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Negative sentiments are typically implied when the concepts "cult" and "sect" are employed in popular discourse. Since the Religious Movements Homepage seeks to promote religious tolerance and appreciation of the positive benefits of pluralism and religious diversity in human cultures, we encourage the use of alternative concepts that do not carry implicit negative stereotypes. For a more detailed discussion of both scholarly and popular usage of the concepts "cult" and "sect," please visit our Conceptualizing "Cult" and "Sect" page, where you will find additional links to related issues.
Although the beliefs of the NBC,USA are identicalto the beliefs espoused by mainline Baptist and other Christian denominations,the National Baptists place a great deal of emphasis on activism. Thisactivism is rooted in the goal of "transcending the evil of [the] day andgeneration" (Jackson, x.) The National Baptists seek to displace the modernchurch from its place of passive piety and move instead to "universal activism...[including]the ideas of the social gospel for civil rights and first class citizenship"(Ibid). Because the NBC,USA places such focus on a universal fight forequal civil rights, it is often at odds with its less radical mainlinecounterparts. A good example of this split is the National Baptist's officialplatform on civil rights:
"Protest has its place under the supreme law of the land and willand must continue as
long as there is one vestige of racial discriminationand segregation in this fair land
of ours" (Ibid, xii)
.
For this reason, it is difficult to identify the NBC,USA as a sect,because there are not any fissures in theology between this group and mainlineBaptist traditions. However, it is clear that the intentions of the grouphave always been to give black Baptists the opportunities for leadership,education, political empowerment, and spiritual growth that were not affordedthem in other societal structures, including mainline religions. It isbecause of these different goals that the convention grew so quickly afterthe Civil War and during the Civil Rights Era: "it provided the necessaryfreedom for the newly- freed and partly because it provided avenues for leadershiproles not possible in other more structured church groups" (Jackson, 24).
After Palmer's initial founding, Rev. George took over the pastoralduties for the church, which grew to 30 members until the British occupationof Savannah. After the occupation, the church was led by Rev. George Lisle,a servant of a British officer (Ibid, 32). The church at Silver Bluff survivedand prospered throughout the Revolution, and today The Silver Bluff BaptistChurch stands today as a lineal descendant of the first Negro Baptist churchin America.
From its humble beginnings, the actual National Baptist Convention grewout of the unification of three separate black Baptist groups. The ForeignMission Convention, the American Baptist Missionary Convention, and theAfrican Mission Convention joined forces in Atlanta in 1895 as a way ofpromoting Christian missions abroad, as well as providing opportunitiesfor leadership and spiritual growth for American blacks. The Conventionfounders created a list of goals for this group:
This list illustrates the main role of the convention: to "preparethe Negro for full participation in the life of American democracy" (Ibid,90). The church saw itself as one of the only venues in which Americanblacks were able to hone and exercise their talents, and therefore wantedto provide a comprehensive organizational structure in which to act.
These goals were continued into the twentieth century, under the leadership of President Philip F. Morris, but focused especially on education: "this convention was to...assist graduates of [Baptist]schools in securing positions; to provide a fund for the assistance of promising young men andwomen; and to bring together the educators of the Negro Baptists" (Jackson, 64) In 1889 the Executive Board initiated a "Campaign of Education," which was intended to further help African-Americans achieve success. NBC,USA leaders hoped to "give the light they need, and then push them for all they are worth. This is the only sure way to make success possible" (Ibid, 65).
By far the most significant issue during these years was the development of two schools of thought among black Baptists. One group preferred to remain predominately under the control of white Baptists in the areas of education and economic advancement, while another group believed the time had come for black people to manage their own lives; this latter group is referred to as the "progressives" (Ibid, 75). Leaders of the progressive movement "believed they could be self-supporting withouthaving some white organization dictate policies and procedures to them...[but] they were perceptive enough to realize that control resided in the hands of those who financed a project. [They] began to insist more and more on establishing, owning and controlling some colored Baptistschools with which white people could not interfere" (Ibid, 75).
President Morris, who sidedwith the progressives, stated that "the National Baptist Convention would have to be respectedby the white Baptists, who, up to this point, had refused to acknowledge that the Negroes hadorganized into a viable group" (Ibid, 83). It was during this first crisis that members and leaders within the National Baptist Convention began to disagree over the extent to which the organization should be involved in the struggle for black freedoms.
