GOSPEL TODAY

One of the many things that I have learned as a pastor dealing with people is, everyone wants to feel significant. I have been given an assignment to preach and teach a message of hope and salvation to God’s people that will yield a life of overflowing blessings.

I am sure that the Apostle Paul was overtaken with joy when God called him to be His ambassador. Like the Apostle Paul, I have been overtaken with joy as well as humility that I have been chosen as one of God’s agents to bring hope and change to His people. I feel that this assignment has been the most significant endeavor of my life; which has caused me to strive to be the best husband, father, pastor and leader and most of all a true servant of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In this journey called life, difficulties and delays may look like setbacks, but I’ve found that these circumstances can strengthen and drive you into the presence, perfect will and ordained purpose of God.

I encourage God’s people today to remain steadfast in the things of God and know that it is His will to see you through. God said through the lips of his prophet Jeremiah, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11).

It is my passion to fulfill God’s Divine purpose and destiny.

Pastor Kim Brown

Blessing single moms

I have a great passion for single mothers because a single mother raised me. I cannot imagine what my life would have been like if it had not been for my mother, Katherine Parker Brown, a.k.a “Kat.”

For years, she creatively found ways to raise money for our living expenses and meet the demands of clothing a growing male child. Sometimes, I saw my mom cry because she could not always provide for us. I was forced into adulthood earlier than most of my associates simply because my heart ached for my mother’s responsibilities.

As soon as I was legally qualified, I applied for a job at our local pharmacy. I pursued that particular position because it made life easiest for my mom and me; it was within walking distance of our home and “something” within me told me that this was the right place for me. Initially, when I applied, I was told that there were no openings; but each week after school, I would return and speak to the store manager to see if any changes had occurred. Finally, he said, “Boy you are wearing me down. I don’t have any positions but I am going to create a position just for you.” Sure enough, my responsibilities grew within a short amount of time as I was promoted from stock boy to cashier to money courier.

But obviously, the Lord had greater plans. A few years later, the same manager co-signed a signature bank loan for my mother to buy her first house.

Today, when I encounter a single mother, I ask the Lord how I can be a blessing to her and her children. One way our church has blessed single mothers is with cars donated by church members. We make sure these cars are properly serviced and in excellent condition and we prayerfully ask the Lord to reveal which mothers to bless.

Our “Daughters of Destiny” ministry is similar. It offers computer training to single mothers to empower and equip them with necessary computer skills to attain employment or more lucrative employment. During these sessions, childcare is provided free of charge. At the conclusion of the classes, the mothers are taught how to dress professionally and interview strategically. Then they are paired with specific companies who partner with us. One of our partners, Bank of America, has hired many of our moms and given them new financial opportunities.

Single mothers have the awesome but amazing task of raising children alone. They face economic, emotional and physical hardships, yet millions of women are rising to the challenge and are succeeding.

My goal and my passion is to do all that I can individually and corporately with our ministry to be of assistance to single moms through empowerment of the Word of God and practical life application.

Bishop Timothy Clark

Preaching that makes a difference

I suppose I should begin this article with an apology and an explanation.

The apology, because I know that many of you who read this magazine are not preachers, so you may feel that this article has no connection or relationship to you, but I beg you to please keep reading, because what I have written is not just for those who stand in the pulpit, but also and maybe in some ways, moreso for those of you who sit in the pews.

My reason for writing this article is that I am convinced, now more than ever, that preaching is the hope of The Church and the world; and we must rediscover and recommit ourselves to its proclamation.

Of late, It seems that preaching has fallen on some hard times and everywhere there are those who are prepared to sign the “death certificate” of preaching and commit it to an early grave, but I, for one, will not be a pallbearer at the funeral of Gospel preaching.

There are some who say we have had too much preaching. In fact, one of the ways we register our disapproval of what a person is saying, is by telling them, “Don’t preach at me!” As if preaching is the worst thing a person can do to us. In spite of that sentiment, I believe that we need preaching now more than ever, but we need the right kind of preaching—we need preaching that makes a difference.

