I don't know where you live, but upper middle class people live in places like Alpharetta, Belle Meade, Vestavia Hills, Highland Park.
We Americans are so confused about our class positions.
But back on topic...
This is the problem that I have with the black church and why I think so many people have fallen away.
There is a very rich Christian philosophical tradition that is absent from the black church. Black pastors seem to focus solely on the psycho-emotional and spiritual needs of their congregants neglecting the intellectual needs. You need all three.
I sort of cringe when I hear people say they fell away from the church because they had unanswered questions. It just means you had an inept pastor.
There are Christian thinkers and philosophers much smarter than us that have been tackling the hard questions for centuries. In many Christian denominations, this intellectual tradition is incorporated. But most times it's absent from the black church.
I would say being agnostic/atheist is a good place but keep seeking. And look outside the traditions of the black church.
This is another thing people need to realize about the black church. Most are organized in a non-denominational way. Meaning control is centralized and not hierarchal. The pastor controls the organization as opposed to there being a church denominational structure that controls pastors and their churches on a local level.
When we see these pastors of megachurches, the organization of their church is so that the pastor has all the control like a CEO. Which means they get to set their salaries.
In many other denominations outside of the traditional black church, the church denominations themselves set and cap salaries of church leadership on the local level. Their organizations are hierarchal typically controlled by a national bishop, who oversee regional bishops, who oversee local bishops, who provide oversight to the local pastors and their churches.
If folks have problems with extravagant pastors, then you are at a church where the pastor has sole authority and you should take a look at other denominations where that is not the case. That is not even the typical Christian tradition where there has always been a hierarchy in place for checks and balances but a product of new wave American protestant Christianity that started around the mid 19th century.
I've sat on the vestry board of my parish. The diocese of my church sets the salaries of our church leaders. They have a salary cap and they can make no more. Extravagant church leaders have never been a thing in our denomination.
Last edited:
