The Old Black Church!: Do Greek Organization Go Against The Word Of God?

The Old Black Church!: Do Greek Organization Go Against The Word Of God?: "If you're a Christian who had a bad experience in an elite organization like the AK A's. Should you just shut up about your experience and ..."

Obama Administration: Fathers Must Get Involved

Obama Administration: Fathers Must Get Involved
Over the past two years, according to the White House, Obama’s Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative has helped fathers nationwide engage with their families by providing support for local fatherhood programs, town halls around the nation and partnerships with outside organizations and through www.fatherhood.gov.

For Our Sons

Chicago, IL (BlackNews.com) - Recently, I had the privilege of attending a screening of a documentary entitled, For Our Sons. It is a film that takes as its subject the alarming statistic that 1 in 3 male Black babies born between 2000 and 2010 will spend some time in PRISON during their lifetime.

As I sat and watched this film with my son in a community center in New York City, I could not help but feel proud of who my grandfather was, who I am and what my son can become.

Not only can this film inspire, I believe it can save some of our young men and women who might be at risk of becoming another statistic. It is my suggestion that every Black person see this inspiring film.

The film takes narrative excerpts from the lives of 19 Black men from different walks of life, with various experiences, diverse religious views and belief systems who together tell a meaningful story of resilience, mental toughness and commitment. For Our Sons is a real and undeniable truth that millions of Black men have faced and experienced in our journey to become men in this country. It gives a clear picture of where we have been and what the possibilities can be for our young people, some of whom have lost hope.

I witnessed this loss of hope first hand during the question and answer period portion of the program. After the film ended, 40 plus people gave an ovation. Afterwards, various audience members, young and not so young stood up and asked the film maker questions. For ten minutes or so, a positive exchange of dialogue took place. Then a young man, in his teens, who was obviously unmoved, stood up and asked with pure skepticism, "Do you really think it's possible to turn things around? I mean, come on now. Let's be real."

The film maker, Mr. Eric McKays response was, "If you would have told me in January 2008, that in 2009 we would have a Black President, that Michael Jackson would be gone and that Tiger Woods would be involved in a sex scandal, I wouldve told you, you were out of your mind. Anything can be changed overnight. We have to decide to change it. We have to stop talking about Obama and do what Obama did. Become Community Organizers, starting with our families. And it might sound corny, but instead of getting teary eyed singing, Man In the Mirror and talking about how much we miss Michael. Why not really look at ourselves and make the changes that we know we need to make within ourselves? If we dont do that, then no, things won't change. If we do, things will definitely change. We have to be the ones who step up in our homes, families and communities. No one else will do it. We all have to do our part.

He followed that by, "The question that I have for you young man is this, Are you doing your part?"

The teenager was baffled, "Doing my part?"

"Yes, do you plan on staying out of trouble, graduating from HS, going to college, graduating from college, doing well for yourself and after you've done well for yourself, come back and help a young person from the community you came from or one similar to yours?"

The young man smirked uncomfortably, shrugged his shoulders and said at a very low volume, "Yes."

Mr. McKay challenged him, "I want to hear you say, I'm going to do my part."

The young man said softly, "I'm gonna do my part."

McKay challenged him again, I cant hear you. Youre going to have to say that again.

The young man said it again, this time a little louder.

By the time it was over, not only was the young man exclaiming that he would do his part, but the entire room was shouting it. I happened to agree with the film maker. In 2008, I would have never believed that in 2009 we would have a Black President, Michael Jackson would no longer be with us or that Tiger Gate would become a new term.

Things can change.

Tiger Woods can regain his stature and we can decrease the percentage of young Black men going to prison. The young men of tomorrow who are babies today. You cant tell me a three year old wont listen or can not be taught. You cant tell me that a six or 10 year old wont either. We have to do our part.

That is what I intend to do, my part.

In 2010, throughout Black History Month and thereafter; as well as all of the Mens Day celebrations that will soon go on in our churches across the country, I am imploring everyone to get this film and watch it. Watch it with your family, with your friends and your community. It would be a mistake to not share this gem of a film with Black students, Black families and the faithful. Every HBCU and Black College Student Union should show this film. Every African American organization who wants to uplift our young men and women and even our older men and women should watch For Our Sons. You will only benefit from the experience.

For Our Sons is available on DVD free of charge (Just pay for s & h) at www.4oursons.com

Lets all do our part.

