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THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 1996
12A
RELIGION
Ministers preaches gospel to Generation X
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The
Rev. Sammy Rodriguez Jr.
stood at center stage in the
Scottish Rite Cathedral in
Allentown, microphone in
hand, moussed hair and boy
ish face shiny with sweat, and
exhorted 846 Latino teen
agers and young adults to
evangelize.
Drive into Pemberton or
Cumberland Gardens housing
projects at midnight or 1 a.m.,
he said.
Drive right up to people sell
ing drugs. Roll down the win
dow. Stretch out your hands
in prayer. Urge the dealers to
give up drugs.
“We need to fight physical
violence with spiritual vio
lence," Rodriguez, 26,
implored during the second
annual Pentecostal Youth
Congress on the night before
Easter. “If they take out their
9mm Beretta, we take out our
66mm King James Bible."
The crowd roared its
approval.
Rodriguez Liberty High
School teacher, Whitehall res
ident and ordained minister of
the Assemblies of God is a ris
ing young preacher of the
Pentecostal church's
Generation X.
He had just pumped up the
young Latinos, taken them to
another level of spiritual and
emotional rapture, just when
it seemed they could go no
higher.
Rodriguez seized the
moment like a starving man
grabs bread, driving home the
message with a style that
mixed Jesse Jackson cadences
with “gangsta rap" images.
Nothing can put out the fire
of the Holy Spirit, he
preached, speaking alternate
ly in Spanish and English.
But Christianity isn't easy, he
said. Many let the fire go out.
“When the fire flows out, it
hiuds, it purifies," he warned.
Rodriguez invited the teens
and 20-somethings to come
forward if they were in need of
prayer.
Dozens rushed from the
rows of auditorium seats and
pressed against the stage like
fans at a rock concert.
Ministers waded into the
crowd, putting their hands on
heads and praying briefly
before moving to the next per
son. Many of those prayed
over collapsed onto the red-
carpeted floor or went into
spiritual spasms a manifesta
tion, Pentecostals believe, of
the Holy Spirit's presence.
“Let the fire come down,"
Rodriguez screamed as the
entire auditorium gyrated to
Latin-beat music.
“It feels so good," said
Jannelis Sanjurjo, 16, of
Allentown, who had collapsed
to the floor in her navy blue
skirt and long-sleeved white
blouse. “When I have prob
lems, I feel he lifts me up."
Rodriguez was born in
Newark, N.J., to parents who
had immigrated from Puerto
Rico in the early 1960s. His
father, whom Rodriguez
described as an “old-fashioned
traditional American" and his
prime inspiration, moved the
family to the Lehigh Valley so
he could work on the assembly
line at Mack Trucks Co. The
family spoke Spanish, but
Rodriguez could only under-
See MINISTER page 13A
Stand Arm at
task assigned
by God
Devotional Reading:
Hebrews 12:1-11
Lesson Scripture: Isaiah
50:1-11
Our world is full of fleeing
people. Rather than face life's
challenges and endure life's
hardships they run from
them. "Move on" is their motto
- to a new school, new job, a
new tovra, a new "life."
In striking contrast to this
fleeing spirit stand the strong
words of Nehemiah, the wall
builder of old Jerusalem:
"Should such a man as I flee?"
(Nehemiah 6:11). These words
were offered in response to a
threat raised against him by
the enemies of God's people.
Wanting no strong Jerusalem
they resisted all of his efforts
to reconstruct its walls.
Refusing to be distracted by
their interruptions or deterred
by their opposition, Nehemiah
remained true to his calling
and completed the task that
God assigned him. Aware of
who he was and, more impor
tantly, of who God was,
Nehemiah simply refused to
quit.
This same spirit of faithful
devotion to God's calling was
displayed by the servant of
the Lord in today’s text. In
spite of rejection and persecu
tion, the servant was deter
mined to see his task through
to the end God desired.
The third of the four
"Servant Songs" of Isaiah is
the subject of this lesson.
