Archives: Students

This blog is part 1 of a two-part series, introduced here.

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What do baking bread and program evaluation have in common? More than you might think. During the pandemic, we started a new family tradition, baking homemade bread on Sundays. One Sunday, I pulled out the recipe and ingredients like I had done dozens of times before. I read through the recipe, mixed the ingredients, and put the bread in the Dutch oven. However, much to my surprise, instead of the delicious tender bread my family had grown to expect, all I had to offer them was a dense, flat, slightly burnt loaf. I immediately set to work analyzing where I went wrong. I checked the ingredients in the recipe and walked back through the steps I had taken. Based on the less than impressive outcome, I hypothesized and subsequently confirmed that I was missing an ingredient to the whole process, the yeast. Now that I had identified the errors in the baking process, I followed the same steps, ensuring that I used the right ingredients, resulting in the expected outcome, delicious fresh bread. However, examining the outcomes of a social program or treatment intervention may not be as apparent as tasting burnt bread.  

Although seemingly complicated on the surface, program evaluation is very similar to the scientific method you have been engaging in throughout your undergraduate career. The scientific method requires us to ask a question, form a hypothesis, test that hypothesis, come to a conclusion, and finally evaluate the conclusion. Social research methods follow the same steps but focus on answering questions that pertain to individuals and society. Program evaluation is when we implement social research methods to analyze the effectiveness of a program. (Rossi et al., 2019). Program evaluation allows us to apply research for a specific purpose and answer the question, “How do you know you are doing any good at all?” Using program evaluation, we can analyze several aspects by conducting focused evaluations like process and outcome evaluations. Program evaluations can identify ways to improve a program, support the program’s effectiveness or ineffectiveness, and provide more information about a program’s implications. 

Program evaluation can be broken into two parts process and outcome. Process evaluation is when we evaluate to determine if a program is being implemented as designed. However, outcome evaluation evaluates whether the program achieved its intended goals. If we revisit the bread-making example, seeing the burnt bread was the outcome evaluation, but reviewing the steps and ingredients was the process evaluation. It is essential to conduct both process and outcome evaluations when implementing social services and behavioral interventions because the information they provide is complementary and gives a complete picture of a program’s overall effectiveness and health. For example, a process evaluation can monitor implementation and help offer alerts to problems that might negatively impact the outcome. Outcome evaluations can provide the data to determine the overall program effectiveness. If the outcome evaluation proves that the program did not meet its intended goals, a process evaluation can help identify implementation issues. Alternatively, if the outcome evaluation reveals positive outcomes, the process evaluation provides information for program replication. Had I been proactively engaging in program evaluation, I could have adjusted to avoid the bad outcome before it was too late. However, in social science and behavioral interventions, the result can be bad outcomes for families.   

While the results of my burnt bread were disappointing, no one was harmed (except maybe my ego). However, the consequences could be devastating when we deliver social services or behavioral interventions that result in unintended outcomes. Children could stay in unsafe homes and continue to be abused, and parents might not get the help they need to reunify with their children; veterans could experience additional trauma while seeking care.  

Using program evaluation, we can analyze several aspects by conducting focused evaluations like process and outcome evaluation that all go hand in hand to provide a comprehensive picture of a program’s overall function and health. Program evaluations can identify ways to improve a program, provide support for the program’s effectiveness or ineffectiveness, and provide more information about a program’s implications.  

Another critical aspect of program evaluation is that it provides external validity and allows us to distribute our findings to funders and stakeholders with greater confidence (Moye, 2016). Social service programs need to demonstrate positive outcomes, and external validity is important because funders require it. Funding for programs is data-driven and will require evidence. As demand for social services increases, securing ongoing funding has grown more complicated. Grant funding to address the grand social challenges has become more competitive, and accountability measures are stricter. With financial demand often outweighing the supply, social workers must continue demonstrating their effectiveness. It is essential to articulate the need for social service programs and interventions to stakeholders, which is done through evidence. What theory and design is the program grounded? What are the program’s processes, impact, and outcomes? Program evaluations can produce practice-based evidence that leads to evidence-based practices. (Fynn et al., 2020).  

Program evaluation is not just limited to social services programs in the macro setting focusing on system-level interventions and mezzo settings that focus on the community-level interventions. Program evaluation can be used on the micro-level to determine if clinical interventions are serving their intended purpose. Program evaluation should matter to all academic scholars because it allows us to determine if the programs, we are providing are doing any good all. Because at the end of the day, nobody wants to eat burnt bread. 

Check out part 2 of this series here.

