View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Carolina Digital Repository HEARING FAITH: MUSICAL PRACTICE AND SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP IN A CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCH Will Boone A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Music. Chapel Hill 2013 Approved by: Jocelyn R. Neal David F. García Glenn Hinson Mark Katz Philip Vandermeer ABSTRACT WILL BOONE: Hearing Faith: Musical Practice and Spirit-filled Worship in a Contemporary African American Church (Under the direction of Jocelyn Neal) Hearing Faith offers an experience-centered exploration of musical practice among African American Spirit-filled Christians—a group of believers whose core religious identity centers on direct experiential knowledge of the Holy Spirit. The dissertation shows how these believers use music and dance not simply as media to communicate about religious belief, but as practices that help them negotiate existential challenges and complexities. In doing so, it brings a new perspective to the thriving and contentious scholarly dialogue about black churches, and demonstrates how the methodologies of ethnomusicology and existential anthropology can help build upon and expand the advances of this dialogue. Hearing Faith’s claims grow out of immersive ethnography with one independent African American congregation in Durham, North Carolina, and additional field research with African American Spirit-filled Christians in central North Carolina and Houston, Texas. Chapter 1 articulates the concept of a Spirit-filled imagination—a base of intellectual and embodied knowledge that both guides and grows out of the community’s practices, shaping what worshipers do and value. Chapters 2 and 3 build on this discussion by showing how this concept operates in moments of worship. Six case studies—three in each chapter— explore how musical practice and the Spirit-filled imagination are used by worshipers to negotiate particularly complex existential issues (such as: the presence of levity within ii moments of gravity; the need to be empowered in a present that emerges at the meeting place of an imperfect past and an uncertain future; and the struggle to deal with unspeakable loss). African American Spirit-filled Christians embrace both Old and New Testament declarations of the mysteriousness of human life. They frequently declare that “God’s ways are not our ways,” and that “For now we see through a glass, darkly.” Hearing Faith claims that working to better understand how these believers use musical practice to edify and empower themselves in the face of such inscrutability can illuminate a process familiar to most humans, that of negotiating the twin necessities of accepting the depth of life’s mysteries and acting in the face of those mysteries. iii To WTB, Sr. and JOP, Jr., guides in blood and spirit. For AHB iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My family comes first. Nothing was as crucial to this project as the love, comfort, and strength given to me by my wife, Carrie. My son, Huck, and daughter, Maggie, have given me boundless joy and hope. My mother and father always encouraged me to pursue whatever I was passionate about as far as I could. The blessing of their love and multifaceted support is immeasurable. My only regret with Hearing Faith is that I did not finish it before my mother passed away in April of 2013. I continue to lean on what she imparted to my life, though, and without that, I never could have continued on to see this project finished in the wake of losing her. I am also deeply grateful for my sister, Sarah, who has inspired me with her strength and wisdom as far back as I can remember. The saints at Faith Assembly Christian Center are at the center of this dissertation. For over a decade they have embraced me as part of their church family, and they have continually enriched my life with wisdom, comfort, humor, and so much more. Without their conversation, support, and fellowship this project never would have happened. Dr. Bishop Leroy McKenzie III—the church’s founder and visionary—deserves far more acknowledgment than there is space to give him here. Our relationship generated an energy that has been a primary driving force in this dissertation. I am writing this almost a year after his death, and not a day has passed since then that I have not been keenly aware of both his presence in and absence from my life. Pastor Mary McKenzie, one of the wisest and most v powerful people I have ever known, has also touched my life and the current work in uncountable ways. Pastor Garry Mitchell has provided abundant insight to Hearing Faith as well, and I remained awed by his many gifts. I feel a special grace every time he opens his mouth to sing. The many church musicians I have had the good fortune to play with, talk to, and hang out with have all been essential to this project. Demond Devane, with his beautiful humble spirit and incredible musical abilities, changed my life. When he asked me in 2002 if I was interested in playing in a black church, I am sure he had no idea that 11 years later, black church music would be at the center of my life and career. Zack Reynolds, another incredible musician, also deserves special mention, not only for our musical connections, but also for his perpetual willingness to talk with me about black church music, and the crucial insights that these conversations always provide. I have also been blessed to perform with: Pastor Wade Sams, Rico Turrentine, Jose Umstead, Timothy Cooper, Vince McKoy, Joell Dixon, Damian Hart, D’Wayne Wilkins, Todd Turner, Sylvester Howell, Pastor Greg Drumwright, Mitch Hines, Freedom Hester, Jemone Durante, Will Oliver, Demetrice Everett, DJ Rang, and many others. I must acknowledge the church leaders and musicians that worked with me in Houston, Texas in the summer of 2010. Dr. Theola Booker deserves special thanks for welcoming me into her church and her home and spending many hours talking with me about gospel music. Dr. Albert Lemons also graciously shared his time and gospel music knowledge. I am grateful to James Fortune and the music department at Higher Dimension Church for allowing me to sit in on several rehearsals. I offer special gratitude to their music director, Ay’ron Lewis, for taking the time to talk with me and answer emails. I was inspired vi not only by his unbelievable gifts as a musician, leader, and producer, but also by his kindness. Daniel Johnson also shared much time and insight with me and allowed me to attend rehearsals at St. John’s Downtown Church. Pamela Davis, director of Worship and Arts at the Fountain of Praise, was similarly giving with her time and knowledge, and welcomed me to rehearsals at her church. And to the many other churches in Houston that welcomed me into their sanctuaries and the people in those churches that took time to speak with me, thank you. Generous support from the Graduate School at the University of North Carolina, the DK Wilgus Fellowship, and the Center for the Study of the American South has been essential to the completion of Hearing Faith. My advisor, Jocelyn R. Neal, has offered incisive and insightful feedback throughout the long process of this dissertation. She has repeatedly performed the difficult but crucial task of bringing my cloud-bound prose and argumentation back down to earth. Thanks also to my committee members, David F. García, Glenn Hinson, Mark Katz, and Philip Vandermeer for their insight and guidance. The challenges of writing this dissertation would have certainly been insurmountable without the camaraderie of my fellow graduate students at UNC. I cannot list you all here, but your friendship and fellowship have been one of the true joys of this process. Many conversation partners at conferences and other academic gatherings have also been incredibly helpful in working out and clarifying the ideas in this work. They are too numerous to list, but I need to give special acknowledgment to Monique Ingalls for her kindness and insight, and for opening many doors for me; and also to my UNC colleague, Josh Busman, for sharp, spot-on critical feedback, and for being a walking bibliography. vii Extra-curricular help from people who were not explicitly connected to the project kept me grounded. Justin Follin is the world’s greatest conversationalist and one of the best songwriters I know. Emma and Olivia at Davenport and Winkleperry in Pittsboro, NC provided me with coffee and allowed me to make the table by the window my own personal office. And Karl Mann and the Open Mic community at the City Tap in Pittsboro provided inspiration, laughs, and wonderfully effective stress relief. Finally, I humbly and reverently acknowledge with gratitude the love that endures forever, and the many answered prayers and moments of incomprehensible grace without which I would have never “made it through.” viii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………………....xi LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………………….xii INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………….1 Why Music?.............................................................................................................7 Musical Practice and Processes of Negotiation……………………………….....11 Stance and Identity in “The Field”……………………………………………… 15 Methods…………………………………………………………………………. 39 Scholarship on Black Gospel Music……………………………………………. 48 Chapter Summaries………………………………………………………………51 CHAPTER