The President's Corner

Meet the President of the NBCA team REVEREND STEPHEN JOHN THURSTON.

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Welcome to the President's Corner
Attitude: The Paint Brush of the Mind The release of my first published book Attitude: The Paint Brush of the Mind is available by calling Way of the Word Ministry 773. 224.5570 extension 111. You will receive a signed copy of the book for $20 plus shipping and handling. The Skin I'm In Television, radio and the Internet are flooded with topics about race relation; Jena 6, University of Cambridge, Duane Chapman "Dog the Bounty Hunter", NYPD and Chicago Police Department. I must pause and ponder about the times in which we live in. The calendar says 2007, but our struggle for civil liberties begs to differ. It is evident that we are failing this generation. Our negligence to instill history lessons in our children is cause for history to repeat itself. Two scriptures come to mind that clearly gives us instruction on what we are to do. Deuteronomy 4:9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; Joshua 4:3-6 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. 4Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: 5And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: 6That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? We are a unique race of people with various hues of ebony complexion. Each day we face new challenges because of our skin tones whether it is driving and shopping while black or interviewing for a position with the odds stacked against us. It is time for us to hold daily discussions about the sit-ins and marches against injustice. In the past, our marches were powerful and produced change; however, today it is being said that our marches are nothing more than exercise activities due to the lack of follow through. Yes, marching is good but without a well thought out plan it is wasteful. So we must march today and demand action tomorrow. Ultimately, healing must happen within before a change is experienced. In other words, intra-racism must cease. You know, light skinned versus dark skinned; poor versus middle class; educated versus uneducated within our communities. We can’t demand that other races respect us when we don’t respect one another. We all should be striving to make this world a better place to live despite our differences. A Legend Honored: 41 Years of Service I spent the weekend in Kansas City, Missouri for the kick-off of *The Hartsfield Retirement Celebration. If you were not in attendance, you missed a spectacular weekend of events. As I sat on the dais and looked out into the ballroom filled with well-wishers demonstrating their love and support, I was reminded of the friendship between Dr. Hartsfield and my father. I could think of no other place to be than in Kansas City with him. Dr. Hartsfield was presented with many gifts that include naming a United States Post Office in his honor. Local businesses have joined to establish a foundation after him to benefit "At-Risk Inner City Youth"; The foundation currently has commitments totaling $200,000.00. The Wallace S. Hartsfield Scholarship for Social Justice was established at a local college. The school is going to catalog his sermons and writings as well as help publish them. I reflected on Dr. Hartsfield's commitment and dedication to the ongoing Kingdom-Business Agenda of NBCA. He has been involved 100% insuring our efforts are successful. His wisdom and knowledge are a blessing to younger pastors within the Convention. The celebrations will continue until the end of the year. He officially retires at Watch Night Service at the stroke of midnight on December 31, 2007 bringing the year to a close and ushering in a New Year with Wallace S. Hartsfield II, Pastor. If you cannot make it to Kansas City, send him a card and put some love ($$) in the card. For more information regarding: The Hartsfield Retirment Celebration* contact the church at 816.923.3689 or visit www.metrombc.com
The Privilege to Vote We have to implore our brothers and sisters to register to vote and actually cast our votes. We have to STOP making excuses about our numbers at the poll because they can improve. It is time for a grassroots effort. We must educate the next generation about the importance of our vote. We cannot leave it to the school system to teach our history lessons for us. We have to share with our children the truth about the sacrifice our fore-parents endured for us to have the privilege to vote. We can start by taking our children with us when we vote and explain the process. The best way to teach the importance of each vote is to allow our youth to participate in a mock vote. They need to watch the debates, read articles and campaign material, and select a candidate to support. Then on Election Day make their way to the church and actually vote. Once these votes have been tallied, they will see how the process works and that each vote does count. Yes, we can make a mandate to STOP voting for politicians that do not carry out their campaign promises; however, our voice will only have strength, if we as a collective body of believers, STOP being lackadaisical about casting our vote.
Take Time Out to Read Education is fundamental to the success of each generation moving forward to leave a better legacy than the prior generation. As the first marking period in our school system comes to an end and report cards are distributed, I would like to issue a challenge to parents, grandparents, godparents and guardians. Take time out to read with a child. Illiteracy is a serious problem within our community. Turn off the television, the gameboys, or the x-box and pick-up a book to read together. Allow the child to read to you . We can combat this problem one book at a time. If your child does not have a library card, take them to the local library and get a card. Find out about the different programs that are offered and get involved. When was the last time you read a book?

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