Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1960-10-01
The Day Of Reckoning For The Negro
Church Is Here

For long time we have been of the opinion that
the preoccupation of so many Negro preachers with
civil rights, the business of the NAACP, has robbed
the Negro church of the ability to give the needed
spiritual and christian leadership to the Negro
munty. We had doubts about there being other in
teigent and responsible Negro leaders who hav
ing the thoughts. We therefore not sur
prised to read editorial in recent edition of the
Carolina Times top Negro weekly in the State of North
Carolina under the caption: THE DAY OF RECKON
The editorial says
Twice within period of six months this nation has
been treated to the sorry spectacles of international
national meetings of two of its largest Negro religious
bodies. First it was the General Conference of the At
rican Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles Cali
forna. Second it the meeting of the National Bap
fist Convention in Philadelphia.
To say that both of these gatherings were dis
to the is putting it lightly The buffoonery,
the lack of SYSTEM the lack of planning and business
of respected The dsgracefu conduct exhibited by the
leaders of both of these soaled religious organizations
was more like that of an Amos and Andy show than
Christian organization.
At the AME General Conference in Los Angeles
money flowed like water Suites at the most expensive
hotels for the bishops most of whom transported
to and from hotels and meetings places in their Cadacs
the order of the day. Some of the bishops had
suites at two hotels the cheapest being the place where
they condescended to confer with their laymen and in
the-trench preachers
When it is considered that majority of the money
to for all this show of fnery out of the pock
cts of hard working Negroes in cotton tobacco and
fields the factories, the washtub and cook kitchens it
is enough to make thoughtful members of the bow
their heads in shame. In fact it is disgrace that
would not be tolerated anywhere else except by Ne
gro church organization.
At the Los Angeles meeting of the AME General
conference the sessions were held for weeks
in the Shrine Auditorium the rent for which has been
reported to have been from 81 500 900 per day. To
say that the lack of system leadership and organza-
ton forced the meeting to drag for two weeks
exaggeraton 1t is safe to say that with the right kind
OF leadership and organization all of the business of
the AME General Conference could be transacted with
in one week even less
Instead there is the waste of time money and en-
ergy In useless programs, meetings. arguments,
fights, and exhibitions of ignorance by bishops and
other genera! officers At times have seen take
bishops while the delegates and visitors were forced to
sten TO some ministerial or lay ackey extol the mag
mary virtues of bishop by recitng what for the most
part Is known to be pack of lies.
, some OF the sessions of the General Conference of
tne A:M.E. Church resembled meeting of bunch of
schemes, crooked politics, near fights doublecrossing
sicksters and thevery the order of the day. In
1act at one session it was necessary to call the police
ana 1remen to que the ire of these socaed religious
leaders who only few days before had piously stood
in pulpits and preached about the owly Nazarene
At the National Baptist Convention in Philadelphia
the scene different but the same old coon with
one less ring around his tail From all over the nation
they came in expensive to stay at expensive hotels
Instead of meeting of disciplined intelligent and re-
strained men of God the session finally turned into bed
lam and ended in chaos with two presidents.
civil courts to straiote ont 81 o. Turned TO the
body While this religious organization awaits the de-
cison Of non-reigious court to tell them what to do
about Gods business the young men and women from
our high schools and colleges thinking, thinking
about the Sunday sermons of their preachers thinking
about where they can find message of peace from
true messenger of peace
We think we see handwriting on the walls of
these two largest religious bodies of the We think
we see the time approaching when they will have to set
their houses in order the way of the OK cart the
mule and wagon and the fireplace They cannot survive
in an age that demands intelligence honesty and nteg
finno f,,11~
buffoonery.
If our churches are to survive and remain attrac-
tive to the intelligent and educated segment of the
race their ministers from the top down to the small
est pastorate have got to stop operating the business
side of them from their vest pockets They must also
be willing to expose the business side of their churches
to periodic inspections and audits The day of the pa
ternalisc approach with the minister the financial
director business manager, bookkeeper auditor, gen.
era manager and custodian of all the churchs funds as
well pastor is Any minister from bishop in the
AME Church president of the National Baptist Con-
vention down to local preacher who does not reco