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http://www.thepost.minclspring.com Cljarlotte 5B RELIGION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1997 Gospel at the Lake Popular Mooresville concert series continues SaUirday. See Church News, page 6B. Sunday School LESSON No proof of wrongdoing, AME pastor rules THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Living In God’s Love The author of this book is the apostle John. He was the brother of James, the son ofZebedee. He and his brother were a very volatile pair - so much so that Jesus called them “Sons of Thunder.” They certainly lived up to this designation when they urged Jesus to call dovm fire on the Samaritan village that had refused to show hospitality to Jesus and his followers. However, their association with Jesus and the power of the gospel changed these men fiom sons of thunder to what Paul called “sons of the light and sons of the day.” James became the first of the apostles to die for his faith. John became the apostle of love, advo cating the practice of Christian love like the love demonstrated by Christ. This verse contains one of the most precious promises of God’s Word: that we will someday see Jesus as he is and will also be like him in that we have a resurrect ed, spiritual body that is fitted for eternal life in Heaven . John savs that this will happen when he appears, referring to the second coming of our Lord. The copiing appearance of Christ is mentioned in every book of the New Tfestament except those with only one chapter: Philemon, 2 and 3 John, and Jude. It appears in the New 'Ibstament 318 times, an average of once in every twenty verses. This hope is the hope expressed in verse 2: that someday we will see Jesus as he is and will be like him. We are striving in this life to be like him in Christian charac- tOT, but we sometimes fail. That is the reason we confess and ask for forgiveness. Such a hope, John tells us, should motivate us to purify our selves as Jesus is pure. While on earth, Jesus was tempted as we are by the sinful conditions around him and yet remained pure. We should seek the same purify. A mother unexpectedly visited her son in his college dormitory and found lewd pictures on the walls. Instead of reprimanding him in front of his fnends, she quietly placed a picture of Jesus on his desk. The next time she returned, the lewd pictures were gone. He said, “Mother, when I saw Jesus, those bad pictures had to go.” Of course, we do not know what Jesus looked like physically, but we can saturate our lives with the stories about him in the Gospels so that we feel that we know him personally. Then his presence is always with us as a companion to help us overcome oiu" tempta tions. This verse says one should puri fy himself This is similar to the phrase in Acts 2:40, when Peter told the multitude to save them selves. Actually they could not save themselves without Christ’s cleansing power, nor can we puri fy ourselves without him. On the other hand, we do save ourselves when we make the deci sion of heart and mind to come to Christ. Peter speaks of purifying ourselves “by obeying the truth” that is, the truth of the gospel. God purifies us when we initially come to the Lord, and he contin ues to purify us as we continually to his will and to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This verse is very loosely trans lated. Literally it says, “Everyone wfeo does sin also does lawless ness, and sin is lawlessness.” Lawlessness, is breaking the law, does not refer to violations of the la^ of Moses, but to a refusal to al$de by any law or moral code. The concept of law is of God, expressing his desire for order and moral purify, whether one speaks on the law of Moses, the law written on the hearts of Gentiles, or the commands to which Jesus referred when he said, “If you love me, you will obey w^iat I command.” GREELEYVILLE, S.C. - More than $300,000 earmarked to rebuild the Mount Zion AME Church after it was torched by Ku Klux Klan arsonists went where it was intended, the church’s new minister said. “I have not found anything that is illeged or wrong,” the Rev. LeRoy Fred said Wednesday after completing an audit of the church’s finances. Questions arose in October when Fred’s predecessor, the Rev. Terrance Mackey, was trans ferred to a larger church in Charleston. The tiny Wlliamsburg County church, which has a regular con gregation of about 40, burned down in June 1995 - one in a series of racially motivated church burnings. President Chnton launched his war on the burning of black churches at the Mount Zion site last year. But the church is broke and in debt despite more than $110,000 in contributions from across the country and grants from the National Council of Churches. Mackey said nothing was done improperly and that the audit bears that out. Mount Zion spent about $120,000 in insurance, $90,000 in loan money and $110,000 in dona tions and grants to rebuild, church officials say. 