As social workers, we engage in research and apply scientific research methods in many ways. Two important ways we use research methods are in program evaluation and policy analysis. As practitioners, it is incumbent upon us to know what types of policies, programs, services, and interventions are most effective for our clients. Well researched interventions that demonstrate efficacy are referred to as evidence-based practices or best practices. However, when we implement these evidence-based interventions, variables or extraneous factors (known and unknown) may interfere with our ability to replicate the types of results the intervention had produced in the published literature. For this reason, we need to engage in program monitoring, or what we call program evaluation.  

Program evaluation ensures we produce the intended results and do not create unintended consequences. Additionally, funders typically require program evaluation and data reporting. There is increasing oversight and accountability for social and behavioral services practitioners and the need to demonstrate positive outcomes. Program evaluation helps ensure quality service and continued funding.  

Another important way social workers apply research methods is in policy analysis. Policy analysis involves understanding why the policy was created, who it was intended to affect, how it was implemented, and ultimately, what the policy’s outcomes were. Policymakers need to know if the policy had the intended outcomes and if there are any unintended consequences? Researchers use the results of policy analysis to advocate for support, needed changes, and new policy.   

At CBU in the Department of Social Work, we recognize the importance of both policy analysis and program evaluation. All MSW students spend a semester studying each of these subjects. In this two-part series, I worked with two of my MSW mentees* to write about their understanding and experiences with program evaluation and policy analysis. In the first part of this blog series, Natasha Alsobrook relates program evaluation to breaking bread in her article “How do you know the bread is any good?” In the second part, Bailee Ann Cameron discusses the value of policy analysis and the real-life impact on our children and families in her article “Policy: Irreverent and Irrelevant or not?” 

*In the Masters of social work program at CBU, all students are assigned a faculty mentor. Faculty Mentorship is a distinctive feature of the CBU MSW Program. The purpose of the Faculty Mentor is to: 

• Model social work values  
• Model Christian faith and ethical social work practice  
• Help students set proactive patterns of self-care   
• Help students select a social work track that is best for them (generalist year) 
• Help students choose a Capstone Project topic (specialization year)  
• Empower students to Live their Purpose  
• Communicate student feedback into the program  
• Help students access all the CBU resources (i.e., counseling center, student services, writing support, financial aid, campus ministries, career center, recreation center, global service opportunities, etc.) 
• Guide students on their faith and professional journey 

Many sexual addicts feel lonely, abandoned, and angry. They desperately long for love, intimacy, affirmation, and nurture. But they notice that their needs aren’t being met. Consequently, in many cases, the behavior of sexual addicts becomes a substitute for true intimacy and love. Emotional discomfort such as helplessness, powerlessness, loneliness, and hopelessness are one of the primary catalysts in bringing about sexual addiction. These feelings may begin in an unhealthy and dysfunctional family with illness and wounds during childhood. The sex addict has difficulties expressing emotions appropriately or solving emotional discomfort in their family of origin. Thus, the addict has immature skills in identifying emotional feelings. The addict yearns to escape the emotional pain they have experienced in the past. A sense of helplessness or powerlessness drives them to have a strong desire to repair these emotional discomforts and becomes an uncontrollable force to the addict. 

Many researchers posit that abusive family backgrounds, including abandonment, abuse, and neglect, can cause children to develop painful emotions and problematic behavioral patterns, leading to sexual addiction. Abandonment is experienced primarily in the family-of-origin when both parents do not fulfill children’s needs. Children learn how to have an intimate relationship with others through parental love and acceptance, such as appropriate physical touching and verbal encouragement. Lack of parental love and nurture obstructs the fulfillment of a child’s natural desires. Children whose emotional needs have not been met feel powerless and insecure in such an environment. The consequences of emotional pain drive them to find other methods of satisfying their desires. 

Abuse is another aspect that can lead to sexual addiction. To be abused by a parent or family member leads to feelings of anxiety, fear, anger, and confusion. Children who are abused question their self-worth and safety. Shame, one of the contributing factors of sexual addiction, can overwhelm an individual and be internalized in one’s heart. The message shame gives abused children is that they are a mistake and worthless. Abused children do not know how to cope with abuse and make an effort to bury horrifying memories. It is very difficult for the abused to confront past pain because it is painful to recollect these emotions. An adult who has been abused during childhood seeks to escape the painful feelings. 

