Historic Saint Paul Community Baptist Church

Jesus said in John 8:44 that the “Devil is a liar and the father of lies”. The Devil has taken a perfectly good and noble symbol given by God and turned it into a symbol of perversion, decadence, and depravity. Such is the case with the rainbow. As the universal flood that came as a judgment of God upon the earth because of sin in the days of Noah came to an end, God promised Noah and all humanity that never again would he destroy the earth by water. After the flood, God made a covenant, a promise with humanity. God promised that the earth would never again be destroyed by water.  To seal the covenant, God promised us in Genesis 9:13 – 17 saying, “I have placed My bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and all the living creatures: water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature … This is the sign of the covenant that I have confirmed between Me and every creature on earth”.

God placed a rainbow in the clouds guaranteeing that the earth will never again be destroyed in a flood. However, the Devil usurped the sign. Now the “Rainbow” is the symbol of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender, aka the LGBT community. The “Rainbow” represents a community who’s lifestyle God declares as an abomination. And now anyone who wears the colors of the rainbow or in any way identifies with them may be suspected of being a member of that community.  That’s sad, so sad. I personally celebrate the “Rainbow” for at least three reasons: 1) I believe the “Rainbow” represents a world community that is multinational and multicultural. The earth is filled with people of different nationalities, cultures, languages, and ethnicities.

2) The Christian community is a diverse community. There are thousands of Christian traditions in the Church of Jesus Christ. Within the Christian family we have Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Episcopalians and Protestants. Within the Protestants there are Baptists, Methodists, AME’s, Pentecostals, Independents, and non denominationals. You name it, we got it. The Christian family is a diverse family. We need not relinquish and surrender a God given symbol of protection and promise to the Devil. 3) I like the colors. God’s creation is wonderful, beautiful and majestic. The colors of the rainbow are awesome. It is high time that we reclaim the Rainbow. We’re not gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. We are African American Christians with a proud legacy and heritage who are members of a multinational, multicultural world and a diverse Christian community. We are the true rainbow coalition, #reclaimtherainbow, #rtr.

The world that we once knew has changed. We’re living in what theologians and historians call the postmodern age. It is called the postmodern age because people today not only question but outright reject authority, all authority. The traditional insititutions that undergirded and solidified society such as marriage and family, the church, and the government have been redefined and sometimes outright rejected. Yet for the most part churches that serve in the urban communities are surrounded by abandoned houses, dysfunctional families, failing public schools, bankrupt city governments, double digit unemployment, drug addiction, crime and violence and a general feeling of hopelessness. In the modern age people accepted authority. They accepted the autthoriy of the government, science, technology and even the church. However today, many people believe and behave according to how they feel.

It is what an Episcopal priest – philosopher named Jospeh Fletcher called “Situation Ehtics”. Situation ethics is when we allow the situation to determine our behavior. For example according to this philosophy, in some situations lying, cheating, and stealing are justified. Again, in situation ethics, the situation defines for us what is right and wrong, good and evil. Today people have placed themselves in the place of God. They have become their own god. Now please don’t misunderstand me. I’m certainly not suggesting that we as Christians follow with blind obedience and total allegiance anybody or any insititution. After all, we are not Lemmings (lol).

We have an informed faith. Our faith is informed by the clear and pristine teaching of the Word of God. The Bible is the foundation upon which our faith is built. It is our only source of divine truth. It is our guidepost and mainstay, not the government, the society, or the cultural norms. In matters of faith (what we believe), morality (standards of right and wrong), conscience (how we live), and doctrine (what we teach), it is “Sola Scriptura”, only the scripture. God is calling for Christian Disciples who are not ashamed of Jesus Christ nor the proclamation of his gospel in a day when the world is in a constant state of kaos and confusion. Jesus said in Mark 8:38, “Whosoever is ashamed of Me before this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man will be ashamed of him in the glory of his Father in heaven.”

Let’s be bold soldiers for the Lord even in this unbelieving postmodern age. Living for the Lord is so exciting!

As pastor, I extend the welcome of our staff and community to all who enter our website.

May God’s peace be with you!

I hope that we are able to help you find what you need here. We have put a lot of information on our site, as well as links that may connect you to places where others may provide what we cannot. There’s even a contact link where you can ask a question if our website doesn’t give you what you need.

Of course, we also want to provide personal assistance in whatever way we can, if you need to talk to someone. To speak to a person, please call our parish phone at (410) 732-1338. During weekday hours, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., our parish staff can assist you. At other times just follow our directory and leave a message if the person you are seeking is not there.

Please join us for service. Our mission is to live and worship as a Christian people, calling forth the gifts of each one and ministering to the needs of others. If you are new, I hope you will let us know who you are and will share our life as fellow Christians. If you are already a member of our church, I want you to know that anytime is a good time to get to know more about, or perhaps even get more involved in, the many good things that are happening at the Saint Paul Community Baptist Church.

God’s blessings be yours, today and always!