What I Learned In and Out of Church

I had one of my better birthday weekends. I sorely missed my family but I also
enjoyed spending time with my Atlanta family. I got a ton of well wishers and
love for my birthday. And my party was off the CHAIN! L.A., you have a lot to
live up to when I get there.

I have been thinking this month building up to my birthday about all the new
things in my life I have to be grateful for. Even though it's been rough, my
life is great! All I have to do is look at it with different glasses. I have to
learn to see the good in ALL of the associations and relationships in my life.
The only way I can do that is to see the good in myself.

So let’s go to church…



Samuel 16:7 "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at
outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

John 9 - "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see
and those who see will become
blind."

You know I usually refer to entire chapters and you are encouraged to read the
entire chapters (Samuel 16, John 9, and Ephesians 5). Today, however, I’mma
just give you a sound bite and let you figure out the rest. After all, isn’t
that what we do all day every day? We only listen to parts of what each other
says. We only highlight certain parts of books. We watch music videos and
continuously flick channels on the TV. We don’t watch the game, we wait for the
highlights. I always hear that voice in my head while talking with someone
yelling – GET TO THE POINT.

And why?

So we can put our interpretation on the information we just received. And then we respond with our best judgment. And we keep finding shortcuts to rush to
judgments. Ten years after we were so idealistic, we are sitting wondering
(maybe), how we became so judgmental.....

What do we judge people on that doesn't really matter?

Too small, too short, too tall, too fat, too skinny, too young, too smart, too
stupid... For what? When did we become so judgmental? How have we limited
ourselves and our lives by prejudice? Who and what is missing from our lives
because we are afraid to step outside of the shells we've built for ourselves
over the years.

What really matters too you?

Some of the richest people dress and look and live like bums. The smartest man in the world is a cripple. Einstein couldn't remember where he lived. The bravest
of us have fears. A former Mr. Olympia turned out to be an excellent
politician. A fornicating NBA legend is becoming a legendary business man. I
feel the strongest connection with this little skinny white man who gave up sex
for life.

We live in such dark times. There are so many distractions from the good and
positive in the world. Many, many times it just seems hopeless. But then
someone makes it through. Someone succeeds and achieves everything they ever
dreamed. Then we have hope again. We wonder how they made it and what we need to do to make it too. It's simple. The light is in us. When we wake up and let
it shine and recognize the light in others, the world becomes a brighter place.


We pray - God give us faith to truly see.

Ephesians 5:14

"Wake up, O sleeper,
Rise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you."

What I Gave Up For Lent

When I was in New Orleans, I wasn't a practicing Catholic. So, while I knew every year when Ash Wednesday (The beginning of Lent and the day after Mardis Gras) was, I wasn't into participating in Lent. Now that I am a practicing and participating Catholic, I always forget when Ash Wednesday is coming and don't remember to sacrifice anything until a week after Lent begins. That leaves me trying to figure out what I haven't done for a week so I can continue to sacrifice it for the rest of Lent. It's hard. I even did it this year. But then Father John said it plain - "There's only one thing we need to give up for Lent-....


-Sin."
Sin brings about distance from God. What are the things that separate us from the glory of God? Let me give you a hint…It’s not cheesecake. Hell, it’s not cigarettes, alcohol (Maybe sometimes), it’s not soaps, gambling, gossiping, eating out or buying
purses. It IS lying, cheating, stealing, killing, sleeping with the wrong
people, and any other sin we do over and over without accepting responsibility
for. And then who do we blame, we blame God for not answering our prayers. We
blame God when we give up trivial things for Lent and still don’t feel the
blessings God has for us.

"It's not God's fault."....
Take responsibility for your own actions. Stop sinning. Stop naked-dicking everyone
and anything and thinking it’s OK because you gave up Ice Cream for Lent. Take
a look at our role in the existence of evil in our world. You know your
favorite drinking partner ain’t shit, yet you continue to talk to them about who
you are dating. You keep hanging in the hood and getting arrested. Stop
hanging! Quit hanging with losers and wondering why you keep losing. ....
Repent. Repent from everything. Repent for loserdom. Repent from niggardom. Repent from naked-dicking. Repent from everything you know you do to yourself to make your
life miserable.....

To make simple and easy for you, try not being an asshole for  forty straight days.

Then get ready for the blessings.....


BTW If any of the words are foreign, I implore you to dig through my blog. I have full encyclopedic entries on many of the words you may have trouble with.

