Why are you A.M.E.?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : A.M.E. Today Discussion : One Thread

Hi, everyone and Happy New Year! The A.M.E. Herald staff and I will begin to publish resources for evangelism through the Media, that local churches can use. See the upcoming wednesday edition.

But I want to put this question to the board and those that read the board.

1.) Why are you A.M.E. instead of another denomination.

I am interested in knowing what is distinctive about A.M.E. Thanks for you input. Also put down how long you have been A.M.E.

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2005

Answers

I have now been AME for over almost half my life.

I really felt the Lord led me to the AME church. When I first joined an AME church I drove past six or seven churches before I stopped in front of the church.

The church I first joined was a church that welcomed young adults, especially at the 8 am service, newborns and newlyweds existed in beautiful harmony.

I was a stranger in a strange land (Southern California) but this place was open to receiving sojourners and those just passing through. It became the source not only of spiritual nourishment, but an extended family. Thanks Denise for giving me a chance to remember the goodness of God.

I was taught the basic of AME doctrine and polity but never saw the conference, or other activities.

Moving to the 6th District was an awakening because neither I nor the church was ready for each other, another stop in the 5th this time in the heartland was okay but the church was often colder than the weather and then on to the 4th where I wanted to go back to the Baptist Church but my wife, a stickler for vows made before God and an adult baptized in the AME church wasn't going for it and once again the Lord took us to a loving church.

I pray that our church which celebrates family in a big way would also learn how to celebrate the stranger in the gates.

-- Anonymous, January 09, 2005


Rev Denise, this is an interesting question! I was raised in a little Baptist church. My grandfather was one of the two deacons and my Grandmother was the "Church Mother". After I left home for the service I never went back to my hometown to live. I settled in the Boston area. I heard of St Paul AME by word of mouth. The biggest attraction was the dynamic young Pastor and the wonderful choirs. That young Pastor was now Bishop Byrant. My grandparents had instilled a connection to God and not a particular church. The Black Church happened to be Baptist but the relationship was with the local church. In the distant past it was once an AME Church so I have come full circle. I eventually joined St Paul. I say St Paul and not AME because I had no idea what AME was. I was hearing and learning the Word. I knew the Pastor and ministerial Staff would disappear once a year for something called an Annual Conference and that was about it. I think that the average member of the church is concerned with their walk with God and the work of the local church than they are with the Connection. They learn about the history, Government, Articles of Religion,etc in Membership class but I venture to say the Denomination is secondary. They love the church. Once they get active in the ministries, the Connection comes into play. Personally, I have had the opportunity to serve at the local, District and Annual Conference level. I am fed Spiritually and continue to grow in my Walk. Over all these years I have grown to love African Methodism. My commitment, however, is to God and not the man made Denominations. Therefore, "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" Bro Bob

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2005

Rev. Rogers,

What a question as I come to the board for the first time in the new year! It is the same question I, together with my colleague,was asked by Bishop James Davis a week or so after his arrival in September, last year. We did not expect such a question and we gave him the public script on the first time and later we gave him other answers to the questions which we did not give before.

He asked the same question as the series of Annual Conferences which concluded in November, last year. We had testimonies from delegates to the conference and one began to appreciate the love of the Church from the testimonies.

One thing I realised is that it depends on where you are in the church. Ministers have their answer to the question and lay people have their perculiar answers. An example being; ministers rather thing more of the privileges they have by not just being members but in the leadership ranks of the church. While the lay people really thing more of what the association provided by the AME Church really means to them.

Two things stand out for me about why I am an AME - I know no other denomination but the AME:

1) Charismatic Preachment of the Word centered on Christ and rippling on the challenges faced by humanity, especially the African community - if you like, the black community.

2) Raising Consciousness and Inspiring Self-Empowerment/Development. There may be funds raised form outside the local church but all the funds for building our sanctuaries or driving ministries come from the African/Black people themselves. Consequently, no one dictates the agenda from outside these communities but the African people themselves. Other denominations, at least here in South Africa, envy the AMEs. They support their own Pastors (albeit, not adequately) and build their own structures (regardless how they sometimes look like).

Other denominations have problems regarding resources at their disposal. For instance, among others, there are denominations which own land in South Africa yet the ownership is not real because the deeds are somewhere in Germany or Sweden - in European land. In fact, the land was never purchased by those who claim ownership but missionaries who came around and began the denomination. Only when they was cut the umbilical cords with the missionaries are real facts surfacing and stir them in the face. Thank you so much for this question.

Rev. Teboho G. Klaas

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2005


Rev. Rogers,

What a question as I come to the board for the first time in the new year! It is the same question I, together with my colleague,was asked by Bishop James Davis a week or so after his arrival in September, last year. We did not expect such a question and we gave him the public script on the first time and later we gave him other answers to the questions which we did not give before.