Though the speaker in this
song is not identified, the lan
guage and context suggest
that he is the "servant" of the
previous two songs (42:1-4;
49:1-6). As noted in the two
previous lessons, there is
some debate over who the ser
vant is in these texts. The
broader context of Isaiah 40-
55 favors an interpretation
that the title "servant" refers
to the nation of Israel (see
41:8, 44:2. 21; 45:4; 48:20;
49:3) or, more particularly, to
that generation of penitent
Judean exiles who obediently
endured the suffering of the
Babylonian captivity and
became the faithful remnant
from whom God would rebuild
His nation (see Isaiah 10:20-
22). This particular song
begins to explore the servant's
faithfulness to his calling in
spite of persecution from those
who opposed him.
Shopping for greeting cards
can take a long time. One rea
son is that many cards make
interesting reading; more
important, however, searching
for just the right verse or sen
timent to fit the recipient and
the occasion deserves careful
consideration. And that trans
lates into time.
Saying the right words to
the right person at the right
time is a gift. Friends with
that kind of intuition and ini-
See SUNDAY page 13A
Local choir
to host retreat
By Andrea R. Richards
THE CHARLOTTE POST
I n an effort to help some adults develop better relation
ships, a local church is sponsoring a Christian retreat for
singles and married couples Feb. 9-10.
The Voices of Faith Choir of Third Creek Baptist
Church in Stony Point will host the event at McDonald’s
Inn. The retreat is titled “Unifying the Black Community
through Building Stronger Relationships,” and it will offer sev
eral workshops covering a range of topics, including physical fit
ness, finances, dating and character building.
“The purpose of the retreat is to build strong Christian rela
tionship skills,” said Michaell Parker, a member of the planning
committee. “Learning how to develop different relation
ships is really needed in African American communi
ties.”
The choir has been planning the retreat for about three
months, and they expect about 80 participants.
‘This is our first event of this type,” Parker said. “There
will be lots of fun activities. Friday will begin with a reception
to act as an ice breaker. Then, Saturday will consist of work
shops and discussions about God’s plan for oneness in marriage,
the Million Man March, the movie “Waiting to Exhale” and
brainstorming as to where we go from here.”
Judy Wiggins, a member of the retreat planning committee,
said she is excited to be a part of this experience.
“The retreat is a wonderful way to network with others.
We have four outstanding speakers for the retreat who
have professional and personal life experiences to share,”
she said.
Speakers include the Rev. E.B. Wilkerson of Friendship
Baptist Church in Hickory, the Rev. Darryl McConnell of First
Baptist Church, Kathy Leach of Kathy Leach Realty and
licensed beautician Leslie Morrison.
Registration cost for the retreat is $60 for singles, and $80 for
married couples. To attend only the workshops, the cost is $30
for singles and $50 for couples. For more information, call
528-3543.
Black churches form
economic coalition
By Brian Witte
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - Five black
religious groups unveiled a
new company Monday that
will pool the purchasing power
of black consumers to give
them greater access to a wide
variety of goods and services.
Leaders of the for-profit com
pany, Revelation Corp. of
America, said the aim is to
help black consumers acquire
home mortgage loans, life and
auto insurance, food products
and durable goods.
E. Edward Jones, of the
National Baptist Convention
of America Inc. and head of
the new corporation, called
the company "a mechanism to
bring economic empowerment
and development to the black
community through the lead
ership of the black church.”
Revelation, based in
Memphis, Tenn., hopes to
reach 20 million members in
43,000 churches nationwide.
Backers hoped to have
Revelation up and running
before spring.
Members of the five denomi
nations will be able to buy
products from businesses that
will be chosen by Revelation
Corp. Other groups also can
take part in the program.
The companies will offer
rebates in bids to have "prod
uct exclusivity” with the mem
bers of Revelation Corp., said
John Lowery, executive vice
president of Revelation and
president of Lowery-Riggan
Co., which owns 30 percent of
the new venture.
"Rather than purchasing
everyone’s green bean in a
grocery store, we will pur
chase a specific green bean
based on the discount for the
consumer and rebate back to
our organization,” Lowery
said.
