Chapter 16: every tradition · Christianity
National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
A Missionary Baptist church of the National Baptist Convention, USA, the largest historically Black Baptist body, formed in 1895. The church governs itself and calls its own pastor, who leads with strong authority and often stays for decades; deacons and trustees serve beside the pastor, and the church cooperates freely with its district association, its state convention, and the national convention, owing them nothing it does not choose to give. Sunday worship is long and expressive: devotion led by the deacons, choirs with the Hammond organ, offerings walked to the front, a sermon that rises in call and response, and the doors of the church opened at every service. Believers are baptized by immersion and the Lord's Supper kept on first Sundays. Church life rests on its auxiliaries (the usher board, the Mothers' Board, the missionary society, the choirs) and its days: the pastor's and church's anniversaries, Women's Day, Men's Day, Homecoming, and Watch Night.
All 80 traditions · its profile in Faiths and traditions, with how to play it; How people feel, what every factor is.
At a glance
| Faith | Christianity |
|---|---|
| Its words | church, church, sanctuary; the pastor leads the worship service; the sermon; Sunday; the Bible |
| Worship | word focus, responsive, low formality (0.33 of 1); seated on pews |
| Music | gospel organ expected; piano expected; choir expected; handbells discouraged; chant discouraged; recorded discouraged |
| The room's sound | likes a ringing room (organ and choir) |
| Its year | western, black church; major observance; fasts none |
| Leans | conservative on moral questions, liberal on economic ones |
| Polity | congregational; leaders come by call; property local |
| Leaders | one leader, full time, trained by ordination council; marriage expected |
| Belonging | high commitment, pastoral discipline, admitted by vote; exclusive |
| Giving | tithing expected; collected by walked, online |
| Way of life | alcohol abstinence, dress church clothes, sabbath observed |
The week's services
| Day | Time | Service | Led by | People look for it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 11:00 am | Black church worship | the pastor | expected |
| Sunday | 3:30 pm | Preaching service | the pastor | optional |
| Wednesday | 7:00 pm | Prayer meeting and Bible study | the pastor | expected |
- Leader: a pastor. With none (a vacancy, or no one hired), the services are still held, but each costs everyone at it 0.10; on sabbatical a supply pastor stands in ($800 a month) for a little less.
- Communion (monthly), passed among the people: nothing needs to be placed to serve it. People receive from age 9; anyone younger who comes forward is blessed instead.
- Baptism: needs a baptistry or an immersion font, built and installed; until there is one, those wanting baptism wait.
- Lay helpers at each service: Required: 2 deacons (at communion).
Rites
- Right Hand of Fellowship (per joining, +0.015 to those there): New members are welcomed at the front, and the pastor and deacons, and often the whole congregation, give them the right hand of fellowship.
- Child Dedication (per birth, +0.02 to those there): Parents bring their baby to the front, promise to raise the child in the faith, and the pastor prays a blessing over the family while the congregation promises to support them.
- Revival (yearly, +0.03 to those there): A week of nightly meetings with a guest evangelist, rousing music and an invitation every night, held to renew the church and win new converts.
- Watch Night (yearly, +0.03 to those there): On New Year's Eve the church gathers to pray, sing and testify, and to see the new year in on their knees at midnight. In Black churches it also remembers Freedom's Eve, December 31, 1862.
- Special Day (quarterly, +0.025 to those there): Women's Day, Men's Day, Youth Day or Usher Day: one group leads the whole worship service, in matching colors, with a guest preacher and a special tithes and offerings.
- Homecoming (yearly, +0.03 to those there): Former members and families come home for a day of worship, singing and remembering, followed by dinner on the grounds.
- Church Anniversary (yearly, +0.025 to those there): The congregation celebrates the anniversary of its founding with special music, a guest preacher, and the story of the church's beginnings.
- Ordination Council (on request, +0.02 to those there): Pastors and deacons from neighboring churches examine a candidate's call, beliefs and life. If the council recommends it, the church ordains them in a service with the laying on of hands.