'The congrega- Season of celebration PHOTO/FILE Members of a westside church have reason to celebrate. Last Sunday, the congregation of Community Outreach Christian Ministries moved into its sanctuary. The church ceiebrated with the Rev. David Chadwick and members of Forest Hill Presbyterian Church. The church is located at 1222 Oaklawn Ave. Lyons’ wife admits to addiction By Jeri Young THE CHARLOTTE POST Deborah Lyons, the wife of embattled Baptist leader the Rev. Henry Lyons, says alcoholism, not jealousy, caused her to set fire to home owned by her husband and another woman. In a statement issued Monday by the National Baptist Convention USA, of which her husband is president, Deborah Lyons claims the media has been “unfair'’ since she set several fires in a home owned by the Rev. Lyons and Bernice Edwards, a convicted felon who served as cor porate media relations director for the convention. According to police reports, Deborah Lyons claimed she set the fires, which caused an estimated $30,000 damage to the $700,000 home, because her hus band was having an affair. She later recanted the statement and has since stated that she was aware of the friendship and busi ness arrangement between Henry Lyons and Edwards. “My actions in setting fire to the house which has become a nation al issue and led to state and feder al investigations of Dr. Lyons and others were purely from an alco holic state and my family had no idea that the media would take this storm of my addiction and use it to begin this horrible night mare,” the statement read. Since the fire, Hemy Lyons’ financial and political dealings have been investigated by the con vention. According to wire reports, the FBI is also conducting an investigation of Edwards which may include Lyons. In the early “903, Edwards was convicted of embezzling $60,000 from a feder ally-funded program for impover ished Afncan American youth. In addition to the home, Lyons and Edwards jointly owned a lux ury car, jewelry, an exclusive resort time share and attempted to purchase a million-doUar home in Charlotte. Last week, Deborah Lyons was at her husband’s side during a 25- minute statement during which he discussed his future. “I am a preacher who made some very serious mistakes in judgment,” Hemy Lyons said. “If I have violated any federal or state laws, it was not my intent. It was also not my intent to do any act or any financial harm to anyone.” In her statement, Deborah Lyons concurred. “There has never been a human being more generous, more thoughtful of others and who has dedicated his life to mak ing life better for others,” she said. “He has never been selective when it comes to someone in need. Be it man, woman or child, he has unselfishly given. To insinuate that the women he has helped were somehow romantically involved with him is ridiculous. “My husband is not a womaniz er, only a giving man who has no limits in trying to to assist others.” Deborah Lyons claims the back lash against her husband, which in addition to investigations, includes at least three attempts by ministers to oust him as head of NBC, were caused by “unfair local media.” Lyons “The St. Petersburg 'Times used media vehicles at its disposal such as the Internet and other copy cat media in other states to assist in the media onslaught of my hus band,” she said. “They’ve twisted eveiy kindness he has ever shovm to others that is deplorable, but not all media have been unfair and have remained unbiased and my feunily and I are grateful for that.” Investigators also allege Henry Lyons may have accepted a $350,00 finm Nigerian military leaders. Neither he or his wife addressed those chaiges. “If the media is surprised that the members of his church and convention are standing steadfast ly behind him, it is only because they have all personally vritnessed his giving personality and many recipients of his generosity,” she said. “We are all stunned and deeply hurt by this abuse. There is no cause for them to continue to place my husband on the front pages of the newspapers and tele vision across America, defaming his actions as unlawful.” Church congress opens annual meeting THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SHREVEPORT, La. - About 300 black leaders will be in Shreveport this week for the Congress of National Black Churches, a coalition of eight major denominations. 