"Tell Your Neighbor . . ."

Rev. Calvin Butts, Abyssinian Baptist Church, NYC, pictured.

I had a funny thought the other day: why do all black pastors tell the congregation to turn and “tell your neighbor . . . ?” In church this past week, my pastor must’ve told the congregation to “tell your neighbor X” at least 5 times during the sermon. Every black pastor I’ve seen does the same thing. My initial theory was that pastors do this in order to have the congregation reaffirm the particular lesson by saying it themselves. My Dad thinks it’s a gimmick to keep the congregation’s attention, or something to make the pastor feel like he’s connecting with the congregation. Whatever it is, it makes me laugh. It’s funny to watch everyone in the church do it at the same time.

I found this blog entry from a white gentleman who noticed this interesting phenomenon during his first visit to a black church..