Baptism, confirmation, and joining
- Baptized elsewhere: it recognizes a believer's baptism in the name of the Trinity (not one given as a baby). Someone so baptized is received at a service after about 1 week (a week from another of its churches).
- Not baptized (or baptized where it doesn't recognize it): a candidate who is baptized and received at the same service. They may join first and be baptized after.
- Joining age: children baptized as believers are members at once.
- The church's children are baptized as believers at about 10, most within a year or two of it.
- Kinds of belonging: members (votes, may hold office); received by a vote of the members.
- What it means: being baptized, confirmed, or received is worth +0.1 to the person, +0.05 to family there, and +0.03 to everyone else at the service. It roots them: a rooted household drifts away only 0.6 times as often, and if it does fall away, it has a 25% chance of coming home each Christmas Eve and Easter for ten years.
Giving, and what goes up
How its people give and what else comes in, as Money explains it for every faith.
- How it's given: the tithes and offerings, by an offering walked forward at each main service, and giving online. Walked forward, members give 15% more than into a plate, and a visiting household half as much again as its $5 to $25. Those who give online give whether or not they come (8% more a month).
- Tithing is expected: people give 15% more.
- Fundraisers: any it allows (below).
- Owed above: Association and convention dues, $1,200 a year, to the District Association (voluntary); not kept, it costs the congregation its voice.
The pastor, the staff, and who decides
- How the pastor comes: advertised and called: the members vote.
- Paid: full time.
- Candidates: plentiful: four apply, and a search is three months shorter; examined by an ordination council (a little less skilled; they ask 95%); women among them where the congregation ordains them; nearly all married; the spouse has a recognized part (+0.01 to everyone after each service).
- Tenure: settled for about 20 years, then may be called elsewhere.
- Staff it can hire or name (see Staff and volunteers):
- Bivocational pastor ($22,000–$38,000; cares for 75)
- Pastor ($55,000–$85,000 + $18,000 benefits, full time; cares for 150)
- Associate pastor ($42,000–$62,000 + $15,000 benefits, full time; cares for 100 more)
- Choir director / organist / pianist ($15,000–$35,000; leads the music (up to +0.06))
- Caretaker ($18,000–$30,000; slows the building's wear)
- Church secretary ($20,000–$35,000; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once))
- Youth director ($20,000–$40,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
- Its boards: the deacons (deciding, over calls and the spiritual life); the trustees (deciding, over the building).
- Renovations: The members vote, consulting the pastor.
- New construction: The members vote, consulting the pastor.
- Calling a leader: The members vote.
- Who votes: members, 16 and over.
Life together
What its Community screen offers it, with the dilemmas only its own faith or family meets; see The congregation in its community.
- Ministries of its own: Choir.
- Ministries every tradition can run that it's offered: Blood drive, Food pantry, Health clinic, Preschool, Youth group.
- Fundraisers of its own: Soup supper.
- Shared fundraisers it may hold: Auction, Bake sale, Bingo night, Car wash, Raffle, Rummage sale.
- Tenants it can take: A Masonic lodge, A scout troop, A twelve-step group, Another congregation, Dance classes, Parties and receptions, Polling place and forums.
- Auxiliaries: Missionary Society, Mothers' Board, Usher Board.
- Outreach: invitation Sunday, a revival, planting a new church (Community → Evangelism).
- Dilemmas of its own faith (besides those every congregation meets): A petition for cushions, The bells, again.
- Dilemmas its code of life brings: A candidates' forum, A raffle for the roof, A recruiter asks for the hall, Champagne at the reception.
What the building needs
- required BaptistryBeliever's baptism by immersion needs a baptistry: a tank large enough for an adult, with plumbing to fill and drain it.
- required Communion tableThe Lord's Supper is served from a communion table, recalling the table of the Last Supper.
- required PulpitPreaching is the center of worship, so the pulpit stands at the center of the platform.
- expected Choir stallsA choir leads the singing and needs a place to stand or sit together.
- expected Communion traysThe bread and cup are carried to the pews in trays and passed along the rows.
