Not really sure what number this is...

Karl Covington

ENG 4120

Introduction

28 March 2013

 

INTRO

 

“It does matter where you go to church, it does matter where you worship, it does matter where you lift your head, it does matter where you cry out to God. There is something about the atmosphere. I might be lame, but put me in the atmosphere. I may be drunk, but put me in the atmosphere. I may be weak, but put me in the atmosphere.”

 

-T.D Jakes

 

One of the most important aspects of African American culture is church. Frequently a staple in African American movies, music, stage-plays and even literature, the church , in the history and current lives of blacks today has quite possibly been the culture's most influential and recognizable pillars. The black church is a term generally applied to a Christian church predominantly made up of African American members. Being a member of a black church virtually all of my life, I was, and am still fascinated at just how much of a community the black church really is. There has been a good amount of research done on the black church, but a large part of it focuses socio-historic aspect. Furthermore, many sources that research the current roles of the black church socially, do so assuming that readers know both that it is a community, and what makes it one; which can leave readers with only a general idea of why the black church is a community. In this paper, I will be analyzing the black church as a discourse community according to some of the characteristics proposed by linguist John Swales as well as analyzing aspects that are unique to the environment. In doing this, I will present the features of the black church that make it one of the most cohesive mega communities in America; and in particular, tie the communities use of discourse into what makes it outstanding in comparison to the discourses white counterparts. For this paper, I will be largely focusing on data collected from my own church, Faith Temple, but I will also using knowledge gained from years of experiences in many black church settings.

 

GOALS/VALUES

As a religious organization first, it is to be expected that some of the core goals of the black church are identical to that of its Christian counterparts. The most important goal among Christian churches being what Christians all over the world refer to as the great commission, which is recorded in the New Testament book of Matthew.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

For this reason, the black church and most (if not all) of its counterparts have the shared goal of preaching and teaching the gospel in any part of the state, country, or region they are located, and baptizing those who desire to be, and in this, fulfill the great commission. In addition to local teaching, many churches, including my own, have foreign mission ministries that exist for the purpose of going to remote and/or hostile places and fulfilling the great commission. This single, over-arching goal is indeed what unifies all Christian churches, and it is responsible for smaller more church specific goals, such as being able to broadcast via web, or expand physically. What is interesting about the black church, however, is not that it has an entirely different set of church- specific goals, but rather, that it has goals which its counterparts do not have, and have never had. A good example of one of these ‘additional goals’ can be best brought out in the re-election of President Barack Obama.

In this recent election, President Obama’s stance on the issue of gay and lesbian marriage changed from being against it to for it; not surprisingly, as the Democratic Party as a whole has made pro-gay marriage and pro- choice (abortion) a part of their platform beliefs. What is interesting about this is that according to a Huffington Post article by Jaleed Kaleem, Barack Obama’s vote among black Protestant and non-Protestant Christians actually rose 1 percent from his election in 2008. This in contrast to white Protestant votes which dropped 3 percent. In my own experience, I was witness first-hand to a black church discourse community which supported and voted largely for President Barack Obama. Members of my community would remark that they did not agree with some of Obama’s policies, but ultimately that he was the right man to be elected, and thus they would vote for him. The fact that many- indeed more- black Christians voted for Obama, on the surface would look like a difference in values, and perhaps it is, but I think  it is more complicated than that, I propose that it is a deviation in the hierarchy of values. You see, the fact that members of the community I am a part of endorsed Obama only after clearly aligning themselves with the message of the Bible hints that they were trying to retain their core values.  This leads me to two possible conclusions: either members are simply trying to appear to hold certain values as to be politically correct (church politics), or there is something that justifies them making an exception to the values on which they normally vote (a presupposition I make in this section is that people-particular religious- generally vote on values). It is because I believe the latter that I have said that what separates the goals of the black church from the white church, and other Christian counterparts, is that it has ‘additional goals’. After it was announced that Barack Obama had won the election in 2008, Baptist minister and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, who grew up under Jim Crowe laws, was shown shedding tears. That night marked a historic night for blacks all over the country; it signified years of inequality and racism being politically shattered. Because of blacks being the target of such dark aspects of our countries history, more than any other Christian discourse community, blacks have an interest in the advancement of black people that transcends even the values that would come before almost anything else. Moreover, the goal produced form this unique value is the reason why black Churches across the nation continue to support Obama.

As an afterthought, I realize that one may say that members of the black church, who disagreed with Barack Obama on fundamental core values, while at the same time voting for him, are hypocrites. I will say that I see it as situation where some members wish to have their cake, and eat it too, and this, and nothing else, will be the cause of any hypocrisy.

 

 LEXIS

The category of Lexis is, in my opinion, the most distinct and unique aspects of the black church; and furthermore, I firmly believe that lexis is what helps the black church maintain its status as a discourse community more than anything else. Below is a portion of an interview I conducted with a member of Faith Temple who has been a part of the black church community all of her life; take special notice of the language that both her and I use and the way we use it.

K: can you describe to me your fondest experience in a worship service-- or one of your fondest experiences

L: ok one of my fondest experiences is....uhhm........(4 second pause here) I know its/it is church order to follow the program, you know, thats why... a lot of churches have programs but, when you go/ when the spirit of the Lord comes in where you don't/you cannot follow the program because the Lord is having His way....

K: (interrupting) His way, yea

L: (continuing) per say, yea

L: And uhm where you can’t/where the Holy... Ghost or the Holy Spirit speaks to every individual in the house if u open up your heart to him. And sometimes you don't even have time or need for a preacher per say to speak a word.

K: mmmhh

L: They don't have time to speak because the Holy Ghost is having his way.

L: And that has happened many times in my former church.

K: Really?

L: Yea, where the preacher/ the pastor couldn't even... he couldn't even say a word; matter of fact, I have gone there to speak- they asked me to come back and speak, and give a, you know, give a word- and I couldn't even speak. Because uhh the Holy Ghost was having His way, and guess what!?

K: what?

L: I hadn't received anything from the Lord.

K: oh wooww

L: And that's why...

K: (interrupting) cuz he knew...

L: right, he knew it was gonna take a different/ (to an onlooker viewing our interview and listening) isn't that something!

[All of us pausing to let what has just been said marinate a second]

L: (directly into the phone mic) The Holy Ghost is real.

K: (also directly into the mic) Amen!

L: Amen! (to the same onlooker) see... amen!

You may or may not be able to tell from this excerpt, but this is the point in the interview where the timidity and nervousness broke. Her tone in the beginning part of the interview was very careful and serious, but after this the ball got rolling so to speak. Consider the language: at one point in this excerpt you’ll notice that she even asked me a question [Line 10- and guess what?]! What I propose happened is that as she began to think about certain fond experiences she had in the church, she got more into the mood and identity of Evangelist Cary, minister, choir director, and praise team member, rather than Ms. Cary, interviewee. This resulted in line 17, in which she feels compelled to let anyone who might end up reading this ethnographic research paper that the Holy Ghost is indeed real, exercising an opportunity to share a value she holds while at the making the goal of the great commission as a community goal explicit, though not thorough, in this short interview.