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A Christian View Magazine - December
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A Christian View Magazine 16
Bethlehem Baptist Church (Gum Springs) Alexandria, Virginia celebrated its 150th
Church Anniversary on October 27th. The anniversary theme was “Affirming a Sure
Foundation as We Reaffirm and Transform Our Faith”. In a 1933 publication, the
Afro-American weekly compared the resilient beginnings of this historical institution
to that of her founding pastor whose “unquenchable ambition as a slave youth
followed his star from the depths of the slave marts making an intrepid dash for his
freedom thus giving birth to Bethlehem Baptist
Church”.
Since then Bethlehem Baptist has grown to
become a community centered, mission-focused
inspirational church. With the God-sent leadership
that it has had (since its founding in 1863),
Bethlehem was destined to grow into one of God’s
wondrous life transforming works. Reverend
Samuel K. Taylor was the first to serve as pastor (1863-1912) during the Civil
War period when it was against the law for African Americans to congregate for
worship without permission. A founding member (Jane White) suggested the
named Bethlehem because Bethlehem was the birthplace of Jesus.
Reverend William A. Triplett served as the second pastor from 1913-1949.
Pastor Triplett was responsible for organizing several essential ministries in the
church. He helped Bethlehem establish a denominational presence in Northern
Virginia. Pastor Triplett also was responsible for the building of first
parsonage- using his own hands. Reverend Harvard M. Chapman was next to
receive Bethlehem's pastoral mantle and served from 1949-1974. Additional
ministries were added and the church was renovated to include a church steeple
and Sunday school annex. The year 1975 signaled the ministry service of a new
pastor, Reverend James A.
Kearse. Reverend Kearse
served from 1975-1983.
Under his leadership, new
ministries were added as
well as a 7:45 a.m. Sunday
morning service and the
church enjoyed exceptional
numerical growth. Reverend
Kearse later resign his
pastoral post to assist his
older brother, the Reverend
Logan Kearse, in ministry
A Christian View Magazine 17
in Baltimore, MD. Reverend James A. Kearse would later return to Bethlehem to serve as Interim Pastor from
1996-1999.
The Reverend Anthony S. Parrish, an associate of Bethlehem would step forward to serve as interim pastor from
1983-1985. In 1985, Reverend William S. Wilson was installed as Bethlehem’s fifth pastor and the church
continued her growth as a spiritually vibrant congregation with an expanding membership. The resignation of
Reverend Wilson in 1985 launched the pastoral ministry of a familiar and respected ministry servant - administra-
tor. Reverend Anthony S. Parrish (former interim pastor) was installed as the sixth pastor of Bethlehem in 1987.
Under his skillful leadership, Bethlehem became stewardship focused which enabled her to enlarge the church's
facility. During Reverend Parrish's pastoral watch a new edifice was erected in 1993 and the congregation march
into its massive ministry facility. In 1996 Reverend Anthony S. Parrish resigned and the church extended the
Interim Pastor assignment to her beloved Reverend James A. Kearse.
In 1999, the Lord sent a Shepherd, Teacher, and Pastor to Bethlehem in the person of Reverend Dr. Darrell K.
White. Reverend White was installed as Bethlehem’s seventh pastor in October
of 1999. The divinely meaningful number seven would become significant for
Bethlehem because it would also mark the shredding (burning) of the church's
mortgage which it obtained earlier. More ministries were birthed under Pastor
White’s leadership during which time the church's ministry plan was
restructured to operate under the Five-fold ministry umbrella of: Missions,
Worship, Evangelism, Stewardship, and Christian Education.
Bethlehem’s reach has extended beyond the local community and common-
wealth to the global mission fields via God touched lives, God given resources
and godly inspired technological tools. The development of the church’s web-
site has enhanced membership participation in church-wide events, ministries,
services, and acts of kindness beyond the sanctuary. The church currently pro-
vides food and clothing to over 50 families each month. Under Pastor White's
pastoral care, a partnership for equipping leaders has been rekindled with Vir-
ginia Union University (Evans-Smith Leadership Institute). The Virginia Union
Evans-Smith Leadership- Institute, with Pastor White as site coordinator, has
graduated over 40 students and now serves various churches throughout the
DMV (District; Maryland; Virginia) metro area.
Continued page 25
Pictures provided by Tony Robinson
A Christian View Magazine 18
A Christian View is excited to
share with you the wonderful
time that we experienced with
New Life Deliverance
Worship Center, located on
Whitney Road in
Spartanburg, SC.
We had a joyous time sharing
in their dedication and grand opening of their new 30,000 square
foot Sanctuary. The awesome spirit of kingdom building and
chain breaking was very evident in the praise and worship that
was displayed by members and friends of the church. New Life
Deliverance not only celebrated their new Sanctuary but is also
celebrating three years of ministry. Rich or poor, old or young,
black or white, New Life Deliverance believes that God desires a
relationship with you and wants you to be blessed above measure.