- expected Hammond organGospel worship is carried by a Hammond organ.
- expected Upright pianoThe congregation expects singing led from a piano.
- discouraged CrucifixThis tradition uses an empty cross, proclaiming the risen Christ, rather than a crucifix.
- discouraged Flaming chaliceThe flaming chalice is another tradition's symbol.
- discouraged IconIcons are not part of this tradition's worship.
- discouraged StatueStatues are not part of this tradition's worship space.
What people here feel
- Architectural style: Colonial brick +0.052; Modern synagogue +0.034; Gurdwara +0.028; Japanese temple +0.016; Islamic +0.01; Shinto shrine +0.01; Chinese temple +0.004; Dravidian temple -0.002; Nagara temple -0.002; Thai temple -0.002; Jain marble -0.008; Gothic -0.014.
- Building fit: up to ±0.15 for everyone, the average fit of the characterful items in its worship rooms (the table below).
- Acoustics: it wants a ringing room, about 2.8 seconds of reverberation: stone, plaster, a high ceiling. Up to ±0.05.
- Seasonal decor: it keeps the church year: paraments and the season's decor are worth up to ±0.013.
- Solar panels: leaning liberal, it's glad of them (+0.02 at every service).
- The sermon lands by its topic and the tradition's leaning (below); the pastor's preaching adds or costs up to 0.08 more.
- Communion: each communion service runs longer; a slow one costs 0.05 for every 10 minutes the service runs over (0.2 at most).
How each sermon lands
The topics its leader can choose from (some are only for one faith or family), and what each is worth.
- Fire & Brimstone+0.08
- Marriage as God Designed+0.06
- Sanctity of Life+0.06
- Social Justice Call+0.06
- The Last Days+0.06
- Care for Creation+0.04
- Faith & Family+0.04
- Faith of Our Fathers+0.04
- Healing for All+0.04
- Obedience & Discipline+0.04
- Personal Holiness+0.04
- Resisting Temptation+0.04
- Spiritual Warfare+0.04
- The Authority of Scripture+0.04
- The Great Commission+0.04
- Wealth & Poverty+0.04
- Welcome the Stranger+0.04
- Biblical Stories+0.015
- Blessed Are the Peacemakers+0.015
- Called by Name+0.015
- Doubt & Faith+0.015
- Eternal Life & Resurrection+0.015
- Grace & Forgiveness+0.015
- Gratitude+0.015
- Hope & Comfort+0.015
- Joy in All Things+0.015
- Love One Another+0.015
- Sabbath Rest+0.015
- Saints & Witnesses+0.015
- Servant Leadership+0.015
- Songs of the Psalms+0.015
- Stewardship & Generosity+0.015
- The Church Year+0.015
- The Life of Prayer+0.015
- The Parables of Jesus+0.015
- Interfaith Understanding-0.05
- Reading Scripture in Context-0.05
- Swords into Ploughshares-0.05
- The Prophets' Call-0.05
- Women Who Led-0.05
- Racial Justice & Reconciliation-0.075
- Radical Inclusion-0.075
Every item, for this tradition
Fit runs from −1 (jars) to +1 (just right); the building fit is the average over the characterful items in the worship rooms. An item with no character (a table, a toilet) has no fit. A rule applies wherever the item is.