Darius Thompson is a freelance writer. He can be reached at noblethompson@yahoo.com

The Value of Team Work

At a Midwestern Fair, spectators gathered for an old fashioned horse pull. The
Grand-champion horse pulled a sled with 4,500 pounds on it. The runner up was
close, with a 4,400 pound pull. Some of the men wondered what the two horses
would pull if hitched together. Separately they totaled nearly 9,000 pounds, but
when hitched and working together as a team, they pulled a total weight of over
12,000 pounds.

Herein lies the value of team work. There is some kind of energy that is
exchanged when someone feels that there is someone working with them.

I read somewhere a while back of a ward in a particular hospital for premature
babies. In one case there was an infant who was several months premature. The
mother and father had abandoned the baby at the hospital and it looked as though
the child would die. The doctors and nurses did everything they could to care
for it, but in all that they did, it grew weaker. In a last ditch effort, one
nurse had the idea to place another healthier infant in the same bed as the weak
infant. She made sure that the two children were close and touching at all
times. Immediately upon feeling the touch of the stronger infant, the weaker
one's heart rate began to get stronger and stronger. After several days of
touching and being touched by the stronger infant, the preemie became stronger
and soon was able to eat on it's own and became healthy.

As leaders, I believe it is paramount that we understand the value of the
existent and potential leaders around us. Moses was a man who tried to do
everything by himself. He was someone who felt that if God called him to a task,
then God would give him the supernatural strength to complete the task. Moses
also found out that he was wrong in his assumption.

Moses' father in-law on the other hand, was someone who saw untapped leadership
resources everywhere he looked. So, he suggested that Moses find, recruit and
train other leaders to assist him in his leadership responsibilities. Once Moses
did this, he was not only able to sleep at night, but the needs of Israel were
met.

Jesus hardly started His ministry before he chose out 12 men to train in
leadership. He understood multiplication instead of addition. Rather than build
the church on one man's shoulders, he chose to build it on 13. His and 12
others. As a result of this, when His own life and ministry was ending, 11
others were just beginning. The beauty of the situation was that not one of them
detracted from his own ministry, but rather added to it.

A pastor told me once that he could leave his church for 3 months and the church
would hardly know he was missing. He wasn't telling me how little his church
cared for him. In fact his church loved him very much. However, he was telling
me how the leadership that he had around him would rally to accomplish the same
things in his absence, that he would accomplish if he was there. They would do
it with such grace, that hardly anyone would realize the Pastor's absence.

Andrew Carnegie said: "I wish to have as my epitaph: "Here lies a man who was
wise enough to bring into his service men who knew more than he." John Maxwell
said it like this: "A leader's success can be defined as the maximum utilization
of the abilities of those under him."

I will leave you with this thought. I believe Jesus understood it. If he had
not, there would be no church. Here it is...There is no success without a
successor.

Bring someone else up with you. You didn't get where you are at all by yourself.
Had it not been for someone who helped you along, you would not be where you are
at today. So grab hold of a few people and pull them up with you."

King David Pt.1

Before we can really get into the life of David I felt that it was important that we step back and set the stage for what will be taking place in our scripture readings in the week to come. Understand that the Israelite people lived in a day and age in which they were governed directly by God. They had prophets who served as God’s mouth piece to the people and priests who made sacrifices for the people. But they had no great ruler, as we know, at least not on this earth.

As they looked around at neighboring countries they became envious of them because they all had kings that they could see and they could approach but the Israelites’ King was in the Heavens. If you’re following along in your outlines you’ll see that the people wanted a king.

In spite of their prophet Samuel’s warnings about all the problems a King would cause them, the people insisted and so God gave them Saul. Saul was what you would expect in a King. The scriptures tell us that he stood heads and shoulders above everyone else. He was a handsome man and very strong. He was the kind of person who demanded your attention and your respect. He was an obvious choice and the people were excited to have him. We’ll learn more about Saul in the weeks to come but in order to understand our scripture reading today the next point in setting the stage is that…

Saul failed. It didn’t take long for Saul to begin screwing up. He stopped seeking God’s direction and began taking things into his own hands. The very last verse of I Samuel 15 says that “The Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king.” God literally regretted his choice. And so the final point as we set the stage is that…

God chose a replacement. That’s where our story picks up today. We’re told that god spoke to Samuel, the very prophet who had anointed Saul as King and told him to get up and go to the house of Jesse in the town of Bethlehem. If you’re listening you’ll immediately recognize the name of that town because it’s where Jesus was born. Later on in the Bible we discover that Jesus was a descendant of David. File that piece of information for use later on. Imagine Samuel’s fear. What if Saul heard that he was anointing the next King? So God works out a plan whereby it will appear that the reason for his visit is to worship and offer a sacrifice. Samuel gets up and fills his horn with oil which he would use to anoint the new king (the same thing the prophet had done for King Saul) and heads to Bethlehem where he’s greeted by the town fathers who are worried because the visit of the prophet often brought a word of admonition or punishment from the Lord. But Samuel assures them that he’s come in peace. And invites Jesse and his sons to worship with him.

