j http://www.thepost.mindspring.com
^\)z Cl)arIotte
10A
RELIGION
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1997'
Choir concert
Queen City Mass Choir to perform. See
Church News page 1 lA.
Sunday
School . ^
LESSON
Board debates changing Bible school ruling
By Estes Thompson
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this next unit if lessons, we
turn to the book of David for
another look at that period of his
tory when Israel was under the
rule of Babylon. This domination
began when Nebuchadnezzar
and his army besieged Jerusalem
and forced King Jehoiakim to sur
render (Daniel 1:1,2). The defeat-
led king was allowed to stay in
'Jerusalem and rule his people,
but he had to pay tribute to
Babylon. At that time only a few
captives were taken await.
Among them were four brave and
faithful young men, who realized
that, although they were now
dweUing in a foreign land, they
StiU had a responsibility to obey
Pod.
; The few captives taken to
Pabylon in 605 B.C. may have
peen used to try to teach King
Jehoiakim a lesson. Perhaps he
would think, twice about rebuild
ing if some of his sons and his
coimtry’s prominent young men
|were held prisoners in Babylon.
Their captivity, however did not
mean punishment, menial work,
or any kind of mistreatment.
They were to be students in a spe
cial “honors” program, and were
to be treated very well.
I The officer sent to select from
the captives was the manager of
|the king’s household and court,
|the chief of his court officials. The
(King James Version here calls
him the master of the king’s
^eunuchs. Many royal attendants
|were emasculated, both to make
[them more submissive and loyal,
land to prevent ant misconduct
jwith ladies of the court. As used
jin the Old Tfestament, however,
(the particular Hebrew word ren-
[dered eunuchs is used to describe
toy royal official, whether he was
{literally a eunuch or not.
I The captives chosen were to be
young men of the upper class:
tom the royal family and the
pobihty, men from the king’s own
{family or otherwise holding high
{places in government
I A careful selection process txxik
place for the most attractive, tal
ented, and capable of the cap-
Jives. Personal appearance was
important in ancient. Babylon as
Well as in our culture! Beyond
that, these men had to be able to
learn new things quickly, to
understand difficult concepts,
and to analyze new situations.
They had to be able to speak in
the Babylonian language and be
familiar with the Babylonian cul
ture. This would qualify them to
to serve in the king’s place as his
advisers.
Obviously Nebuchadnezzar
meant to take the best and
brightest young men of Israel and
make them into highly trained
and loyal Babylonians. Then he
would have among his advisers
some men who were thoroughly
acquainted with.
Hebrew ways of thinking and
acting. Such men would be a
valuable asset in dealing with the
Jews, whom he intended to keep
as a permanent part of his
empire.
Verses 6 and 7 (not in our print
ed text) name four of the Hebrew
students. In order to sever their
ties with their Hebrew heritage
and culture, the prince of the
eimuchs gave them Babylonian
names that contained references
to Babylonian gods. For example,
Daniel’s new name, Belteshazzar
means, “O Bel, protect the king!”
For some reason not explained,
the record continues to call Daniel
by his Hebrew name; but the oth
ers more often are called by their
new names; Shadrachm
Meshach, and Abednego.
Nothing is said about the orga
nization of the “school” attended
by Daniel and his friends, but we
can imagine what it was like.
Probably Nebuchadnezzar had
brought bright young men from
Other conquered countries as well
$s from Judah.
For economic reasons it would
have been wise to house them in
a common residence, feed them in
a common dining room, and teach
(hem in common classrooms as
inuch as their languages would
permit.
CHAPEL HILL - The policy
board that oversees the
University of North Carolina sys
tem says it no longer wants to
vote on exempting bible colleges
from state licensing rules.
Members of the Board of
Governors and the former UNC
system president have said their
votes imply that the board
approves the schools' programs.
Some board members say the law
should be changed.
