40,000 National Baptists Convene in Detroit

This week an estimate 40,000 African-American Baptists met in Detroit, Michigan for the 104th annual session of the

National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. The National Baptist Convention USA Inc. is one of the largest religious groups among African-Americans.  It is comprised of over 8.3 million Baptists in over 41,000 Baptist churches.  The National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. is the second largest Baptist organization in the world.

Unfortunately, there has been very little coverage of this gathering that has attracted around 40,000 Baptists to Detroit.  Those are some big numbers when compared with the 8,800 Baptists that convened in Louisville for the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention.  Most of the news coverage relating to this Baptist gathering deals exclusively with complaints about a downtown hotel that was short on towels and other basic amenities and lacked working AC.  See Upset Baptist Conventioneers Leave Hotel.

There are two articles worthy of your attention:

Baptist Churches Seek Revival: 40,000 expected at convention in Detroit

National Convention Brings Together Baptists

Here are a few snippets:

Detroit — AIDS among church members, pastors’ compensation and whether women should be preachers are among the topics to be discussed at the National Baptist Convention’s 104th annual session starting Monday at Cobo Center.

…An estimated 40,000 members of the National Baptist Convention, the nation’s oldest and largest African-American religious group, will meet through Friday, organizers said.  The convention is expected to pump about $50 million into the local economy through hotel stays, restaurants, cabs and other services, Detroit Convention and Visitors Bureau spokeswoman Renee Monforton said.

…In addition to discussing key religious topics, the convention will also provide free medical screening during two events.  “(Health workshops have) been a strong emphasis because large numbers of African-Americans suffer disproportionately with certain ailments,” Branch said.  For the Rev. Robert Smith, the convention is an opportunity to discuss how churches in the Detroit area and around the country are struggling amid an anemic economy. He said it also will be a chance to brainstorm on how ministers can get the faithful back in the pews.

“The African-American church … is always wrestling with the question of relevance,” said the Rev. E.L. Branch, pastor at Third New Hope, host church for the convention. Yet, he added, it “remains one of the key anchors.”  But the Baptist denomination faces challenges it will have to deal with in coming years, ministers and experts say.

Some congregants who were raised Baptist are leaving for nondenominational and Pentecostal churches. Others have moved out to the suburbs and no longer identify with the traditional urban Baptist church. And the decline of the auto industry and manufacturing has crimped church development.

Meanwhile, Baptist leaders must now compete for attention with a diverse range of power centers within the African-American community.  Decades ago, black Baptist churches were a major source of social services, political activity and support within the community. While their role still is big, experts say their influence has diminished.  “The black church’s leadership no longer has a monopoly,” said Aldon Morris, professor of sociology at Northwestern University who has studied the black Baptist church.

In a way, the church is partly a victim of its own success.  The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and some other Baptist leaders played a key role in the civil rights movement. Because of their efforts, African Americans established themselves in leadership roles in the worlds of politics and business, and so they don’t have to now rely solely on the church. The election of President Barack Obama is the most notable example.

“The Baptist church is built on freedom,” Branch said. “It has a tremendous history and is an anchor, but at the same time, provides the freedom to allow a diversity of ideas.”

Still, divides remain. Some churches such as Third New Hope have embraced women preachers and are open to gay members, while others are opposed to both.  The wide range of views is what makes the Baptist tradition so rich, ministers say. Baptists don’t have a national hierarchy, which allows each individual church to chart its own course.

Still, Morris said, “there is no doubt the black church remains the most important and fundamental institution within the black community.”

This is probably the most profound quote included in either article.  It is from Kenneth Flowers, pastor of Greater New Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit:

To sustain the Baptist faith, we have to make sure our young people don’t forget that heritage of freedom.

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