Senior pastor and teacher, Dr. Bunty Desor and Associate pastor
Andre Tate proudly enlightened us how the ministry, under the
promptings of the Holy Spirit, has grown by leaps and bounds.
They discussed the challenges that were thrown at them such as
the cost of the building, the heating and air conditioning needing
to be re-established, to the tools being stolen. But through it all,
the mighty hand of God did not allow failure. Members and
friends, people they didn’t even know but knew the good work
they wanted to do for the Lord, came out and assisted. God was
ever faithful and continued to give the ministry unprecedented
amounts of favor and consistently sent resources and volunteers
to build into the Kingdom of God.
Pastor Desor is not ashamed to give witness to Gods awesome
power. Seven years to the day from when he was released from
prison for selling drugs before he came to Christ, the ministry
was able to celebrate its first service in the new sanctuary. New
Life Deliverance Worship Center is a rapidly growing
non-denominational outreach church. No matter what you have
done or where you have been New Life Deliverance believes that being a Kingdom-minded, multi-cultural, and
multi-generational church, they have been called by God to reach out to their city. It is their conviction to do this
by first reaching up (with worship), next by reaching in (with discipleship) and lastly by reaching out (with evan-
gelism). New Lift Deliverance believes that their mission is twofold: the first is to know the LORD Jesus.
They are a body of Believers that are truly in love with our Lord. The second part of their mission is to make
Jesus known- they take the great commission of Christ very seriously and stay vigilant when it comes to the good
news of God.
New Life Deliverance Worship Center www.newlifedeliveranceworshipcenter.com
Continued on page 27
A Christian View Magazine 19
A Christian View Magazine 20
“Reclaiming Our Families Through Patience, Perseverance, and Prayer.”
Central Baptist Church is a progressive and innova-
tive church family with a theme of “Reclaiming Our
Families Through Patience, Perseverance, and
Prayer.” We have a myriad of talents and gifts within
our church body. We believe in the holistic approach to ministry, and we have over forty ministries to help
the total person. Our church family is friendly and
faithful…and truly the Favor of God is upon us. We
are excited about the vision that God has placed upon
the ministry of this church. God never gives a vision
without making
provisions!
God answered our
prayers, and on January
1, 1997, the Reverend
Ricky Ray Ezell, Sr., became the eighth pastor
of the Central Baptist
Church. Under the lead-
ership of Reverend
Ezell, over forty new
ministries have been
formed to serve and
minister to the members and community. These minis-
tries include our Senior Citizens Ministry, Evangelism
Ministry, Summer Enrichment Program, Youth Bible
Study, Men’s Bible Study, Academic Honors, Com-puter Lab, Endowment Fund, Couples Ministry, Ca-
tering Ministry, Recreation Ministry, Compassion &
Grief Ministry, Health & Wellness Ministry, Veterans
Ministry, Media Ministry, and Respite Ministry.
Membership flourished, and for the first time in Cen-
tral’s history, two Sunday worship services are held to
accommodate members and the community.
Our services are broadcast via streaming video each
Sunday spreading the Gospel on a local and national
level.
The exponential growth of Central Baptist Church in
the last 15 years is truly proof that Central lives on the Word of God and its church theme…“Reclaiming our
Families through Patience, Perseverance and Prayer.”
Reverend Ricky Ray Ezell, Sr., is a native of Fort
Valley, Georgia. He is the son of the late John and
Luchers Robinson Ezell.
He is married to the
former Bernice Gadson of
Barnwell, SC. They are the
proud parents of three
boys, Ricky Jr., Brandon,
and Dorian.
He received his Masters
Degree from the University
of South Carolina in
Criminology with a
concentration in Court
Administration. The
University of South Carolina honored him with a Dis-
tinguished Service Award for his contributions to the
college. He also received his Master of Divinity with
an emphasis in Pastoral Leadership from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South
Carolina. He is presently a student in the Doctor of
Ministry Program at Gordon-Cornwell Theological
Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. His emphasis of
study is Christian Leadership.
Rev. Ezell is a Senior Vice-President with Primerica
Financial Services and a Registered Principal with Met
Life Investors.
A Christian View Magazine 21
During the month of October Central Baptist Church recognizes and honors
their senior citizens. There are approximately one hundred senior citizens, age
65 and over. Central has special events and programs for them so that they will
continue to feel special and know that they are not forgotten. Some of the
activities include: a Seniors Citizens Prom; a Bahamas cruise; a shopping trip to Atlanta; Movie nights; a trip to the Holy Land in Florida; an annual trip to
the South Carolina State Fair and more, they believe in treating their seniors
special.
Pastor Ezell and the Central Baptist family are looking down the road in plan-
ning economic development projects in the community, there are plans in the
making for a banquet and conference center, an educational facility partnering with the school system in providing
GED programs and education for the less fortunate in the area.
