Posted on Sunday, March 8, 2015

The Sunday School Lesson of Selma’s “Bloody Sunday” 50 years later…(Pics from Selma 50 included)

Hello World,

My friend LaTosha Brown and the Obama girls…

For those of you who won’t make it to Sunday School this morning because of Daylight Savings Time (I’m opening my eyes wide right now because of that one hour), you don’t have a church home or you haven’t heard about Sunday School but want to know more, I’ve got you with a brief Sunday School lesson for you…Touch your neighbor and say, “Brief.” LOL…

In all seriousness as this subject requires, I cannot imagine living in a world in which I did not have the right to vote and yet that was essentially the case a mere eight years before I was born…Because of three marches in March 1965 from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, particularly the march that occurred on March 7, known as “Bloody Sunday” because of the violence the officers unleashed on the peaceful protestors, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 became a law with the signature of President Lyndon B. Johnson…

I believe it is no coincidence that “Bloody Sunday” occurred on a Sunday…Sunday is the day that Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ as he paid for the sins of humankind by shedding His blood and dying on the cross…One of the ultimate lessons in life is that without sacrifice, nothing changes…And the ultimate sacrifice is sacrificing your life or blood…

Because of the sacrifices paid by those involved in the American Civil Rights Movement, black Americans now enjoy many freedoms including the right to vote without facing discrimination although the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in 2013 with it’s decision to allow several states to change their election laws without federal preclearance.

That being said, the best way to honor the sacrifices of those on “Bloody Sunday” and in the other marches is to vote in every.single.election.

And, we have to remember that sacrifice is a key tenant in change as we grapple with how to stop black boys from being targeted whether by police officers or others in this country and Christians in Africa and the Middle East from being targeted by Boko Haram and ISIS…

Because “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,“ as Dr. King said…

And as President Obama, the ultimate fruition of Dr. King’s sacrifice and dream, said yesterday in Selma at the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday…

Because Selma shows us that America is not the project of any one person. Because the single-most powerful word in our democracy is the word “We.” “We The People.” “We Shall Overcome.” “Yes We Can.” That word is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given, to continually try to improve this great nation of ours.

Fifty years from “Bloody Sunday,” our march is not yet finished, but we’re getting closer. Two hundred and thirty-nine years after this nation’s founding our union is not yet perfect, but we are getting closer. Our job’s easier because somebody already got us through that first mile. Somebody already got us over that bridge. When it feels the road is too hard, when the torch we’ve been passed feels too heavy, we will remember these early travelers, and draw strength from their example, and hold firmly the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on [the] wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint.”

To read President Obama’s entire speech, go to medium.com.

So that was your brief Sunday School lesson…

I wasn’t able to be there yesterday, but my friend LaTosha Brown was there. She wrote about her conflicting emotions as she prepared to go back to Selma, her hometown, this weekend in her blog post “Selma Is More Than A Place; Selma Is A People!” on her blog Latoshalove.blogspot.com. Little did LaTosha, who is an Atlanta transplant, know that not only would she be returning to her hometown to honor a critical time in our nation’s history she would also be able to march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in arms length of of first black president of the United States…LaTosha is just behind First Lady Michelle Obama and is wearing the black sweater with white hearts 🙂

And here are a few more photos of LaTosha and her experience in Selma yesterday and her commentary that I am sharing with her permission…

Yesterday I was unexpectedly selected as part of a delegation to cross the bridge with the President of the United States and his family. I actually stood directly behind the first family. I’m still very happy about the experience. I walked with The foot soldiers and the first family. Can’t get no better than this.

First Lady Michelle Obama and LaTosha…(My friend cut off Mrs.Obamas head but I still appreciated this opportunity)

Got to take a photo with former Attorney General Holder...

A familiar face…Former President Bush and LaTosha…(Guess who gladly took a selfie and cracked a joke?!)

President Obama and Congressman John Lewis, one of the protestors beaten on “Bloody Sunday”…(I asked the President for a selfie and he cracked a joke and said, “I can’t take a selfie with you because then everybody would want one.” But I did get a photo from walking across the bridge behind him while leading freedom songs with him and his family, and foot soldiers.)