In 1922 the Presidency was passed to Dr. L.K. Williams, who sought to use cooperative means to repair the split that had taken place under President Morris. In 1924 he presented "The Cooperative Plan", which was to promote "cooperation between Baptists of all races and sections...[which] is both desireable and profitable" (Ibid, 132). Williams' motivation for this plan was born out of distaste for the fight between the progressives and the more conservative members, but he was also deeply influenced by the violence he witnessed during the 1919 race riots in Chicago. These two events convinced Williams that interracial tensions must be soothed if progress was ever to be made (Ibid, 134).
This rhetoric enjoyed a great deal of popularity among convention leadership, but Dr. Williams' optimism was put to the test in 1930, when the Edward Peirson, the NBC's auditor,was found beaten and murdered in Scottsboro, Indiana (Ibid, 154). Williams considred resigning his post, but eventually decided that "he must not let hot-headed men or righteously indignant,ordinarily calm men, smarting under a great wrong, tear down the solidarity leaders had strivenfifty years to build up...the Convention must not be sacrified to men's cry for revenge" (Ibid, 154). Williams' perseverance was rewarded with a successful fellowship between the National Baptists and the Southern Baptists, which culminated with the founding of the interracial American Baptist Theological Seminary in 1924 (Ibid, 172).
When Dr. D.V. Jemison assumed the Presidency in 1940, he maintained much of Williams' philosophyof compromise. As Jackson documents, "there was no retreating from the basic principlesproclaimed in the Federal Constitution. Rev. Jemison's firm commitment for the rights of his people could not be questioned. A southern-born leader, he too had learned the importance of thespirit of cooperation" (Ibid, 179). In spite of increasing militancy among blacks in the 1950's,Jemison managed to maintain the "great fellowship that had been developed. His message was oneof dedication and consecration. He won the love and respect of men of all ages and groups" (Ibid, 213).
Jemison resigned in 1953 due to failing health, and Dr. J.H. Jackson was elected to be the next president of the convention. Jackson assumed this post at a time of uncertainty in America,as the Supreme Court was debating the doctrine of "separate but equal" (Ibid, 228). The newpresident felt the Convention should take a more definitive stand on civil rights, including protest against segregation and discrimination: "protest is necessary and will always benecessary as long as there is one American citizen who believes that [racism] is right" (Ibid, 237).
At the same time, Jackson's administration maintained a great deal of focus on education, and in 1955 the Convention established scholarships to be given to either white or black students. The NBC leadership believed "that this scholarship became a good way to tell American that the organization believed in integration not only when it meant increased opportunities or cultural advantages for Negroes but also when it demanded gifts and sacrifices from them" (Ibid, 253).
Under the Jackson presidency the NBC became more active with civil rights groups like the NAACP and SCLC, and NBC members participated in organized bus boycotts (Ibid, 281). Although the group was somewhat active in the civil rights movement, they maintained a strict focus on religion as a catalyst for freedom. The National Baptists created a theme during the civil rights movement, called "Freedom Through the Christian Religion," and held several meetings on how civil freedoms are addressed within the faith (Ibid, 312). The church held to a simple view on civil rights and Christianity: "the Christian church is by structure and mission committed to the cause of freedom; hence, the church cannot escape its belief and its dedication to the cause of freedom" (Ibid).
The National Baptists remained active in the civil rights struggle throughout the 1950s, holdingsymposiums on the "National Baptists Facing Integration: Shall Gradualism Be Applied?" (Ibid, 316). The group also participated in the Urge Congress Movement of 1957, in which black and white civil rights groups lobbied congressional representatives in favor of civil rights legislation (Ibid, 320). The church took its most radical stance on civil rights after the gruesome murder to Emmit Till, stating:
This recent tragedy reveals a great need for the type of civil rights legislation that will give the Justice Department the power and the authority to take full charge where the law enforcement agencies of our several states fail or are hindered by the ancient traditions of discrimination and segregation. While we believe in mercy as Christians, we believe first in justice" (Ibid, 360)
Under Jackson's leadership, the convention drafted a recommendation for dealing with the racialproblem in America. This "Re-Affirmation of our Faith in the Nation" dealt with myriad issues, and stressed the importance of the supremacy of equal rights law, the sinful nature of discrimination and segregation, the importance of citizen activism, and voluntary togetherness of the races (Ibid, 365).
During Jackson's tenure, the convention became substantially more involved in the cause of civilrights, but it never embraced any kind of separatist philosophy. Indeed, Jackson writes that"this was not a back-to-Africa movement in the sense of deserting one's ties and one's homeland in the United States," but rather an expression of the Christian beliefs of love and equality as children of God (Ibid, 367).
