Is the black church feeling a decline or evolution? Unfortunately The Anointing Cannot Be AI-ed

The idea of being “sanctified” in the Black church tradition has long carried both personal and communal meaning.

It speaks to a life set apart in our culture and it was also marked by holiness, discipline, humility, and devotion. 

Being a leader in the office of the church or synagogue in our community meant something back then. Our leaders were similar to the president and world leaders. We were diverse but there was an unspoken consensus. 

But now it is starting to feel like those things are diminishing. And it is definitely concerning.

It’s concerning to see people celebrating the downfall of our gatekeepers and their leaders. Not because of integrity but this is especially our legacy. It gives the outsider a glimpse of our culture. 

And it feels like that culture is becoming darken without balance.

But it also refers to a collective identity shifting: a people once shaped by worship and scripture, now share a struggle with their spiritual beliefs and religion.

A shifting I once proudly embraced until I realized the direction it could take us towards.

We should be concerned. 

Don’t get me wrong sanctification was never meant to be a museum piece. It was and is a living process.

So the real question is not simply how to “go back,” but how to recover depth in the present moment.

If the goal is to “get” to something more meaningful, it may not be about returning to a specific era of organ-led worship or a particular preaching cadence. 

Those things can carry beauty and history, but they are not the source of the anointing. They are authentic encounters with God and cannot be conjured. 

Re-centering preaching on spiritual formation, not just inspiration.

Encouraging authenticity over performance.

Cultivating expectation that worship is a real encounter with the divine Almighty God, not entertainment.

Feeling the anointing, in this sense, is less about emotional peak and more about spiritual attentiveness.

The Black church is not simply just in decline or in crisis—it is in conversation with itself. 

That’s even more concerning than anything.

Every generation inherits a living tradition and must decide how to carry it forward faithfully. So what is our responsibility. 

The feeling of the anointing has never been guaranteed by form alone.

 It has always depended on openness—on hearts willing to gather, listen, respond, and believe that something sacred can happen in ordinary space.

The scripture says, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. 

Please read the full chapter in John 12:32

I am concerned about the generation coming after us and what they will have to stand on. 

The Black church has always evolved. It was never built on uniformity. It was built in survival, resistance, creativity, and deep faith.

Growing up I enjoyed a lived church experience, “the anointing” was not just emotional, but intense. It changed lives. And it was considered necessary.

If there is a path forward, it may not be “back,” but deeper. 

Deeper into a worship that is sincere, grounded, and spiritually awakening enough to recognize that the presence people long for is not gone. But is here. 

Maybe what we told our forefathers was unnecessary is in fact essential. 

And it is often sought, needed to be cultivated, and received in ways that require fresh attentiveness.

Sanctified living and felt anointing are not artifacts of the past. They are ongoing requirements.