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Theology, Sociology And Genealogy Key For Many Black Churches

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Dr. Wayne Flynt (bittersoutherner.com)

By Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
For the Birmingham Times

Dr. Wayne Flynt (bittersoutherner.com)

Many of metro Birmingham’s oldest black congregations stay together partly because of theology, sociology, and genealogy, said retired Auburn University History Department Chairman Wayne Flynt. To last for decades, and sometimes longer than a century, however, the ability to “negotiate change” is more important than doctrine, community, and family.

“Negotiating change—whether it’s in style, as in music; or emotion, as in preaching; or in doctrine, as in ordination of women—is probably the most perilous thing a pastor has to do and a congregation has to get through,” he said.

In Birmingham, there are at least 11 churches that were established in the 1800s—including St. Paul United Methodist Church (1869) and Sixteenth Street Baptist Church (1873). At least another 12 are 100 years old or older, and two more will celebrate centennials by 2019.

Congregations with longevity began with some sort of corporate personality, said Flynt, citing Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in downtown Birmingham as an example.

“It didn’t begin as a working-class church,” he said. “It was a downtown church that represented a lot of the, I’d say, middle class—barbers, union members who were fairly well-to-do.”

On the other hand, Sixth Avenue Baptist Church, established in 1881, became a magnet for upper-middle-class blacks.

“As industry developed in Birmingham, Sixteenth Street became more of a working-class church, even though [the two churches] are not that far apart,” Flynt said. “They were far apart in class, I’ll put it that way, and education and the level of emotion you might find in a service.”

Part of Sixth Avenue’s longevity has to do with a strong sense of community and the result of taking care of one another during hard times.

“Children who grew up there and have gone to the University of Alabama or the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and gotten PhDs still commute from Shelby County,” he said. “In most of those cases, it has nothing to do with snootiness. [It has] a great deal to do with a sense of ‘My grandfather was a member of Sixth Avenue. My father was a member of Sixth Avenue. I was born and grew up in Sixth Avenue. And I’m not going anywhere but Sixth Avenue.’ That’s the sense of community, even after community expands well beyond the neighborhood in which Sixth Avenue is located.”

The willingness of members to travel great distances to attend a church is perhaps the greatest tribute that can be paid to a congregation, Flynt said: “The typical sociological pattern for churches these days is twofold. One is that you identify with people like yourself. Another, probably one of the most important aspects, is a generational connection to the congregation. If that congregation still means something to you, you’re willing to drive 20, 30, 40 miles.”

Having members traveling in from distances could create a problem for some churches, though.

“It’s particularly difficult if you’ve got a lot of members commuting,” he said. “They remember the old ways, and then a lot of young people join the church and want, say, livelier music. The older people may not like it.”

At that point, some long-distance commuters may want to go in a new direction. The thinking could be, “‘I’m not going to drive 50 miles to listen to that terrible music,’” Flynt said. “[Or they may not want to travel far] if there’s a new pastor [who] is not the pastor they grew up with and loved.”

The ability to find a way to creatively manage changes that occur over time and between generations is more difficult, in many ways, than worship styles, distances, or anything else, according to Flynt.

Some of Birmingham’s Oldest Churches

  Established Pastor
St. Paul United Methodist Church

1500 6th Ave. North, Birmingham

1869 Rev. Horace Blount
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church

1530 Sixth Avenue North, Northside

1873 Rev. Arthur Price, Jr.
Broad Street Missionary Baptist Church 121 Morris Avenue, Birmingham 1878 Rev. Truitt Evans, Sr.
Twenty-Second Ave. Baptist Church 2614 22nd Avenue North, N. Birmingham 1878 Rev. Keith L. Winfield
Thirgood (Memorial CME Church

1027 Seventh Avenue, North, Northside

1879 Rev. Lamont Johnson
Sixth Avenue Baptist Church

1101 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Southwest side

1881 Rev. John Cantelow
First Congregational Church 1024 Center Street North 1882 Rev. Dr. Rodney Franklin
Macedonia 17th Street Baptist Church

922 17th Street North, Northside

1885 Thomas Hunter
Metropolitan AME Zion Church

1530 Fourth Avenue North, Northside

1885 Rev. Josh U. Johnson
Bethel AME Church

1524 Avenue D, Ensley

1888 Rev. Ronald Thompson
Jackson Street Baptist Church

230 63rd Street South, Woodlawn

1888 Rev. George England III
Metropolitan CME Church

 1600 Ave. K, Ensley

1900 Dr, Larry Batie
New Pilgrim Baptist Church

903 Sixth Avenue South, Southside

1900 Rev. James Brooks
Shady Grove Baptist Church

3444 31st Way North, Collegeville

1902 Michael S. Yarborough
Bethel Baptist Church, Collegeville 3200 28th Avenue North, Collegeville 1904 Rev. Dr. Thomas L. Wilder Jr.
Groveland Baptist Church

5437 5th Avenue S., Woodlawn

1905 Rev. James E. Johnson
St. John Missionary Baptist Church

2401 Carlos Avenue SW, Powderly

1910 (no current pastor)
St. Paul AME Church

300 4th Court Northside, Smithfield

1911 Rev. Dr. Ronald D. Sterling
Oak Street Baptist Church

3224 Virginia Ave, Collegeville

1916 Marvin. R. Conner
St. Paul CME Church

400 Circle Street, Docena

1916 Alvin Crenshaw
Starlight Baptist Church

1280 AL 150, Muscoda

1916 Rev. Dr. Alfonso Ross, Jr.
Galilee Baptist Church

1013 23rd Street North, Northside

1918 Dr. James E. Tyus
East End Baptist Church

2609 Sixth Avenue South, Southside

1919 Johnny L. Mosby

 

Source: Birmingham Historical Society. The Birmingham Times.