This is best expressed in an Ashanti proverb: “no one shows a child the Supreme Being,” which means in essence that even children know God as if by instinct (Ibid., 38).

Since worship is basically a contextual-experiential response to the divine, symbols and symbolic forms common to the community provide the most expressive means of communication. Through symbols that often mirror or re-present sounds and movement in the natural environment, the community is able to express what might be difficult to verbalize. Various forms and styles of music, physical movement (dance), gestures, and familial unity are common symbols of African peoples. Elements of nature such as water, mountains, trees, large rocks, and certain animal life are also symbols of God’s divine presence in the world. Just as in other traditions, symbols are born, adapted, and then die as new symbols emerge.

These, then are the theological foundations that were well ingrained in African peoples in diaspora as they continue their journey in God’s story through Jesus the Christ.

Exposure to Christianity

According to extant records, some Africans who would ultimately shape African-American theology were exposed to Christianity prior to their forced arrival in colonial America. Initial exposure was often limited to hasty baptisms in Africa in order to accommodate European laws regarding the capturing and enslaving of humans by other humans. “Emergency” baptisms are known to have occurred immediately before enslaved Africans were herded as cargo onto ships bound for the new colonies across the Atlantic Ocean.

Parents of the first African child baptized on American soil under the authority of the Church of England were an enslaved African couple “accidentally” brought to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. This was the beginning of the history of reluctant attempts by Euro-Americans to Christianize slaves while holding them in bondage. This history of Christian paradoxes provides substantial evidence of the need for African-Americans to shape a theology free from hypocrisy.

The majority of Africans in colonial America were forced to remain bonded servants under a series of laws enacted by Euro-Americans. With the exception of a few single baptisms recorded in 1624 and 1641, the largest group of (20 black) congregants during this period were hardly noticed by recorders of liturgical history. There is sufficient documentation to ascertain that colonists were not in agreement as to the mental and spiritual capacity of African peoples. For those who held a low opinion of the African capacity to understanding Christian tenets, the tendency was to discourage the Christianization of slaves. Some planters suggested that those who became Christians became “sassy” and unmanageable.

Heated controversies hastened positive and negative theological conclusions among Christian Euro-American individuals and institutions in response to questions about the evangelization of slaves. It is of significance that the questions evoked by the controversy concerning the “status of baptized slaves” in regard to their freedom were fundamental theological questions. First and foremost, what denotes humanity? And who is equipped to determine which people created in the image of God are human and which are not? The next question had to do with the meaning of “engrafting into the body of Christ.” Can anyone receive baptism in the name of the triune God and not be considered part of the body of Christ? Is one portion of the body better or more worthy of inclusion? Is this determination left to the mercy of human beings?

These questions were solved in law courts in altered forms in order to solve a societal problem which the newly emerging United States had created for itself. Sacred and secular were clearly dichotomized in order to enact a series of laws that legalized the enslavement and dehumanized treatment of human beings by other humans. Baptism, it is was decided, did not free Africans from their obligations as bonded servants. Following these decisions the evangelization and baptism of Africans in America proceeded with great fervor, with baptized slaves continuing in their degrading, dehumanizing roles.

Full church membership was not initially granted to slaves by their oppressors, nor were they fully accepted as worshipers. Attendance at worship was permitted by generous planters who made sure that this “questionable” portion of the body of Christ would not be able to interact with them. Since African-Americans had no legal voice in matters that affected the shaping of worship, clandestine religious meetings were skillfully orchestrated by slaves. In secluded “brush harbors” in the woods, out of hearing range of the slaveholders, slaves were free to share their faith experiences in an “Invisible Institution,” the first African-American worshiping church. Faith experiences were shaped by core beliefs, existential struggles, and revised African-American versions of God’s liberating activities with the Israelites and all persons who were willing to believe. An indigenous means of theologizing had been found.

