Fraternity is commonly defined by Webster as the state of being Brothers, a brotherly relationship within a student organization formed chiefly to promote friendship and welfare among the members.

The opening of the school year, 1905-1906, found at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, a group of students distributed in the various colleges of the University, who were desirous of maintaining more intimate contacts with one another than their classroom study permitted.  They often met in groups during the Autumn of 1905 and talked of the possibilities of closer contacts among themselves.  Different ones among them took the lead in calling these meetings, which were informal in ever detail.

After several meetings, on December 4, 1906 those in attendance decided to become a fraternity and Alpha Phi Alpha was born.  It came as an evolution through trial and struggle.  It was not spontaneous, but gradual in its growth.  Alpha Phi Alpha has not always been the great fraternity that it is today.  Its founders, however, were always great men with keen vision, undaunted courage, indomitable fortitude, and unparalleled tenacity.

There were seven men who founded Alpha Phi Alpha in 1906.  Each of these men were destined to play a highly significant role in the formative years of our great fraternity.  The members of Alpha Phi Alpha have decreed that the Founders be designated as JEWELS of the Fraternity.  The Founders (Jewels) of Alpha Phi Alpha are as follows:

Jewel Henry Arthur Callis
Jewel Charles Henry Chapman
Jewel Eugene Kinckle Jones
Jewel George Biddle Kelley
Jewel Nathaniel Allison Murray
Jewel Robert Harold Ogle
Jewel Vertner Woodson Tandy

The original seven who remained steadfast to the idea of a Greek-letter Fraternity, during the months of uncertainty, did not waiver in their effforts to bring about the realization of their vision.  Therefore, I salute all the men who’ve crossed the burning sands and proudly call themselves “Alphas.”  Happy Birthday dear brothers & always remember:

Manly deeds, scholarship, & love for all mankind…

Onward & Upward – ‘06

Brother Clarence E. Stowers, Jr.
Jackson State University
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Delta Phi Chapter – Spring 1987
“The Naughty 9″

The BlackBerry Bold (my preferred device), Apple iPhone 3GS, Palm Pre, and a host of other smartphones all promise to help us accomplish more.  Unfortunately, we live in an age where we’re encouraged to purchase gadgets that allow us to do many things at the same time.  It’s called multitasking and, in my opinion, it’s overrated and may be the greatest leadership lie ever told!  That’s right, I said it!

Multitasking is the ability of a person to perform more than one task at the same time.  When you’re going back and forth between complicated projects, it is impossible to focus properly on each one.  “Researches call this task switching, an action, that, itself, requires time and energy.  Depending on how many tasks you’re juggling, you could be losing 20 to 40 percent of your time, because you have to reengage your focus and thoughts.” (“Executive Control of Cognitive Processes in Task Switching,” Joshua S. Rubinstein, U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Atlantic City, NJ; Journal of Experimental Psychology – Human Perception and Performance, Vol. 27, No. 4).

I’ve discovered both life and ministry require a certain amount of juggling.  Few days play out in an orderly, linear sequence.  Speaking on the phone to a member, client, or colleague while you’re reading a report or typing an e-mail might not cost you that much.  But, doing so while you’re preparing a report or message might.  At the very least, it will slow you down and result in sub par work.  To increase your focus and performance when concentration is critical, cut down on multitasking.

A few suggestions:

1. Turn off your e-mail alarm (who needs to be alerted to spam or useless facebook updates).  Check it regularly when it’s convenient for you – not when it interrupts you.
2. Block out time for projects that require intense focus such as sermon preparation, budget forecasting, vision/planning, writing, drafting a presentation, or conducting analysis.
3. Forward your calls to voice mail and close your door if necessary.  Let people know that you’re working on a project.  If you don’t have a door, put up a sign.
4. When possible, schedule important phone conversations when you know you’ll have no distractions.
5. Never work on something else while you’re on the phone.  The person on the other end knows when you’re writing an email while you talk, and it’s probably irritating him or her.

Organize your work so that you can do ONE THING at a time and do it well.  The payoff will be substantial!

The longer I serve as pastor of a thriving church, the more I realize how VITAL prayer is!  Prayer is the link to a vibrant and fruitful ministry.

What if God granted you an opportunity to go back in time and speak to the wisest people who ever lived (people such as Moses, Apostle Paul, Solomon, Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Fredrick Douglass)?  However, once you reached your destination, you sat at their feet and proceeded to do all the talking?  Would it be a worthwhile endeavor?  Did the aforementioned people need to know all you had to say?  Upon leaving would you wish you had talked less and listened more?  Incredibly, many people enter God’s holy presence in prayer and then do all the talking!

What God has to say to us is infinitely more important that what we have to say to Him, yet we generally monopolize the conversation. God already knows everything we plan to tell Him, yet we continue talking rather than allowing Him to tell us things we don’t know.  Why?  Our American individualist mindset tricks us to believe that we can dominate our conversation with God. Prayer is two-way communication, but it is not communication between two equal parties.

Tonight (7PM) we’ll gather @ the Mars Hill Baptist Church for our 1st Wednesday Worship.  This worship experience allows us to spend more time worshipping God and listening to the Word.  During tonight’s service, I will pose 5 Questions that will revolutionize the prayer lives of those in attendance.  The questions are as follows:

1. What is Prayer (the definition may surprise you)?
2. Why Pray (it’s not what you think)?
3. To Whom Do We Pray (is it God, Jesus, or The Holy Spirit)?
4. What Do God’s Answers Look Like (it’s more than, “God give me a sign”)?
5. What If There Is Silence?

Please come and join us!