Neglect is also recognized as a root cause of sexual addiction. Neglect indicates a parent’s irresponsibility towards the child’s spiritual, physical, emotional, or sexual development. Spiritual neglect often stems from the absence of parents’ necessary education and information about God and Christian life. Physical neglect is a lack of appropriate physical health care. A child whose emotional needs are not met can create a propensity for emotional numbness. Children need approval, praise, and encouragement. A lack of these experiences causes children to become emotionally numb. Children who are emotionally neglected may desire to please themselves with false intimacy. Sexual neglect comes from the absence of appropriate and healthy sex education in the family. Children who are sexually neglected in the family receive an unhealthy and distorted message from the current culture and mass media. Early sexualization, without proper cognitive ability or development to accept sexual stimuli and feelings, influences children to lose control of future sexual encounters because of their early dealings with the subject. 

How can sex addicts who experienced these wounds as children be treated? Sexual addicts who have experienced abuse or neglect in a relationship can be cured through healthy relationships. Sexual addiction is difficult to treat on its own. Since emotional needs have not been met, it is necessary to understand those feelings and express them appropriately. Since they use sex to deal with their emotional pain, they need to learn more appropriate and healthy ways to deal with more negative emotions. In particular, sex addicts need to accept that God has made them beautiful creatures and value their existence in God’s love in dealing with shame for themselves. Sexual addicts tend to demean themselves and view themselves pessimistically due to the wounds they have received, so they have difficulty finding the value and meaning of their lives. Therefore, sexual addicts should believe that God can use their difficult life experiences meaningfully. It is also essential to accept the loss of sufficient love and care in the lives of sex addicts. Sexual addicts are poor at establishing healthy relationships because they have not experienced caring and nurturing in past relationships. It is important to experience care and acceptance through healthy relationships through sharing their pain in a healthy community. By experiencing acceptance when they show their faults and weaknesses to others, they can be honest in front of others and trust others. The love and acceptance experienced through a positive relationship with God and others play a vital role in recovering sex addicts suffering from inappropriateness and shame. 

Reference 

Carnes, P., & Carnes, P. (2001). Out of the shadows : understanding sexual addiction (3rd ed.). Center City, MN: Hazelden Information & Edu. 

Laaser, M. R. (2004). Healing the wounds of sexual addiction: Zondervan. 

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Did you enjoy this blog? We think you’ll like the other blogs in this series, too! Be sure you check out what Dr. Lee has to say about the neurological and spiritual perspectives on sexual addiction in his other posts.

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The “60-day Lifestyle Project” is an assignment given in one of my classes that requires students to pick one good habit that they want to create (e.g., exercising more, drinking more water, reading the Bible regularly) and to keep doing that same activity every day for 60 days. As a professor, it has brought me great joy to see many of my students building good habits successfully. In just a few years of experience with this project, I found that one of the most popular activities students chose was to reduce their screen time. Since we are living in the digital age, it is impossible to imagine our lives without digital products. But my experiment has been providing evidence that many people are realizing that they are spending more time on screens than necessary.   

Why We Do What We Do  

Why are we spending excessive time on digital screens? Basically, we do what we do because we wish to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Therefore, we use digital products as a way to make ourselves feel better. Moreover, such products are useful in many ways, and they can increase our productivity to a certain point. But once you pass that threshold, your productivity actually decreases ¹. Even though you might recognize the harmful effects of digital products on your productivity and well-being (such as distracting our attention from very important things, including studying, taking care of our kids, and working), it is hard to reduce or stop this behavior. Uncontrolled and heavy consumption of technology disrupts the pleasure control system, leading to the bad habit becoming an addiction. You might be uncomfortable naming this behavior along with other severe forms of addiction, such as substance abuse; however, the two have much in common in terms of their definition and in how they work.   

Defining Addiction  

The root word addict comes from the Latin word addictus, which means “to devote, sacrifice, sell out, betray, or abandon.” In Roman law, an addict was a person that became enslaved through a court ruling—a secondary derivation from its legal usage that persisted as descriptive and no longer literal². The modern definition of addiction is a “persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful.” While the modern and Latin definitions are quite different, a connection can certainly be drawn between the two. Research has shown that addiction is a disease that chemically alters your brain, making you “a slave” to a behavior or substance². 

Brain Disease Model of Addiction  

In the past two decades, research has increasingly supported the view that addiction is a disease of the brain³. The brain disease model of addiction holds that addictions are chronic, relapsing brain diseases and that the relapses are symptoms—and part of the expected course—of the disease. As with other diseases, addictions can be caused by multiple factors, which can be behavioral, environmental, and biological. The brain disease model of addiction suggests that addiction can be explained by findings on the desensitization of reward circuits, which dampen the ability to feel pleasure and the motivation to pursue everyday activities; increasing strength of conditioned responses and stress reactivity, which results in increased cravings for alcohol and other drugs, as well as negative emotions when these cravings are not sated; and weakening of the brain regions involved in executive functions such as decision making, inhibitory control, and self-regulation, leading to repeated relapses³. 

