Pastor Keith D. Witherspoon's Blog

Motivation for Ministry

2011-02-28T20:51:00.000-05:00

Greetings,

This past Lord's day at BBC was a wonderful worship experience! I am always blessed when I attend Early Morning Prayer Meeting. As always, I was lifted and inspired as I watched and heard the people of God make their requests known. There is power in prayer, and God's power is always present at prayer service.

Morning Worship for the past few week has been very high! I am elated to see God's people with a spirit of expectation. When we come to church, we should expect God to do something transformative in the lives of His people. Our Mass Choir really ushered in the presence of the Lord, after a very inspiring devotion by our Deacons Ministry. I really feel like the choir sometimes tries to set me up for failure by singing so well. Nevertheless, I approached the preaching moment with great anticipation. We continued our 2 Corinthians series, and I preached a message from chapter 4:1-6. The message was entitled, "Motivation for Ministry". Here's the outline:

1. Value of Mercy (1)

2. Validity of Ministry (2-5)

3. Victory of the Master (6)

God really blessed the exposition of the text! I thank God for the wonderful privilege and awesome responsibility of preaching His Word. I am already excited and anxiously waiting for next week, so I can preach again!

Well, its time for me to go for now. I must start sermon preparation and Bible Study. I also have a few meetings on this week as well as my coaching responsibilities for the Washington High School Track Team, who are preparing for their 1st meet of the season on this Saturday. They are well prepared and they work very hard,s o I know they will do well. God Bless you and keep you is my prayer!

The Content of our Confidence

2011-02-22T21:48:00.000-05:00

Greetings,

It is always a pleasure of mine to communicate with you in this fashion. The past 2 weeks have been incredible! On last Friday, we traveled down to Bloomington, Illinois for my youngest son Deonne to compete in the AAU National Indoor Tack and Field Championships. I am pleased to announce that Deonne finished 5th in the nation in the 400m dash and 7th in the nation in the 200m dash! I forgot to mention one important factor. He ran injured and still did very well! I am very proud of him.

The meet was not over until Sunday, so I was not able to attend any of our Sunday Morning services. I was told that they went very well. I want to thank Rev. Terry Tate for preaching in my stead. I was also told by some of the congregation that I was missed. That made me feel good to know that there are some people who genuinely care about you. We rushed back to South Bend because we had a Deacon Ordination service at 4pm. It was a very close call but we made it! The Ordination service went very well and the candidate passed with flying colors. Congratulations Deacon Cory Brazier. He is a young man on fire for God and has a passion for the youth. I look forward to working with him in ministry.

This past Lord's Day was a day of rejoicing! I was unable to attend Early Morning Prayer Service, but I know it went very well. I taught the New Members Class while Sunday School was going on and it was a treat for me to teach our new members.

Morning Worship started out with a bang! Our Deacons really ushered in the Spirit of the Lord in the Devotion Service. The Music Ministry kept the fire going and Rev. Derick Buggs added another log in the fire during Altar Prayer. It was getting close to preaching time and all I was thinking was, " I hope I don't mess this up." I approached the preaching moment with great anticipation. I preached a message from 2 Corinthians 3:1-6, entitled, "The Content of our Confidence". Here's the outline:

1. Confidence cannot be based on Human Approval (v. 1-3)

2. Confidence cannot be based on Heartfelt Ambition (v.4-5a)

3. Confidence can only be based upon a Heavenly Appointment (v.5b-6)

God blessed the exposition of this passage! I feel as though preaching and teaching in the same passage on Sunday and Wednesday is helping to strengthen our congregation.

Well, it's about time for me to go for now. I'm in preparation for our Wednesday in the Word Services. I look forward to talking with you again real soon! God Bless and keep you is always my prayer.

The God of all Comfort

2011-02-07T18:54:00.000-05:00

Greetings Everyone,

It has been over a year since I have posted a blog entry. This past year has been a season of severe tests, trials and ministry challenges that have taken me through the full range of emotions from extreme depression to overflowing joy. I can honestly say now without a doubt that trials not only come to strengthen you, but they also come to strip you! Sometimes there are some things in our lives that God wants to move in order to make us more like Him, and sometimes He uses chaos and calamity to achieve those ends. I am now living the words of the famous song by Marvin Sapp, "I'm stronger, I'm wiser, I'm better, so much better!!! Thank you Lord for bringing me through!!

This past Lord's Day proved to be a great day of corporate worship at BBC. Our day started at 8am at our Early Morning Prayer Service. I really love this service. The saints that participate in this service play an integral part in setting the tone for the entire day. I am always encouraged to hear the people of God praying for the well being of their pastor. the service was very warm as the people of God offered up their petitions.

Morning Worship was well attended in spite of the snow that started falling that morning. We were blessed our Music Ministry. There have been some changes to our Music Ministry that has really help to lift the overall quality of the music ans well as the choir. I may be biased, but we have one of the best choirs on earth and it is a joy to hear them sing! They make the preaching moment easier to approach. I was excited and ready to preach and the people were ready to hear a word from the Lord. I am experimenting with something new for me, and that is teaching on Wednesday and preaching on Sunday from the same book. I preached from 2 Corinthians 1:3-9. The message was entitled, "The God of all Comfort". Here's the outline:

1. God comforts us because it is His Divine Character (3).

2. God comforts us so that we may be Devoted to our Commission (4-7).

3. God comforts us so that we may Develop Confidence in Him (8-9).

God truly blessed the preaching moment! I am truly amazed at how God orchestrates corporate worship to send out a single message. Throughout the day at BBC, from Early Morning Prayer through 11am worship the focus had been on people being comforted! Praise God for people being sensitive to the voice and move of God!

Later on, I would need some of that same comfort. I am a die hard Chicago Bears fan! The only thing that was worse than watching them lose to the Green Bay Packers was watching the win the Super Bowl! As a football fan, it was a very good game.

Well it was good communicating with you on today and I look forward to blogging again real soon! I promise it wont be another year before you hear from me again! I want to thank all of my readers and those from "The Blogging Bunch" for encouraging me to continue in this avenue of ministry and for praying me through my season of storms! God Bless You!!!

Sunday Summary

2010-01-26T09:55:00.002-05:00

Greetings Blogosphere!!

This is the day that the Lord has made! I will rejoice and be glad in it!! This past Lord's Day was an awesome experience in the Lord! I was not feeling my best at all, but the saints at BBC prayed me through. Our topic for Early Morning Prayer was "Walking in Love". The service was very high and there was expectancy in the air! I got a real good feel that the people of God were expecting God to do something great!

From devotion to the benediction the saints worshipped the God of their salvation. The choir really blessed our hearts with songs of Zion! As I stated earlier, I was not feeling my best, but I was really expecting God to use me in a mighty way. God desires to get the glory out of our lives and sometimes He has to move us out of the way so that He can use us.

I approached the preaching moment with great anticipation and expectancy! We continued in or series on "The Word of God" taken from Psalm 119. This week, the message was from verses 9-16. The message was entitled, "Washing with the Word". I only had 2 points but here's the outline:

1. Delight in the Word
A. Heed (9)
B. Hold (10)
C. Hide (11-12)

2. Duty to the Word
A. Tell (13)
B. Treasure (14-15)
C. Try (16)

God really blessed the exposition of this passage!! This series on the Word of God has breathed new life into our church family. I believe that a serious spirit filled revival of the saints has started and I look forward to watching God transform the lives of many!! I was very elated to see a young man that had been visiting for several weeks, give his life to the Lord as a Candidate for Baptism!! God is truly worthy to be praised!!

Well now I am off to a week full of meetings and readings, along with all other pastoral preparations. I will ask for your prayer for CURE. It is the organization that I help to oversee. We are engaging ourselves in study circles to see what God wants us to do about institutional racism. I know this sounds like an impossible task, but we believe that " We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!" Be Blessed!!!

Sunday Summary

2010-01-12T20:32:00.003-05:00

Greetings all in the Precious Name of Jesus the Christ! We had an awesome time in the Lord at BBC this past Lord's Day. Our Day started as normal with our Early Morning Prayer Meeting. Our Hospitality Ministry is in charge of prayer for the month of January. The topic was endurance. The prayers were fervent and much appreciated! This ministry of prayer has really been the glue of our church and I thank God for the diligence of the prayer warriors. I stand to tell you that a few people can really make a difference.

We were blessed this past Lord's Day with songs from our Male Chorus and they really ushered in a spirit of praise. I was really excited about preaching this series on the Word of God. I believe it will once again prove God's Word when He said that His word will not return to Him void, but will accomplish that for which He sent it! I am excited about the fruit that will come as a result of a people falling in love again with His Word!!

I approached the preaching moment with great enthusiasm! I preached a message from Psalm 119:1-8, entitled, "The wonder of the Word" Here's the outline:

1. The Word will make you Delightful

2. The Word will make you Devout

3. The Word will make you Diligent

God really blessed the exposition of this text! This will prove to be a busy week as I have made the decision to finish my education! I had 3 classes on yesterday and they were delightful, but I have tons of homework to do, so off I go. Pray for me as I try to find balance to my schedule again! I will begin posting Wednesday in the Word again hopefully on tomorrow!!

Sunday Summary

2010-01-05T12:59:00.004-05:00

It was a pleasure to be in the Lord's presence this past Lord's Day. Unfortunately for me, I did not make Early Morning Prayer Service, due to the fact that my grandparents were in town. It brought me great joy to bring the New Year in with them.

I am always excited about the 1st Sunday of the year. To me in represents the start of a new opportunity. There was so much excitement and expectation in the atmosphere that you could almost cut it with a knife. Our numbers were down due to over a foot of snow, but the spirit was high!

The choir blessed us in song and I was really ready to preach. I approached the preaching moment with great anticipation! I began a new series entitled, "Building on the Word of God". I introduced this series from the book of Nehemiah 8:1-6. The sermon was called, "We want the Word". Here's the outline:

1. Hunger for the Word (V.1)

2. Hearing of the Word (V. 2-4)

3. Honoring of the Word (V.5)

4. Heeding to the Word (V.6)

God really blessed the exposition of this passage and I was encouraged by several of our members that this is what will get us to the place that God has for us. Several of them told me that their prayer for the year was that they would get into the Word of God more this year. God always has a way of confirming His Word for His people. I can't wait to preach the next sermon in this series. This Sunday we will be sharing from Psalm 119:1-8. I ask for your prayers for this series. God Bless and keep you.

Sunday Summary

2009-12-13T18:00:00.002-05:00

Greetings Everyone!!!

I want to start this post off by thanking everyone who has contacted me about my absence from the blogosphere. Names are too numerous for me to call and I don't want to leave anyone out, so thank you all! I really am overwhelmed about the concern for me and my well doing from people all over this country who have only met me through this venue. I am glad to be back with the "Blogging Bunch"!!

Today we had wonderful worship in BBC. This day started off with our Early Morning Prayer Service. For the month of December our youth are in charge of prayer meeting. It is truly a joy to see young people engaged in prayer meeting. I believe that we are building a foundation with these young people that will hold them and make them mature Christians. The prayers were fervent and faith filled as the people of God poured out their hearts to Him.

Today being 2nd Sunday, we were blessed with songs of Zion from our Male Chorus. I was lifted by seeing these men sing praises to God! I was very excited about preaching today and could not wait to get the message that the Lord gave me out of me. Today, I understood what Jeremiah said when he described God's Word being in his heart as a burning fire shut up in his bones! Don't get me wrong, I love, cherish, and am excited EVERY opportunity I have to preach, but today, I was really fired up about speaking on behalf of God. I preached a message today from Isaiah 9:6 entitled, "The Gift that keeps on giving". Here's a brief synopsis of the message:

The Gift that keeps on giving was:

1. Sensible

The text says, "For unto us a child is born". This made it a sensible gift. Our Messiah came to us and lived among us as a real human being. He felt pain, rejection, frustration, headache, heartache, and everything else that we feel. What good would it be to have a Messiah that could not identify with what we go through everyday? This is why it is a sensible gift. The Bible say in Hebrews 4:15, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."

2. Spiritual

It goes on to say, "unto us a son is given." In normal Hebrew dialect when a son was introduced, he was introduced by the name of his father. In this instance, it was left out, not by accident, but to let us know that this Son is the Son of God! John records that we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. He was given to us, or should I say He was given for us. The bible declares that Jesus was a Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. Jesus came to fix the spiritual problem with man. Our sin alienated us from God and Jesus became the propitiation or intermediary between sinful humanity and a Holy God. Romans says that He came for sin and condemned sin in the flesh. Jesus did not come for our creature comforts; clothes, cars, cribs, and cash, He came to rid us of sins penalty and power, and when He comes back, He will remove us from sins presence!! Glory to His name!!

3. Substantial

The last part of the verse says, "and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. All of the earthly kings whether good or bad could not handle all of the responsibility of ruling and reigning. They would forget some things or let some things go undone, but Jesus ca "shoulder" all of the responsibility!! This means that there is nothing in your existence that Jesus cannot handle!! If I were preaching now, I would say, "Is there anybody here that knows He can handle it? Have you any rivers that seem uncrossable? Have you any mountains, that you can't tunnel through? God specializes in things that seem impossible, and He can do what no other power can do!!!" I closed the message on the last part of the verse describing His name or His attributes.

God really blessed the exposition and presentation of this text. I thank God for giving me the power and passion to preach His Word!!

If I don't communicate with you anymore before Christmas, I want to wish from my family to your a very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. May God richly bless you is my prayer!!!!

Wednesday in the Word

2009-08-27T10:35:00.003-04:00

We witnessed a wonderful Wednesday in the Word!! Both of our Bible Study classes were well attended and the saints were eager and excited to learn! Our Sunday School Teachers Meeting went very well. I am excited about this teaching setting because the teachers are so excited about learning. The lesson was entitled, "The Promise of Life", taken from Deuteronomy 30:1-10. This was a very interesting lesson the showed the sovereignty and graciousness of God.

In the first 5 verses we see RESTORATION. I found it interesting that Moses was speaking of God restoring them to the land God had promised them before they actually inhabited it. Even with repeated warnings and promises of blessing for obedience and cursing for disobedience, the Israelites still did not follow the commands of God. In spite of their inadequacy and inability to follow God, God still had a plan for them! I get joy every time I think about this, because there are times why I don't do right, but God doesn't forfeit His plan because I have flaws in my person!! God tells them that if they return, He will restore them! What I really like about this is, God says that He will go as far as it takes to bring them back! Someone other than me has that testimony, that He came a long way to rescue me! Glory to His name!! God is in the restoration business. I don't know why we want god to be mad all of the time and get everyone as soon as they mess up. Do we forget that we mess up as well? God is looking to restore us.

Next the lesson talks about REPENTANCE. The section speaks of loving God with all of their being. To repent means to turn from sin and turn to God. I believe that many only have one step down. It's not enough to turn from sin, you must turn to God. A turn from sin without a turn toward God, creates legalism. Unfortunately, we have many in the church that are loyal to legalism, but not in love with the Lord!

The last section talks about REPLENISHMENT. Once God restores them and they repent God said that He would bless everything that they touched, their family, food, and farm would be blessed and plentiful. He also says that He would take pleasure in doing so. God loves to bless His people and do good to them!! Who wouldn't serve a God that loves to restore and to replenish?

In Bible Study we covered verses 16-21 of chapter 10 in Romans and verses 1-10 in chapter 11. This was a great lesson for our church . This lesson deals with God's dealing with Israel, Israel rejecting the Gospel, God extending the Gospel to the Gentiles, and God's future plan for His chosen covenant people. Where we really dropped anchor last night was in chapter 11 :1-4. Paul clearly states that God has not cast away Israel. Can I ask a question? If God has not cast away Israel and he still has a plan for them, how can the church be New Israel as I have heard it called so many times?

Paul gives 2 examples of why God is not through with Israel. First is a personal example. Paul says I know that God is not done with the Jews because he is one. Paul says, if Jesus can save him, He can save anyone! We need to apply this truth to our existence. No one is so good that they don't need to be saved and no one is so bad that they cannot be saved! If God saved me, He can save anyone!! The next example is one from a prophet. After a great victory on Mount Carmel against the prophets of Baal, Elijah receives word that Jezebel is going to kill him and he takes off running for his life. God asks him what is doing here. Elijah's answer is both anxious and arrogant. Look at what he says. 1 Kings 19:14 (KJV) And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. God responds by saying. 1 Kings 19:18 (KJV) Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. He tells Elijah that he is not the only one who is still serving. We need to take this to heart. Many people have the idea that if they don't do it, it wont get done. If you prescribe to this idea, I tell you what I want you to do, die and see if things continue to roll on. This is why I say it is a privilege to be in the service of the Lord. God don't need us, but Thank God that He chooses to use us!! God Bless!!

Sunday Summary

2009-08-24T21:51:00.003-04:00

This past Lord's Day is one that we at BBC shall not soon forget!! The power of God was manifest from beginning to end. I was not at Early Morning Prayer, but I am positive that the intercessors played a significant role in happenings of Sunday. I know that they bathed all of us in prayer and it was definitely felt.

Morning Worship started off on fire. Our Deacons Ministry really set the tone in the Devotional Service. The Mass Choir really blessed us with their ministry and took the service even higher! We felt the Glory Cloud fall in the place!! At this point, I pondered whether I should preach or should we just continue to praise. I was compelled by God to preach and I am so glad that I obeyed the command of God!

I preached a message from Psalm 91:1-3. The message was entitled,, "A story worth Telling". I argued that for too long many of us have been telling the wrong story. We have been telling about our mistakes, mess ups, and mis haps, instead of our miracles and makeovers! The story that we should all be telling includes these few things:

1. Devotion
A. Presence
B. Protection

2. Declaration
A. Provision
B. Praise

3. Deliverance
A. Power
B. Peace

God truly blessed the preaching of this text! I believe this is just what our church needed and I feel the winds of change beginning to blow on the hearts of the people. There was great celebration over the Word of God!! Bless His Holy name!!!

This did not conclude our day of worship. We traveled to Dowagaic, Michigan to Second Baptist Church to celebrate in worship with them for their 142 Church Anniversary! This was a blessed occasion for a church that has such a rich history and I am honored to have been asked to be the preacher. I preached from their theme which was, "A foundation that cannot be moved" Luke 6:48-49. Here's the outline:

1. Advantage of Selection

2. Assurance of Storms

3. Ability to Stand

4. Abruptness of Shattering

God blessed this preaching moment as well. Thank God for His Word!!! However, my day ended on a very sad note as I had to travel to Gary for a wake of one of my childhood friends, Lewis Eldridge or "Two Ton" as we called him. On last Tuesday he was brutally murdered in front of his home washing his car. I cannot express how tired I am of burying young men and women due to gun violence! THIS HAS TO STOP!!!! This is why I am so passionate about our Gun Buy Back! I am really looking forward to doing the next one, but in the mean time, let's strive to make our communities safer places!

Well, that's enough for now. I have really enjoyed my off day today to refresh and refuel for this busy week ahead filled with preaching, teaching, and meeting!! I am off to do tomorrow the same thing I do everyday, try and take over the world for Jesus Christ!! God Bless!!

Wednesday in the Word

2009-08-20T10:56:00.003-04:00

We had a wonderful Wednesday in the Word. Both Bible Study classes were well attended. I really enjoy the teaching ministry of our church. It is truly a joy and a privilege to teach people that are hungry for the word of God!

Our Sunday School lesson was taken from Deuteronomy 6:1-9,20-24. The lesson was entitled, Obeying God's Commands. This was a very good lesson with valuable insight for us on today. The lesson begins with the TARGET. Moses stated that the Lord wanted to tell them some things before they went into the Promised Land. The 1st target or the aim of this is that the children of Israel might fear the Lord. This word fear does not mean to cower, but to have reverential respect or to be in awe. I believe that one of the problems with our worship is that there is no more awe of God We have relegated God to formulas and He is so much more than that!! The 2nd aim was so that the children of Israel may have long days upon the earth. Long life is a blessing from God. Obeying His commands causes us to make proper choices in life which is one step to long life. proper choices along with the Power of Christ guarantees us long life!!

After the target was given, the next step was to TEACH. They were instructed to teach their children and their grandchildren. The instructions were to teach them at every available opportunity! This is a lost art today! Most families don't sit down and enjoy a meal together anymore where teaching time could occur. Some children are being raised by X Box, PS 3, My space, Facebook, MTV, BET, VH1, or some other media source. We as a society need to be more involved in the upbringing of this next generation, especially those of us who are the Body of Christ! Someone once said that the church is only one generation from extinction. We must return to teaching the younger people the ways of the Lord!! It is the only way that they will be saved!

The final step in this lesson was to TESTIFY. One day someone will ask about the reasons that we do what we do. This is testimony time!! We need to be able to tell them what God has done for us and as a result of what He's done, this is what we do!! I challenged the class about the meaning or purpose of some things that we do in our house of worship. I told them someone is going to ask them and they need to know and if none of us know, then why are we still doing it?

In Bible Study we continued our series in Romans 10. We looked at verses 5-19. This was a powerful lesson! Being that I am trying to move the church into an evangelistic methodology, I really hammered in on verses 14-15. The context is Israel, but we made relevant application for us today. We know from our own experience that if we call on the Lord, He will save us. This is true for anyone. However, how can someone call on someone that they don't believe in? How can they believe in someone that they haven't heard about. How can they hear about Him of we don't tell them? How can we tell them, except we have been given a commission to do so? We all have a commission to tell people about the Good News of Jesus Christ, Matthew 28:19-20!!

That's enough for now, because my soul is getting happy!! Got more work to do here at the office, so I will blog later!! God Bless!!!!

Wednesday in the Word

2009-08-12T23:51:00.002-04:00

Today we had a wonderful Wednesday in the Word!! The day started off with our Noon Day Bible Class. Class was well attended and the dialogue was dynamic! I taught the same lesson in both classes, so I will give you a synopsis shortly.

These past few Sunday School lessons have really been a blessing to both the pastor and people of BBC! Today's lesson was taken from Numbers 20:1-13. This is a great story with valuable insight for leaders everywhere. Moses and Aaron had led the people to Kadesh. When they arrived there, the congregation of the Lord began to complain and criticize the leadership because of a lack of water. You would think that after all of the miracles the people experienced, they would not have complained, but this is exactly what they did. In essence they blamed their lack of faith of Moses and Aaron's ability to lead. Why do people put their inadequacies on you?

Moses really blessed me with his next move. Remember, not only is Moses frustrated because of the murmuring of the people, but he is also grief stricken over the death of his sister. However, I like what he does, verse 6 says, "And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them." When things got too much to bear, they removed themselves from the situation. This is good advice for all of us. There are times when we need to remove ourselves from the presence of the assembly to get a fresh perspective on what is going on. Now they didn't just remove themselves from the assembly and take a break. When they left, they went into the tabernacle and fell on their faces. Getting into God's presence gives us a renewed spirit and a refreshed mind.

God tells Moses to take the rod and gather the people and speak to the rock and it shall give water to the people and their beasts. Moses takes the rod, gathers the people and then makes mistake #1. He begins to speak to the people. God did not instruct him to tell the people anything. He tells them to listen up and calls them rebels and then makes mistake #2, he suggests that he and Aaron are the the ones that are performing this miracle, and then he makes mistake #3, he strikes the rock not once, but twice. Moses allowed his frustration to get the best of him, and that caused him to act out of the will of God. How many of us, have allowed our feelings to make us act contrary to our character and the codes and conduct of Christ? The amazing thing is, even though Moses acted wrong, the people still got the water that they desired. Thank God that our problems don't prevent God from providing for His people!