Pastor Ezell served for 4 years as the modera-
tor of the Gethsemane Association in Colum-
bia South Carolina. He is presently serving on the board of directors at Morris College.
He said “ I am very thankful for our church
family, God has blessed us with a very pro-
gressive church family, that’s willing and
receptive to receive change. I’m thankful for leaders who are willing to support leadership and I’m very thankful to
the community as a whole; they have been very embracing to Central.”
We do a Christmas event every year where we adopt over 50 families and provide all the recourses for those fami-
lies. It has cost in the past up to $70,000, and its all through donations. This year we will have Christmas at Central
where we will have our Christmas choir to perform. We will have all of the special recipients seated at 50 special tables, every table will have a family name, and each family will have filled out a
special request form.
The first lady of Central is the former Bernice Gadson from Barnwell SC. She came
from a family of preachers, her grandfather was a preacher, his father was a preacher,
her father was a preacher and she has two brothers that are pastors. “When she married
me, I wasn't a preacher but when she married me she fell in that line again”.
History of the church
Visionaries John Boles and John Chapman saw a need to bring God’s people together
in worship. In 1932, Deacons Boles and Chapman organized the Central Baptist
Church. Reverend Nixon served as the church’s first pastor holding services in a rented house in what was then called “Science Alley.” The house was later converted into an
open building for worship. Reverend Hooks succeeded Nixon, but it wasn’t until 1935,
under the leadership of Reverend L. M. Hampton, that the first edifice of Central
Baptist Church was built.
The exponential growth of Central Baptist Church in the last 15 years is truly proof
that Central lives on the Word of God and its church theme…“Reclaiming our
Families through Patience, Perseverance and Prayer.”
We have a myriad of talents and gifts within our church body. We believe in the
holistic approach to ministry, and we have over forty ministries to help the total person. Our church family is friendly and faithful…and truly the Favor of God is
upon us. We are excited about the vision that God has placed upon the ministry of
this church. God never gives a vision without making provisions!
A Christian View Magazine 22
In sharing the Gospel with the world, I would be remiss
if I didn't share what happens to those people who die
without having accepted Jesus as their Savior and
continue their path to judgment. What's going to happen
to them? Those people who have died never having
accepting Jesus' salvation have a different destination
from Heaven entirely. They are going to die in their
rebellion, and they have no hope whatsoever. As Jesus
in John 3:36 warned, "God's wrath remains on him."
The following is what's going to happen to them after they die.
1) Hades After an unsaved person dies; they go to a place called
Hades. The Bible also calls it Sheol or Torments. You
can read all about it in Luke 16. Hades is a holding place
for the dead, a prison. It at one time had two
compartments, a place called Paradise and a place called
Torments. The Old Testament Saints used to go to the
Paradise part as they couldn't go to Heaven yet because
Jesus' blood hadn't yet been shed to cover their sins. By
faith they were there as Hebrews explains, but Jesus'
blood finally allowed their freedom and Paradise was taken up to Heaven with Jesus after His crucifixion.
What we have in Hades now is just what is left —
Torments — a place of torment.
2) Judgment At the end of Jesus' Millennial Kingdom, there will be
the Great White Throne Judgment. That's a special name
basically for the Resurrection of the Unjust. We can
read about this final judgment in Revelation 20:11-13:
"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was
seated on it and earth and sky fled from his presence and
there was no place for them. And I saw the dead great and small standing before the throne and the books were
opened. And another book was opened which is the
book of life, the dead were judged according to what
they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up
the dead that were in them and death and Hades gave up
the dead that were in them and each person was judged
according to what he had done."
Those from Hades are going to be judged based on their
works, but without the saving work of Jesus Christ —
the only work that matters, they will be found wanting.
God's the perfect litmus test, and so no matter how good
our works have been, they just cannot add up to God's
standard of perfection. Everyone who tells you that you
can work your way to Heaven is lying to you, because
the Bible says otherwise in Ephesians 2:8-9. Jesus' work
on the cross is the only work that matters, and our re-sponse in faith.
3) Hell
When they are all found guilty, their next and final
destination is a place called Hell. Revelation 20:14-15
explains that awful sentence of condemnation, "Then
death and Hades were thrown into the Lake of Fire." The Lake of Fire is called the Second Death. If anyone's
name was not found written in the books of Life, they
will be thrown into the Lake of Fire.
Misconceptions About Hell
A lot of people have some really false ideas about what
Hell is like. One misconception about Hell for instance
is that Satan is down there stoking the fires and that he's
already there waiting to punish and torment people with
pitchforks. No, Satan doesn't rule Hell. There are no
demons waiting to torment us in Hell.