The Great Awakening movement which engendered liberal and often unbridled enthusiasm in worship appealed to worshipers of African descent. Free and enslaved African-Americans participated enthusiastically in camp meeting worship, and concluded the evening when possible in brush harbors long after revivalists had pronounced the benediction. The praise of God was truly an offering of one’s total self in sermons, songs, and prayers in sacred space identified by the African-Americans. Secluded worshipers remembered and reconnected with God’s story as their journey was incorporated into the faith journey of Old Testament communities. Forms and styles of the elements of worship were fashioned out of the authentic expressions of an oppressed people.

Africans in America obviously did not arrive tabula rasa, nor were they unfamiliar with God’s story. The Euro-American versions of God’s story which they heard assumed that God had come only through Greco-Roman history. While the story of God incarnate in Jesus Christ canonized in the Bible may have been new to them, it was necessary to indigenize the Good News. Jesus of Nazareth, whose earthly journey was quite similar to that of the slaves, became, in reality, Jesus the Liberator. The worship of God in Jesus Christ in an oppressive church environment from the vantage point of segregated lofts and segregated pews was void of the liberating contextual-experiential so much needed by an African people. They needed sacred space and time to foster spiritual progress unimpeded by the hypocritical motives of confused evangelizers.

The Holy Scriptures became for the slave the most important resource document from which a new theology could be shaped. It was of course necessary for slaves to apply a different hermeneutical principle as their journey, replete with struggles and suffering, became the lens through which the biblical stories could be seen. Long before slaves were able to read the Word of God as found in Scriptures for themselves, the liberation stories which they heard convinced them that this was the same God that they knew from experience. If God could free the Hebrew children, Daniel in the lion’s den, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace, that same God could free them from the bondage of slavery. The Good News of God incarnate in Jesus Christ was a continuation of their journey with God into whose story they had entered. The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost when people from a variety of cultures heard the gospel in their own language was equally available to them. The help provided to free them to learn to read the English language added another dimension to the slave’s ability to interpret God’s story as the first step toward shaping their own God-talk.

Theology of Worship in a New Key with Indigenized Harmonies

African-American theologizing is grounded in the African primal worldviews cited above. Finite beings are called to worship by God who freely calls whom God chooses, God enters the lives and experiences of a people and frees them consciously to continue in God’s story. One historical way of documenting core beliefs about God in Jesus Christ is found in the slave songs. The gift of music and song remained available as the basic form of symbolic communication for African people in diaspora. Theologizing for the slaves was not the “systematic” task of any one individual but continued as a “folk-task” of the community.

While oral folk traditions are basic to the ongoing life of many cultures, the continuation of African traditional religions and the shaping of new folk traditions in a new world was the basic means of survival for African-Americans. Reliance upon basic core beliefs transmitted orally undergirded the process of shaping new, dynamic cultures and also became pivotal modulation “chords” for shaping theology in a new key. The well-grounded concepts of God, humanity, life, and nature provided the ability to respond creatively to the realities and rhythms of new situations. Syncretisms evolved naturally without reliance upon council meetings for theological discourses and final theological decisions. Concepts of God in Africa emerged out of experiences. Greco-Roman descriptive terms such as omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, transcendent, and immanent were not used by Africans. Nevertheless, experience had taught that God was all-knowing, all-wise, eternal, everywhere, above and beyond all, yet present. These concepts are especially operative in worship.

The “divinely stolen” freedom of separate sacred space helped shape a doctrine of the church ekklesia, truly called out by God. The estrangement and loneliness of slaves at the margins of a society that ostracized them were overcome in this arena as worshipers were made aware that they belonged to God and each other. The black church was initially formed as a liberating worshiping community. Its vitality has been sustained and continues to be perpetuated in proportion to the genuineness and continuity of authentic worship. The church functions as a living fellowship where the wholeness of persons and communities is sought and found, prior to its functioning as an institution. Separate places of worship, initially in secret, where time and sacred space were relative, ultimately evolved into separate congregations of African-Americans. Having their own sacred space African-Americans can find their highest values as they praise God, under the power of the Holy Spirit. Herein, divine power is garnered and strength to survive is granted.

