When I think of the "good ol days", my mind goes back to my 5 wonderful years at Scott United Methodist Church in Denver.   

This predominantly black church taught me--a brand new Jewish disciple of Jesus-- more about spirit, worship, preaching, prayer and praising God than than any place I had been before and any place I have been since.  

I miss those days! And those wonderful people. 

So, in honor of the people of Scott UMC, I'd like to share with you 10 insights about Black history I have gleaned over the years:     

1.  Black History didn't start in slave ships or on the blood stained soils of the South.  Black history is Biblical history.   

2.  What we call the Middle East today is largely Biblical Africa.  The term Middle East is a fairly recent political invention.

3.  Race is not a biblical concept.  The Bible speaks of tribes and peoples, not races. 

4.  After the Flood, The Table of Nations, a genealogy of Noah's offspring, was named and described.  Many of his children's children were African peoples, especially Cush (Ethiopia),  Mitzraim (Egypt), and Put (Libya).  See Genesis 10. 

5.  A black Hebrew prophet authored the book of Zephaniah. See Zephaniah 1:1.

6.  Ebed Melech, the member of the royal court who saved the prophet Jeremiah, was African.  See Jeremiah 38:6-12.      

7.  It's likely that Moses married "up" when he married the Cushite (Ethiopian) woman.  See Number 12:1.  Cushites had a high status in the Bible; they were often singled out for delicate tasks requiring tact, diplomacy and sensitivity.    

8.  The early church was heavily Egyptian and Ethiopian.  See Acts 13:1  Dr. Cain Hope Felder estimates that 50% of the early church were African Jews!

9.   The Israelites spent a lot of time in Egypt and married Egyptian spouses--from Joseph to Moses.   See Genesis 41:45 and Numbers 12:1.  That means African and Hebrew blood was intermingled.  Is this why Jesus, Mary and Joseph escaped detection in Egypt when they were hiding from Herod?     

10.  In the end, every nation, tribe, people and language will worship God together.  See Revelation 7:9-10.   

All this makes me wonder what color Jesus was anyway!   

What do you think?     

Want to learn more?  Check out the Center for Early African Christianity.