Thread of Freedom

There is an incredible, panoramic view of God's people gathered around His throne in Revelation
chapter 7, which states:
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

Recognizing that there will be one "great multitude" in heaven, I say we should get started on that now!  God desires, I believe, to express Himself through His people, and show to the world through though we might have differences - and all of us are unique - we can collectively reflect His glory. He has worked throughout history through the lives of people who are open to His Spirit moving through us, and it is certainly apparently through the African-American Church today, which is something we can observe and celebrate during Black History Month.

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We have been given so many wonderful cultural traditions, which, infused with Biblical truth, can be a visible expression of God's love and unity. Acts 17 states:
26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'

It is President's Day, which is celebrated the third Monday of February, recognizing the accomplishments of Presidents through our nation's history.  One of those, of course, is Abraham Lincoln, whose action to free African-Americans from slavery is a turning point in our overall history.

We also celebrate the accomplishments of African-Americans during Black History Month, which is also in February.  As a piece on the Christian History Magazine website states:

When we honor Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968), we also honor black Baptist spaces and leaders that formed him. When we observe Black History Month, we pay homage to its founder, Carter G. Woodson (1875–1950), from the Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, DC. First-ever female bank president and legend of the black freedom struggle Maggie Lena Walker (1864–1934) was a long-time member of the First African Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia.

The article is devoted to Black Baptists, but incorporates elements of the struggle for freedom, as well as the hope of the gospel.  The history lesson continues:

The Great Awakening of the eighteenth century introduced the power of the evangelical message of salvation. That compelling message led many churches to grow—chiefly Methodist and Baptist churches. Many new members were enslaved people of the southern states. The traditional religions of their African ancestors provided a foundation consistent with Christianity. But it soon became apparent that in practice, Christian slaveholders behaved inconsistently with the spirit of a religion focused on freedom.

But, during the first half of the nineteenth century, as the article points out, "By the end of the eighteenth century, white Baptists licensed enslaved men across the South as preachers." Examples included:

In Georgia the Buckhead Creek Church licensed and ordained George Liele (1750–1820) “to perform missionary labors among slaves on other plantations in the surrounding area.” He also organized the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia, with Andrew Bryan, and later became a missionary to Jamaica.

In Mississippi Joseph Willis—a free African—was licensed to preach the Gospel in 1798. He became the first moderator of the Louisiana Baptist Association in 1818, after serving as a pastor and church organizer. Another preacher enslaved from birth, “Uncle Jack” (c. 1746–1843), earned his freedom and impressed white church members during his Baptist ministry in the 1790s, mostly in Virginia. He was so captivating that a white Presbyterian minister, William White, wrote a biography about him, The African Preacher (1849).

I would certainly contend that the yearning for freedom from slavery intensified with spiritual fervor. Indeed, the abolition of slavery, as well as the Civil Rights Movement, had a strong spiritual component.  While many white Christians were intent on preserving the error of the past, black Christians were embracing their freedom in Christ.  The article goes on to say:

As an oppressed people, African Americans sought to challenge longstanding institutions of white supremacy; as part of the larger Baptist family, their energy and influence led to conversations about Baptist commitment to real freedom. 

Fast forward now to the twentieth century and the desire to see freedom in Christ, freedom from slavery, and freedom from policies that continued to treat African-Americans as being lesser citizens. An article at the Fuller Studio website, an arm of Fuller Theological Seminary, which included a reference to Acts 17:26, said:

Almost since the beginning of the Black presence in this country, African Americans have responded to a biblically based gospel that they have tested and proved. They have shared spiritual experiences and passed on the evangelical heritage with concern, creativity, and gusto. The development of Black evangelical churches and denominations stands as historical proof.

It goes on to say:

Black evangelicals have been neither deficient in their theology nor delinquent in their witness. Firmly convinced that Scripture is the Word of God for all of life, and aware of implications of the scriptural statement that “from one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth” (Acts 17:26 NRSV), they have long questioned and protested against the racist barriers that made separate Black congregations and denominations necessary.

The article points out that, during the time of and shortly after the Civil Rights Movement, "The 'increasing awareness' among evangelicals about being more socially responsible as Christians was stimulated either directly or indirectly by the clear ethical demands that victimized Blacks had been calling attention to across the nation." The author writes of an instance at a major conference in the mid-60's:

While attending the World Congress on Evangelism held in Berlin, Germany, in November 1966, those of us who were delegates heard many position papers that treated aspects of the Congress theme: “One Race, One Gospel, One Task.” Interestingly, and problematically, as we listened across ten days, we African American delegates discovered that no attention had been devoted in any position paper to the first part of the Congress theme, “One Race,” nor had any official paper about race been distributed for private reading. The Congress delegates had been drawn together from across the world, literally, and the vast assemblage—representing the largest ecumenical and evangelical gathering of the church since Pentecost, A.D. 33—reflected great diversity of backgrounds, nationalities, geographical locations, and color distinctions, and yet no major statement about the oneness of the human race had been voiced or written.

African-American delegates asked the chair, Carl F.H. Henry, if they could draft a statement about race. Those named included: "Robert 'Bob' Harrison, Howard O. Jones, Ralph Bell, Jimmy McDonald, Louis Johnson, and James Earl Massey." (It appears that Massey wrote the Fuller piece.) They worked "late into the night." The article says:

We wrote forthrightly about human equality as a biblical principle based on the oneness of the human family under God as Creator. We stressed the importance of agape-love in our dealings with all humans and the need to reject racial and national barriers that forbid full fellowship and cooperative ministry. Our statement did not offer any distinct strategies for dealing with racism, but our concern at that point was not to prod decision about strategy. Our concern was rather to give a basic statement that declared our biblical understanding of human oneness, with racism understood as a social evil, an unjust pattern in society, and a barrier to cooperative evangelism. As it turned out, what we prepared was viewed as the strongest statement evangelicals had ever made on the subject of race until that time.

You may recognize Howard Jones and Ralph Bell as two men who ministered with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Bell conducted a crusade in Montgomery in the early 1990's.

It's interesting and informative to consider the impact of African-Americans in evangelical Christianity and to consider how we can boldly unite as one body to impact a divided world for Christ. And, we can rejoice that, regardless of race, culture, and background, God will express Himself, and He expresses Himself to people and through His people in many cases through cultural traditions. Consider the vast array of musical styles or preaching styles - if God's truth is being related, we can find Him.

We remember that our cultural traditions should not be used to divide us, but to help us appreciate how God fosters unity even in the midst of diversity. Now, diversity has become a popular word these days, and that concept has been misused to divide people of different races and to force people to accept lifestyles that are unbiblical. True diversity occurs when we can appreciate our differences and work toward a common goal; Biblical diversity takes place when we see how God will work through our differences to produce common ground and unity in Christ.

And, through it all, through the years, God uses His people to win others to Christ. I am grieved and fairly irritated when I see people mixing it up on social media and spend time attacking one another over racial issues in the body of Christ. We should be spending time sharing the love of Christ, even toward one another, and proclaiming the transformative message of salvation through Christ, who heals and unites.