A New You In A New Year

Beyond The Day.....What We Must Do Next To Assure Our Worthiness Of This Moment

I am certain that most Americans, as I am, have enjoyed the events of this great day in American history and politics surrounding the Inauguration of our 44Th President of the United States, Barak Obama!

As I awakened this morning at 4A.M. to prepare my mind and my body for the days activities, I was in awe as I saw the first snowfall of the year accumulating on my deck off from my home office. I was reminded that the fresh snow was so symbolic of what the day would represent for me and this great nation of ours in my mind. I have always been told that the snow purifies the air and kills germs. How befitting as we were only hours away from not just a changing of the guard but also a shift of policy, procedure and prose that I personally believe has hindered the reconciliation and restoration of this nation to her former glory.

I watched from as many perspectives as I could to assure my viewpoint would also be vantaged and as informed as possible and no matter which of the five selected networks I chose to view simultaneously I was overwhelmed at the enormity of the burden I sensed that has consistently enlarged within my spirit all day........the burden of responsibility that I pray will reside within the minds and spirits of all African-American men and that is, we must all become acutely aware that we must now become worthy of this moment. The American people elected one man but I can't somehow shake this feeling that President Obama's success is the foundation for the success of us all. He has put every African-American male with leadership qualities and aspirations in the spotlight ,and I, for one want to make sure I prove in my place of assignment, that I am worthy of this moment!!!

We must walk circumspectly before our God in this hour as never before. We must dispel the many erroneous myths and fallacies that have been set to ruin us and keep us from rising to the occasion of being successful in the marketplace, in business, industry, politics and religion!! We have the attention of the entire world, we are not just athletes and actors, we are not just preachers and principals, also,we are not just prisoners and protractors of progress. We will, if we rise to the occasion of the hour prove that we are progenitors and prodigies of GREATNESS that has had to fight it's way up through the degradation of slavery, Jim Crowism, segregation and reverse affirmative action!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My freshmen year at NCCU I was so moved when Tony Brown a great activist and motivator said to us since there is already a Seven/Eleven we need to establish a Six/Twelve...opening an hour earlier and closing an hour later. I interpreted Mr. Brown's statement to mean we must redeem the time, for the night has been far spent. We must as men of color now reveal to the world what we have been waiting off-stage and preparing for.

We are the originators of schools of thought that have driven mankind to places of exploration and excellence, now we are privileged to lead from center stage! Let's make our families strong and our communities stronger and our nation to know that beyond the day, we are not just a part of the issues at hand in America and the world globally but we are now the ANSWER!!!!!

Bank Mergers and What It Should Say To The Church

It has become increasingly more the norm and a survival decision that banks, investment firms, insurance companies and corporate entities in general are finding it necessary to merge in order to survive. I am probably the most surprised with the need for Wachovia Bank to find partnership simply to stay alive, knowing its historical significance and practices have always been on the conservative side. Though Wells Fargo has bought them out the CEO of Wells stated this is more a merger than a buyout.

Well, everyone seems to be able to discern the significance of this need but the church of God. Please hear me out, don't shut me down until I make my claim. I am not necessarily talking about the dissolution of any ones local church, though in some instances that makes sense also, but we should at least give some credence to the fact that we need to make some changes in the way we do business.....kingdom business! That is truly the operative word here, the kingdom, because if one is still doing church as usual then this article has already offended you. We claim we understand the Body of Christ and its significance in all of us being interdependent and interconnected but yet we don't pool our resources to accomplish the GREATER goals we all say we embrace. My challenge in this principle is that this being done would never have to impede or interfere with any local church vision. I believe that most of us in ministry are simply trying to build our own kingdoms when the Kingdom of God should be our primary and only focus. We have so much world that we need to conquer and win for Jesus, so few laborers and even fewer resources both time, talent and treasure to pull from.

Kingdom people let us not fall into this selfishness that keeps us in pursuit of those things that bring us glory and none to GOD......let's merge in anyway we can to get done corporately, what I'm sure we can get done alone but my question is simply....WHY??