God then tells Moses and Aaron that because of their disobedience and their failure to sanctify God in the presence of the people that they would not be permitted to enter into the Promised Land. You mean after all they had been through with these people grumbling, complaining, murmuring, challenging, disrespecting, and lack of faith and trust in God, that it was Moses and Aaron that didn't get to go in? This tells us that we cannot be driven by our emotions and feelings because they can cause us to miss out in the very thing that God has promised us. What is an even bigger slap in the face is that the people who caused all of the emotions still got to go in. We are to be God driven and not emotion driven!!

Bible Class was really off the chain! Today we looked at Romans 9:30 - 10:4. This was a very interesting portion of scripture. I was always used to hearing this Romans 10 passage read during revival services, but never took the time to do an in depth study on it. Wow, I've been really missing out! This passage is packed with powerful and pertinent points! Israel did not have full understanding of God's provided righteousness through Jesus Christ. As a result of this, they went about to establish their own righteousness. This is where many Christians find themselves today. God's provided righteousness requires nothing of us but to believe it. This confuses many people as they seek a works based religion that will allow them to have badges of honor on their chest. When seeking your own righteousness, you cannot or will not submit yourself unto God's righteousness.

The last verse we studied says that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. The Law did not and could not of itself provide righteousness before God for us. But Christ fulfilled the Law by keeping it perfectly during His sinless life and then gave His life in payment for the penalty of sin and the broken Law. The Law then pointed to Him as the Source of the God-provided righteousness it could not supply. So in closing, ITS ALL ABOUT JESUS!!! It got real hot in church right then and I had a Sunday Morning felling on a Wednesday night!! It is our job to lift Jesus up for all to see. How to reach the masses, men of every birth. For an answer, Jesus gave the key. He said and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, I'll draw all men unto me!!

I forgot to add one thing to my laundry list for the week. Yard Work!! UGH!!!!!! God Bless!!!

Sunday Summary

2009-08-09T23:53:00.003-04:00

Today was a great day of worship! I arrived at church right before Sunday School. I had the opportunity to visit all of the classes on today. I was encouraged and strengthened by most of what I heard. As I viewed one class, I was troubled by a spin that was put on the lesson that was not there, but encouraged because the teacher addressed it very well. This means I must work harder in teacher's meeting. The Lesson today was from Numbers 14. This was a fantastic and an encouraging lesson for me. I really like how Moses in spite of all of his opposition by people who had not too long ago sang his praise, prayed for them as God wanted to eliminate them for their rebellion and their wanting to get a new leader to go back to Egypt. I really enjoy Sunday School, especially teaching it.

Today, we were blessed with songs from our Male Chorus. I have some men that have really stepped up their role in corporate worship! To God be the Glory!! I did not preach today. We were blessed in the preaching moment by Rev. Jordan Key from Michigan. He is an associate minister of Christ Temple Baptist Church and the son in law of one of our most faithful and dedicated members, Sis. Daisy Barnes. It was a blessing to hear him preach and he did an awesome job! He preached from Jonah 1:1-3. The message was entitled, "A ship headed in the wrong direction". This was a timely message that was a blessing to the people of God.

This was about it as far as worship went on today. I ask for your prayers as this week will prove to be a busy one. I have meetings that begin on tomorrow, there is a revival that I wanna support at Macedonia MBC, hosted by Pastor Ray E. Owens, where the guest evangelist is Pastor Rickey Harvey, Bible Study and sermon preparation for this coming Sunday, as well as an IMA meeting this weekend. My mind has been flooded with various thoughts that I've been meaning to write down. Unfortunately many of them have since escaped me, but on this week, I will attempt to blog about some of these discussions. Be Blessed!!!

Sunday Summary

2009-08-02T23:36:00.002-04:00

This Lord's Day has proven to be one that I won't soon forget! Has anyone ever had a day of worship that seemed to be tailor made to your needs? At Early Morning Prayer Service, the topic of today was forgiveness. The prayers were fervent, the spirit was high, and it really helped to lift me up. I thank God for this time of corporate prayer. I feel like the songwriter when he said, "What a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer!

I really needed God to show up in a mighty way in worship today. Sometimes we all can get in a routine where things become mundane and stale. I needed to feel a move of God on this morning, and God did not disappoint. Our mass Choir did a tremendous job of setting the tone for worship. The last selection that they sang was, "Incredible God" and this really lifted the congregation into a spirit of praise. It was prime preaching ground now.

I preached a message from 1 Peter 5:10. This is a favorite passage of mine that has brought me through many of the storms in my life. However, this was the first time that I preached an entire sermon from this passage. The message was entitled, Reasons for Rejoicing. Here's the outline:

1. Commission

A. Sufficiency of the caller
B. Station of your calling

2. Condition

A. Severity of your suffering
B. Span of your suffering

3. Cause

A. Service
B. Shape

God really blessed the exposition of this passage! I thank God for His Word. This passage once again has moved me from looking at my circumstances to looking at my Christ! To God be the Glory!

This evening, our Mother's and Deaconess Ministry celebrated their Annual Day on today! Our special guest was Pastor H. Gregory Haygood and the Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church of South Bend. Pastor Haygood is a writer for the Sunday School Publishing Board and a tremendous preacher! I was excited for him to be with us on today!

It's amazing how the Lord works, especially when He wants to confirm or establish a Word in His people. You've already read what I preached, Pastor Haygood came this evening and preached from 1 Thessalonians 5:16, which simply says, "Rejoice Evermore". He entitled this message, "A short message that goes a long way". I wont post his outline, but let me be the first to say that his sermon was a walk off grand slam!! I thank God for his ministry! He serves as a mentor to me and several other young pastors in the area, and today he really encouraged me.

I have great anticipation about this upcoming week. My youngest son, Deonne and the rest of the family are traveling to Des Moines, Iowa to watch him run in the AAU Nationals! I am really happy and proud as a father because this is only his 1st year running. God has really blessed him with great ability. I ask for your prayers this week for him and our safe travel. I am also asking for prayer for BBC as this week is Vacation Bible School.

Seasons

2009-07-28T00:01:00.003-04:00

Summer happens to be one of my favorite seasons. I love to hear the children playing, see people riding their bikes, and others just out enjoying the weather. As delightful as summer is, there are also some negative aspects, such as heat stroke, an increase in crime and violence and those dreaded mosquitoes!

i guess it is safe to say that every season has some ups and downs that accompany it. Solomon said in Ecclesiates 3:1-8 ESV "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. Whatever the season is, you will experience both aspects of it. You cannot truly know peace until you've been in war!

Recently, the Lord has placed me in a season of promotion. I don't want to list all that has happened at the risk of bragging or sounding arrogant, but I can sum it up by saying that God has been good to me! He has done much more that I deserve, can take credit for, or even expected, and for that I am truly grateful! However, I failed to remember that there are 2 sides to every season. With advancement comes adversity. What is so troubling about this is that sometimes the adversity comes from those you expected to be happy with your advancement. This is the place that I find myself in today. I know some of you reading may be experiencing similar struggles such as I am, so that's the reason I am writing , to encourage you as well as myself. We can become so frustrated in these times that we feed our haters and give them more fuel with which to fight us with.

When Sinbad and his sailors landed on one of their tropical islands, they saw high up in the trees coconuts which could quench their thirst and satisfy their hunger. The coconuts were far above the reach of Sinbad and the sailors, but in the branches of the trees were apes. Sinbad and his men began to throw stones and sticks up at the apes. This enraged the monkeys and they began to seize the coconuts and hurl them down at the men on the ground. That was just what Sinbad and his men wanted. They got the apes so frustrated that the apes would gather their food for them. So many times, we feed our foes when we fall into frustration!

Many times when we face these things, we tend to look introspectively and try to find a reason for the present predicament. However, I have come to discover through the Word of God, that many times, you will suffer adversity just because God has advanced you. Joseph didn't get thrown in the pit until his father gave him a coat and he had a dream that he would be advanced. David didn't have problems with Saul until he was anointed the next king of Israel. Nehemiah didn't have problems with Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, until he was given authority to go and rebuild the wall. Daniel didn't have problems until he was promoted as one of the administrators over the kingdom, and the list goes on and on.

So the question becomes, what do you do?The answer is simple, but often times does not seem sensible. You continue to do what God has advanced you to do! Success or even perceived success has enemies. You can't stop being successful because you have people that don't like it. Don't throw away God's appointment for man's approval! If God has placed you somewhere or in some position and you are facing opposition, continue to do what God placed you there to do. Joseph went on through adversity to become prime minister of Egypt. David went on to become Israel's great king and the apple f God's eye Nehemiah finished the wall. Daniel went on and laid down on a lion!!

You must always remember that some people are haters and there is absolutely nothing you can do to change that. Actually you must let people be who they are. Haters must hate, just like preachers must preach, and singers must sing. It's who they are. Like a popular Gatorade commercial, I must ask, "Is it in you?"

God has advanced you for a reason. He didn't place you where you are for the haters to take you out or make you give up what He has blessed you with. He placed you there because He knew you could handle the haters and ultimately He wants to advance you THROUGH your adversity!

So in this season, I encourage you to stand strong, and always remember, seasons come and seasons go! God Bless!!!!

Sunday Summary

2009-06-28T23:08:00.009-04:00

Greetings Everyone

It has been a very long time since we have communicated in this fashion It has been an extremely busy season for me. Let me try and catch you up on a little bit. The Gun Buy Back was a tremendous success! There were 175 guns collected. Many of which were illegal to own. There are some who say that these don't work, but I beg to differ. Most of the weapons used in violent crimes are weapons taken from home invasions from people who have not properly secured them. This was not and was never intended to be an anti gun movement, but it is an anti violence movement. We even had parents to bring guns that they found in their sons room. There were guns turned in that were taken from people who were intoxicated at the time. There were guns that were taken from underage children, so this was a much needed step in the right direction to help bring an end to violence in the community.

This past week, I was privileged to attend The National Baptist Convention Congress of Christian Education, that was held in Detroit, Michigan. This was a wonderful congress! I had an opportunity to learn some valuable information that will be a blessing to our church and community. I attended the Moderator's Workshop. This class was taught by one of my mentors, Dr. Cato Brooks Jr. as well as Dr. Clifton Rhodes, and Dr, Green Davidson.

I was also fortunate to attend, "Generation Next". This was held at the historic New Bethel Baptist Church, where Dr Robert Smith is the pastor This was 3 nights of preaching by some of the country's finest young preachers such as; Rev. Sedric Veal, Rev. Clinton McFarland, Rev Marcus Davidson, Rev Clifford Mayes, Rev. Elliot Ivey, and Rev. Bertrand Bailey! These men of God really preached out of their souls. I was blessed to witness such a plethora of proclamation!

After all of that preaching including day time sessions and Late Night, it is needless to say that I was ready to preach at BBC on this morning! I arrived at Early Morning Prayer early this morning. I could not wait to get this day of public corporate worship started. This morning's topic was obedience. The prayers were fervent and filling and we felt the power of God come down and rest in the place!

I attended a portion of the adult Sunday School class and it was on fire as well. I could not wait until 11:00am worship started. Service was very high on today and I could not wait until the preaching moment. I approached the pulpit ready to tell anyone that would listen that Jesus can change their life! I preached the final message in the series, "You made a believer out of me". I preached today from John 11:39-45. The message was entitled, "A testimony from the tomb". Here's the outline:

1. Requirement for the miracle
A. Priority
B. Preparation
C. Protest

2. Raising by the Master
A. Prayer
B. Proclamation
C. Proof

3. Release of the man
A. Position
B. Pardon
C. Partnering

God really blessed the exposition of this passage on today! I thank God for His power and presence! It looks like I get a breather on this week and I plan to take full advantage of it. Pray for us as we refuel for the next phase of the " Conquest for Christ".

Weekend Wrap Up

2009-05-26T11:17:00.003-04:00

What a wonderful weekend of witness and worship for BBC! The weekend started off with the Annual non-violence march sponsored by Mamas Against Violence. This is a group of women who have had a child murdered. This ministry is led by, Bobbie Woods, who is a member of our church. They come together for support and violence prevention. Normally this event is lead by the Mayor of our city, but this year they asked the IMA to lead the march. I think it sent out a special message to see the preachers leading a march against violence in our community. I had an opportunity to push the Gun Buy Back as well as speak out publicly against the violence in our community. The IMA has vowed to do something to reduce the violence in this area, and our presence there was felt and appreciated by all in attendance.

After leaving there, I was invited to a cookout/concert in Lasalle Homes. This is a housing development located in our city, which has seen an increase in violence lately. This event was out on by Camp Salvation. This is a young group of gospel rappers, who instead of competing with one another have joined forces to do ministry. One of these artists is Bro. Cory Brazier, who is a member of our church. I had an opportunity to fellowship with people there and met several new acquaintances with whom I look forward o fellowshipping with in the future. Being in Lasalle Homes reminded me of being back home in Gary, so I felt very comfortable. The people there are very nice and warm and they helped out in serving food and everyone enjoyed the music. I also had an opportunity to promote the Gun Buy Back there as well and share my passion about seeing a decrease in violence in our community.

After this great day of work in the community, I could not wait until public worship on Sunday. Our morning started with Early Morning Prayer. The topic of the day was Togetherness. The prayers offered up were passionate and powerful as the people asked God to bring them together and to remove anything from them that caused any separation in the body.

Morning Worship started off high and lifted up! The songs were beautiful and the prayers were fervent. I could not wait for the preaching moment as we began a new series of messages in the Gospel of John. This series is entitled, "You made a believer out of me". In this preaching series, we will look at the miracles in the book of John. I believe that there is a message in the miracle and the signs have significance. The overall scripture for this series is John 20:30-31, which says, " Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. "

The 1st message in this series was from John 2:1-11. The message was entitled "Advice for your Adversity". Here's the basic outline:

1. Acknowledge the problem

2. Adhere to the procedure

3. Advance to praise.

God truly blessed the exposition of this passage! We had run em go get em, pick em up and put em down church, followed by a soul coming back home on restoration. God be praised!! I am pleased to see the people of BBC allowing themselves to be free in worship once again. I believe that God was pleased with our presentation of public worship on this past Lord's Day!

Pray for us as we have a long week of meetings gearing up for our 60th Church Anniversary, our 1st ever Youth Sunday, Gun Buy Back promotions, and Teaching/Preaching prep. Also I am pleased to announce that I will be meeting with Rev Jessie L. Jackson Sr. on today at 3pm EST!!

By the way, if you would like to help us with the Gun Buy Back, visit our website and click on the CURE link. God Bless!!!

Sunday Summary

2009-05-17T23:24:00.003-04:00

After a day of worship like today, all I can say is WOW!!!! Our Early Morning Prayer Service really set the spiritual atmosphere in BBC today. The prayer warriors were on fire this morning! I joined in with our young adult Sunday School class today and we had an awesome time there sharing the lesson.

From the time Morning Worship began, the Spirit of God fell down and rested upon us. Our Deacons were on fire this morning for devotion! They prayed and sang, and sang and prayed! After this the spirit just flowed through the service. The choir was on point as they sang out of their hearts and not their habits. One song in particular, "How great is our God", just sent us all in!! After another selection, it was preaching time. I must admit, with service that high, I wanted to jump in and preach, but I allowed one of the sons of the ministry exercise his gift, Rev Terry Tate. He preached a message from Mark 5. I don't recall the title, but it was a very inspiring message. This kind of worship was really needed in our church on today. I felt a release on today that many needed. There had been a heaviness, but I believe that God lifted that on today! Praise God!!

This afternoon, I had the privilege of preaching the closeout message for my pastor, Rev. Isaac Culver Jr. in his 11th Pastoral Anniversary. I really enjoy preaching at my home church as well as fellowshipping with friends that I grew up with there. Service was great. I was excited about the preaching moment. I have a new perspective on preaching Pastor's Anniversary. I don't believe that it is my assignment to go to another church and beat up on the people there about what they should be doing for their pastor and things like that. We can cause irrevocable damage by some of the things that we say trying to be helpful, and actually do more harm than help, we leave then the Pastor has to spend countless amounts of time trying to straighten things back out. I believe that it is my assignment on these occasions to encourage both Pastor and people and that's what I attempted to do. I preached from a familiar passage located in Daniel 3:15-18. The message was entitled,"Furnace Faith". I've posted the outline before.

There was an overwhelming response to the message! I think BBC had some leftover shout from this morning and brought it to Jerusalem! i was really honored to be able to share with my pastor this evening. He is so full of wisdom and is a man worth modeling. I pray God's choicest blessing upon him!

This week will prove to be very busy as our District Association is in its Annual Session in Gary. I have a final meeting about the Gun Buy Back, as well as my pastoral duties for the week. I am also beginning a new preaching series this week. Pray my strength in the Lord!

Also, I am happy to announce that you can check us out on the web @ www.bbcsb.com . Check it out and let me know what you think. God Bless!!

Sunday Summary

2009-05-03T20:00:00.001-04:00

I showed up, stood, sang, spoke, and sat. Now I'm ready to sleep.

Sunday Summary

2009-04-27T18:29:00.007-04:00

What a delightful day in the Lord! Although this past Lord's Day was a busy day, it was a blessed day! I was very honored to be the 8am guest preacher for Pastor Rickardo Taylor and the Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church. Pastor Taylor and church were celebrating 11 years of service as Sr. Pastor. He has an awesome testimony as he left a good paying job in Indianapolis to come and pastor a 15 member church on the southeast side of South Bend. With the Lord's help, he has since grown this church into one of the largest, most progressive churches in the region. I was very glad to be preaching at 8am, as the Oklahoma City Tornado, known as Pastor Ray Owens, was preaching at the 11am service.

The service was very uplifting and inspiring as their music and mime ministries set the atmosphere for preaching. I know that the schools of thought vary on this issue, but in my feeble opinion, I do not believe that our job as pastors is to go to another church and then chastise the people about what they should be doing for their pastor. In my experience this does more harm than good, because as the guest you leave, and the pastor of the church has to stay and deal with the backlash, which often lasts longer then the sermon. So i went simply to encourage the pastor and people. I preached a message from Psalm 27:10-14. The message was entitled, "The blessing in being forsaken". Here's the outline:

1. Dependence (10)

2. Direction (11)

3. Deliverance (12)

4. Determination (13)

God really blessed the preaching moment as we rejoiced on verse 14. "If you have the patience, God has the power".

When I arrived at BBC, I was excited about seeing the saints. I always appreciate the opportunity to travel and preach in other venues, but the saying is true, "there's no place like home". Worship was inspiring from the devotional service until the benediction. I was really excited about preaching in the pulpit that Christ has made me overseer of. We continued in our series, "No More Drama". The message was taken from James 4:7, entitled "Make the Devil Do it". Before you tune me out, please read the introduction, "There was a popular comedian, named Flip Wilson that had a variety show. One of the most popular characters was Geraldine Jones. Every time Geraldine was confronted about something that she was not supposed to do, she wold reply by saying, “The devil made me do it”. This phrase became extremely popular and even found its way on t-shirts.

Even though he passed away in 1998, his popular phrase lives on, and what’s worse is that it has found its way into the church. There is so much “Devil talk” in church, that we forget that God and the devil are not equals.

A careful study of scripture will reveal to you that the devil cannot make you do anything, but today’s text let’s us know that we can make him do something and that is flee from us. "

In order to make the devil flee, you must:

1. Relinquish

2. Resist. If you do these 2, the devil will

3. Retreat

God really blessed the exposition of this text as we were challenged to "Submit to God". I really liked this word because it literally means to place under. It carries the connotation of voluntarily placing our total selves under God's authority. This includes our failures, fears, faults, and frailties. I contend that the reason we have so much "drama" in our lives is that there are some things that we haven't placed under His authority.

Our day of public worship ended at the Pastoral Appreciation service for Pastor Cory Gathright. Pastor Gathright is a son of BBC and he pastors the Greater New Birth Christian Ministries Church. Dr. E.A. Jones preached a wonderful message, entitled "Love and Happiness".

I believe that God was pleased with our offering of public worship on today. Pray for us this week as the Gun Buy Back draws closer. It's looking well, but we are still looking for support. Later on in the week, I will post a link to it. God Bless!!

Weekend Wrap Up

2009-04-21T12:30:00.006-04:00

This was a wonderful weekend worthy of recollection! I was afforded the privilege of traveling to Oklahoma City, to participate in their 65th Annual Simultaneous Revival, hosted by the BMA of Oklahoma City, where the president is the Sr Pastor of Fairview Baptist Church, Rev. Dr. John A. (Pop) Reed.

It was a tremendous blessing for me and my life has been bettered to hear from some of the greatest seasoned preaching minds of our day, such as, Dr.L.K. Curry from Chicago and Dr. Wallace Hartsfield from Kansas City. The fellowship was rich among the clergy and I have met many new friends. I also had the pleasure to meet my blogging brother Pastor Tony Rhone in person. It was great to hear his voice instead of just reading his thoughts!

I was humbled and honored to be invited to preach at the Greater Mt. Olive Baptist Church, where Dr. A. Glynn Woodberry is the Sr. Pastor. I want to thank Pastor Ray Owens for opening this door! I'm eternally grateful to him. Greater Mt. Olive is a HOUSE!! I understand why some of the members call it the "Metro-plex". Not only does it have a state of the art sanctuary and plenty class space. It is equipped with a fellowship hall and a full gymnasium! Also located on the campus is a Senior Village, which consist of about 50 duplex units. Pastor Woodberry is doing a great work and Greater Mt. Olive Church serves as a testimony to what a pastor led people can accomplish!

I failed to mention, but did not want to overlook the tremendous preaching ability of Pastor Woodberry! He is truly one of the best and most gifted preachers that this country has to offer.

I am normally nervous about any preaching assignment, but this time, I was flat out scared! This past Lord's Day was Youth Sunday. G M O has a great youth choir under the direction of fellow blogger Rev. K.D. Moss. They sang beautifully, even though Rev. Moss tried to convince me that most of them were not there. i was shaking as I did not want to flop in front of God and this great sea of humanity. I know God would forgive me, but not sure about the others.

I preached a message from 1 Samuel 17:31-45, entitled, "How to Handle your Giants". This is a message I had preached before and it was the one I was directed to preach that day. Words cannot begin to describe how the preaching moment went! Like my son says, "IT WAS OFF THE HIZZLE FOR SHIZZLE MY NIZZLE" The people were both receptive and responsive to the preached Word and we all rejoiced at the close of the message as we remembered how God has moved some Giants out of our way!!! This was a preaching moment that will forever be etched on the walls of my mind! I want to thank Dr. Woodberry again for allowing me to come!

Now on this week, I will be going back and forth to Gary this week for their Simultaneous Revival. I cannot get enough good preaching! Also I want my blog family to be in prayer for my grandfather who is in the hospital. Gotta go, it's time for me to do what I do everyday and try and take over the world for Jesus Christ! Be Blessed.

Weekend Wrap Up

2009-04-13T21:17:00.005-04:00

This has been a weekend worth remembering! It started off with the IMA "7 Last Sayings of Christ" . This worship experience was held at the Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. I must say that this was one of the best 7 last sayings services that I have attended. We were blessed with the presence of 32 local pastors and preachers in attendance. I also heard from many that this was the most well attended service of this kind that they had experienced in our area. God is really blessing us in the IMA and I am extremely humbled to be able to serve in any capacity. God Be Praised!!

We were blessed by sermons from: Pastor Barney Lewis (New Peter's Rock MBC), Pastor Timothy Rouse (First AME Zion), Pastor Rickardo Taylor (Mt Carmel MBC), Pastor Ray Owens (Macedonia MBC) and yours truly. We were also blessed by Rev. Barrett Berry (Assoc. Min. Pentecostal Cathedral COGIC) and Rev. Derick Buggs (Assoc. Min. BBC) . Let me say that all of these preachers did a marvelous job! I was honored to be in such a great lineup.

