The other day a colleague of mine and I were discussing last month’s blog and she asked me if pastors and churches are dissatisfied with some of the practices, like paying reports to the bishop, “why don’t African American pastors and churches abandon the Episcopacy altogether?” I believe the answer is that the function and roles bishops play in the Black Church are too important to abandon. And so I want to explore the role of bishops in black churches and why it is important, the issue that I will take up first.

The Scriptural Precedent for Bishops 

The office of bishop has been in the church for almost two thousand years. Not only has it been in the church for all this time, it is attested to in the Bible. For these reasons, it is an office of great importance. African American Churches generally take Scripture very seriously, and so, follow leadership models that are mentioned in texts such as 1 Corinthians 12: 27-28, 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Ephesians 4:11. From texts like these, African American churches appoint pastors to teach and lead congregations and bishops or overseers who do these same functions and other functions that sometimes were fulfilled by apostles who appear to usurp pastors in authority and importance in the New Testament. For example, Paul was a prominent apostle in the New Testament who supervised churches in Corinth, Galatia, Thessalonica, Philippi and pastors like Timothy and Titus. This twofold model of a local congregational leader and a supervising leader of churches and pastors is very prominent in black churches. The only difference is that they appoint bishops to do the work previously done by apostles in New Testament times. In fact, I would maintain that the two major offices held by black church leaders are pastor and bishop. Pastors and bishops are respected and sometimes revered in the Black Church. But the respect is not solely due to the fact that these offices are mentioned in Scripture. It has more to do with the function and work that they take up in the church. Since people are aware of the work that pastors do in congregations, I will not discuss it any further but rather focus on the work of bishops, which is a very illuminating feature of any study of this phenomenon.

The Functions of African American Bishops

What are some of the functions of bishops in African American churches? I will briefly mention three. First, bishops care for and oversee local and regional congregations. Sometimes they work with congregations across the nation. Bishops care for pastors and supervise their ministry activities. For example, in Methodist denominations, bishops place pastors in congregations and decide which pastor is an appropriate and good fit for a congregation and also when it is time to relocate a pastor to another congregation. They also handle the delicate and difficult issues that arise in churches when pastoral abuse and misconduct has occurred. I know of one such bishop who had to go into a congregation where a pastor accidentally murdered his secretary (who was his lover) in the church office. It was an incredibly difficult situation for him to handle. Yet he did it with grace and strength. And today, that congregation is still going. This kind of work seems to go beyond the local responsibilities of a pastor.

Second, bishops serve as denominational and or organizational administrators. They facilitate programs and initiatives among the churches they oversee. They educate pastors, ministers, and church leaders. And they work as fund development officers who raise the necessary funds to support the work of the denomination and or organization, a portion of that going directly to them, which is why salaries for bishops are much higher than congregational pastors and why the office is so coveted by pastors and ministers.

Third, and in some cases, bishops serve as community leaders and even a national spokesperson on important issues affecting African Americans. For example, Bishop Henry M. Turner was a leader that addressed major issues affecting blacks and not just issues affecting his denomination. This function is not prominent today. Popular African American bishops are not outspoken leaders on important national issues like education, incarceration, healthcare, and unemployment. Most black bishops are also not theologians or religious scholars. In contrast to African bishops in the early church who were major theologians, African American bishops are rarely theologically trained and are not experts on doctrinal and or religious matters. Instead of serving as leading voices on social issues or theologians, many bishops spend an inordinate amount of their energy and time in church preaching sermons. Bishops are gifted preachers and are called upon to preach in local congregations and at a host of regional and national conferences, which have taken on a life of their own in black churches. It is rare to find an influential African American bishop who is not a gifted preacher and even rarer to find black churches who do not place a heavy demand on their preaching talents.