Actually, believe or not, there is not a single person in
Hell right now. Hell is the punishment created for Satan and his demons. Matthew 25:41 says Hell was created
for them when they rebelled against God. When we re-
belled in sin, that same punishment fell upon us. Hell
was never meant for us, but when we sinned, we fell
under the same judgment as Satan and his followers.
Hell Described
What is Hell actually like?
Is Hell a place where we party down? Is it a place where
it is just a little too warm, but where we hang out with
our old friends? No, Matthew 25:46 tells us it is a place of punishment for rebellion. Punishment is not good,
and so Hell is not a good place.
When The Unsaved Die God says to us all with no exception, "I love you. Come
to me." You can choose to respond to that, or you can
reply with, "No, way!" Those who rejected God's love
will spend eternity regretting that decision.
A Christian View Magazine 23
Hell is where the wrath of God is finally fulfilled. In
John 3:36, we read about the wrath of God. The wrath of
God is whenever God judges the earth in its entirety. We
saw it with the Flood. We will see it poured out at the
Tribulation. God will judge all who have rejected Him at the Second Death. These are demonstrations of God's
wrath.
Hell is called the Second Death in Revelation 21:8. It is
also called Eternal Destruction in 2 Thessalonians 1:9.
Look at the word "eternal." Eternal means just that —
forever destroyed.
With Hell, there is just no escape. Luke 16 says there is
no way out of it. It's not like there can be some fancy
Star Trek episode escape where they hitch a few wires
and the doors open and they always escape. No, it's not
like that in Hell. There is absolutely no way to escape
from Hell. What is Hell physically like? Matthew 25:41 and Reve-
lation 20:15 describe it as a Lake of Fire. Some people
speculate that maybe it is located in the underworld of
our planet, as we see lava flows from a volcano like a
lake. It is described as a place of flames. It's a place of
burning. With all that fire, one would think it would be a
very bright place, but Matthew 8:12 tells us it is a place
of utter darkness. There is no light. No one will get to
see in Hell.
And, the stench of it! Revelation 19:20; 20:10; 21:8 tell
us that Hell stinks. It has a bad smell to it. The people who are sentenced there will be conscious.
They will not be knocked out. They won't be driven so
mad that they won't think about the horrible reality
crushing them. They will have to exist with a conscious
existence as Deuteronomy 18:11 demonstrates, and what
they are consciously aware of is that they chose to sepa-
rate themselves from the Father, as Luke 16 relays. God
says to us all with no exception, "I love you. Come to
me." You can choose to respond to that, or you can re-
ply with, "No, way!" Those who rejected God's love will
spend eternity regretting that decision. Luke 16 says in
Hell you thirst. In Hell there is nothing to quench one's awful, mind-burning thirst.
Revelation 9:2 tells us that Hell is bottomless. There is
no ground to put your feet on. It is a place of continual
falling and falling and never landing. Because of all the
agony and destruction that you feel in Hell, it says in
Matthew 8:12 that there is gnashing of teeth. There will
be nothing from you but weeping and crying with no
comfort and no water to supply your tears. Hell is truly a
place of torment, as Revelation 14 describes. It's an aw-
ful place of torment where you are alone with yourself
possibly forever. You wanted God to leave you alone and so you didn't accept Jesus' salvation, and well, you
got what you wanted.
Living With an Eternal Perspective
Our forever destination is why we need to think about
something bigger than just our life here on earth. Where
the road ends is why we need to have an eternal perspec-
tive, because our life on this earth is really very short,
isn't it? It's just like a breath. And so, it makes sense that
we need to look at the bigger picture in life. You need to know where you are going when you die. Death will
catch up to us usually when we are unaware. Death is
inevitable, unless you are raptured, so live with an eter-
nal perspective. If you live with an eternal perspective,
then everything else in life will make sense. Life will
have purpose.
Your Eternal Decision
An amazing, wonderful, awesome future lays ahead of
us with Jesus Christ! So, what on earth are you doing
that's just so important that you won't grab hold of that
future? What sins are you committing that are so tempo-
rarily enjoyable that you wish to stay here, when you've got so much better ahead of you in Heaven? Think of
the future that you have. Don’t write Hell off as not a
real place. Turn to Jesus right now and ask Him to
forgive you of your sins and be your Savior.
A Christian View Magazine 24
Did you know about the
Georgia Guidestones?
The Georgia Guidestones is a granite monument in
Elbert County, Georgia, USA. A message clearly con-
veying a set of ten guidelines is inscribed on the struc-
ture in eight modern languages, and a shorter message is
inscribed at the top of the structure in four ancient lan-guages' scripts: Babylonian, Classical Greek, Sanskrit
and Egyptian hieroglyphs. The structure is sometimes
referred to as an "American Stonehenge."The monument
is 19 feet 3 inches tall, made from six granite slabs
weighing 237,746 pounds in all. One slab stands in the
center, with four arranged
around it. A capstone lies on
top of the five slabs, which
are astronomically aligned.