He asked the same question as the series of Annual Conferences which concluded in November, last year. We had testimonies from delegates to the conference and one began to appreciate the love of the Church from the testimonies.

One thing I realised is that it depends on where you are in the church. Ministers have their answer to the question and lay people have their perculiar answers. An example being; ministers rather thing more of the privileges they have by not just being members but in the leadership ranks of the church. While the lay people really thing more of what the association provided by the AME Church really means to them.

Two things stand out for me about why I am an AME - I know no other denomination but the AME:

1) Charismatic Preachment of the Word centered on Christ and rippling on the challenges faced by humanity, especially the African community - if you like, the black community.

2) Raising Consciousness and Inspiring Self-Empowerment/Development. There may be funds raised form outside the local church but all the funds for building our sanctuaries or driving ministries come from the African/Black people themselves. Consequently, no one dictates the agenda from outside these communities but the African people themselves. Other denominations, at least here in South Africa, envy the AMEs. They support their own Pastors (albeit, not adequately) and build their own structures (regardless how they sometimes look like).

Other denominations have problems regarding resources at their disposal. For instance, among others, there are denominations which own land in South Africa yet the ownership is not real because the deeds are somewhere in Germany or Sweden - in European land. In fact, the land was never purchased by those who claim ownership but missionaries who came around and began the denomination. Only when they was cut the umbilical cords with the missionaries are real facts surfacing and stir them in the face. Thank you so much for this question.

Rev. Teboho G. Klaas

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2005


I was taken by the hand into an AME Church 33 years ago at age 2 years old. My grandparents on my mother's side come from a long line of Methodist Episcopals from the south. When my ancestors migrated from the South to the urban centers of the north in the early 1900s, they went to the churches that were in their communities. The church that was in walking distance was an AME church, and that is where they went. That was as early as 1906. My family went to that AME church, not necessarily because it was AME, but because it was the church that met certain spiritual, physical and social needs. There were several Methodist Episcopal churches in the city, but this AME church was close by and it had a similar style of worship to the M.E. church they attended in the south. My great grandparents raised my grandmother in an AME church and my grand parents raised my mother in an AME church. In the late 1950s when my mother was in college, she decided to leave the AME church and joined a congregational/United Church of Christ church because that church met certain spiritual and social needs that the AME church, at that time, was not meeting. Also, she wanted to "leave the nest" and launch out on her own. She stayed at that Congregational church from 1958 to 1972, when I was two years old. She married and I was born and I was baptized in that congregational church. Do you know why she left that church? Because by the time I was of age to go to Sunday School, the congregational church did not have a "baby" Sunday school department and she knew that the AME church that she was raised in had such a program. Also, my mother moved back to the community where the original AME church was located, so it was a good fit. So, I was was then raised in the AME church. Twenty years later, my family left the AME church and joined a different Congregational/United Church of Christ because the original AME church that my family joined was no longer meeting certain spiritual/social needs. The new United Church of Christ met those needs. I remained AME by virtue of marrying an AME clergy person; however, I remain connected to other denominations by virtue of my family. I shared that story because I believe people attend AME churches for a number of reasons. Some people seek out an AME church because they were raised in an AME church and they feel comfortable with the style of worship in the AME church, as well as the strong "family" network that exists in the AME church. Some people attend AME churches and are totally oblivious of Richard Allen, the connectional network, the YPD, etc. Some people don't even know what "AME" means. They just attend xyz AME church because it is a "good church" with a good message and good ministries. I atttended the AME church because it was the church of my family and I remained connected to the "family" of AME's via the YPD and other church organizations. I have certainly attended and even joined other denominations. When I first began attending non-AME churches, I was repulsed by aspects of worship that were, in my opinion, "foreign" to the AME church. (i.e I could not relate to a church that did not stand and do some kind of "decalogue"). However, I have grown and matured since then. To be perfectly honest, wherever the Word of God is being preached and where the Spirit of Jesus Christ lives, I feel at home there, be it Baptist, Church of God in Christ, UCC, United Methodist. If it is a good, Bible-Jesus Christ centered church, then it is fine. In the final analysis, the denomination really doesn't matter. It is how that church plays a role in feeding and nurturing my spirit and contributing to my Christian growth through preaching, Bible study and teaching and justice/community aspect. Whether or not I am moving and growing spiritually is what plays a role in my membership in a church, not the denomination. There was a time when people sought out a particular denomination because, I believe, socially, it "meant" something to be a member of xyz denomination. As we are entering the 21st century, I just don't think people are seeking out AME churches anymore, because they are "AME". If people are seeking out particular AME churches, they are seeking them out, based on the reputation of good preaching or good Bible teaching or good community outreach. God bless.

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2005


Moderation questions? read the FAQ