Owed to West Edgecombe Baptist Church

 

Owed to West Edgecombe

The traditional bible study I grew up with was a small group of people, the old faithfuls.

They would meet every Wednesday Night at 7:30 PM

It was to tackle those bible stumbling blocks.

The participants asked so many questions about what they did not understand.

The topics varied, but what was clear, they were there to learn.

Moses, intent, meaning, message conveyed, but most important of all was the interaction and questions asked.

It was a lot of give and take, not just a one-way message. Also, at times it reached extreme theological discussion.

It was the Perry and King families, it was the deep contemplation by the religious studies teacher.

They did focus on trends and events in the religious communities. Bottom line, you learned and studied the bible outside of the Sunday school lessons (where on a MASS level, all were present and asked questions according to the Sunday school books). That was biblical learning in the black church. You were at home to ask and learn in bible study.

Hephzibah initially had the books and interactions too. But, like most places, it was institutional learning. You were not at home, but, it was the structured bible study of the Southern Baptist, etc..

The same modality was adopted by the Wendell Baptists. Colonial took the same approach, the pay to learn structured classes. The only exception was Betty Lou made it home. She knew when you came and did not make it to any services.

My experiences after seeing the Greater Joy, Word Tab, and other local churches led me to fully appreciate the Edgecombe Experience. Greater Joy is the family exclusive center. You cannot get a word in if you are not family. Showers of Blessing has a different opening approach, they have testimonies at the start of services, that is enlightening. Word Tab is the one way approach, but, here is the thing, it is most akin to the Sunday Morning services at Universal Temple, the focus is sin and how to live for Christ.

Casa de Dios is another truly dynamic experience, not sure at the end of the night what I learned, but pay that money for the books and instruction. Outside of bible study was Club Casa.

The new experience is to have everything remotely. That is the new thing. Elevation and others focus on this. Hum, a letter to the church, Paul’s writing, replaces assembling yourselves together.

Edgecombe is where I see the most zeal for learning. The most responsive approach to Christian education. It is the small group approach in a non-mega setting. This is the one I value most.

I say this because we are in changing times wherein people believe a computer or television screen can replace human interaction and learning. The best outside material I was provide came through Edgecombe. The pulse on technology without turning your back on people and learning. Thank you.