Proud to announce that we will be a regular column on LouisvilleGospel.com.  Take the time to explore the site that has been a blessing to so many folks… we are over 170,000 page views and growing daily!!

Stay tuned…glad to be back!!

As Wyclef Jean said, “Haiti doesn’t need another photo Op”, yet as a photographer, the photo speaks volumes!  I have watched the devastation, the victories of survival, the idiotic statements of the religious leaders and yet…they still Praised the LORD!

At first, I was going to Revelation to see…What’s up and the message to learn from this and then GOD made be do a U   Turn to JOB.  Surely these are decendents of JOB.  In case you don’t know or forgot, when JOB’s possessions, family and everything around him was gone…even the closest to him, (his wife), told him to curse GOD and die…surely you must have done something…yet JOB still Praised the LORD!

It wasn’t until Job listened to his Boys’, that he finally gave in and cursed GOD!  Interesting…he didn’t listen to the one closest to him…but his boys.   When GOD stepped in…you know what happened…  if not READ the STORY!

Our Haitian brothers and sisters…like JOB… are very serious about their relationship with GOD.  They are disciplined, they are focused and they will remain blessed!  You don’t have to accommodate worship to bring them to the LORD’s House, you don’t have to beg them to come to Church School to learn more about that relationship, you don’t have to tell them about giving the tithes.. in fact most of the Haitians I know here in America, give and then send most of their earnings back to Haiti to support their families!!  Imagine, if we were that disciplined?

Authentic Praise is a very powerful thing!  The story of JOB ends as will the Haitians…. So Yahweh (GOD) gave JOB twice as much as he had before.  Yahweh (GOD) blessed the latter end of JOB more than his beginning

Support the Haitian effort and listen closely…watch how they will rise even more powerful and wonderfully blessed!

World…are you catching this lesson… from Yahweh?

Be Blessed!

I am truly blessed to be the vessel that GOD chose to launch LouisvilleGospel.com!

  It was just in conversation at one of the staff meetings that we came up with Gospel Slam.  What started as a spoken word event…quickly morphed into an event that families could come out together and experience…No Tricks…Just Heavenly Treats!

Let me say that when GOD gives you a vision and you stay…FOCUSED… on the VISION, nothing can STOP IT!!  Groups signed on, Sponsors signed up all while the devil was getting madder and madder.  The devil started attacking everyone associated with LouisvilleGospel.com and Gospel Slam 09.  Naysayers became more prevalent, relationships were fractured..but not broken, but we stayed on the course.

On the day of the event, literally the devil threw everything he could at us to get us down…BUT TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!  GOD SHOWED UP…AND SHOWED OUT!!! As only GOD would do, the event touched lives and it made a powerful statement to the Louisville, KY community.  GOD even had the local newspaper to show up…we didn’t ask, and the photographer commented, ” This gave me goosebumps!”  YOU GO GOD…

After everyone had left one of my partners and I were doing a recap, what was right, what we would do different, any disappointments and just as we finished, GOD sent an angel by to tell us not to worry about any of the events that happened, but to rejoice on the fact that we had people…actually give up the tradition… and come to enjoy GOD in all HIS glory!

GOD is truly Awesome!!!

This past weekend I saw a movie which sparked the spiritual imagination to it’s fullest! What would you do if you got an invitation to dinner… thinking it was from your mate, but when you look at the card…it is an invitation to your favorite place to eat…but it is signed… Jesus Christ! Would you go, what would you say… is it a prank?? That’s the story behind, “The Perfect Stranger”.

Dave Stone of Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, KY, states,

‘The Perfect Stranger’ is the perfect way to spur conversations with those who are investigating Christianity. It gives a glimpse of what it might be like if Jesus walked our streets today. Not only does this film raise numerous questions about Jesus but it also answers them. It is done with excellence and shows a real commitment to being true to the Bible. You’ve read the book, now see it come to life.

The man told the lawyer he was Jesus Christ. The lawyer decided to call his bluff.

Nikki Cominsky is a successful attorney – troubled by the fact that her life isn’t perfect. One day, a mysterious invitation shows up on her desk that reads, “You are invited to Dinner with Jesus of Nazareth.” Thinking it’s a prank, she shows up – only to find herself in the middle of a whirlwind evening of debate and revelation – with the most unforgettable man she would ever meet.

The movie is by actor/writer/producer Jefferson Moore, who has shot locally in Louisville and Cincinatti. What was interesting was that out of the three watching the movie…’2′ didn’t understand it, ’1′ by the end of the movie, was crying like a baby. Powerfully presented in a simple way that will touch you spiritually.

So the question remains, if given the opportunity:

1. Would you take the opportunity to dine with Jesus?
2. Would you honestly ask HIM all that’s on your mind?
3. What would you say…..

Last by not least… who do you think cried at the end of the movie…like a child?

Be Blessed!

As with all of the world… we mourn the passing of Michael Jackson. Our prayers are with his family at this time. Who among us was not influenced by one of his signature songs. Michael was shown ‘FAVOR’ to be one of those who’s legacy has touched and moved people…all nationalities, all countries…all people.

His essence, was that of ‘Love’, in his songs that this world would have a childlike unconditional…Love…for one another. Lest ye throw the first stone… we all have sinned and fallen short. This was a brother forever searching…for a better place, starting with…the “Man in the Mirror”. As Michael says, “Take a look at yourself…and make a change!” As I was going through my collection, I ran across this prophetic song of Michael’s…”Gone too Soon” Meditate on these words. It’s interesting to me that after the initial shock from seeing his death run across the crawler of the television, I had ’2′ thoughts..in this exact order:

• You can’t take it with you
• Was he Ready to meet the FATHER?