This history is the seed from which today's convention grew. The National Baptist Convention of the 20th Century maintains a deep faith in its Christian principles. It is clear that the NBC,USAmaintains a more progressive socio-political stance than other Baptist groups. In 1991 the NBC,USA joined forces with the Southern Baptist Alliance, a dissident Baptist group, in an attemptto "oppose the takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention by fundamentalists" (Christian Century, 1991:801). To further this, the NBC,USA and the SBA issued a "Call to Repentance" theme, in which the Southern Baptist Convention was to issue a national apology for protecting slavery and slave owners (Ibid). It is probably the splits over political issues that differentiatesthe NBC,USA as a sect from mainline Baptist theology.
In spite of political differences, the crux of all of the NBC,USA's social, economic, cultural and political activism is rooted in its theology: "that substance, that power, that creativity...thatnestles in the very heart of the cosmic structure and that influences the minds and souls of thosewho profess to be Christians. The National Baptist Convention, USA is an example of what can happen when an organization will be both active for the growth of itselfand for its fellowmen in obedience to God our maker and to our Lord, Jesus Christ (Ibid, 580, 585).
Scriptures: the Holy Bible is the one document of faith, andthe Baptists believe that it was "written by men divinely inspired...withoutany mixture of error." It is the "supreme standard" against which all humanactions are to be judged.
The Nature of Man: man was created as a perfect being by God(this story is recorded in the biblical book of Genesis). However, manwas tempted by Satan to disobey God's commands, therefore causing man topermanently fall out of his state of perfection. For this reason, man hasan inherently sinful nature.
Salvation: the only way to escape a fate of eternal bondage tosin is to believe in the redeeming death of Jesus Christ, God's Son. Christwas crucified as a way of atoning for the sins of man, and was raised fromthe dead after three days. After this Christ ascended into heaven wherehe rules with God. Whoever believes in the redemptive nature of Christs'death and resurrection shall be saved from sin.
Christ's Return: Baptists believe that Christ will return toearth once again to take all of his believers to heaven. The time of thisreturn is not known to man, as it is the duty of all believers to livein anticipation of the second coming.
Missions and Evangelism: all Christians have a duty to spreadthe redeeming story of Christ to everyone on earth. Therefore, missionsand evangelism play an important role in a successful Baptist organization.
Eternity: those who believe in Christ at the second coming willascend to heaven (a state of paradise) to reside with the holy trinity.The dead believers will likewise be raised from the dead and 'reborn' withperfect, new bodies in heaven. Those who do not believe in Christ willbe relegated to a place of endless punishment, called hell. The heavenand hell distinction represents the final state of man.
The NBC has been dogged by numerous controversies recently.In 1991 the NBC was accused of offering $1 million to beauty pageant contestantDesiree Washington, in return for her dropping the rape case against boxerand NBC member Mike Tyson (Christianity Today, 1992:). NBC officialT.J. Jamison later admitted that he had offered counsel to Tyson, and hadconducted numerous telephone calls with Washington, but denied that theseconversations involved money. In spite of such denials, critics of theNBC contended that Jemison protected Tyson in order to elicit multi- milliondolllar contributions from the boxer to assist with NBC debt repayment (Christian Century,1993:393). These allegations promoted an FBI investigation into theleadership practices at the Convention.
In 1994, Dr. Henry Lyons was elected as the President of the NBC,USA. Thepledge of Lyons' leadership was to recreate the philosophical,spiritual, economic, political, social and educational values under thetheme of "Raise a Standard!" (www.nbcusa.org/history)
In spite of such goals, the NBC,USA's troubled continued. In 1996 when Lyons, along with employee Brenda Harris, bought two memberships to the exclusive Nashville City Clubwith a check from the NBC,USA Builder Fund. When authorities investigatedthe check, they could not find any reference to the Builder Fund in anyof the NBC,USA records. Members of the NBC,USA Board of Directors consistentlydenied any knowlege of the existence of such a fund (SP Times, July 26,1997).
Months later, Lyons and convention Public Relations Director Bernice Edwards werealso found to have purchased a $135,000 Mercedes and placed a deposit ona $925,000 estate in Charlotte, NC. This mystery deepened when Lyons' wife,Deborah, was arrested in March, 1996 for alleged arson and burglary ofthe estate owned by her husband and Edwards.
State prosecutors investigated these discrepancies further and eventuallycharged Dr. Lyons with racketeering, fraud, extortion, money laundering,conspiracy and tax evasion (SP Times). Lyons was also accused of grand theftfor failing to disburse $200,000 entrusted to the convention by the Anti-DefamationLeague.
In February, 1999 Lyons was convicted of racketeering and grand theft,and was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail (SP Times, April 1, 1999). Throughoutthe investigation and trial of Lyons, splits occurred within the leadershipof the National Baptist Convention.