An additional stone tablet,
which is set in the ground a
short distance to the west of the structure, provides some
notes on the history and pur-
pose of the Guidestones.
In June 1979, an unknown
person or persons under the
pseudonym R. C. Christian
hired Elberton Granite
Finishing Company to build
the structure.
Inscriptions: A message consisting of a set of ten
guidelines or principles is engraved on the Georgia
Guidestones in eight different languages, one language
on each face of the four large upright stones (see photo-
graph of the face with the English version right).
Moving clockwise around the structure from due north,
these languages are: English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi,
Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese and Russian.
The inscriptions read as follows:
1.Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual
balance with nature.
2. Guide reproduction wisely improving fitness
and diversity.
3.Unite humanity with a living new language.
4.Rule passion faith tradition and all things with tempered reason.
5. Protect people and nations with fair laws
and just courts.
6.Let all nations rule internally resolving external
disputes in a world court.
7. Avoid petty laws and useless officials. 8. Balance personal rights with social duties.
9. Prize truth beauty love seeking harmony
with the infinite.
10. Be not a cancer on the earth Leave room for nature,
leave room for nature.
At the center of each tablet edge is a small circle, each
containing a letter representing the appropriate compass
direction (N, S, E, W). At the
top center of the tablet is
written: The Georgia Guide-
stones Center cluster erected
March 22, 1980. Immedi-
ately below this is the outline
of a square, inside which is
written: Let these be guide-
stones to an Age of Reason.
Around the edges of the
square are written the names
of four ancient languages, one per edge. Starting from
the top and proceeding
clockwise, they
are:Babylonian (in cuneiform
script), Classical Greek, Sanskrit
and Ancient Egyptian
(in hieroglyphics).
What do you think about the
stones and their message?
They can in no way replace the
Ten Commandments. One could
even say it was an attempt to
make a reference to a new world
order that some extremist have
been referring to for many years.
Read Exodus 20 for guides that were written in stone a
long time ago. And these guides are called the Ten
Commandments. The original guide in stones.
Not the Ten Commandments, but what do you think?
A Christian View Magazine 25
Pastor White presently serves as the President of the Baptist
General Convention of Virginia and as Vice Moderator of
the Northern Virginia Baptist Association. Pastor White’s
sermon at the 7:45 am anniversary service was “A Pre-
scription for a Leftover Faith” (Micah 6:1-8). The guest
preacher at the 10:45 a.m. service was his first cousin, Rev-
erend Dr. Arthur R. White, pastor of Christ Community
Baptist Church, Philadelphia, PA where he has served for
32 years. His sermon and scriptural text was based on Beth-
lehem’s theme and it's scriptural undergirding found in First
Corinthians 3. Dr. Arthur R. White is also the former Presi-
dent of the Pennsylvania Baptist State Convention.
Dr. Darrell K. White believes that his unique gifts and preparation differs him from the previous six pastors and
their seasons of service. He believes that his gifts from the Lord comes to life in the area of Christian Education
and ministry outreach and that this was the needed area for Bethlehem's next level of spiritual growth. He gives
overwhelming praise to his predecessors and realizes that he is able to see farther down and around the vineyard of
Bethlehem because he is standing on their shoulders. Pastor White believes that each of us show up in our sea-
son of ministry to use gifts that the Lord has equipped us with so that the person coming after can take up what we
lay down and begin where we leave off and move the mission plan to another level of fulfillment. In his case, it
was thirty years ago when he acknowledged the God's call and nearly fifteen years in the assignment as God's
watchman in Bethlehem.
Bethlehem is truly blessed to have such an inspirational ministry and share such a remarkable partnership with the
Lord. God's richest favor and faithfulness over the next 150 years.
Well done Bethlehem and Pastor White!
When I See Jesus Amen (by: Douglas Miller)
I’ve learned how to live holy. I’ve learned how to live right.
I’ve learned how to suffer, for if I Suffer, I’ll gain eternal, eternal life.
But when I see Jesus, amen, When I see Jesus, amen.
All my troubles will all be over, When I see Jesus amen.
When I see Jesus amen, when I see The man who died for me, the one
Who set me free, amen. All my troubles will be over,
When I see Jesus, amen.
Bethlehem continued
A Christian View Magazine 26
Question: "Is it wrong for a Christian husband and
wife to attend separate churches?"
Answer: A husband and a wife attending separate
churches is a situation that is more common than one
might think. It’s also common for the children of such a
couple to be divided between the two churches, thereby
creating a rift in the family that is never healthy. In
order to determine whether or not it is “wrong” for a
husband and wife to attend separate churches, we must
first look at marriage as a relationship instituted by God.
