Karl
Covington
ENG
3029/4120
Final
Paper
9
May 2013
Every
Day Will Be Sunday:
An
Ethnographic Study of a Black church as a discourse Community
“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
SETTING THE
ATMOSPHERE
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 am 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. It is important to view the black church as not
only a community, but a discourse community in particular because it carries
with it a distinct identity for a massive amount of American people. And
furthermore, I sincerely doubt that any institution has rivaled the black
church’s preservation of African American people’s history in America; which
seems to be a sort of spiritual, economic, educational, literary, and political
timeline of events that is still being added to today via discourse. In this
paper, I will be analyzing a 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. Because I will focusing
on only one black church discourse community (my own), any statements I make
for all black churches will be mere
claims based upon what I have observed in this case study. I will present some features
of a black church and present them as general truth for the black church, and show what makes it such a unique discourse
community.
WHAT
THE EXPERTS HAVE SAID
John swales, in his
book Genre Analysis outlines what he
believes to be six distinct characteristics they every discourse has. These six
features are:
1. A discourse community
has a broadly agreed set of common public goals.
2. A discourse community
has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members.
3. A discourse community
uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and
feedback.
4. A discourse community
utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the communicative
furtherance of its aims.
5. In addition to owning
genres, a discourse community has acquired a specific lexis.
6. A discourse community
has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and
discoursal expertise.
Though
for this paper, I will only be focusing on two of these features in particular-
the goals and lexis (numbers 1 and 5) of the black church, evidence of more of
the features will be evident in this paper. Indeed, the lexis and other of
Swales’ points, such as mechanisms to provide information and feedback will overlap.
Besides
Swales, I will be comparing my data and interpretations to what Ohio State
University professor of English, in her book A Community Text Arises, Beverly Moss states:
“I
have come to see the church as a community itself-not as individual church
communities…but as a broader cross-cultural concept of community. Conceptually,
the African-American church is a body of people with a common history of, among
other factors, slavery, oppression, faith, perseverance, and literacy (Moss
20).”
Here,
Moss introduces a concept that I hold throughout this paper- that church
discourse communities can be viewed not only as individual church communities,
but as broader communities that are more defined by common history, common
beliefs, and shared understanding, rather than jut common living area (Moss
20).
GOALS/VALUES
As a religious
organization first, it is to be expected that many of the core goals of the
black church are identical to that of its Christian counterparts of all races
and ethnicities. 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 the election of 2012,
President Obama’s stance on the issue of gay and lesbian marriage changed from being
opposed to it, to endorsing it; what is interesting about this is that
according to a Huffington Post article by Jaweed 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 planned to 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 actually a deviation in the hierarchy of values. 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 suggests 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, or there is
something that justifies them making an exception to the values on which they normally
vote. 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 because it seems like a situation in which
where some members wish to have their cake, and eat it too, I can see how it
can be considered hypocrisy. However, it is because of the members’ history,
that the advancement of African Americans in society is one of the largest of
the group’s goals/values. It is important to note that complexity does not necesarrily
mean contradiction. In fact, the Holy Bible, the discourses most sacred and
authoritative text, states that Christians are to pray for kings and all who
are in authority (1 Timothy 2:2). Furthermore in the Old Testament, the Bible
warns against speaking evil of the ruler of one’s people. This means that
regardless of who is in charge, and what stance they take on issues, Christians
should pray for them, and refrain from speaking of them disrespectfully. In the
case of the particular community in this case study, I can remember a member of
the community, who in rank, was second only to the pastor, praying for
President Bush almost every time he prayed corporately, though members while in
conversation on church premises, would remark at how bad of a job they thought
he was doing.
What
is of supreme importance here is that I think that the community of this case
study, and probably the black church as a whole takes gee’s feature a few steps
further. Gee states that a discourse community has
a broadly agreed set of common public goals. I think that this community has
beyond a broadly agreed set of common values that are public, more specific
goals that do not even have to be articulated publicly, or even written on any
community text, but values that members hold and agree upon because of their
shared history.
TALKING
THE TALK
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 ; she has been a
member of three different churches that had different denominations- the first,
United Holiness Church (UHC), second, Church Of God in Christ (COGIC), and now
Baptist ; 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........(four second pause) I know it’s/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 wow
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 L: minister,
choir director, and praise team member, rather than Ms. L. 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 in this short
interview.
