Making Good Decisions
During the months of November and December, I felt the Lord leading me to have our congregation read one chapter a day from the Book of Proverbs. So on Thanksgiving Day, our congregation would have read Proverbs Chapter 22. Why Proverbs? Because a new year is approaching, bringing with it many challenges. Proverbs is the one book in the Bible that’s written specifically to help readers gain wisdom. Proverbs 1:1-2 specifically states that “These are the proverbs of Solomon [the wisest man in the Bible]. Their purpose is to teach people wisdom” (NLT). I agree with what Solomon wrote in Proverbs 4:7 that “Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment” (NLT, 1996). So what is wisdom? One definition of wisdom is simply “good judgment.” Since one of the definitions of judgment is “decision,” wisdom can also be defined as “making good decisions.” In a November 6th, 2007, USA Today article entitled Even Good CEOs can Pick the Wrong Direction, writer Del Jones has some interesting thoughts regarding leadership that are rarely discussed. The article states: “The secret to leadership may not boil down to that ‘vision thing.’ It may not be some exceptional ability to ‘inspire’ others, nor the courage to zig when all signs point to zag. Fresh research by top leadership gurus suggests that if great leaders have something in common, it could be this: A knack for escaping lapses of bad judgment.” Noel Tichy and Warren Bennis have co-authored a new book entitled Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls. After the firings of the CEOs of Merrill Lynch and Citigroup for poor decision making, Tichy states, “With good judgment, little else matters. Without it, nothing else matters.” If one were to look up the etymology (the history of a word) of the word “good,” one would discover that it is derived from the word “God.” Thus, the word “good-bye” means “God be with Ye.” A good man is a “God” man, that is, a man who acts like God in his character. So what’s a good decision? A good decision is a God decision. It is a decision that God would make if He were in our shoes. And this is why reading the Book of Proverbs is so essential, not simply for our congregation, but for me personally. I need wisdom. I need good judgment. I need to make “God” decisions regarding the college my daughter will attend next year, how to lead our congregation, as well as how to be a good parent and a good (God) husband. And I’m not alone! We all will face decisions in the upcoming year that could permanently alter our lives positively or negatively. What job should we take? Who should we marry? Where should we live? What church should we join? With all these decisions and so many, many choices, you can now see why Solomon told us that “Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do.” I invite your...
read moreDisposable Friendships
“Wow! Class of 2008, we came, we saw, we conquered! All of us have truly been through so much. But, we survived. As we enter into the next chapter of our lives, we must always remember that life will still be tough. We can handle it though. In fact, I say, “Bring it… I’m ready!” To all my friends, I love you very much. I thank God for all the years He let me spend with you. I will never forget you.” I woke up in the middle of the night to find these words left on our computer screen. They’re the words of my daughter who is graduating next year. The words “I will never forget you” really struck a chord with me. Growing up as a “Baby Boomer”, if the television, VCR, air conditioner, or any other household item stopped working, we would bring that item to a place for repair. Now those very items are so inexpensive that it’s much easier to simply dispose of them. Disposal may be ok when it comes to items, but far too often it seems to occur when it comes to the people in our lives, and particularly very close friends. Sure stuff happens, people grow apart, etc., etc. However, too many times our friendships seem to have become disposable. We no longer play on the same team, go to the same school, live in the same area, work at the same job, or have children in the same place. Stuff happens! Yet I believe that there are some God-given friendships that really were meant to be BFF (Best Friends Forever) that we simply dispose of because they are far more costly to repair or maintain (like an automobile) than to simply go and get a new one. And yes, at times it will take a lot of work to maintain such friendships, but the rewards will be well worth it. A month ago I received an e-mail from my college friend’s 25-year-old son whose lifelong dream is to become an actor. In the e-mail he attached a picture of himself at the premiere of the movie “American Gangster”, which starred Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington. It was a “red carpet” affair and he was invited to participate though he had a very small role. He affectionately calls me “Uncle B” and I could not have been more proud of him for achieving his dream if he were my own child. Furthermore, I was able to share in his accomplishment because his dad and I worked hard to maintain our friendship. This allowed me to be a positive influence his son’s life though we live hundreds of miles apart. Proverbs 18:24 states “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (New King James Version) As the holiday season approaches, I challenge you to look at your life and see if there are any friendships—good friendships—that may have been disposed of. Then find that person’s phone number or e-mail address. Give them a call or send them a message. For there are some people in your life of whom it should be said “I will never forget you”. I invite your...