WHAT THE OBAMA VICTORY MEANS TO ME

PRESIDENT-ELECT BARAK OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What an awesome day in the history of our nation. What an awesome time in the lives of all Americans, especially AFRICAN-AMERICANS!!

This blog though so important, though so inspired will certainly be my shortest. The Obama victory means..........YES WE CAN IS NOW YES WE ARE AND WILL BE YES WE DID!!!

Let us daily pray for the protection of our leader and the direction of our nation!

Transparency...Vulnerable But Valuable

I believe that any person who commits to leadership in any organization or institution must believe intuitively that they have been called, selected and divinely assigned to do so. As a veteran of the new apostolic wave of leadership in this new testament church within the 21st century, I have become introduced to countless gifts; gifts in other leaders, gifts in the person's that have been assigned to work with me in leadership and gifts in the pew and in public. In all of these encounters I have come to accept the need for and the danger in being transparent before those I must serve. I purposely utilize the word serve because I'm the consummate servant in all of my leadership charges.

I have, by some close to me, been accused of being too transparent and in retrospect I must concur that on occasion I have revealed too much, too soon to persons whose hearts and intentions I have not tried or proven. Yet, in all of the misfortunes of my own interpersonal relationships with others, I'm still a strong proponent of being transparent as a means to protecting the integrity of who I am. I am convinced I need no persons in my life, specifically within my inner circle who can't take the real me. As a matter of fact, as a leader the flow of my anointing is impeded when I cannot be the person God has created me to be. Might I suggest, at the risk of being accused as practicing preachment in my blog, that you cannot realize your true potential or correct your own inadequacies if you are not allowed to reveal your true self. The ultimate challenge in doing this, is being surrounded by the right people who can celebrate, correct or nurture your true self without violating the trust of having been privy to a revelation of your heart.

I know full well how vulnerable transparency makes us and to many this vulnerability causes them to feel disadvantaged ,but I have found my strength in this form of leadership. The scripture declares HIS strength is made perfect in our weakness and I have experienced this strength. I have given of my heart in the building and sustaining of ministry, I have freely poured out of that which GOD has given me to others without hesitation and most times recompense of reward. I have communicated to those the truths I have secured in my own life and have taught even while learning through my own experiences without fear of retribution or questions. In all, I am certain that it is in transparency that people are able to look past and through me into the heart and mind of the FATHER, because the truth is we don't need people to see us only. They need to see HIM who abides on the inside of us, for the glory is all HIS!

I have come to embrace the value of this transparency as a reflection of the need for us to focus on the glory of GOD and not just the glorification of self. Don't resist the opportunity to show your true self, it will not always be received or appreciated, and by all means don't cast your pearls before swine. Acknowledge your assignments, know who you are to share with and to whom you are sent. In all you do, be real and GOD will protect your heart as you reveal it!

From Thorns To Thrones

Many years ago during a very turbulent and trying time in my life, personally and professionally, I received a card of encouragement from Ed and Miriam McCarter the owners of Special Occasions Books and Gifts, a thriving local business in my home town. The card read this:"I'd rather gather roses without thorns, Lord; A bright and fragrant beautiful bouquet. To decorate my world with pretty pleasures –The brambles and the briers, I'll throw away. But You say I must pluck the thorns as well, Lord, Though they'll pierce my heart and sting my soul; You say that pain's a part of peace, You tell me, that breaking is a part of being whole. You say that if I truly want to know You, I must count everything but Christ a loss; You ask me to exchange my will for Yours, Lord, To trade contentment's kingdom for a cross. And so I come before You, weak but willing; I seek to walk Your path, and not my own; I choose to share the crown of thorns You wore, Lord, Until I kneel before Your royal throne."-by B.J.Hoff

Needless to say, those words not only pierced my soul but they also released to me an inner healing that allowed me to embrace my moments of struggle and pain with a strong and content passion of deliverance and peace until deliverance came.