“It implies that the University
of North Carolina board
approves,” said former system
president C.D. Spangler Jr. dur
ing a discussion at a June board
meeting. The board voted in
September to eliminate the
exemption chore, which is
required by law, to its staff.
But one bible college adminis
trator, Tamra Wood of Vmtage
Bible College in Winston-Salem,
said it's clearly understood that
the exemption isn’t an approval of
the college’s curriculum quality.
...q
Vintage teaches courses hke the
Book of Acts, the Life of Christ,
Dynamics of the Holy Spirit,
Biblical Leadership, Church
Administration, Introduction to
Missions and Bible Prophecy.
“It’s strictly Bible courses,” said
Wood, wife of the interdenomina
tional college’s fovmder. So far this
quarter, 54 students have
Legacy of worship
Throngs of believers gather at the House of Prayer on McDowell Street. Holy Convocation continues through this weekend.
Band competition wiil be heid Saturday at 2 p.m. Baptism is Sunday at 11 a.m. Ciosing worship services begin at 8 p.m.
Sunday. AM events wiii be held at the Mother House of Prayer, 2321 Beatties Ford Road.
Convocation a time for celebration
By Jeri Young
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Every fall for more than 50
years,Charlotte’s black commu
nity lined the streets of
Brooklyn.
They watched as hundreds of
uniformed members of The
United House of Prayer for all
People marched down Brevard,
Caldwell and McDowell
streets.
Nurses and ushers wore
white. Grace Soldiers sporting
navy blue. Brass bands played
“When the Saints Go Marching
In.”
Near the end of the parade
came C.M. “Daddy” Grace, the
charismatic leader and founder
of the House of Prayer.
Surrounded by a bevy of
church members, Grace’s float
slowly wound through down
town to the cheers of thou
sands.
Tb some, Grace was a charla
tan. But to millions of others,
he was a tonic. He was a sight
to behold, his hair blowing in
the breeze, his four-inch rain
bow-painted fingernails flash
ing as his threw candy to the
throngs.
The parades ended 20 years
ago, but the holy week Grace
created still brings thousands
to Charlotte each year for Holy
Convocation - seven days of
healing and renewal for the 4.5
million members of the House
of Prayer for All People.
Charlotte and the surround
ing area boasts 14 Houses of
Prayer. Membership is in the
thousands. Each fall they gath
er to worship and celebrate.
“Convocation comes from a
bibhcal concept,” says Apostle
C.B. Gibson, who heads the
Mother House of Prayer on
Beatties Ford Road. “It’s a cele
bration of God’s goodness and
blessing.”
Although Grace died almost
40 years ago, his traditions are
carried on. Current House of
Prayer Bishop, the Honorable
S.C. Madison, will baptize sev
eral hrmdred believers Sunday.
House of Prayer bands from
arormd the country will per
form Saturday. And of course,
church members will gather to
worship and pray.
“It’s a time to put away all of
the trials and tribulations of
the past 12 months,” Gibson
said. “It’s just a time to give
thanks.”
Htunble beginnings
Grace was on a mission in
1926.
He went from state to state
along the Eastern Seaboard
drumming up support for the
church he formed in 1919 in
Needham, Mass. His was a
simple faith that appealed to
masses of downtrodden blacks,
as charismatic as the man that
brought it. Music and spirited
sermons that left “shouters”
spent in the aisles dominated
Grace’s services.
“I’m a Bible man from the
Bible land,” Grace proclaimed
in a 1957 interview. “I’m
preaching the last and ever
lasting gospel.”
Grace said he appealed to
people because he supplied
something they didn’t have -
hope. The early 1900s were
ripe with religious revivalists.
Father Divine was preaching
in New York. Drew Ah had
begun preaching a black
nationahst rehgion that would
eventually become the Nation
of Islam.
“My people call me Daddy
because I treat them hke a
father,” Grace said in an early
interview.
PHOTOS/PUBLIC LIBRARY OF CHARLOTTE AND MECKLENBURG COUNTY
The McDowell House of Prayer shortly before demolition. The
church was bought by the city for less than $240,000 - almost
$60,000 less than it cost to build it ten years earlier.