Call & Recall and
Recall without recall
An important aspect of
the worship experience in black churches is the completely interactive
environment. It is not strange during a sermon for a congregation to be
ad-libbing, finishing thoughts, and even repeating words back verbatim to and
for the preacher. In fact, this practice has become so expected, that ministers
of my congregation recounting times speaking at churches that were not
predominantly black, first, mention how quiet it was while they were preaching.
In the weeks following
my final decision to use my church as a case study for this paper, I started to
pay greater attention to the words members used to contribute to the service,
as well as the way members used these words. What I noticed first are two
categories of what I’ll call ‘PF’, for participatory
feedback. One category covers word contribution at a time when it is not
asked for or required, and the second type falls under the category in which
participatory feedback is called for. An example of the second type came during
an observation on Easter Sunday:
Bishop
L asks: "heaven is a prepared place by who"
Congregation:
"prepared people!"
What's special about
this particular call and recall is that Bishop L set the question up wrong, yet
most of the congregation responded as if he said it correctly, either because
they knew what he meant, or because they are so used to responding in that way
that they didn't hear the error ( the underlined by should have been for)
. Either way, I think this peace of data demonstrates how category two
sufficiently, as well as showing how familiar members are with the discourse
communities lexis.
An example of the first
type of PF, can be heard mostly in
the late parts of this audio clip,
and can be most clearly heard from the women sitting next to me. If you are not
reading this from a computer, or cannot open the link for some reason, what I
captured in the clip is a deacon during Sunday morning corporate prayer and in
the background one can hear a host of faint voices in the congregation. Every
so often a distinguishable word said loud enough for phone’s microphone to pick
up, but toward the end, words from the congregation become clearer, especially
that of a woman sitting next to me.
A rich time for PF is during the sermon time of service.
During this time, preachers of black churches employ different words in
different functions, and congregation members comment and react all the while.
I was interested to see if there were any unspoken rules to this feedback, so I
decided to ask it in the interview I conducted.
K: Alright so, a part of my paper I'm gonna be discussing uhhh recall. You know, the preacher says something, people say amen.
L:
(giggles)
K: but its not so much a call and recall, its just a recall. the preacher doesn’t call for anything...
L: (before I can finish) you just say amen, amen….
K: ..ok so do you notice any violations.... [L jumps back in surprise] (laughter from a spectator)
Here, I paused the recording because at the word "violations”, she jumped back and looked at me with a surprised and confused look. I took the time to explain.
K: Ok so we just took a pause to explain what a violation is.
L: Yes (still laughing)
K: Uhmm.... what.. what guides those things, like…what guides when somebody is in violation or if they're not. Do they/ like, is it too long of a comment, too loud of a comment...uhh is it the wrong word they say.
L: Uhhh... uhh I don't know about the wrong they say. I think the violation of sayin' amen uhm may be due to an experience they have had maybe with someone or with a certain situation so I think uhm.. it’s like reading between the lines. Why are you sayin’...amen that loud.
K: ok
L: It’s obvious that you've had some kind of issue. (starting to chuckle)
K: Ahhh ok
L: Ok?
K: ok.
L: yea
K: that’s a... that’s a great answer- that’s a great answer...
L: Or, too, you're saying amen to say, you know, to really speak back to another person in response to whatever occurred prior to... the situation...
K: that’s very interesting...
L: yes
K: ok. Alright
L: (with a smile) I know about it
[We all laugh]
L: "Amen!"(mimicking how someone who was in violation for the reasons she explained would sound)
An integral part of her answer is my explanation of
what a ‘violation’ was. The way I got her to understand was by pointing out
examples of violations, and because of this, she did not cover mistaken
violations. In fact, it is clear that the violation of which she is explaining
is that of vocal volume, and from her poising the question “why are you saying
amen that loudly?”, I infer that she is talking about a community member in
violation; and according to the second to last line, perhaps herself.
Ironically enough, the moment I used the word ‘violation’ right after taking
about how members call out during sermons, without defining it, I was in
serious violation of a community value (refer back to Line 5 of this excerpt,
and notice the shift). You will notice how the interviewee and I were on the
same page before that point. The event that transpired in my interview points
to a value that runs through every level of the black church, from the lay
member to the pastor. In a chapter on code switching, Moss says this:
“…In black congregations no matter how educated the
minister or the congregation are, the minister must be Black. That is, he or
she must sound black….. Sounding Black is significant because it shows the
member is still in touch with his people and that he is still one of them (82).”
In my own particular church, I can only recall one
preacher in our congregation who does not ‘sound black’, and in the rare event
in which she does preach, it is usually less PF than the typical sermon. In fact, there is a white preacher who
comes about twice a year and preaches at our church and because he sounds black
(rhythmic tones, voice inflection toward the end of the sermon, etc.), the PF is on the same level as if the pastor
were preaching.