The Bible, God’s Word in Scripture, has been and continues to be the major resource for shaping God-talk. Slaves relied heavily upon God’s Word as they responded in worship and in life. In the evolution of worship over the centuries, biblical stories are foundational for African-American faith and spirituality. Initially steeped in the King James Version of the Bible, African-American worshipers are generally hesitant about questioning the language, even where the imagery has a negative effect upon them. There is a growing trend for congregations to listen more carefully to the language of newer translations introduced by pastors and other church leaders who are seminary graduates. Recent scholarly studies and contributions by African-American liturgical, biblical, and music scholars are facilitating this process.

African-Americans have diverse opinions regarding the Bible. Common understandings include the biblical source as a record of divine history, a witness to the salvation that appeared in Jesus Christ, a record of human experiences which is relevant for today, and a source of truth concerning redemption and Christian living. The details of how this is understood are delineated by some denominations, and functional in the oral memories of others. Scripture does not always determine the content and sequence of elements of worship in all African-American congregations. Nevertheless, preaching is most often biblically based and is a source of inspiration for worship.

African-Americans continue to respect the role of the black preacher, called of God as spiritual leader, prophet, priest, and divine instrument through which God’s healing wholeness can take place. One of the gifts for which black preachers are noted is their ability to “tell the biblical story” and help bring the story to life for the gathered community. Like the African griot (storyteller and oral historian) the storytelling process is supported and encouraged by the community in a “call-and-response” fashion. The major impetus for familial bonding takes place as the faith community dialogues openly with the preacher during the sermon and frees itself for communal fellowship which continues in music and other acts of worship.

During the period of slavery, preachers were often the most intellectual member of the community and were therefore respected for their leadership abilities. Foundational materials for theologizing were presented by the preacher and then shaped in folk-style by the congregants. The shaping often occurred in the words of songs, stylized and disseminated both in worship and during daily work activities of slaves. Some of the “stuff of everyday life” and nature found its way into the music of the church, thus continuing the African mode of blending sacred and secular as a means of worshiping God.

African-American religious ritual action is often reminiscent of the African heritage in content, symbols, and symbolism. The greatest similarity, however, is the dynamic nature of rituals and cultures, reflected in the ability of worshipers to react creatively to life situations and peak moments in worship. Styles and forms will vary according to the needs and expectations of the particular community, as well as the nature of worship generated by the experiences of worshipers. For African-Americans, worship as ritual action is basically forged and shaped as an anti-structural means of functioning in a society that has attempted to structure African-Americans out of the mainstream of society. (J. Randall Nichols, “Worship as Anti-Structure: The Contributions of Victor Turner,” Theology Today 41 [January 1985]: 401–402; see also Victor W. Turner, The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure [Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1963]). Worship services, whether contemplative or ecstatic, are Spirit-led, liminal experiences of God on the margin of society where social status is elevated above and beyond the assigned definitions imposed by the larger society. Under the power of God, responses in worship allow a vision of the Almighty which inspires, transforms, and makes one whole.

African-American worship is uniquely experiential and contextual, incorporating in varying ways the understanding of a personal, immanent, and transcendent God who is worthy of worship. Worshipers stand in awe of the Mysterium Tremendum of God’s absolute presence, aware that God is trustworthy and “always on time.” The worship of God is made possible through Jesus the Christ, the object of the Christian faith. As the living embodiment of one who divinely overcame oppression, Jesus the Christ, God incarnate, is the “meeting place” or altar, where an encounter with God can happen. While worship may take place anywhere that humans encounter Christ, it is in corporate worship that African-Americans walk and talk, sing and shout, and experience conversion in an acknowledgment of the true presence of the resurrected Christ among them. It is not uncommon for worshipers to address Jesus as God in prayers, songs, and sermons. Beyond the “Jesus Only” sects, one finds emphasis on the absolute oneness of these two persons in the Godhead especially among some Baptists and Pentecostal traditions.

A theology of African-American worship is also reflective of an understanding of the Holy Spirit as the dynamic of worship. The Spirit is personal and direct, and not merely an “atmosphere.” The intimate, transforming power of the Holy Spirit enables salvation, life in the worship and work of the church, and fortification for mission and ministry. It is important in determining a theology of African-American worship to acknowledge differences in denominational polity and theology which affect ritual action and verbal dialogue about the Holy Spirit. These distinctions are most apparent in reference to the Lord’s Supper and baptism as delineated by various denominations.

