The goal of this book is to raise the consciousness of the state of being of the institutional church, and the importance of mobilizing the Christian church as a family preparation center for daily Christian living. For the African-American church, this means that the social and spiritual welfare of the congregation must be open for change. Serious attention needs to be given to providing adequate teaching and training on survival skills as well as spiritual empowerment. It is my desire that this book will aid all churches on how to have a dynamic, productive ministry beyond morning worship. The research in this book is not a model for African-American churches only, nor is it the norm for all churches in general. The book is in no way a thesis on all the problems and answers that the church must address in the 21st century, but it does offer some thought provoking ideas and some realities that we as a Christian community must confront and address.
The Importance of Mobilizing the Christian Church as a Family Preparation Center for Daily Christian Living
By Kenneth J. TateAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2009 Rev. Dr. Kenneth J. Tate
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4490-0563-4Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS................................................................................................................................viiABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................................ixI. INTRODUCTIONI.............................................................................................................................1II. THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN FAMILY HISTORY.......................................................................................................11III. TEACHING CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES TO COUPLES CONCERNING FAMILY LIFE...........................................................................45IV. TEACHING CHRISTIAN RESPONSIBILITIES TO FAMILIES AND HOW TO DEVELOP LONG RANGE GOALS FOR THEIR CHILDREN AND THEMSELVES.....................89V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................................................109APPENDIX A.....................................................................................................................................113APPENDIX B.....................................................................................................................................115APPENDIX C.....................................................................................................................................124SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY..........................................................................................................................131
Chapter One
INTRODUCTION
I want to say from the beginning that there is no such thing as a White church, nor a Black church in the teaching of Scripture. However, there are cultural differences, social behaviors, and historical conditioning of the mind that has caused chaos among races, religions, and churches.
I was born in Washington, DC on May 12, 1958. We moved to Jefferson, South Carolina to live with my grandparents when I was two years old. My father was a common laborer with only a fifth grade education and my mother, who had completed high school decided to divorce my father when I was only six years old and moved back to Washington, DC. My grandmother was left with the task of raising two young children and having to nurture a broken hearted son who's wife had divorced him after four years of marriage. I have often asked myself the question, how could my mother just walk away from our family like that? Why did God allow this to happen? However, I have learned to forgive and appreciate having a mother even if she was not a part of my childhood.
We lived in a run-down country house about sixty miles from the nearest major city. My father was self-employed and my grandfather was a country preacher. My grandmother was the musician in the several local churches that my grandfather pastored. My younger brother died suddenly at the age of five from asthma and respiratory infection. His death made a lasting impression on me for many years. I could not understand why God allowed my brother to die at such a young age. I will never forget that day, I was at school when I learned that my brother had died. Mr. Tim McDarous, my homeroom teacher came to my second period class to take me home. He told me to get my books and any other stuff that I had and come with him. The very moment I looked into Mr. McDarous' eyes I could see that something serious had happened. The Lord begins His work in different ways with different people. I have no doubt that on that morning, He began a work of grace in me. Even though, I scarcely had any knowledge of who God truly was, that day was the turning point in my life.
I finished high school at the age of seventeen, and joined the U.S. Army. I had resolved to change my lifestyle and to become the best soldier in the entire army, but the moment I entered my first two-day leave after boot-camp all my resolutions disappeared. I resumed my loose living even though I did not enjoy it, deep in my heart I longed to renounce this wretched life of partying, drinking, and chasing girls. I had sense enough to see that one day it would ruin me completely, but I felt no real remorse and cared nothing about what I was doing to myself. Working out, playing baseball, and indulging in sinful practices were my favorite pastimes. Despite my sinful lifestyle and cold heart, God had mercy on me. I seldom went to church after I left home. In short, I didn't have the foggiest idea of what it meant to be a Christian, to be born-again, to really be saved, to know what God was like. After getting out of the army, I finally obtained the desire of my heart. I had married a young girl by the name of Teresa Hough, whom I've loved from the first day I laid my eyes on her. During the course of our engagement, I made a promise to God that I would become a better person, thinking that somehow by getting married this would reform me. But after three years, I forgot about every promise I had made to God and I was as bad as before. I thank God that He made good on His promises. He promised to never leave me alone. He promised to be faithful even when I'm not faithful. He promised to be a friend that will stick closer than a brother. He promised to be the way, truth, and the life, God keeps His promises! One Friday night in an old country church some fifteen years ago God made good on His promises. God saved my soul and changed my life. Jesus Christ made a difference in my life. Christ not only saved me, He changed me, and then He called me to share with the world what great things He has done. It was only after the Lord saved me that I began to see and understand the potential and the challenge facing the African-American church.
Dr. J Deotis Roberts says in the summary of his book Roots of a Black Future:
"We have studied the history and sociology of the black family and have allowed our doctrine of the church in the black tradition to emerge out of context. The extended family has been employed as a way of imaging black church. Since our goal has been to make these two primary black institutions mutually supportive, it has been proper to use the family image in reference to a black ecclesiology. Since black families are the source of the black church's life and growth, the measure of its ministry to black families will determine the quality of its own mission."
These words act as a focal point for the aim and direction of this book. Roberts says, "Since black families are the source of the black church's life and growth, the measure of its ministry to black families will determine the quality of its own mission." In these pages, we will attempt to establish what the African-American family has endured, its history, the prevailing mind-set of many black people, and the course of action the church must take cooperatively if the problems facing black America will ever be dissolved.
As one who has pastored for over twenty years, I have watched families struggle with an assortment of devastating and debilitating problems. I have witnessed elderly persons lose all sense of independence because of illness, abandonment, and loneliness. I have witnessed the cries of black children in a...
