Interview Questions

The purpose of my research will be to show the black church as a community of people who have their own distinct lexis and language that transcends area and even denomination. To show this I plan on interviewing various people in my church in different age ranges and who hold different positions and levels of responsibility. I already have two people in mind I want to interview- one young women, age 29, and a middle aged man in his 50’s. I want to interview the young lady because I know her to be comfortable in, and a participant in a lot of the lexis of the church, and at the same time, be removed enough to answer any why questions. And the gentlemen will be extremely useful, because though he has been in the community for so long, is not a very outspoken member, and therefore does not participate in a lot of the language practices in the church setting. My assistant pastor’s wife is also someone I am considering, as she grew up in another black church community other than the one she is in (Church Of God In Christ).I feel I must use a conversational interviewing style with my interviewees so that they will feel most comfortable in asking questions, and therefore be most open and honest. Here are a few questions that I will work from:

·         How long have you been a member of this congregation?

·         Have you ever been a part of any other congregation? Was it apart of another denomination?

·         Have you ever experienced a worship a service in a church where the congregation was not predominantly black?

·         Do you use words such as “amen” outside of the setting of a worship service? Have you ever used in colloquial conversation? How does the person/audience react?

·         What would you say is the line that participation goes overboard

·         Try and define the term black church.

·         What is would your response be to someone who said that it is best to keep ones emotional responses to oneself in the context of church?

·         Do you think it is acceptable to “praise” in church as they would at a Football or basketball game? What do you think are the differences or similarities?

·         Would you find it odd to participate in a sermon where the preacher does not come from a black church background?

·         Tell me about one of your fondest worship experiences

·         There has been scholarly work that determined that the black church can be considered a mental wellness center, what do you say is the reason behind this?

·         Do you consider the way the black church conducts worship a simple preference, or do you feel that there should be elements of it in every Christian service?

·         Speaking in tongues in a church setting is a volatile issue amongst different denominations, what do you think of it?