Black History Month

(I know February is a long way off, but it is time to plan services and secure speakers for that occasion.  This piece may help establish the importance of the observance for UPCI churches.)

American history contains the stories of many individuals and groups of people. When looked at by race, the group—-and the individuals of that group—-that have negotiated the greatest challenges and suffered the greatest indignities has been the black race. They were introduced to this continent as slaves, and have struggled against pride and prejudice ever since.

Because of these huge obstacles, it is all the more remarkable that the Spirit-filled church became a haven for African-Americans. The true church has always been a called-out people where race was minimized and the common bond of the Holy Ghost was emphasized. Many Apostolics today have no knowledge of these early realities among us and may hold opinions that are not accurate. We must call attention to these historical facts so that no one can deny them or try to move the trend in an opposite direction. The truth is that God has blended his church, not into a so-called “Rainbow Coalition”, but into one people of many races. Acts 17:26 says, “And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;”

As individuals, black Americans have had a great impact upon the Apostolic movement.

William Seymour pastored the Azusa Street Mission where the Holy Ghost was poured out in great numbers in the twentieth century.

Bishop G. T. Haywood was one of the most revered leaders of the Apostolic movement in its first three decades. He led the walkout of ministers from the trinitarian ranks. He was a powerful preacher, an eminent Bible scholar, a beloved pastor, a distinguished songwriter (he wrote “I See A Crimson Stream of Blood”), an author, an editor and publisher, and an organizational leader. When he died in 1932, his funeral procession in Indianapolis, Indiana was so large that it has never been equaled, even to this day. Indianapolis is one large metropolitan area that has never had major racial strife so prevalent in other cities. Many attribute this to the harmony between black and white fostered by Bishop Haywood.

Sister Willie Johnson was an evangelist in the forties and fifties who had explosive revivals and tent-meetings, many of them here in Ohio. She was known for her spirit-led ministry and her fearless proclamation of the gospel.

Other prominent black ministers included Samuel Grimes, Bishop Tobin, Bishop Morris Golder, R. Cl Lawson, William Bonner, S. N. Hancock, just to name a few. In 2002, the UPCI is home to many outstanding black ministers such as Chester Mitchell, Trevor Neal, F. W. McKenzie, Will Brewster, Moses Hightower and Felix Crowder.

As a group, the black component of the early Apostolic movement was disproportionately high. David Bernard says that the majority of the movement was located in three cities, Los Angeles, Oakland and Indianapolis, and that it was 25-30% black. Given the racial climate of the times, this was nothing short of miraculous. S. C. McClain, a white minister from the south, said this:

“I, being Southern born, thought it a miracle that I could sit in a service by a black saint of God and worship, or eat at a great camp table, and forget I was eating beside a black saint, but in spirit and truth God was worshipped in love and harmony… . While all Spirit-filled ministers agreed that with God there is not a color line and in the hearts of the people of God there should be none, yet ministers laboring in the South had to conform to laws and customs.” (A History of Christian Doctrine, Twentieth Century, A. D. 1900-2000, Volume Three, David Bernard, pp. 94-95.)

In the beginning years, the southern churches and ministers had not yet come to any conclusions on how to deal with the ironclad racial segregation that was written into many of their state and municipal laws. We do not deny that there were later developments that divided the whites and blacks into separate organizations. At the same time, we must remember that today, in most UPCI churches as well as in most PAW churches, both blacks and whites are welcome and fellowship across racial lines is not an issue whatsoever. The UPCI has a large and growing ministry among African-Americans. The Black Evangelism Conference, a UPCI event sponsored by the Multicultural Ministries of our Home Missions Division, attracts thousands of people every year. Also, our Foreign Missions Division has, for many years, sent missionaries to nations of Africa and other black populations of the world. The greatest influx of souls into the kingdom of God in the past two decades has been from black nations.

The outreach of the church must be universal, without regard to color or race. Tonight, we do emphasize the facts, thoughts and sentiments about our common black heritage in the church in honor of Black History Month. May our over-arching goal be to unite, not divide; to show respect, not dishonor; and to work together in the love of God and each other.

Comments

[ronda]

I attended Evangelist Willie Johnson's services at Chaplin, WV in 1981, she and my mother, Evangelist D.L. Cummings preached at the same church, in Chaplin, WV. Sis Willy Johnson was one of the original members of the Azuza Street church.