For decades, the red-bricked Gothic Revival church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached has been a monument to the history of Black Americans鈥� fight for civil rights and the legacy of an activist icon.
It took a high-stakes Senate race and a Trump-era cultural debate to thrust Ebenezer Baptist Church into the center of the current political debate.
Its senior pastor, the Rev. Raphael Warnock, is running for the Senate in one of two runoff elections that could decide which party ultimately controls Congress in the first years of the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden. But Warnock鈥檚 preaching has become a focal point in the debate about race and justice in the election.
His opponent, Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler, has run attack ads using snippets of sermons Warnock preached from Ebenezer鈥檚 pulpit to accuse him of being a far left, radical socialist who doesn鈥檛 support police officers or military service members.
For King鈥檚 former church, the intense spotlight isn鈥檛 new. Its 6,000 members are accustomed to standing-room only Sunday services, due in large part to the out-of-town visitors who flocked to the church. Still, Loeffler鈥檚 criticisms have renewed attention on a pillar of Black life in Atlanta and a tradition of political activism it represents.
鈥淭he Republican attack is not just against Warnock, it鈥檚 against the Black church and the Black religious experience,鈥� said the Rev. Timothy McDonald III, pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church in Atlanta who served as assistant pastor of Ebenezer from 1978 to 1984.
McDonald describes Warnock鈥檚 views as consistent with the church鈥檚 opposition to racism, police brutality, poverty and militarism. Loeffler鈥檚 attacks include selectively edited portions of Warnock鈥檚 sermon in which he decries 鈥減olice power showing up in a kind of gangster and thug mentality,鈥� as a criticism of law enforcement practices that have historically driven a wedge between departments and Black residents.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 care what you think about Warnock,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to defend our church, our preaching, or prophetic tradition, our community involvement and engagement. We鈥檙e going to defend that.鈥�
Ebenezer is 鈥淏lack America鈥檚 church,鈥� McDonald added. 鈥滻t鈥檚 bigger than any individual.鈥�
Loeffler has responded, saying in a tweet last month that she isn鈥檛 attacking the Black church. 鈥淲e simply exposed your record in your own words,鈥� she wrote in a reply to Warnock.
Commonly referred to as 鈥淢artin Luther King鈥檚 church,鈥� Ebenezer sits in the middle of a national park dedicated to the civil rights icon鈥檚 life and legacy, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors and tourists annually. Warnock鈥檚 leadership at the church is his chief credential, a position so prestigious some note the U.S. Senate is a step down.
Warnock has continued to preach as he campaigns for office 鈥� albeit pre-recorded in an empty sanctuary, due to the pandemic. In a message delivered Sunday, Warnock seemed to allude to the runoff, telling viewers that they are 鈥渙n the verge of victory鈥� in their lives, if they accept that God has already equipped them with the ability to win against their adversaries.
鈥淲hen God is with you, you can defeat giants,鈥� said Warnock, who ended the early morning service by also encouraging Georgians to vote on Tuesday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so very important that your voice be heard in this defining moment in our country,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 would not be so presumptuous as to tell you who to vote for.鈥�
The church has kept some distance from Warnock鈥檚 bid. Ebenezer declined interview requests for members of the pastoral staff. Instead, it issued a statement detailing its public ministry, including social services for the poor, elderly and formerly incarcerated people and more recently, free COVID-19 testing and flu shots.
鈥淓benezer Baptist Church embodies the mission of Jesus Christ, through acts of service that strive to feed the poor, liberate the oppressed, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit those who are sick or imprisoned,鈥� the church said in a statement emailed to the AP.
Since before the abolition of slavery, the Black church has played a role in brokering congregants鈥� relationship to political power. It鈥檚 not uncommon for politicians, most often Democrats, to campaign from Black church pulpits. But it鈥檚 still relatively rare for church leaders to cross over into public office.
If he were elected, Warnock would be sworn into a small group of other ministers who have served in Congress, including at least one other Black pastor, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri.
Within the last year, Ebenezer has been part of a few major national news events.
It hosted the funeral of Rayshard Brooks, a Black man fatally shot in the back by Atlanta police in June, amid nationwide protests over George Floyd鈥檚 death at the hands of Minneapolis police in late May.
Warnock was an officiant for that service, and for the late July funeral of civil rights icon and Atlanta congressman John Lewis, who was an Ebenezer member.
鈥淭his church is situated at the heart of Atlanta and it鈥檚 leadership has always opened its doors to the community,鈥� said Daunta Long, pastor of Seed Planters Church of God In Christ in McDonough, about 40 miles southeast of the city.
Balancing pastoral duties and a national public profile is a common source of tension, noted McDonald, the former assistant pastor. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was not present for the voting rights march now known as Bloody Sunday because he was expected to preach at Ebenezer for communion Sunday, the first sabbath of the month, according to Clayborne Carson, the historian who maintains King鈥檚 papers at Stanford University.
Ebenezer was founded in 1886. Its second pastor, the Rev. Adam Daniel Williams, brought on his son-in-law, Martin Luther King. Sr., as assistant pastor in 1927. His son, King Jr., co-pastored from 1960 to 1968.
The elder King, who served as pastor of Ebenezer for more than 40 years, continued in leadership after his son鈥檚 assassination in Memphis in 1968. The Rev. Joseph Roberts, Jr. became Ebenezer鈥檚 fourth pastor after King. Sr.鈥檚 retirement in 1975.
Warnock, who is Ebenezer鈥檚 fifth pastor in more than 130 years, was selected as Roberts鈥檚 successor in 2005.
Ebenezer鈥檚 members, many who support Warnock鈥檚 candidacy, say they worry about losing his leadership.
鈥淧eople love him as their pastor,鈥� said Xernona Clayton, 90, a King family confidante and member of the church since 1963. 鈥淚 think selfishly they don鈥檛 want to lose him. They want the best of two areas: good representation in the political arena and a pastor in the pulpit.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檇 imagine both of those jobs would be full-time,鈥� she added.