What I Learned in Church ... Three Weeks Ago

I have been in church (Dad). Tax season (and the ladies have) has just had me so busy lately. But the point of last week’s as well as this week’s sermon has been to keep movingtowards God's will with or without evidence. So, I am getting organized despite the many, many distractions to that goal. ....

Last week we discussed Job's trials. He asked - what is the purpose? His trials seemed unending. He could not imagine there ever being any light in his life because it was just that dark for him. Then Saul discussed the difference in motivations between him and
other “prophets”. Some accepted gifts which he refused. Some lived a lot better
and he stayed away from even normal accommodations when traveling. So what was
his “purpose”. And then there was Jesus.....
The lines he faced seeking healing in his travel…HIS work was unending. And then he died for all of our sins! ....
These men who laid the foundation of our faith obviously did not do it for the glory.
There was none. Life was not as bad for contemporaries like Martin Luther King Jr.
He still spent many nights in jail, took many beatings and ultimately died.



For what?....

And then this week I was throwed off by the first text. It was the beginning and end of an entire chapter in Leviticus about determining if someone had leprosy and what to do to cure them of it. But then Saul says – “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you
do, do it all for the glory of God”.
That was in reference to manners and hospitality when you are entertaining or
being entertained by people of different backgrounds and/or beliefs. And it was
all wrapped up with Jesus running to the outskirts of town to get a break from
healing. Father John proceeded to ask "Why is there confusion about what
God wants?” ....
Since I was still working on last week, it was easy to go back to my question – “For what?” If we do it for God’s glory and there is no promise of reward in this lifetime,
what is our motivation. After all we are here in this world of pay raises and
fifteen minutes of fame and the unending popularity contests. ....
Working where I do, I learn it is the most humble of us who don’t have to worry about money and/or recognition. Hell, it’s the brokest people who want the flashiest cars. And during tax season, the naked-dickers come out the wood works. High-fallootin
and flashing the “Gs” they get for babies they don’t take care of. “Sorry baby.
No college fund. Mommy got to put rims on the 87 Hyundai and then hit the
Verr-sai-chee outlet.” All the while, the millionaires amongst us are happy to
hop in an Escort or low-key Honda Accord (The square one! Not the 97s!) and
ride on home.

Our great hope, who drove a Chrysler 300 until he wasn’t allowed to drive himself anymore, says it will get worse before it gets better. Perhaps it is time to let go of the world as we knew it. It is definitely time for a change. Job’s life didn’t turn around
until he stopped looking at the world and went within himself to see the glory
of God. Saul died a martyr (possibly under house arrest). We don’t know of
Paul(Saul) ever complaining about his lot. In fact he was so happy to serve, people
jumped to convert to Christianity. And we all know of Jesus. White or Black, he
is always portrayed as a raggedy dude who lived in caves and slept on floors.
Buddha is fat. Mohammed was an illiterate dummy. And Vishnu was and eight armed
elephant thing. ....
Perhaps having to focus on someone else’s glory, will give us a chance to step away
from the pity party that is our life. Life get’s so much easier when we give up
our hang ups and focus on something bigger than our petty lives. All successful
people put God (Whatever that means to you) first, family second and then the world
gets the scraps. ....
So, for what? For God. For our families. The one we are born with and the one we build. For the future. I never understood until recently when people say – sacrifice is
its own reward. I can see myself giving up my life as I knew it for the family
I’m building. Can you?....

Just ask yourself - Why am I doing it?

Me?


I do it for Hip Hop!

New Years Resolution 2009

My senior year in High School (GO COUGARS!), I was involved in WAY too many organizations and taking WAY too many AP classes. So many, in fact, I actually forgot to take one test. Luckily it was Calculus BC and I didn't mind being forced to pick up easy A's in college. One of my AP teachers noticed this and intervened early in my first semester. She flat out told me I was stretched way too thin. I resisted her request to give up a class or an activity but she sweetened the pot by telling me she would simply fail me for being late to class no matter how smart I was. It turned out to be the best decision I ever made. Senior year was a blast. I chilled, studied (mostly chilled) and generally kicked it like never before. The class was only US History. Another class I didn't mind picking up an easy A in.

I don't remember the teacher (she was new and I never got a chance to know her). I will never forget our talk however. Since then, I have always been conscious of spreading myself too thin. As I was reflecting on on 2008 and thinking of the new things on the horizon in 2009, I found myself in a similar dilemma.

I was so burned out with work and extra-curricular activities early in 2008 that I was just getting rested up in December. AND I wanted to do more in 2009. So, I have to let somethings go. I considered giving up my job. I considered celibacy. I considered settling down...

