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 The film purports to address the African-American (Protestant) church specifically. Commentary by white Catholic and even liberal Jewish congregants and clergy already threatens to dilute that point. Nonetheless, some of the statements made by those parties flesh out the context of broader statements made in the production.

Narrator Michael Rogers and various interviewees have the oft-made point of the black American church's pre-eminence as the center of not only spiritual life, but social, political and other functions for its congregants in the decades following the Emancipation Proclamation. How that institution's multi-functionality may have contributed to the abuses is only indirectly examined by the testimonies of more interviewees. Even then, viewers are left to their own devices insofar as connecting the dots of the points being made. 

Between the succession of talking heads, a couple of dramatic recreations and the chapter heading-like intrsions by Rogers (James Earl Jones' voice accompanying Steve Harvey's moustache), issues of sexual and financial misconduct and church discipline outside the order set by scripture are tackled. In the narration preceding each segment, Rogers sometime plays it straight and elsewhere has fun with the miniature prologues. Exemplifying the latter approach is seeing Rogers at a laptop computer bragging of the ease with which he could get dubiously ordained online to introduce a segment about the effects of some ministers' shady preaching credentials.

The aforementioned stands as the movie's arguable peak of relevance, wherein some of the doctrinal and theological errors so prevalent in black churches are addressed. Other of the introductions and making broad statements, such as how all denominational splits are caused by egotism (including a clip from an old black&white movie showing Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms gives a mixed message regarding whether all believers should reunite under the Vatican when contrasted by other commentary), obfuscate issues that might be better confronted by other means. 

The troubles encountered when church discipline becomes unscriptural-illustrated best by the cases of women who were traumatized by how their pastors handled, respectively-their pregnancy by fornication and marital disagreements about having sex-give All In the Name its most tearful moments, but one may wonder to what end.

The conclusion arrived at by Rogers and a couple articulate clergy is basicaly that when you encounter abuses of the types shown here, move on to a better church and forgive the offenders. Were producer/director/writer Lance Gibson to have wanted to more directly confront common Afrmerican church aberrations including word-faith teaching and modalism/oneness Pentecostalism (a counselor from T.D. Jakes' Jesus-only-espousing church numbers among the interviewees, albeit largely talking sensibly about the topics he touched upon), Gibson might be harder pressed to reasonably offer the first of those remedies.

The copy on the back of All In the Name of God's DVD case touts it as "cinematic masterpiece." Though that's a exaggeration, if the movie can initiate dialogue about some of the troubles besetting so many church bodies, this short feature (under 70 minutes long) can do some good. 

As a bonus for some music freaks, former r&b gospel diva Deleon Richards (now Sheffield) and rappers Kurtis Blow and B.B. Jay chime in a bit as well. 
 
Jamie Lee Rake