Members will be able to call
£m 800 number and make pur
chases through a catalog.
Thirty percent of the rebate of
each purchase will go to the
church’s community, Lowery
said, and the rest to a nation
wide housing fund for minori
ty neighborhoods.
The five denominations that
formed the company are the
African Methodist Episcopal
Zion Church, Christian
Methodist Episcopal Church,
National Baptist Convention
of America Inc., National
Baptist Convention USA Inc.
and Progressive National
Baptist Convention Inc.
Eye on Gospel
Swaa long? With four
Stellar Award- for his lur'ent
release, ''Show UpU the star-
studded night at the Ilth
Annual Siollur Awards
lielnnKed lo John P Kll-, but
the an-ypar old recording sruel
who IS also the diretlnr and
founder of tho New Life
Cummuut/ Choir, now says thp
prqiecl was more on the lines of
his swan song
Naw Life is getting older
now," declares Kea We caat
run lifca we used to. so we're
■ me more project end tt
bo the last aibum for
New Life Community Choir.
Wo'll stay in the industry in
soflui other ereas.” f think I'm
gonqi to Ibcue more on bringing
For the moment, Kee is pro
ducing some of the cuts for the
forihruming dthut ridca-G iit
Mu.JCi' b Br.uii Wils .11 a 1 i
yvur-old chiid prodigy who ha.-,
garnered a great df a. of iiLt'-n-
tioR from gnsppl insiders mcr
the last two yean. Kee is more
than honest about his .lisap-
the laiei-t release tnim Vari-b.SB
BeH-Armstnmg, The Secn^ le
Out”’ which he produced^
attributing part of ita poet
ehewlH^ ha ntm^tplace to
However, ho says, I m not
blown away by it I think il‘a
going te work oat." Plana
regarding hib own solo corear
«ra np.in the ah,
bat kte’e not etdih^ ridStg 0^
another solo recording. "As of
right now," he reports, "1 just
really want to focus m on the
church and my marriage. We've
built a wonderful home. My
•..ids Dgcd 13 and 11, an. groa-
ing, and we're ail real hap{^.“
The iingei pn,davr via-, qui
etly wed on Dec. 23 to longUme
gir’lniid FelKt bampioi The
louplc .s now II. ihe r.idu. of
building a church on some
recently acquired i.ii.d ir. his
homf ba.Je of Charlotte whf vp
he intends to preach But f..r all
of Kce E retirement p’ai.*-, i‘e*t
mmdih 'Variiy Records is set to
release. Sund For HolinesB
the loteit priijoct from hi«
Victory In Praise Senunar
C2»ir- A cnscqpt video was t
on New Year's day
Switching gears; Having
established himself in the
gospel music scene, dynamic
newcomer William Becton -
whose debtd album just recent
ly earned him two Stellar
Awards - is turning his ener-
gie" w producirg It i- a move
that he thinks should come as
tVilliam Bccu'o is a producer,
arranger, secondary Singer,” he
reveals. "That is what I ant.
Incereound signed a wntet^pvo-
duc^, ^Broken' was done on my
.jwn per-i!ipl rccoid labt.!, WtB
Rjciirdi-. My singers were nil
-signed ID my company Mv
vision is doing prt^ects for
them.” The next project, howev
er. will be hie own. Four songs
are already completed. The pro
ject is doe in August.
Briefly: Darfy Coley, who just
finished work as one of the pro
ducers on Lawrence Matthewe
forthcoming project from
Gu«uul', ntr c, is now p-cpprig
:■ r album number six The prn-
jeet, marking his last ccmtractu-
al effort for Sparrow, will be
recorded 'and ndcolaped l.ve
in Nashville on Feb. 18. The
sesrion will double as the open
er fur Bobby Jool- Annul
Gospel Explosion, Feb. 15-17 at
the Termsesee Performing Arts
Center-.And Witness just com
pleted riieir eeventh project, "A
Song In The Night," which is
being slated for a spring release
on Recorda