| Item | Fit | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Seating | ||
| Box pew | -0.333 | |
| Choir stalls | +0.333 | expected A choir leads the singing and needs a place to stand or sit together. |
| Meeting bench | no fit | |
| Oak pew | no fit | |
| Row of chairs | +0.333 | |
| Liturgical furniture | ||
| Altar | -0.333 | |
| Baptismal font | -0.333 | |
| Baptistry | no fit | required Believer's baptism by immersion needs a baptistry: a tank large enough for an adult, with plumbing to fill and drain it. |
| Bishop's chair | -0.333 | |
| Brass eagle lectern | -0.333 | |
| Columbarium niches | -0.333 | |
| Communion rail | -0.333 | |
| Communion station | no fit | |
| Communion table | no fit | required The Lord's Supper is served from a communion table, recalling the table of the Last Supper. |
| Communion trays | no fit | expected The bread and cup are carried to the pews in trays and passed along the rows. |
| Confessional screen | no fit | |
| Coptic cross | 0 | |
| Epitaphios | -1 | |
| Flaming chalice | -1 | discouraged The flaming chalice is another tradition's symbol. |
| Foot-washing basins | no fit | |
| Haikal screen | -1 | |
| Iconostasis | -1 | |
| Immersion font | -0.333 | |
| Lectern | no fit | |
| Litany desk | -0.333 | |
| Mercy seat | no fit | |
| Octagonal stone font | -0.333 | |
| Paraments | no fit | |
| Pulpit | no fit | required Preaching is the center of worship, so the pulpit stands at the center of the platform. |
| Readers' desks | no fit | |
| Rood screen | -1 | |
| Sanctuary lamp | -0.333 | |
| Tabernacle | -0.333 | |
| Three-bar cross | 0 | |
| Thurible and stand | no fit | |
| Music | ||
| Brass band stands | 0 | |
| Chanter's stand | -0.667 | |
| Drum kit | +0.167 | |
| Electronic organ | 0 | |
| Grand piano | +1 | |
| Hammond organ | +1 | expected Gospel worship is carried by a Hammond organ. |
| Handbell table | -1 | |
| Pipe organ | -0.167 | |
| Sound system | +0.167 | |
| Upright piano | +1 | expected The congregation expects singing led from a piano. |
| Decor | ||
| Advent wreath | no fit | |
| Banner | 0 | |
| Christmas Eve candles | no fit | |
| Cross | 0 | |
| Crucifix | -1 | discouraged This tradition uses an empty cross, proclaiming the risen Christ, rather than a crucifix. |
| Easter lilies | no fit | |
| Eternal flame | no fit | |
| Flag of the church | 0 | |
| Great dome | -0.333 | |
| Icon | -1 | discouraged Icons are not part of this tradition's worship. |
| Memorial plaque | no fit | |
| National flag | 0 | |
| Painting of Christ | 0 | |
| Paschal candle | no fit | |
| Plain spire | no fit | |
| Small dome | no fit | |
| Stained glass window | -0.333 | |
| Statue | -1 | discouraged Statues are not part of this tradition's worship space. |
| Steeple and bells | -0.333 | |
| Votive candle stand | no fit | |
| Furnishings | ||
| Alms box | no fit | |
| Coffee pot | no fit | |
| Commercial coffee pot | no fit | |
| Computer | no fit | |
| Crib | no fit | |
| Desk | no fit | |
| Desk chair | no fit | |
| Folding table | no fit | |
| Full-length mirror | no fit | |
| Pillar | -0.333 | |
| Prie-dieu | -0.333 | |
| Projection screen | +0.333 | |
| Vestment cabinet | -0.333 | |
| Wooden table | no fit | |
| Utility | ||
| A/V rack | no fit | |
| Camera | no fit | |
| Cast-iron boiler | no fit | |
| Central air conditioner | no fit | |
| Commercial HVAC plant | no fit | |
| Commercial stove | no fit | |
| Congregation van | no fit | |
| Ductless heat pump | no fit | |
| Electric wall heater | no fit | |
| Gas furnace | no fit | |
| Hearing loop | no fit | |
| Lift | no fit | |
| Packaged heat pump | no fit | |
| Plumbing stack | no fit | |
| Ramp | no fit | |
| Shuttle bus | no fit | |
| Sink | no fit | |
| Solar panels | no fit | |
| Stairs | no fit | |
| Toilet | no fit | |
| Used school bus | no fit | |
| Wall camera | no fit | |
| Window air conditioner | no fit | |
| Grounds | ||
| Evergreen tree | no fit | |
| Flower bed | no fit | |
| Fountain | no fit | |
| Garden bench | no fit | |
| Hedge | no fit | |
| Lychgate | -0.333 | |
| Playground | no fit | |
| Shade tree | no fit | |
| Standing cross | no fit | |