There is love here.

Family. Relationships that span generations. The Black Church in America is, in fact, an intimate portrait of America, with roots deep into centuries of struggle and hardship. The church wears its legacy proudly. It informs our traditions, culture and liturgy. Our greatest strength, however, is also, in many cases, our greatest weakness. We are so invested in our culture, in our tradition, that maintaining those tenets has become, in many cases, the church's entire purpose. The black church in America exists, in large measure, simply to perpetuate itself. National alliances and organizations are largely impotent, existing only to elevate the status of their leadership and collect money from their member churches. All of which can be terribly confusing to those not raised within or properly indoctrinated into the black church. Handbooks and guides are few and far between. These are rules of the road you simply must know, must assimilate largely by osmosis. Transgressing any of these unwritten rules marks you as an outsider, to be met with polite smiles but certainly not a member of the family. Anyone desiring a productive relationship with the black church must understand the passwords and secret handshakes endemic to this culture.

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