The Black church has been very influential in the history of the African American community. It served as a place of praise, worship and refuge to its members. Pastors were life and marriage counselors, providers and mentors. The Black Church was everything black people needed to help them get closer to GOD and eventually make something out of themselves during hard times. Blacks could meet and greet without trouble. Well, those days are long gone.

          Things have changed! With high divorce rates, increases in Black on Black crime and declining community involvement, it is obvious that even though many people still attend church, they are not benefiting from them as they used to. How did this happen? Somewhere along the way, it became more popular to do what feels good rather than to do what is right.  Sinful urges, are no longer suppressed. With the increase in teen pregnancy, the youth do not understand the concept of “following God’s word.” Is it the churches fault? When talking about the youth, some would say it falls in the parents hands but, the community as a whole struggles to live by the “word.”

          I must agree that it is hard to take Church seriously. Whether it is that commercial, your pastor was in where he/she promoted a new local restaurant or a simple observation of their lavish lifestyle. It is hard to trust their motives. The media does not help either. It seems like every year there is a big story on embezzlement or adultery going on in the church… It is to the point that the common joke about black preachers is their constant pleading for money. The phrase, “church is a business” has made a mockery of the church. Take a look our predominantly black films that feature the black church. Most of which are comedies. They always portray the pastor of the black church as a shady, money hungry, hustler type of character. No matter how you look at it, the church has a bad name. It is to the point you don’t know where your money is going. How often have you seen a church’s pastor live in better conditions than 90% of the members! Have you ever noticed your pastors fancy car and luxurious house and wonder how he/she is able to afford that? It is to the point, most people “love the Lord, but hate Offering” because of the pastors constant begging. Members get tired of offering baskets constantly being passed throughout the congregation. Even though all these things occur, it is not our place to criticize the church.

          My theory is that the decline in community morals does not have anything to do with the church. The pastor and its members should not be the reason you attend.  In retrospection, if you had expectations for the churches members before you got there, then you already failed. Never put your faith in man. You are there for one reason and one reason only, to praise God and get closer to the Lord. That is your mission. I personally pick my place of praise by how the “word” is taught, and how much knowledge I was able to gain after the sermon was over. No matter how times have changed, the “good book” always remains the same. Learn those principals and stick to them. Stand tall for what really matters. If you notice, almost every pastor that is caught for doing something wrong, will more than likely say something like, “I’m only human, and I make mistakes just like the rest of you…” There is a 100% chance he was right! Just because he holds a certain position, does not make him immune to temptation… It is not up to us to judge him, stick to the plan and focus on WE need to do to get closer to the Lord.