'The implications go far beyond church walls: speakers at the three-day meeting which opens TViesday will include leaders in government, business, medicine and other fields. The group met in Charlotte last year. “This affords the Shreveport communify an opportunity to hear some of the greatest minds in America. I hope it will be an impetus for our yoimg people to strive for excellence,” said the Rev. Joe Gant, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church and a member of the local steering committee for the event. Gant said each workshop is sig nificant. “The fastest growing group in HIV infections is black females. That’s something the church has to deal with in a healing way,” he Jordan said. “In welfeue reform, Td love to see a partnership between the state and churches. And in race relations, we have eight denomi nations coming together. If we can do that, we can work across racial lines.” Vernon Jordan, a former National Urban League president who was chairman of President Bill Clinton’s transition board, is the keynote speaker. Other speakers are Hugh Price, president of the National Urban League, and John Hope Franklin, chairman of the President’s Advisory Commission on Race. The Rev. Floyd Flake, who stepped down from his 11-year seat in Congress to devote his time to his New York City church, spoke at a breakfast Monday, before the meeting's official start. “I truly believe we’U come out of this with some resolve to emulate other programs that have worked - or create our own programs,” said Cynthia Hightower-Jenkins, a member of the local steering committee. CNBC also worked with Zondervan, one of the nation’s largest Bible publishers to create the AfHcan American Devotional Bible. Available in a King James version and New International Version, the Bihle features essays by CNBC leaders and laymen from various denominations. tion stiU owes all but one aimual payment on a 10-year, $90,000 rebuilding loan from the Bank of Greeleyville. In October, Mackey said there would have been no questions about where the money went if church members had attended and paid attention at regular finance meetings. Ministry fiUs needs By Leslie Wakulich TULSA WORLD ’TULSA Okla. — A lot of people take 35 cents for granted, said Frank Crownover. For someone without an income, ■ coming up with a quarter and a ■ dime to make a telephone call can present yet another problem in an already stressful life. Many of the residents of Osage Hills Apartments, one of TVilsa’s largest public housing complexes, face similar problems every day. But the light at the end of the tunnel, many say, is an old apart ment unit tucked away in the back of the complex. The tele phone is free for business calls, and there’s always someone behind the desk who’s willing to listen. For 17 years the Osage HiUs Apartments Ministry has been more than just an apartment with pictures of a black Jesus hanging . on the walls and hot coffee for just a dime. “I feel like the ministry saved my life,” Crownover said. After being released from Parkside psy chiatric hospital two months ago, he moved into an apartment at • Osage HiUs. Like many when they first move in, “I didn’t have anything,” he said. The ministry staff managed to find him a chair nd a roll-away bed for his small apartment. He started his life over with a few towels, a wash rag, a plate, some silverware and a couple of drink ing glasses. Disabled, Crownover was no longer able to work and suffered , from severe depression. He had , attempted to take his own life, and if it hadn't been for the help he found at the ministry, “I would have done it again and finished this time,” he said. Lisa Edwards, the executive director of the ministiy, said many people living in public hous- ing suffer from a mental illness. About 90 percent of the approx imately 300 residents at Osage Hills are unemployed. Sister Gabrielle Kocour of the Order of Saint Benedict, the pres ident of the ministry's board of directors, said that even if a lot of the people who live at the complex would work, they probably could n’t hold a job very long because of their limited abilities. Most of them, she said, “live ' hand to mouth” and despite their setbacks, “I think they all have ' dreams.” But at this point in their fives, she said, “they’re on the boti tom rungs.” That’s who the min istry targets: those who need a fnend, a fi'ee bus token, a pat on the back or a ride to the doctor. The ministiy was formed by several churches in 1979 with an apartment unit donated by the Tulsa Housing Authority. Through the years it has survived ; only through donations from the ‘ communify and the hard work of residents who work as volunteers. “If it wasn’t for the ministry, some people wouldn’t eat,” said • Cynthia Tbrres, an employee of ' the ministry. She said usually 30 ' to 40 people show up for the food three times a week. At the end of ' the month, when the food stamps ' are running low, the fines get ’ longer. At least 50 elderly residents five i at Osage Hills and a few of them rely on Edmond to bring their gro ceries to them.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Dec. 11, 1997, edition 1
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