Un-Churched Black Men, Part II, or Where the Men at in the Churches? Part II

Nation of Islam and Christianity

Well, I tried to stay away from this particular topic for a minute, but hey, it’s another Saturday night, and I ain’t got nobody (I think she’s out with her Hula Hoop again)…LOLOLOLOL!

Once again, just a thought provoking post. I am NOT the chief representative for “Black Men of BSC�, or black men period. If you find a “Sauktoid� that is false, or not true, please feel free to correct it. I’m not perfect. . .. matter of fact, I tried to walk across a puddle of rainwater yesterday. . .and got my socks wet!

This post is done in “love”. . .not meant to hurt anyone. . . so if you have a problem with it, let’s sit down and discuss it.

Over ten years ago, as an Ordained Itinerant Deacon in the AME church, I had the privilege of working in a “Sho Nuff Urban Community Church�, in North East Atlanta. The church owned property in the inner city. However, due to the lackadaisical attitudes of the prior Church Officers, they ran their property into the ground. You could tell at one time, the boarded up homes, were well kept and pristine. Not anymore. On a hot summer day, you could smell the stench of drugs, “human waste�, and filth, right in the church parking lot.

At night, even during evening services, you could see cars pulling up to the homes, folks walking in and out, loud music playing, gun shots, pit bulls, etc., etc. Well, us young “Church� folks just gunna do something about it, and stand up for the community. The Atlanta Police Department’s notorious Anti-Everything Officers known as “The Red Dog Unit�, helped us to shut down the crooks, hoodlums, rapscallions, “dregs of the earth�, villains, and hoodrats! We swept the “broken pipes�, copper mesh filters, used needles. . .hosed the buildings down (inside and outside).

Finally, we were able to re-vitalize the houses, and use them for three low income family. Happy ending right?!?!? WRONG!!!! As I’ve grown older, I thought to myself one day. Self, and he responded in a ghetto Arnold Schwarzenegger kinda voice “Huh?� I said, we cleaned up the homes, but what about the people? Surely, unless they got some kinda help, either they perished, or they are still addicted!

What about the woman, who would sell her baby for a hit?
What about the man, who takes his entire paycheck to “Diamond Dog� for his hit?
What about the girl, who is pregnant for the 3rd time, 19 yrs old, and has a Crack Dealer as her baby daddy?
What about the boy, who is the crack dealer, who believes the only way to survive, is to become the “beast of the streets�?

In steps. . . the topic for discussion. . .. the Nation of Islam and the “Church�.

To Be Continued. . .

~Saukrates

You may read Part I here…

 

Unchurched Black Men – Introduction or Where the Men At in the Churches?

The following post begins a series of posts taken from the message board of one of my groups and is used with full permission of Ken Aveirls, Sr. a/k/a Saukrates.

UnChurched Black Men – Introduction
Posted: 10 Jul 2005, 9:43pm

I promised Longdrive, that I would comment on his post. It’s late. . sigh. . .however, I need to break this down over a period of time. It will take longer than a blurb here or there, because there are more than one possible scenario.

The Prophet Amos, sheepherder and sycamore tree tender penned these words – “Woe to those at ease in Zion.” This eighth-century prophet of Israel was condemning the leisure class of his nation for living well, eating the choicest cuts of meat, drinking the best wines, living in luxurious homes, and anointing themselves with the most expensive fragrances. All this they do “but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph”

It’s hard, very hard, for a “brother”, to go up in a church house, making ends barely meet, and the “Passa” is wearing a Presidential Rolex, driving an E or S-Class (or Bentley), has a private jet, and lives in a palatial palace. . . . While he has a watch from WalMart, a car that has 3 good tires, and he’s rolling on a doughnut, hasn’t had a vacation outside of the state in 5 years, and lives in an apartment! Also, as he looks around his community, it’s crumbling down. . . .in every aspect of life.

Dr. James Cone (AME Professor. . . tee hee), in an essay in “The Pastor as Servant”, quotes from a statement that circulated at a poor people’s rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I was hungry
and you formed a humanities club
and you discussed my hunger.
Thank you.

I was imprisoned
and you crept off quietly
to your chapel in the cellar
and prayed for my release.

I was naked
and in your mind
you debated the morality of my appearance.

I was sick
and you knelt and thanked God
for your health.

I was homeless
and you preached to me
of the spiritual shelter of the love of God.

I was lonely
and you left me alone
to pray for me.
You seem so holy;
so close to God.

But I’m still very hungry
and lonely
and cold.

So where have your prayers gone?
What have they done?
What does it profit a man
to page through his book of prayers
when the rest of the world is crying for his help?

“Think About It. . . .”

Saukratees~

 

Religion or Relationship?

By Christopher Donaldson, Sr. Faith Experiences

These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ~ 1 Peter 1:7

One of the great tragedies of the Christian life is that if we fail to enter into a relationship with God that is born of the Holy Spirit, we are left with a religion, not a relationship. Many a person today lives with an intellectual belief in God, but without a relationship that is based on two-way communication. This is the greatest tragedy of all. It’s like having a brand-new car but never having the gas to run it. It can’t move you anywhere. It only looks pretty, but one cannot enjoy the ride or smell the newness inside. Peter tells us that until our faith is proved genuine, we will never be able to give praise, glory, and honor to Jesus, because until such testing He will not be revealed in our lives. Peter describes this in the verse before: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (1 Pet. 1:6). Trials are designed to bring us to a level of trust and experience with God that we would never know otherwise. These “faith experiences” with God allow us to know firsthand the faithfulness of God, the love of God, and the personal nature of God. If you cannot recount several instances when God has met you personally, then chances are your faith has not been born of the Holy Spirit into a living relationship with God. It is easy to fall prey to a relationship to God that never experiences His real presence; rather, it is based on knowledge only. This is a tragic place to be. If this is where you have been in your Christian experience, ask God today to make Himself real to you. Ask Him to show you His personal nature and love. He desires to do this. Those whom He has called know His voice. He will show Himself to those who are His. “He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and show Myself to him” (Jn. 14:21b). Copyright (c) 2005 by Christopher Donaldson, Sr.