WARSAW-fAISON NEWS WARSAW, N. C.

(l' ~\ 0'J~ MA"R 2 7 ~ 7

~9" ~ews, Warsaw, Ne, Mar. 27, 1997 Rev. Jerry Corbett Shares Advice

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Ebony Males Motivated Exceptional Speaker

The Ebony Males of Duplin County had their monthly meet­ing Sunday, March 23, at 4:00 p.m. They were fortunate to have as their motivational speaker the

. Rev. Jerry Corbett of Warsaw. Rev. Corbett is the pastor of Mt. Sinai Baptist Church in Wallace. There he has pastored for the past five years.

Corbett has been ;l mentor for the Ebony Males ofDuplin County for 2 1/2 years and Sunday he expressed' a sincere interest in continuing his support in what­ever waY. l:le can assist. He wants these males to become productive citizens of society.

The session began by getting acquainted with each other. The speakerbegan by introducing him­self and telling some interesting things about himself. Then he . asked each male to introduce him­selfand tell something interesting about himselfl

His topic was "Falling Down Doesn't Mean Failure."

Since these males are high school students. and their spon­sors have high hopes for these young men to continue their edu­cation to higher le~ing. Rev. Corbett talked with them briefly about the transition from high school to college. He infonned them of the huge step ofresponsi­bility that they have to take. l;!e . \stressed the importance of ac­cepting responsibility for their own actions and learningwhen they go to college the professors will not be as caring and might not ex­press the need for them to work cind do their best. "Lack ofrespon­sibility leads to laxness. Laxne!?s can lead to not reaching your po­tentials," Corbett emphasized.

All the young men share their interest in sports. Re.\'. Corbett assured them that there is noth­ing wrong with sports. However, he told them to always remember that they should be a "student first" and an "athlete second." "Be sure to keep your priorities in the right perspective," he said.

1he speaker shared a touching personal experience that ex­pressed how lack of vision and plan can cause one to fall. It also showed how even though he fell, he did not fail because he got upl He related that when he was 18 and had gotten out ofhigh school, he received a four-yelk scholar­ship to college but-had no vision. He went to college for two years.

These two years were not used wisely. After two years he came home still not sure of what he wanted In life. He had no plans, but he had a mother who believed in him. He recalled quite vividly the Friday night that It happened. His mother pl~dedwith him to go to church with her. But being the young man he was, he had other plans for Friday night. But this was one time she won. He went with his mother to church. "My whole life was changed. I accepted Jesus in my life and Jesus made the difference!" Jerry Corbett as­serted.

He began to study God's Word regularly and let God's Word be­come a part of his life. Things began to make sense in his life. He began to prioritize byputtingJesus first.

He went back to college and majored in theology and gradu­ated No. 1 in his class. Now he works daily pointing people to Jesus Christ, helping o~ers to

eqUip themselves for life, and teaching them that Jesus is the Way.

The speaker let these young men know that even though some of them may have fallen, that does not mean that ~ have failed. They must put their faith in God and succeed. Many times they face hard knocks anctpisappoint­ing times and much more be­cause th.~ir pt'torities ar~ oot in order. '. "

Some good advice was given for the males to carry with them. Each pqint of advice was elabo- • rated upon.

1. Major in a relationship daily with God.

2. Dream now for whatyou want to be later. Irpage. Picture in your mind. Go to the library and begin to work on your dream.

3. Don't be cloned by the sys­tem. Be what you dream to be. No matterhow farfetched itmay seem to others, if it is honest and can help society, do it.

4. Separate yourself from a bad influence. Don't go down with the crowd of negative paths.

5. Excel, succeed, go above and beyond what is expected of you.

6 . Use your creativity, unused energy. expressiveness and tal­ents for the benefit of others.

7. Work hard, be diligent, plan, learn to endure.

'8. Broaden your hOrizons, read. Rev. Corbett closed his session

with a fervent. heart touching prayer.

"We are grateful that this young minister takes time admist his busy schedule to minister to the needs of our young men," said a sponsor for the~Ebony Males or­ganization.