The role of Christian religious education in transforming the African-American Pentecostal church's world view and mission

This dissertation is an investigation of the causes underlying the relative indifference of most African-American Apostolic Pentecostal (AAAP) churches to issues of social concern. It is the opinion of this author that the reasons may be rooted somewhere other than in economics, education or cultural orientation. These are the explanations others have offered up as answers to the problem. The vast improvements within the movement economically, socially and even culturally, seriously challenge these explanations as contemporary answers.;Through historical research of primary and secondary sources, the writer opines a much stronger reason for the problem. Specifically, the investigation suggests that the uncritical reliance on the Scofieldian dispensational premillenial schema, offers the strongest explanation as to the reason these churches pay so little attention to what many believe is a significant aspect of the church's raison d'etre. This schema informs one of the primary doctrinal tenets of the AAAP church, that is its eschatological posture, which may be the link to its virtual indifference to the social evils confronting society and the church as well.;The writer goes on to argue that in order to change this position, the most important ministry the AAAP church should initiate and maintain is a more formal and aggressive Christian religious education program. It is the key to transformation within the AAAP church. Its power to transform is in the nature of its function and the pedagogies, curricula and educational structures, if properly employed, will create positive and healing learning environments for its membership and through that experience, facilitate the broadening and empowering of traditions that are life giving. This in turn should enable the church to rethink its understanding of God and God's will for God's church. This very process will challenge the church anew to embrace a new vision of the Reign of God and dedicate itself to its realization, the parousia not withstanding. The author suggests how this might be done using his own international organization as a model.