Celebrating Black History: Amanda Berry Smith

“The color line was washed away in the Blood.” – Frank Bartleman

Without a doubt, the United States has been the birthplace of the modern Pentecostal movement. As we continue our celebration of Black History month, it is important to note that our history, the history of the Church, has been shaped by the contributions of Black believers.

Amanda Berry Smith

Born a slave in Maryland in 1837, Amanda Berry was the daughter of a slave who was able to buy his freedom and that of his wife and five children. The Berry family moved to Pennsylvania where their home became a station on the Underground Railroad. After her first husband was killed while serving in the African Regiments in the Civil War, Amanda remarried and moved to Philadelphia. There, she was born again, joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and received her call to preach. In 1869, she began preaching in churches and at Holiness camp meetings in New York and New Jersey, becoming a popular speaker to both black and white audiences. By the end of the decade, she was known as far north as Maine and as far south as Tennessee. Although she was not ordained or financially supported by the AME Church or any other organization, she became the first black woman to work as an international evangelist in 1878. She served for twelve years in England, Ireland, Scotland, India, and various African countries. She emerged as one of the A.M.E. Church’s most effective missionaries and one of the most remarkable preachers of the age. In the process, she opened the way for more black women to preach in the A.M.E. church.

Non Negotiables

All churches…and all people for that matter… should have some core values that are non negotiable. Storms may come and storms may go, but the rock on which your church stands will determine its ability to stand through trials and tribulations. At our church, we have 5 core values that define our culture, our mission, and our vision.  These core values are non-negotiables that we don’t debate and that we use as a guide for everything else.

1. The WORD – Everything must be built upon and supported by the Word of God.  We believe the Bible is a compass for daily living and that while individual actions may not always be clearly defined in the Word, there is and must always be a Biblical precedent for the actions we take and the decisions we make.
2. SPIRIT-LED – We should not be content to just be “effective.”  We aren’t looking to produce the perfect program or “great” classes.  Instead, it is our goal to build a church of individuals who are spirit-led.  We put a great emphasis on excellence, but following the promptings and urgings of the spirit of God within us is our first priority. We believe it is through our born-again spirit that God leads us, guides us in His paths and establishes Kingdom government in this world.
3. MORTIFICATION – We literally live and die on mortification.  This is the process of dying to your “mind of sin” and being born into your “mind of Christ.”  Through praying in tongues as much as possible, we edify our spirits and build them up.  Through fasting, we weaken the strongholds in our souls that empower wrong thinking.  Through individual worship, we empower our spirit to have dominance over the old thinking of our soul.  This is what we call the mortification process, which we believe is God’s primary process of spiritual development in New Testament believers.
4. FAITH – We believe that Faith is the currency of the Kingdom of God.  It is the primary language, social structure, and method of Kingdom business happening.  It is also the primary distinctive that separates Christianity from the rest of the world.  We believe that Faith in our sonship to God is the source of our eternal security, our present peace, and our future mission.
5. NEW TESTAMENT GOVERNMENT – We believe that the New Testament church had a specific government and authority.  Through Apostolic leadership, God is able to set a course that empowers all the gifts in the Body of Christ to be effectively equipped and matured.

Through these core values we execute the vision of God for our church.  While we frequently have changes in specific expressions of the vision, our heart is always to:

-       Teach people to walk by faith in the principles of God’s Word

-       Equip people to grow and mature to do the work of the ministry

-       Provide a place where supernatural manifestations of the spirit are prevalent to meet needs and set people free

-       Evangelize and transform our community and the surrounding area by providing salvation for spirit, soul, and body

-       Provide a model of ministry and church growth in order to develop and strengthen ministries and other churches

What are YOUR non negotiables?

 

Hey, man! Nice shot!!

I spend so little time in church compared to the time I spend with my family, friends, and co-workers. In light of that, my mandate is to influence them for the cause of Christ. Luke 14:34 says “Salt [is] good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?” One of my challenges is to determine how I can be “salty” enough so that those around me are left thirsty for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Over the years in my Christian walk, I have been more like the blast of a shotgun shell. I would “follow an unction” ( more accurately, an emotional urge) to fire a shot in someone’s  general vicinity from a long range. Collateral damage was inevitable and, frankly, bloody for everyone in the room. The truth is, while I gleamed over my prey’s demise, the seed sown had fallen on ground that wasn’t prepared for sustained growth (Mat. 13:19-22).

I think I will put down my old splatter gun and invest in some focused sharp shooting skills. On exam day, I’ll part a honeybee’s wings on a hound dog’s hiney at a thousand yards. Expert marksmen know how to breathe properly and squeeze the trigger for improved accuracy.  Mastering the call to love my neighbor, well, that’s a bit more complicated. I need to pray for God’s leading when I am determining the best person to try and reach out to.

Study the Word. God’s very nature is wrapped up in His love for His children. Loving my neighbor naturally follows from our Father’s example.  I find His desire for His children within the pages of His Word.  I will saturate my soul with the scriptures and when my mouth is dry and empty, His Words will pour from my born again spirit and satisfy their thirst.

It is so significant to be sure we are “walking the talk”. It’s cliché and it rolls right off the tongue, but it’s not so easy to do.  Real life is lived outside the four walls of the church. That includes real fill in the blank yourself. I mean real pain, fear, anxiety, emotional vomit, selfishness, etc. You’re with me! Don’t deny it.

After I say the things I believe God expects me to, I have to stand in faith knowing they will come to pass in their life, no matter what the circumstances are. One of my bigger shortcomings has been my lack of following up in a systematic and routine way. I am busy, so putting them on my schedule will help me move from the shotgun attack to the eagle eye, super-shooter God wants me to be. Building relationships with potential believers should require me to organize parts of my day so I can control the scenarios I am led into. Let’s face it, if I don’t follow through and show compassionate interest in them, then they know I am nothing more than a double-barreled blowhard and they are the trophy destined to hang on my wall.

What strategies has God given you for focusing in on some of the people you are in contact with outside the walls of your local church? Let us know by posting a response to this article on The Celebration blog. They will benefit all of us. So, let’s make a deal. I promise to work through these on a greater level. Will you?

(first published 08.16.09)