What is the PNBC?
The Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. History
The Progressive National Baptist Convention Incorporated is a vital Baptist denomination of more than 2,000 churches with a total membership of 2.5 million. The Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. (PNBC) started as a movement which reflected the religious, social and political climate of its time. Its mission was to transform the traditional African American Baptist Convention as well as society. The formation of the convention was wrapped up in the civil rights movement and was begun by some of the same persons who were deeply involved in the freedom movement for African Americans in the United States. Even though the seeds of the convention were sown by discontent with the lack of democratic process within the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A. Inc. (NBCUSA Inc.), the roots of its development went far beyond issues of tenure of office and leadership.
From a religious perspective, churches from across the United States were suffering from an identity crisis fostered by racism, and conservative political policies and practices that supported segregation and U.S. apartheid. Theologians, seminary students and religious leaders were now openly questioning theological constructs and historical assumptions that were the basis for doctrinal practices that supported two societies in America: one White and the other Black.
From a sociological perspective, the United States during the 60S was undergoing a massive social transformation. Movements of freedom and justice led by clergy and churchpersons throughout the United States began to spring up at every level and strata in society. African Americans who at one time accepted the status quo were now propelled into a whirlwind of change from those systems and structures that oppressed them. No structure was sacrosanct. Every African American institution was looked at with a critical eye. The institutional church was no exception.
It was in this context that the discontent felt by the young clergy and lay persons of the NBCUSA, Inc. was reflected in a power struggle over the leadership of the church: would the church be at the forefront of the civil rights movement or would it only emphasize narrow ecclesiastical concerns and worship? Or could the African American church remain in hibernation while the fires of a new found liberation struggle centered itself in the struggle for freedom and justice?
One of the visionaries of this era who challenged the NBCUSA, Inc. was the Rev. L. Venchael Booth who envisioned a new convention that was progressive and forward thinking, a convention that would respond to the spiritual and social needs of the time.
IIn a response to a letter sent out by the Rev. L. Venchael Booth, 33 delegates from 14 states met on November 14-15, 1961 at his church, the Zion Baptist Church in Cincinnati Ohio. Rev. J. Raymond Henderson, pastor of Second Baptist Church of Los Angeles, California, presided over the meeting. As a result of this two-day intensive organizational meeting, the Progressive National Baptist Convention Inc. was formed.
As a result of the 1961 founding meeting in Cincinnati Ohio, Rev. T. M. Chambers was elected as its first President. Leadership from across the United States joined the Progressive Baptist family and spawned the Progressive National Baptist Movement. Issues of freedom, civil and human rights, and progressive ideas became the cornerstone for the convention. The PNBC became a new Christian movement which included an array of social and political concerns embodied in its founding principles of Fellowship, Progress, Peace and Service.
The PNBC movement was under girded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s struggle for freedom for African Americans. It was the PNBC that provided a denominational home for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many of the Baptist leaders in the Civil Rights Movement. They all became important forces in the life and work of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.
As a result of this involvement from members of the Civil Rights Movement the centerpiece of the PNBC witness became one of social justice and human liberation as a mandate of the Gospel. In essence, the PNBC became a living African American Christian organism, vibrant with energy and committed to the social gospel for the transformation of U.S. society.
The Progressive National Baptist Convention Incorporated is a vital Baptist denomination of more than 2,000 churches with a total membership of 2.5 million. The Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. (PNBC) started as a movement which reflected the religious, social and political climate of its time. Its mission was to transform the traditional African American Baptist Convention as well as society. The formation of the convention was wrapped up in the civil rights movement and was begun by some of the same persons who were deeply involved in the freedom movement for African Americans in the United States. Even though the seeds of the convention were sown by discontent with the lack of democratic process within the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A. Inc. (NBCUSA Inc.), the roots of its development went far beyond issues of tenure of office and leadership.
From a religious perspective, churches from across the United States were suffering from an identity crisis fostered by racism, and conservative political policies and practices that supported segregation and U.S. apartheid. Theologians, seminary students and religious leaders were now openly questioning theological constructs and historical assumptions that were the basis for doctrinal practices that supported two societies in America: one White and the other Black.
From a sociological perspective, the United States during the 60S was undergoing a massive social transformation. Movements of freedom and justice led by clergy and churchpersons throughout the United States began to spring up at every level and strata in society. African Americans who at one time accepted the status quo were now propelled into a whirlwind of change from those systems and structures that oppressed them. No structure was sacrosanct. Every African American institution was looked at with a critical eye. The institutional church was no exception.
It was in this context that the discontent felt by the young clergy and lay persons of the NBCUSA, Inc. was reflected in a power struggle over the leadership of the church: would the church be at the forefront of the civil rights movement or would it only emphasize narrow ecclesiastical concerns and worship? Or could the African American church remain in hibernation while the fires of a new found liberation struggle centered itself in the struggle for freedom and justice?
One of the visionaries of this era who challenged the NBCUSA, Inc. was the Rev. L. Venchael Booth who envisioned a new convention that was progressive and forward thinking, a convention that would respond to the spiritual and social needs of the time.
IIn a response to a letter sent out by the Rev. L. Venchael Booth, 33 delegates from 14 states met on November 14-15, 1961 at his church, the Zion Baptist Church in Cincinnati Ohio. Rev. J. Raymond Henderson, pastor of Second Baptist Church of Los Angeles, California, presided over the meeting. As a result of this two-day intensive organizational meeting, the Progressive National Baptist Convention Inc. was formed.
As a result of the 1961 founding meeting in Cincinnati Ohio, Rev. T. M. Chambers was elected as its first President. Leadership from across the United States joined the Progressive Baptist family and spawned the Progressive National Baptist Movement. Issues of freedom, civil and human rights, and progressive ideas became the cornerstone for the convention. The PNBC became a new Christian movement which included an array of social and political concerns embodied in its founding principles of Fellowship, Progress, Peace and Service.
The PNBC movement was under girded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s struggle for freedom for African Americans. It was the PNBC that provided a denominational home for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many of the Baptist leaders in the Civil Rights Movement. They all became important forces in the life and work of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.
As a result of this involvement from members of the Civil Rights Movement the centerpiece of the PNBC witness became one of social justice and human liberation as a mandate of the Gospel. In essence, the PNBC became a living African American Christian organism, vibrant with energy and committed to the social gospel for the transformation of U.S. society.
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