I was also privileged to preach on WUBU, a local radio station which has a Sunday Morning show called, "Michiana Talks", hosted by Vivian Sallie. This was a new experience for me, but all in all I believe it went well.

At BBC, we do not have traditional Morning Worship on Easter Morning. We allow our young people to have their "Easter Program", during 11:00 am service. This has proved to be a blessing not only to our young people, but to family and friends as well. We have some very talented kids at BBC, and they were really on display this past Lord's Day. I was so proud of them. We are taking steps to engage our youth more at BBC. I am excited because we are actually beginning the first ever Youth Sunday at BBC. These will take place on 5th Sundays for right now. My vision is to give them a Sunday every month. Hopefully this will turn into our youth playing a more integral part of Morning Worship, as I believe that public worship is for all who attend.

Pray for me this week as I make preparations to travel to Oklahoma City, OK, to do what God has called me to do! Join in with me as we take over the world for Jesus Christ!!

Sunday Summary

2009-04-05T14:36:00.003-04:00

We had a wonderful day of public worship at BBC this Lord's Day! Our Day started off with our Early Morning Prayer Meeting. For the month of April, our Deacons and Trustees are providing leadership in prayer meeting. the topic for today was forgiveness. Our hearts were lifted as the people poured out their hearts to God about desiring to be more forgiving toward others. Thank God for the power of prayer!

Morning Worship started off a little differently this morning. Instead of the Deacons leading devotion, the Mothers and Deaconess carried on in their stead. This took several of our members back to their southern roots as it was a tradition for the Mothers and Deaconess to lead the devotional service on 1st Sunday in the south. This was welcomed and warmly received by the congregation as the praises of God went up!

We were blessed in song by our Mass Choir as they lifted the Savior up for all men to see! I approached the preaching moment with great expectation. My prayer for the week was that the people of God would be both receptive and responsive to the preaching. I continued in our series entitled, "No more drama". Today's message came from James 3:1-12. The message was entitled, "Tempering the tongue". Here's the basic outline:

To temper the tongue, you must;

1. Tame its ability to influence (1-5a)

2. Terminate its ability to impair (5b-8)

3. Train its ability to inspire (9-12)

God really blessed the exposition and presentation of this passage! The power of speech is one of the greatest powers God has given us. With the tongue, man can praise God, pray, preach the Word, and lead the lost to Christ. But with that same tongue he can ruin a person’s reputation or break a person's heart. The ability to speak words is the ability to influence others and accomplish tremendous tasks; and yet we take this ability for granted. I pray that this message was well received and the people would respond by using the gift of speech to edify, equip, encourage, and enlighten one another as well as evangelize the sinner.

I believe that God was pleased with our offering of public worship on today! Pray for us this week as I have meetings about the Gun Buy Back. We held a press conference that appeared on the news. I am interested to see the response from the community. I'm praying that this one will be more successful and more lives would be saved as a result. In the words of Pinky and the Brain, with some slight variation, "What are we going to do today Brain?" "Same thing we do everyday Pinky. Try to take over the world for Jesus." God Bless!!

Weekly Wrap Up

2009-03-30T22:17:00.003-04:00

Greetings Blogging bunch! I will start this post by letting you know that this will probably be a little lengthy, so I apologize in advance. Last week was the annual City Wide Revival put on by I.M.A. . I was excited for 2 reasons, first because I really needed to be preached to and secondly this would be my first event as president of the I.M.A. Our evangelist for the week was, Rev. Dr. James A. Boyd, pastor of the Zion Gate Missionary Baptist Church of Columbus, Mississippi. Dr. Boyd has served as the pastor of this church for almost 44 years! He preached with power and passion each night, challenging both clergy and congregation to live up to our God given potential. He was truly a blessing to the body and I look forward to hearing more from him.

Normally, during the revival, we have noon day services featuring local pastors. However, over the past few years, attendance has been extremely low. Because of the drop off in attendance, we decided to combine the noon day into the night service and allow the local pastors to lecture. This turned out to be a wonderful idea! All the pastors were to lecture from an invitational passage of the bible. I was selected for the lecture on Friday night. The passage I chose was Matthew 11:28-30. It was simply called, "An invitation to rest" Here's the outline:

1. Request (Come unto me)
2. Requirement (All you that labor and are heavy laden)
3. Reward (I will give you rest)
4. Responsibility (Take my yoke upon you and learn of me)
5. Resume (I am meek and lowly in heart)
6. Revelation (You shall find rest unto your soul)
7. Report (My yoke is easy and my burden is light)

God blessed as I did my best to keep this at a lecture! This revival was truly a wonderful experience as Dr. Boyd shared with the pastors and ministers some of the pleasures and pitfalls of pastoring.

After hearing such a great week of preaching, I could not wait to get to the pulpit on Sunday! As always, we started out public worship day with Early Morning Prayer. The topic for the day was being available.. My heart was lifted as the prayers of the saints went forth. It was amazing to see the people of God crying out to Him for them to be available to be used by Him.

The choir truly blessed us and set the tone for worship. I approached the preaching moment with anticipation of something transformitive happening in the lives of the people of God as a result of hearing the Word of God! We continued in our series, "No more drama". The passage for the preaching moment was James 2:1-4. The message was entitled "The problem with partiality" Here's the basic outline:

1. Adverse Contradiction (v.1)

2. Absence of Consideration (v.2-3)

3. Antagonistic Conclusion (v.4)

God blessed the exposition and presentation as we were challenged to not show favoritism. The closing argument was simply this. We are no better then anyone and all of us have what we have, simply because of God's grace! It's not that we've applied ourselves, been good, been careful, made all the right decisions, or even the fact that we are saved, it is simply God' grace!

The IMA started a night worship on 5th Sunday nights at 7pm. This is part of fulfilling the three-fold vision of the IMA: 1. Restoring the Worship 2. Reclaiming our Witness 3. Reconciling the World. Our preacher was Rev. Dwight L Gutridge, pastor of the St. Luke AME Zion church of Gary, Indiana. We were truly blessed as he encouraged us on what to do when your life is a mess. This was a tremendous day of worship and I believe that God was pleased with our offering of public worship!

Pray for us this week as we continue to "Serve the Lord with gladness"!

Sunday Summary

2009-03-15T21:38:00.003-04:00

What a day of worship this Lord's Day! I arrived back home yesterday from a wonderful Georgia trip extremely tired. I will admit early that I did not think that today was going to be a good day. It really started off rocky as I overslept for prayer meeting. I really don't like to miss prayer meeting. I pledged to myself that I would do better in the future!

When I arrived at church, I was greeted warmly by the saints at BBC! The saying is true, "There's no place like home!" I was happy to see my church family. Service started for me with a very lively devotion, which really set the tone for morning worship! The choir blessed us with beautiful songs of Zion, which continued to build the worship experience!

I was very excited about preaching in my pulpit on today! I couldn't wait to get back to our series. today we continued in James 1:26-27 ESV, which says, "If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. The message was entitled, "Do you got good religion? Here's the basic outline:

Good Religion involves:

1. Dialogue (26)

2. Duty (27a)

3. Detachment (27b)

This message was well received by the congregation! Praise God for His Word! I really thank God for BBC! God has blessed me to pastor a great church with great people!

My day of public worship concluded with an evening service at the Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church here in our city, where the pastor is Rev. Larry W. Davidson. Pastor Davidson is a member at BBC, so I was happy to have been invited to share with him and his congregation. Greater Friendship is a wonderful church with a very powerful youth ministry. We were there to celebrate their Nurses Anniversary.

This was going to be my fifth sermon in as many days and I really didnt know how much I had left. The longer I'm in ministry, the more real the scripture becomes that says,"His strength is made perfect in my weakness". I wanted to encourage the nurses especially and the congregation to continue to serve in spite of obstacles that they may face. I preached a message from Hebrews 12:1-2, entitled, "Being committed to the cause" Here's the basic outline:

To be committed to the cause, you must:

1. Embrace your cross (2a)

2. Erase your contempt (2b)

3. Elevate your condition (2c)

God blessed the message and gave me power to preach it! This has been a great welcome home day for me. I was glad to see family, friends, and have an opportunity to fellowship. I'm exhausted and ready tp rest. Thank God for monday! Pray for me this week! God Bless!

Revival Night 3

2009-03-13T23:33:00.003-04:00

Tonight we had a wonderful closeout of this revival! We were blessed with the presence of the vice moderator and several other pastors. The New Beginnings Choir really took me back with their singing. They sang one of my favorite songs, "God specializes in things that seem impossible".

I was ready to preach after that, but Pastor Vincent T. Ellison took us to another level as he sang the sermonic hymn. He is truly a gifted man of God. I was blessed by his fellowship. Tonight, we concluded with a message from 2 Corinthians 4:17 entitled, "The pleasure of persecution". Here's the basic outline:

1. Your suffering is not serious

2. Your suffering won't stay

3. Your suffering causes success

God blessed in a marvelous way and the people praised over the preached word! When I was done preaching, Pastor Ellison sang, "When the gates swing open", when he did this HE DUMPED THE HOUSE!!! You can check him out on you tube!

All in all this was a great week of revival, and I am grateful to God for allowing me to come and share my convictions. However, I am ready to go back home and see my family and the people of BBC! God Bless!

Revival Night 2

2009-03-12T23:54:00.003-04:00

Tonight was another great night of revival! I'm in agreement with the saying that every round goes higher and higher! We were blessed tonight with the presence of several local pastors who showed themselves to be very friendly.

Tonight, I preached from Job 1:8-12 although some of the sermon material covered the entire book of Job. The message was entitled, "What to do when the hedge is removed" Here's the basic outline.

When the hedge is removed, you must:

1. Worship

2. Witness

3. Wait

God blessed the exposition and presentation of this passage! The people were both receptive and responsive to the preaching. This has been a tremendous revival and I am sad that it is coming to an end. New Beginnings is a great church with a great pastor. I am so grateful to God for allowing me to meet Pastor Johnson. After worship, the preachers and I enjoyed a rich and warm fellowship at a restaurant.

It's late, I'm tired, and have a full day on tomorrow. God Bless!

Revival Night 1

2009-03-12T00:09:00.003-04:00

Today was an awesome day! I flew out from Chicago at 6am, and landed safely in Atlanta! God be praised. Pastor Johnson and his associate minister Rev. Churchwell met me at the airport and were very helpful and friendly. I was so excited to be back in Columbus, GA! I was really excited about preaching this year. Not only because I get an opportunity to express my convictions about Christ, but when I arrived last year, I was sick and had no voice and preaching those 5 nights was a struggle for me. Thanks be to God, that this year, I am feeling fine.

They dropped me off at my room to get some rest and I could hardly rest because of the excitement I had about preaching! When we arrived at church, people were already there excited about the revival. Pastor Johnson did something very unique and commendable in my view. The church gathered on Monday and Tuesday to pray for the revival. Needless to say, that after 2 powerful days of prayer, there was an atmosphere of praise in the place!

I anxiously approached the preaching moment and as it drew closer, I had to ask the Lord to calm me down so I could communicate His Word clearly. Tonight I preached a message from Daniel 3:15-18, entitled "Furnace Faith" Here's the outline.

Furnace Faith:

1. Accepts the Challenge

2. Announces the Creator

3. Astounds the Critics

God blessed the exposition and presentation of this passage! The people were both receptive and responsive to the preached Word! God gave further evidence of His presence, as a little girl came to give her life to the Lord! Hallelujah!!! I am really looking forward to the remainder of this revival as we are expecting God to continue to manifest Himself in the place!

I'm going to bed now so that I can be rested and refreshed! See you tomorrow! God Bless and pray for us!

Sunday Summary

2009-03-09T20:37:00.004-04:00

We had a wonderful day of worship this past Lord's Day at BBC! I got started late, because I forgot to set my clock an hour ahead. Therefore, I missed prayer meeting. I thought my day was going downhill from there. However, I could tell when I arrived that the saints at BBC had been in prayer! I arrived ready to preach God's Word!

We were few in number, but mighty in spirit! I was extremely blessed by the ministry of the mass choir ! They really prepare the worshipers for the Word of God! We continued in our series entitled, " No more Drama". Sunday's message was from the book of James. I preached a message from James 1:12-17, entitled " A Tussle with Temptation" Here's the basic outline:

1. Resist the strength of temptation

2. Recognize the source of temptation

3. Remember the solution for temptation

God really blessed the exposition and the presentation of this message! I am grateful to God for this series! It has been a blessing to me as well as the people of God!

Pray for me as I will be travelling to Columbus, Georgia as the guest evangelist at the New Beginnings Baptist Church, where the pastor is fellow blogger Rev. J.D. Johnson, http://pastorjdjohnson.blogspot.com/ , for their Spring Revival. This is my 2nd year preaching for Pastor Johnson and I am really excited. He has a group of believers that are really on fire for God. They are both receptive and responsive to the preaching of the Word of God! I will post during each night of the revival! See you soon!

Sunday Summary

2009-03-01T15:42:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful day of worship this Lord's Day at BBC! Our Christian Education Dept. is in charge of Early Morning Prayer Meeting this month. The topic of today was compassion. The Spirit of God really moved in the place as the people poured out their hearts to God asking Him to place it in their hearts to be more compassionate toward their fellow man. The desire of the prayer meeting was that we would be as compassionate with others as God is with us! Through this ministry of prayer I am watching the Saints at BBC mature right in front of me! God be praised!

Worship started off with a bang as we baptized 5 new converts into the family of God! Our choir was really on point today and everything flowed just perfect. I normally don't list the songs they sing but I really want to share as much of my worship experience with you as possible. Our choir opened up with, "God is an awesome God", followed by "My worship is for real"! This really charged the atmosphere as the Saints went up in Praise and Thanksgiving to our God. After altar prayer, the choir continued with "Because of who you are" and "Calvary". Praise God for a music director that is in tune with the Spirit of God and can move as God is moving!

This set the atmosphere for preaching! I was really excited about beginning this new preaching series. The series is called "No More Drama". The first message was from 1 Thessalonians 4:11, which says, "And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you." The message was entitled, "Drama Free Living". Here's the basic outline:

1. Manage your behavior (Study to be quiet)

2. Mind your business (Do your own business)

3. Move your body (Work with your own hands)

God blessed the exposition of this passage! I was not expecting a celebratory response from preaching like this, but I received some very favorable feedback from this message! Several members came up to me and said that this is exactly what they needed. God be praised!

I believe that God was pleased with our offering of corporate worship on today! Pray for us this week as we continuously endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace! God Bless!

I also wanted to let my blogging family know that you can catch a glimpse of a worship experience at BBC via youtube! Have a great week and see you on Wednesday!

Wednesday in the Word

2009-02-26T01:41:00.002-05:00

We had a wonderful Wednesday in the Word!! Both of our Bible classes were well attended and Teacher's Meeting was a tremendous success! God be praised!

Our Sunday School lesson came from Ezekiel 11:14-21. The lesson was entitled "A New Heart" Ezekiel was told by God to let the people know that wherever they were scattered God would be a sanctuary for them there! It is great for us to know that God is not confined to a geographical location? He can meet us and we can be in His presence right where we are! This news brought great joy to the Israelite captives because they were displaced and disconnected from the Temple.

He also promised to do something else for them. He said that He would give them a new heart, so that they could keep God's commands. I got real excited when we explored this part of the story. God knows that on our own power, we cannot keep His Word, so He gives us the enabling power of the Holy Spirit to assist us in doing His Will. What a Gracious God we serve. There were several other points in this lesson, but those were a few of the highlights we touched on.

Bible Study was off the chain! I will say this early. I have seminary training and know the difference between preaching and teaching, but today I admit that I raised up just a bit! We are continuing our series in Romans. Today we looked at Romans 4:18-25. This chapter deals with justification by faith. We see that through the life of Abraham that God justifies by faith, not our works, not our religious rites, nor by the law.

This is an awesome passage filled with promise! It has already been stated that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. Having said this the text goes on to explain in verses 18-21, "Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

This about knocked me over! I wonder today can we believe God in spite of what it looks like? All Abraham had was God's promise, but that's all Abraham needed! He was so confident that God was going to do what He said that Abraham forgot that he was almost 100 and Sarah was almost 90! Someone once said that we don't realize that God is all we need until God is all we have left!

He was not divided between God's Word and his wisdom, but rather was strengthened by his faith and had full confidence in the fact that if God promised it, God would perform it! That's a word for someone today. Stop looking at what's going on around you and remember what God promised you! It doesn't matter if it makes sense to anyone or even yourself, just trust His promise! If God promised it, God will perform it! If God tells you a duck can pull a truck, just be quiet and hook the duck up!

God will do what He said He will do! The problem is not with God but with us. We have to have the patience to wait and the perseverance to walk. What do you mean walk? There's a promise of blessing, but there's also a place of blessing, and you have to walk by faith from promise to place. I know what you may be thinking; there are pitfalls, potholes, problems, and persecutions, but there's also a promise of His Presence. If we walk by faith, God will lead us from promise to place by His Presence!

The lesson closed by letting us know that Christ died for our sins, but was raised for our justification! This is where it got real heavy! Christ’s resurrection was the proof, the demonstration and vindication of God’s acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice! If you ever question the fact that you're forgiven, go check out the tomb! He's not there! Above the tomb is a sign that says, "He is not here, He is risen!" Living He loved me! Dying He saved me! Buried He carried my sins far away! Rising He justified me, freed me forever! One day He's coming back, what a glorious day!

I'm still in a blaze from this Wednesday in the Word! Well it's late and I just found out that I have to preach at our District Board Meeting in a few hours, so let me get some sleep. Pray for us that the Lord gives us strength and power to preach His Word! I will post later to let you know how it went. Be Blessed!

Sunday Summary

2009-02-24T08:34:00.004-05:00

Greetings All,

I know I haven't been a good steward lately to the blogging bunch, so please accept my apologies and keep my in your prayers.

We had a wonderful day of worship this past Lord's Day! Our prayer service was very inspiring, as the topic of prayer was self examination. The heart felt cries of God's people went out as we petitioned God to allow us to give us the mind to honestly look at ourselves and make the needed changes to live a more productive life for Christ. It amazes me how the Lord just lines things up for our benefit.

After the prayer service, the Sunday School lesson was from Isaiah 6:1-8 entitled, "A commitment to change". This was a powerful lesson and since i didn't go over it on Wednesday in a post, here's what I taught the teachers. If you will have a commitment to change you must:

1. Change your view of the Savior
2. Change your view of your Self
3. Change your view of Service

This was a powerful and practical lesson for all to embrace!

One of the things that I have noticed about most Christians is that they like predictability in worship. Even if it's "off the chain church" they want to know that in advance. I generally preach in robes at home. When I come to the pulpit in a suit, it means that someone else is going to preach. This is such a pattern that when my preachers did not see me change, they began to wonder who was going to preach. I have taught them to be ready at all times. They began to casually scroll through their bibles just in case the were the one.

When I went to the pulpit, I could see the looks of wonder on the faces of the congregation wondering who was going to preach. My choir director asked me if I was going to sing my song today because she thought that I was not preaching. Worship was fantastic! The choir was a real blessing to all as they sang Zion songs. I was anxious about the preaching moment because from Early Morning Prayer Service until the moment I mounted the pulpit the flow had been the same, and wouldn't you know, the message that the Lord gave me fell right in line! I preached a message from Luke 15;11-24. We know this as the parable of the prodigal son. I entitled the message, "There's no place like home!" Here's the basic outline:

At home you will find:

1. A Forgiving Father

2. A Feast of Food

3. Future Fellowship

God really blessed the exposition of this text even though I felt this was not one of my better presentations, and the Lord demonstrated His approval by sending a candidate for baptism! God be praised! The older I get, the more I discover the truth of the scripture that says, " His strength is made perfect in my weakness."

Sunday was our Mass Choir Anniversary! Our choir works so very hard, and they play an integral part of our corporate worship! This was their day to celebrate and thank God for another year of service. Our special guest were the Community Baptist Church of Elkhart, Indiana, and their pastor, Rev. Lefate Owens. This has been a fellowship in our church for several years. Pastor Owens is a well seasoned and very energetic preacher, who really gave us something to think about. I wont post his outline, but we all left there in amazement! All in all, I believe that God was pleased with our offering of public worship!

Pray for us as we have already began preparation for our new preaching series that will begin on this coming Lord's Day entitled, "No More Drama". This is a series on spiritual maturity in the church and in our lives.

I am excited as the DVD ministry is really beginning to take form and our website is under construction! I praise God for these new avenues of ministry!

Well, I must get on my way as I have a meeting today about the Gun Buy Back! Pray for us that it will be a success as we try and do our part to "Serve this present age". God Bless!!!

Sunday Summary

2009-02-16T10:44:00.003-05:00

What a wonderful day of worship at BBC! We had our Friends and Family Day this past Sunday, and the Spirit of God met us there! Our Early Morning Prayer Service was a blessing for all! God met us in the meeting and poured out His Spirit in that service. Again, I must say that this Early Morning Prayer Meeting has brought new life into our church family.

Morning Worship was simply outstanding! Everything just seemed to flow so well. As a matter of fact, worship was so good, the closer I got to the preaching moment, the more nervous I became. I certainly did not want to mess up an experience like this with my presentation of preaching. I was excited and nervous at the same time. During the sermonic hymn, I heard a voice say, "Do what you have been called to do". After that I was fine. I preached a message from Acts 12:1-10 entitled, "How to handle a crisis". Here's the basic outline;

1. Sovereignty of God's Purpose

2. Service of God's People

3. Superiority of God's Peace

4. Splendor of God's Power

God truly blessed the exposition and presentation of this message! Friends and Family Day was a tremendous success! So many people brought guests and they enjoyed the worship experience at BBC. I had several people suggest that we should do this more often! We presented 3 people that brought the most people with gift cards. After worship we went to the fellowship hall for food, fellowship, and fun.

All in all I believe that God was pleased with our presentation of public worship on today! Pray for us this week ! God Bless!

Sunday Summary

2009-02-02T22:17:00.003-05:00

We had wonderful day of worship at BBC this Lord's Day! As normal, we started off with our Early Morning Prayer Meeting. Our Usher's Ministry is providing leadership for the month of February. This prayer meting has been a real blessing to our church. It has helped to revitalize our worship and it has put the driving force behind many of the things that the Lord has given us to do.

During this week of sermon preparation, I was tossed between 3 passages and really in turmoil about what to preach. Later in the week than i would've liked, a passage finally settled in me. There was a heavy burden on me to exhort the congregation in the midst of these troubling times to put their trust in the Lord. i was excited about the preaching moment. I preached a message from Psalm 121. The message was entitled, "Help is on the way". Here's the outline;

Help is on the Way
Psalm 121

1. Provider
1. Creator v.2
2. Confidence
A. You won’t slip v. 3a
B. He won’t sleep v. 3b-4

2. Protector
1. Battle v.5
2. Being v.6
A. Sun – Body
B. Moon – Brain

3. Preserver
1. Adversaries
2. All Ages

God truly blessed the exposition and the reception of the Word was great! God be praised! I am truly excited about the new things going on at BBC. We made some changes to our Morning Worship that help service to flow real smooth. Also, on last week, the DVD ministry was started! Special thanks to Monica and Cory Brazier for volunteering their time, talent, and treasure to help us begin this form of outreach!

I thought I would be able to rest today, but I had to attend a school board meeting because they are getting ready to embark upon some new forms of education, meaning a new tech high school and a high school program that gives kids enough college credit to obtain an Associates degree. I was very interested in this and wanted to see if these new avenues of education would be available to all South Bend residents and not just some. The matter will be voted on next Monday. Keep our School Corporation in your prayers.

This will prove to be a busy week as we are getting ready for Gun Buy Back 2009 and as I am preparing my 1st Agenda as IMA president. Please keep me in your prayers that all of these endeavors do not keep me from my first love and calling and that is to PREACH!!! God Bless!!!

Sunday Summary

2009-01-26T00:04:00.001-05:00

What a day of worship today!!! I got a chance to sleep in this morning, at the advice of Deacon Trellis Porter. He conducted prayer service in my stead and I am grateful to God for his faithfulness and leadership that he demonstrates in BBC! I have a good group of men that I can depend on, and I am eternally grateful for them.

When I got to BBC, I was very rested and restless at the same time. I was excited about preaching! The worship service was a real blessing to the people of God! I approached the preaching moment with great anticipation, and after my hymn of preparation, "Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross" I was ready. I preached a message from Luke 13:10-13. I struggled with a title for this message all week long almost until the preaching moment. When I was in the pulpit, the title came to me, "Jesus can straighten it out" Here's the outline:

1. Her Condition
A. Cause
B. Crippling
C. Commitment

2. Her Call
A. Consideration
B. Command
C. Communication

3. Her Cure
A. Contact
B. Comfort
C. Celebration

God truly blessed the exposition of this text! We had a very high time in the Lord, as a result of the preaching of the Gospel!

I was also glad to see my family from Gary come to worship with us. They were in attendance because at 4pm, I was going to be installed as the President of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of St. Joseph County. Thia is a tremendous honor for me and I am thankful for the opportunity to serve with such great pastors and preachers as those of the South Bend area!

For an occasion such as this, I could not think of anyone greater to preach than my pastor, Dr. Isaac Culver, Jr. He preached his can off!!! We were charged and challenged to seize the opportunity that God has blessed us with! I thank God for my pastor!! I really look forward to serving with the other officers and members of the IMA!! I believe that God is going to do great things for us as we seek to make St. Joseph County a better place to live for all.

Pray for us as we go to work! In closing, I want to thank God for BBC as well as my family for sharing me with others so that we can be a blessing to someone. For the words of the song ring true, "If I can help someone along the way, If I can help someone with a word or a song, or if I can help some sinner who has gone wrong, THEN my living shall not be in vain".

God Bless!!!

Wednesday in the Word

2009-01-21T13:09:00.003-05:00

This has been a wonderful Wednesday in the Word! All of our classes resumed on today! I was extremely excited about teaching Bible Class and Sunday School teacher's meeting again. When it was time for our "Hour of Power" class, I was presently surprised with the attendance. Our class was very insightful and a blessing to be involved with.

When it was time for Sunday School teacher's meeting, I was bubbling over with joy over something that the Lord had revealed to me! The lesson for this Sunday is a very great lesson entitled, Preparing for Commitment, taken from Judges 13. This is the story of the events preceding the birth of Samson.

There were several things that popped out at me, but I will just share a few of them in this post. The first thing I saw was an excitement about the Word of God. The wife of Manoah received a Word from God that she was going to have a son. This was great news to her because she was barren! She was genuinely excited about this Word from God. I f we will be committed Christians, we must become excited about the Word of God. I wonder about the level of excitement about the Word of God that exists in some churches today. There is never a problem filling up a concert or an athletic event, but many times we are hard pressed to find people who are genuinely excited about the Word of God!

Now her excitement was demonstrated by what she did next. Her excitement led to evangelism. She immediately went and told her husband about all of the wonderful things that she had heard from the Man of God. If our excitement is authentic, it will lead us into doing something other than being excited. Often times there are emotional moments that end up with empty meaning because there has been no action. We can sing, shout, or fall out, but what do we do when that is done? She went and told her husband! We see evangelism all in this. When we are excited about God, we don't have a problem telling others about His goodness, His faithfulness, and His mighty acts toward us. We must be committed to telling others about the good news of Jesus Christ!

The last thing I would like to lift here is Manoah's eagerness to respond to the Word of God! As soon as he heard this, the text records that he went into prayer! This was not a prayer of doubt, but of faith. He went to God to ask Him what was he supposed to do as a result of hearing the Word of God. I asked the class how often do they go home after church and ask God about what they are supposed to do as a result of hearing His Word. I also asked about how many are praying for God to show them what to do when preaching is taking place. The lesson ends with a very simple biblical principle. Manoah's wife did what God said and as a result, she got what God said that she could have!

Bible Study was off the chain! I wish I could share the whole lesson with you. We continued in the book of Romans. Today we looked at Romans 3:1-8. Previously we dealt with how God deals with the heathen and the hypocrite. Today we dealt with How God deals with the Hebrew. The Jews believed that they had certain advantages and privileges because they were God's chosen people. Paul quickly refuted this by letting them know that neither their rites or religion could save them. So then the question was asked, "What advantage has the Jew, or what benefit is there from circumcision?" Paul responded by saying that the advantage they had was that they had the oracles of God committed to them. What an advantage!!! These things that they put their trust in could not save them but, they identified them as children of God. We need to be mindful of this same truth. Remember the context, "The just shall live by faith!"

I like how how lesson ended with verse 8. Paul was accused of teaching that you should do evil, so that good may come. I like how Paul handled this, he didn't! He gave the matter over to God to let Him handle it! How much further along and better would we be if we would do just that? Paul did not validate or qualify their statements, he just gave them to the Lord. We waste too much time chasing down gossip and rumors. You can never stop people from talking about you. However, you can make sure that what they are saying is not true.

Today was a great day and I thank God for it! Pray for me as I have another day full of meetings!

Weekend Wrap Up

2009-01-20T22:49:00.003-05:00

This was a wonderful weekend filled with worship of a worthy God!! Our Early Morning prayer service was very uplifting as the prayer warriors at BBC prayed concerning servant hood this past Lord's Day! I am always strengthened by the prayers of the saints!

On Sunday, we celebrated our Officer's Installation Service during the morning worship. Our special guest was Rev Dr. Marion J Johnson, Jr, pastor of the Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church of Gary, In. He preached a timely message from Exodus 17, entitled "The driving force behind ministry". Our officers were then installed and charged with the task of leadership and following leadership for the upcoming year. I am expecting great things from our leadership this year!

On Sunday afternoon, the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of St. Joseph County, held it's Annual MLK service. This worship experience was held at the Greater St. John MBC, where Rev. Andre A. McGhee is the pastor. Our very special guest was Pastor Addis Moore and the Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan. I can only describe it this way, "We had us some church up in there, up in there!" His choir was phenomenal, but paled in comparison to the preached word from Dr. Moore. His text was 2 Chronicles 7:14, and his message was entitled, "The power is in the Church". This was a call for the church to be the church because we have been given a Divine obligation to bring change in the lives of those that we come in contact with. I was really challenged and inspired to do more as a result of the preached Word!!

One of the things that I absolutely love about South Bend is the amount of things that they do to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and his legacy. There are things going on from 7:30 in the morning until 9:00 at night, and they are all enjoyable. I participated in the Traditional March that goes from the County-City building to the Convention Center. This is a wonderful event and it always puts me in the mind frame of those who marched for our rights and civil liberties.

During the ceremony that preceded the march, I was asked to participate in the Night Worship Service as the speaker. I humbly and graciously accepted. I was grateful for the opportunity and I believe that God was pleased with the presentation. I am really grateful to God for all of the doors of ministry that only He can provide. I can truly say that not only am I walking in my Divine purpose, but I'm living out my dreams at the same time to serve humanity and make a difference with the life and time that God has given me! Hallelujah!!!

I am really excited about Bible Study on tomorrow. I didn't get to teach last week because we were snowed in. Hopefully the weather will not present these problems tomorrow. I am also excited about preaching on Sunday! Pray for us as we continue in the grace of our God!!

Wednesday WOW!!

2009-01-14T17:52:00.003-05:00

I saw this clip on Pastor HB Charles Facebook page and thought it would make interesting conversation. Please tell me what you think!!

Weekend Wrap Up

2009-01-13T09:27:00.002-05:00

This past weekend has been one of the most exciting weekends of my ministry! On Saturday about 60 saints from BBC and GCC joined together to minister to the needs of the community. There was a truck of food and personal care items that we passed out in Harbor Homes, which is a housing development near BBC. This may not sound like much until I tell you that there was 8 inches of snow on the ground! In spite of all of the snow, everyone was enthusiastic about meeting the immediate need of these residents. Every home that we went to, we were received warmly and had an opportunity to meet new families and pray for them. This was a great expression and I know that the residents of Harbor Homes were appreciative! Every time I think about it, I get excited all over again! Several of the members that participated are now eager to do more ministry outside of the walls of the church building!

With this kind of Saturday, I could not wait until Sunday to preach. I must admit that sermon preparation was difficult for me this week because of the text that I was going to preach. When I read the blogs of Pastor Ray Owens and Pastor Ronald Saunders, I noticed that both of them recently preached wonderful messages on the same passage. In my preparation, I did not want to run into either one of their outlines and I still wanted to be doctrinally sound and socially relevant.

When I arrived at BBC on Sunday morning for prayer, I was still bubbly from the day before. Our prayer service was spirited as we petitioned God about relationships, ours with Him and the ours with others. I'm a firm believer that if we can relate to God right, we should have no problem relating to one another. This prayer service has been a blessing to our church.

This past Sunday, we were blessed by songs from our Male Chorus. I approached the preaching moment with great anticipation. I am extremely grateful to God for counting me faithful enough to preach His word! I preached a message from Luke 13:6-9. This is the parable of the barren fig tree. At points in our existence, all of our lives have mirrored this fig tree. We have been positioned in a good place, given access to sufficient resources, and consistently fail to produce. I got happy when the Liaison said let it alone this year also. The word also suggests that this wasn't the first time that the Owner wanted the tree down, but thank God for the Liaison!! The message was entitled " Let it alone this year also". Here's the basic outline:

1. The action fitting judgment.

2. The announcement foretelling judgment.

3. The appeal forgoing judgment.

God really blessed the exposition as several members came to me after church desiring to be more involved. I look forward to what God is going to do through our church in 2009!

After morning worship, Pastor McGhee and I travelled back home to Gary to attend the 12 Night Revival. Pastor Keith Winfield and Pastor Raymond McDonald II both preached excellent messages. I really thank God for the fellowship that exists between the pastors in Gary. It is a breath of fresh air to see so many men of God come together and worship. On yesterday we went back down to hear the President of the conference, who happens to be my pastor, Rev Isaac Culver Jr., pastor of the Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church of Gary. He preached a timely message from Esther entitled "It's your time!" I may be a little biased, but my pastor set the place on fire last night!

I pray that God was pleased with our offerings of worship!

Pray for us as Bible Study resumes this Wednesday, so the Wednesday in the Word posts will resume as well. God Bless!!!

Sunday Summary

2009-01-05T14:29:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year to my blog family! I pray God's choicest blessings upon you all this year. We had an delightful day of worship at BBC this past Lord's Day. The Hospitality Ministry is providing leadership in prayer for this month. The topic of prayer for this past Sunday was Restoration and Renewal. There has been a spirit of heaviness in our church do to the recent misfortune of one of the members, but the prayers were fervent and God answered!

We started off this year baptizing 2 adults. This set the tone for worship! I was expecting our morning worship to be a little bumpy because we did some rearranging to our order of worship. I think the changes will allow the service to flow better and make a better worship experience for all. I was ready and eager to preach in spite of the few bumps in the road. I preached a message from Ecclesiastes 7:13-14, entitled "How to be Better". Here's the basic outline.

1. Recognize Dominion

2. Responsible Duty

3. Regular Dependence

I experienced some vocal problems and my delivery was a little off, but God has a way of making up the difference. God blessed the exposition and when the call to Christian Discipleship was extended 3 new candidates for baptism came forward! God Be Praised!!

Pastor McGhee and I traveled back home to Gary to attend the 31st annual 12 Night Revival. The revival is the first 12 nights of the year at a different location with a different evangelist every night, except on Sundays where there are 2 evangelists. We were blessed to hear Pastor Thomas Fuller of the Holy Bethel Baptist Church of Gary and Pastor Levern Swain of the Koinonia Baptist Church of Gary. Both preachers preached excellent messages. I was extremely blessed by the preaching of the gospel!

Pray for us this week as everything is back to normal and at full speed. We began our Food Pantry this past Sunday and on Saturday, BBC along with Grainger Community Church will be distributing 100 food baskets and 100 boxes of personal care items to Harbor Homes which is a housing development close to BBC. This is a good way to start off the new year and I look forward to partnering with our friends and co-laborers in Christ from GCC!

Sunday Summary

2008-12-29T09:59:00.002-05:00

I want to start this post off by saying happy holidays to everyone. I pray that your Christmas was well. The family and I went back home to Gary and spent time with family. It was very enjoyable for us.

We had a wonderful day of worship at BBC this Lord's Day. Since the start of the cold weather, attendance at Early Morning Prayer Meeting has been low, but that has not stopped the fervency of the prayer warriors at BBC. This prayer service has done tremendous things for our worship service.

As pastor's most of us have special Sunday's that we look forward to. I do need to say this, every opportunity to stand and proclaim my uncompromising convictions about my Christ is a blessing and a privilege, however there are some Sundays that I especially look forward to because of the occasion. The last and first Sunday's of the year are those for me. So it is needless to say that I approached the preaching moment with great anticipation.

I really wanted to minister to the congregation about the importance of moving from one year into a new one as well as seizing the opportunity to do something great for the Lord. The Lord directed me to the book of Haggai. Haggai was a minor prophet with a major message! He preached to Israel about the importance of re building the temple. The people's initial response was that it was not time. Haggai responded by saying, "Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. (1:4-6 ESV)".

God linked their lack of comfort and currency to their lack of concern and care for the things of God. I tell our church all of the time that you need material things. After all, you cannot go to the grocery store, fill your cart with items, proceed to the check out line, and then tell the clerk, "Jesus paid it all". However, personal pursuits should not be our primary purpose. Our main focus should be doing what God would have us to do, after all the Scripture says in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

So they begin the work and there are some people left that saw Solomon's temple and did not think that this one was up to par. Comparisons are extremely dangerous for us to engage in as children of God. This is where we get to the text that I preached. I preached from verses 6-9. The message was entitled, "Building God a House" Here's the basic outline:

1. Prophecy

2. Provision

3. Promise

God blessed the exposition and when the invitation was extended, the Lord blessed us with 2 adult candidates for baptism!! Hallelujah! I think this was a great way to end the year. I believe that God was pleased with our offering of public worship on yesterday!

Pray for us at BBC as we go into our annual 3 day fast for restoration and renewal. This is a 72 hour fast where we abstain from all food until the new year. In case I don't post again before Jan. 1 let me say to all, "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!"

Sunday Summary

2008-12-14T23:51:00.003-05:00

The only adjective that I can use to describe today is amazing! I am in constant awe of the Majesty and Might of the Master. Our Early Morning Prayer Service was great this morning. The prayer topic was obedience. The people offered up the petitions to God, and we felt a move of His Power! I could tell that God was preparing the hearts of the people to receive the Word of God.

Today we were blessed with songs from the Male Chorus. I tell you, I'm no sexist, but there's just something about the men being up front and active in the service that carries the worship level to different heights. They took us there and the song selection was in line with the message. This had to be a move of God, because none of this was planned out by us. I was ready and looking forward to the preaching moment. I preached the closing message of our series entitled, "Real Worship" from Romans 12:1-2. The messaged was tagged, "Sacrificial Worship". Here's the basic outline:

1. Reason ( I urge you brothers in view of God's mercy)

2. Requirement (Present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy, acceptable unto God.....)

3. Response (You will prove that God's will is good, acceptable, and complete)

God really blessed the exposition of the text! This was a different preaching experience for me, because I usually close like I like to close (you know what I mean), but today I was not led to. Instead I just continued to minister the Word without a tune and it really seemed to touch the hearts of the people today. I thank God for maturity! I remember as a younger preacher, I would have felt like I didn't preach if I didn't "shut it down", but the message is not in the celebration, but the explanation of the Word!!

This afternoon, we traveled to my hometown of Gary, In to visit the Mt Moriah MBC, where my Moderator, Dr. Marion J. Johnson Jr. is the pastor. Today was their celebration of their Deacon's and Trustees. I have been blessed to preach for this occasion since 2001, and it is always a pleasure to preach at Mt. Moriah. The people are very receptive and responsive to preaching.

Under normal circumstances, I don't usually preach themes. Most of the time they are out of context and in no way coincide. However, Dr. Johnson has a track record for selecting preachable themes, so I try to preach them. Today was no different. The theme scripture was 1 Samuel 12:23-25. The theme was, "Men faithfully serving, God's way". Here's the basic outline:

1. Serve personally (23)

2. Serve passionately (24)

3. Serve persistently (25)

God blessed the exposition. I am grateful to God for allowing me to preach His Word. I also thank Him for allowing me to pastor such a wonderful group of people at BBC. I am still so full that I can preach again even though I am physically spent! I believe and pray that God was pleased with the offerings of worship that were presented to Him on today!!

I can't wait for the next preaching opportunity! Until then, I will be in the preparation place. Hopefully Pastor Owens, Pastor McGhee and I will be going to Baker Book House on Tuesday. Baker Book House is quickly becoming my favorite bookstore and since it's only an hour and a half away, I figure we can gas up my hooptie and roll out !!!

Pray for us this week!! God Bless!!

Sunday Summary

2008-12-07T19:48:00.002-05:00

What a day of worship today! The young people of BBC are in charge of Early Morning Prayer for the month of December. Today's prayer was focused on the youth. We had school teachers, counselors and administrators present as we offered up petitions to God on behalf of our young people.

Our attendance was low due to inclement weather. It has been snowing the past 2 days and has been cold. That's life in the Midwest!! I was excited about the preaching moment and could not wait to preach. Pastor McGhee said something about me that I found to be true. I think that I would die, if the Lord told me not to preach anymore. We continued in our series entitled, "Real Worship". I preached a message from Isaiah 6:1-8, entitled "A view from the pew". Here's the basic outline:

1. Confrontation (1-4)

2. Confession (5)

3. Consecration (6-7)

4. Commission (8)

God blessed the exposition and the message was received well!!

At 4:00, we went to Macedonia MBC in South Bend, to celebrate with fellow blogger, Pastor Owens in the Pastor's Aide Annual Day. We were also blessed to have fellow blogger, Pastor Andre A McGhee and the Greater St. John MBC family. I really appreciate the fellowship of these 2 preaching machines. They are my older brothers and I respect them greatly for being a blessing to me. I thank God for their friendship!

The task of preaching fell on me. I was excited because this was the first time I preached at Macedonia in a service. Several years ago, I preached there at a State Convention Board Meeting. The service was really high! GSJ choir was off the hook and BBC was the same!! I preached a message from 2 Corinthians 4:17, entitled, "The Pleasure of Persecution". Here's the basic outline:

1. Your suffering is not serious (For our light affliction)

2. Your suffering wont stay (which is but for a moment)

3. Your suffering causes success (works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory)

God again showed himself faithful and blessed the exposition! I am grateful to Pastor Owens for allowing me to preach in his pulpit! The experience was immeasurable for me! I would write more, but I am beat and I have a batch of cookies that my Pastor's Aide president fixed for me that seem to be calling my name, and I must answer!

All in all, I believe that God was pleased with my offering of worship! Pray for us this week, as we try and tie up the few loose ends for 2008!

Tuesday Tidbits

2008-12-02T19:27:00.006-05:00

As I was in my morning meditation moment, I came across one of my favorite stories in the Bible. Now, I know saying that I have a favorite story in the Bible might be taboo to some, so let me explain. I love the Word of God in its entirety! I believe that it has God for it's author, salvation for its end, and truth for its content without ANY mixture of error, however there are some stories that have different meaning for some rather than others. For example, a person who is 6'9 cannot relate to the story of Zaccheus in regards to his physical stature like I can.

As I have been preaching through this series on worship at BBC, God has really put a burden in my heart to go after Him more and more. I seek to be in His presence more now than ever before! I often think about what would happen if God withdrew Himself from me. I must conclude like the hymn writer, "If though withdraw thyself from me, O whether shall I go?"

The story begins located in 1 Samuel 2. There is so much preaching in this story! I will try to limit it to a narrative, so that you may derive your own application from it. Eli, the high priest allowed his sons, Hophni and Phinehas to run rampant with the things of God. They were "abhorring the sacrifices" and alluring the servants in the temple.

Eli was warned about the behavior of his sons and talked to them, but to no avail. Finally a "man of God" came to him and pronounced judgment on Eli and the sign of this would be that his two sons would die in the same day!

It came to pass that the Philistine's came to fight with Israel and as my grandmother would say, "they were in the right field to get their hundred". Israel recognizes that the Ark of the Covenant was not there and sent for it (isn't that just like us, it would behove us to seek him out first). The battle went on and Israel was defeated and Hophni and Phinehas were both killed, just as the man of God said, and the Ark of the Covenant was taken away!

A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battle to Shiloh to tell Eli what happened. He told him about his sons, and the Ark being captured. Look at what happens, "As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy" 1 Samuel 4:18 (ESV).

1 Samuel 4:19-22 (ESV) 19 Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, "Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son." But she did not answer or pay attention. And she named the child Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel!" because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. And she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."

Both Eli and his daughter in law were greatly distressed over the Ark of God being taken away, so much that it forever changed them, one in death and one with a reminder of what had taken place. Do people today value the presence of God in this manner? How do we feel about cold, lifeless, mundane, and routine worship services, when the one that we are suppose to worship seems to be conspicuously absent?

I don't know about you, but I have to have His presence!! It really doesn't matter what else is taken away, I must have His presence. I am by no stretch saying that the death of loved ones, or some other tragedy will not have a profound affect on me or anyone else, but just imagine if you had to go through those things without the His Presence!

Every time I read this story, I gain a greater sense of gratitude for who God is in my life. In closing, I will quote the songwriter, "Without God, I would be nothing. Without Him, I would fail. Without Him, my life would be rugged. Just like a ship, without a sail!"

Monday Moments

2008-12-01T20:54:00.003-05:00

Greetings,

I pray that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have finally exited the prayer room, paying my penance for the sin of gluttony over this past weekend. We had wonderful food, fellowship, and family for the holiday. I was not looking forward to Thanksgiving because my Aunt Diana was responsible for most of the cooking at my grandmother's, and with her going to be with the Lord, I thought it would be a sad time for me, but I received moments of joy thinking about her and some of the things she would do during the holidays.

During this season, I am always troubled by the lack of focus on Christ. I've already seen signs that say "Merry Xmas". What is that? We never see X History Month, St. X's Day, 4th of X, X o ween, or have never heard a chorus of "Happy X day to X"!

I have purposed in my heart, especially with my own children, to magnify Christ like never before during this holiday season and from now on. We live in a "Jesus - intolerant" society. Generally speaking, people don't have a problem acknowledging God (or a god), but when it comes to Jesus Christ, people don't want to acknowledge Him. I learned in seminary that if you want to know where anyone is spiritually, just ask them this 3 word question, "Who is Jesus?"

I really did not post today for that reason, but it is what it is. We had a wonderful day of worship at BBC on this past Lord's Day! Attendance was low due to holiday travel and some snow, but the spirit was high.

I did not preach on Sunday. I needed the rest and my voice was really strained. I thought that I was getting the day off until our music director and fellow blogger, Avery Minor started playing the song that I lead. Needless to say, I am more hoarse now than I was previously. One of our Associate Ministers, Rev. Derick Buggs, preached a wonderful message from 1 Cor 9:24=27. I cannot remember the exact title, but it had to do with the Greek word for victory, which is where we get "Nike". He preached a wonderful message and we were encouraged.

I really appreciate all of our Associate Ministers. They are studious and they are very teachable. It is good to have some help when you need it!

Well pray for me this week as I prepare to meet with all of the spiritual leaders on Friday to discuss, what further action steps can be taken to see a continued drop in crime in our community!

I am pleased to report that since the 40 days of fasting and prayer began, there hasn't been one shooting or one homicide!! GOD BE PRAISED!!!!!

Tuesday Tidbits

2008-11-25T21:41:00.003-05:00

Greetings, blogosphere!! It's been a little while since I have had opportunity to post. I had to prepare for the end of the church year, but I'm back now!! I have found that blogging has become one of my joys and I have missed it greatly.

So much to say, and I don't know where to begin, so let's start with Saturday. On Saturday, we celebrated the homegoing of Mother Earline Kilgore, our Mother's Board President. She was truly a saint. Her love, loyalty, and legacy will leave a lasting impression on BBC for years to come. I was afforded the privilege of delivering her eulogy. This was very special to me because one of her brothers and a nephew are both pastors who could have done a better job than I. I preached a message from Matthew 25:21, entitled, "The benefits of being a faithful servant". Here's the basic outline:

1. Affirmation (well done good and faithful servant)

2. Elevation (you've been faithful over a few things, now I will make you ruler over many things)

3. Celebration (enter into the joy of your lord)

God blessed the exposition and the family was appreciative of such a spirited homegoing.

When I arrived at BBC Sunday morning for prayer, I noticed that there was a heaviness in the congregation. The same was true during Sunday School and the beginning of morning worship. I did not understand it, until the Lord reminded me that the congregation was grieving over this great loss to our local assembly.

As I approached the preaching moment, I was depending on God to lift the hearts of the people through the preached word. He did not disappoint!! We continued in our series entitled "Real Worship". I preached a message from Job 1:20:22, entitled "Authentic Worship". Here's the basic outline:

1. Authentic worship is voluntary

2. Authentic worship is not vengeful

3. Authentic worship is victorious

God blessed the preaching moment and lifted the spirits of the people and encouraged them to continue to trust God no matter what happens!

As I said earlier, I was finishing my end of the year stuff, which includes my preaching schedule inside and out, vision packet, and next year's 1st and 2nd quarter bible study, among some other things. Today, we had our annual church meeting. I used to have a bad taste in my mouth about church meetings because of some things that I saw growing up, but the people of BBC have really changed my mind about church meetings! We always have wonderful meetings ! I thank God for BBC constantly. They were both receptive and responsive to the vision. I'm excited about the upcoming year of ministry at BBC!!

I want to take this time to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving Holiday!! God Bless!!

Sunday Summary

2008-11-16T21:14:00.003-05:00

After a day of worship like today, all I can say is WOW!!! God met us at 8 am and stayed with us all day long! Our Early Morning Prayer Service is usually a mixture of prayers and hymns, but on today, the saints at BBC really poured their hearts out and invoked the presence of the Lord. It was a very moving prayer meeting, and from that moment, I knew that it would be a wonderful day of worship!

I want to take this time and thank our Music Ministry for allowing the spirit of God to move on them in the worship service. There has been a gap between devotion and the call to worship that has really stymied worship, but today they stepped in, filled the gap, and really set the tone for worship.

I approached the preaching moment with great excitement. We continued in our series, "Real Worship". I preached a message from Genesis 28:10-22 entitled, "When Jacob got to the House of God". This is a message that I really enjoyed preaching, because I can identify with Jacob, and like him, I have a new name and a new walk!! I'm about to shout!! Here's the basic outline:

When Jacob got to the house of God, he:

1. Saw a vision

2. Heard a voice

3. Made a vow

God really blessed the preaching moment and added a soul to the congregation today! I was elated at that moment because it has been some time since we have received new souls, but this was God's way of telling me what He told Jacob in the text, "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you" (Genesis 28:15 ESV).

After morning worship, the family and I were invited to Greater St. John Missionary Baptist Church to eat with my brother and fellow blogger, Pastor McGhee and his family. The food was good and the fellowship was great. I dined to my elegant sufficiency! I ate so much, I was worried about being to full to preach.

I was extremely excited about preaching for my brother. I have the utmost of respect for Pastor McGhee and the ministry that the Lord has given him. In my opinion, he is one of the greatest preacher/pastors that this country has to offer. I am always humbled beyond expression to share in front of him and his great congregation. We were also blessed to have Pastor Ray E. Owens, and the Macedonia family. With all of that preaching prowess in the place, I was flat out scared!!

God allowed me to preach a message from Romans 1:16 entitled "The Gospel". Here's the outline:

1. Emancipated opinion (I'm not ashamed of the gospel)

2. Eternal Origin (Of Christ)

3. Effectual Operation (It is the power of God)

4. Expected Outcome (Unto Salvation)

5. Evangelistic Outreach (To everyone that believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek).

God blessed the exposition! After service was over, several members of GSJMBC and MMBC came up to me and said that they were not ashamed either. That blessed me because it showed me that not only were they responsive, they were receptive to the message.

I believe that God was pleased with my offering of worship, and I can't wait to do it all over again!!

Friday Fellowship

2008-11-14T13:26:00.007-05:00

There has been something that has been troubling me for some time now, and I am calling on "The Blogging Bunch" to help me with this struggle.

What do we really mean when we say that we want unity? In my feeble attempt to address this issue, let me say that most of what happens in church to promote "unity" looks more like uniformity. Most church going people have no problem coming together in "unity" as long as the ones coming together all look alike and have similar policies, practices, and preferences.

I'm reminded of Paul addressing an issue between 2 members in Philippi. He told them to be of the same mind in the Lord. Christ should be the common union between believers, not religious preferences. I'm not suggesting that we cannot have religious preferences, but our preferences should not prevail over God's principles!

We, who are believers in and followers of Christ can come together for a common cause regardless of what I have called "The Great Denominational Divide", and then go back to our particular houses of worship and do the things that make us who we are.

God is looking for unity and not uniformity. We can be the same (believers) and work toward the same end (unity), without looking the same (uniformity). We all have a common denominator and that is Jesus Christ!! God in His infinite wisdom could have made us all the same and programmed us with the same likes and dislikes, but He didn't. God made us diverse, so let's appreciate the differences in the body and not automatically regard them as wrong because they are different from us!

I believe as the body of Christ that we can be much more effective if we put down our personal preferences and come together on God's principles!! Paul said that we ought to be endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace.

We don't have to look the same, to live the same, or love the same. I tell BBC all of the time, that if you have on a uniform and your heart is not there, it's really not a uniform, it's a costume! You can put on the pants, the shirt, the shoes, the stripes, the badge, and the gun, but it's not until you take an oath (a matter of heart) to serve and protect, that you become a police officer. The same is true with any Christian. Be Blessed!!

Wednesday in the Word

2008-11-12T21:51:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful Wednesday in the Word on today! The day started off with the weekly ministers breakfast. This was especially difficult for me today as I am engaged in a 40 day fast. Thank God, I was able to endure!

Our Sunday School lesson was really exciting today. The lesson was taken from Philippians 3:17 - 4:9, entitled, Joy in the Community. This was a very helpful lesson as Paul demonstrates several elements to help us maintain joy in the Christian Community. He first lets us know to follow Godly examples of Christian living. Paul wanted them to imitate him. He did not mean that they should imitate every single area of his life, for he had just stated that he was not perfect. But in the matter of relentlessly pursuing after Christ likeness, he did set himself up as an example. Many times when we imitate others, we pick up the bad traits and leave the good ones behind. Paul told the church at Corinth, "Follow me as I follow Christ".

Paul then goes on to talk about the characteristics of the enemies of the Cross of Christ. There were those in the church that tried to add the works of the Law as a requirement of salvation. If keeping the Law was able to save, then Jesus Christ's death on Calvary's cross was the biggest mistake in human history!

This lesson ends with one of my favorite passages in Scripture. It teaches to worry about nothing, but to pray about everything. When we do this, the peace of God, will transcend our understanding!! I get joy out of this because our understanding leads to depression, sickness, worry, confusion, and hopelessness, but God's peace literally rises above our understanding and then guards our head and our heart so we don't mess up with our hands! Finally, it gives us the things that ought to occupy our minds. I believe that many people in the body think about the wrong things and as a result they live beneath what God has intended.

Our Bible Study was very thought provoking on today. We continued our series in Romans. Today we looked at Romans 2:12-16, from the thought "How God handles hypocrites". He judges the actor (hypocrite) according to 3 divine standards: truth, deeds, and the gospel. Today we looked at the last of these 3. One verse that really stuck out was V. 13. This verse tells us that the doers of the law will be justified and not just the hearers only. James tell us this same truth in his epistle.

Many church goers believe that because they sit in the church, they are secure with Christ. This is no more true than going in the garage makes you a car! I likened this to a person being ill, going to the doctor, getting the prescription, getting it filled, going home, sitting the medicine on the dresser, and then going on to complain about their condition. The medicine wont have any affect on you until it gets inside. The same is true with the Word of God. Many people know the Word of God, but how many know the God of the Word?

God Bless and as always keep us in your prayers!

Sunday Summary

2008-11-09T19:12:00.002-05:00

We had a wonderful day of worship at BBC! Our Early Morning Prayer Service is still being geared toward and end to the violence in our community. Attendance was low, but the spirit was high and the prayers were fervent.

I announced to the church that we are starting 40 days of fasting and praying with churches from all over the area. We start tomorrow and end on December 21. I am looking forward to the great benefits of this spiritual discipline.

On 2nd Sunday's we are blessed to have our Male Chorus sing. God really used them to set the atmosphere for the preached word. I approached the preaching moment with a sense of urgency, ready to offer God worship through the preaching of His Word! We continued in our series entitled "Real Worship". Today I preached from Genesis 22:1-14. The message was entitled, "Tips for True Worship". Here's the basic outline:

1. True worship must be constant.

2. True worship must be compliant.

3. True worship must be costly.

4. True worship must be confident.

God blessed the exposition and the presentation! When I was finished, I felt like I had poured all of myself out to the Lord. I was spent and ready to call it a day. I thank God for giving me this series to preach. It's really beginning to change the climate at BBC!

As, I stated earlier, I was extremely tired and ready to go home, but we had an afternoon service. Today was our Male Chorus Anniversary. We were blessed with several Male Choirs from the area, as well as our own. It was a good service! I am a little sad because the Bears lost today. Well that's about it for tonight. I am already excited and nervous about preaching next week. I have the awesome task of preaching the close-out message for the 5th year Anniversary celebration for my brother, Pastor Andre A. McGhee. Pray my strength!!

Saturday Synopsis

2008-11-08T08:49:00.004-05:00

I know that I have been M.I.A. for the past few days, but there has bee a real burden on my heart to do something about the recent increase in violence in our community, so I have been busy trying to organize and assemble the local pastors together to address this issue.

Last night, about 40 pastors of various color, creed, culture, and church congregated at BBC on last night. The meeting was for all of us to express our concerns and then engage our congregations in 40 days of prayer and fasting. I believe that there were those in attendance who were very excited about this effort, and looking to move forward.

I told the group that this was a starting point and that God would move on our behalf and do something great in our community. It is my sincere belief that if we are consistent with this first effort, we will be consistent in future endeavors. Often times we are passionate starters, but poor finishers.

I have so much to say. My heart is full and my mind is racing 100 miles a minute. I just believe that God is starting revival in our area, and I am so humbled and honored that He is allowing me to participate.

I am also very happy about our new President Elect, Barack Obama! I was so overwhelmed with emotions when the announcement was made, I could not contain myself. I spoke with my grandfather, who has told me stories about him being in World War II, being stationed in France and actually being treated like a human. He told me of his hesitance about coming home to the states to deal with hatred and oppression. He then told me, that this was the happiest day of his life.

I am also happy because our nation is beginning to grow up. I am extremely pleased to say that no longer can we use race as an excuse not to succeed! If a black man can make it to the President, anything is possible. I pray that this election will energize the black community in a way far greater than we have ever seen before. I told a group of people that Barack Obama doesn't just represent blacks, he represents Hope!! My only concern is that our new President does not become for some a synonym for Jesus Christ.

I have so much more to say, but I have to come off of this mountain and go back into the valley. I'm about to get ready to attend the funeral of another one of our young black men who has been senselessly murdered. Please pray for Pastor Andre McGhee as he has the task of preaching this funeral. Be Blessed!!

Sunday Summary

2008-11-02T20:59:00.003-05:00

This was a great Lord's Day at BBC! Due to the recent violence in our community, I summoned the entire church to prayer this morning. The response was great as people offered their petitions to God concerning our community. I walked away from Prayer Meeting really feeling like God wants to use the ministry as a catalyst for change in this community. God be praised!!

I have been excited about preaching all week. Sometimes when I'm down, I know that public worship, praise and preaching will lift me up, so I could not wait until the preaching moment. The Lord really blessed the preaching this morning. I continued in our series on worship by preaching a message from 1 Chronicles 15:12 - 15; 27-29, entitled,"Handling the Presence of God, part 2". The opening theme of the message kind of changed the title for me to, "This time, I'm gonna do it God's way". Here's the basic outline:

1. Sanctify

The word "sanctify" means to set apart. David gathered the "set apart" people, (Levites) and told them to sanctify themselves. This was a timely process, this wasn't a quick fix. I stressed to the congregation the importance of properly preparing themselves for public worship.

2. Serve

The presence of God never would have made it to the city of David if the Levites did not serve. Not only did the Levites serve, but there were others serving in different capacities, but for a common cause. I stressed to the congregation about the importance of serving. Some only want to serve if they feel like it or if they are not mad at whatever. Our service is to God, the people we serve are the recipients.

3. Shout

As the ark was retuning to the people of God, the text records that the people shouted. God's presence among us calls for celebration from us.

God really blessed the preaching moment and when the altar call was extended, there was an out pour of people repenting admitting that they had been trying to do God's things their way. I believe that the message was clear that,"This time, I'm gonna do it God's way!"

Our day concluded with the 13th year Pastoral Appreciation service for pastor Larry Davidson, who is a son of BBC. Our choir really sang praises to God! The preacher of the hour was Pastor Andre Wells, of the Second Baptist Church of South Bend. He preached a relevant message about putting your trust in the Lord.

All in all, I believe that God was pleased with our offering of worship on today! Pray for us as I have an urgent matter to discuss with our congregation on tomorrow!

Wednesday in the Word

2008-10-30T11:51:00.003-04:00

We had a wonderful Wednesday in the Word. Both classes were both receptive and responsive to the Word of God. Wednesday was an extremely full day for me. My day started with a weekly Pastor's breakfast, where we come together and discuss ministry and sometimes misery. It was an enjoyable time!

After that I went to the office to prepare for our noon day study. Attendance was low, but those that were there were very in tune with the lesson. God be praised!

When class was over, I got a call from the Mayor's office. We have had 7 shootings in the past few days, which has resulted in several deaths of young African American men, and the city government wants to sit down and come up with strategies to combat this violence. I was invited to attend a press conference with the media, the Mayor, the Police Chief, and the Prosecutor. I am anxious to sit at the table and work with them through this problem.

Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to teach our Sunday School lesson. I was at a reception for a group called "The Pact". This is a group of 3 young African American doctors from Newark, New Jersey, who vowed to each other that they would become doctors and make it off of the tough inner city streets. They talked to the youth of South Bend about the importance of staying in school. I had a chance to meet and talk with these men. It was a great experience.

I left there on my way back to church to teach Bible Study. Our lesson was from Romans 2:5-11. Last week, we discovered that God judges the hypocrite according to truth. This week we discovered that God also judges according to deeds. Our works don't save us, but they will condemn us! In these few verses Paul suggests that the hypocrite will be judged according to their actions, attitudes, and advantages. Judgment was promised to the Jew first and then to the Gentile. He says that because unto the Jews were committed the oracles of God. They had the Word! Their judgment was first, but would not be final because it extended itself to the Gentile as well. This was a great lesson that I enjoyed teaching!

My day ended on an extremely troublesome note, but nevertheless, God is faithful and worthy to be praised, so I shout GLORY TO HIS NAME!!!!

Pray for me and my family!

Sunday Summary

2008-10-26T23:16:00.002-04:00

What a day of worship at BBC! I was not feeling well this morning, so I didn't make Early Morning prayer. When I got to church, I spent the Sunday School time trying to feel better and prepare myself for public worship. I was really anxious to preach even though it seemed like my voice did not want to cooperate.

I've been trying to move the church to more God centered worship instead of just "doing what we do". I must admit, the Music Ministry has really embraced this and it has taken the corporate worship to a whole new level! As the preaching moment approached, I began to feel better. when I stood up, I felt no pain or sickness. God be praised!!

I began a new sermon series today, entitled "Real Worship". I preached a message entitled "Handling the Presence of God, part 1, taken from 1 Chronicles 13:1-10.

Premise: There is a right way and a wrong way to handle the things of God

1. David had noble intentions

David's desire was good, but if we want to properly handle the things of God, we need more than good intentions. We later discover that David's motivation had a secret desire in it as well. He wanted to build God a temple and getting the presence of God (represented by the Ark) back would help to make this happen. Do we want God's presence for our own desires? Can Satan say about you what he accused Job of?

2. David had naughty implementation

A. David's consultation
Nowhere do we read that David consulted the Lord, he asked the people and they wanted it, so David went for it. It might be a good idea, but it might not be God's intent!

B. David's choosing
God commanded that only the Levites could move the ark. David chose Ahio and Uzza to move it. How often do we neglect God's command for our convenience?

C. David's carrying
God commanded that the ark be carried on the shoulders with staves by the priests, not on a new cart. New carts represent the easy way. Many times we forsake the Eternal way for the easy way. There are too many "new carts" in the church today!

3. Negative interaction
Uzza touched the ark because he thought it was going to fall, and God struck him dead! How many ties do we pt our hands in God's business and cause ourselves damage?

God really blessed the exposition today! We ended on a high note as I charged those that recommitted themselves on last week to remember the promise they made to God, and to help one another keep their promise!

This evening, we had our Sunday School Annual Day. Our guest was fellow blogger, Pastor Barney D. Lewis and the New Peter's Rock Baptist Church. We were blessed by their presence and fellowship. I will let him post his own outline, but I benefited from his exposition.

I concluded my day of corporate worship by attending New Hope Full Gospel Church to celebrate with their pastor, Bishop Steven Reed in his 18th year Anniversary. My little brother Elder Brandon Jacobs of New Zion Temple Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana was the guest preacher. He is a very gifted young man, and he let God use him mightily. There was a great spirit of praise in that place! As we say in the Mid- West, "they picked em up and put em down from Dan even unto Ber-sheba and that 139 miles!"

All in all, I believe that God was pleased today with my offering of worship on today! I'm looking forward to tomorrow as Pastor McGhee and I will heed the call of Pastor HB Charles and "bring the books!" as we are going to the bookstore. Be Blessed!

Wednesday in the Word

2008-10-23T10:32:00.003-04:00

We had a wonderful Wednesday in the Word! This was a very inspiring day for me! Our noon day class went very well. After our noon day service, I attended a lunch meeting with Pastor McGhee and Pastor Owens. I enjoyed the fellowship with these men of God!

Our Sunday School teacher's meeting went very well. Our lesson was taken from Acts 13:1-12. the lesson was entitled " Set apart for Service". This lesson focused on the call of Barnabas and Saul being sent out to do a work for the Lord. Paul had already been commissioned to preach to the Gentiles, and now God was calling Barnabas to minister with him. The church confirmed their calling, commissioned the men, and sent them forth. It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit, working through the local church, to equip and enlist believers to go forth and serve

As they went about preaching there was an Openness to the Word. It's a tragic thing but in life, just like in this text, openness to the Word is usually followed by Opposition to the Word. Elymas, who was a sorcerer did his best to try and stop the deputy from hearing the Word of God!! Elymas blasphemy led to his blindness. However I'm so glad the opposition to the Word, does not stop Obedience to the Word. The end result was the deputy saw what was done, was shocked at the doctrine, and was saved from damnation!!

In our Bible Study, we continued in our study of Romans. We looked at Romans 2:1-4. In chapter 1:18-32, Paul deals with the judgment of the heathen. In chapter 2:1-16, he deals with the judgment of the hypocrite. A hypocrite by definition is a play actor. In these days, actors wore masks to express the emotion that they were portraying. Hmmm, does this sound like anyone that we may know? Whether we will admit it or not, all of us have the potential if not the practice of being hypocritical. God judges the hypocrite according to truth. God's judgment is fair because it is according to the truth.

When we judge (criticize, find fault, condemn), we measure ourselves by the actions of others. However God's standard is the truth. When we find fault and constantly criticize others, the text suggests that we condemn ourselves because we are guilty of the same things. I likened this to dirt calling other dirt dirty! Grandma had real really good theology on this subject when she said, "It takes one to know one"! All in all, I believe that the people were blessed and left with a better understanding of what it means to be so critical of others. We would have better communities, culture, and churches if we were in the business of building people instead of condemning them!

Tuesday Tidbits

2008-10-21T23:53:00.007-04:00

There is something that has been troubling me for some time now. I've been wondering about how much effective outreach can be done in the church, when so much of the time is spent doing in-reach?

I hate to say this but, if we truly are soldiers in the army of the Lord, one of two things has happened. 1. We are being wounded and almost killed by "friendly fire", or 2. The enemy has invaded our camp and wreaking havoc on every hand. Help me with this!!!

There are so many things that we as the body of Christ can fight for, but instead of fighting the good fight of faith, we are fighting over antiquated practices and abject positions. Instead of earnestly contending for the faith that was once delivered to the saints, we are fighting over budgets and buildings!

When World War I broke out, the War Ministry in London dispatched a coded message to one of the British outposts in the inaccessible areas of Africa. The message read: “War declared. Arrest all enemy aliens in your district.”

The War Ministry received his prompt reply: “Have arrested ten Germans, six Belgians, four Frenchman, two Italians, three Austrians, and an American. Please advise immediately who we're at war with!"

Let's stop warring with and wounding each other and take the fight where it should be!

Sunday Summary

2008-10-20T08:22:00.004-04:00

What a delightful day of worship on this Lord's day! I woke up with great anticipation! This was my first Sunday back from vacation and I couldn't wait to return to BBC!

The Lord met us as soon as we arrived! Our early morning prayer meeting was very spirited as the saints poured out their hearts to God and expressed their appreciation to God for His faithfulness. The attendance at prayer meeting is not what I would like it to be, but those who come are very faithful and fervent prayer warriors!

Sunday School was also very insightful and inspirational! At this point I could hardly wait to get into public worship. I was expecting the Lord to do something great! He did not disappoint! Everything just seemed to click (if you know what I mean) Sunday. When the preaching moment approached, I felt an unusual urge to sing. The tradition at BBC has been to sing "Amazing Grace" before the preaching moment. When this was over, I led the congregation in singing "Near the Cross". To put it like Grandma would say, "The Holy Ghost fell!" I preached a message from Philippians 3:14 entitled, "The Amazing Race". Here's the basic outline.

1. Personal Race "I"

2. Passionate Race "press toward the mark"

3. Purposeful Race "for the prize"

4. Pleasurable Race "of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus"

The Lord really blessed the exposition! We did not have anyone join our fellowship, but we did have several come to the altar to re-commit themselves to a more worthy walk! God be praised!

Our day ended with our Mass Choir in their annual fall musical "In everything give thanks". I was bubbling over with joy as our choir sang beautifully to the Glory of the Lord!

All in all, I really believe that God was pleased with the offering of corporate worship that we presented to Him on yesterday! Pray for us this week !

Wednesday in the Word

2008-10-15T21:36:00.004-04:00

We had a wonderful Wednesday in the Word! It was really good for me to be back in the saddle. I didn't realize how much I had missed the congregation. We both were glad to be in other's presence!