We’re not told exactly where this worship occurred or even if Samuel told Jesse and his sons why he was really there but there’s a strong possibility that he at least told Jesse because he had Jesse present his sons one at a time to him. The text tells us that the Samuel was sure that first boy that was presented, Eliab, was the one. But God said, “Don’t look at his appearance or his height, because I’ve rejected him. For I don’t see as mortals see, you look on the outward appearance, but I look on the heart.” One by one Jesse presented his other six sons and somehow God communicates the same message to Samuel about every one. I can only imagine Samuel’s confusion as the last was presented and God said “no”. He turned to Jesse and said, “Is this all?” There was one more; he was out in the fields taking care of the sheep. Notice that Jesse hadn’t even thought to bring him in. He certainly wasn’t king material. His dad and brothers knew that. But Samuel was insistent and so he was brought into the house and suddenly this young nobody became somebody.

It’s hard for us to understand exactly why David would have been an unlikely candidate for king, but let me give you three reasons to help paint the picture. First of all, David had an undistinguished family tree. His grandmother was an immigrant and among his ancestors was a woman almost executed for adultery and a prostitute. What kind of kingly lineage was that? His bloodline just wasn’t right.

The second thing that made him such an unlikely candidate was that he was in the wrong place in the birth order. He was the youngest son. How many youngest children do we have here? You know what it’s like to live in the shadow of your older siblings. Realize that in David’s day and age your birth order determined your lot in life. The youngest child was a very unlikely prospect for success.

And finally, David already had a job. The oldest son when he was of age would begin working with his father on the farm as soon as his younger brother was old enough to tend the sheep. This succession would continue until the last son would ultimately become the family’s shepherd. David’s place in life was already determined. He had a job and apparently was good at that job from what we’re told later on in his life.
The fact is if we had been living in the farmhouse next door to David’s family on the Judean hillside, we probably wouldn’t have even known the name of David’s youngest son. His dad didn’t even think of including him until Samuel asked him if there were any more. Jesse rubbed his beard and said, “Oh, yeah, there’s my youngest. Almost forgot about him.”

The story of David is a story of right seeing. It’s a story which challenges us to look beyond outward appearances to a person’s heart and character. God saw something in David that no one else had seen. The Hebrew word that is used when the text tells us that Samuel looked at Jesse’s sons implies that he looked but didn’t really see. There’s a difference you know? Samuel, Jesse, and Saul all missed what was ultimately important to God.

Unlike the qualifications we look for when we choose teams on the playground or in the gymnasium God looks for something completely different.

God looks at character not appearance. The text tells us that God doesn’t see as we do but God looks right through our facades and our pretense to see our heart. That should both inspire and frighten us. It should inspire us when we feel that we are judged by others according to our abilities or our appearance to remember that it’s what’s on the inside that counts. And it should frighten those of us who have survived by pretense when we know that what’s on the inside doesn’t match what we claim to be.

God also chooses certain people for certain tasks because God values the will not ability. God isn’t interested in how much you can accomplish, in how talented you are, what God’s most interested in is whether you’re willing to do whatever it takes to serve him.

I heard part of a very inspiring story on Thursday and Friday on Focus on the Family. It was the story about a young boy who was born with cerebral palsy and how his handicaps and limitations caused those around him to seriously doubt his ability to do the littlest things in life, things like riding a bike. Allan Oggs shared the story of how he had fought each of these battles because he wanted to. Eventually he applied for a scholarship and was told that he could go to any school in the country and would receive full tuition room and board. What he told the official interviewing him was that he wanted to be a preacher. The official couldn’t believe it and tried to talk him out of it. But in spite of everyone who told him that he couldn’t more than thirty years later he’s been a traveling evangelist, preacher, and motivational speaker, and formerly served as an administrator and instructor at his alma mater, Jackson College of Ministries in Jackson, Mississippi. If you heard Rev. Oggs speak you would hear a man with a serious speech impairment whose love for God and determination speak loudly.