The uniqueness of an African-American theology is the “liberation key” established in the tonality of the brush harbors, fanned and flamed first in African-American spirituals, and now also in black gospel music and “metered hymns.” This key is clearly established and sounded in African primal world-views which led the early folk theologians to seek separate places of worship. From these well-established foundations, the power of God is experienced in the community of faith, which leads them to continue to talk and sing their core beliefs in the context of lived experiences. Even when denominational differences create an aura that is unique and distinct, the African-American community can find a common plane on which to attempt to “walk as they talk” out of the belief that a divinely liberated people should walk upright, for the power of God is available to all who believe.

Philosophy of Music in African-American Worship

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Music in black churches an is an exuberant celebration of Jesus Christ and realization of the power of the Spirit. It is necessarily shaped by the unique experience of black Christians and emphasizes themes—such as the need for liberation in Christ—important to this experience.

Music has always been a necessary thread in the fabric out of which the human spirit was created. From ancient times to the present day, music has filled the gaps made by humanity’s attempt to express the inexpressible. As Debussy observed, music “reaches the naked flesh of feeling.”

This is especially true when considering the religious pilgrimage of the human race. Worship forms and practices have been designed to assist in humankind’s quest to find meaning and purpose. And music has been part and parcel of deity worship from the dawn of civilization.

The Judeo-Christian heritage attests to the importance of musical expression. It would be impossible to imagine the people of God without a song. Evidence is plentiful that music played an important role in the Hebrew worship of Yahweh. The Psalms attest to the importance of music in the worship of God.

Even though the New Testament church was composed of a variety of forms and practices, all of these expressions sprang from Jewish roots. The New Testament church was a reflection of Jewish forms. Even though the evidence is not as pronounced, we know that the early Christian church emphasized music as an integral part of worship and praise to God. In the early church, music belonged to the congregation, and Scripture makes many references to the practice of singing. Some of the most beautiful passages in the New Testament are ancient hymns, borrowed and recast by the biblical writers to fit a particular theological purpose.…

Toward a Better Way

One of the tasks of ministers and musicians is to monitor and examine the music of the church, specifically the music of the black worship experience, and to see whether or not the people of God are giving their best. Traditions must be constantly reexamined. An attempt should be made, not only to reflect the best of the African-American tradition but also to be true to the biblical model.

One of the purposes of this article then is to make contemporary black ministers more aware of the issues with which they must deal if they are serious about correcting abuses within the church that relate to music and worship. Such correction is an educational task. To accomplish this task, the reader must glean some understanding of the nature and meaning of music as reflected in the history of Israel and in the churches of the New Testament. The people of God have always been a singing people, and their experiences have always given shape to their songs.

Another purpose of this article is to take a closer look at the pastor-musician-choir-congregation relationship. Even though singing is not an end in itself, neither is it a means of filling in the gaps in the worship experience. Music is not to act as a piece of the scenic background. Songs should not be sung just because they are on the “top ten” gospel list. The congregation is not ever to be a spectator but, through a unique spiritual encounter, is to become a participant. The function of the choir is to worship as well as to sing. This article will take a deeper look at this complex set of relationships in order to aid the examination of the issues to be raised.

Still another aim of this article is to take a look at how the state of music in the black church has developed. Usually, cultural trends take place over a period of time and cannot be traced to any one cause. In studying the development of these cultural trends, my intention is not to remove from a black culture that has given power, substance, and life to black religion, but to preserve the best of the black faith heritage and to foster continual growth and creativity out of which its music was and continues to be born. One must not only speak of the past relevance of the black church but must also address the question of continuing relevance. The genius of the black slaves was in their ability to apply “contemporary hermeneutic” to the situation in which they found themselves. They did, in effect, “sing the Lord’s song in a strange land” (Psalm 137:4). To a large extent, the land is still strange. But a song must be sung.

A Black Point of View

When speaking of black religion, it may be an understatement to say that music has always been a necessary ingredient in the religion of African Americans. In this case, music has been more than a mere ingredient. It has been the yeast that has given shape, substance, and content to the black religious experience.