Our Sunday School Teacher's Meeting was really good. I always get tremendous feedback from the students, which makes for a good class. Our lesson was entitled " A new beginning for Saul", taken from Acts 9:1-19a.

This lesson was packed with points for us to ponder. I will lift just 2 that really caught my eye and excited our class. The first is the the Protest of Ananias. Acts 9:13 (NIV) "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem." How many times have we protested what God has said based upon someones past? I have some scars from my past. Most people call them tattoos. I have been excluded from so many things in church because of what someone has heard or assumed about my past. I do believe that we need to make wise decisions about people, however we can miss out on something beneficial if we only look at a person's past.

Next, look at the Providence of God, Acts 9:15-16 (NIV) But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." Unknown to Ananias was the fact that God had already had an encounter with Saul. God can work on both ends at the same time! When God commissioned Ananias, He had already converted Paul! We must be careful not to let our protest outshine God's providence!

In Bible Class, we continued our study in the book of Romans. Today, we looked at Romans 1:24-32. In these verses, Paul gives us the results of God's condemnation of the heathen. These verses suggest that God condemned the heathen for his own willful rejection of the Truth of God manifested in them and in Creation. God dealt with them, not by sending down fire, but by giving them over to their thoughts, imaginations, and affections. I often tell the congregation that God does not have to knock your eye out. He can stop holding it in!

Romans 1:25-27 (NIV) They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. This passage deals with the often taboo church subject of sexual immorality. I went at it head on! Fornication, adultery, and homosexuality was, is, and always morally, physically, and spiritually wrong. We must not compromise our Christian convictions because of our current culture.

I could go on and on about this, but I will stop here. God Bless!!!

Tuesday Tidbits

2008-10-14T12:59:00.005-04:00

I received this in an email and thought it would make for interesting conversation.

Just Because He's Black

A white man asked his black friend, 'Are you voting for Barack Obama just because he's black?'The black man responded by saying, 'Why not? In this country men are pulled over everyday just cause they're black; passed over for promotions just cause they're black; considered to be criminals just cause they're black; and there are going to be thousands of you who won't be voting for him just because he's black! However, you do not seem to have a problem with that!

This country was built with the sweat and whip off the black slaves' back, and now a descendant of those same slaves has a chance to lead the same country, where we weren't even considered to be people, where we weren't allowed to be educated, drink from the same water fountains, eat in the same restaurants, or even vote. So yes! I'm going to vote for him! But it's not just because he's black, but because he is hope, he is change, and he now allows me to understand when my grandson says that he wants to be president when he grows up, it is not a fairy tale but a short term goal. He now sees,understands and knows that he can achieve, withstand and do ANYTHING just because he's black!'

Monday Meditation

2008-10-13T17:09:00.003-04:00

Over the past several weeks, I have talked to pastors and ministry leaders of various color, creed, and culture from all over the country. This is the one truth that I have extracted from all of these conversations. All of us are trying to "get it done" in some fashion.

The "it" we're trying to get done includes such things as:* We're all trying to bring Kingdom from Heaven to Earth.* All trying to reach out to the lost, the hurting, the poverty-stricken, the sick, the weak, the lonely, and those who cannot defend themselves or provide for themselves.* We are all, in our various ways, attempting to be the people of God in our current generation. And we are all attempting to figure out the best way to accomplish that objective.

The problem as I see it is that many of us, however, aren't really sure "how far" we are supposed to go to straddle the increasing gap between what appears to be our culture and the faith that we hold. And we think that if we just "add a new program, a new staff, a new look, or a new service", that such will keep us current with our culture, but not require us to really change any fundamental paradigms around which we operate. We say, with great conviction (and consolation to ourselves), that "we're willing to change the method, but not the Message", and we charge ahead with making minor changes here and there that we think will keep us "in the game" with the world around us.

But it's starting to look a lot to me like what I'm now calling "Pimping the Buggy". Let me preface this by saying that there is an enormous Amish population close to our area. What would you say if you were sitting at a stop-light, and you heard the clip-clop of horses' hooves beside you. You look over and see a tricked out Amish buggy sitting there, complete with brand-new fiberglass "butterfly" doors, curb-feelers, ground-effects, a huge "whale tail" spoiler on the back, deeply tinted windows, 36" alloy rims and racing slick tires. The horses are decked out with titanium yoke and bridle systems, and each has blinders and accoutrement's that match the fluorescent pink fuselage of the buggy itself. The guy driving the buggy bats the pair of green fuzzy dice hanging from the rear-view mirror once as he looks over at you, smiles, and then nods courteously to you. When the light turns green, he takes off like a shot from the lane, achieving a blistering 25 mph in a little over 8 seconds, leaving you to contemplate his vanity plate (it reads "HORSPWR") as you sit there awe-struck.

The Question is this, "When we say that we want to be "relevant" and "innovative" in our culture, what really do we mean?" Do we mean that really, we're willing to trick out what is fundamentally at its core an outdated, outmoded means of conveying Good News, or are we really willing to think and explore deeply about what it might mean to completely adopt a whole new model. I think we're all committed to the notion of "transportation" (i.e. Gospel, Jesus, personal transformation, etc), but it seems to me that as I engage people in our culture that much of what the Church attempts to do to gain audience to talk about things that are deeply spiritual looks little more to them than just an attempt to "pimp the buggy". We're scared to buy a car, but we're willing to try to look as much as we can like we have one. At what point are we better off either just acknowledging that we like buggies, and we have no intention of either pimping ours or buying a car, and if that means that we lose our relevance, so be it, or buy a car, with all of its frightening access to speed, freedom and the potential for much more lethal accidents? I think the way we answer that question will have a lot to do with "what the Church looks like" for the next generation in our culture.

Of course, this is a much bigger question than can be explored here, but I'm pleased that I at least feel like we're trying to aggressively pursue the answer.

Vacating Vacation

2008-10-12T22:14:00.002-04:00

Wow!! It's been a great vacation! I've been away from the "Blogging Bunch" for too long. In the words of LL Cool J, "Don't call it a comeback!"

So much has transpired since the last time we have talked. I'll start with my appreciation. The one thing that I hoped and prayed for this appreciation was some great preaching. I was not disappointed! Pastors Miller, Owens, McGhee and Culver really preached out of their souls!! I was really appreciative of all that took place.

I was really excited because the end of my appreciation meant the beginning of my vacation. This was the 1st vacation I've had since the beginning of my ministry. Nicole and I got a chance to get away from everything for a week. This was some much needed time for us!! This last week, I spent at home doing some reading. I got a chance to read some books that have been on my shelf for a while.

The thought of staying home for the 2 Sunday's that I was not at BBC was very tempting, but something in me just would not let me stay away from the Lord's house on the Lord's day. Last Sunday, I went to New Zion Temple M.B.C. in Hammond, Indiana, where Rev. Brandon Jacobs is the pastor. This is a fairly new church plant, but I had a great time. The worship was very spirited ans Pastor Jacobs is some preacher! Today, I visited the Rock of Ages Baptist Church of Maywood, Illinois, where Rev. Marvin E. Wiley is the pastor. I was blessed by this worship experience as well! I am grateful to God for the opportunity to worship at other churches to get a "view from the pew." I am presently seeking God on ways to make our worship more efficient and effective and it was good to see what goes on at other churches.

Well Tuesday it all starts back! I must admit that I am excited about my return to the church! I miss preaching and teaching and fellowshipping with the Saints at BBC. I am grateful for this time away, but I am also grateful to return. I am relaxed, refreshed, and ready to pursue the things of God with more passion and power! God really ministered to me during my time away and I can see clearly the direction that He wants us to take!

I have so much more to say, but I will conclude by saying that it's good to be back and I'm looking forward to reading all of the posts and comments that I missed these past weeks! God Bless!!

Wedneday in the Word

2008-09-24T23:03:00.004-04:00

We had a wonderful Wednesday in the Word! We did not have our noon day class because I had a press conference with CURE and it's sponsors. We presented 31 sponsors with a plaque that contained a piece of melted down metal from 257 guns that were turned in by the citizens of South Bend and Mishawaka. Many of these were illegal guns, and none of them will ever claim anyone's life! To God be the Glory!!

I was excited about Teacher's Meeting as we have not mt in 2 weeks. We had an exciting lesson, entitled, "Serving Others", taken from Matthew 20:17-28. This was a very relevant lesson as we consider what we are really called to be. In our time of titles and entitlement, most people do not want to be servants. I was vexed the other day when I heard a song on Christian radio, by a famous preacher that said"I lay down the title bishop, and pick up the title servant", as though servanthood can be picked up and put down like the daily newspaper. We are commissioned to be servants constantly, not at our convenience!

Jesus said in verse 28,"Even as the Son of man did not come to have servants, but to be a servant, and to give his life for the salvation of men." The Son of God came to serve, the children of God come to be served? I told the class that many of us have a "drive thru" mentality about church. We come place our order (good singing and a quick sermon), pay for the order (although some tip instead of tithe), and then leave with a good feeling. We should come in with a mind to serve the congregation in whatever way we can and the leave with a mind to serve the community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Bible Study was really thought provoking. We discussed Romans 1:18-23. We talked about how God's wrath is revealed in all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. We talked God's divinity versus man's depravity. One point among many is that God hates sin, but He loves the sinner and desires his salvation!

We also talked about how man chooses not to know God. Romans 1:20 says, "For from the first making of the world, those things of God which the eye is unable to see, that is, his eternal power and existence, are fully made clear, he having given the knowledge of them through the things which he has made, so that men have no reason for wrongdoing" The noted theologian Charles Hodge testified, "God therefore has never left himself without a witness. His existence and perfections have ever been so manifested that his rational creatures are bound to acknowledge and worship him as the true and only God".

God is so real. Nature points to Him. Man's soul feels Him. The Bible declares Him! There are some things, I may not know. There are some places, I cannot go. But I am sure, of this one thing, my God is real for I can feel Him in my soul!

Tuesday Tidbits

2008-09-23T18:32:00.002-04:00

As I approach my 2nd year Anniversary, I always take time to reflect on the previous year of ministry. Looking back, I can truly say that this has been a whirlwind of a year!

This past year of ministry started off with my family and I moving to South Bend. We were commuting from Merrillville, In, which is about 70 miles from South Bend. We were very grateful that we were able to be closer to the congregation and Nicole's new career. Then on the day of closing, my brother in law was murdered. This really sent all of us for a loop.

We celebrated the Church's 58th Anniversary in November, with a revival that resulted in 9 candidates for baptism, including my daughter Erynne! To God be the Glory!!

We were really excited about having Christmas in our new home. Only one problem, all of us were not there to share. On Dec. 23, I became ill and was hospitalized and had to stay until Dec. 29! My family came to my room and we exchanged presents there. It wasn't too bad, although the hospital food was terrible!

New Year's was special as we ended a 3 day fast for restoration and renewal. Our watch night service was off the chain! We didn't have a traditional Watch Service, we had a celebratory service, that included singing, praise dancing, mime ministry, and gospel rap. Everyone enjoyed the service as we thanked God for bringing us into 2008!

2008 started off with a bang! The Lord was adding to the church every time the invitation was extended. We had our 1st Friends and Family Day on the 4th Sunday in January and as a result 10 new souls were added on that day!

It hasn't been all peaches and cream though. We've had our share of challenges as well. My Aunt, Diana Witherspoon moved from labor to reward. This shook my world. I've counseled others but now I had to take my own medicine.

One thing I have learned this year through challenge and celebration is that God is Consistent! I have a new meaning to the scripture that says, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble!"

Well, let me close this post by saying, God Is Awesome! I am on my way to choir rehearsal. I am leading a song that is very fitting for me in this past year and all of my existence. The song is entitled,"God is my everything", by Chicago Mass Choir.

"I've had many tears and sorrows, I've had questions for tomorrow, there's been times when I've felt so all alone. But in every situation, God gave me blessed consolation, that my trials only come to make me strong!"

I thank God for my mountains, I thank Him for my valleys. I thank Him for the storms, He's brought me through. If I never had a problem, I wouldn't know that God could solve them. I wouldn't know what faith in God could do."

Through it ALL, Through it ALL, I've learned to trust in Jesus, Ive' learned to trust in God. I've learned to depend upon His word!! Be Blessed!!

Sunday Summary

2008-09-22T13:18:00.003-04:00

Senior Day was something special at BBC! This was a great day of celebration! I look forward to this every year. This is a day, where we try and bridge the gap between the young and seasoned members. At the end of the day, the younger saints served our seasoned saints dinner menu-style. They really enjoyed it!

During our morning worship, Dr Foster really preached! His message was from Psalm 37:25, entitled, "I've been around long enough to see what God can do". This was an awesome message that really encouraged some of us younger people to just hold on and don't worry about the current state of affairs, because God is so sovereign that things will work out. I was truly blessed by this sermon.

I am looking forward to this week. I am a co-chair for an organization called CURE (CommUnity Religious Effort). Last year along with HCI (Healthy Communities Initiative), and the police departments of South Bend and Mishawaka, we hosted a Gun Buy Back. During this day, we collected 257 guns from off of the street! Many of which were illegal. Various organizations from the community really helped us out. We are having a appreciation reception to thank the community for their support. Also, the collected guns were melted down and we are presenting each sponsor with a plaque that contains a piece of the melted metal from the guns!

Also my 2nd year Pastoral Appreciation begins Thursday, I am really looking forward to hearing all of the preaching that will take place! Pray for us that all goes well!

Revival Night 3

2008-09-20T22:16:00.003-04:00

What a week of revival! The Lord really blessed us this week at the Rock! I thank God for His sustaining grace. I am grateful to Pastor Lewis for allowing me to share with his congregation! I preached from Philippians 4:4-7. The Lord really blessed the exposition!

I am excited about this upcoming Sunday. This Sunday is our 2nd Annual Senior Day! This is a day where we honor our senior members. Everyone over 62, sits down on that day and just enjoys worship. Our special guest is Dr. William H. Foster from Chicago, affectionately known as "the Tree". He really blessed us on last year and I am looking forward to the same! After morning worship, we take our seniors to the fellowship hall and serve them dinner. We are blessed at BBC to have several members over 90! I call them our "Super Seniors" , they sit at the head table and I personally serve them.

This also serves as a break from preaching on this Sunday. I am looking forward to enjoying worship and being fed myself. As pastors, we pour out so much that often times we don't take the time to get fed ourselves. I had to realize that faith comes by me hearing as well, not just the people I serve. Pray for us that all goes well!!

Revival Night 2

2008-09-18T23:47:00.003-04:00

The Lord really showed up in the Rock on tonight! I don't know how the pastor and people feel, but this revival has been a real blessing to me! Again the worship was timely and terrific!

I approached the preaching moment with great passion! The Lord allowed me to preach tonight. I preached from 2 Chronicles 20:12-17, entitled "How to win the battle without fighting". The Lord blessed the information, gave me inspiration, the people were filled with expectation, received the Word with jubilation, which resulted in all of our celebration!! Worthy is the Lamb!! Here's the outline:"

1. Look to God

A. Hope

B. Help

2. Trust in God

A. Speak concerning your situation

B. Fight your battles

3. Wait on God

A. Place you in position to watch him work

B. Bring you victory

The Lord really blessed as 2 more people came forward! Pray for us as we finish tomorrow! I do want to send a special thank you to my brother and fellow blogger Pastor McGhee, who graced us with his presence on tonight.

Revival Night 1

2008-09-17T23:11:00.003-04:00

I want to start off tonight by thanking Pastor Barney Lewis for inviting me to be the evangelist for his revival! I am always humbled and honored when people are hospitable and have me at their house!

The first night of revival always prove to be tough for me as it seems as both preacher and pew are trying to feel each other out. However, this was not the case tonight! We churched from the very beginning! I was anxious in anticipation of the preaching moment. God really blessed us on tonight by way of the Word. The people were receptive, responsive, and rejoicing over the preached Word of God. I preached from Philippians 3:14, and God really blessed the exposition! When the invitation was extended, 2 souls came up!! Worthy is the Lamb!!!

I am still on a spiritual high. I can't wait for tomorrow! I am asking all of you to join in with myself and the New Peter's Rock family as we will go in prayer for the revival, wherever we are at 12 noon. Be Blessed!!!

Tuesday Tidbits

2008-09-16T16:08:00.003-04:00

This has been a tumultuous, turbulent, and tremendously trying Tuesday! I have been trying to prepare myself for revival this week and one frustrating circumstance after another keeps popping up. I am approaching my 2nd Year Appreciation and it seems like everything is unravelling at the seams!!

Personally, I had to realize that I am dealing with a lot of grief. It's approaching a year since my brother in law was senselessly murdered and 3 months since my only aunt passed away. I have to be honest, I miss them both beyond measure! However, I do thank God for giving me strong support systems such as family, friends, and this fraternity to help me deal with this difficult transition.

As far as the church goes, well Pastor's you understand (you to Momma V!)!! Sometimes I really wonder what are we doing in church. There are so many in the body, including pastors that have been wounded and almost killed by "friendly fire"! We spend so much effort and energy evangelizing those within that we cannot equip, edify, or encourage those on the outside, and as a result one can become exhausted!

In spite of it all, I thank God for counting me faithful and allowing me the privilege to pastor His people! Pray for me. I must echo the sentiments of one of our fellow bloggers, "Some days I may rant, some days I may rave, but everyday I will rejoice!!

Sunday Summary

2008-09-14T20:47:00.002-04:00

Today was a great Lord's Day at BBC! Our early morning prayer meeting was on fire. Our topic of prayer was peace this morning. We were few in number. but mighty in spirit! The Lord met us in the place on today. Sunday morning prayer meeting has done wonderful things for the spiritual health of our church! To God be the Glory!!

Morning worship was great today and I believed that we offered God an excellent sacrifice of praise! Our Male Chorus blessed us with songs of Zion. As the preaching moment drew near, I was anxious to proclaim God's Word! The Lord really blessed the preaching moment and the people were both receptive and responsive to the Word of God. After service was over, 2 of our new members who had been missing in action came up to me and re-committed themselves to the Lord and to the service of BBC. To God be the Glory!! I preached a sermon from James 1:2-3 entitled, "Mastering your Misery" here's the outline:

!. Attitude during trials (Count it all joy)

2. Assurance of trials (When you fall into manifold temptations)

3. Advantage of trials (Knowing that the trying of your faith works patience)

After worship, we went downstairs for fellowship and food. Today was our Usher 49th Anniversary. Our guests for the evening were Pastor Tyrone Pace and Second Baptist Church of Dowagiac, Michigan. We had a spirited time and our usher's got an opportunity to be appreciated for their dedicated service. This has been an annual fellowship for years and the two congregations look forward to coming together.

Pray for me this week, as I will attempt to be more regular in my posts. Also, I need your prayers because I will be in revival at the New Peter's Rock Missionary Baptist Church in South Bend, where Rev. Barney Lewis, a son of our church is the pastor!! Be Blessed!!

National Baptist Convention

2008-09-12T21:55:00.002-04:00

This week has been a tremendous blessing in my life! I was privileged to attend the 128th Annual Session of the National Baptist Convention USA Inc.! The theme of the Convention was "The Heavenly Vision and the Morals of the Church", taken from Proverbs 6:16-19, Micah 6:8, and Matthew 25:31-46.

I heard many expositions on this theme this past week and I came to the conclusion that the decline of the practice of morality by the church has been because of a deterioration in the proclamation of the message of the church! The practice of "watering down" the message by some to be more "seeker friendly" has crippled the morals of the church. We have more unwed mothers and divorcees than any other religious group! We must get back to sound, solid biblical preaching to change the moral climate of the church! Here's an equation for you to consider: A lack of preaching to the world, results in a lack of power in the world. In other words, when we don't preach sound sermons, we lose our ability to influence others!

Some of the major highlights for me was when Pastor Frederick Haynes gave a fitting tribute to the late Dr. C.A.W. Clark. This was concluded by the playing one of Dr. Clark's famous sermons "Is there a preacher in the house?" I was in awe seeing all of the people responding and rejoicing as we listened to the king of preachers do his thing! We were also blessed by the presence and a presentation by Michele Obama. Both parties were invited, and we thanked her for accepting the invitation.

I also contributed to Home and Foreign Missions and went to their sessions. I know that attending conventions is not popular among pastors and preacher my age, and I do understand the concern about the relevance, but I do believe in them, especially in the area of missions. These district, state, and national meetings not only offer fellowship and opportunities for exposure, but they give us an opportunity to do together what we could not do apart. NBCUSA Inc, built a new hospital in Africa! The progress of the Housing Commission in the last 19 years includes: 30 housing sites in 27 cities and 15 states totaling 1036 units representing over $150,000,000.00 in funding!

All in all, it was a blessed week!! Pray for us as we settle back in and get back to work serving this present age!

Sunday Summary

2008-09-08T00:43:00.002-04:00

It was a great day at BBC on today! We had a great Early Morning Prayer Service! The service was real high. It spilled over into Sunday School and then into Morning Worship! It was one of those Sunday's that everything went perfectly. I was pleasantly surprised to see my mother and my grandmother's best friend in attendance! The choir sang beautifully, alter prayer was great and everything was on point! I was excited about the preaching moment and the Lord really showed up in a marvelous way! I preached the text from Mark 5:25-34. The message was entitled, " How to handle the issues of life". Here's the outline:

1 The presence she sought
A. Heard
B. Healed

2. The position she stated
A. Determination
B. Declaration

3. The panacea of the Savior
A. Mystery
B. Mercy

The Lord really blessed the preaching moment! I think this may be a stick! When church was over, the family came over to eat dinner and then I left to attend the Annual Session of the National Baptist Convention USA Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio. I made it safely! Praise God!! I am looking forward to the week of fellowship and friendship.

Saturday Synopsis

2008-09-06T21:48:00.003-04:00

It feels like I've been a bit out of touch with the "Blogging bunch". The past few days have been very enjoyable. My grandparents have been visiting with us this week and it has been a pleasure to be with them. They recently celebrated 61 years of marriage! They are going back to Gary on tomorrow and I must admit, I wish that I could convince them to stay. When the family and I moved here it was a definite change for all of us. My family and I have been lifelong residents of Gary, and moving away from all that is familiar has been a faith walk to say the least. Having them here reminds me of what I love about home!

I normally don't post on Saturday, but since I've gone "the last mile of the way" in my preparation for tomorrow, I figured no harm would be done by posting tonight. I believe that I am still on a spiritual high from Thursday night. Pastor McGhee and I traveled to BBC of Grand Rapids, Michigan to hear Dr. Clifton Rhodes Jr. and Rev. Marvin E. Wiley

They were both awesome!!! Dr. Rhodes lectured about conducting a spiritual evaluation on yourself. He was intellectual as well as inspirational! I definitely was challenged to take a look into my own spiritual life and make the needed and necessary changes. I am getting full all over again just thinking about it!!

When he was finished, some guest choirs sang and then Pastor Wiley to up to preach. I was real excited because Rev. Wiley is one of my favorite preachers to listen to. He preached from Psalm 119:71 which says, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes." The message was entitled, "It's all Good". It was an enlightening exposition the edified and encouraged everyone present. His outline was the good of affliction and the goal of affliction. If he gave a third point, I missed it because I was shouting!! Afterward, he gave his testimony and set us ablaze again. We were also privileged to be in his company for dinner that evening to glean more wisdom and insight from Pastor Wiley and Dr. Rhodes. After all of this, I feel like going on just a little further!!

Wednesday in the Word

2008-09-03T23:08:00.003-04:00

We had a wonderful Wednesday in the Word! I believe that God was pleased with all that took place on today. The people turned out in good numbers and they came ready to learn the Word of God. I have found that it makes it better for preacher and pupil when the pupil comes ready to learn.