Any thoughts?

Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Breaking Down the Holy Spirit/Why Beyoncé Did Ledisi A Favor…

Hello World,

Like the rest of the Innanet, I watched as Beyoncé, swaddled in her flowing, white organza, bejeweled dress with muted makeup to match, belt out her rendition of “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” on the GRAMMYs Sunday night. Backed up by the Harlem Boys To Men Choir(tee hee), who also wore white, she hit all of the right notes and gestured with all of the appropriate movements, but when she was done…

Meh. I was still sitting on my bed, head scarf on and sleep at the corners of my eyes, with my remote beside me just like I was before she started….Translation: I wasn’t taken to church. Had she not been singing “Take My Hand, Precious Lord,” I wouldn’t have even thought about church. As one of my FB friends aptly noted: “All those dramatics and no spirit.” Chile…And more proof that God just don’t like ugly. (Back story: In some sort of secret coup, Beyoncé usurped Ledisi’s chance to sing the song at this year’s GRAMMYs although Ledisi was the one that portrayed Mahalia Jackson and sang “Precious Lord” in the recently released movie “Selma.”)

So since this is a religious blog, I decided to break down or introduce the Holy Spirit for those who don’t know Him…First of all, the Holy Spirit, is one of the three parts of God. There is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the invisible presence God who enables us to know or perceive things that we could not know or perceive without His presence…Below are a few Bible verses that describe Him…

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:4

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:26

“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Acts 7:51

In today’s terms…

The Holy Spirit is the One that lets you know, in some sort of mysterious way, that even while the doctor is giving you bad news, you will be healed…Hallelujah, Thank You Jesus!

The Holy Spirit is the One that lets you know that after you have fasted and prayed, that what you prayed and fasted for, is already done in Heaven although it hasn’t been manifested on earth yet…Hallelujah, Thank You Jesus!

The Holy Spirit is the One that will have you crying like somebody slapped you when you hear your favorite gospel song on the radio, swearing the artist got in your head and is singing your testimony for all the world to hear…Hallelujah, Thank You Jesus!

And that was the problem with Beyoncé’s rendition…”Take My Hand, Precious Lord” is Thomas Dorsey’s testimony…He wrote that song after the death of his wife in childbirth and their child days later…Reportedly, it was Dr. King’s favorite song, and he loved to hear Mahalia Jackson sing it…Now, I don’t want to say that Beyoncé’ is not saved nor has the Holy Spirit, but from where I sat in my bedroom, the Holy Spirit bypassed her performance…That’s why aine nobody listenin’ to Rihanna, Lady Gaga and all of the popular girls in the music industry when you going through…You got to go to Shirley Caesar, Yolanda Adams and other great women of gospel music when you need to hear from the Lord…The Holy Spirit has blessed their songs to bless us in our time of need…Below is Ledisi’s version of “Take My Hand, Precious Lord.” The video is just her voice…You don’t even have to see her face to feel the Spirit…

Now since Beyoncé’s performance on Sunday, she released a video about why she sang the song instead of Ledisi. Something about connecting to her father, ancestors, the struggle etc. Bye Beyoncé…That could be true of Ledisi or any black person in America for that matter as well…It was her moment to shine…That’s why the late Etta James was mad at you…God rest her soul…You performed her signature song that nobody but nobody could sing like her for the Obamas’ first dance at the inauguration in 2009. Admittedly, you portrayed Etta in the movie “Cadillac Records” sooo…see, and that’s why Ledisi should have performed on Sunday. She portrayed Mahalia Jackson in “Selma” not you…

But God has a way of making things that seem bad end up being all good…This year’s GRAMMYs was one of the lowest rated in its history…But for the Beyoncé backlash, no one would probably be talking about it that much. But since Beyoncé is one of the biggest stars (I’m a fan…sometimes…) in the world, even people that didn’t watch the show are now wondering why Beyoncé did what she did…and inadvertently being introduced to the luscious vocals of Ledisi…

Any thoughts?