Digital Addiction  

Behavioral addiction is a lot like substance addiction in many ways; however, it is much newer. Although such behavioral addictions do not involve a chemical intoxicant or substance, a group of researchers has posed that some core indicators of behavioral addiction are similar to those of chemical or substance addiction⁴. First of all, it is similar to substance addiction in that the addiction develops when we have a psychological need. We use substances when we are bored or feeling lonely (these are the moments when you are looking for what some people call the “adult pacifier”). Second, excessive use of digital products bears striking similarities to those diagnosed with substance abuse in terms of dopamine stimulation. While we are trying to remain connected by means of texting, tweeting, surfing the web, online shopping, and gambling, these actions activate the same neural circuits in our brains involved in the use of substances⁴.  Although not as intense as a hit of cocaine, the extensive use of digital products similarly results in a release of dopamine, reinforcing whatever behavior preceded it. Thus, users find themselves unable to stop, for when they are not using their devices, they are in a state of dopamine deficit ⁵.  

How to Break the Bad Habit?  

Is there any way to break the bad habit? This is a big question to answer here, but research has found some factors that can increase the possibility of success. People with a certain social status, meaningful jobs, spouse, and people who have bright futures are less likely to become addicted and stay addicted to something. In other words, people who have more things to lose are more likely to be resilient to addiction. Fortunately, this could apply not only to their physical condition but also to their psychological mindset and what they believe. To illustrate, if we believe that we have a lot of potential things to lose (e.g., if you know who you really are in Jesus Christ), then we will be less likely to become addicted and will have more of a chance to break the bad habits ⁶.   

Digital products aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, so it is up to us as users to decide how much of our time we want to dedicate to them. If you believe you are experiencing harmful effects from overusing digital products, why don’t you try some of the tricks that have been successful for my students. For example, some of them have set up a time limit use on their phones, placed their phone in a locked drawer, designated screen-free zones, and so on. More importantly, we need to remind ourselves of what we are losing while we are on screen.  

References 

1. https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-economy-and-the-internet-what-lies-ahead 

2. Richard J. Rosenthal & Suzanne B. Faris (2019) The etymology and early history of ‘addiction’, Addiction Research & Theory, 27:5, 437-449, DOI: 10.1080/16066359.2018.1543412 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epub/10.1080/16066359.2018.1543412?needAccess=true 

3. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmra1511480  

4. Alavi, S. S., Ferdosi, M., Jannatifard, F., Eslami, M., Alaghemandan, H., & Setare, M. (2012). Behavioral Addiction versus Substance Addiction: Correspondence of Psychiatric and Psychological Views. International journal of preventive medicine, 3(4), 290–294. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3354400/pdf/IJPVM-3-290.pdf

5. Constant craving: how digital media turned us all in to dopamine addicts https://www.theguardian.com/global/2021/aug/22/how-digital-media-turned-us-all-into-dopamine-addicts-and-what-we-can-do-to-break-the-cycle 

6. Myles, D. (2020). The Age of Addiction: How Bad Habits Became Big Business DAVID T. COURTWRIGHT Cambridge, USA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2019 ISBN: 9780674737372, 336 pp. Hardcover. Price: US$27.95. Drug & Alcohol Review, 39(4), 428–429. 

https://doi-org.libproxy.calbaptist.edu/10.1111/dar.13047

Apologist Lisa Fields is the founder of the Jude 3 Project, a ministry with the intention of helping millennial and Generation Z Christians defend their faith through Scripture. As she was completing her Master of Divinity degree, she realized there was a need for apologetics that were specific to the Black American experience. The Jude 3 Project accomplishes this through a podcast, seminars and lectures, and numerous events, including an annual Courageous Conversations conference which gathers Black church leaders and theologians to discuss a variety of issues. In addition, Lisa Fields and Jude 3 have traveled to Historically Black Colleges and Universities to dispel racially based lies that stand in the way of effective evangelism. Lisa was recognized in Christianity Today for her impact on modern apologetics in the African American community.  

In addition, Lisa has innumerable resources, videos, curriculum, and courses available for those who desire to defend and know their faith. Lisa breaks down and clarifies complex theological concepts in a way that equips listeners to apply and ultimately defend their faith as referenced in Jude 3. Furthermore, as a Black woman in a male-dominated discipline, she stands out as an innovator in modern Christian thought. May God continue to build on the foundation Lisa Fields has set.  