...all those things ended up being New stuff on top of the old stuff. Giving up my job would be more work. Becoming celibate...fuck that! And it was WAY WAY too much work trying to settle with one woman (I'm not talking about you.). I was actually thinking about giving up who I was, hoping that would free me.

So I made my list of goals in 2009. Obviously, I would have to give some things up in order to accomplish my goals this year. I was just looking in the wrong places.

Sooooo...my resolution is in fact to get rid off all the dead weight in my life.

I plan on being 100% of the asshole that I am to accomplish this goal. This is notice to all the people in my life. ALL. If you STILL need to get your shit together after I have been supporting and supportive of you in 2008, I'm changing the locks on my house, on my phone, on my computer, on my life.

I'm not actually about beating people up. (They won't learn nothing that way.) I destroy egos and crush emotions. I find myself on the verge of something great.

I'm not there yet! But people still want to hang on like I'm going to carry their crab asses with me. That goes for family, friends (old and new), lovers, whores, the gardener, tenants, Sarah Palin and whoever else needs to be told.

Some noticeable differences will be: an increased attention early on in the year. I won't answer the phone nearly as much as I did before. I did hang up on you on purpose this year. Yes, you sound dumb. No, you can not borrow anything,...In fact...don't you owe me...(Let me check your pockets!)...Deebo Check! Fool! And I don't have it. I don't have the time. I don't have a dollar.

I do love you (My Family and friends) But this year is tough love. Deal with it.

The phrase for '09 is "Get off my dick!"

Coming up next 25 Things you didn't know


(BTW-The Myspace blog has a soundtrack!)
Read
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=3789819

Word Of The Day: Secret Squirrel

Current mood: amused
Category: Blogging


The word of the day is Secret Squirrel

Secret Squirrel was a cartoon from the sixties which was revived in '93. I came up with the name in reference to the most cartoon-ish way in which people try to sneak around, have secrets, or just lie stupidly. A normal secret is not secret squirrel. Secret squirrel is only in reference absolutely absurd attempts at hiding information you may already know. Just like the cartoon I amuse myself watching the foolish pretend they know more than me.

I'm sure many of you know secret squirrel naked-dickers.







P.S. I have my New Years resolutions to share with you later tonight or tomorrow.




You are stinking hilarious & I love how you do nothing but tell the truth like it is. Good job!

Lol one person I can think of is Plies with his white teeth(unless he doesn't brush them) that he tries to hide by wearing gold teeth over them. Just absurd!!!! ITS PLIES BEBE!!!!

JR

LMAO

What I learned in Church

Current mood: determined
Category: Religion and Philosophy

Many times the weaker of us reflect on what their parents/family did wrong or didn't do right as an excuse for where they are now. It is easy to let the immediate past block us from reflection on our ancestors. All of us have a past that includes many wars, genocides, plagues or any one of a million disasters, which could have ended our family trees long ago. We are descendent of survivors, of people with the vision and good fortune to prepare a future for us. We all have a purpose, which often includes the visions of our ancestors. We honor them by, at the very least, never giving up.

And the answer to my "Church People" question comes as soon as I return to church. (I was prepared to cuss out all of my readers for not giving me the answers) See how good God is!

The answer is - family.

Christmas threw me off with the scriptures for the week. I didn't get to read them on my own so, let's do it with out them this time. This is more about us as a collective of individuals anyway. In fact lets explore family. From Webster's:
1fam·i·ly

Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English familie, from Latin familia household (including servants as well as kin of the householder), from famulus servant
Date: 15th century

1: a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head : household

2 a: a group of persons of common ancestry : clan b: a people or group of peoples regarded as deriving from a common stock : race

3 a: a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation : fellowship b: the staff of a high official (as the President)

4: a group of things related by common characteristics: as a: a closely related series of elements or chemical compounds b: a group of soils with similar chemical and physical properties (as texture, pH, and mineral content) that comprise a category ranking above the series and below the subgroup in soil classification c: a group of related languages descended from a single ancestral language

5 a: the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children ; also : any of various social units differing from but regarded as equivalent to the traditional family family> b: spouse and children family>

6 a: a group of related plants or animals forming a category ranking above a genus and below an order and usually comprising several to many genera bin livestock breeding (1): the descendants or line of a particular individual especially of some outstanding female (2): an identifiable strain within a breed

7: a set of curves or surfaces whose equations differ only in parameters

8: a unit of a crime syndicate (as the Mafia) operating within a geographic area



All this time the answer was right in front of my face. I have so many families. I have my real family (with little subsets with that), my work family, my MySpace family, My Facebook, my school, my local family, my Los Angeles fam, my New Orleans fam.

