SEJ-BMCR 53rd Annual Banquet Sermon The Reverend Doctor Kevin R. Murriel "Making the Shift Happen"

5 Night 5 Church Lake City Revival Title Love is Fried Chicken

Tuesday Night 3: Rev. Amiri B Hooker at Greater St James AME  Scripture: Romans 12:9-10 Theme: “Living in Love and Harmony” "Title "Love is Fried Chicken" Theme Overview: On this night, explore the teachings on genuine love and living in harmony with one another. Challenge participants to embrace diversity, treat one another with respect, and cultivate an atmosphere of love within the community. The theme "Transformed Living" draws inspiration from Romans chapters 11 to 14, focusing on the Apostle Paul's teachings on God's mercy, living in harmony, and offering our lives as living sacrifices. This citywide revival aims to ignite a transformational journey within each individual, community, and the city of Lake City at large. The Message 9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.   Tonight, we gather here to delve into a profound theme - "Living in Love and Harmony.". Let’s shorten that and use instead Love is Fried Chicken. Our scripture passage, Romans 12:9-10, speaks directly to the essence of love, and we will explore this theme in the context of Black Liberation Theology. Let us challenge ourselves to embrace self-love, treat one another with love, and cultivate an atmosphere of love all around Lake City.   In today's society, it can indeed be challenging to see the love we should have for one another. We find ourselves in a world marked by division, polarization, and a seemingly endless stream of conflict. It can be disheartening, but it is precisely in these trying times that we must lean on our faith and persevere in our commitment to love.   Love is not just an emotion; it's a moral and ethical obligation. It's the force that should drive us to challenge injustice, fight for equality, and stand up for the marginalized. It compels us to engage in the work of justice and reconciliation, even when it feels difficult or uncomfortable.   In a society where we witness division and hatred, our love must be a counterforce. It's a love that stands up against racism, inequality, and all forms of discrimination. It's a love that seeks to heal the wounds of our communities and bind us together as a people.

SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR A Casting Your Cares On Jesus

Casting Your Cares    1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. 5:8 Discipline yourselves, and keep alert. Like a roaring lion, your adversary, the devil, prowls around, looking for someone to devour.  Sermon: “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you” (I Peter 5:7 NRSV). How many times have you heard that?    How many times have you said it, or something like it?  Leave your worries at the foot of the cross, for example.  Give it over to Jesus.    There are lots of different ways to say this fairly simple idea. We hear it and say it all the time.    But here’s the real question – “How do you do it?”  How do we surrender ALL?   Digging a little deeper, we find a number of things in the text from 1 Peter that might help us understand what he is calling us to do and understand.    1 God is bigger than just your stuff.  The word that in so many translations is rendered as “anxiety,” but in the King James Version as “care” is, in fact, singular.  The Text better reads Cast all the stuff that has Us  worried and  Us anxious to the feet of the Cross.  Or maybe even Stop worrying about the Republican and democrats the Proud Boys and Christian Nationalists and Revive your prayer life. We can stop worrying about the governor in Florida and our governor here in South Carolina who said this week at the GOP Convention knowing the history of SC. McMaster repeating one of his favorite GOP lines: "I look forward to the day that democrats are so rare, we have to hunt them with dogs."   Stop trying to make the racial hatred, the size shaming, the LGBTQ hatred, about you. They don’t even know you they are hating Us. They are hating the collective they don’t hate you because you are black, they have been taught sometimes by their church to hate all black, all immigrants, to hate all indigenous people.  2. Power is the realization of Faith without Fear. It You Believe that God can Act through the portal of holy Ghost Prayer and Spiritual Action.   Peter isn’t suggesting that we should stop caring; the verse itself speaks of how much Jesus cares.    He suggests instead that we should stop worrying.    He is remembering, no doubt, when Jesus said the very same thing: “Do not be anxious.”   Black Americans have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic. This has been compounded by the tragic deaths of Black men and women — lives cut short at the hands of police and vigilantes. Thus as a church and as a community these days we have some collective cares and or collective anxiousness.   Ahmaud Arbery shot while jogging. Breonna Taylor killed in her home. George Floyd suffocated as the world watched. Rayshard Brooks asleep in a Wendy’s parking lot. Robert Fuller found hung from a tree in Palmdale, Calif. We lament the Black lives lost, past and present.   Repeated trauma and stress have real effects on health, both physical and mental. Though the dialogue surrounding mental health is changing, it’s often it is still considered a taboo subject in the Black community. Navigating the intersections of Black identity has always been layered and complex.