The Importance of Accessible Bishops

The episcopacy has been and continues to be reconfigured because these newer models are meeting needs in ways the traditional model is not. Pastors and leaders of various kinds are searching for an increased level of accountability, especially among independent, nondenominational churches, and mentoring (think leadership development).  There is an increased level of scrutiny (think scandals) and heightened expectations placed upon clergy. Churches expect them to produce results like the church down the street or the mega-church on television. As a result, more pastors are searching for mature and successful leaders, many of whom are bishops, to provide some structure and guidance for them and their ministries. Bishops are accessible and willing to lead pastors in navigating the tumultuous waters of modern ministry. As a result, church structures are changing as more pastors gravitate to bishops and organizations, many times while remaining within their traditional denomination. This is a part of why I believe the episcopacy is so prominent today but there is so much more to this. Stay tuned.  

Our guiding question has been “Why is there a need for bishops in churches without an Episcopal structure or bishops in nondenominational churches?” It is apparent that the Black Church is changing, especially due to the influence of Pentecostalism. However, the increasing interest in the episcopacy and the increasing numbers of bishops in African American churches is not just because of the influence of Pentecostalism. The changes in worship style, spiritual practices, and church polity are only part of the story. There is a functional dimension to this that popular critiques of this trend miss. There are more bishops in black churches because of the increased demand for new or different bishops from African American congregants and clergy. The real question is “What is driving the demand?”

The increased demand for different or new bishops is an indication of something wrong in denominational churches with an Episcopal structure, like the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME), or Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW). I believe that one major reason African American Christians are doing this is because of the abuses some pastors, ministers, and other church members have experienced by denominational bishops.

These Episcopal denominational churches are structured in a way that requires pastors and churches, many of which are small, struggling churches, to pay reports (think money) to the bishop. In some of these churches, those monies are for the bishop to use at his or her discretion, many of which choose to keep those monies for themselves and the larger churches they serve. I spent years in a denomination like this as a pastor. I witnessed firsthand the abuse of bishops over pastors and churches. A bishop would come into small churches and take as much money as he could and the monies given to the bishop rarely trickled back down to churches and pastors that may need them or local communities. In the cases when pastors and churches could not pay a report to the bishop they were embarrassed, many times publicly. So there is an incredible amount of pressure to not be the pastor or church that cannot make a report to the bishop. Possibly the worst aspect of this kind of relationship is if pastors needed counsel from the bishop, they found that bishops were unavailable and some bishops discourage their pastors from contacting them. Experiences like these are very much a part of the demand for something different.  

The Black Church, for the most part, has been an institution committed to serving the needs of a marginalized and oppressed people, not the maintenance of structures that exist to serve religious leaders. Today there is a clear disconnect with this system that offers few benefits for pastors and local communities. And so I am not surprise that there are a number of pastors, ministers, and congregants who leave these churches and find bishops and church structures where these practices are not replicated. What we see today are a number of pastors who are no longer willing to serve in churches where there is an oppressive tax system that does not benefit local churches or to follow bishops who are inaccessible to the pastors and ministers who serve congregations. Pastors in nondenominational churches and fellowships with bishops have access to them in ways pastors in denominational churches do not. This is an important factor in the emergence of the episcopacy in the new black church.

There is no doubt that there are an increasing number of bishops in African American churches, even among churches with no ties to denominations with an Episcopal polity. There are also churches that historically had a congregational polity, who now have adopted facets of the episcopacy. Because of this, many wonder why this is happening. A common answer given or one way to narrate this trend is to conclude that these men and women are glory-seeking leaders who love this honorific title. Simply stated, “They love the title ‘bishop.’” While I am sure this is true of some leaders, I believe that it is a gross oversimplification of what is happening in African American churches. There is more to the emergence of the episcopacy in the Black Church than opportunistic leaders who love to hear the prefix “bishop” before their last name.

Such simplistic answers are indicative of a tendency by too many people to over-simplify religious phenomena among African Americans. Significant and complex religious phenomena are often dumbed-down and minimized. And sadly, too many religious and ministry professionals accept anecdotal evidence and over-simplified analysis to explore the religious beliefs, values, practices and institutions of African Americans. Trends and developments in the Black Church are not as simplistic as many assume. In the remainder of this blog post and in the next post, I will explore some reasons why bishops have become so prominent today. This is not a development that happened overnight.

