Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / May 20, 2004, edition 1 / Page 13
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5B RELIGION/tCte CtMKUtte Thursday, May 20, 2004 Church-sponsored car wash gives fresh hope to convicts and dropouts Continued from page 8B Three months after Thomas graduated from high school, his mother died of cancer and he went into a deep depression. Also 25, he said, he couldn’t hold a job. Thomas was a kitchen aide, a waiter, a newspaper carrier and worked briefly at a home improvement store. “I quit before I finished the training,” he said. Thomas has been at Diplo mat for two years. “I believe that’s the longest he’s ever held a job, and he’s an excellent worker. We have four training stations and I can put him in any one of those areas _ he knows it all,” said Robert King, Diplomat’s director. Thomas recently took an exam to become a police offi cer. “I can see it, one day I’m going to be an officer.” Pastors Cedric and Joyce Oliver of Embassies of Christ said statistics showing 37.8 percent of Indiana prison inmates are black, while blacks make up only 8.4 per cent of the population, cause them to seek out those with troubled pasts. It is that philosophy that caused Robert King to walk away from his career as a hcensed investment broker. The military veteran joined forces with the Olivers and Embassies of Christ to help improve lives. “I was drawn to this min istry because of what they do outside the church walls,” he said. At the church, King started out with humble beginnings. “I didn’t mind cutting grass and cleaning toilets. The pas tor saw my faithfulness, my staying power.” Now King manages the Diplomat Car Care Center. “Cars is simply the vehicle used to bring the young men in,” he explained. Once on board for work, King says he prays that their lives will never be the same. King starts the day with an 8:15 a.m. prayer call. Employees are prohibited from wearing jewelry, head , scarves or trendy sagging trousers. Crisp, clean uni forms are inspected and con sist of maroon shirts, gray trousers and black boots. Christian music sets the atmosphere. An acronym that spells out professionalism reminds employees of the importance of work ethics like account ability, flexibility, reliability and selflessness. Before the close of business at 5 p.m.. King says employ ees on average wash about 200 cars. Cedric Oliver said it is not a business, but a ministry. He said earnings from Diplomat are cycled back into expenses for equipment and employee pa3Tolls. King said the goal is to pro vide men with life skills. The car care center has four • permanent employees and six transitional workers who ADVERTISEMENT 'W\ THE PROPHETS COLUMN INC. 9626 FELDBANK DRIVE CHARLOTTE, NC, 28216-2131 “LET THEM ALONE” - PART SIX J. M. LITTLE - TEACHER The Lord said in Genesis 6:3; “....My Spirit shall not always strive with man...." The Lord left them alone in Noah’s day and he is leaving the world alone in your day! Just look around you! The clouds of dark judgment are gathering! There is the violence and bloodshed worldwide! It is just as our Lord said it would be. Folks are playing church and going down to hell. You go to church, sing in the choir, teach, preach, and do so-called mission work. But you still live in the same old life, just under a religious covering that covers everything and touches nothing. You and the world walk hand in hand, no line of separation! God’s Word says; “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate...” (II Cor. 6:17). But there is no separation between the church man and the admitted worldling. You go to church on Sunday and act the fool on Monday. An elderly man called to my attention just yesterday that in a certain business “they have no respect for women.” I had to agree with him because what he was saying was true. And that man is a church leader. He has no respect for little children either, showing those pictures of naked people and little children exposed to them. God has left him alone. Friends, you can sit right under the truth and be left alone by God. You don’t have to spend your money on prostitutes for God to leave you alone. If God leaves you