Genesis 2:24 tells us God created man and woman to
become “one flesh” when they marry, not two separate
beings who go their own separate ways. There is a unity
in marriage which is unique and holy. Moreover,
marriage is the picture of Christ and His church
(believers) as described in Ephesians 5:31-32. The
marriage covenant between a man and a woman is
symbolic of the covenant between Christ and those for
whom He died. His is an everlasting covenant and one
that is holy and sacred, just as marriage is to be holy,
sacred and unbroken. This unity of two people into one
reaches its most sacred in the spiritual realm, where the two are to be of one mind regarding the basic doctrines
of Christianity – God, Christ, sin, salvation, heaven/hell,
etc. This unity of understanding through the ministry of
the Holy Spirit unites a husband and wife in a bond
unlike any other on earth.
While it’s possible for a husband and wife to have
differing tastes as far as music, preaching or worship
styles, children’s programs, etc., none of these things are
significant enough to break up the family into two parts
so they can attend different churches based on tastes. It is clear that if both churches are Bible-based and Christ-
honoring, there is no reason why one spouse can’t bend
a little and put his/her personal preferences aside. An
even better alternative is for the couple to join together
to seek a church where the Word of God is preached as
the only guide for faith and practice, where the entire
family can learn the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and
where the family can fellowship with like-minded
believers. In this, the husband, as the spiritual head of
the family, should take the lead and make the final
decision, lovingly taking his wife’s input into
consideration.
Sadly, the two-church family most often crops up in
marriages where one spouse was raised Baptist and the
other was raised in a AME.
Please read the following article: Should Christians of
different denominations date or marry? If a marriage has
already taken place, the couple should strive for spiritual
unity. Two people entrenched in their different doctrinal
positions often find it very difficult to compromise and
reconcile, but with God, all things are possible.
A couple in such a situation may be forced to attend
different churches, especially if one or both spouses
consider the other spouse's beliefs to be unbiblical. In
such a situation, both spouses should commit to praying
that truth be revealed and spiritual unity be achieved.
These doctrinal conflicts must be resolved in a family
before true unity can be achieved. A couple attending
different churches must be willing to hold everything
they are taught up to the light of Scripture and be ready
to discard anything that is contradicted by the Bible. They must “test all things and hold fast to that which is
true” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
A Christian
New Live Deliverance Worship Center
As pastor Desor was reflecting on the awesomeness of
Gods Power and the greatness of His mercy, he wanted all
visitors to know that New Life Deliverance is not your
ordinary church. He emphasized that this worship center is
about growing the Kingdom of God; all are welcomed to
pray there and that at New Life Deliverance, people WILL
be delivered and the spirit of infirmity will be cast out. He
further reminded the congregation that delivered folks are
dangerous folks- the devil doesn’t like that because Satan
knows that he cannot stop Gods’ work. At New Life De-
liverance, they are a very
active group of spirit filled
believers committed to the
preaching of the gospel and
making disciples. All
monies collected through
tithes and offerings go
toward paying bills and
continuing the outreach of
preaching the Gospel of
Jesus Christ our Lord and
Savior through its auxiliary
ministries.
Pastor Desor wanted to thank everyone for their abundant
prayers, faith, belief, and giving to New Life Deliverance.
They will continue to drink from the fountain of truth and
spirit and New Life Deliverance will be known as a
ministry of world changers.
Continued from page 18
A Christian View Magazine 28
History of Sunday school
It was an Englishman by the name of Robert Raikes who first conceived of the idea
to teach underprivileged boys by establishing schools on Sunday since the children had to work during the week.
His intention was to teach them reading, writing and arithmetic. Bible teaching was not a thought when he first got
the idea.
Raikes opened his first school in the kitchen of a home in Gloucester, England, in July of 1780. He hired a Mrs.
Meredith to do the teaching. It was a Baptist deacon named William Fox who introduced the idea of including the Bible in the Sunday schools
of England. Raikes agreed. Thus, the first schools combined both secular and spiritual educations and did so quite
effectively.
This was the birth of the Sunday School. When Robert Raikes died in 1811, there were an estimated 400,000
people attending Sunday schools in Great Britain.
There were also several hundred Sunday schools in the United States. All emphasized Biblical instruction over
reading and writing. However, most taught secular subjects as a means of drawing children and young people to
the Word of God. In fact, by 1820, Sunday school organizers began lobbying for extension of a system of free
daily schools so that they would be free to teach religion alone on Sundays.
Most denominations adopted the Sunday school. The movement continued to grow between 1827 and 1860 as the
value of the Sunday school was discovered.
D. L. Moody was one of the outstanding Sunday school workers of the late 1800s. In less
than one year Moody and his assistants organized schools in all 102 counties of Illinois. During the 20th century,
Sunday school growth increased dramatically. It became a standard ministry of almost every Christian denomina-
tion. Now including all ages, the movement prospered and became the major means whereby generations of
Christians became solidly grounded in the Scriptures. The first 60 years of the 20th century have been called the
"Golden Age of American Sunday Schools."
