Fire in my bones: the prophetic preaching of Martin Luther King Jr

Baptist History and Heritage, Wntr, 1999 by Marty Bell

Thirty years after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., historians are beginning to explore his life and work from a variety of perspectives. As usually happens with famous persons after their deaths, within a few decades, the historiography of their careers creates an academic life of its own. Since the institution of a national holiday honoring Dr. King, the nation has been drawn once again to the remarkable life of this man who altered the course of history through his leadership in the civil rights movement. The resurrection of old files by the media, particularly the television material, has mesmerized a new generation of Americans who are too young to have experienced the civil rights movement at its zenith in the 1960s. Although there were many facets in the life of Dr. King that contributed to his greatness, his role as a prophetic preacher of righteousness left an indelible stamp on the conscience of a nation. As one of the most dynamic speakers in American history, one cannot understand Dr. King apart from his conviction that he was called 'by God to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In this article, I intend to demonstrate that the preaching of Dr. King reflected the same general concerns as did the preaching of the classical Hebrew prophets of the eighth century B.C. and Jesus. To achieve this purpose, I have selected for analysis portions of two published sermons and portions of three of his unpublished sermons which are representative of his preaching style. The published sermons are found in Dr. King's book The Strength to Love, which was first published in 1963. The three unpublished sermons were preached in the latter half of 1966 at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, where he served as associate pastor with his father. I chose these unpublished sermons for three reasons: first, his sermons are consistently preserved in this period; second, because they deal with one central motif, the parables of Jesus, they allow the reader to get a feel for a certain aspect of Dr. King's thought; third, because they were preached in the latter period of his life, they represent his mature thought. Through the medium of the distinctive African-American preaching style, he communicated effectively a warm evangelical and culturally relevant message, which addressed both personal and social concerns.

One of the marks of the preaching of the classical prophets of Israel and Jesus was the ability to communicate in an effective manner with people. These prophets were masters of picturesque speech and even dramatically acted their messages on occasion. African-American preaching in America also has shared historically this ability in communication. Henry H. Mitchell has pointed out that black preachers have enjoyed success for two basic reasons: first, they have been able dramatically to present the gospel in the language and culture of the people; and second, they have related the gospel in such a way that it speaks to contemporary problems and needs. Put simply, the black hermeneutic puts the gospel on a tell-it-like-it-is, nitty-gritty basis. (1)

The sermons of Dr. King are replete with down-to-earth language that deals with the everyday life of African-Americans. Unlike many white preachers who shared with him similar educational achievements, he seldom allowed his preaching material to soar beyond the intellectual reach of his congregation. (2) Even profound concepts were communicated in such a way that the unlettered could comprehend his meaning.

In a sermon entitled "Who Are We?" he presented a variety of philosophical interpretations of humanity in a simple and clear fashion. For a definition of what a materialist believes, he said a materialist feels that "man is nothing but an animal." A humanist affirms that "man is the highest form of being .. [sic] which has evolved in the natural universe." A realist is one who says "man is neither all bad or good." (3)

In this Same sermon, after identifying the realist position as the Christian view concerning humanity, he demonstrated his ability to clarify complex issues. He contrasted the realism of Christian doctrine with the dichotomy of ancient Greek philosophy without bogging down his listeners in metaphysical jargon. He utilizes the dialectic method to retain the best of both views, without losing his listeners by trying to get them to understand the subtleties of his methodology. He simply states:

   If we're going to be sound in our doctrine of who we are, we've got to be
   concerned about man's physical and his material well being. It may be true
   that man cannot live by bread alone, but the mere fact that Jesus added the
   alone, means that man cannot live without bread. Religion must be concerned
   about, [sic] the conditions that people face as they live everyday life.
   (4)

Another mark of the classical prophets of Israel and Jesus was their concern for both the personal and the social aspects of religion. They recognized that a proclamation of either dimension without the other was less than the genuine word from God. Preaching that deals with only the personal dimension of religion tends towards a narrow view of piety with its "holier-than-thou" attitude. However, preaching that deals only with the social dimension of religion tends toward a superficial analysis of the situation of humans, ignoring the existential estrangement of individuals from God.