Divine callings : understanding the call to ministry in Black Pentecostalism / Richard N. Pitt.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pitt, Richard N.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Church of God in Christ--Clergy--Appointment, call, and election.

Church of God in Christ.

African American clergy.

Vocation, Ecclesiastical.

Clergy.

Physical Description:

xi, 265 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University Press, [2012]

Summary:

One of the unique aspects of the religious profession is the high percentage of those who claim to be "called by God" to do their work. This call is particularly important within African American Christian traditions. Divine Callings offers a rare sociological examination of this markedly understudied phenomenon within Black ministry.

Richard N. Pitt draws on over 100 in-depth interviews with Black Pentecostal ministers-both those who are licensed and those who are only aspiring-to examine how these men and women experience and pursue "the call." Arguing that divine calling is as much a social process as it is a spiritual one, Pitt delves into the personal stories of these individuals to explore their work as active agents in the process of fulfilling their calling.

Pitt looks specifically at how religious laborers understand their call, exploring the influences of psychological experience, the congregational acceptance of their call, and their responses to the ministerial training process. His analysis offers insight into how social actors adjust to structural constraints, such as educational deficiencies, weak labor markets, and gender discrimination. He emphasizes how those called to ministry reconceptualize clericalism by claiming a different source for clerical knowledge, embracing a different look and location for clerical work, and recognizing a different standard for clerical legitimacy. Book jacket.

Contents:

The Church of God in Christ: history and context

"Heard a voice from heaven say": calling narratives among Black Pentecostals

"All the world's a stage": how congregations create the called

"Of priests and prophets": the (non-) value of educational credentialing

"Don't quit your day job": redefining religious work

"Chew the meat and spit out the bones": negotiating women's clerical identity

Legitimating new understandings of ministry and the clergy.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780814768235

0814768237

9780814768242

0814768245

9780814768259

0814768253

9780814768761

0814768768

OCLC:

724667466