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Check out the Student Contributions to this series here:

Paving the Way to Worship: Black Christian Leaders You Should Know by Hozell Francis II

Rev. George Liele: Church Planter, Missionary, and Servant of God by Hozell Francis II

Andrew Bryan: Pastor, Church Planter, and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

Dr. E. W. McCall: Innovator, Educator, Trendsetter by Hozell Francis II

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You can also find 2022 Black History Month blogs authored by CBU faculty here:

Why Black History Month? by Dr. Charles Lee Johnson

Why I Can’t Wait to Get my Ida B. Wells Barbie by Dr. Krystal Hays

Remembering to Forget, to Begin Again by Dr. Viola Lindsey

Not Black History Just History by Dr. Stephen Brown

Dr. Elisha W. McCall was born in Lake Providence, Louisiana on March 12, 1940. In 1962, racial discrimination led him to relocate to California. In response to the injustices he had encountered, he considered joining the civil rights movement. Instead, he employed the education he had received at Grambling State University as a teacher for 20 years.  

Pastor McCall’s emphasis on education influenced him to make Sunday School a hallmark of his ministry. In 1995, Baptist Press reported that St. Stephen’s Sunday School had grown to 1,000 in attendance. McCall stated in an interview, “When I came to California, I had this seething rage within me, but God turned and tilted it toward the Kingdom” (Roach). To this day, Sunday School is an integral part of the culture of St. Stephen where it is considered to be “the flagship” of the church. 

In 1970, McCall began his tenure as pastor of St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church in La Puente, CA where he served, led, and innovated faithfully for 37 years. In addition to his bachelor’s degree, E.W. earned a Master of Divinity degree (MDiv) from American Baptist Seminary of the West and a Doctor of Ministry degree (DMin) from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. Under his leadership, the congregation grew from a group of 35 members meeting in a house to an all-purpose campus accommodating roughly 4,000 members.  

In 1993, Dr. McCall was instrumental in founding the National African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptist Convention. Today, this group represents about 4,000 predominantly Black congregations. In 2002, E. W. McCall was elected as the first African American to serve as second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention. After retiring from the pastorate, Dr. McCall served as an African American ministry specialist with the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention. In honor of Dr. McCall, the SBTC endowed a scholarship for African American Master of Divinity Students at Gateway Seminary in 2013.  

Dr. E. W. McCall was the first African American to chair the board of trustees at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (now Gateway Seminary). Dr. McCall served as first vice president of the California Southern Baptist Convention and was a longtime trustee at California Baptist University where he served as Board Chair twice. He also served in several leadership positions within the Los Angeles Southern Baptist Association.  

Dr. Anthony Dockery, who is the current pastor of St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church, remembers Dr. McCall as “a husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and cousin on the highest level. Family was critically important to him. It would have been easy to get overwhelmed with education, church, convention life, serving on boards, and mentoring future leaders but he still nurtured a healthy and strong family first and foremost. He was also an exceptional administrator managing human and static resources with wisdom, intelligence, and prayer. Leading souls to Christ, discipling believers, and setting the table for them to eat from was Pastor McCall’s expertise. It was a God sized task to have a church with four thousand members that had a full time staff of five! Dr. McCall mastered lay ministry leadership and servanthood. He was a very balanced leader that had vision and strategy implementation that were unprecedented.” Dr. E.W. McCall left a legacy that continues to bear the fruit of his contributions to the church. Prayerfully, future generations will continue to highlight his life, ministry, and pioneering accomplishments. 

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Check out the Student Contributions to this series here:

Paving the Way to Worship: Black Christian Leaders You Should Know by Hozell Francis II

Rev. George Liele: Church Planter, Missionary, and Servant of God by Hozell Francis II

Andrew Bryan: Pastor, Church Planter, and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

Lisa Fields: Apologist and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

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You can also find 2022 Black History Month blogs authored by CBU faculty here:

Why Black History Month? by Dr. Charles Lee Johnson

Why I Can’t Wait to Get my Ida B. Wells Barbie by Dr. Krystal Hays

Remembering to Forget, to Begin Again by Dr. Viola Lindsey

Not Black History Just History by Dr. Stephen Brown

Andrew Bryan was born August 16, 1737, in South Carolina. He received Christ hearing the gospel preached by George Liele. Andrew Bryan was baptized in the Savannah River by George Liele and was a founding member of the First African Baptist Church. On January 20, 1788, Bryan was ordained as a minister. About nine months after George Liele left Georgia for Jamaica, Bryan had begun preaching to congregations of both Black and White parishioners. Bryan was willing to go to the extreme to make sure the gospel was preached, and fellowship was maintained within his congregation. This was evidenced by his imprisonment twice for conducting church services. On one occasion, Andrew was whipped so severely that one of the White men present said that “such treatment would be condemned even among the barbarians” (Davis, 124). Nevertheless, as Andrew Bryan was being whipped, witnesses reported that he rejoiced. He had concluded that even if he died during the punishment, he could take joy in knowing that he had died for the cause of Christ. 