First of all, when one stops speaking of religion and begins speaking of black religion, that person immediately risks compartmentalizing the whole of the religious experience. However, it must be recognized that societies impose labels that have, to a large extent, defined the parameters of human existence. The people of various societies filter their behavior, view of reality, religious beliefs, and identity through different cultural screens.

Inevitably the question must be asked, “What is black religion?”

Henry Mitchell names some characteristics of black religion. First, he finds a uniqueness of black culture in the freedom of expression observed in the pulpit and the congregation of any given church. A second, closely related characteristic in the black worship experience is what he calls “ritual freedom,” that is, the spirit dictates, and not the printed order of worship, who shall participate, when, and for how long. Akin to this second characteristic is the freedom found in the music of black worship. The black church has “melodic license” and makes uninhibited use of improvisation.

African Roots and Influence

Even though much has been written in recent years about African roots, it may be well to identify some characteristics in order to say how the past has shaped the present state of affairs in the black church.

Miles Mark Fisher, in his book Negro Slave Songs in the United States, identifies some of the characteristics of African culture, especially as they related to the music and worship practices of the African. It might first be noted that religion, as well as music, was deeply embedded in the whole of African life. African thought was not compartmentalized and fragmented. The African’s view of the world was holistic. Even the distinction in Western culture between “sacred” and “secular” did not apply in African culture. Music was part of every event and experience in the life of the African. Music told the unwritten story of the history of a given community.

Eileen Southern describes the style of singing in African culture. “The singing style employed by the Africans was characterized by high intensity and the use of such special effects as falsetto, shouting and guttural tones” (The Music of Black Americans [New York: Norton, 1971], 14). In terms of musical form

The most constant feature of African songs was the alternation of improvised lines and fixed refrains. This form allowed for both innovative and conservative procedures at the same time: the extemporization of verses to suit the specific occasion and the retention of traditional words in the refrains; the participation of the soloist in the verses and of the group in singing the refrains; improvisation or embellishment upon the solo melody and reinforcement of the traditional tune in the refrains.

Dena Epstein seeks to trace African roots and contends that one must look in such places as Jamaica and the West Indies for additional sources. She says that West Indian accounts give valuable information about the music of slaves that could not be gathered in mainland reports. She concludes that “African music was transplanted to the New World by the second half of the seventeenth century.” Musical instruments in use at the time included drums, rhythm sticks, banjos, musical bows, quills or panpipes, and a form of xylophone called the balafo.

African Influence in the New World

The arrival of a few African slaves at Jamestown in 1619 was the beginning of another chapter in the history of the New World. The scars of slavery have already been well documented. The important point to remember is that the African slaves brought with them components of a culture that could not and would not be extinguished in the new land. This was due, in part, to the persistence of an oral tradition. Knowing this tradition is vital to understanding the continuation of musical forms and practices during slavery. (Note that slavery did not destroy these forms and practices.)

Even though slaves in the New World were separated from family and kin and from those of common tongue, the musical forms of African culture were retained. Wyatt Tee Walker (Somebody’s Calling My Name [Valley Forge, Pa.: Judson Press, 1979], 29) notes that

with no common tongue, the musical expression was reduced to chants and moans on the rhythm forms and in the musical idioms that survived. As the slaves learned the language of the masters, their verbal commonality became most pronounced in the music that developed in the context of slavery.

The emergence of what E. Franklin Frazier calls the “invisible church” was a logical consequence of the desire of the slaves to maintain continuity with the past, and the form of worship in the “secret meetings” was akin to the forms of worship in the motherland. In these services, the tone was altogether different from the tone of the plantation owners’ services. One of the characteristics of this tone can be identified as “call and response.” Southern (Music of Black Americans, 18) notes:

Modern scholars often use the term “call and response” to describe the responsorial or antiphonal nature of African song performance—i.e., the alternation of solo passages and choral refrains or of two different choral passages. Typically, a song consists of the continuous repetition of a single melody, sung alternately by the song leader and the group, or alternately by two groups. The importance of the song leader cannot be overstressed: it was he who chose the song to be sung, who embellished the basic melody and improvised appropriate verses to fit the occasion, and who brought the performance to an end.

