Top Five Posts For The Week Of October 26-31, 2013

Here are the top five posts from Rhetoric Race and Religion this week. To contribute to R3, click here.

Number 1

The Forgotten Preacher: Bishop Henry McNeal Turner

by Andre E. Johnson

R3 Editor

Henry McNeal Turner, the first black chaplain in the Union Army and one of the most prominent religious and political leaders of Civil War era black America, was born a free black on Feb. 1, 1834, in New Berry Court House, S.C. Turner was the oldest child of Hardy Turner and Sarah Greer Turner, and while we do not know much about Turner’s other siblings, we do know that Turner’s father died while he was still young. Even though born as a free person, Turner still experienced the harsh reality of prejudice and racism; he worked in cotton fields alongside enslaved people as well as in a blacksmith shop under some of the harshest overseers.

Number 2

Dr. Johnson to Serve as Inaugural Speaker of the Lunch and Learn Series

R3 editor, Dr. Andre E. Johnson will serve as the Inaugural Speaker of the Gifts of Life Ministries Lunch and Learn Series on November 5 at 12 noon. The church is located at 1542 Jackson Ave. in Memphis, Tennessee.

Number 3

The Murky Matrix of Contemporary Ministry: Piety, Privilege and the #PreachersofL.A.-Pt.1

by Earle Fisher

R3 Contributor

Earlier this week a pastor was being interviewed by a student who was intrigued by the pastor’s ministerial authenticity and perspective. Throughout the interview the student expressed a disdain and disgust towards the traditional, dominant (mainstream) ministerial expressions/productions and was somewhat taken aback by the pastor’s affirmation of her disgust and disdain. To add to the enchanting exchange, the student expressed a desire to visit the pastor’s house of worship, at least in part, because (although she didn’t currently attend worship regularly anywhere as a byproduct of her disgust and disdain) she wanted her “at risk” son to have an encounter and relationship with God. “Ironic” would be a blasphemous understatement. Strangely, this is the same relationship that she presumed was accessible through traditional methods (i.e. Sunday worship in a Christian context) but yet had not been persuaded to seek this same God out for herself through the same means (at least not in the last decade or so, to her recollection).

Number 4

The #GovernmentShutdown: A Reader

On October 1, 2013, Congress could not agree to a continuing resolution to fund the government and it led to a shutdown. We here at Rhetoric Race and Religion decided to collect writings that examined the shutdown through the lens of religion and spirituality. We invite you to share your own writing or others by contacting us at rhetoricraceandreligion@gmail.com on Twitter@examinereligion or Facebook. Enjoy

Number 5

Sandra Roberts Makes Adventist History

Sandra Roberts on Sunday, Oct. 27, became the first woman to lead a Seventh-day Adventist conference, a controversial move the worldwide church says it will not recognize. Roberts, who last year became one of the first women ordained as an Adventist minister in the United States, was elected president of the five-county, Riverside-based Southeastern California Conference by a 72 to 28 percent margin. A conference is similar to a diocese.