Bishop Luther James Blackwell, pastor of the San Francisco Temple Christian Assembly in North St. Louis County, was led to his vocation by a powerful dream.
“I felt an angelic call to the ministry and ran to my grandmother to ask her what I should do,” said Blackwell, an Ohio native who has been in ministry for 47 years. “She took me to the pastor, who made space for me to preach at the House of Prayer United Holy Church in the city of Warren, Ohio.”
From that moment, Blackwell set out on a journey that led him to found his own church in 1991, Mega Church in Cleveland, with his wife Pastor Lois Blackwell. The church now has about 1,200 members.
Lois Blackwell grew up as a pastor’s daughter in St. Louis, where her father, Bishop Dwight McDaniels, was the leader of San Francisco Temple Christian Assembly, 10191 Halls Ferry Rd.
Before Bishop McDaniels passed away in 2010, he appointed his son-in-law, Bishop Luther J. Blackwell, as his successor. Bishop Blackwell took over leadership in 2011, and the transition has been both challenging and rewarding.
The challenges stemmed from some congregants who were initially resistant to the change in leadership, he said. However, the opposition didn’t faze Blackwell. After nearly three years under his leadership, he has kept many allies in the congregation.
“Many great supporters have walked with me through the process and have been very encouraging,” he said. “So it balances out.”
With Bishop McDaniel’s blessing, Blackwell is trying to maintain San Francisco Temple’s original traditions while incorporating his own vision to bring the church forward.
When speaking of his obligation to maintain Bishop Dwight’s traditions, Blackwell cites a higher authority. “The obligation is to Christ and not to him, though he’s done a good job of laying down the principles on Christian life,” Blackwell said. “My obligation is to build on that and reach a broader spectrum.”
Some of Blackwell’s innovations include getting the church’s Bible classes accredited.
“We have many students who are now being trained in the Bible, and it was not happening to this level before I came,” he said.
Blackwell is also working to introduce social media into worship in order to attract and maintain the younger generation of church goers. “My father-in-law was very traditional, but in order to reach the now generation we have to embrace all of that,” he said. “Twitter, Instagram and all these things can be tools that can advance the Gospel.”
The new bishop is putting a focus on media ministry and believes youth can bring the church into the 21st century.
“Now we can give young people the opportunity to give it a new face,” he said. “The audience today is not going to accept the presentation that the older generation of 40 years ago would.”
Despite his focus on new ideas, Blackwell emphatically recognizes Bishop Daniels’ achievements.
“He’s left a tremendous foundation at the church,” Blackwell said. “The church is stable economically because he wasn’t just a pastor, he was a businessman. He’s done a phenomenal job here in the city. This place is here because of him, not because of me.”
Regarding his own personal perspective on ministry, Blackwell keeps it simple.
“The kingdom of God must be embraced by humanity,” he said. “We must make the kingdom practical and put it on every level. It has to impact every area of human need.”
San Francisco Temple Christian Assembly, located at 10191 Halls Ferry Rd., holds services on Tuesdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., and Sundays at 10:30 a.m. For more information, call 388-3300.