Another feature of the music of the slaves was its improvisational quality. A genius of the slaves was their ability to create new songs from old melodies and to improvise upon various themes. Those who heard the slave melodies found it quite difficult to explain or define what they heard.

In order to understand the culture of black people, one must study African culture. In research done by Miles Mark Fisher, he suggests that music was the means by which the African people commented on their laws, customs, and history. “Folk historians” in every town were “living” encyclopedias. In various life situations, there was music: on the battlefield, in secret meetings, at marriages and funerals, at childbirth, in hunting, and in recreation.

Fisher concludes that five statements can be postulated concerning the importance of spirituals as historical documents. First, “the primary function of African music was to give the history of a people.” Second, “African Negros were transplanted to the Americas along with their gifts of song.” Third, “the first extended collection of slave songs was advertised as historical documents from the Negro people.” Fourth, “such an evolution of slave songs was perceived by diverse people.” And, fifth, “Negro spirituals are best understood in harmony with this historical interpretation.”

To deny that there are identifiable characteristics of black culture and religion and, therefore, of its music is to deny that any culture has an identity of its own. No matter how cultures may overlap and the degree to which they are assimilated, each culture has identifiable characteristics. It is also to deny the existence of various forms of witness within the “churches” of the New Testament. To affirm the expression of faith as given to those of African-American descent is to recognize the extent to which cultures have responded to the activity of God in the world.

Black Theology and Black Music

Black theology deals with how black people see God, the world, and themselves from the vantage point of the oppressed.

I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. I have come down to rescue them.… (Exod. 3:7–8)

Black religion is a response to God’s initiative, articulated through the thought forms, music, art, and customs of African culture. Black music comments on the history of that pilgrimage; a journey of sorrow, joy, despair, hope, frustration, and fulfillment.

The task, then, is to affirm the good in black theology and to offer correctives so that black theology may continue to address the needs of black people in light of their relationship to God and culture.

Historically, as has been shown, the music of the black church has reflected the theology of the pilgrimage of black people. Set within the context of the black church, the religious music of black people has helped to articulate the very soul and substance of the black experience, most especially for those who belong to the family of God.

In many instances, music has not only been shaped by theology but has also shaped theology. Not only may one speak of a theology of music, but one might also speak of the music of theology. There is no doubt that in the black church music is the lifeblood. Among blacks, music is not always compartmentalized into categories such as sacred and secular. In fact, the black church itself does not always see itself in light of such labels. Among African Americans, just as in African culture, religion permeates the whole of life, and so does music.

Here a distinction must be made between the folk religion of the black masses and the religion of those blacks who are part of a more institutionalized form of religion and have been influenced to a greater extent by white culture. It would appear that musical expression is much more significant among blacks who make up the middle- to lower-class structures.

Henry Mitchell also speaks of the “call-and-response” element in black preaching. To a large extent, the power of the sermon is determined by how well the black preacher can “sing” the sermon. Such matters as voice intonation, style, and sermonic rhythm help determine the success and popularity of many black preachers. Especially is this true among blacks who have made no attempt to “whiten” their culture.

This is not to suggest that black congregations do not value preparation, both academic and spiritual, and the content of the sermon. The black preacher must preach to the needs of the people. The preaching style only highlights the extent to which music is embedded in the entire worship experience of the black church.

To a large extent, a black church is judged by its spiritual tone, most often reflected in its ministry of music and worship. Often music is the vehicle by which the masses of black people are initially drawn into the community of faith. Many people join a particular church because that church has a “good” choir. Of course, that does not mean that such people, attracted to a church because of the music, are necessarily serious about the church’s real ministry, which runs far deeper than superficial attractions.

Evidence of Erosion

Increasingly, music in the black church has been separated from its theological and historical underpinnings. Instead of serving theology as a legitimate response to God and telling the story of hardship, disappointment, and hope, music in the black church has become, in many instances, an end to itself. This often fosters the goal of entertainment rather than the goal of ushering people into the very presence of the Almighty and sending them forth to serve.