Like a comet
Blazing ‘cross the evening sky
Gone too soon

Like a rainbow
Fading in the twinkling of an eye
Gone too soon

Shiny and sparkly
And splendidly bright
Here one day
Gone one night

Like the loss of sunlight
On a cloudy afternoon
Gone too soon

Like a castle
Built upon a sandy beach
Gone too soon

Like a perfect flower
That is just beyond your reach
Gone too soon

Born to amuse
To inspire to delight
Here one day
Gone one night

Like a sunset
Dying with the rising of the moon
Gone too soon
Gone too soon

Pastor Donnie McClurkin

Perfecting Church, Freeport , New York

This past week, popular preacher, recording artist and pastor, Donnie McClurkin, went on record to declare his deep disappointment with what he sees as pastoral abuses in the body of Christ. His comments have raised a legitimate question about abuse and excesses in the body of Christ and has brought attention to a topic that has largely been ignored in the church community.

In an article appearing in Essence this past week Pastor McClurkin is quoted as saying:

“As pastors, we have to link arms and have bi-partisanships. The [Black] church has always been the face of the community. Now we have to take on the responsibility of becoming true servants to the people from all walks of life. I get so mad when I see these pimpin’ preachers driving Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, flying around in their private jets, and making it seem like prosperity and money is the way of God when 90 percent of your congregation is on Section 8 or can’t figure out how they are going to keep their lights on or feed their kids. I’m big on perception, and what would it look like for me to live so lavishly if the people in my church are struggling?” says Pastor McClurkin in the article.”

In venting his frustration over the behavior of some in the church community, Pastor McClurkin reveals his own humility and sense of service to God and God’s people, by outlining his own relationship, financial and otherwise, with his church and his refusal to take revenue from a congregation that he has built from the ground up.

“I’ve done great in gospel music, and only a few of us have accomplished what I have, and guess what? I live in the ‘hood, not some place on the outskirts of the ‘hood. There ain’t no gate around my house; I have a white fence because the people I pastor live in that community. I have one vehicle and it’s not a Mercedes, it’s a Lincoln Navigator. I don’t receive a dime-not an Abraham Lincoln copper coin-and haven’t for the last seven-and-a-half years because I’m okay.” He tells Kenya Byrd of Essence Magazine.

As such, Pastor McClurkin has become a model and an example for others to emulate. His mentality and actions, that places a greater emphasis on service than profit, can only be admired by all of those who love the Lord and are seeking to do His will to the best of their ability. Pastor McClurkin makes it clear that he has options, but chooses to live a modest and humble lifestyle because that’s what God has called him to do.

If I wanted to buy a Phantom or Bentley I could and not hurt my pockets, but I’m okay with what I have. I can sing and work and I let all that money go back into the church so we can buy the delicatessen on the corner, or the house next door to make it state-of-the-art low-income housing. We’ve trained our people to put their leaders on pedestals, and some people want to live vicariously through their pastor and say, “My pastor has this and he’s on television and so on,” but then what do you have? How have you prospered and grown? So when I hear other pastors say, “My people take care of me,” I’m thinking, But you’re supposed to be taking care of the people. I just don’t get it. Pastor McClurkin goes on to say.

What is best gleaned from the wisdom and honesty of Pastor McClurkin is his healthy attitude about the church and who it belongs too. His “ecclesiology”, which is worthy of our consideration, perhaps best
represents what Christ had in mind when He gave pastors to the body of Christ in the first place.

I don’t have a church, but I do have a church that I pastor. I can’t name something the Donnie McClurkin Temple because the people do not belong to me and if they did that would mean I have slaves. I am simply a vessel to deliver God’s word. At the end of the day, it’s God’s church, not mine advises Pastor McClurkin.

WELL SAID…BROTHER PASTOR…WELL SAID!!

In a statement that was more powerful than winning the National Womens College Championship, Angel McCoughtry, All American at the University of Louisville showed why she is so great! When you lift up the FATHER…HE will lift you up!

Angel is sure to be remembered as one of the greatest basketball players period…men or women and it is refreshing to see someone not afraid to proclaim the Name of the Lord!! GO ANGEL!

One of the things people fear most…is dying.  If you know where you are going, then you don’t have to worry about death.  If you don’t worry about death, bad things will happen to you but why let it ruin your day…or mess you up.

I will leave it at that, but this movie, Clancy, which my wife and I saw on a whim…was one of the most powerful movies I have ever seen!  It will move you to think…it will move you to tears and it will make you want to know…the FATHER.

Bless you, Jefferson Moore, for a wonderful statement of faith!

It doesn’t matter who you were for…both teams can hold their heads high in knowing and believing…
“NEVER GIVE UP!!”

It’s a lesson we all can take away.  If you are trying to accomplish a super bowl type event in your life…never give up.  Don’t listen to the detractors, the naysayers, sometimes those closest to you.  Stay focused on the strength the LORD puts in us, keep walking in Faith and… it shall be realized… in HIS Time.

What a great game!!

I chose to stay close to home to watch the non-stop coverage… alone… to reflect on this miracle and how the course of history was changed.  To think about the stories of my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, who have all gone on to glory, tell us about what we can do, about what we can achieve.

America… what have you done???

Our President is a brilliant, cool, eloquent man who was ordained for this time in history.  How else can you explain the rise…from a speech.

“In the beginning was…the word”

Transcending race, pulling on the generation we said were lost, breaking so many boundaries to …CHANGE.

Eyes have not seen, nor ears heard what is in store for the world…led by America!

A Black Man…don’t get it twisted, has embraced a generation that will be instrumental in bringing back a nation that will define again what America means to the world.

For all of us… it means that the dreams you keep inside for fear of failure, for fear of opinions, for fear of doubters can now come to reality… this is 2009…It’s Time!

For the saints, never cease to pray, for our nation… GOD Bless the United States of America!!