Black Baptists

Is that true in the US? It certainly isn't here. "General Baptists" here are those who believe that God's offer of salvation is general - they don't believe, as particular baptists do, that Christ died for a specific group of people.




Indeed, we don't tend to have local churches that are limited by skin-colour. I believe there are a few in London, but that is not surprising if the following excerpt is correct:

A BBC article on black worshippers in the U.K. says that people of African or Caribbean origin make up 2% of the U.K. population, but account for 7% of church goers. In London, they account for a whopping two-thirds of church goers (the BBC neglects to tell us what percentage of the London population they make up, though an Encarta article gives 1996 data that blacks make up about 6% of the London population—that's probably outdated, but at least it's something).



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That was an excerpt from: http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/archives/2005/08/the_growth_of_b.html Clearly if most of the church-going population of a certain area is black, it is not too surprising to find some local church where all the members are black, but I trust that if a white person came along to a service, they would get just as warm a welcome. Mostly, the black churches in the UK seem to be in London, and Charismatic.

 

It is not entirely clear to me that the OP asked about "General Baptists", inasmuch as the word 'general' was not capitalized. Are you saying that generally, usually, black folk are Baptists? It is not accurate to say that the denomination known as "General Baptist" is historically or predominately African-American.

If you want to explore historically black Baptist bodies in the US, look up National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.; National Baptist Convention of America; National Missionary Baptist Convention; and Progressive National Baptist Convention.

Isn't it interesting that in a certain era the word "National" became a code word for Black? Not just in Baptist life, but also the National Medical Association and the National Bar Association.

As for the phenomenon of all-black churches in the UK, I cannot profess to know very much, of course. But on a trip across the pond several years ago, trying to visit the churches my late father-in-law had served, my wife and I found that the building once occupied by the Oxford Road Baptist Church in Mosely, Birmingham, is now a Caribbean (read black) Pentecostal church. And a friend of mine here in Washington, DC, once served as pastor of La Philadelphie, a congregation of Francophone Africans in London.

 

As well as a very significant body of blacks who gladly are continuing such segregation with emphasis on their race as an identity for their church resulting in self-imposed segregation. Coming to mind is Barack Obama's home church:

Trinity United Church of Christ

 

The word general in many Baptist association names is often unwittingly undersood as descriptive not of "what kind of association" but as "what kind of Baptist".

The General Association of General Baptists is not a redundant name. The first general explains what kind of association, the second explains what kind of Baptist (General Baptists believe in a general atonement).

What is confusing is that particular atonement (regular) Baptist church associations often have names containing the word general (in the first sense) as well.

The word general in phrases such as "General Association" and "General Convention" has the meaning of "concerned with, or established for, the whole of a certain territory or organization; opposed to local, sectional, etc." OED s.v. general, def. 2.a.

Examples: The Baptist General Convention of Texas, the (Swedish) Baptist General Conference, the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches, and the General Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (formerly the General Association of the Colored Baptist of North Carolina).

 

I certainly don't agree that with assessment in whole, possibly in part but in isolated instances at best. Obviously it is not our culture that should determine our fellowship but our theology. Hence the self-imposed segregation by churches like Obama'ss that place culture over theology. But hey, the topic itself might be worth a separate thread. Eh?

 

Thank you for that information. Do you know if black churches in the US actively prohibit people with other coloured skins from attending/joining?

 

I know there are a lot of Black Primitive Baptists, some of whom are Arminians, and belong to the National Primitive Baptist Convention of the USA.

The other branch of Black Primitive Baptists seem to go in the Progressive PB direction (Sunday Schools, Bible studies, musical accompaniment, etc) with the two-seeders and absoluters sometimes belonging in one church with no break of fellowship.

My wife and I once attended an all-black Bible Baptist church in SE Washington DC back in 1998, and I have nothing but good words for them.

There was another First Baptist black church near our house in Maryland that we attempted to visit back then but I came out seeing red (curtains were red, walls were red, ceiling was red, bathroom walls were red, chairs were red, floor rugs were red, even the pulpit was red. Jesus' blood, maybe ?).:laugh:

 

National Football League.

:tonofbricks:

(ducking now for fear of being beaten up for my off-color remark.)

 

Albert W. Wardin's Twelve Tribes of Baptists in the US provides a very helpful guide to the diverse Baptists in the United States, including the "National" (Black) Baptist groups.

http://baptistsearch.blogspot.com/2007/10/albert-wardins-twelve-tribes.html



(Go Ron Paul)

 

Black Primitive Baptist

The Black Primitive Baptist I known are far from being Arminian, they still line their songs from the Lloyds Hymnal, most oppose secret order,one association the Northwestern has correspondence with the Sovereign Grace Association of Old Regular Baptist, Little Lotts Creek also preaches with white Primitive Baptist brothers,their doctrine is close to old line Primitive Baptist, there are some who would lean toward absolutism, but the Black brothers never split over those isssues like the white.The old Regular Baptist have churches that have mixed congergations but have never separated over color. Brother Slone

 

We have blacks in our correspondence, not only lay members but also Elders (preachers). They have been a part of us for many years, long before I came on the scene. Color has never been a problem at all, but must admit they are very much in the minority. Our doors are open for all blacks who would want to fellowship us, as long as we agree on doctrine and practice. I love to hear the blacks sing.

BBob,

 

Yeah and Amen to that. Especially those deep basses and those clear baritones, sung in acapella, from shape-notes songbooks.

God gifted most blacks with beautiful singing voices.

 

Well, I don't know if this is common across the U.S. but in the southern states it seems as though Missionary Baptist are now traditionally black churches. The church I got saved in is called Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church. It was an IFB church that never took Missionary out of the name. I found it comical that every time I would tell someone the name of the church they would gasp and say, "You mean you're going to a black church." :laugh:

 

Zion is also a widely used Black church name element.
Anyone know what the Greater means in a church name like Greater Mount Zion Baptist Church?

 

Tis true...most of the ones I know that have Zion are named Mt. Zion.