The 1960s were a tremendous period of change. Most Protestant denominations began to see a decline in their
Sunday school attendances. However, the Baptists were able to go forward with continued growth by changing the
methodologies used to both promote and conduct the schools.
Look at where most of the key
leaders and department heads in
growing churches started – the
Sunday school! Ask most preachers
where they first developed their
abilities to teach – the Sunday
school! The old saying, “use them
or lose them” is true in every aspect.
Working Christians are happy
Christians, fulfilled in their labor
for God.
A Christian View Magazine 29
Jack Hyles, a Baptist pastor in Indiana, introduced the idea of churches purchasing used
school buses to go out and pick up children so as to be brought in for Sunday school. The church he pastored has
seen attendances in excess of 100,000. It is interesting to note that just a century before, D. L. Moody had used
volunteer church members and their wagons to do the same thing. Other pastors and churches saw the success that
Hyles was experiencing with buses and determined to do the same, thanks in part, to Pastor Schools that he spon-
sored each year. As a result, Baptist Sunday schools ignored the decline in the movement and saw their church
attendance sky rocket through the 60s and 70s.
Although, the bus ministry has subsided over the last three decades, the Baptists have continued to see good suc-cess with their schools. They have been very creative in introducing various teaching methods, which have in-
creased the drawing power. From large classes taught by a master teacher to small group classes led by a facilita-
tor, they have learned to adapt to the needs of those who attend their schools, whether they be young children who
are greeted by Muppets on Sundays or well educated adults who are provided with the opportunity to dig deep into
the Word of God.
Even though the movement has waned after 200 years of use, the Baptists see no end in sight. Their Sunday
schools continue to be generally strong and well attended. For all they know, the movement should continue to be
an effective means for teaching their members the Bible for another 200 years, if not more. Did You Know that In 1855, people of color began attending Sunday school at the
Lexington Presbyterian Church in Virginia. Stonewall Jackson himself was the first superintendent of the school.
That’s right , Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson played a role in the implementation and promo-
tion of religion before during and ultimately, after the civil war. As a devote evangelical Christian, he was very
religious and held the position of a deacon in the Presbyterian church. What's not spoken of
much in his biography is his charitable efforts on behalf of local African Americans, including the rarely discussed establishment of the first black Sunday school in Lexington, Virginia.
As devout Christians, the Jackson family fervently believed that all people were welcomed at
the Lord’s Table regardless of their race or social stature. As a result, he and his wife were in-
strumental in the organization, in 1855 of exclusive Sunday School classes for blacks at the
Presbyterian Church. Eventually the Sunday School grew beyond the allotted facilities and
ultimately blossomed into new churches for African-Americans. In this regard, we can see how
the evangelical white Christian slave owner had a positive influence on the spiritual education
of those held in captivity. As a result, many ex-slaves became preachers themselves and were
later responsible for some of the largest religious revivals that followed the south’s surrender.
Katy Ferguson In 1793, when she was little more than a child herself, Katy started a Sun-
day school. She took forty-eight children into her home once a week to give them lessons in scripture and in the practical skills of life. She also did her
best to find them homes.
Soon, the pastor of her own church, Dr. John M. Mason, heard about her
work and offered her space in his basement. He also provided assistants who could provide the basic education that she, still unable to read and
write, could not. Under Ferguson's supervision, the Murray Street Sabbath
School continued for forty years. It was New York's first Sunday School.
Katy Ferguson died of cholera in New York in 1854. In 1920, the city of New York
opened a home for unwed mothers and named it the Katy Ferguson Home.
A Christian View Magazine 30
The Reflection There were once two men, both seriously ill, in the same small room of a great hospital. Quite a small room, just large enough for the pair of them - two beds, two bedside lockers, a door opening on the hall, and one window looking out on the world. One of the men, as part of his treatment, was allowed to sit up in bed for an hour in the afternoon, (something that had to do with draining the fluid from his lungs) and his bed was next to the window.
But the other man had to spend all his time flat on his back - and both of them had to be kept quiet and still. Which was the reason they were in the small room by themselves, and they were grateful for peace and privacy - none of the bustle and clatter and prying eyes of the general ward for them. Of course, one of the disadvantages of their condition was that they weren't allowed much to do: no read-ing, no radio, certainly no television - they just had to keep quiet and still, just the two of them.
They used to talk for hours and hours - about their wives, their children, their homes their former jobs, their hobbies, their childhood, what they did during the war, where they had been on vacations - all that sort of thing. Every afternoon, when the man in the bed next to the window was propped up for his hour, he would pass the time by describing what he could see outside. And the other man began to live for those hours.
The window apparently overlooked a park with a lake where there were ducks and swans, children throwing them bread and sailing model boats, and young lovers walking hand in hand beneath the trees. And there were flowers and stretches of grass and games of softball, people taking their ease in the sunshine, and right at the back, behind the fringe of the tress, a fine view of the city sky-line.