In the summer of 1926, Grace
rolled into Charlotte. He
pitched a tent in the heart of
Charlotte’s black community,
near the comer of Third and
Caldwell streets.
“Bishop Grace came teaching
Jesus is soon to come,” Ohvia
Harvell said. “And the people
just started to come.”
Harvell, then in her early
teens, was among the thou
sands who attended the tent
worship services. Raised by her
grandparents, she was looking
for spiritual fulfillment.
There was something special
about him, she said. When
Grace called for believers,
Harvell gave her hand.
“He was a different person,”
Harvell, 86, said. “He just
seemed to be concerned about
the welfare of people. He want
ed to help people. He was just a
father to a lot of people.”
At that time, Grace held
mass baptismals in the “col
ored” swimming pool on
Beatties Ford Roads as well as
in the Catawba River, Harvell
said.
Grace performed miracles
during those services, believers
say. Harvell said she saw them.
“He had us to line up, he
would put his hands on you,”
Harvell said. “You’d be healed.
Crippled people would throw
down their cratches and start
walking. I saw that with my
own eyes.”
Harvell was baptized in a
pool behind Charlotte’s first
House of Prayer on Long
Street. The small wooden
structure was finished in 1927
for less than $200. Church
members erected the building
after spending hours laboring
See GRACE page 11A
enrolled. .---j
Vintage opened in Januaiyi
1996 and offers an associalei
degree in biblical studies and -4*
bachelor’s degree in theology.';
Because the school is exempts
from state licensing rules, it does.^*
n’t have to teach such basics as
English, math and science. The
college, which isn’t accredited, can
offer whatever rehgion courses it
See EXEMPTION page 11A
Baptists
end
alliance 
Controversial deal
with white funeral
home ends
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A
large cemetery corporation has^
pulled out of an alhance with the
National Baptist Convention'
USA and turned over its files tol
Florida prosecutors. I
The Loewen Group, second!
largest operator of cemeteries and{
funeral homes in North America,!
told the convention this month it|
was ending its two-year business!
relationship with the group, the!
St. Petersburg Times reported'
Saturday. •
The conglomerate had paid an'
organization created by the con-i
vention to market cemetery ser-j
vices to the 8.5 miUion convention!
members. {
Pilot projects
in Detroit,
Washington,
D.C., and St.
Petersburg
generated
between $1.5
and $2 rnithon
in sales since
1995, the
newspaper
said it learned
from an
uimamed convention official.
.’’j;
The Rev. Henry Lyons, under;
fire for personal and financiq!)
transactions, is president of the
convention and survived severM
attempts to oust him at the
group's armual meeting earlier
this month.
“We have been reviewing t|l6
whole program, and we have
basically made the decision that
we don’t want to continue,” said
David A. Laundy a spokesman for
Loewen in Vancouver, British
Columbia. “Our position is that
because of the investigation that
has been undertaken by the
(Pinellas County) State Attorney’s
Office, we’re not going to be in a
position to say much. I can tell
you that we have terminated the
agreement,” Laundy told the
Times.
Laundy told the convention of
the decision at the Denver meet
ing, he said in a letter dated Sept:
5, the last day of the convention
meeting. O
Laundy said Loewen has beeS
asked by prosecutors to “supply
documentation and information”
about the arrangement as part of
an ongoing criminal investigation
of Lyons.
He said the company has coop
erated fully with authorities. : i)
The deal with the white-owned
Loewen group had been contnfc
versial for Lyons. Some blasls
imdertakers had complained that
Loewen was trying to run them
out of business and viewed Lyons’
partnership with Loewen as ,a
betrayal, according to the Timeg.-.
In a document, Lyons told com
vention members Loewen paid-a
total of $800,000 - $300,000 of
which went to the convention. -,
He didn’t say where the rest
went, according to the newspaper:
Lyons