The reality may not be that the black church is dead. Rather, it is coming to an end of its relevance. I need not to glance over the astounding impact that the black church has traditionally held socially and politically. However, today the church is now in need of the same revival that it has provided many men and women over the world. The church cannot save anyone. Someone needs to save the church.
The loss of influence the black church has is affected by other factors, of course. Stronger socio-economic stratification amongst blacks has certainly made the church less divisive and less unifying. While middle-upper class blacks begin to further exclude themselves from lower class and povertised blacks, the unity that the church possessed- as far as creating a space where a waiter and councilman could workshop together- has gone as well. The problems that black people have today are not the same forces that placed black people together in the past. Formerly confronted by the constant pressure of racial animosity and fear against whites, today our fears are very different. While animosities toward whites may persist in some areas, I assert that blacks are under more pressure internally. Instead of tensions held toward other races; a familiar, yet, distinct fear is held by blacks against other blacks. A middle class parent does not want their child playing with a povertised black, for various reasons- one of them is the assumptions about the upbringing and character of those "less fortunate." In fact, partial reasoning for blacks electing to move out to suburbs is to shake away from potential trouble apparently inherent in urban areas that challenge the rearing of their children. In addition to assumed child-rearing deficiencies, our views about opportunity have changed the way that we embrace each other. While previously, a waiter and business owner could bond with the reality that their contributions are likely to become squandered or marginally disrupted by superordinate, racially-discriminate forces, that is not likely to be the case today. The business owner, likely enamored with his successful business he believes he cultivated with hard work and discipline, will likely feel that a poorer man is not trying hard enough and that he lacks the ambition and drive to achieve. By contrast, the poorer man may feel that he has not been afforded the opportunity at the right time and that the more successful man is fortunate. The economic boom and expansion of the black middle class- where many black men and women were attaining great jobs and wealth- has created the illusion that success is attainable as long as you try hard, stay focused, and disciplined (and it is assumed that this is easy to do). Thus, it becomes assumed by those who have made it that those who have not experienced success have not tried hard enough, lack focus and lack discipline. Many people expect the church to maintain the ability to unify all types of African Americans. The reality that people tend to live and associate with those from similar economic backgrounds minimizes the churches potential to play a similar role that it traditionally had.
These convoluted realities make worshipping and unity quite difficult for blacks. The successful black man is certainly weary of the possibility of being asked for an opportunity by a gentlemen he is unsure will operate successfully. The potential for someone to ask for donations, time, and responsibility that this man may not desire can be the consequence for being successful. Confronted with challenges of his own- whether they are other organizations, jobs, or family- living and operating with those of less “fortune” appear to be unwanted work for the successful black man, and a burden he is certain to avoid. Black Americans who are actually from Africa are experienced with a similar dilemma. But, many of those who are successful welcome the opportunity to help, and those who look forward to the opportunity are willing to listen, learn, and take whatever the ones who made it are willing to give. The American reality- where people want everything they want for themselves- it is certainly difficult to create unity with a prideful poor man who wants for his own and wants to create for his own, and a rich man who doesn’t mind helping but doesn’t mind not-helping if arrogance gets in the way, which is certainly common amongst Americans. Americans feel entitled to opportunity, making an even exchange between "haves" and "have-nots" an event of conflict and discomfort.
The Black Church faces a much larger and complicated issue. While the church traditionally bore the load for those disgruntled by racial injustice, intra-racial tensions is not a specialty of the church. In fact, the church prides itself on the ability for them to side-step such distractions. The idea of the church doors being “open to everyone” and that “no one is judging”(which is a statement for fools) is an attempt that the church makes to suggest that they are bigger than social backgrounds. Though traditionally they may have been because everyone had been preoccupied with the larger beast in the room (racism), today it remains the elephant in the room. The church must ask: “How can I unify the poor and the wealthy without placing a burden on the wealthy and charity on the poor?” “How can we be honest about these issues in a healing way?” Though Chris Rock talks about this conflict in a humorous way in his classic tirade about 'black people vs. niggaz war', he understood that this was a big issue. Yet laughter always softens the blow. The church is dead because it’s torn apart socio-economically. However, the tear is not exclusive to economics.
Generational gaps will also contribute to the death of the church. As generation after generation get more liberal and more liberal, the church stays conservative and conservative. The generational effect, in juxtaposition with religious doctrine and catechism, is the black communities’ greatest flaw- domestically and internationally. Perhaps what has stifled Africans and those in its’ diaspora is its emphasis to follow tradition which can stifle change. Unfortunately, the traditional religious prescriptions that black people have are rare to change with the times to better-fit needs of its people. This can have unfortunate results-- the inability to make decisions that benefit the people in its’ particular situation, stifle them competitively, and creates tension between generations who grudgingly “suffered” through and those who desire to change tradition. The church’s generational issues occur through doctrine. As youth are developing physically earlier, encountering sexual behavior earlier, and exposed to more at an earlier age, the church doctrine still strongly remains against such issues. Secularity is something that the church desire to have no parts in. Instead of hosting secular parties as a way to bring members in, they stand against them. Instead, ministries attempt to bring youth together through gospel rap—something that reminds many youth of white people trying to rap in children's shows to appeal to black people because rap is “hip.” The majority of youth disregard it as disingenuous or unrealistic. And for the young men and women who are genuinely in to doing the “Lord’s Work”, they are hoarded and shown off to the older crowd; and unfortunately, groomed to become a traditional pastor. While this may still appeal to older men and women, those other than the young pastors’ friends and those in his immediate peer circle are likely to be unaffected by his desire for ministry. Once again, creating a separated circle, where those like-minded stay in the church, and others like-minded are secluded and partake in other activities. Evangelizing doesn’t work because it appears in the same vein as the men who sell hats and gloves- it appears that you are selling something, and today’s youth do not like to be sold ideas directly (which is what makes rap so subtly effective). It is certainly a task for the church. In a generation where things are only effective when passed through informally, how will the church get young men and women interested in listening (church service) and how do they maintain credibility? Black people have a very low tolerance for hypocrisy, how does the church rebuild its reputation in the eyes of the youth? Until someone comes up with an answer and saves the church, in addition to repairing the assumptions that elders have about youth, the church will continue to die just as it dies with Americans in general. Does the church detest mainstream hip-hop so much that they will disassociate themselves with the hip-hop generation? If the status quo persists, the hip-hop generation will disassociate themselves, thus, leading to the demise of the black church.
The black church simply has too many social problems amongst black people internally for them to have any answers to the problems that churches face. While mega-churches seem to have no problem because of its attractiveness, the smaller churches appear to have larger hurdles to jump because they are located within the heart of the community. If the church has no desire to address these issues, or change the methodologies of the church to fix and fit the needs and problems in the church, then it will die.
Additionally, I am not oblivious to other factors that contribute to the churches' loss in influence. The fact that many parents have lost control of their household also contribute to the general loss influence. As parents lose control- as those responsible for taking children to church- children are likely to carry on the disinterest they have in the church and are not likely to develop an interest as they get older. Though there are many more issues that contribute to this particular issue, economics, opportunity, and generational disconnect are factors that are the largest contributors to the predicament that the church faces when their relevance is questioned.