The more Andrew continued to reach the lost among Black American slaves, the more attention he drew from masters who saw black American slaves coming to saving faith in Christ as a threat for revolt. Slave patrols would whip, arrest, and punish church-going slaves even when they had permission to be there. This is one of the earliest Christian persecutions in American history. Additionally, we see the Pastoral staff face grave injustice. “The culmination was that Andrew Bryan, their pastor himself, and his brother, Sampson Bryan, one of the first deacons, were ‘inhumanly cut and their backs were so lacerated that their blood ran down to the earth as they, with uplifted hands, cried unto the Lord; but Bryan in the midst of his torture, declared that he rejoiced not only to be whipped but would freely suffer death for the cause of Jesus Christ’” (Woodson, 49). This posture of rejoicing when receiving whipping and even facing death comes from knowing that being patient in suffering will lead to life in Christ for those who believe no matter how excruciating and heinous the persecution is.  

Bryan, his fellow staff, and congregants understood that the present suffering does not compare to the coming glory. Jesus explains to his disciples that the injustices they will face in this life will not only be an outstanding gospel witness, but that not even death can conquer the eternal life and glory we have in Christ. Andrew Bryan continued to serve the Kingdom, and by God’s grace the church grew exponentially. Furthermore, the growth of his church, which reached 700 members, caused the Second and Third African Baptist Churches of Savannah to be birthed. Andrew Bryan was willing to endure violence and persecution that provide the opportunity for gospel fruit to survive and thrive beyond his earthly days, and that truly is a blessing we ought to hear, celebrate, and model.  Let us remember, celebrate, and continue the legacy of Andrew Bryan. 

To learn more about George Liele check out this blog: Rev. George Liele: Church Planter, Missionary, and Servant of God

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Check out the Student Contributions to this series here:

Paving the Way to Worship: Black Christian Leaders You Should Know by Hozell Francis II

Rev. George Liele: Church Planter, Missionary, and Servant of God by Hozell Francis II

Dr. E. W. McCall: Innovator, Educator, Trendsetter by Hozell Francis II

Lisa Fields: Apologist and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

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You can also find 2022 Black History Month blogs authored by CBU faculty here:

Why Black History Month? by Dr. Charles Lee Johnson

Why I Can’t Wait to Get my Ida B. Wells Barbie by Dr. Krystal Hays

Remembering to Forget, to Begin Again by Dr. Viola Lindsey

Not Black History Just History by Dr. Stephen Brown

“Without any consideration of the merits or demerits of what is called the exceptional man theory, perhaps no two men stand out more prominently in the early history of the Negro church than George Liele and Andrew Bryan” (Davis, 119). For a statement like this to be made about these two men after the hundreds of thousands of Black preachers who have followed in their wake speaks volumes. George Liele was born in Virginia around 1751. After moving to Georgia as a youth, he was called to ministry.  

George Liele had a deep conviction that enslaved Blacks needed to hear the gospel message and after satisfying a quarterly meeting of White preachers of his ability to preach, he began to travel to plantations sharing the Word with his fellow Blacks. “Desiring to prove [the sense I had of] my obligations to God, I endeavored to instruct [the people of] my own color in the word of God” (Mitchell, 45). One of these endeavors led to the conversion of a young man named Andrew Bryan. In 1773, George Liele organized the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, GA. marking it as the first Black Baptist Church in North America. In response to this, his owner Mr. Henry Sharp granted him freedom from slavery.  

Liele was forced back into servitude when his manumission papers were called into question by individuals who likely sought to use him for their personal financial gain. By indenturing himself to a White man, he was able to prevent being re-enslaved. When the British military entered Savannah, Liele was forced to evacuate Jamaica because of the debt that he owed. After earning freedom for himself and his family, he began to preach to a congregation in Kingston, Jamaica in 1784.  