The point is, that this lexical code switching is a
part of the lexis which is inextricably tied to a community value of
solidarity. Therefore, it is implicitly required in order to participate properly
in the discourse. Though I may not have switched codes, I did say something to L that made her believe that I had
stepped too far outside of being a part of the community. She understood that
as an interviewer who would be analyzing the church, I had to be somewhat
objectified and removed, but the look she gave me was one that let me know that
she thought that I had ‘lost touch with the people’.
Another very important piece of the interview is
L’s comment about a person possibly trying to communicate with another person
through saying ‘Amen’ to something the preacher (or someone else on the mic)
says. This is interesting because it shows that not only is PF used for the purposes of back
channeling for the preacher, but it is also a means of communicating to other
lay members. What makes this significant to the black church as a discourse
community is that it means that members have invented ways of communicating
indirectly in a way that cannot be categorized into pure recall or response,
albeit used negatively in the case of volume level according to L.
Intertextuality
Another feature of the black church discourse
community’s lexis is the role intertexuality plays. It is present in the
sermons, the songs, the prayers, and even the everyday language of its members.
In Moss’ research, she found that all of the ministers she interviewed saw the
importance of the sermon as a verbal performance (148). In the case with my
case study, I have found that intertextuality is one of the biggest markers of
belonging to, or at least be associated with the community.
K: Now, so a follow up question to that would be if you heard somebody say that to you, and you didn’t know their background, would you assume that they were... they was familiar with uhhh your background, you know, the black church. would you assume or no?
L: I wouldn't necessarily think they we- uhh you know, part of the black church, but I would assume some kind of church background.
K: Ok.
L: (continued) I would assume that.
Above you’ll see that a member of my community
identified with intertexuality in the case of saying ‘amen’ or another word
during normal conversation outside of the community would be a marker that a
person has church background. She did not specify which type of church
background, so I must assume that she is not saying that she would assume that
they had a background with the black church discourse.
LET THE
CHURCH SAY AMEN
In conclusion, I want to re-iterate what this all
means. So what if the black church has a particular lexis, and goals, right?
What is important about this specific community, especially the language, and
how they use it to create and fortify values is that, as I said at the
beginning, it carries with it a living picture of what the African American
condition was, and currently is in America. The lexis and the goals, I think,
work hand in hand in this discourse very closely. Many people have pointed out
that the lexis and atmosphere of the black church project the culture’s strong
oral tradition. This may be true, but what is often missing out of this
somewhat sweeping diagnosis is why there still exists that strong oral
condition today. Some point to the lack of literacy in the homes of blacks, and
imply that it is because of this lack of literacy that the value of an oral tradition
continues. But I think that it is much more than that- The language of the
black church is geared to creating and maintaining a sense of togetherness, and
intimacy is has nothing to do with any lack of literacy. As you’ll see in the
interview, because I am a member of this discourse as my interviewee is, a lot
of the times she knew what I was about to say, and vice versa. Furthermore, you’ll
notice that present at the interview, though silent (for the most part), were
other members of the community. I did not invite them to the interview, but
because it was in a public enough area, the three members decided that they
would come and watch, and I will say that when my interviewee answered
questions, she was answering me directly, but indirectly to them; particularly
at times when she was telling a story or making a joke. So, although all
Christian churches can be considered a community, I think we do a disservice to
the black by not recognizing and viewing it as a discourse community inside
this community; Especially because, the discourse of this community has
influenced a fairly large piece of American culture as a whole.
LIMITATIONS
My limitation for this ethnography was my observation
of only one church. I did visit other congregations for this paper, but I did
not visit more than once and thus did not use anything from my observations.
However, from what did observe at these churches, as well as past experiences
at other churches, I do still feel that the black church is better considered a
discourse community as a whole, rather than by single, individual
congregations. Also, though I interviewed someone with diverse background in
the discourse community, the fact stands that she is only one voice out of
millions.
Works Cited
"ENG 1020: Inquiry, Composition, and
Reflection." ENG 1020 Inquiry Composition and Reflection. Wordpress,
n.d. Web. 08 May 2013.
Moss, Beverly J. A Community Text Arises: A Literate
Text and a Literacy Tradition in African-American Churches. Cresskill, NJ:
Hampton, 2003. Print.
Kaleem, Jaweed. "Religious Vote Data Show Shifts In
Obama's Faith-Based Support." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 07 Nov. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.
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