All of them have their distinct characteristics. I am tied to the members of each of those families by a common bond that is stronger than all the corruption and fakery that exists within ALL of my families. And I make an effort to be active or at least present in all of my families.

So what was my hold up with the one family which should have the strongest bond. I mean I could go through one through eight of the definition and only have trouble finding a connection using number seven. I can even do number eight! After all, I am catholic.

The way father Chester described it is more simple: We may feel alone in the world for six days out of the week. On Sunday we know we can come "home" to our church family. We can feel safe within the confines of this gathering of like-minded individuals. In my church, that's actually one of the reasons I chose it. The uniformity of our worship ceremony is easily apparent and bonds us all together for an hour and a half.

So now that I want more, I guess I just deal with it the way I deal with all my other families. Learn who to deal with and who not to. The good thing about this church family is that when people try to latch onto me like they do in all my other families, at least they are people who are trying to live by a higher spiritual standard. If I have to dodge low-lifes anyway, it may as well be low –lifes who know how to pray.

HAPPY NEW
YEARS!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009 AND MANY,MANY MORE

YES, MY HEBREW SON,THE LOVE OF JESUS WILL PUT YOU AT A HIGHER SPIRITUAL LEVEL WITH THE ABILITY TO TOUCH THE HEARTS OF THE MASSES BUT THE TEMPTATIONS OF THE FLESH CAN BE DESTRUCTIVE IN ANY FAMILY WITHOUT GRACE OF GOD.


VERY WILL DONE I AM IMPRESSED

LOVE ALWAYS JAY ROGER SLOAN SR

Believe it or not, Creflo gave me an unwritten blog about the flesh. It's amazing how everything ties in if you are patient with the word.




EVERYONE THIS IS MY REAL FATHER! This is the best New Years ever!!!

Church People

Current mood: cynical
Category: Religion and Philosophy

At the time of the 2004 indictment, Cross was teaching at DePaul University in Chicago.[7] On May 1, 2006, Cross pled guilty to fraud by embezzling millions of dollars in federal funds from the government and students.[8] She agreed to pay $11,000 to the Department of Education in restitution. Singh also pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement.

The prosecutor, U.S. Attorney David Nahmias, made a somewhat exculpatory statement at their sentencing: "When the defendants arrived at Morris Brown, the college was already in serious financial condition. Thereafter, these defendants misappropriated ... money in fairly complicated ways in what appears to have been a misguided and ultimately criminal attempt to keep Morris Brown afloat."[3]


They (CBS 46, Atlanta) interviewed the wrong people. I had been struggling with missing the last few weeks of church and even on the recent weeks I did go, not being able to provide you all with an adequate blog.

As I was passing the TV in the living room, the news had an article about Morris Brown College closing down. I had to check it out. It turns out they had suffered from a recent loss of accreditation and embezzlement scandals. The enrollment was actually down to 107 students. Having gone to large and small schools – I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE THAT. They owe an over $300K water bill! WTF

And who did they interview – Church People.

In a city FULL of mega-churches with billions of dollars at their disposal, a school (the only, ONLY originally black college in Atlanta) founded by and affiliated with the A.M.E. church is not only having problems, IT"S CLOSING! It owes SO many people SO much money. It has NO students. You mean to tell me I pay tithes so these "prophets" (or is it "profits") can have bigger buildings, bigger cars, and bigger jets and historic institutions can just fade away like dust in the wind.

So, speaking of all that, I was asking myself why I was so hesitant to make it to church lately. I like my church. I want to be more active in it. But then, when it is time to sign my name on the "Time and Talent" form, I freeze up. This past month has made my phobia clear.

I don't want to become a "church person"

Let me tell you about church people-

Everywhere I've ever worked the concurrent idiom has been – do not serve church people. Since I was 14, church people don't tip. They want the most for the least. And they are not liable for anything. AND THEN, I moved to Atlanta. The buckle of the Bible belt.

Let's disregard the plethora of whores, cocksuckers and, to use my step-mother's favorite word growing up, hoochies who I've encountered since moving here. I want to get to the essence of church people.

It starts with a pastor who works where I work. I had just gotten here and respected the title when my cousin told me one of the mechanics at my job was a preacher…

…to hell with that.

What I encountered was nothing less than an African pimp hustling men and women (MAINLY women) out of their money. This married man of God obviously only has eyes for the demons between the legs of the congregation. This is the only man I encountered this past year who did not so much hear the words coming out of the Obama camp as he did notice the "fitting" dresses Michelle Obama was wearing. Some how where I notice only men fix cars and men bring in their daughters and wives' and sisters' cars, his only clientele is only women. AND they are all his "sisters" who look nothing like him. I don't know who you've been around but Africans have strong features and princes and princesses carry their parents features proudly.
But let me leave the "Pimp in the Pulpit" for now (I could go on forever on that demon) and focus on the congregation.