How often are we confronted with those moments of hopelessness and even utter helplessness, when all we see is dismal and dim with no resolve of breakthrough. Not because we are faithless or have lost our hold on God's word and HIS plan, more because we are seemingly left with the feeling of loneliness in the midst of an already difficult time. As I interact with my own sufferings of this present time, I am acutely aware of the fact that though it is not worthy to be compared to the revealed glory that shall come...I must still endure its pain, discomforts and its inconveniences until HE brings change. Might I suggest to all who find yourselves in these most trying hours tempted by the reality of your own human frailty and fallibility to pursue a place of peace through acceptance of HIS will.

We have in our lives changed and handled all we can handle. If you could bring remedy or recourse to your present situations of thorns you would have already done it. So, therefore you must accept what GOD allows and know with a sense of certainty that your times are in HIS hand and HE shall in HIS own providential consciousness bring all things to pass and bring you out of this present dilemma stronger and wiser.

Be encouraged and understand the process is only unbearable when we fail to recognize the LORD of the beginning is also the LORD of the end. He therefore has complete knowledge and control of the middle...yes if we can just learn to navigate through the middle, we will sense victory even within the storm!

Discovering the Value of Your Personal and Professional MVP's

It is football season and I'm an avid Pittsburgh Steeler fan...yes I am a self proclaimed etymologist so when I utilize the word fan, I understand it is short for fanatical...I'm fanatically a Steeler faithful. Now allow me to share with you the importance of placing in appropriate perspective the depth of my fanaticism. I have not just begun to follow the Steelers. From a young boy during the genesis of the "terrible towel" days, in an almost forgotten place called Three Rivers Stadium, I was introduced to personalities like Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swan, Franco Harris, John Stallworth, Mean Joe Green and L.C. Greenwood, just to name a few. These men mesmerized me and terrorized their opponents, especially that little team from Dallas....the cowboys or cow something, the name escapes me because of their insignificance, yet when the Steel Curtain was formed no cow, redskin, patriot or the like was going to easily accomplish any play or objective. It was in the following of my team that I became introduced to the concept of the MVP, the most valuable player.

Week after week I saw these men, offensive and defensive players play as a team, a unit, but I also watched as weekly one would emerge as the MVP. Sometimes this was governed by the opponent and his strength or the temperament of the players themselves. If the opponent was an offensive powerhouse the attention was centered around the defense as they shut down play after play, limiting yards and spoiling third down conversions. If the opponent was a defensive strength it was up to the offense to pull out of the playbook those plays we have since become famous for, not to mention the magical sometimes mystical abilities of Swann to catch a ball that no one even saw as catchable and then hold on to it as his body hit the hard cold steel city ground with an embarrassed and stunned defensive back landing on top of him. Regardless, it was always amazing to me that there would emerge an MVP. Not always the same person, not always for the same reason, but the sport has always been able to recognize them and celebrate them even if their tenure of celebration is short lived.

Well in life and specifically in kingdom leadership I believe we need to adopt this style of personal celebration and discover the real value of our own personal and professional MVPs. It is certain we all have them and we definitely all need them. I have them in my family members, I have them on my staff and I also have them among my friends who are neither family or staff, but are certainly essential to the success of not just me winning in this game of life but also executing and advancing in the individual downs that assist me in the yardage needed to score. It's interesting that everyone wants to win the game but few of us sense the importance of single plays (decisions and commitments) that effect the whole of our existence.

If we don't discover the value of our MVPs we will certainly minimize their value and loose their needful assistance. You can be as successful as anyone. You have had most valuable persons whose presence made the difference. You can be fledgling and on the verge of your own personal or professional tipping point and it will be required of you that you find your MVP's and allow them to do what they have been assigned to your life to accomplish.

