by Clarence E. Stowers | Apr 9, 2009 | Christian, Christianity, Church Issues, Communication, Politics, Preaching, Vision, Worship
Free-wheeling capitalism has always been the heart of the US Economy but the recent $700 billion bailout, a level of government intervention not seen since the Great Depression, is hardly unprecedented. Historically, the Federal Government has not only taken stakes in banks, steel mills, and coal mines but have even seized control of everything from railways to savings and loans. Unfortunately, when it comes to you and I, we would be hard pressed to make their list. Consequently, If you STILL believe the government will bail you out – think again!
As Believers, we’ve already received our bailout!
So what does the bailout mean for me? The word power occurs 57 times in the New Testament. It is a word used to describe the most powerful bailout that ever happened, an event that separated A.D. from B.C. That event was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Consequently, that resurrection power is available to change your life! So, please join us this Easter at the Mars Hill Baptist Church and experience a heartfelt worship experience coupled with a timely Word from God. Additionally, we will unveil our “new & improved” video venue which is additional worship experience using video technology to reproduce our live worship experience.
Easter Weekend Schedule
Good Friday
Friday, April 10, 2009
12 Noon & 6:30PM
Easter
Sunday, April 12, 2009
8:00 AM & 10:30 AM (Live)
8:00 AM & 10:30 AM (Video Venue)
by Clarence E. Stowers | Apr 8, 2009 | Christian, Christianity, Church Issues
Call me a walking contradiction:
A free-thinking, contemporary urban Renaissance man tied to a symbol of traditionalism.
But with custom comes assurance that grows with affirmation. After the fickleness of the 70’s, greed of the 80’s, and the truth-twisting of the 90’s, I came to see the wisdom of our elders’ beliefs — that wearing fine clothes, from head to toe, was how mortals showed reverence to God.
So, why dress up for church?
Genesis 35:1-3 may shed some light on the subject. It is possible that as Jacob began this faith-journey to Bethel with God, he recognized how much God had done for him, and how much he needed God! His response was to take everyone with him on this faith-journey, so they could experience God for themselves. “Get rid of the strange gods you have with you. Make yourselves pure” implies the need to be united in “coming clean” before God. “For all have sinned…” (Romans 3:23). Many then had “household idols” with them that they depended on, as well as God. They did not trust God alone. “Change your clothes” implies a change of heart toward sin. It was to be a reflection of what had taken place on the “inside.”
On Sunday mornings all over the Chicagoland area, a parade of the sharp dressed men and women can be seen on street corners in the Austin neighborhood, at bus stops in Bronzeville, and in soul food restaurants after morning service. Dress is usually more formal for Black Christians when they attend worship or other religious gatherings. Many white Christians seem to like to dress informally, wearing even jeans or shorts to Sunday morning church services. This is very foreign and can be demeaning in the eyes of some Black Christians.
I see God’s house as a place that gives African Americans hope in times of despair. Additionally, it is the dream of heavenly salvation that sustained us for so long and deserves our respect in spite of its weaknesses. Therefore, I decided to wear suits to personally show my reverence to God.
What’s your take?
by Clarence E. Stowers | Apr 2, 2009 | Christian, Christianity, Church Issues, Current Affairs, Leadership, President Obama, Race, Relationships
Racism still exists (even in the church)
That’s right, I said it!
Americans may be poised to elect an African-American as president, but it’s segregation as usual in U.S. churches, according to the scholars. Only about 5 percent of the nation’s churches are racially integrated, and half of them are in the process of becoming all-black or all-white, says Curtiss Paul DeYoung, co-author of United by Faith, a book that examines interracial churches in the United States.
Personally, I do not believe integrated churches work.
(when they are led by Black pastors)
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Mar 31, 2009 | Christian, Christianity, Leadership, Preaching, Race
Henry Mitchell, former professor of theology at Rochester Divinity School said, “The central figure in the Black church is the Black preacher. He has no exact counterpart in the white church, and to attempt to see the White preacher on the same plane is to risk confusion, for the Black preacher includes a dimension peculiar to the Black experience.” In the Black church the Black preacher has perpetually served as a father figure to Black people, seeing to their welfare in all spheres of life whether they were social, political, economic, or the traditionally recognized spiritual aspects of life.
Growing up as a preacher’s kid, I saw in operation the validity of these statements. The Black preacher commanded the respect and obedience of his congregation. He was the most powerful man in our community & even today the Black preacher retains most of that prominence. Many Black Christians look to their pastors as an authority figure who should have a lot of biblical knowledge and wisdom. They are viewed as being above and a little distant from ordinary lay people.
Question:
What makes the black preacher unique?
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Mar 30, 2009 | Christian, Christianity, Church Issues, Politics, Race, Relationships, Worship
In 1991, Spike Lee released his fifth feature-length film Jungle Fever. The plot centers on the interracial romance between a successfully married Black, played by Wesley Snipes, and an Italian woman played by Anabella Sciorra. The lovers come under intense pressure from their friends and family as a result of their interracial relationship. It’s no secret that even today, interracial relationships are still under intense scrutiny – even when it comes to attending church.
For most of white America, the black church is an alien segment of the nation’s culture, hidden behind the plain facades of large brick churches, the rude clapboard of country chapels, the salvation-emblazoned windows of tattered storefronts. It is a montage of impressions, some real, some misleading the low-moaning spirituals, the clapping and the shouted amens; the phenomenon of a Bishop TD Jakes and the curious charisma once possessed the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell; the prophetic, nation-shaking philosophy of a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the pragmatic, neighborhood-building politics of a Rev. Jesse Jackson.
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