Tuesday Sankofa Forum Martin Luther King Jr Legacy of Liberation Theology and the Movement

Ok this is a Full  conversation in two parts. This is a  look at King’s doctrine. His influence by liberation theology and his  system of doctrine that places great importance on social justice and reform as a part of the gospel message. The first is between Rev Dr Harry Singleton Professor University of South Carolina who is both a theologian and ordained minister an engages in both academia and the community, state, and nation by writings and speeches, TV apperiences and Podcase. The major objective of this dicussion is to have a  public theological dialogue that will minimize religious intolerance and promote human liberation in all dimensions of existence of liberation theology and Dr. King Hosted by Baba Derrick Jackson host and Pastor of KRST Temple in Columbia SC and one of the leaders in the national Sankofa Rites of Passage Project {Project Sankofa: A Rites of Passage Program is about going back and reclaiming traditions of the past in order to establish new standards of normalcy. A paradigm shift is required, and it must begin in the minds of the youth who will be given new standards of excellence to model. Rites of Passage programs are designed to accomplish that objective.} and leader in thought. Section two brings on Karen Startks Now known as Za Rah Who is   A VISIONARY,  THINKER, Daughter, Sister, Niece,  Friend, WOMANIST, Writer, Ordained Minister, Teacher, Urban Planner, Community Organizer, Singer, Disciple of Christ, Friend of GOD, Lover of all things AFRICAN, I work/pray/hope for the eradication of systemic evils. all this conversation involves Rev Hooker as a repersentative of the traditional Black Church.

Summit on the Black Church South Carolina Messages from Rev. Dr. Michael L. Bowie, Jr. Shifts and other Realities in the Black Church

Dr. Bowie has introduced to the SB21 work the Black Church Matters Program with the program the hope is to Experience Vitality, Health, and Empowered Ministry Dr. Bowie is pushing us to Get on board with the Black Church Matters (BCM), a movement to help congregations thrive. We want to help your ministry optimize its effectiveness with our 3 R strategy, ReImagine, ReVitalize, RePurpose. On July 1, 2014, Dr. Michael L. Bowie, Jr. was appointed to St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church in Dallas Texas. He is currently serving his sixth year as Senior Pastor. St. Luke’s vision is…St. Luke is called to be guided by the Holy Spirit. We are prophetic voices that will transform lives by becoming a Christ-centered, Justice-driven, Kingdomminded community pursuing excellence in all we do. Since Dr. Bowie’s arrival, the church has experienced momentum in every facet of ministry. Due to their renewed excitement, members are reengaging, reconnecting and recommitting to St. Luke’s vision. In the first few months, Dr. Bowie’s preaching, teaching and casting visions increased St. Luke’s attendance by 38%. With the use of technology and the addition of social media, members are more engaged in the ministries of the church. Dr. Bowie cast a vision that inspired the leadership to identify, equip and develop new leaders to serve in various roles within the church. The Zan Wesley Holmes Servant Leader Institute deployed more than 90 leaders who are now prepared, and 35% are serving. St. Luke remains committed to providing ministries that impact the lives of children, youth, adults, and families in our church and in the community. Outreach/Mission is another primary focus. Every fifth Sunday, more than 200 St. Luke members deploy to the streets of Dallas, meeting the homeless community’s needs. They serve as the hands and feet of Jesus locally. And globally, Dr. Bowie has led two mission trips to Cuba and one to Puerto Rico with more than 75 members participating. Dr. Bowie brings a prophetic anointing to see and cast a vision, the creativity to dream and believe God for the vision’s possibilities, and the boldness and courage to implement the vision.

SEJ-BMCR 53rd Annual Banquet Sermon The Reverend Doctor Kevin R. Murriel "Making the Shift Happen"

The Reverend Doctor Kevin R. Murriel serves as the senior pastor of Cascade United Methodist Church, a multi-site ministry that includes campuses in midtown and southwest Atlanta, Georgia. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Jackson State University, his Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology, and his Doctor of Ministry from Duke University. An insightful preacher, avid reader, and social activist, Dr. Murriel’s research focuses on translating the methods of the Civil Rights Movement into a modern strategy for social justice. In 2018, he was appointed by Dean Jan Love as Assistant Professor in the Practice of Practical Theology and Director of the Black Methodist Seminarian’s Program at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. Dr. Murriel is a community leader and faithfully serves on several boards which include, the Andrew and Walter Young Family YMCA, the North Georgia Board of Ordained Ministry, Murphy–Harpst, The Foundation for Wesley Woods, and The Joseph and Evelyn Lowery Institute. Dr. Murriel is a member of the 100 Black Men of Atlanta and the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2019. For leading innovative change and being a conscious voice for social justice, Gammon Theological Seminary named him as the 2016 Emerging Prophetic Leader. In 2021, he was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers Board of Preachers through Morehouse College, named a Man of Influence by the Atlanta Business League, and inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame. Dr. Murriel is the author of Breaking the Color Barrier: A Vision for Church Growth through Racial Reconciliation. He is married to Dr. Ashleigh Murriel and they are the proud parents of Scarlett Grace and Anderson Blake.