Our Sunday School lesson was entitled, Repentance leads to community" taken from Mark 1:1-8 and Matthew 3:1-3. This was a very interesting lesson and I was inspired by John the Baptist's constant commitment to point toward Christ. When it came to his preaching, he always put the focus on Christ. This brought me to ask the question about how much of our service is actually directed toward Christ?

People work in the church for a myriad of reasons, fame, acceptance, and habit just to name a few. but all we do should be in an effort to point others to Christ. I really liked the verse that described John's clothing. I said that John wore clothing that was normal for the environment that he was in. This was an opportunity to address the "come as you are crowd" and I was not going to let it pass.

At BBC, we don't have a prescribed dress code per se, but I'm a firm believer that your apparel should reflect the atmosphere that you are in. It amazes me how our young people go to clubs and dress however the club tells them to and then think that they can come into the house of God and look like anything. I concluded by saying when we come to worship, we are to do all we can (including what we wear) to make sure that the attention is focused on Christ and not on us.

I was really fired up for Bible Study. We are still in our series on Romans. Today, we looked at chapter 1:16-17. This was a power packed lesson that was received well by the class. Paul said that he was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ! In a day when it was not popular, nor well received, Paul boldly proclaimed that he was not ashamed. The fact that the gospel had been given by God Himself made Paul unashamed of the gospel. No man should ever be ashamed of anything concerning the Sovereign Majesty of the universe. Not only was he not ashamed of it, but he did not bring shame to it!

Next, he says that he is not ashamed because it is the Power of God unto salvation! If I were preacher enough, I would say, "I feel my help coming on!" Out of all of the things that God could have done with His unlimited and unparalleled power, He used it to save us!! HALLELUJAH!!! God changed Himself into Himself, called Himself Jesus, sent Himself into a world that He made, into a woman that He made, to die on a cross that He made, placed in a tomb that He made and then early Sunday morning, He got up with this same Power in His hands!!!

This power is for one reason only: to save everyone that believes! Verse 17 suggests that it is in the Gospel that God's righteousness is revealed. The New Century version says it this way,"The Good News shows how God makes people right with himself--that it begins and ends with faith. As the Scripture says, But those who are right with God will live by trusting in him." This was an awesome verse that I really enjoyed expounding upon.

I am excited about tomorrow as Pastor McGhee and I are traveling to Grand Rapids, Michigan to hear Rev. Marvin E. Wiley. Pray for us that we have a safe trip!!

Sunday Summary

2008-08-31T23:41:00.002-04:00

What a day at BBC! As always we start at 8am with prayer service and it was very spirited this morning. This usually sets the tone for morning worship. When I entered the sanctuary, I was expecting a high time in the Lord, but there was a heaviness that just could not be overcome. I found out later that several of our members were worried about family in the Gulf Coast area.

However, I was determined not to let that disrupt the passion that I had for preaching his morning! Especially when I considered the message that the Lord had given me o give to the people. I preached a message from Acts 27:44, entitled, "Making it through the storms of life". I believe that God was pleased with the preaching today, although it did not invoke a rejoicing response. Here's the outline

1. Accept the Storm

2. Anchor your Self

3. Avoid others Skepticism

4. Await your salvation

Paul and the others made it safely on broken pieces. Paul was concerned about getting to Rome as God had promised, not how he looked getting to shore. If we would spend more time on God's assignment instead of our appearance to others, we would do well.

Another busy week ahead, although I do plan to eat well on Labor Day and take in some preaching on Tuesday at Macedonia M.B.C. in South Bend, where Rev. Ray Owens is the pastor. They are having revival Tuesday through Thursday. His guest for revival is Rev E.J. Tyson, pastor of the New Hope M.B.C. of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I also plan to go to Bethlehem M.B.C. in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Rev. Decarto Draper Jr is pastor. His guest for the week will be Rev. Marvin Wiley, pastor of the Rock of Ages Baptist Church of Maywood, Ill. Be Blessed!!!

Thoughts for Thursday

2008-08-28T14:55:00.003-04:00

I've been watching CNN more than normal this week. I have paid close attention to the Democrats and Republicans as they communicate their concerns about what will happen if the other party is elected. There are at least 10 things that will happen no matter who wins the election.

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost.

ISN'T IT GREAT TO KNOW WHO IS STILL IN CONTROL?

Wednesday in the Word

2008-08-27T23:14:00.003-04:00

We had a wonderful Wednesday in the Word today at BBC! All classes were well attended. The Sunday School lesson was once again right on point! The lesson was entitled, "Prayerful Community" taken from James 5:13-18. James exhorts the believers to be in constant prayer for one another.

An interesting conversation came up about verse 14, dealing with the anointing with oil. I expressed that oil is symbolic of the presence of God, and although I have no problem with anointing people with oil, we must understand that the real power in prayer is not in the symbol, but the Sovereign God that we pray to. I asked a question, "If prayer is our most powerful ally, why is it the one that we use the least?" To quote one of my colleagues,"It's time to stop saying your prayers, and start praying your prayers."

Bible Study went really well. We continued in our series in Romans 1:8-15. Paul was establishing his rapport with the Christians at Rome before laying out the theme of Romans. I was especially taken in by verse 14&15, "I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. "

These verses arrested my attention as I felt Paul's sense of obligation to preach based upon his calling to the ministry. Paul was under orders to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was in debt to this Gospel. Jesus paid a debt for us that he didn't owe because we owed a debt that we couldn't pay. It is this sense of urgency that should drive us to proclaim the Good News of Jesus.

When we look at the moral decline of our communities, the fight over power in the church, corrupt government, schools that under educate our children, racial injustice, violence, and so many other maladies, we should feel an obligation to preach the Gospel. I feel like Paul, I am ready to preach the Gospel because I am a debtor!

I will leave with a quote from one of my favorite preachers, Dr. Adrian Rogers, "We don't need social reform, we need people saved. All social reform will do is make the world a better place to go to hell from."

Pray for me as I have several meetings tomorrow.

Sunday Summary

2008-08-24T22:00:00.005-04:00

What an exhausting, but exciting Lord's day it was! The worship was at a very high level ! We started an early morning prayer service at 8am, and I believe that has contributed to the flow of the worship. I was excited as I approached the preaching moment, hoping and praying in my mind that God would be pleased with the presentation. I preached a passage from John 6:1-14. The message was entitled, "A miracle from the minimum"

Premise of the message: It is not the greatness of the gift that counts, but the greatness of the God, to whom the gift is given. God’s ability to use a gift is in no way hindered or enhanced by the size of the gift. It is the sacrifice of the giver, not the size of the gift that determines the gifts significance.

Here's the outline:

1. The Crisis

A. No meat
B. Not Enough Money
C. No Mercy

2. The Cure

A. Andrew’s Belief
B. Available Boy
C. Almighty Blessing

3. The Collection

A The Filling
B. The Fragments
C. The Followers

The Lord really showed up in a marvelous way and the people both received the Word and rejoiced because of the Word!

After morning worship, we travelled to the Second Baptist Church of Dowagiac, Michigan to celebrate with them in their church's 141st Anniversary. I was tired, but still excited about the opportunity to preach.

When I arrived at the church, I was warmly welcomed by Pastor Tyrone Pace. We went to his office and shared about the blessings and burdens of pastoral ministry. After this, we along with several other preachers engaged in some interesting conversation about the practices and pitfalls of ministry. It was warm fellowship to say the least.

When we went out into worship, the service was on fire! It truly was a celebration! Their theme was located in Matthew 16:18-19, entitled "The church built on a solid foundation, Jesus Christ; We are still standing. This is what I preached. Here's the skeleton for this one;

1. Confession

2. Condition

3. Cooperation

The Lord blessed this preaching experience as well! I am so grateful to God for empowering me to preach His word!

When I arrived at home, I wanted to catch up on the last part of the Olympics. I watched the USA men's volleyball team win gold as well as the "Redeemed Team". I want to say a congratulatory word to all of the Kobe Bryant fans. Kobe finally proved all of his critics wrong by winning a gold medal without Shaquille O'Neal! Ooops! I almost forgot, he had 11 other of the best players in the NBA to help with this!!!

I am looking forward to watching the historic acceptance speech of Sen. Barack Obama! This will be a monumental occasion for African Americans as well as people everywhere. This will serve as a great beacon light of hope to millions of disenfranchised youth to let them know that they too can achieve greatness. Be Blessed!!

Wednesday in the Word

2008-08-20T23:02:00.004-04:00

We had a wonderful Wednesday in the Word today! Our Sunday School Teachers Meeting went really well. The Sunday School lesson was entitled, "Godly Behavior" taken from James 4:1-12. This is a great lesson. James challenges the mindset that wants to blame everyone else for ungodly behavior. I would love to tell you about the whole lesson, but please allow me to take a quick stab at vs. 1 - 2.

From whence come wars and fighting's among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

James really cuts to the heart of the matter when he declares that the continual feuds (wars) and outbursts of anger (fighting's) come from the inward conflict of the individual. I used this application to illustrate the point. Those who constantly argue against authority in the church do so because they have an inward desire to be in authority themselves.

This served as a refreshing and rewarding reminder that people who oppose you do so because they have opposition inside of them. This helped me to discover that many times I'm not the originator of the opposition, I'm just the object that the opposition opposes. The real problem is with the one doing the opposing.

Verse 2 tells us that the ends DO NOT justify the means. There is a way the Christians should obtain things, and it's not by any means necessary. The way for a child of God to receive is to ask God. We don't have to lie, cheat and steal to get ahead. Nor do we have to step on or scandalize our brother or sister to get the things that we desire. Unchecked desire leads to unexpected disaster!

Bible Study was a joy tonight. We continued in our series in Romans. We are in chapter 1, and we covered verses 2-7. In this introduction, Paul declares that the Gospel he preaches is the Gospel of Christ. He tells us that Christ is the Source, the Sender, and the Substance of the Gospel. It is through Jesus that we receive mercy and mission, and it is our responsibility to obey the mission for which he has called us to. I am reminded of what Paul told Agrippa in Acts 26:19, "I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision". Be Blessed !!!!

Tuesday Tidbits

2008-08-19T22:11:00.008-04:00

Today was a good day! I met with my friend Jack Magruder, who is the director of Life Mission at Grainger Community Church (smartzombie.blogspot.com) He is a wonderful individual who has a zeal and passion for Christ and His Kingdom. We chewed the fat, tossed around some ministry ideas, and drank coffee. It was great for me!

I know that many of you may have already read this book. However, I found this to be a treasure. John MacArthur gives us great insight in the lives of the disciples. As, I was reading this, I was thinking about who I was most like. I have to admit, Peter suits me very well.

I have been inspired by this book and it has served me as a reminder that God can take ordinary people and use them to do extraordinary things. I sometimes get down on myself and feel like I have to be more in order for God to get more out of me. I have come to realize though, that God called me in my "ordinariness" and he wants me and not an image of what I think I should be.

If you don't own this, I would advise you to get it. This work will also help you to understand some of the people that we serve with in ministry and develop an appreciation for the diversity that God uses to accomplish His will.

I am looking forward to Wednesday in the Word at BBC. Pray for us that God be glorified and the people be edified!! Be Blessed!!

Sunday Summary

2008-08-17T23:45:00.006-04:00

We made it home safely from Detroit! Thanks for your prayers! I originally thought this morning that I was going to feel guilty about not being at BBC, but I received some much needed rest. I've come to the understanding that God can get more out of me when I am rested and refreshed instead of fatigued and frustrated.

One of our Associate Ministers, Rev. Terry Tate delivered this morning's message at BBC. I received several favorable comments about his message. To God be the Glory! When we arrived back at home, we had just enough time to change clothes and get to Community Baptist Church in Elkhart, Indiana. It is their Choir's 47th Anniversary and has been an annual fellowship between the 2 churches for over 20 years.

I wanted to encourage the choir to keep on singing for the Lord, in spite of difficult circumstances. As I pondered about what to preach, I was reminded about a message from 1 Samuel 17:32-46. The message was entitled " How to handle your Giant". Here's the outline:

1. Refuse the opinions of people

2. Recall your past

3. Remove what's problematic

4. Rely on God's presence

God gave me power to preach and the people were both receptive and responsive to the Word of God! We had an enjoyable time. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of turnout from our church, but nevertheless we had a high time despite a low turnout! Pray for us this week as I am full of meetings and sermon preparation for 2 preaching opportunities this coming week. Be Blessed !!!

Saturday Synopsis

2008-08-17T00:19:00.005-04:00

I usually don't post on Saturday, due to the prayer and preparation for preaching. However, I will not be preaching in the morning because I am in Detroit, Michigan for our Family Reunion. I believe that the institution of family is Godly and sacred and should be preserved. I also believe that many of the problems in the African American community stem from a breakdown in the family unit.

This Family Reunion has been very interesting to say the least. As the priest of the family, I am usually asked to bless the meals and close in prayer which of course, I don't mind. As a general rule, there are 2 conversations that I try to stay away from; politics and religion. I do this because, no one agrees on politics and everyone (even the un-churched) have an opinion about what the church and the preacher should be doing. I also believe that to have an intelligent conversation, we need to be equipped with the same information, so it's useless to argue the bible with someone who only has one in their house and not their heart!

At the banquet on Friday evening, I was asked to give final remarks and prayer, so I did. I expressed the importance of family and asked everyone to join hands in a big circle as a sign of solidarity. All but 3 participated in this. I prayed and we were dismissed. As we were leaving, a family member got to the microphone and asked for every one's attention. I stopped to hear what was going to be said. She said that we were all family, but not all of us believed the same thing. She went on to state that the 3 that did not participate were "Jehovah's Witnesses". She then stated that we should put aside our differences in what she called "the spirit of the occasion" and then proceeded to ask us to sing one of their songs that she had already given the DJ instructions to play.

Maybe I'm confused, because I'm not as intelligent as the rest of you, but if we were putting aside differences for "the spirit of the occasion", why wouldn't they join the Christians, but then demand that we sing one of their songs? I was not going for that!! I got up and walked out and my immediate family got up behind me along with some other saints. I know that's not much, but I believe that believers need to stand for Jesus whenever possible, not just in the big things. Why is it that other religions won't compromise their convictions, but expect Christians to? I would love to hear your feedback!!

At the picnic today, everything was going good. We were all having a good time until one of my relatives started talking about preachers making too much money and that they should donate it to the poor! I was not going to mess with this, because everyone is entitled to their opinion, but then he stated that the bible does not support preachers being taken care of. Now, I have to say something because he is gaining an audience and I could not let him tell untruths about the Word of God and not say anything. I tried to appeal to his better self by way of reason, but to no avail. I turned to the Scripture. It is amazing how God brings things to your remembrance when you need them! When he saw that Scripture was prevailing, he changed his tune!! Worthy is the Lamb!!

This reunion was great for me because I had the chance to defend the faith! I don't know what the outcome will be. I trust God for the results!! Pray for us that we have a safe trip home! I will be leaving in the morning because I have to preach at an evening service in Elkhart, IN. Be Blessed!!

Thoughts for Thursday

2008-08-14T22:59:00.002-04:00

I have spent the past 6 days watching the Olympics. I marvel at these athletes from all over the world that come together to compete for supremacy in their respective events. One person that has caught my attention, as well as the attention of the rest of the world is the American swimmer Michael Phelps. I just watched him win his 6th gold medal of these games as well as capture his 6th world record.

I was looking at a segment about Mr. Phelps and it described a normal day. One thing I noticed about him is that all that he does is in preparation of him being the best swimmer. The things he eats, the way he trains, the amount of rest that he gets is all in preparation of him being the best.

Not only Michael Phelps, but all of the Olympians go through so much to get a medal and to be called the best at what they do, and in another couple of years, someone younger, stronger and faster comes along and erases all of their records. My mind started wondering about how hard do believers work to become the best Christian that they can. Paul says in, 1 Cor 9:24-25, "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible."

We should work hard at being our best selves and being the best child of God that we can be. The prize that we obtain from winning this race is eternal and unchangeable. Many times we wont get the earthly accolades that many desire, but we will receive everlasting accolades from the Master when He says, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" So I encourage you child of God to "Fight the good fight of faith". The last part of the above passage says, "I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." Be Blessed!!!

Wednesday in the Word

2008-08-13T22:13:00.003-04:00

Today at BBC, we had a wonderful Wednesday in the Word. Sunday School Teachers Meeting was a real treat to teach on tonight. The lesson was entitled, "Wise Speakers" taken from James 3:1-10 ; 13-18. This passage warns us about the danger of idle conversation. My grandmother echoed this passage to me when I was younger when she said,"Baby, if you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all". The text talked about taming animals and controlling ships, all which are noteworthy achievements, but then it says that we cannot tame the tongue.

I particularly liked the verse that suggests that if we can control our conversation, then we are spiritually mature. What a change in our thought process! Most believers think that if they are deep, super spiritual, carry big bibles, quote the latest christian cliches, get them some "edumacation" and go to the correct church, they are mature, but the text clearly indicates that maturity is measured by our ability to muzzle our mouth! I tell our church all of the time that just because you have a right to say something doesn't mean that it is right to say!

We began our study in the book of Romans. When I passed out the outline and study questions for the 1st chapter, everyone was excited to begin the walk on the Romans Road! We looked at verse 1 on today. This was such an exhaustive passage. Paul said that he was a servant of Jesus Christ. This word servant means a bond-slave. One who is purchased and possessed by another. One whose will is to do his master's will. One whose sole purpose in life is to serve his master. Many times when we think of slavery, it gives a negative connotation, but I cant think of a higher honor than to be a slave of Christ.

Next, it says that he was called to be an apostle. I explained to the class that the motivating factor of Paul's work was God's call on his life! What moves us to do what we do should not be the applause, approval, or the appreciation of our audience, but the assignment of the Almighty! I tried to avoid it and just explain what it meant to be an apostle in Paul's day, but in my morning class, I have a student with a neo-pentecostal background, that was just at a service where someone was lifted to be an apostle. This was done she says by one who already is an apostle putting his knees in the back of the other one and conferring the apostleship on him. This made for a very interesting discussion!

Lastly, Paul said that he was separated unto the gospel. This is very interesting in the original language. Paul was separated, not segregated. He was not separated from people, but separated to the gospel. He was set apart to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, not social justice, prosperity, or opinion, but the Good News of Jesus Christ! God literally changed Paul's horizon. In order to change your horizon, you must change your elevation!

I was at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. I was exhausted after 5 nights of revival and ready to go home. When I arrived at the ticket counter, the attendant had a very nasty attitude. I tried to overlook her, but she really angered me. When I boarded the plane, I was still frustrated. As the plane began to take off, I heard a still small voice say,"Watch". I started watching. When the plane took off, we had to turn around to head toward Chicago. When we turned, I could see the airport again. This humongous airport looked so small to me. It was at that moment that I was reminded that that same lady who frustrated me was inside of the airport that looked so small. Now if the airport appeared this small, how tiny was the lady that was inside. She was not tiny because she shrunk, but because I changed elevations!!! Be Blessed!!

Tuesday Tidbits

2008-08-12T22:19:00.004-04:00

Today started off with more hustle and bustle than normal! I was awakened at about 6:15am to the sounds of bacon sizzling, and children trying to get ready. It was the 1st day of school! Hip Hip Hoo-ray!! I am excited to see my children go back to school, so that now my schedule can return to some normalcy. I got some much needed work done at the office and it felt good to be back in the office at an early hour.

I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of my children from their 1st day. My 2 boys, Derryll and Deonne were in new schools. Derryll is in his 1st year of high school and Deonne goes to a fine arts academy and is in the 5th grade. My little princess Erynne, started 3rd grade on today. All of them came home with glowing reports on how their 1st day was. I was glad to hear that they all had a good day.

This evening I had a class with the Associate Ministers of BBC. I am blessed to have 6 Associate Ministers, however only 3 of them showed up. This class is designed for them to gain a better understanding of what preaching is and is not. Don't get me wrong, I make no claims to be an expert on the matter, but I have been blessed to sit at the feet and learn from some of the greatest theological minds of our day, who instilled in me what it means to be a preacher in and out of the pulpit.

We started with talking about the different types of sermons; Topical, Textual, and Expository and listed the pros and cons of each, as well as my view on the value and necessity of Expository preaching. I spent the rest of class today on discovering the biblical context as well as the beginning steps of how to properly exegete a text. I gave them an assignment to exegete John 3:16 and be prepared to give a 15 minute presentation on their findings. I am anxious to see the results! All in all, the class went well and the Ministers were excited that we were coming together for such worthwhile things!

I am now watching the Olympics and just viewed Michael Phelps win his 4th gold medal as well break his 4th world record in these Olympics. I also saw the "Redeemed Team" win today, although Kobe Bryant gave a repeat performance of Game 6 of the NBA Finals!

I am ready to get to my studies. Tomorrow is Wednesday in the Word at BBC and we will start a new Bible Study lesson through the book of Romans. I felt that this would be fitting seeing that we just finished Galatians and they have similar themes. Pray for us that all goes well!!

Sunday Summary

2008-08-10T22:51:00.008-04:00

What a weekend! I think that is an understatement. On Saturday, I was at a concert that starred Vickie Winans at South Bend's Washington High School. Avery Minor II (music director at BBC) and the Temples of Praise were one of the opening groups. I am privileged to serve as the spiritual advisor for this group. I need to tell you they really sang unto the power of the Lord came down. I was really impressed with not only their ability, but their level of spirituality. This was their debut outing and I believe that it was a great success!! Worthy is the Lamb!!!

When they were finished, Vickie Winans took the stage. She was inspirational and very humorous!! After the concert, she came out and worked at her booth, greeting people, signing autographs and taking pictures. I thought that was commendable because there are some that when they reach a certain "status" they forget about the people who actually support them, so all in all it was a good Saturday!

This was a very exciting Lord's Day at BBC! We had our very 1st Scholarship recipient. My predecessor, the Rev. Hardy N. Petty had a passion for young people to go to school and get an education. I thought that a proper way to honor and pay tribute to his legacy would be to set up a memorial scholarship in his name. A remarkable young man named Randy Macon was awarded this scholarship. He has a remarkable testimony and is a role model for young men to follow. Pictured here from left to right are; Sis Emma Jean Petty, Randy Macon, and yours truly. We look forward to awarding 2 scholarships on next year!!

As the moment of preaching approached, I was excited and ready to share what the Lord had given me! I must admit, that I was not at my best today, to say the least. Have you ever been on a baseball team and everyone has done their part to win the game and now it's your turn to bat? This is not a time where you need a home run to win, you just need to get the ball in play, only to swing as hard as you can several times and end up with a couple of foul tips!! I feel as thought I let the Lord down. Nicole assured me that the message was good, but I think that she was just being supportive. I preached a sermon from Mark 2:1-12, entitled "A faith that sends you through the roof". Here's the outline;

Premise of the message: A faith that produces extraordinary methods, will yield extraordinary results

1. Condition of the carried
A. Feeble
B. Faith

2. Commitment of the carriers
A. Belief in Christ
B. Beyond what’s comfortable

3. Cure of Christ
A. Forgave his sin
B. Fixed his situation

4. Criticizers in the camp
A. Their reasoning
B. The Masters response

5. Celebration of the crowd
A. Perplexed
B. Praised

This will be an interesting week. The children start school on Tuesday and my oldest is a freshman this year. Pray for us that all goes well

Back to the Basics

2008-08-08T00:05:00.003-04:00

In Richard Smallwood's song," Center of My Joy" there is a line that says, "You are why I find pleasure in the simple things in life." A life grounded in a relationship with Christ should allow us to appreciate the simple things. Being a full time pastor, parent, and partner (husband), I rarely find the time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. Normally the things I should enjoy, I find them to be burdensome and too time consuming thinking that I could be doing something else. In my quest for Godly rest, I cleared my schedule of all appointments for the day and took the time to do some needed things around the house. I worked all day in the yard. Normally this would frustrate me because I would be thinking of a million other things that I could be doing. However today was different. I really enjoyed being in the great outdoors. Being out there gave me a fresh appreciation for God's creation. I watched my kids play with the frogs and help me in the yard and that brought moments of spiritual renewal.