The Black Church Has Changed

The truth is the Black Church has been changing in dramatic ways over the past two decades. One of the causes for much of the change we see is linked to the influence of the spirituality, theology and polity of Pentecostalism. Elements from Pentecostalism have transformed the landscape of the black church in the areas of worship, with emphasis on the varied gifts of Spirit, the importance of an “anointed” preacher-pastor and the prevalence of bishops.

Beginning in the late 70s, Pentecostalism made significant inroads into mainline black denominations such as the AME church and National Baptist Convention. These traditions were historically antagonistic to some extent of Pentecostalism but over time became more accepting of certain aspects. Pastors and congregations that responded to and adapted aspects of Pentecostalism without leaving their respective denominations were known as Neo-Pentecostals or Charismatics. This is a very important development because the seeds of Pentecostalism will continue to grow and transform the traditional polity, theology and liturgy of black denominational churches. The seeds of the episcopacy were planted when these churches blended aspects of Pentecostalism into their churches. This is what gave rise to movements like the Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship.

Furthermore, in the 80s, the growth of African American Word of Faith churches and nondenominational churches, as well as the prominence of televangelism paved the way for new configurations of ministry.  Traditional denominational structures, congregational-based preaching and smaller family churches were radically challenged by different forms of church and ministry. These different models of ministry gained significant traction in African-American communities. Today more African Americans attend nondenominationally affiliated churches, mega-churches and watch pastors on television or via the internet than they did in the previous decades, while fewer African Americans are tied to traditional mainline denominations, many of which seem resistant to these changes. I would commend two studies on the contemporary Black Church to interested readers: Larry Mamiya, “River of Struggle, River of Freedom: Trends Among Black Churches and Black Pastoral Leadership” Pulpit and Pew. (Durham N. C., 2006) and a chapter on the new Black Church in Shayne Lee’s book T. D. Jakes: American’s New Preacher (New York: 2005).

Today, we are in the third decade of what some studies call the “new Black Church” and in this new church, leadership, worship and polity have been reconfigured. The emergence of the episcopacy has become an important part of the new Black Church.

I am not saying the “newer” is better but I am doing two things. First, as a historian, I am chronicling this development in the Black Church, so that we can better understand the phenomena of bishops in black churches. As a religious scholar, I am also trying to ascertain what this development signifies and says to us. Beyond the criticisms of this development or those who support this trend, we need to give attention to some of the issues informing this trend. I aim to take up a few of these issues next time.    

African-American bishops are not new. They have been around since the 1800s. Richard Allen became the first presiding bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in 1816 and later Daniel Alexander Payne was consecrated as bishop in 1852. James Varick was ordained bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in 1822. William Henry Miles and Richard Vanderhost were the first bishops in the Colored Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church in 1870. In the early part of the twentieth century, Charles H. Mason became the presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ, Charles Price Jones presided as bishop over the Church of Christ (Holiness) and Garfield Haywood was bishop of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. Ida Robinson, a bishop in the Mt. Sinai Holy Church, was an exception to what was an early norm among African American churches, that only men could be bishops. Today, some African-American denominations have made small steps toward including women in the bishopric with capable leaders such as Vashti McKenzie in the AME Church and Teresa Snorton in the CME Church while others like the Church of God in Christ do not ordain women as bishops (or even as pastors for that matter).

As you can see, these people are all bishops in churches with an Episcopal structure, meaning churches that are governed by select individuals called ‘bishops.’ Bishops preside over churches in jurisdictions, regions or districts within a single state and sometimes preside over churches in multiple states. From a historical standpoint, the episcopacy in the contemporary Black Church is linked to the large number of African-Americans in the Methodist churches since the early nineteenth century, which later give rise to Holiness, Pentecostal and later nondenominational churches in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, all of which have bishops. Becoming a bishop takes time in these churches. It requires one to begin as a local pastor and advance to positions such as ruling elder or district supervisor for years overseeing pastors and congregations while working with a presiding bishop. Afterwards, one is appointed or elected as a bishop, which is a qualitatively different process than the one adopted by some African American churches today.