The man on his back would listen to all of this, en-joying every minute how a child nearly fell into the lake, how beautiful the girls were in their summer dresses, and then an exciting ball game, or a boy playing with his puppy. It got to the place that he could almost see what was happening outside.
Then one fine afternoon, when there was some sort of parade, the thought struck him: Why should the man next to the window have all the pleasure of seeing what was going on? Why shouldn't he get the chance? He felt ashamed and tried not to think like that, but the more he tried, the worse he wanted to change. He'd do anything! In a few days he had turned sour. He should be by the window. And he brooded and couldn't sleep, and grew even more seriously ill - which none of the doctors un-derstood.
One night, as he stared at the ceiling, the other man (the man next to the window) suddenly woke up coughing and choking, the fluid congesting in his lungs, his hands groping for the button that would bring the night nurse running. But the man contin-ued to stare at the ceiling.
In the morning, the day nurse came in with water for their baths and found the other man dead. They took away his body, quietly, no fuss. As soon as it seemed decent, the man asked if he could be moved to the bed next to the window. And they moved him, tucked him in, and made him quite comfortable, and left him alone to be quiet and still.
The minute they'd gone, he propped himself up on one elbow, painfully and laboriously, and looked out the window. It faced a blank wall. Taken from "Growing Deep - Exploring the Roots of Our Faith", by Charles R. Swindoll.
A Christian View Magazine 31
Close to, round about,
or nearby! One Sunday, the Minister was
giving a sermon on baptism and in the coarse of his sermon he was illustrating the fact that baptism
should take place by sprinkling and not by immer-sion. He pointed out some instances in the Bible. He said that when John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the
River Jordan, it didn't mean in - it meant close to, round about, or nearby.
And again when it says in the Bible that Phillip baptized the eunuch in the river, it didn't mean
in - it meant close to, round about, or nearby. After the service, a man came up to the minister and told him it was a great sermon, one of the best he had
ever heard, and that it had cleared up a great many mysteries he had encountered in the Bible.
"For instance," he said, "the story about Jonah get-ting swallowed by the whale has always bothered me. Now I know that Jonah wasn't really in the whale, but close to, round about, or nearby, swim-ming in the water. Then there is the story about the three young Hebrew boys who were thrown into a the
furious furnace, but were not burned. Now I see that they were not really in the fire, just close to, round about, or nearby, just keeping warm. But the hardest of all the stories for me to believe has al-ways been the story of Daniel getting thrown into the lions’ den. But now I see that he wasn't really in the lions' den, but close to, round about, or nearby, like at the zoo.
The revealing of these mysteries have been a real comfort to me because I am a wicked man. Now I am gratified to know that I won't be in Hell, but close to, round about, or nearby. And next Sunday, I won't have to be in church, just close to, round about, or nearby. thanks. You have really put my mind at ease.
A Christian View Magazine 32
A Christian View Magazine 33
Arts A Night Of The Host Christian Comedian Corie Johnson, spoken word artist Virtuous, Mime
Ministry performers True Mime, Gospel Rapper Z Chris Zimmerman, Grace
Cathedral Praise Dance Team, Jeffrey Lampkin & Company, and special guest
Joshua Rogers the 2012 Sunday’s Best Winner, were all the featured artists pre-
sented at “A Night Of The Arts” by House Of Judah Worship Center, located in Columbia SC.
Jemal Cobb is the pastor of House of Judah Worship Center located at 1634 Van
Heise St. in Columbia and this was an event that the Lord had place in his heart to
do. Night of the arts is part of the church’s second year anniversary. Pastor Cobb
has his ministry set up in compartments such as: helps, outreach, developmental,
and then arts. Arts refers to praise dancers, mime ministry, choirs etc.
Joshua Rogers was brought in to headline the event, and other local artist to
participate, and fill in the night. The night started out slow but the Keenan High
School Auditorium quickly filled as guest began to arrive.
Pastor Cobb said “Joshua Rogers anointing appeals to the young folks and his
anointing appeals to the older generation as well”. He went on to say “this type of
concert kind of mirrors our image, because we kind of cater to the young folks.
And you know that the word has no age”.
There was no award or recognition given at this event. It was just a night of praise.
Pastor Cobb would like for the readers of ACVM to know that House of Judah
Worship Center offers biblical solutions to practical problems and that they’re
here for everybody-they are a relationship church.
Tory Weldon is the director of True Mime Ministry out of Summerville SC and he attends Mt. Pisgah AME Ridgeville SC. He wants to say to the young people to
stay prayed up and not leave the way they came.
All of the performers were
awesome, Joshua Rogers did
not disappoint with those high
notes and anointed songs.
Congratulations to Pastor Cobb
for an very nice event. And for
his first time it was outstanding.
We hope to attend next year.
A Christian View Magazine 35