Eventually, he had organized a congregation of slaves and free Blacks numbering around 1500 regular members. Liele’s meetings were often interrupted by violent Whites who feared that Liele’s preaching would encourage slaves to revolt. To keep the gospel from being impeded, only slaves who had the permission of their owners could become members. In addition, the Jamaican legislature gave the right to freedom of religious expression to everyone on the island. By 1814, his efforts had resulted in around 8,000 Baptists in Jamaica. Many credit George Liele as the first American missionary. Throughout his career in ministry, Liele was well known to have accepted zero compensation for any of his church responsibilities. 

First African Baptist Church is still worshiping today and occupies a space on the National Register of Historic Places. The sanctuary contains many of the original fixtures, including pews which were crafted by slaves and contain cursive Hebrew, Ancient Ethiopian/Ge’ez, and Aramaic inscriptions. The legacy of faith, resilience, and Christian service that this man left behind is terribly underreported. May that cease to be the case. We thank God for the life and ministry of George Liele.  

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Check out the Student Contributions to this series here:

Paving the Way to Worship: Black Christian Leaders You Should Know by Hozell Francis II

Andrew Bryan: Pastor, Church Planter, and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

Dr. E. W. McCall: Innovator, Educator, Trendsetter by Hozell Francis II

Lisa Fields: Apologist and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

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You can also find 2022 Black History Month blogs authored by CBU faculty here:

Why Black History Month? by Dr. Charles Lee Johnson

Why I Can’t Wait to Get my Ida B. Wells Barbie by Dr. Krystal Hays

Remembering to Forget, to Begin Again by Dr. Viola Lindsey

Not Black History Just History by Dr. Stephen Brown

Black students of theology, and Black Christians in general, often find themselves wondering why the contributions Black Americans have presented to the collective fabric of our faith are often absent. Outside of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., very few if any Black American Christians are celebrated in our church-related academic studies. This leads to the false notion that Black Americans have adopted Christianity solely through various forms of forced conversion. Furthermore, it bolsters the assumption that Black people in this country have not made any notable contributions to the Kingdom of God. This series will serve to correct these fallacies by providing profiles of notable Black church leaders and the accomplishments of their ministries. 

This series explains how Christian persecution driven by slavery was the reason that the Baptist tradition flourished among Blacks in the American South, as well as on the island of Jamaica. While it is unfortunately true that many of our forefathers were introduced to the gospel as slaves, what they did with the message speaks volumes. The fact that these largely uneducated people could understand the redeeming and liberating love of God, in the midst of a culture that used the same Scriptures to enslave them, speaks to the actual condition of a saved soul. One of the great lessons the Black American church has shared with the world is that God often uses adversity to draw us closer to him. My hope is that through education, we can become more aware of the things we say and do in terms of our display of spiritual fruit. 

The overarching mission of this series is to recognize those little known Black American Christian leaders who have paved, and are paving the way for every Christian to worship God in spirit and in truth. We hope to accomplish this by drawing insights from Black American Christians who have had a consequential impact for God’s Kingdom both in this nation, and around the world. In addition, it explores the dichotomy that exists within the overall American Christian experience. It highlights Christian persecution inflicted by other Christians on account of race. It begs us to ask “How?” in hopes that what we derive from these exceptional Christian leaders will drive us all to be better disciples of Christ. As Armon Patrick and myself demonstrate through the profiling of the individuals in this series, the Black American Christian tradition has often been the pioneering force in church culture. In other words, Black Americans have always had a foundational place in American Christian history and continue to do so.  

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Check out the Student Contributions to this series here:

Rev. George Liele: Church Planter, Missionary, and Servant of God by Hozell Francis II

Andrew Bryan: Pastor, Church Planter, and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

Dr. E. W. McCall: Innovator, Educator, Trendsetter by Hozell Francis II

Lisa Fields: Apologist and Servant of God by Armon Patrick

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You can also find 2022 Black History Month blogs authored by CBU faculty here:

Why Black History Month? by Dr. Charles Lee Johnson

Why I Can’t Wait to Get my Ida B. Wells Barbie by Dr. Krystal Hays

Remembering to Forget, to Begin Again by Dr. Viola Lindsey

Not Black History Just History by Dr. Stephen Brown

In a recent blog series, Dr. Smith explored some ideas and tools for writing well (you can find an overview of the series here). An important resource available to you as a CBU student is the University Writing Center (UWC). Read on to hear from the Director of the UWC and two of the UWC’s Writing Coaches to learn how they may help shape the development of your writing skills! 