So, what’s the big deal? What is happening today that is causing so much controversy and debate? Two things are happening. First, there are an increasing number of bishops in churches that have not historically been governed by bishops. This is particularly true in African-American Baptist churches, which typically have a congregational polity. The Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship, for example, is a clear deviation from congregational governance. Paul Morton serves as the presiding bishop of a fellowship of Baptist churches that have adopted an Episcopal structure. Furthermore, there are an increasing number of bishops in the National Baptist Convention. This trend is causing quite a stir as more traditional Baptist pastors question the validity of the office of bishop in the Baptist Church.  

Second, there are an increasing number of predominantly African-American nondenominational churches. These churches are not affiliated with historic black denominations like the AME Church, CME Church, National Baptist Convention, the Church of God in Christ, or the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. Yet they have adopted the Episcopal structure. Among these nondenominational churches, many pastors call themselves bishops. What is particularly ironic about this practice is that many of these bishops do not exercise oversight of a jurisdiction, region or district of churches with a host of pastors to oversee. They are mostly pastors of a single congregation and in some cases may participate in a fellowship of nondenominational churches. Today there are bishops who serve as pastors of churches with membership as large as ten thousand to memberships of 10 or 20 people. This too, has caused a quite a stir. And so I ask the following questions. First, what caused this shift within historic denominations and the emergence of nondenominationalism among African-American churches? Second, why has the episcopacy become so popular? Is it the love of an honorific title or is it a signal of important issues emerging in African-American churches. Tell me what you think, and I’ll explain my thoughts next time.

Last month, a friend of mine shared a link on his Facebook page. The link led to an interesting interview show discussing the popular trend of bishops in an increasing number of black churches. I clicked the link and watched an episode of the Lexi Show, provocatively titled Illegitimate Bishops. As the show began, the host expressed her amazement by the number of people who call themselves ‘bishop’ and ‘doctor’ without going through the proper channels. In other words, some pastors become bishops without credible educational training and outside an ecclesial structure with guidelines as to who can become a bishop, how one can become a bishop, and when one can become a bishop.
 
To demonstrate this, she went online and found an organization to give an ordination certificate and credentials as a bishop. In order to get to the bottom of this, she interviewed three bishops: Paul Morton, Jerry Hutchins and Lester Love. These men are ordained bishops in the Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship, a fellowship of churches that originated in 1994 among African American Baptist churches that adopted charismatic spirituality and an Episcopal structure. These bishops discussed the trend among pastors who are becoming bishops and discussed the irony of how many of these pastors have had unsuccessful ministries in the first place. Bishop Morton asked “How can these questionably appointed bishops lead other pastors?” Lexi exposed the startling lack of educational and ecclesial standards governing the ordination, appointment, and consecration of bishops. The panel of bishops discussed the standards to which Full Gospel Fellowship Baptist bishops are held. They seem to suggest that this should be standard in more ecclesial circles.

 Needless to say, this video generated a good amount of comments on my friend’s Facebook page that day. For me, it also raised a host of questions that have since been on my mind. Lexi and many other influential figures have begun to take note of what has become a growing trend and significant development in African-American churches today. Martha Simmons, president and publisher of the African-American Pulpit, mentioned the rise in the use of titles as one of the 21 trends in the Black Church.[1] It seems that more pastors value and want important titles like ‘bishop’ and ‘doctor.’
 
Bishops in black churches are not new. What is new and significant are the increasing number of church leaders who call themselves bishops and the congregational and organizational reconfigurations that this has brought about. For example, there are an increasing number of Baptist pastors who are forming fellowships among other Baptist Churches or connecting with nondenominational or Pentecostal churches and becoming bishops. This is a trend worthy of further exploration.

 Much more to come on this issue, which is a good ‘jumping-off point’ to introduce the new blog of the Black Church Studies program at Louisville Seminary. This blog will offer reflections on various issues in African- American churches. I invite you to read and comment on this blog post and other blogs as they go up. For now, I invite you to watch the Illegitimate Bishops episode of the Lexi Show for yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17vylp75FW0.