I have lost count of "favors" we've done for various church members. They have all turned out bad. And a few do stick out:

· There was "The Pimp in The Pulpit's" member who left her car on the lot for months while we searched for a reasonable priced differential. I initially thought we were just trying to save the lady money. Come to find out, the active church member had been filing insurance claims from an accident that happened two years ago. And The Pimp was helping her defraud the insurance company AGAIN. I only found out because The Pimp and the customer had filed the claim without our knowledge and the insurance company called the office to inform me the claim was denied AGAIN. - To date, The Pimp is still trying to get the money from the insurance company because, of course, the customer hasn't paid him or us anything.

· There is another church member who has abandoned their car here for the ENTIRE three years I have worked here.

And then –

· A member of my boss' church, who had bought a car from us before, had a great job, all her paperwork, all the Is dotted all the Ts crossed. Traded in a car, gave us the title plus the full down payment (which most customers never do). We set her up to pay monthly (which WE never do). She paid three out of her five payments and fell off the face of the earth. All of our calls went to voicemail. That is until we sent her to Repo. Mere seconds after the Repo Company received out fax, the Repo man calls excited. He has been looking for our customer for over a year. She owed a title pawn company for the very car she traded in to us. They were more than happy to take our car back from her. Suddenly, she called us. She "intended on paying us off tomorrow. Why did we send her to repo?" Of course, we got the car. She actually came and paid it off the next day. But not before bringing two other church members to tell me how bad a person I was. And of course, they promised to tell the pastor about my boss.

In all these cases, these aren't just people who go to the church. These are board members, Sunday school teachers, nursery helpers, office workers…really, really involved members of different churches. I could go on and on with stories but I just wanted to use a few examples to show why I am confused about what it means to be a church person. And this is not to say ALL church people are bad. My mom is a faithful member of her church and a true Christian person. My step-mom is another true Christian. My brother's mom is an excellent Muslim woman. Speaking of which, I have noticed people of religions and sects misrepresenting their churches.

So the question is how do I become more active in my church and avoid all the BS of being a "Church Member"? Or better yet, how do I stand being around all the other "Church Members" once I do become more active in the church?
By the way, Morris Brown has alumni. However, if my Black College experiences are any indication, I know why these successful men and women have turned their back on their alma mater.

The college's alumni include military officers, actors, authors and civil rights leaders such as the late Hosea Williams. (AJC)

Notable alumni
This is a list of notable alumni which includes graduates, non-graduate former students, and current students of Morris Brown College.
This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy certain standards for completeness. Sourced additions are welcome and you can help by expanding it.
..tr>..table>
Name Class year Notability Reference
Hosea Williams civil rights activist [13]
James Alan McPherson Pulitzer Prize-winning author [13]
Isaac Blythers president of Atlanta Gas Light Company [13]
Eula Adams executive vice president for First Data Corporation [13]
Albert J. Edmonds Retired Lt. Gen. of the United States Air Force [13]
Ezra Johnson NFL player [14]
Thomas Byrd television, film and stage actor [13]


Brother it is so funny that you mentioned this in your blog this week. I am actually having issues with church members myself. As I grow closer and deeper in the church the more I want to become less involved. The more I know, the more stressed I get. I too am very confused on my position in the church. I know God wants me to do more but as I do more the more disappointed I am with the church. I'm like this is backwards right. It is so crazy. It was so much simpler just sitting in sunday service taking notes and coming home. I keep praying and praying. I have to trust God will work it out but, then I wonder if I am the only one praying and then get discouraged. It is a mes and how could that be with God when mess is not of Him. So what do you do..........

Wow! Watch how good God is. "What I learned in Church" today gave me an answer.

OMGoodness....so I went to church today and everytime I go the pastor asks who wants to come down and become a member of the church...AND EVERYTIME I go I NEVER join and I actually LOOOOOOVE that church but I don't join because of the same reasons your sister mentioned. I want to enjoy the essence, pureness, and (for lack of a better word) "magic" of the service. I don't want to EVER get caught up in the politics or drama of the church....I love getting my blessings/lessons and growing spiritually....
This was a good one Jason...

Even Jesus said politics and church don't mix. Yet they always do. Naked-dick behavior is all around us. Everyone knows how I feel about Naked-Dickers