A friend complained to me, “You white Christians preach to us blacks the message of Fanny Crosby’s hymn: ‘Take the World, but Give Me Jesus.’ We blacks received Jesus, and then we discovered that you white Christians took the world.” In the past, white Christians have looked down their long noses at black churches as too emotional, too simple, too legalistic, too immoral, and too biblically illiterate. It was always easy to dredge up examples that proved the point; and the less one knew about black churches, the easier it was to universalize such notions. But times are changing. Evangelicals have much to learn about black churches. For one thing, evangelicals would be surprised at the strength and pervasiveness of solid evangelical and biblical convictions within the black church. Liberalism never rotted away the biblical roots of black churches as it did white churches. For another, black preachers simply outclass their white peers in sheer oratorical power. And again, for churches of comparable size, the musical programs in black churches are vastly superior to those in white churches in their expression of intense, heartfelt worship of God. In this issue, James Tinney explores the soul of black music and finds it beautiful.
Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here.
Our digital archives are a work in progress. Let us know if corrections need to be made.
Annual & Monthly subscriptions available.
- Print & Digital Issues of CT magazine
- Complete access to every article on ChristianityToday.com
- Unlimited access to 65+ years of CT’s online archives
- Member-only special issues
- Learn more
More from this Issue
Read These Next
- TrendingAmerican Christians Should Stand with Israel under AttackWhile we pray for peace, we need moral clarity about this war.
- From the MagazineFractured Are the PeacemakersA Christian reconciliation group in Israel and Palestine warned that war would come. Now the war threatens their relevance.españolالعربيةFrançaisрусскийУкраїнська
- Editor's PickWorld Vision Brought Clean Water to More Than 1 Million RwandansHow the world’s largest nongovernmental provider of the resource is delivering on its promise.