J. Deotis Roberts (Roots of a Black Future: Family and Church [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1980], 114-115) offers a valuable insight into the proper understanding of the relationship between black theology and music. He says,

Our theological task is to supply a theological underpinning for meaning in black life. Black churches are now experiencing a great influx of black youth because of the popularity of gospel music.… But the underlying reason for the enchantment with the “gospel sound” may be a profound search for purpose and value in life. Gospel music is emotional and otherworldly. It has little if anything to do with finding meaning for life in a hostile world. Unless we are able to anchor the celebration in Biblical faith and personal and social ethics, our success story will have a short history.

More and more, music in the black church has become commercialized and packaged. Some of its lyrics represent poor theology, which has no place in black churches seeking to present the best of the faith heritage. As a result, the black church runs the risk of misusing this vital and necessary component of the faith.

Two of the responsibilities of the black church are to preserve its rich musical heritage as well as to create new music. One of the forms of this heritage is called the Negro spiritual. In many instances, the spirituals, or “stories in music,” have been abandoned, and generations of black boys and girls are growing up with no appreciation for black history as recorded in the spirituals. These “social commentaries” are yet relevant, for they speak today in a society in which both despair and hope affect the human spirit.

The music of the black religious experience was born out of struggle and represents genuine emotion and motivation. In many instances what exists today is an attempt to copy what has already been packaged and to bury the gift of the creative spirit behind electronic instruments and assembly-line lyrics.

The singing of hymns has always been a great experience in the black worship idiom, and often hymns sound different when sung in black churches than when they are sung in white churches. Frequently these hymns have been just about removed from the order of worship. Many choirs who sing gospel music loud and clear can hardly be heard when the time comes to sing a congregational hymn. Even when hymns are sung, they have been “gospelized” to a point at which their true beauty cannot be appreciated.

Another evidence of decay is the less frequent use of the old meter hymns, born in England, brought to New England, and adopted by blacks. They are a solid fixture in the black religious heritage, and the preservation of the meter-hymn style of singing should be ensured by our learning them from a dying breed of southern blacks and teaching them to our young.

The Abuse of the Black Heritage

Obviously, the social context of blacks has helped to shape and define their institutions. Systematically barred from full participation in the large society, blacks have had to develop support systems of their own creation. The black church has not only served a religious function but has been an all-purpose institution, providing social as well as spiritual services. Much like the synagogue of Judaism, the black church has been the center of black life. From it came self-help organizations, resources for extended families, educational opportunities, and political organizations. It provided a place for the free display of talent and potential that could not be utilized and appreciated in America’s marketplace. Those who were powerless had access to power within the black church. Those who had neither title nor position elsewhere could hold office in the black church. Those who could not release their feelings in the everyday world could be heard on Sunday morning. The black church was and is both a place of temporary withdrawal as well as a place to refuel for the journey.

Even though the sharp distinction between “sacred” and “secular” does not exactly fit the black experience in religion, it can be postulated that the rise of secularism in the larger society has had an effect upon the secularization of music within the black church. When gospel music came into prominence in the 1930s and was popularized by the recording industry in the 1940s, many blacks initially resisted this “honky-tonk” music, as it was called. Even though the advent of pianos and organs was initially seen as profane, the present movement toward drums, guitars, and tambourines has been seen by some as further contamination of a rich and glorious heritage. During the latter part of this century, the rhythm of the spirituals and meter hymns has been replaced by the beat of the gospel song.

Of course, it is not the use but the abuse of this music form that causes such concern. This is not to suggest that other forms cannot or have not been subject to abuse and misuse. It is to suggest, however, that the music prevalent in many black churches today more easily lends itself to the possibility of abuse, if the direction it is taking is allowed to persist unchecked. The worship experience demands discipline as well as freedom, which is a constant theme of the apostle Paul. To paraphrase Cullmann, Paul sought to balance the “free expression of the Holy Spirit” with the “binding character of the liturgy.”