alone you have just as much chance of being saved as the Devil and his angels! An unsaved religionist in my family told me recently; “it (hell) was pre pared for the Devil and his angels.” But you had better look and read the Word to see that the Devil and his angels are not the only ones who’ll be there in hell! Over in the Book of Revelation there are listed 8 classes who’ll inhabit the Lake of Fire for all eternity (Rev. 21:8). You can go on believing that only the Devil and his angels will be there but one minute after death you’ll get the greatest shock of your life. To Advertise or Become A PartneACall 704-442-7277 are scheduled to complete the program in six to 12 months. According to Sparks, who has worked at Piplomat since its inception, the center has moved six ex-convicts through the system in the last six years. “For the most part we’re just a group of men trying to get our lives together,” he said. “We’re not all ex-con- victs.” But King said the church prison ministry members keep their eyes open for newly released inmates. “It may look like no one really cares about our young guys in our urban communi- ty-but God Oliver said. does,” Cedric CELEBRATE FRIENDS AND FAMILY DAY AT FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH-WEST! Sunday May 30, 2004 Combined Worship Service - 9:30 AM (New Summer Worship Schedule) A Special Memorial Service will he held to honor those who labored in love and hope as we enter into the new Family Life Center. Call (704) 372-1075 or visit www.FBCWest.org. 1801 Oaklawn Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28216 Dr. Ricky A. Woods, Senior Mmi.ster JOHNSON C. SMITH UNIVERSITY July 1 - July 10, 2004 •- IVIiss the Date: I R.egistration: June 1, 2004 The Johnson C. Smith University Summer School is open to all persons who are eligible in at least one of the following categories: • Persons desiring to take college course for self-improvement * Students completing requirements for degree at JCSU or another institution * In-service teachers who desire to upgrade, renew, or convert their certificates ♦ Veterans eligible under Public Law No. 9-219 of the U.S. Congress to take training in an approved institution. COURSE OFFERINGS Accounting Banking and Finance Biology Liberal Studies Business Administration Management Chemistry Marketing Economics Math Education Political Science Health Education Journalism and Graphic Arts Public Relations Rhetoric Spanish Speech Telecommunications Registration Last Day to Add June 1 June 2 June 7 June il (With Refund) Last Day to Drop (NO Refund) Lai^t Day to Witli^raw Holiday June 18 Final Examinations June 21 July 5 July 8 July 9-10 Special Programs • NAACP Youth Entrepreneurial Institute • Upward Bound • 13th Annual Basketball Camp •NYSP Youth Sports Pnigram Marilyn Sutton-Haywood, Ph.D., Director of Summer School 100 Beatties Ford Road, Charlotte, NC 28216-5398 • Telephone; (7IM)378-1014 • Fax (704)378-3556 • e-mail: nihaywood@jcsu.edu Spirit Flows 0 n F £ R E n C E COflfUBKE HOSTS 2 0 0 4 PASTOR JOHN k REVDEKOTA McCullough Flow in 2004 Friendship Baptist Church 221 W. Bradley Street Gastonia, North Carolina Sunday, June 20th - Friday, June 25th SERVICE BEGINS li;oo a.m. Sunday 6:30 p.m. Mon-Fri • no registra tion fee Pastor Judy Jacobs His Song Ministries Clevetaod. TN Bishop Darryl Brister Beacon Light tnternationai New Orleans. Louisiana Bishop Paul S. Morton Greater St. Steven Full Gospel Baptist Church New Orleans. Louisiana ft A Pastor R.A. Vernon The Word Church Maple H eights. OH Apostle Kim Daniels Spoken Word Ministries Jacksonville. FL Bishop Clarence E. McClendon D.D Church Of The Harvest I nternationai Los Angeles, CA ^uedt p6a^mi6t6 Monday, June 21 Sis. Lisa Kemp Tuesday, June 22 Sis. Shanon Wexelberg Wednesday. June 23 Min. Jacie Betlamey Copeland Thursday, June 24 Sis. Darenda Clark Cole Friday. June 25 Min. Jacie Beiiamey Copeland For Dk^ectlons and More Informatkin Cali (704) 865-9016 Fax (704) 866-9057 Website: www.Fiiendshlpgdstonia.org
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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May 20, 2004, edition 1
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