Though the non-denominational church is rising in numbers, some in the Baptist faith have maintained the name yet have more in common with the non-denominational church.

For these pastors, progressiveness is just an extension of what the Baptist church of old was all about. These churches incorporate singles ministries, multi-media and the like to push the message of the Gospel out to the masses. Almost anything goes, so long as it doesn’t violate the Word of God.

The contemporary Baptist church is less concerned with the delivery system than the message, and embraces the cutting edge of 21st century evangelism.

The Baptist church then and now

Dr. Angela Dillard, University of Michigan, author of “Faith in the City: Preaching Radical Social Change in Detroit,” has traced the history of the Black church in Detroit, particularly the civil rights aspects of the Baptist church.

“The history of the Black Baptist church is really about the church providing social services, providing a place where political organizing could happen,” Dillard said. “Second Baptist is a great example of this. They would send out members of their congregation to meet trains to help Black southern migrants arriving in the city.”

Baptist churches after the 1920’s had become very popular because they provided these types of services.

 
“There are ministries and congregations doing a wide range of important work that isn’t being recognized. Someone like Rev. Charles Adams whose ministry has always been about social economic justice,” Dillard said. “I think there are churches that are trying to work with these isssues and marshal the collective resources of the churches.”

Dillard is convinced the Baptist church’s future lies in its ability to embrace the activism of old, but will survive regardless. 

“There’s no reason to think that’s going to change,” she said. “What is changing are those non-denomination mega-churches. They’re new. They’re going to be different because they are interracial, multi-ethnic institutions. There’s a debate if they can even be included in the category of the Black church.”

Walking the line

Many Baptist pastors in the contemporary movement believe they are just as appealing as their non-denominational counterparts.

Pastor Wayne Parker, of Merriman Road Baptist Church, in Garden City, uses elements of traditional worship with a sprinkling of new concepts. 

“There’s no traditional style that holds us from changing with the culture,” Parker said. “That’s absolutely necessary. I don’t think we have to get ahead of the culture, but we have to be aware that things change, styles change.”

The basic tenants of Parker’s belief are held steadfastly, despite some tweaking here and there. In 10 years he has seen his congregation grow from 150  to 1500 members.

“When I came, the church was older and more traditional,” Parker said.  “We started to adjust the service to reflect the times a bit. The largest part of our growth is in young adults in their twenties and thirties.”

Among the tools they use is a praise and worship band, using a variety of styles from gospel to hymns to contemporary Christian music and even multimedia and dramatic theater.

“We’re not particularly edgy,” Parker said. “Our changes have been slow, gradual introductions. I think what enables us to keep everyone aboard, is our continued success at reaching people, involving new people.”

Pastor Sam Jackson, 43, Eastside Community Church, started a cross-cultural membership to attract more people.

“They were looking for people who had some fresh ideas, who would have solid Baptist theology, but different application of ministry,” Jackson said of his appointment. “There are stereotypes and Baptist is pretty broad. When reaching people with the good news, the message cannot change.”

Jackson is an advocate of making subtle changes.

“I’m sure that if the people saw our church, they would see the Gospel hasn’t changed,” Jackson said. “The way we reach them may differ. If it means meeting in homes, or different styles of music – those issues are flexible.”

Changes in the church

Rev. Tellis J. Chapman, pastor of Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, has maintained a foundation of tradition, but is not opposed to changes.

“In terms of culture, we have acquiesced to the contemporary times, while our message remains the same,” Chapman said. “Over 22 years some of the things we’ve traditionally done, we’ve converted. Evening services are becoming obsolete (for example).

To Chapman, religious denominations aren’t as important as they used to be, and are linked by a single idea: everyone practices something.

“We all believe in and practice something for the most part,” Chapman said.  “Those who have a traditional concept of Baptist have not been in contact with the entire Baptist community.”

Galilee Missionary Baptist Church has swelled in membership from 20, to its present day number of 100.

“We have grown gracefully and we’re attempting to do some things for the community,” Chapman said.

“The Baptist church is as alive and well as any denominational church,” Chapman said.  “We have an open heart to the ecumenical community. We have fellowshipped and worshipped with the cross-culture because all of us somewhere have common ground and that is Jesus Christ and Him sacrificed and resurrected.”

Maintaining ‘the Message’

David Washington, pastor of Canton Christian Fellowship, in Canton, is a Baptist but doesn’t hold too hard to tradition.

“I think the word Baptist can have a negative connotation to some, and as Baptist leaders, we need to be open to healthy change, not compromising God’s word. We must keep the message,” he said.          “My dad is a 68-year-old Baptist pastor. We don’t agree on everything, but he has made some adjustments.”

Washington is willing to try many things that will bring people to God, and if that includes doing something different, then so be it. 

“The beautiful thing is our culture is forever changing, and we can continue to preach the Word of God without compromise, so that the young people can feel the value in it,” he said. “There are some traditions we must keep, but are we keeping tradition for the sake of keeping tradition?”

Washington, 36, grew up a traditional Baptist, but moved away from that tradition over time.

“I think that is where the Baptist church is losing this generation. People are really hungry for something they can apply. We want to be really authentic,” he said. “We don’t want to be a church, we want to be a community.”

As a contemporary Baptist church, the point is to take the best of the old and blend it with the new.

“We really try to be real and take a lot of the great things we learned from our traditional Baptist background, and in some ways reshape and reform them,” he said. “That’s not to say that what our parents did was wrong, but sometimes the message does change in order to reach the generation to come. We (the contemporary Baptist church) have a tendency to want to explore and see what’s out there.”

Bridging old with new

Greg Smith, 27, and Sadie Mosses, 70, are members of Canton Christian Fellowship. For Smith, a youth leader, the lure of the church came later as he didn’t have church-going parents. The Detroit Public Schools special education teacher was intrigued by Pastor Washington’s style.

“There was a certain spark, a certain anointing. You could tell his words were authentic, the ways he spoke the Gospel, that’s what compelled me,” Smith said. “There are so many things to keep me going to the church. It challenges me to be a better man of God, a better teacher, a better husband, you keep pushing toward that mark. We have a common objective to give God all of our praise.”

Mosses spent her entire life in the Baptist church. These days, she loves the “newness” of a Baptist church that doesn’t always stick with tradition.

“I think you can always bring something from the past,” she said. “I think that  membership numbers are decreasing because the older folks are going away, we’re dying. Young people just don’t go to church like they used to.”