by Kelvin Walker
Rev. Charles H. Williams became the first African American to serve on the (then) Board of Managers of the C&MA. Today we have three African Americans serving on the (now) Board of Directors—a Boomer, a GenXer, and a Millennial.
One of those presently serving on the Board formerly served as the Board chair (the first African American to do so). Another also currently serves as the first African American on the President’s Cabinet.
Hope for the Future
The former Association of African-American Churches is now the Association of African-American Pastors, Consecrated Women, and Licensed Official Workers, which represents the growing numbers of African-American men and women who presently serve the C&MA in a variety of ways on the pastoral and district levels.
Some of us serve as lead pastors and/or pastoral staff members of predominantly African-American churches in both the urban and suburban settings. Some of us serve as lead pastors and/or pastoral staff members of multicultural churches in the urban and suburban settings. Some of us serve as lead pastors and/or pastoral staff members in predominantly Caucasian churches as the sole African American on staff. Yet all of us stand on the shoulders of those African-American official workers in the C&MA who paved the way, broke down barriers, and persevered through difficult seasons so we could be where we are today.
Many of these influencers have gone on to be with the Lord. Some of them are retired or nearing retirement. But their leadership and courageous work encourage those of us who remain to persevere as we strive for even greater influence of African-American men and women throughout our denomination. We still have a ways to go. But we are grateful to God for the African-American C&MA influencers of the past who give us inspiration and hope for the future.
At the Table Together
In thinking about whom God is calling our denomination to be, I recently penned these words of reflection:
The gospel of the Kingdom gains a credible witness when all peoples from every tongue, tribe, and nation have access, voice, and respect at the table together in a manner that is equitable and honors the Imago Dei in all humanity. Anything less is simply pictorial in nature. A true Kingdom movement pushes beyond the boundaries of pictorial diversity and seeks Kingdom equity. Praise the Lord that, in our wonderfully multicultural mosaic, we are and continue to become such a movement.
I praise God for the role that African Americans have played and continue to play in making our denomination a credible witness for the Kingdom.
Learn More
On January 1, 1986, the U.S. Black Field, a nationwide group of 11 member churches and 4 affiliated congregations, decided to become part of the Alliance’s geographically based districts. Read more about this transition in “One Family” by Warren Bird.