read moreOctogenarians
Octogenarians. “Octo” who? Ok’-te-je-nar’-ee-ens! An octogenarian is defined as a person between 80 and 90 years of age. In the Bible, I discovered at least three octogenarians. Instead of God retiring them, it seems like He waited until they reached their eighties to bring them into the most fruitful period of their lives. Moses was in his eighties when God decided to use him to rescue the people of Israel out of Egyptian slavery. Caleb (Joshua 14:10) started destroying giants and taking the territory God had promised him once he entered his eighties. Anna (Luke 2:37) was allowed to see the birth of Christ, which was the fruit of her sixty years of prayer and fasting, when she reached her eighties. This week we celebrate Pentecostal Tabernacle’s 80th year of existence. We’ve become an octogenarian and have entered a new season where we will begin to produce our greatest results! Hebrews 11:39-40 states, “All of them (the heroes of the Old Testament) pleased God because of their faith! But still they died without being given what had been promised. This was because God had something better in store for us. And He did not want them to reach the goal of their faith without us.” (New Century Version) My dad always told me that when he was younger, the old Christians used to pray, “Lord remember the generations that are to follow us!” Hebrews 11:39-40 reminds us that we all stand on the shoulders and efforts of generations prior to us. Bishop Allen C. Miller, one of our founding pastors, had a vision to purchase our building. The next pastor, Reverend Herman L. Greene, had a vision to remodel our facility and financially organize our ministry by securing our 501C3 (tax exempt status). By God’s grace, I’ve been called to grow the ministry into what prior generations prayed for regularly but knew they would never live to see. We who are alive to celebrate 80 years of Pentecostal Tabernacle’s existence must recognize that with every goal and dream accomplished by our ministry, there are many people alive and deceased who have a right to be a part of our celebration. I’ve had the honor of knowing and serving under these two former pastors, which is pretty amazing to me. Along with them, there are many who have invested in me and Pentecostal Tabernacle to whom I will be forever grateful. So as we enter our new decade of harvest let us remember the rich history and heritage that brought us to this point. In the next twenty years we will be celebrating our 100th year of existence. During that time my desire is to accomplish the kind of feats for God that will cause the next generation to look back at our generation with the same admiration and appreciation that I have when look back at generations that have preceded ours. Pentecostal Tabernacle, we’re 80 years old and THE BEST IS YET TO...
read moreEvery Man’s Battle
For New England, this week’s been unusually hot. The leaves are supposed to be getting ready to turn colors. People are supposed to be breaking out their light jackets or at least sweaters. But instead I’m seeing T-shirts, shorts, and sandals. I drove home the other evening from prayer service. It was eighty degrees. Eighty degrees at night! As a man, eighty degrees is not a problem during the evening. The problem is eighty degrees during the day in a city full of young female professionals and college students. Being a bishop, there’s a certain risk in writing an article like this. A person who holds such a high ecclesiastical/religious position is not supposed to admit (let alone state publicly) that when the weather gets hot like this, his best defense is to simply stay in his office. We had a guest speaker at our conference who told us an interesting story. When a national ministry wanted to hire, he declined the position saying that he could not live in Miami or Los Angeles because his human nature prohibited him from living in an environment where he would have to constantly battle visual temptation. I wanted to jump out of my pew and yell, “Finally, a Christian leader who will at least admit that the challenge even exists!” Men have a hard time expressing deep mental, emotional, or physical challenges. It’s probably looked at as “being weak.” But when you add that to the fact that we are Christian men who should be able to “do all things through Christ who gives us the strength,” then it’s even worse. We’ve got God, the Big Kahuna, on our side, so we’re supposed to be able to handle our business (that is, our walk with God in holiness). Job’s statement, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman” (Job 31:1) seems only to add to our guilt. And yet I think that our answer can be found in James 5:16. “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth (accomplishes) much”. Thank God I have a men’s small group and some very close pastor friends with whom I can be real and who cover me in prayer. But as one man to another, I ask, “Who do you talk to when it comes to this kind of challenge? Who’s covering you in prayer so that you don’t fail in the area of sexual temptation?” You know that on a subject such as this one, I invite your...
read moreThe Jena 6
Last Thursday a minister told me that her child was wearing black as an act of solidarity with The Jena 6. The Jena who? The Jena 6. I read about this case earlier this year in a magazine. Unfortunately, this is a very important issue of which most people seemed totally unaware until its recent rise in national attention. In short, it’s a court case involving six high school black male students from a small town in Louisiana called Jena. They were arrested and charged with attempted second degree murder after beating up a male white student in response to: (1) Three white male students hanging three “lynching nooses” on a tree warning blacks to not hang out there. The school officials simply deemed it a prank. (2) One of the black students being beaten up for attending a party deemed only for white students. No charges were brought. Race relations and racial tensions are subjects that people are usually very uncomfortable discussing. However, we must confront these very sensitive issues because I believe that racism in the church is alive and well. A Korean pastor friend of mine confronted a large organization regarding their Sunday School curriculum’s stereotyping of Asian people. He was basically told to mind his own business. I observe across our country that though many Blacks are willing to be led by pastors who are not Black, very few Whites are willing to have a pastor who is Black. Now racism in the church is nothing new. Even in the Bible, Peter had to be confronted a number of times regarding the manner with which he interacted with non-Jews (See: Acts 10 and Galatians 2:11-14). However, you’d think that after 2,000 years, the church would have made far more progress. I believe that God’s goal has always been diversity that reflects the make up of the community. As a Black pastor, it has always been my primary goal to lead a diverse congregation. However, situations like the “Jena 6” remind me that we as a nation and “The Church in America” are going to be dealing with the issue of race for a very long time. My hope is that at least the Church will face racism head on in a manner that does not ignore its existence in the hope that it will simply go away. As usual, I invite your...
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