Posted on Sunday, June 22, 2014

From Righteous to Ratchet – Your Christian News Roundup…

Hello World,

Every once in a while so many Christian news stories cross my path that I cannot devote a singular blog post to any of them…I MUST include them ALL…What you will read next ranges from righteous to ratchet…Some of the stories may inspire you and some may just cause you to shake your head…All of them are worthy of perusal to read on…

1. Jeremy R. Meeks aka Fine Felon aka #FelonBae aka Dreamy McMug Shot has been blowin’ up the Innanet since the Stockton, California Police Department posted a mugshot of the 30-year-old felon on its Facebook page on Wednesday. The picture of Meeks, who was arrested for felony weapon charges, was posted as a part of the department’s Operation Ceasefire enforcement mission. Little did the department know this post would have fired up a viral storm of women from all over the world declaring their “admiration” for the blue-eyed, gun-toting, practicing Christian of seven years…At least, that’s what his sister said…Yes, the fine felon is also saved… Hallelujah! Say Amen! LOL…Read more at The Christian Post…

2. There is almost nothing more unsettling than a Christian crook…especially one that that uses the church to steal money…And then again, the first treasurer of the church, Judas, was a Christian crook and stole money…Thankfully, there is one less Christian crook stealin’ folks money through the church…It was announced last Tuesday that Efren Taylor II was arrested on a federal indictment…According to an article on ABC News, “some congregants from some of the most prominent mega-churches, including Bishop Eddie Long’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga., and Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Texas, turned over their life savings to Taylor. The DOJ claims that more than 80 people from Georgia alone lost more than $2 million because of Taylor’s scheme.” I don’t want to judge, but I have to wonder did the Holy Spirit tip any of these Christians that this man was a thief…What about the gift of discernment?

3. While Actress Meagan Good was promoting the movie “Think Like a Man Too,” which came out this weekend, she also discussed her forthcoming book with husband DeVon Franklin, a minister and vice president of production for Columbia Pictures, entitled “The Wait” on Jimmy Kimmel…Good and Franklin waited until they were married to have sex…Simultaneously, Good has been criticized for her sexy attire and belief that Christians can be sexy…Rolling Out has a new interview with Good in which she fleshes out her belief…Do you think that Good can promote being sexy yet advocate being celibate unless married at the same time?

4. Apparently, Frank Schaeffer, son of famous American evangelicals Francis and Edith Schaeffer who founded Switzerland’s L’Abri, is now an atheist who believes in God according to his new book “Why I aAm an Atheist Who Believes in God,”…I actually enjoyed Schaeffer’s book “Crazy For God” in which which he reveals his conflicted views about the church…but now he is saying he is an atheist?! That’s just asinine…Read more at The Huffington Post…

5. In other atheist news, “Tim Lambesis, lead singer and founder of Christian metalcore band As I Lay Dying, recently confessed that he and other members of his band had become atheists but kept claiming to be Christians so they could keep making money selling records to Christians,” according to an article on The Christian Post…Lambesis, who was recently sentenced to prison for attempting to order a hit on his estranged wife (Yes, I actually typed that), said that most Christian bands he met had similar beliefs!!! Again, I’ma need my fellow Christians to pray for more discernment…

6. In positive Christian news, have you ever heard of the new GSN dating show “It Takes a Church” The show, hosted by Natalie Grant, debuted earlier this month…Here is the description from the website : Each week, IT TAKES A CHURCH visits a congregation from across the country to surprise one unsuspecting single with the news that they’re about to be saved from the dating world. The church’s Pastor will task their congregation of cupids, to find the best possible matches for the dater, but in the end, our single will decide which suitor to put their faith in. The congregant who brought the chosen suitor will make a difference to their church by winning a donation on its behalf. The new show already has a lot of fans including Gospel Artist Donnie McClurkin…Here is Elev8’s article about the new show…

7. President Obama showed up in the most unlikely way at the The Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Conference on Friday…According to TIME Magazine, “small figurines of Obama’s head, first spotted by the Huffington Post‘s Igor Bobic, were placed inside the urinals in the mens’ restroom outside the conference hall.” One has to wonder what faith these attendees have if they allowed such a filthy and degrading depiction of our nation’s president to be a part of the conference?