I was enjoying these "simple things" so much that I decided to wash my car. Normally I would just run the car through the wash, but the time I spent washing the car myself, I was reminded of when I was pastoring and did not own a vehicle and started reflecting on how far God has brought me and I had church right there!! In the busyness our handling our business, I think that we forget about life's simple pleasures.

My day concluded with Nicole and I taking a walk in the night air enjoying each others company and conversation. Today served me as a reminder that I need to get back to the basics of life. One of our seasoned Saints at BBC always tells me to slow down and enjoy life because if you don't one day you will wake up and look in the mirror and see the old man staring back at you and then wish that you would've taken the time to enjoy the "simple things" of life.

I encourage you today to take time to enjoy life. The work you didn't get done today will be there for you on tomorrow, but if you are sick, burned out, or pass away, you are no good to the undone work or the people that care about you! Be Blessed.

Wednesday Wrap up

2008-08-06T22:28:00.004-04:00

Today was a good day! It started off with me traveling to the neighboring city of Elkhart, to be in a Town Hall meeting with presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama. I was impressed not only by his policies, but also by his ability as an orator. This was an informative meeting, and I left with a better understanding about his energy policy.

Unfortunately, I was not able to stay for the duration of the meeting because I had to get to my noon day Bible Class.

Our Sunday School Lesson was a really needed lesson for the Body of Christ. It was taken out of James 2:1-13. The lesson was entitled "Impartial Disciples". This was a thrilling lesson that challenges us not to fall into the temptation of treating people different based upon appearance or to give preferential treatment to those that are well off.

This is something that I am very familiar with. I have several tattoos, and some of them are visible. These are scars from my past. If I go somewhere and they are uncovered, I am treated differently than when I have on a shirt that covers them. I don't mind this in the world, but it troubles me when I come inside of the house of God. I get looks like "You don't belong here, thug" or "Don't take my purse!!" I usually reply to comments about them (which is often) like this, "All of us have scars, some of mine are just visible!"

The lesson suggests that we give those who abuse their power over us preferential treatment. I posed a hypothetical situation to the class. I asked how would we treat the CEO of Exxon-Mobil if he were to walk in our church and sit next to one of the ladies. I said that we would probably scoot over and be very polite and make sure that he was comfortable. On the other hand, what if someone who was drunk, homeless, and smelly sat next to us? It was suggested that the 1st thing the same woman would do is grab her purse real tight and pull it close to her for fear that this man would take all that she had, and forgetting about the fact that this CEO is already taking all that she has by making billions of dollars in windfall profits by charging her $4.00 + for a gallon of gas! The lesson ended on a high note about treating everyone the same! Worthy is the Lamb!!

Bible Study was a pleasure to teach! We concluded our Study in the Book of Galatians, by finishing our exposition on verses 11-18. The concentration of these verses was about God getting the Glory out of the things that we do vs. being people pleasers. In my feeble opinion, motives need to be constantly checked to make sure that the work is being done for the right reason. Paul intimates that the only thing that we have to glory in is the Cross of Christ. Acceptance and approval by God is based solely in the atoning work of Jesus Christ and since we all come to a saving faith the same way, there is nothing to glory in, except for what He's done! AT THE CROSS, AT THE CROSS, WHERE I 1st SAW THE LIGHT, AND THE BURDENS OF MY HEART ROLLED AWAY, IT WAS THERE BY FAITH, I RECEIVED MY SIGHT, AND NOW I AM HAPPY ALL THE DAY!!!!

Tuesday Tidbits

2008-08-05T20:15:00.006-04:00

At BBC, we are in the process of revamping our New Members Class. It used to be a expositional walk through the Church Covenant, however it proved to be a bit more than new converts could handle. So, I developed a new curriculum and have spent the past 2 weeks teaching it to the teachers. Contained in this is a Membership Covenant as well as a Leadership Covenant. One of the points that really stood out on tonight was in the Membership Covenant. It says, "I will protect the spiritual unity of our church by expressing an attitude of humility, love, grace, and forgiveness in non-essential issues of personal preference".

This brought about much discussion. So many times churches cease to be what Christ has declared that we are because of non-essential issues of personal preference. I wanted to include this because we "fall out" over these things. Attitudes develop over these things. Meaningless drama is a direct result of non essential issues of personal preference having top billing in the church. A colleague of mine who pastored in Michigan told me of such an example. The time had come in that part of Michigan where the city was no longer going to pick up the garbage from churches. This meant that they had to find waste service as well as trash receptacles. He told me that for the next few hours, the board argued over whether to purchase plastic trash receptacles or galvanized steel trash receptacles. I said. "wow, how silly", but then began to think about other non essentials that consume so much of our time.

I am a firm believer that the principles of God ought to rule over the preferences of people. I told the class that everyone has preferences, but our preferences take 2nd place to God's principles. I remember the old song that said, "Only what you for Christ will last". Class ended with everyone on the page of the Psalmist when he said, " It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man!" To God be the Glory!!!

Monday Meditation

2008-08-04T19:32:00.004-04:00

I have spent part of my day reading the entries of my fellow bloggers, and the entries made me both glad and sad at the same time. I was glad because I've discovered that I'm not alone in my struggles. I was sad because I hate to see fellow brothers going through similar struggles. I don't know how you feel about it, but I need a vacation ASAP!!

As I was in my meditation moment this morning, I was crying out to the Lord for some rest and relief. While in prayer, the Lord reminded me of a passage found in Matthew 11:28-30, where it says, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of me, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light."

When I was done praying, I immediately started investigating this word rest. I found great comfort in these definitions in their context. This 1st "rest" suggests salvation from what has you burdened. In the context it suggest those who are burdened by sin or the heavy demands that the mosaic Law placed upon them. This is great because the demands that some of our congregants and the ministry can place upon us can be over-bearing at times. Jesus is saying that if we come to Him, He can deliver us from that! I needed that reminder because I tend to think that I can handle any of life's burdens on my own!! I think Oswald Chambers said it best when he said, “Our Lord’s words are not, ‘Do this, or don’t do that,’ but – ‘Come to me."

This 2nd rest gives us the picture of an oasis in the middle of a desert. This rest will be found as a result of being yoked up with Christ. I think as I sought the Lord this morning, this is exactly what I found (I'm still going on vacation though)! This served me as another reminder that I need to constantly depend upon the Lord, and not try and function on my own faculties. I believe that this will help reduce our stress level I hope that this has helped you the way that it has helped me!

On the lighter side, I was reading some email, and came across one that I thought was stereotypical of different ethnic groups regarding church, but nevertheless it was funny to me. I have a sense of humor and I want to share it with you. I hope that you do not take offence to this. It's entitled, " The Average Caucasian Church vs. The Average African American Church. Again I hope you don't take offence to this.

The Average Caucasian Church:
1. Service and Sunday School are over by 10:30a.m.
2. All cars in the parking lot are either new or three years old.
3. The Pastor delegates his preaching and does not preach every Sunday or every service.
4. When the Pastor retires, they don't have a problem retiring.
5. No one leaves the choir during the entire service.
6. There is only one choir.
7. Choir rehearsal is only once a month, not every week.
8. There is children's church every Sunday, not once every six months.
9. There are 52-inch flat screen TVs posted in the sanctuary, which is where announcements are posted and not read audibly.
10. No afternoon and night service.
11. You can't tell the pastor's car because everyone drives a nice car.
12. Women wear less jewelry because they know less means more.
13. Communion takes 30 minutes, not two hours.
14. Communion is packaged together and not served in four gold trays.
15. Babies are not passed around in church; they sit only with their parents.
16. MEN DRESS IN POLO AND DOCKERS.
17. Scriptures and bible verses are posted on the FLAT SCREENS IN THE SANCTUARY.
18. Caucasians know the difference between winter white and summer white.
19. Mothers feed their kids FRUIT, GRAINS, AND ANIMAL CRACKERS before service.
20. 80% of the congregation wears real furs in the winter and don't walk in service late to show them off.
21. IT TAKES TWO DEACONS TO COUNT $10,000+ in offering.
22. There's only one offering.
23. 95% of the congregation is married.

The Average African-American Church:
1. Service starts at 11 a.m., but 50% of the members arrive at 12:45 p.m.
2. All the cars in the parking lot have been freshly washed.
3. The pastor doesn't come out until 45 minutes after service has started.
4. Only 30% of the choir is on time.
5. The choir discusses ten minutes over which song to sing.
6. The choir sings the song, but the musician doesn't know how to play it.
7. The parents whip the kids during worship.
8. The audience has to help the announcement clerk pronounce the words on the church bulletin.
9. Two of the church deacons have gold teeth or NO teeth!!!!!
10. The members socialize and speak during the tithes and offering.
11. When church is over, no one discusses the pastor's message: they just compliment each other's outfits and hair.
12. Members pay $20, but stand there waiting for$18 in change back.
13. The single women give each other signals when a handsome guest minister is invited.
14. You find notes after church that say: 'That's not her hair,' 'Who is that baby daddy?' 'He need to sit down,' 'What you fix for dinner?' 'I know she ain't got that on,' 'Let me borrow $1 for offering'
15. It takes eight deacons two hours to count $400.
16. There is a slot on the tithe envelope marked 'Building Fund.'
17. That afternoon service is either: Choir Day,Usher Day, Or Men and Women's Day (don't forget Youth Day, Education Day, Pastor's Aide Day, Hospitality Day, New Member Day, Church Anniversary Day, Pastor's Anniversary Day, and Revival).
18. The Pastor's car has either a rag top or rims.
19. The women have on expensive heels, but have house shoes in their bags.
20. You see more than five people pass someone gum or a peppermint.
21. Someone will feed a baby Cheetos, sugar cookies, crackers, or vanilla wafers in the sanctuary.
22. Men will have on suits in the color of bright yellow, lime green, hot pink, sky blue, and candy apple red with shoes to match.
23. People will have a $80 bible, but will have to lookin the table of contents to find the text of the pastor's message.

The great thing is that if you are familiar with any of these examples, then at least you are in church. God Bless!!!

P.S. I did no editing to the email, just copy and paste.

Sunday Summary

2008-08-03T15:36:00.003-04:00

Wow! Not blogging for a few days floods your mind with all kinds of thoughts. My family and I had a wonderful weekend! We spent Friday with fellow blogger and my brother Pastor Andre A. McGhee, his mother, and son Jared. I got a chance to show my skills on the grill! We had a wonderful fellowship and laughed at "Media goes to Jail". The fellowship was great for me as I have been in the dumps about some things going on at our church. Please keep me in your prayers, as I have been struggling with some external issues that are causing me chaos internally!

Saturday was a pretty full day for me with meetings, marriage counselings, hospital visits, and birthday parties. My Saturday concluded with me traveling to my hometown of Gary, In to attend the CD release of a colleague of mine, Minister Reginald Hogan and One Nation under God. I had a really good time hearing Zion songs from all of the artists.

When I got to BBC on today, I was on an emotional low. I was uplifted by the worship and as I approached the preaching moment, I felt better and regained my enthusiasm and fervor to preach. I finished our sermon series entitled, "The Church as the Lord sees it". The sermon was entitled, The Church that made the Lord sick, from Revelation 3:14-22. Here's my outline.

1. Christ’s Assessment

A. The Lord’s Person

B. The Laodicean’s Problem

2. Christ’s Admonishment

A. Purchase

B. Punishment

3. Christ’s Announcement

A. His Presence

B. His Promise

The Lord really blessed us today at BBC! We closed out today with a "Go Down Moses" celebration that was sponsored by our Mother's and Deaconess. Our special guests was the Macedonia Baptist Church of South Bend and their pastor, Pastor Ray Owens. It was a historical look through poetry and song at what God has brought us through. I was amazed again at how blacks have overcome adversity. We truly have something to shout about!! There were 30,000,000 Africans that died in the Middle Passage, and we still rise!! Worthy is the Lamb!

The Man in the Mirror

2008-07-30T21:55:00.004-04:00

We had a wonderful Wednesday in the Word! Both of our Bible classes were very well attended! Worthy is the Lamb!! Our Sunday School lesson for this week is a very challenging lesson for the Body of Christ. It is located in James 1:17-27 and is entitled "Doers of the Word" In our day of tele-evangelism, mega-conferences, you tube,and preaching pod-casts, we hear an abundance of "word" (I like the J-Moss song that says, "everybody ain't gotta word"). Looking at the moral decline of our churches and community, it is abundantly clear that most Christians are hearers of the Word, but not doers of the Word.

The text likens this type of individual to a person that looks at himself in the mirror, sees an imperfection and walks away like it either doesn't exist or it is not significant enough to fix. As crazy as that sounds, it is the same thing when we hear the Word of God preached and don't respond to it by a lifestyle change. The text says when we do this, the only harm that's being done is to ourselves.

I really enjoyed the last part of the lesson, where it says,"If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

This is a liberating passage that needs to be posted on the front of our churches, in the barber, beauty, and coffee shops, and wherever church goers dwell. The hallmark of a true child of God is one that has disciplined conversation. I learned a long time ago, that just because you have a right to say it, does not make it right to say!

True religion, that is acceptable to God is far more than having church, being on a board, or working on some "auxiliary". it is meeting people's needs where they are, and not conducting ourselves in ways that ruin our testimony.

I am always amazed that when God has a message for the church, He will confirm it. In our Sunday School lesson as well as in our Bible Study, we saw the admonishment about deceiving ourselves 3 times. I thought that was worthy of expounding upon. Our lesson today was in Galatians 6:2-10, where Paul talked about how as believers, we have obligations to sinning Christians, burdened Christians, the pastor-teachers, and all people.

Many people in our congregation were surprised to discover that the context of 6:7 has to do with giving to the pastor. Tonight was an uplifting and enlightening experience for the Saints at BBC. I am already looking forward to next week!

Black in America

2008-07-29T20:42:00.012-04:00

At first, I was hesitant about making a post on this topic, but I feel like the old Pentecostal Mother when she said, "I wasn't gonna tell nobody, but I just couldn't keep it to myself!"

I had an opportunity to watch CNN's documentary entitled "Black in America". I was hoping that this was not another diatribe on the maladies of being black in America. Well, it was exactly what I had hoped it would not be. In my opinion, this show helped to nurture the "zoo mentality" attitude that is shared by some outside of the black community. The "zoo mentality" suggests that we look at animals in a habitat that looks natural, but actually these animals were captured and taken against their will and placed in an environment where they cannot survive without the "zoo keeper". It also tells others that they should be grateful that they are not black.

Of course on these types of shows, they show both extremes, being extremely poor or being well off. The things that troubles me about this is both the poor or the well off focused on the struggles that they had without mentioning them being better people or having developed character as a result of their struggle.

I think that it is the struggle that makes being black so wonderful. Under so much hatred and oppression, we still rise! This country was built on our struggle. There is no wealth in America that did not result from black labor. If it was not for nearly 400 years of free labor, where would America be?

I'm proud to be Black in America, as a matter of fact, Black is America! If there was no Black in America, there would be no; Automatic Car Coupling Device, Mechanical Seed Planter, Mechanical Corn Harvester, Street Sweeper, Microcomputer system with bus control means for peripheral processing devices, Blood Banks, Egg Beater, Refrigeration for Trucks and Railroad Cars, Pencil Sharpener, Automatic Lubrication System for railroads and heavy machinery, Automatic Shoe Making Machine, Elevator, Gas Mask, Automatic Traffic Signal, Hot Comb, Open Heart Surgery, Steam Boiler, Radiator, Third Rail (subway), Railway Air Brakes, Lemon Squeezer, Farmer's Almanac, Ironing Board, Electrical Resistor used in computers, radios, television sets and a variety of electronic devices, Safe Deposit Box, Peanut Butter, Adhesives, Bleach, Chili Sauce, Ink, Instant Coffee, Linoleum, Mayonnaise, Paper, Plastic, Pavement, Shaving Cream, Talcum Powder, Hair Relaxers and so much more!! Also if there was no Black in America we wouldn't be witnessing the highest voter turnout ever and the most watched race for President in American history!!!

That's what it's really like to be Black in America!!!!

Missing in Action vs. Mission in Action

2008-07-28T19:46:00.006-04:00

Normally on Monday's I don't do much of anything. I try to reflect, relax, and rejuvenate for the week ahead. Today however, was a little different. My day began a 6:00 at the hospital where I had some tests conducted. Everything looked real good! Worthy is the Lamb!!! As I was waiting, I was reading the headlines of the morning news, and like any other day, it was filled with negativity. I'm no expert, neither have I done any serious investigation on this matter, but it seems to me that the media loves to exploit Black crime and violence!

What troubles me about this is the stance or lack thereof that many churches take on the matter. Instead of being pro active, most of us are reactive. We buy better alarms, stronger bars, and brighter lights, instead of sounding the gospel alarm through biblical preaching, keeping our young black males from behind bars, and being the light of the world that Jesus has called us to be! To quote one of my favorite preachers, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, "We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now! This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism"

It seems as though some of us are Missing in Action. I would to God that we could move from this to Mission in Action. Most church goers don't have a problem with attending church meetings or something on the inside, but most do not want to go further than that. When we went out into the community for the 1st time, we only had 6 people show up. It was at that moment that the scripture was made clear to me that said, "The harvest is truly plenteous, but the laborers are few."

What is even more tragic than this is that 80% of the people that we deem failures in life, live in areas where 75% of the black churches are located. We can no longer have a "heaven bound" attitude while the communities that our churches are located in are going to hell. I was involved with a community group that was discussing some of the ills of society. During this meeting, someone brought up that if we were more active in social reform, our communities would be better. I quickly interrupted and quoted the late Dr. Adrian Rogers when he said" All that social reform will do is make the world a better place to go to hell from!"

The answer to the moral decline of our community was, is, and always will be the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Paul said in Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

Child of God, let us do all that is in our power to move from Missing in Action to Mission in Action. The words of Christ demand an immediate response from us," Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Are you missing or about mission?

Sunday Summary

2008-07-27T18:15:00.001-04:00

It was a great day in the Lord at BBC!!! We culminated our Men's and Women's Day celebration on today. This morning we were blessed with Zion songs from our Male Chorus and because our invited guest did not show, I preached our Men's Day Message. Our theme was Psalm 133, "The Beauty of Brotherhood". I thank the Lord for giving me power to preach this much needed message in our church. (I'm usually at least a 3 point preacher) Here's my outline:

1. Beauty of Bonding (1)

A. Bonding brings God's Presence (2)

B. Bonding causes God's Production (3a)

2. Beauty of Blessing

A. Place of Blessing (3b)

B. Permanence of Blessing (3b)

This afternoon the Women of BBC were in charge under the direction of the Minister's Wives.

Our Minister's Wives are (from left to right) Sis. Yvonne Levine (not pictured), Sis. Emma Jean Petty, Sis Staci Jennings, Sis Tracey Buggs (today's speaker), Sis Schalisa Tate, and Lady Nicole Witherspoon. Don't they look pretty in their purple?

We had a glorious time. The tradition at BBC is on Women's Day, the Minister's Wives speak. Sis Buggs was very nervous because she has never spoken in public before, but she did a wonderful job.

This was a great day of celebration at BBC!! I really look forward to this every year and we are anticipating a wonderful time on next year as well!

I am looking forward to this week as I will be preparing my last message of the series entitled, "The Church as Christ sees it" I am anxiously awaiting this preaching opportunity!

Men's / Women's Weekend

2008-07-25T22:37:00.001-04:00

I am so excited about this weekend. This is the first year that we are combining Men's and Women's Day. Our Men started off last weekend with a prayer breakfast. Pastor Newbill, pastor of the Progressive Missionary Baptist Church of South Bend, was our guest preacher. He's one of the newest pastors in the city, so I wanted to extend the hand of fellowship to him. Let me tell you, He really preached at BBC! The men that were in attendance were so inspired, that they were leaving talking about next year!!

On tomorrow, we will have our Annual Women's Conference. People from the region really look forward to the Women's Conference and it is usually well attended. We have 2 dynamic presenters on tomorrow. One is our very own, Sis. Arear Minor, who serves BBC as our choir director. She is very spirited and knowledgeable of the Word of God. I can't wait to hear her! Our other presenter is Minister Debra Givens, who is my cousin. She's a member of the Gary Christian Center of Gary, Indiana. She has an awesome testimony! She was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, but now is a powerful Christian woman!

Our celebration will conclude on Sunday, with our Men's Day in the morning and our Women's Day in the afternoon. I am a little uneasy about the morning, because I have been trying to confirm with the preacher I invited but I have been unsuccessful with that. I pray that all is well with him. (I won't post his name, don't want to bust him out!). I have prepared a message based upon our theme in the event that he does not show. I also told our Associate Ministers to be ready. Our speaker for the Women's Day is Sis. Tracey Buggs, who is one of our Minister's Wives as has been the tradition. Pray for us that all goes well and that God gets the glory out of these efforts!

Wednesday Wrap up

2008-07-23T23:38:00.000-04:00

Wednesday's are usually pretty full for me. I teach 2 Bible Study classes as well as our Sunday School teacher's meeting. I enjoyed teaching the Sunday School lesson entitled "Christ as Messiah" taken from Matthew 16:13-27. In this lesson, Jesus asks the most important question in the entire Bible in verse 15, " But whom say ye that I am?"

The answer to this question must not only be verbalized as Peter did, it must be actualized daily in our Christian walk as well. How we walk, how we talk, how we live, how we give, and how we reach, teach, and preach ought to be centered around who we say that Jesus is as revealed to us by our Heavenly Father.

Peter's response was not based upon his own investigation, but rather by God's illumination. We must always be mindful not to take the credit or glory for the things that God reveals to us. The rest of the lesson was just as exciting to me as the first part.

In our noon day as well as our evening Bible class we finished chapter 5 of Galatians. Paul admonished the Galatian church to be led by the Spirit of God instead of controlled by the flesh. This brought a very interesting discussion at our noon day about what living a "Spirit led" life was really all about. After some discussion, I concluded that a "Spirit led" life is one that is empowered and impacted by the Word of God.

Our willingness to conform our lives to the Word of God, enables the Spirit of God to lead and guide us into all truth and righteousness.

I really enjoy our Bible Study! We always end our class with some humor and today, one of our Associate Ministers, Rev. Aaron Gathright provided the humor, although I believe he was completely unaware of it!

I am asking for your prayers on tomorrow because I have a full day of meetings and I don't know how much time I will have to devote to study.

Burning the Midnight Oil

2008-07-23T01:46:00.000-04:00

As always, I stay up extra late the night before Bible Study. I am excited about our study, We are in book of Galatians. We looked at the Personal section which covered chapters 1-2, we looked at the Principles section which covered chapter 3-4, now we began the Practical section of chapter 5 a few weeks ago. We will be looking at the works of the flesh vs. the fruit of the Spirit.

Pray for us as we go through the rest of this study. I really enjoy Paul's teaching on justification by faith and I believe that it is needed because there are some who "hang their hats" on so many other things to be justified in the eyes of God other than faith in Christ (church affiliation, worship style, denomination, etc...).

These "hat hangers" are not definers of salvation, but rather demonstrations of salvation. I am not saved because I am Baptist, but I demonstrate my salvation in a Baptist Church. My prayer for the rest of this study is that we remove all of the "hat hangers" and rely only on our faith In Christ to make us acceptable to God! Jeremiah 9:23-24 says, " Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. "