Reaching African American Males in Hartford, CT, Through the Use of Black Heritage Bible Studies
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Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Dissertation Projects DMin Graduate Research 2011 Reaching African American Males In Hartford, CT, Through The Use Of Black Heritage Bible Studies Stephen L. Williams Sr. Andrews University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dmin Part of the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Williams, Stephen L. Sr., "Reaching African American Males In Hartford, CT, Through The Use Of Black Heritage Bible Studies" (2011). Dissertation Projects DMin. 437. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dmin/437 This Project Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertation Projects DMin by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT REACHING AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES IN HARTFORD, CT, THROUGH THE USE OF BLACK HERITAGE BIBLE STUDIES by Stephen L. Williams Sr. Adviser: R. Clifford Jones ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: REACHING AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES IN HARTFORD, CT, THROUGH THE USE OF BLACK HERITAGE BIBLE STUDIES Name of researcher: Stephen L. Williams Sr. Name of faculty adviser: R. Clifford Jones, Ph.D. Date completed: July 2011 Problem For the past ten years, the Faith Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hartford, Connecticut has not been very successful at winning African American males. It appears that this is because a significant number of African American males hold the Bible as “the white man’s book” and a tool of enslavement that has no relevance today. This makes our traditional evangelistic approach and materials ineffective. Method The project was to (1) raise the level of awareness about the dilemma of the African American male, (2) examine the factors that have led to the negative stereotype and their unwillingness to attend church, (3) establish a biblical foundation for the development of a strategy to reach them, and (4) develop a model for drawing African American males to the Faith Seventh-day Adventist Church in the north end section of Hartford, Connecticut, where Faith is located. The project informed and offered practical skills on how to reach the African American males. It involved a six-week seminar meeting three nights per week covering fourteen lessons known as the Black Heritage Bible Lessons which teach the Advent message from a culturally sensitive perspective by highlighting a person or nation of color in the Bible. A graduation program was planned with an appeal for baptisms at the end of the seminar. The seminar was advertised in local community papers and though it was designed to target black males, no restriction was made as to who could register. All fourteen lessons were given to the registered participant at the beginning of the seminar, and they were told to complete each lesson before returning to the next class. At the end of the classes, all participants who attended every seminar were invited to a graduation ceremony where they received a certificate and a gift. Results In the project, nineteen men and eleven women registered for the Black Heritage Bible Seminar and fifteen men and ten women eventually attended. O f the men that attended, eleven came every night and graduated from the seminar, with three getting baptized along with four women. The Black Heritage Bible Lessons used in the seminar did highlight the fact that African culture did have an impact upon the Bible. There was discussion on Moses being described as an Egyptian (Exod 2:19), Egypt being a country on the Continent of Africa, the Apostle Paul mistaken for being from the same country (Acts 21:38), and that these two men are responsible for nearly two thirds of the books of the Bible. Conclusions A higher percentage of black men are attracted by the black heritage approach to evangelism than are women. Black history and culture was very attractive to the black male. A traditional evangelistic event would have attracted nine males and twenty-one females, while the “black heritage approach” nearly reversed the trend completely by attracting nineteen men and eleven females. Seventy-five percent of the people who showed for the seminar were black men, and forty-three percent of the baptismal candidates. So the percentage of men completing the seminar and graduating nearly tripled that of the females who attended and graduated, which is unheard of in traditional evangelism. Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary REACHING AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES IN HARTFORD, CT, THROUGH THE USE OF BLACK HERITAGE BIBLE STUDIES A Project Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry by Stephen L. Williams Sr. July 2011 © Copyright by Stephen L. Williams Sr. 2011 All Rights Reserved A STRATEGY FOR REACHING AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES IN HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT WITH THE GOSPEL A project dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Ministry by Stephen L. Williams Sr. APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE: t-S ____ Dean, SDA Theological Seminary Denis Fortin 3 1 £ o ly <3-0 11 Date afSptpvea DEDICATION This project would not have been completed without the encouragement and support of my wife Cellierose Williams. I would like to dedicate this dissertation to her and to my four beautiful children Stephen Jr., Natalie, Jonathan, and Jennifer whose very existence encourages me each day to be the best I can be as an example for them. I would also like to dedicate this to my mother, Ometha Williams, who did not live to see the project completed (laid to rest June 15, 2009), despite encouraging me on a consistent basis. Also, I dedicate this work to my father, Carlton Williams, whose affirmation and involvement in my life is ever a source of strength and stability. Finally, to my friends who continually encouraged me to finish this project, Dr. Ralph Peay, Dr. Dedrick Blue, Pastor Earnest Flowers, Dr. Kevin Jenkins, Dr. Jerome Crighton, and Sister Desreen Petgrave who helped with the manuscript, along with my sisters, Roma, Donna, Colleen, and Michelle, whose love and support are always evident, and my brother Carlton Williams Jr., who fed me and housed me whenever I came to Andrews to work on this project. 111 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS....................................................................................... viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................... 1 Statement of Problem.......................................................................... 1 Statement of the Task.......................................................................... 1 Justification for the Dissertation.......................................................... 1 Description of the Dissertation Process.............................................. 2 Definition of Term s............................................................................ 3 Limitation............................................................................................ 4 Methodology........................................................................................ 4 Expectations from the Dissertation.................................................... 5 2. A BIBLICAL RATIONALE FOR DEVELOPING AN AFRICAN- ORIENTED APPROACH FOR REACHING AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES AT THE FAITH ADVENTIST CHURCH IN HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, WITH THE GOSPEL.................................................... 6 Introduction.......................................................................................... 6 The Book of Matthew .......................................................................... 6 Evangelism Defined.. .................................................................... 9 Targeted Evangelism...................................................................... 10 The Great Commission—Matthew 28:16-20 NRSV.................... 11 Cultural Diversity Even in a Pluralistic Society.................................. 14 Marginalized to be Evangelized.................................................... 15 Jesus and His Attitude to the Downtrodden, Poor, and Disenfranchised............................................ 17 The Old Testament Prophets and Ministry to the Poor.................. 19 Ellen G. White and Ministry to the Poor........................................ 20 Summary............................................................................................... 22 3. LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................. 23 Introduction........................................................................................... 23 Slavery............................................................................................. 25 IV Racism......................................................................................... 29 Cultural Imperialism..................................................................... 34 M oses................................................................................................. 35 Worship Styles............................................................................. 39 Mentoring....................... ......................................................