The privilege of doctoral studies at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is contingent on the following supporters, without whom I would not have been able to complete this program. York, your enlightening preaching book is what drew me to study under you at Southern. Bailey in your doctrinal preaching class and opened the door to the rich history and practice of African American sacred rhetoric.
And you have challenged me to a fuller, more textually grounded, Reformed view of eternal security. Robert Vogel, our conversations during your independent study of Hermeneutics for Preaching broadened my knowledge base and prepared me to research and write this dissertation. Michael Pohlman, your colloquia on Augustine's preaching and African-American sacred rhetoric gave me access to two very different cultures and pastors who ministered to congregations in very different eras.
Thank you for introducing me to brothers and sisters in Christ with whom I will enjoy the new heavens and the new earth. To the Parent Leadership Team at Windsor Road Christian Church, how grateful I am to serve with a "band of brothers" who love Christ and His church.
INTRODUCTION
K. BAILEY: HIS EARLY YEARS
Bailey believed that the God of the Bible existed and had a plan for his life. And where would his hermeneutics be located in the landscape of the African American pulpit. The Voice of the Black Christian Rapper in the Twenty-First Century Church (Guilford, CT: Rowman & Littlefield, 2012), 94.
Furthermore, Gilbert notes that one of the greatest challenges in the northern black church was indifference to the plight of the "exodus" blacks. Exegesis is the exact science of extracting from a text the meaning contained in the text. Bailey's sermon presented two main qualities of the Black Exposition: (1) sensitivity to the concern of the biblical author and (2) discerning the application of the text to the modern listener.
Osborne argues that since the biblical writer is not with the preacher in sermon preparation, how the meaning of the text is determined. In fact, in the Womanist district, the idea of "God's Word" does not limit itself to the sixty-six books of the Bible. A womanist understanding of the Bible's nature includes a type of mystical, experiential presence of the "God-self" in the preaching moment.
In the former, the interpreter lifts out of the text what the author has put into the text.
Louis Patterson, Jr.: “Godfather of African American Expository Preaching” American Expository Preaching”
Louis Patterson, Jr., Joy for the Journey: A Collection of Sermons from the Convention of the National Baptist Convention (Lithonia, GA: Orman Press, 2002). Patterson stated, "The problem is in the text, it's a sin, and the place of the problem is in the world. It presupposes content already in the text rather than fashioning its own meaning out of the text.
Myers, “The Hermeneutical Dilemma of the African American Biblical Student,” in Stony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation, ed. Mitchell is called the "Dean of Teachers of Black Preachers"59 and the "father of the study of black homiletics "60 named for his influence in the local church and academia. Evidence of these themes comes from the early days of the Black experience in America.
Mitchell, Black Church Beginnings: The Long Hidden Realities of the First Years (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), 24. Blackamerican” is Mitchell's own people-group description to name the distinct cultural, historical context of the African-American experience . King's pulpit was not so much an innovation as a continuation of the African-American pulpit, echoing the themes of the Old Testament Exodus.
The result of King's Pulpit was the recognition of black preaching as a tradition of the "Black American" experience. Mitchell would locate "superconsciousness" in the deepest parts of the human spirit, in the entirety of humanity. Bailey, “Church Growth in the African American Tradition: Final Paper Submitted to the Doctoral Program Committee of the United Theological Seminary in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Doctorate of Ministry” (DMin diss., United Theological Seminary, 1991 ), 86.
K. BAILEY’S TWOFOLD HERMENEUTIC
In his sermon, "Forbearing One Another" (Ephesians 4:2), he acknowledged a paradox in the family of God. 3 Bailey, “A Faith That Pleases God.” Bailey stated, "You can't run with the hare and hunt with the dog!". Bailey called it the “sharp edge of catastrophe.”9 He asked the congregation how they would feel if a physical examination revealed a previously undetected illness requiring immediate surgery.
In the sermon, "Introduction to Ephesians," Bailey's overview of the letter found the Apostle Paul in Rome. In "What's So Good About Good News?" (Ephesians 1:3-11), Bailey reiterated biblical fact as the basis of faith, while understanding feelings as that of "deep assurance." He declared: "The banner of joy spans the pillar of faith."36 He explained Ephesians 1:3-14 as a long and concise sentence. In "Our Human Dilemma" (Ephesians 2:1-10), Bailey introduced the sermon by telling the congregation how he was in a hotel just five miles from the Oklahoma City terrorist bombing at the Alfred P.
In the second move, Bailey emphasized Pauls "But now." He argued for the priority of one's identity in Christ as the basis for unity in Christ, regardless of one's ethnic, national, or social location. In "Experiencing the Presence of God: Part 2," Bailey preached Elijah's contest with the prophets of Baal from 1 Kings 18. In "Experiencing the Presence of God: Part 3," the text of Bailey was John 4:1-26, Jesus and the Samaritan woman.
Bailey turned and said, "It's amazing what people will adore." He repeated the text where Jesus claimed that God must be worshiped in spirit and truth. In "Breaking the Cycle of Unhealthy Fears," Bailey detailed 1 Samuel 17 in the story of David's victory over Goliath. In "Breaking the Cycle of Inferiority," Bailey's sermon examined three major figures in the Old Testament: Moses, Jeremiah, and Amos.
In "Breaking the Cycle of Domestic Violence: Part 1," Bailey thanked the church for his continued prayers for his health. How?" He noted the sentence structure of the text, the location of the main verbs, and attention to prepositions. He defended the narrowness of Christ's claim to be "the way, the truth, and the life." He urged the church to see that truth is inherently narrow.
It is 'his word in your mouth' according to Jeremiah 1:9.”2 Bailey's divine view of the Bible led him to preach so that the congregation could hear God's thoughts. Recall that in his first message in the series, "Experience God's Presence," Bailey invited the congregation to gather close and bring themselves into the sanctuary of Isaiah's vision of God.5 He prayed that their imaginations would cause the walls of the church . house to disappear.
