As they retired from South Los Angeles pulpits, civil rights-era ministers known as the "old lions" took with them a kind of social justice-oriented "Bible in one hand, newspaper in the other" Christianity that has been quietly fading in African American churches.
Theirs was neither the popular "prosperity gospel," which preaches that God will reward the faithful with material riches, nor the soul-saving ministry of televangelists and mega-churches dedicated to preparing people for Judgment Day.
It was a faith rooted in the hard work, civic engagement and political activism of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. It was nurtured in the struggles against segregation and police brutality.
It was no accident, some suggested, that a few high-profile, less experienced ministers who took their places became entangled in financial and personal scandals, or started preaching breezy gospel messages.
But don't count the old lions out. They now shepherd a USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture summer program called Passing the Mantle. Now in its fourth year, it recruits and trains 35 ministers each year to serve with social gospels that advocate political activism.
Its seasoned teachers and mentors are led by the Rev. Cecil "Chip" Murray, 80, retired pastor of First AME Church, one of the oldest, largest and most prominent African American churches in Los Angeles.
Leaning forward in his office chair to make his points, Murray smiled and said, "My generation of ministers does not tire easily.
"Our concern is that many of the gospels being preached today are designed for the ear, not the human condition," he said. "Our goal is to share our knowledge and experience to help the next generation of African American church leaders confront today's challenges."
Among those challenges are drugs, gangs, domestic violence, sexually transmitted diseases and a substantial demographic shift: In 1990, Latinos and African Americans each constituted 47% of the area's population; today Latinos outnumber blacks 2 to 1.
"Preaching salvation and praising the Lord -- that's easy," said Najuma Smith-Pollard, senior pastor at St. James AME Church and a graduate of Passing the Mantle's inaugural class of 2006. "Dealing with teenage prostitution, drug addiction, chronic unemployment, domestic violence -- that's serious work.
