Roots of a Black Future: Family and Church by Dr. James Deotis Roberts

Author:Dr. James Deotis Roberts
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The J. Deotis Roberts Press

Chapter V

The Family of God

Traditionally the black church has been an extended family and the family has been a “domestic church.” At the center of this affirmation is the Biblical image of the church as the family of God. We noted earlier that black sociologists and historians have written concerning these two primary institutions, family and church, but still lacking is the black theologian’s contribution to point up their interdependence and mutal enrichment. I wholeheartedly agree with James Cone’s observation: “We are still waiting for the first in-depth study of the black church from a historical-theological perspective.” 1

In my book Liberation and Reconciliation I affirm the importance of viewing the church as a family and the family as a domestic church. I will repeat here two brief paragraphs from that work:

When we consult the New Testament, we find several “images” of the church. The black theologian will be most interested in those images of the church which convey a sense of unity and especially the notion of peoplehood. Having been exploited by the principle of “divide and rule” by whites, blacks need a cohesive institution to overcome family disorganization and the social concomitants of the same. The black church, at once a religious and community organization, has real possibilities for fulfilling this primary need.

One of the most serious internal problems of blacks is family disintegration. It would be nigh impossible to find a group of people who have been able to survive great hardship without strong familial ties. The destruction of the black family has been deliberate during our sojourn in this country. Although the black man’s mere survival is a miracle of grace, it appears that the black church, as “invisible” and as a visible institution, has nurtured this suffering race and kept it alive. 2

Though my research and reflection would modify some aspects of this statement, I affirm with even greater assurance the relationship between church and family.

A family is the most intimate unit of human relationships. When we use the word “family” our attention is directed to a kinship of persons who have entered into an agreement to love and care for one another across sexual and often generational lines. Our basic definition stems from the traditional view of the family. But even here we see the family as a more comprehensive unit than a married couple and their children. Families of single parents (married but divorced or widowed and unmarried) are clearly included. We also wish to carry along in our purview the extended (or intergenerational) type of family. We would be ill-advised to embark upon a discussion of black families unless the broad view of the family unit were clearly within our range of vision. Oppression has done much violence to the very survival of the black family. We must be prepared to deal with reality. Sanity, health, and wholeness are inherent in our intent. We must be prepared to accept, therefore, the variety, the weakness, and the strengths inherent in the black family tradition.

The

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