Several black pastors called immediately for Lyons' resignation, likethe Rev. W. Franklyn Richardson: "The convention has been made to be [Lyons']accomplic and his protector through all of this" (SP Times, Feb. 28, 1999).Although Lyons did resign his presidency on March 16, 1999, some blackleaders feel he has irreparably harmed the mission of the Convention bypainting the National Baptists as a people without accountability, responsibilityand integrity. Further, some fear that the Lyons scandal will underminethe legitimacy of the NBC,USA as a bonafide church. As Rev. M. Mason Walkerstated, "even before this, the larger society didn't see us as a real church,so anything that would support that view would necessarily be negative"(SP Times, Feb., 28, 1999).
Scholars of religion agreed that this episode illustrates the dangersthat accompany a central charismatic figure: "there are many ministersthat teach a theology of leadership that feeds into this idea that thepastor is a person sent by God and, therefore, what he says is gold" (Ibid).Vanderbilt University's sociology professor Darren Sherkat criticized theloose system of accountability that NBC,USA has always maintained, sayingit "has been run much more like a kingdom or an empire governed by whoeveris elected" (Ibid).
In spite of such criticisms, Lyons maintained a strong base of supportersthroughout the ordeal. Rev. E.V. Hill, an influential Baptist minister,said he opposed any actions taken against Lyons as they represented a "racistjustice system" in which Lyons simply could not get a fair trial (SP Times,March 2, 1999). In fact, Hill maintained that Lyons may actually be moreeffective as a pastor in jail, as he could work to evangelize and baptizeother inmates.
NBC,USA Vice President S.C. Cureton, Lyons heir apparent,likewise supported Lyons remaining in office in spite of the conviction,saying "If he can live with it, I can live with it" (Ibid). However, Lyonsfate was being debated by the convention's executive committee. Rev. Lyonsattorneys posed the defense that the traditions of the black church gaveLyons an unusually broad range of powers that may seems at odds with largersociety.
Lacy Curry, a convention pastor, stated that he "could not thinkof anything [Lyons] did under this administration that the previous presidentsdid not have the authority to do. Lyons is free to broker deals with corporations,and is just as free to richly profit from those deals" (Ibid). Curry, ina manner reflective of Rev. Hill, argued that the convention is "only afew minutes out of slavery, [and] can't be expected to have a perfectedmanner of operation" (Ibid). Lyons supporters argued that the black churchsimply entrusts their leaders with a broad range of powers that is seldomunderstood by outside institutions. This 'carte blanc' mentality may, indeed,be the mode of operation for the convention, but it will be interestingto see if this loose system of accountability will lessen the legitimacyof the NBC,USA as a religious institution.
Update:
In September, 1999 The Reverend William Shaw was elected to succeed the Rev. Henry J. Lyons, who was imprisoned for abuse of the power of his office and stealing more than $4 million.Shaw, 65, has been pastor of White Rock Baptist Church in Philadelphia for 43 years. He beat a field of nine other candidates, running on a campaign of VISA (vision, integrity, structure and accountability). As president of the Pennsylvania State Baptist Convention from 1978 to 1984, Shaw was responsibile for the creation of a centralized accounting and budget system.
St. Petersburg Times Online
The St. Petersburg Times, the hometown of Henry Lyons, had extensive coverage of the
Lyons scandal. This link will take you to dozens of newspaper accounts of the scandal,
the trial, and a series of human interest storis entitled "The Struggle for the Soul of
Henry Lyons". The newspaper has advised us that they plan to maintain a permanent
archive of the Lyon files. Should you find they are not available at this location,
search on "Henry J. Lyons" on the front page of the
St Petersburg Times
. On 09/18/99, we accessed over 300 stories with this search. A search on National
Baptist Convention yielded 224 stories. Of particular interest is a series of articles
entitled
The Struggle for the Soul of
Henry Lyons
http://www.sptimes.com/News2/lyons/archive.html
Philadelphia Tribune
The Philadelphia Tribune, black owned newspaper, covered the Lyons scandal extensively
and has something in the order of 50 articles on their web site under the general title
"Lies Lyons And Trying To Make Wrong Look Right".
http://www.phila-tribune.com/related-lyons.htm
CourtTV Online
CourtTV offers coverage of the Trial of Henry Lyons and a background story.
http://www.courttv.com/trials/lyons/061899_ctv.html
Created by Kelly J. Templeman
For Soc 257: New Religious Movements
Spring Term, 1999.
Last updated: 01/13/00
University of Virginia