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Abstract
Despite the connection between right doctrine, biblical interpretation and responsible advocacy for social justice in the black pulpit, there is silence in scholarly literature about how the black pulpit has historically demonstrated a nexus of evangelical theology proper and righteous social action for the liberation of its people. This dissertation argues that there is a model in the person and preaching of Donald Parson, a local black pastor of two Chicago churches for more than forty years, that black preaching demonstrates both a high view of Scripture and a fierce responsibility to engage issues of social justice. Donald Parson is a good example of influential black preaching that did not develop under the influence of white intellectuals. As illustrated here, Parson is widely regarded as one of black America’s significant 20th Century preachers. By examining Chicago’s rise in black residents, the social and cultural factors for its black church formation, this dissertation examines the biography of Donald Parson in convergence with Chicago’s migration, his convictions on the nature of scripture, and his leadership in matters of social justice. In particular, this dissertation proposes that the terms of social justice are defined biblically not socially; and that social orthopraxy is a consequence of biblical orthodoxy. To locate Donald Parson as an ecclesial black theologian, this dissertation examines the scholarly contributions of black theologians James Cone, Bruce Fields, and Raphael Warnock. It investigates Parson’s exegetical and homitical process by analyzing more than one hundred of his sermons between 1978 and 2005. In light of present systemic injustice experienced specifically in black America, the concurrent exit of millennials from Christian churches in America, and the training of black students in seminary contexts the preaching of Donald Parson offers a healthy and constructive way forward in the discussion of black preaching, its submission to the authority of scripture and its leadership in matters of social justice. In this way, studying Parson can help us account for an oft forgotten strand of black preaching.
