Ishmail R.

Coleman
Case Study: COGIC/Music
Church of God in Christ (Memphis, TN)

Please answer the following questions: You can simply work on this sheet by inserting your answers. This
should be attached and turned in as Applied Activity 7 “COGIC Worksheet.”

First Video Clip:

1. Describe Bishop G.E. Patterson’s body movements during the early part of the service. Consider the
microphone, his verbal emphases, how he moves across the stage, eye contact, etc. During the early
part of service, his verbal emphasis is very strong and pastor-like, with lots of wittiness and
sarcasm tone. His body movements seem to go along with the pace and tone of his words, in which
he also uses hand gestures to point in directions that he is naming as well as giving strength and
emphasis to what he is preaching. His eye contact seems to be direct to the audience, in which he
uses his eye contact to engage more with the audience but also the tv watchers. His movements
are very active and lively in which he keeps the audience engaged.

2. What is the “essence” of Bishop Patterson’s message? Does he seem moved himself by delivering the
message? What evidence do you have? The essence of his message is that if your worship God, ask
for his help, and do what is told, then you should receive blessing in your lifetime. I think that he
seems moved himself by delivering his message based on the tone of voice that he has, and his
confidence. Also his energy makes him seem moved within his message, and the tone of voice that
he uses while delivering his message suggest that he has experience within these situations as well.

3. What are the (re)actions of the choir, deacons around the Bishop, and audience? Specifically describe
movements you see occurring in the service. It seems that the choir basically goes on based on
sermon and musical ques which cause them to chime in. It also seems as if their movements are
based on certain key points of the pastor’s sermon. The deacons seem to stand and react when the
pastor makes a key point or Segway into another topic. The deacons also seem to react when the
audience reacts heavily. Furthermore, the audience reacts when the pastor makes a strong point
and also seems to react when the pastor suggest a call and response type of notion, as well as when
the music begins to embody the sermon.

4. How would you describe the “rhythm” of Bishop Patterson’s message? I would say the rhythm of his
message is very distinct, captivating, and percussion like, in which his voice and tone places you in
a captivating trance in which you become interested in what he is going to say. I would also note
that his sermon has a flow to into, kind of like a song, in which he has his intro, his chorus, and ad-
libs.

5. When do you first start hearing music? Who starts the music? Why does it start at this point? How do
the others begin to “join in” – musicians and “audience”? The music begins to play once the pastor
goes into his mellesmatic type of singing rhythm preaching style, in which the musical choir band
chimes in with pianos. I think that it starts at this point in order to strengthen the direction that
the sermon took, which was a singing-preaching type of direction, so I think it was added to give
some rhythm and engage the audience. The others begin to join in by adding their own call and
response adlibs, chanting and handclapping which become syncopated with his sermon after a
while.

6. How do the people allow themselves to be “moved”? People allow themselves to be moved by
participating in the sermon call and response and also by identifying with what the pastor is
saying within his sermon, which makes the experience seem “more real”. People also allow
themselves to be moved by letting the music captivate their minds and souls while the
Ishmail R. Coleman
sermon/message is being delivered. Also, they allow themselves to be moved by the pastor’s vocal
and guttural shrieks, which causes people’s psyche to be turned on by his energy.

7. What evidence do you see of various kinds of diversity in this service? Consider as much diversity as
possible. The evidence of diversity that I see within this service is age diversity within the audience
and church members, in which it ranges from young people to older people. I also so a diverse
amount of women and men present within the service. There is also a diverse music selection.

8. What are your personal reactions to this clip? Did the rhythm affect you at all? Once music starts, how
does your “rational thought/listening” shift? My personal reactions to the clip was that it was
typical black congregation pastor mannerism, in which they have elaborate sermons that involve
rhythm, vocalization and vocal shrieks. The rhythm affected me in the sense that I was captivated
to what the pastor might say next, and it did keep my attention by means of entertainment. Once
the music started however, it reminded me that I am observing a church service and not a lecture,
and made me lose focus of the message because I looked at the fact that it is a performance.
Second Video Clip:

How is this very different? Make note of at least 5 significant distinctions in the religious service. Explain your
answers by providing descriptive information from the videos. The same preacher here is being revered by a
different audience. How and why is there such a difference?

This video clip is different because of the setting and topic of the service. The topic of the service was a
national prayer service, therefore the direction of his speaking is going to be different. The tone of
Patterson within this clip is very calm and monotone, with hardly any rhythm attached. Also, his service
was within a cathedral like building, which alters the mood of his service as well. Also, his attire was
different and resembled a catholic priest as opposed to a regular Christian pastor. I think that there is a
difference within this service because of the demographic of people present as well as the topic of
discussion, which doesn’t call for an exuberate service, which would have not been the appropriate mood.
Also within this service, there is no music to accompany the rhythm of his speech because it is not
required. Furthermore, another distinction was that the speech seemed to have been pre-planned and
written, as opposed to memorized and ad-lib for authenticity.