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The Black Church Studies program at Louisville Seminary is first of all an academic program
we provide concentrations for our doctor of ministry program, our
master of divinity and our master of arts in religion
you can do a concentration in Black Church Studies by taking about four courses
these the courses
that range from Black Theology, African-American Christianity,
Intro to Black Region... gender race class, Frederick Douglas, so we have a
wide array of courses. (Shannon Craigo-Snell) The Black Church Studies Program at Louisville Seminary
is at such an exciting time right now. The whole campus
not just a few professors, not just one small little segment
the whole campus is engaging issues of diversity
and racial divides and how the church
can be a healing and reconciling presence in America today.
(Lewis Brogdon) But it's not just an academic program. It's also
is it is becoming an intellectual and a theological
resource for the church. Black Church Studies faculty are present in a lot of local
congregations
lecturing, teaching seminars,
Bible studies, preaching engagements we also
host conferences on campus... this is just an opportunity
for leaders in the church to come to think about the issues that are
affecting
African-American communities and affecting all our communities.
We're deeply invested in the life of the Church,
and so we we are present, preaching and teaching.
I think the future the black church will hinge
upon having more theologically-trained pastors
and ministers and leaders. And then we also try to be a bridge builder for
both for African-American and also non-African-American churches.
We try to spend some time talking about issues of racism,
poverty, sexism,
you name it, we're talking about
these kinds of issues
helping congregations to negotiate and navigate
the global church. The Black Church Studies Program graduates bridge
builders
because many times in standard curriculum, whether it's
teaching courses on interpretation of the Bible, Christian history, or Christian
theology, a
lot a seminary students don't have an opportunity to really learn
history the African-American church, to learn about
African-American preaching, African-American Biblical interpretation
and to learn how to do ministry
in an African-American context, so a student who comes to
Louisville Seminary takes course in Black Church Studies
they're both able to understand the breadth of the Christian tradition,
but then they're also able to understand the particularities... what is
unique
about the black church... and they've spent some time before they graduate
thinking about how to preach, how to interpret the Bible, how to do
theology, how to do ministry in African-American communities.