It is necessary to continue to affirm the power and appeal of music in the black church. Just as the Africans were musical people, so African-Americans are musical people. In the black church, the two major attractions are still good preaching and good singing, although perhaps not always in that order. Already I have alluded to the way in which the preaching of the gospel is punctuated with musical intonations. The power of worship is in the music, and music’s importance must continue to be affirmed. Blacks seem to tolerate poor preaching if the services can be redeemed by good singing.

It must also be recognized that the masses of black people have been attracted to the churches through gospel music rather than hymns. However, it is still necessary to guard against the temptation to give people what we think they want without critical examination of what is offered and of what they need.

Pastoral Leadership

In the black church, the pastors have a great deal of freedom to shape, define, and influence the worship experience. More than any other person, pastors are expected to lead in worship. Their responsibilities include encouraging and insisting that the congregation give its best to God and overseeing the entire ministry of the church. Even though the pastors of black congregations may not be musicians, they must be in touch with the issues relevant to the quality of music that comes forth from the worshiping congregation. Unfortunately, the seminary does not always equip pastors in the development of a theology of church music.

One of the problems is that ministers often take a hands-off policy rather than be intentional as they engage in ministerial transactions within the church. The minister has the responsibility and challenge to define, interpret, and plan those areas that will absorb the resources and energies of the congregation.

Toward a Theology of Music and Worship in the Black Idiom

What, then, is black worship? It is the corporate reflection by black people upon the acts of God, who responds to the theological, sociocultural, and political needs of black people. A theology of worship must, then, reflect the cultural peculiarities of blacks, and at the same time, rest upon the biblical foundations that have historically shaped the direction and destiny of African Americans.

What, then, are some of the characteristics of black worship at its best? To ask further, how can one, in fact, test the following guidelines against the biblical and cultural norm? How does one determine whether the music that enters worship represents the best of the African-American heritage?

First, music in the black church must express the communal nature of the black experience. This does not mean that music expressing the desires of the individual should be rejected. It does mean, however, that the individual finds meaning through identity with co-sufferers, with those who walk the same existential path. James Cone expresses the individual-within-community concept when he says, “Black music is unifying because it confronts the individual with the truth of black existence and affirms that black being is possible only in a communal context.”

Cone’s understanding is in line with the biblical norm and the apostle Paul’s concept of the building up of the family of God (1 Cor. 14:3–4; Eph. 4:12). In the Corinthian passage, Paul tested the value of the diversity of gifts against his norm of edification. He said, “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.” (Although New Testament scholars debate the Pauline authorship of Ephesians, Pauline theology in Ephesians is evident.) Music in the black church must edify the family of God as it places the individual within the context of the community.

Second, music in the black church must hold in tension the emphasis on this world and the expectations of the new age. It must be “this-worldly” without being materialistic and earthbound. It must be “otherworldly” without being disconnected from the concerns of social justice. Music is to minister to the whole person. This is the task of black churches seeking to be true to their heritage. Some churches are not seeking to be true to their heritage.

Third, music in the black church must balance the freedom of the Holy Spirit with liturgical restrictions. Spontaneity must be tempered with a sense of order and meaningful content. Emotion in black worship must be affirmed, but emotionalism must be discouraged.

Fourth, the black church must continue to be a place for celebration, and such celebration must continually be reflected in the music. Blacks have always gathered for worship expecting celebration to happen.

No doubt music will always be a vital component of the religious pilgrimage of black Americans. As it has done in the past, music must continue to comment on the hopes, fears, disappointments, and faith of a people who still must struggle to “sing the Lord’s song in a strange land.” Just as the early Christians initially gathered each Lord’s day to celebrate the Resurrection, so blacks will continue each Sunday morning to share in that victory over the unjust social structures that still need to be dismantled, so that “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Rev. 11:15).

Carver, George Washington

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George Washington Carver (c. 1864-1943) was born near Carthage, Missouri of slave parents. He became one of the great educators and scientists of the early 20th century. He worked his way through Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, graduating in 1894. He accepted a position with the Department of Agricultural Research at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and began a 50-year career that led to many developments in the uses of such crops as peanuts and sweet potatoes. A Sunday school teacher and member of the Presbyterian Church, he believed that all of his discoveries came directly from God. His stature as an African-American scientist in pre-Civil Rights America was nearly unprecedented.