Food for Thought

IT’S TIME TO CHRONICLE BLACK CHURCH HISTORY IN THE UK

History is important.

It provides an understanding of events and developments of the past, and how it impacts the present.

Amidst Black History Month celebrations, it’s important and necessary to reflect on the history, development and impact of what is termed as Britain’s Black churches – those organisations started by Caribbeans and then Africans, who migrated to the UK en masse from 1948 and in the 1980s respectively.

Most churches founded by Black Christians in Britain are Pentecostal in doctrine, though some have established Baptist congregations and there’s the Wesleyan Holiness Church that has its roots in Methodism.

Black churches have a great history and it’s time for them to not only share their stories orally, but to chronicle their stories too – whether through audio recordings, books, photographs or video interviews, as well as with articles, blogs, social media, and media campaigns.

I have noted there has been a growing trend of Black church leaders writing their memoirs –which is great – but this development of writing down history and experiences has not filtered through to church denominations.

If history is the study of past events in relation to human affairs, then it’s important that church organisations commission people to write and record their stories, stating how their churches started; the role of key people in the development/growth of the denomination/church; how their churches helped to transform lives; and the impact they’ve had on the community and wider world. And, of course, to include testimonies of God’s role in it all.

When a church writes and publishes its history, it signals to the wider world that the story of how it came to exist matters.

The history of the Church as an entity spans over 2000 years. How do we know? There are legions of historical accounts about church history and written documents of key people instrumental in its development. 

Some of the people listed include Augustine, considered a church father; Martin Luther, whose 95 theses started The Reformation, leading to the creation of Protestant churches; John Wesley, the founding father of Methodism; and William Seymour, one of the key figures in the Azusa Street Revival, which ushered in the Pentecostal Church movement.

Considering the impact and influence of the Black Church in the religious and social life of Britain, historical accounts of its formation are needed to firstly add to the plethora of books and information available about the Church, and secondly – and more importantly – to serve as a record for future generations of the existence and achievement of the Black Church in Britain. It is Black Britain’s “fourth emergency service”, and the world needs to know why and how it came to be.

YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH

If you ever get to do a deep dive into the history of enslaved Africans, you’ll weep at the torture, humiliation, degradation, discrimination, pain, violence and terror they experienced at the hands of their enslavers.  It’ll make you angry too.

One of the enduring legacies of the 400 years of African enslavement in the Americas is the inferiority complex many Black people were left with.

It’s apparent, that when slavery was abolished, and even now, there are Black people who don’t think they are worthy or as good as anyone else, and feel their physical features are out of place in today’s world.

Thank goodness, then, that throughout that awful period of Black history there were some individuals who refused to believe the lie that they were less than human and, miraculously, believed they were made in the image of God and were people of intrinsic value.

One of the great things about the Black Church is that throughout its history, it has walked hand in hand alongside Black people during their worst times. And the gospel message it proclaimed gave people hope,  fuelled their desire to achieve against the odds, and provided them with community, values, support and purpose – all of which the dominant white culture tried to take away or undermine via enslavement.

Whilst we do not live in a perfect world, Black people in the diaspora enjoy freedoms which their ancestors could only dream, sing or pray about. 

This is why it’s beholden upon the descendants of Africans who survived the Atlantic crossing to keep on pushing, keep on striving, and to believe, because we are made in God’s image, and we are good enough and inferior to no one.

DEEP DIVE INTO GOD’S WORD ONLINE

Knowing God’s Word is a requisite if you follow God.

When I came to faith as a teenager, those of us who wanted to dig deep into God’s Word would, alongside our Bibles, buy massive concordances, Bible dictionaries, history books, and commentaries on the various books in the bible.

Now everything we need to have a deeper understanding of God’s Word is available at the touch of our fingertips.

There are websites that have every conceivable English translation of the Bible, free commentaries, and YouTube videos. Some organisations even provide free Bible courses.

One great website to visit is www.biblestudytools.com. It’s a one stop show where you can find different Bible versions, concordances, commentaries and articles.

There’s no excuse not to learn and understand Scripture for yourself!  Happy studying.