A very interesting and well-written Master's thesis which incorporates the social history of the times (esp. the efforts to obtain civil rights for African Americans) and the biography of Bishop Edgar A. Love, a co-founder and first Grand Basileus of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., is linked below.
http://utdr.utoledo.edu/cgi/viewcont...-dissertations
This writer once owned a cassette recording of an interview of Bishop Love, made in the early '70s, not long before he died. He talked about the founding of the Fraternity and his ministry in the now United Methodist Church. The sentiments that he expressed in the interview coheres exactly with the portrait drawn in this thesis. He was outspoken and of strong opinions when it came to advocating for the marginalized and standing up for what he felt was right. He had a love for young people and a strong sense of joie de vivre. This all came from from a deep understanding of Christianity as being centered on Jesus Christ and a wholistic view of the Christian life, which necessarily encompasses the spiritual, social and the political.
He gave an example from his ministry as a pastor in Washington, PA (outside of Pittsburgh). He said one afternoon as he was sitting on his porch working on his sermon notes for the upcoming Sunday service he heard someone walking on the porch. He thought it was his wife but it turned out to be a young boy from the neighborhood who was nicknamed "C". He greeted "C" and asked him what he wanted. "C" said that he wanted to play a game of horse shoes. (Bishop Love loved to play sports with young people in his church;he played football and baseball in college and was a high school athletic director after college.) So he stopped his sermon preparation and played a game of horse shoes with "C". He said they had the best time. He related this story because he said that later that year during the time of the year when his church held revival services "C" joined the church. He said this is what Christianity is all about--that's evangelism.
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