From Dr. Tae Sung, Director of the University Writing Center  

I don’t know about you. But I never thought I would ever go back to school after college. I remember completing my last final exam and thanking God I would never have to take another class. After all, Jesus gathered a bunch of fishermen—not degrees—to be his disciples, right?  

It is true… But after several years of serving God in full-time ministry, I also began to see that fishing wasn’t the only skill God needed. There’s Paul, for example, who lists his many accomplishments in his letter to the Philippians, which must have equaled at least to a master’s degree. Sure, he considered it all a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus. But there’s still a reason why he wrote almost half the New Testament. Peter, one of the fishermen, barely wrote six pages in my Bible. 

Once I realized that God calls different people to serve as different parts of one body—some like Peter without higher education and others like Paul with a lot of it—I had this fishy suspicion that God was calling me to the very thing I thought I would never have to do. I still serve the church. But no one including myself would have guessed I would go on from a master’s to a doctoral degree and become a university professor.  

That transition from a youth pastor to a university professor, however, was far from easy. When I first began my graduate studies in an M.A. program, I was lost in at least two ways and unsure if I would ever be found again. The first challenge was realizing that graduate studies was less about getting a degree and more about becoming a professional in my field of study. It wasn’t just about doing literary criticism; it was about becoming a literary critic. Likewise, for you, it’s no longer just about doing this or that assignment; it’s now about becoming a scholar in your discourse community.  

Related to the first was a second challenge that had to do with my writing and communication. A big part of my problem was that over the years I began to rely on some bad habits and cheap tricks that no longer worked. I was so worried about my grammar and vocabulary that I failed to persuade anybody of what I was saying. It was not possible anymore to be satisfied with being a bad or mediocre writer. And it wasn’t just because I was in an English program. Effective writing and communication, in case you haven’t realized already, are essential to every profession out there. And a lot of times, they are the reasons why some people keep moving up and others don’t.  

The University Writing Center exists to remind you that the two challenges above are related. Becoming a professional means being an effective writer and communicator in the profession. This is not an easy task. But with the proper foundation, the mystery of writing will begin to dissipate and you’ll see more clearly how you can improve with some hard work. One key principle that you’ll need to remember is that writing is not just about correct grammar or number of paragraphs but, more importantly, about greater awareness of your credibility, audience, and purpose.  

Below, you’ll read from two of our writing coaches. Allison will share what she’s learned from the Writing Center and Sammy will share how the Writing Center can help you.  

What I Learned from My First Appointment and Since Becoming a Writing Coach 

By Allison Weaver, Writing Coach 

I realized I needed help when I received the grade for my first college writing assignment. I had always thought of myself as a decent writer, but it became clear that even good writing could always become better. And what I have learned since my first appointment with the Writing Center is that becoming a better writer had less to do with checking off a list of requirements and fixing my grammar and more to do with learning how to engage in an academic conversation.  

Now that I am a writing coach, I have gained a better understanding of what a purpose-driven writer should look like. The leading element to purpose-driven writing is writing clearly and persuasively. That’s the secret to a well written paper! This is something most students aspire for their writing to be once they leave a writing center appointment. It is most important as writers that we provide all the information upfront then guide our readers step-by-step to how we got our conclusion. By doing this, readers are able to see the well-developed format of your paper, leaving no room for confusion. Once you have mastered this element of your paper, it is now onto articulating your words in such a way that persuades your reader you know the material well. As writing center coaches, credibility is crucial. Stating your ethos will allow for your argument (logos) to better compliment your academic tone which is achieved through your pathos. 

How the Writing Center Can Help You 

By Sammy Carter, Writing Coach 

To accommodate each student’s availability, the Writing Center offers three types of appointments: on-campus, online, and email.  Each type is also designed with different stages of writing in mind. So, online appointments are usually best for the prewriting or outlining stage, while email appointments are usually better for complete drafts. On-campus appointments can go both ways with the added benefit of being able to talk with your writing coach in person.  

Even if a writing coach is unfamiliar with your particular subject, we are all trained to offer a general academic reader’s feedback to help with the clarity of your structure and the persuasiveness of your argument. If you need help with your sentences and grammar, we provide additional support through Grammarly, which you can sign up for at our website free of charge.  

Also, on our website, you can find other great resources like our video tutorials, as well as opportunities like our yearly Distinguished Public Lecture series, where we invite influential writers to share their work with the CBU community. Our first lecture last year was given by Nancy Duarte, CEO of one of the largest communication firms in Silicon Valley. We are hoping to release a study guide soon for you to dive deeper into DataStory and incorporate her insights into your own writing, just as we are getting ready to announce our next exciting speaker.