THE PLANTATION PREACHER

by Pr. Reynold McZorn, Jr.

During slavery, on many plantations, the black slaves often outnumbered the white slave owners ten to one. To ensure their own protection against slave uprisings or rebellions, the white slave owners often made one of the slaves a preacher and gave him the message to preach on Sundays.

The number one message was, “obey your master.” The second message was the story of Lazarus, the poor man that begged at the rich man’s gate. Lazarus died and went to Heaven, while the rich man died and went to Hell. The point to the slaves was clear, you will suffer now, but you will get your prosperity when you die. It was a promissory note for the by and by.

Today, Master Prophet, Archbishop E. Bernard Jordan has become the leading liberating voice to African-American believers of the Gospel, who were once enchanted by the ever controversial message of the “plantation preacher.”

In one of his upcoming works entitled, The Plantation Preacher, Master Prophet, Archbishop E. Bernard Jordan uncovers the controversial metaphor known as the “White Gaze,” which is the experience of White culture that seeks to look over Black literature, speech or thought that is articulated by Blacks. The gaze limits the freedom of expression of the African-American.

Master Prophet points out that plantation preachers operated under the “White Gaze” when he states that Black preachers were placed in a position of influence, authority and some privilege however their sermons needed to be understood, accepted and allowed by the White Gaze. Today, the White Gaze is still evident in many African-American pulpits that are validated by white evangelical movements and/or white media. Many African-American preachers are still operating under the White Gaze as their “slave-masters” mock them by wearing blackface and presenting their “slaves” as pimps of their communities. Some simply do not question or challenge their “masters’” actions. Instead, these Black preachers continue to preach to their communities under the White Gaze.

In an unreleased work entitled, The Black Church as a Prophetic Institution for Civil Rights in America, Master Prophet Jordan documents, “There are three essential qualities of healthy religious communities: commitment to being on spiritual journey with others; contributing to something greater than oneself; transforming and being transformed into a new and unfolding faith-filled awareness of a deeper divine existence, interconnected with all people, as well as all creation. It is the interplay of these three qualities in the context of spirituality and vowed life that communities embody a sense of belonging and:

1) Commit themselves to a journey of growth and a deepening of their foundations of faith and justice;

2) Contribute to the reign of God in the community, in the Church, in the world and in the universe, as Jesus did;

3) Transform and are transformed by the Spirit in the interactive relationships that raise consciousness to be citizens of the universe and co-creators on earth where peace and justice can reign.”

In conclusion, the African-American (Black) church and its leadership in particular, must commit to an authentic journey of internal spiritual growth that allows them to confront the White Gaze and its stigma that continues to paralyze the progress of Black liberation from social, political, economic and even religious White institutions that exhibit little to no remorse for their display of racism.