I have lived through both success and failure, personally and professionally. I speak experientially when I say to you it was my own inability to recognize my MVPs that caused me minimized success' and maximized failures. It was simply founded in these very important facts. Firstly, for one to be an MVP for you they must first be on your team. How many times have we all placed too much value on those who were not on our team? Whether an adversary or simply an opponent, I have learned my focus must go back to my team members. I will either win or lose but whichever the outcome, my team members will help to determine it. I learned just recently the opponent was not my issue, it was my focus on what and who it was that would support me. Personally I found that I was surrounded with enough team players to win and their skill level was only rivaled by their commitment to my success. This is ardently the power of the team concept, no matter your position, it's ultimately about the team. No quarterback wins a game alone. The offensive line is essential to his protection and the backs and receivers are the true carriers of his vision. So in recognizing your MVPs it is always imperative to understand and thusly embrace this truth..."It ain't just about you"! Matter of fact, I believe the major victories are only won when there is as strong a team as there is a team leader.

Secondly, it is key and must become priority, to help each team member in their own personal developments. This is true no matter how one applies this particular subject matter. Personally no family will be be peaceful and successful if the personal development of all those within the family is not pursued. How miserable are so many families because someone in that home is content being what they are and not what they can be. Even in an subordinate and supportive role ,don't ever abandon your own dreams to the extent that you are not working at them even if you can't presently work on them. Parents must stay focused on their own dream realization even while provoking their children to do the same. Spouses, even as they encourage each other must also realize some personal satisfaction in their own accomplishments. You can't bring your best to the team and become an MVP for others in the family if you don't feel valuable yourself. Self worth and valuation is key to your attitude, and last time I checked, it still affects altitude. Professionally one has to secure your own value by continuing educational pursuits. As a team player in ministry or in your career it is important that you continue to build yourself up. King David teaches us to learn the art of self encouragement. You must surround yourself with resources and material that keep you not just valuable but essential to the organization to which you are assigned. The most valuable persons in any organization are those persons who understand the need to remain vibrantly needed and a voice that can be trusted. When I speak of trust I am not just adjusting to the integrity of the team member but the safety of the counsel. Have you been exposed to anything lately that will cause you to approach your assignment with a fresh perspective or are you simply showing up hoping all the plans from yesterday will work again today? What I find so wonderfully equalizing about the entirety of this conceptualization is that I only have to be an MVP when I'm needed, other times I can assist the MVPs around me in their moments or allow the MVPs assigned to me to provoke me into my own greatness. I say that to preface this, no one can afford not to be prepared for your moment in the spot light. If you...no when you are needed you must be ready.

Thirdly, and lastly I believe all the MVPs in our lives have a specific and determinate role and the cross pollination of those roles can become detrimental to our process and it's subsequent success. I heard Bishop T.D. Jakes just this week in an excerpt from his latest book warn against this very thing. I found myself so guilty of this, not allowing people to be to me what they have been assigned to be. I admit this as a personal and professional challenge. So I speak to you as one who is learning how to allow my MVPs to have their moment because it helps my minute and sustains my season. Let family be family first, even as they have dual roles. Let staff be staff and manage you, even when it appears to family and friends as if they have too much voice. They know your vision and your heart. When you know who they are and that they can be trusted, then do just that, TRUST THEM. Stop trying to be the MVP every play, down, game and season. Let your contemporaries and colleagues be those tools by which you better yourself, not in the sense of competition but provocation of your own manifestation of the greatness that's locked inside of you. Finally, discover those persons who may be from your past whose very presence in your life makes you better. An old college roommate, a former classmate, former neighbor or co-worker or even that individual whose been present but unaccounted for because they have either not be given opportunity to emerge, they don't know their real value and worth or they have not been shown the power of becoming an MVP in someone else's success and process. Discover these persons in your personal and professional life and make it happen together.

I believe for all who secure this principle the win column will definitely outweigh the losses. The joy of being on the team coupled with the possibilities of endless team championships and an eventual place in the Hall of Fame of Life will cause us to value the MVPs and celebrate the continued need for them in our lives.