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book reviews
289
Lester Ruth
Longing For Jesus: Worship at a Black Holiness Church in Mississippi, 1895–1913
(Grand Rapids,mi: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2013). xiv + 173
pp. $24.00 paperback.
This book centers on the life and vocational leadership of C.P. Jones, an African- American minister who in 1895 accepted the invitation to pastor Mount Helen Baptist Church, which was in Jackson, Mississippi, in post-bellum America. Jones was a strong, visionary and dynamic leader. He was not just a preacher but also an accomplished writer of over a hundred spiritual hymns. A spec- tacular African American leader that emerged soon after Reconstruction and during the era of Jim Crow segregation, Jones started pastoring Mount Helen Baptist Church, which leadership he later lost following a court tussle where some powerful lay leaders opposed the preacher because of innovations he introduced in the church’s liturgy.
Beyond the notion of a Black church in post-bellum Mississippi, certain relevant and applicable insights can be drawn from the book, with profound sociological and theological relevance surpassing the study of religion and the- ology. The first major insight is that institutional innovations and evolutionary changes in the church are made possible and constrained by macro-social and intuitional transformations that have been taking place in the United States. For instance, C.P. Jones’ emergence as a dynamic church leader and founder of a denomination was made possible by the Civil War, the subsequent emanci- pation of Blacks from slavery and the relative social and political opportunity structures that opened for Blacks after Reconstruction. These social transfor- mations combined with the indefatigable determination of religious and moral entrepreneurs, created leaders of the ilk of the Rev. C.P. Jones.
Secondly, in strictly theological terms, the expansion of Christianity and church growth is often accounted for by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit empowering people. Longing for Jesus illustrates that, churches in the African American community multiplied by breaking away from another church for various reasons. Some Black churches in the United States were subserviently incubated in the womb of White congregations. Later with social and political transformation in the country, they became independent, sometimes with the support of a White benefactor who provides land and seed money for the initial building of the Black church. Faith is as much an explanation of division of people in Christianity as are social issues and processes.
A third lesson and insight from the book is that worship in the Black church evolved out of a cultural synthesis of indigenous African heritage, slave expe- rience, European-American heritage and African-American experience. It is
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2015 | doi: 10.1163/15700747-03702007
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noteworthy that faithfulness in worship cannot be understood outside histor- ical, sociocultural and institutional contexts; just as Hellenism after Alexan- der the Great brought synthesis of different cultural and religious ideas which impacted Christian worship and theology.
Fourth, the book is a moral and scholarly reprimand of antiquarian histori- ans and sympathizers who unreflectively embrace all the public policies pro- moted by the founding fathers of the United States hook, line and sinker. Yet as the author of the book, eloquently pointed out, the founding fathers would have been aghast at the existence of independent Black churches and worse still, for the churches to be pastored by a Black person and not be institutionally affiliated to any of the traditional mainline denominations that characterized early American Christianity i.e., Anglican (Episcopalian) or Congregational. By 1776, the idea of a Baptist or Methodist church in the United States was totally out of the question. Thus, there have been major shifts inu.s.Christianity and church denominations as the country’s history unfolded.
The democratic spirit of the new American nation created a situation where, contrary to the mainline elite denominations where leaders are legitimized by the “long traditions of power and influence, led by trained clergy with impeccable credentials” (4–5), the legitimacy of the new church leadership comes from consent and affirmation by ordinary members, combined with the determination, dynamism and zeal of the Bible-inspired church leader. The new denominations that emerged at the end of the 19th century had a more populist approach to the preaching of the gospel and church ministry.
The sixth lesson and insight from the book is that denominational expe- rience alone is insufficient and quite limiting, important as it may be as a marker of similarity in worship. Within the same denomination, the worship experiences of parishioners vary along the following criteria and variables: the race, socioeconomic status, and the level of education of the congregation. In addition, it also depends on the minister and his or her vision for the church. Worship also varies with location, such as rural or urban location, stage of insti- tutional evolution of the church and the social conditions and situations of members.
C.P. Jones in his ministry tried as much as possible to follow Jesus’ biblical example. But soon Jones would find out that following Jesus in worship is not as simple as many Christians think. Commenting on this seventh lesson from the book, the author states: “How a church worship is not a simple affair. When worshippers arrive on a Sunday, the pews are crowded not only with people but with some of their deep religious commitments. What views do they have about God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit? …” (38). Some have suggested that what is generally true of churches as human organizations has proved common
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among black churches: “advancement in social class has tended to moderate the level of intensity in outward expression in worship” (35).
Insightful as the book is, at this juncture one needs to ask a critical question prompted by the very lessons from the book. If the Church plays such a very crit- ical and stabilizing role in the sustenance of the African American community, then given the serious problems and social maladies in many Black neighbor- hoods in the United States today, one wonders how effective the church has been in recent years in performing her role. This is not only a question that needs to be asked of African American churches but the Church in American society at large. Why is it that on the one hand Christianity has expanded and penetrated many spheres of American culture, yet, one can hardly say with con- fidence that American society has become more God-fearing and it operates based on the inspiration of Biblical truths? Whatever the case, this book will be relevant for anyone interested in the study of religion in historical and socio- cultural context.
Samuel Zalanga
Professor of Sociology, Bethel University, Saint Paul, Minnesota
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