The truth is, God delights in taking those who have the will, but lack the ability in and of themselves, and using them to bring about the miraculous because, finally…

God sees possibilities when others do not because we confuse appearance with reality.

I don’t watch a lot of television but as I flip through the channels now and then I’m amazed at the number of “makeover” shows there are. From day time talk shows to reality TV shows like “The Swan” everyone wants to get a new identity by having their physical appearance changed. What’s even more alarming are those who have idolized others to such an extent that they’re having surgery to look like them. I even heard of one man who was having plastic surgery so that he could look like Michael Jackson, or should I say several plastic surgeries?

The sad reality is we confuse appearance with reality. We don’t see what really counts because we don’t take the time to look beyond the beauty or lack there of that is skin deep.

But we serve a God who sees possibility in us when everyone around us tells us we can’t!

As David was in the fields tending the sheep I’m sure he had no idea what his future would bring. The reality is the same for us: The future is seldom clear to us. If it were life wouldn’t be any fun, would it? If I knew what next month would bring then I’d have to worry about it today, and I have enough to worry about today.

The story of David, I believe, points to the truth that God has a plan for our life no matter your (You fill in the blank). You know what it is that is preventing you from being the person that God wants you to be or fulfilling the dream that God has given you. It maybe your family. Perhaps it’s your past. Or maybe it’s the way you’re living now. If you’ll place yourself in God’s hands God can and will do great things through you.

The Key to fulfillment and contentment in life is being who God wants you to be. The key to fulfillment is not money or possessions or good looks. It’s what’s on the inside that counts. When we realize that and open ourselves to what God wants to do in and through us we can find the abundant life that Jesus promised us.

A divine helper complements a divine man's work

A divine helper complements a divine man's work

Expect the Impossible by Rev.M.D.Rogers

Expect The Impossible
Rev. M.D. Rogers

This is the hour of the things, which have not been seen in the past
or present to manifest. The things that appear to man to be
impossible, will now emerge into the natural realm, according to your
faith. According to your faith, so be it, for faith is a force, faith
does the impossible, faith moves God to perform His promises.
Words to you that He has spoken for all these weeks, months or maybe
even years. Faith pursues your destiny. It is a pursuer of all God
has promised you. For it is in faith that lies the victory, that
overcomes the world.

Expect to see the impossible, I heard the Lord say. Expect to see the
impossible begin to manifest in your life, in your ministry, in your
businesses. For God desires to do more exceedingly abundantly, above
ALL you could ever ask of Him or above all you could ever even think!
(Eph 3:20) Allow your thoughts to go BIG. Expand your thinking,
expand your tent pegs. Go beyond your mindset, to the mind of Christ,
where nothing is impossible with Him. Stretch yourself in faith;
stretch yourself in vision, for whatever you have in your heart to do
for the Kingdom of God, He has something much grander, much larger,
and much greater in mind for you. Be sure and ask in faith, believing
you have received already, not doubting or wavering, lest that person
shall not receive anything. God is calling you to a higher level of
expectancy in everything you do. Settle for nothing less than the
power of God in every area of your life. God is a liberal giver, and
gives without reproach.

Expect to see the impossible emerge in your life. What has been
impossible in the past is possible. Mission possible. The mission
became possible 2000 years ago on the cross, which Jesus laid His
life down and raised again, paralyzing the devil, and his little
imps. Expect to see the impossible in your life turn to possible. For
this is a turn around period for His children and those who are sons
and daughters of the Most High, who are about to reveal the glory of
God. Those things that have not moved in your life, that have been a
wall, a barrier or a dead end, will turn around, as you continue to
obey the voice of God in everything you do. Do everything by the
Spirit, live and have your being in the anointing. For everything you
need is in the anointing. For it is by His Spirit, and not by our own
power or might.

This is the hour where the blessings of God will hunt you down! As
you make His Word the ultimate authority and final say in your life
concerning His commandments and His promises to you, the blessings of
God overtake you. Angels have already been released with blessings
for you, the sons and daughters of God. They are on a mission to hunt
you down and deliver the blessing no matter where you are -- they
will find you.

Expect the impossible. Expect to see the things that you haven't been
able to shake or move, as you speak the word of faith, to move, it
will move. Faith is the key to the supernatural. With faith you can
go to the throne in confidence and boldness requesting whatever you
need, KNOWING you have received it. For God desires to equip you with
all you need in this last hour, from your personal needs to the
things of building His Kingdom. For you have been commissioned to
global impact, you have been commissioned to a mission, a mission
that is possible with Him.