These days, there is no shortage of preaching. Modern technology makes it possible to hear or see preaching 24/7, but there are two questions that must be answered by both the pulpit and the pew: What kind of preaching are we getting? and Is it the type of preaching we need?

As I look back on the past 34 years of my preaching ministry, I ask myself, “Has my preaching been true to the task that God has called me to?” “Have I preached in such a way that those who heard me, heard even louder and clearer the voice of God?” In answer to those questions, I seek to shape my preaching in three directions:

1. Preaching must be biblical. True preaching must be rooted in the Scripture and have as its source, not just a text of Scripture, but the support of the context of all Scripture. It may well be that in some bygone day this would not need to be said, but the sad reality of our day and time is that so much of what passes for preaching today really fails to meet that definition simply because it is not biblical.

To be biblical is more than just taking a passage, quoting it and then getting to what you want to say. Biblical preaching is that which opens the Word of God and allows it to speak to our human condition. This type of preaching is true to both the message and meaning of the Scriptures. It does not use the Bible as a launching pad for our own private purposes or agendas but rather to proclaim what God has to say in and about a given situation.

2. Preaching must be balanced. My favorite passage of scripture is found in Acts 20, where Paul says to the Ephesian elders, “I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God.”

One of the great dangers that preachers face (whether beginners or of senior status) is that if we are not careful and diligent, we can be guilty of riding a “hobby horse” as it relates to our preaching.

All of us have what we commonly call our “horse”—that one sermon that we know will work at all times in all situations; but here, I am referring to the lack of balance in our preaching.

Paul said, he preached the whole counsel, or to put it another way, he preached a complete Gospel—one that dealt with all the truths of scripture and not just the ones that he preferred.

Each of us, as preachers must ask ourselves, when was the last time I dealt with a passage out of the OT, or out of the historical books of the Bible, or maybe a biographical study? When was the last time I dealt with doctrine or eschatology? Preaching that makes a difference must be balanced.

3. Preaching must be bold. In the past few months, our nation has been in a windstorm of discussion and debate around a few selected phrases from a sermon by Dr. Jeremiah Wright.

We must remember that the man or woman who speaks for God must exhibit courage and boldness, simply because he or she speaks for God. The tradition in which we stand is one framed by the preaching of Elisha and Elijah, John the Baptist, Apostle Paul, Jesus, Martin King, Vernon Johns and Adam Clayton Powell.

Someone has said that the job of the preacher is not only to comfort the disturbed, but also to disturb the comfortable. Preaching that is needed today is preaching that is bathed in a boldness which comes from having been called, sent and anointed by God.

It is my prayer and passion that all of us who preach and those of you who listen to preaching will seek to call and challenge the pulpit to preaching that is biblical, balanced and bold.

Dr. Philip Davis

Helping people reach their potential!

My passion is helping others reach their fullest potential in life. It pains me to see wasted talent, wasted gifts and wasted potential. Each day, I look for ways and opportunities to help someone move closer to his or her God-given destiny.

My passion is complemented by my spiritual gift of teaching. Long ago, I had an “aha!” moment and discovered that this was my calling. Since that time, God has given me many opportunities to invest in many lives.

I have discovered in my years of ministry that many people have great talent and all believers are blessed with spiritual gifts. However, the difference between effective ministry and reaching one’s fullest potential and destiny lies with that one word—passion!

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Colossae, “And whatever you do, do it heartily (passionately) as to the Lord and not to men,” (Col. 3:23, NKJV).

Jesus had a passion for the purity of worship and prayer in His Father’s House. His passion moved Him to drive the moneychangers and merchants from the Temple (John 2:17). He sought to remove those who would pollute the House of God and use it for less than honorable purposes. When one’s spiritual gift(s) converge with one’s passion, he or she has discovered their calling. Passion is the thing that you would do 24/7 and it would be your privilege to do it even if you were never paid to do it!

I operate in my gift by investing in various organizations including the Queen City Bible College (Charlotte, NC) where I serve as President; and the Community Church Network, an Apostolic Network of Churches that I founded. We also sponsor various workshops, seminars, revivals and publications.