Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 9 August 1997 — Page 20
THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER
SATURDAY, AUGUST 9,1997
PAGEC4
HALL ContiniMd from Cl and stick with God. The reverence for my mother is the reason I am where I am today.” And where he is today is at the forefront of a contingency ofhardhitting. New York choirs that is blitzing the gospel music charts. His newest album,”..According to James Hall, Chapter III,” which was co-produced by longtime music director, Melvin Crispell, is expected to keep him there. “This album is the bomb," he states emphatically. “There’s just something being able to produce an album with full creative control. The music is more mature and is closer than ever to the sound that 1 want. Plus, this album really promotes the skills of the singers in the choir like Angela Wint, who is featured on a bebop jazz-influenced cut entitled “Hold Me”. In performance. Hall slams. It is a reputation forged with that first TV appearance on The Bobby Jones Gospel Hour. On record, he strives for that same electric energy—from the traditional “When He Comes Back” (offering a choir/organ silhouette) to the latin of “Been Mighty Good” and the contemporary “He Reigns”, the lead single. And while the album is a potpourri of cutting edge gospel, hardliners can take their shoes off and shout to the church-oriented “He First Loved Me” or sing along as Hall taps praise and worship to usher in the spiritual realm with “Great Is Our God”. “It is my prayer that our music would bring us before the nation. People know us but it’s no where near the way we want them to. I want to break through to the unchurched and draw young people from the streets.” And for all the enjoyment he takes from it, a highly-disciplined Hall is dead serious about his mission. “When it comes to rehearsal, all playing stops,” he states. “This ain’t fun and games, it’s a ministry.”
VIOLENCE Contlnuod from Cl
Most of these churches seem content with fortifying their buildings with bars and elaborate security devices in efforts to protect brick, mortar, and expensive church furniture. They endeavor to protect themselves against community forces that otherwise destroy those who are most unprotected, namely our children and the elderly. At the murder scene of Michael Webster a news reporter interviewed Rev. Preston Adams, a minister under the leadership of Bishop T. Garrott Benjamin, Jr. of Light of the World Christian Church located not far from the scene. Adams recently graduated from Christian Theological Seminary in the city, and was later ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Having grown up in some of the rough projects of Chicago, he is no stranger to gunfire, dodging bullets, and attending the funerals of friends. Adams expressed deep concern over the violence that snuffs out the lives of so many young African Americans. While he wishes that Black youth understood the importance of discipline and hard work, he also pointed to the need for Black churches, community organizations, and Black owned businesses to be more proactive in addressing this emergency. Black churches have been under heavy criticism for their failure to be as consistently prophetic in ministry, i.e., leading the fight against injustice and devaluation of African American life, as they were historically. No one can question those churches’ consistent involvement in social and community outreach. Yet one is frequently left wondering about their whereabouts when the violence erupts. The presence of Rev. Preston Adams at that murder scene was no small thing. For at least in this way the church was present at the
scene of yet another murder. There is no question that Black churches must have a more significant presence in the urban battle zones. It is not a question of finding ways to do this, for the way to do it is to make the decision and commitment to be present and then be there, preferably before the violence erupts. The role of Black churches in urban battle zones is not best accomplished behind stained glassed windows. Worship of God in the relative security of the sanctuary is good for the devotional, spiritual, and moral uplift of believers. But when large numbers of African American children and youth have only death to look forward to, the place to worship and praise God is not just a secure and cozy sanctuary, but in those areas of the community where the hands of violence and death strike so quickly and frequently. It is difficult to imagine Jesus Christ in a secure sanctuary ostensibly worshiping and praising God when the children die in the streets like dogs. The Bible paints a portrait of Jesus taking up frequent company with the “hard living,” i.e., the poor, the oppressed, and the weak. This is peihaps a clue to where Christians should be more often. ANY church that is silent and absent from the places where African American youth are most prone to violence and early death is in complicity. Our business is to acknowledge the tragedy of intracommunity violence and murder and commit all resources to eradicating it. Anything short of such commitment and involvement is unacceptable and an insult against God, African American humanity and dignity. Rufus Burrow, Jr. is an associate professor of Church and Society at the Christian Theological Seminary
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