Speech against coporate dollars controlling local elections in Washington, D.C.

Fair Elections
-Moral Voice
-We have to stand against Big Business and Corporate Control
We would not have problems with:
------------Walmart
------------Push Back against a $15 minimum wage
------------More Unionized contracts
------------Where churches and citizens are being robbed by dc water and being overcharged
------------pepco and exelon mergers take place without the will of the people

We are tired:
--------------of the rich getting richer and the poor is getting
--------------of those politicians who we only see when they need to be re-elected
--------------of those politicians who know nothing about our children telling us what's best for our kids and our community
--------------of outsiders controlling what happens inside the boundaries of our great city

So we are here today to ask for your support of the Fair Elections Bill.  We need politicians who will stand up, when everybody else is sitting down.  We need politicians who will speak out when everyone else is silent.  This Bill gives our leaders in the community the opportunity to level the playing field and provides promise to those among us who deserve to represent us our elected officials.
I end with a true story.  I started a fight a few years ago against big business.  As the bridge as well as the homeland security buildings were being constructed, the community asked me to get involved because the construction companies refused to hire our people.  So we begin to fight and work hard to change the will of the mayor at the time and council.  I was told that there was too much money involved for us to change anything.  They refused to hire dc residents.  Just down the street, signs were placed on Good Hope Road saying "we don't hire niggers."  Well, by the grace of God, the power of the people and Lifetime Mayor Barry we were able to construct a New First Source Law that made companies hire and give hours to DC residents before they could hire anyone else on the job.
Not only that, we begin a fight and we called it "Fight for $15."  We wanted to raise the minimum wage pay from pennies to a honest living wage.  And people told us that we couldn't because big business would'n't let us win.  Well, today I stand to tell you that with the people on our side, we won and the minimum wage, in DC, will become $15 in just a few more days.
When the people stand together we can move mountains.  With God on ourside, we can change this mean old world.  That count us out, but we will keep hammer away.  We will keep hitting the wall until the door is open and all us can sit at the table and enjoy the benefits of being a Washington, D.C. Resident. 

America The Beautiful?

The system wants you to give reverence for a flag and a song.  The system wants you to ignore the symbols and statues of dominance of white supremacy and dominance against blacks in America.  The system wants you to be controlled and scared by mean and corrupt  police "over-seers."  The system wants you to ignore white privilege.

However, we refuse to bow down and accept the system's expectations.  We will continue to bang the wall of racial hatred with the sledge hammer of righteous indignation.  We will respond to hate with goodness.  We will respond to fools with intelligence.  We will continue to move forward until the walls of America's hateful system, that this country was built on, will one day fall.  You enslaved us, but we are still here!  You have whipped and beaten us, almost to death, but we are still here!  You have lynched us, but we are still here! You have pumped drugs into our communities, but we are still here! You have brutalized us and thrown us in jail, But we are still here!  You have given us diseases, but we are still here.  And we will continue to push America to right its wrong of slavery and hatred for the kings and queens of civilization.  With God on our side, we will be strong, be vigilante, and be righteous.

America the Beautiful? Hell No!!! You can put lipstick on a pig, and it's still a pig.  With the recent actions of White Supremacist and the condoning words of Donald Trump, White America, it is time that you choose sides on the issue of race relations.  You can no longer stand on the sidelines and just say that you don't agree with racism.  It is no longer acceptable for you to simply say that I am not racist because I have black friends.  It is time that you stand in solidarity against the hate-filled white supremacist and the words and actions of Donald Trump.  Your inaction will speak volumes.

Finally, I declare that in order for America to become beautiful, she must repent from her transgressions and repair the damages she caused toward the Black Family.  Unless she repents and repairs, she will only reap the horrible seeds of evil that she has sown.  God would not be God, if he didn't punish America for its continued treatment of the Kings and Queens that he chose as his selective people.  White America, your history doesn't show favorable on your behalf, but I appeal to your own self interest.  You have the power to fix this wrong, and to do what you have never done throughout your history.  If you do not, prepare for us all to suffer greatly by the Almighty Hand of God.

The Requirments for the Preacher Are Unlike Any Others

Recently, my colleagues and I was having a conversation concerning perception vs. reality and how the decisions we make in our personal lives has a tremendous impact on membership, church growth, our reputation and our future.  There were a few scenarios that were discussed.  One was if a preacher whose wife dies and he wants to remarry.  What impact will that have on the church.  Who will be upset?  Who will leave the congregation?  Who thinks they should have had a  say so in the choosing?

Another scenario we discussed is if a Pastor gets a divorce.  How soon does he have to wait to begin his life again.  What impact will it have on the church if he remarried?  Can he remarry someone who belongs to his congregation or does he have to go outside the congregation.  How old does she have to be?  Can she be younger?

The third scenario was if a preacher speaks transparently to the membership speaking about struggles with sin or issues that the membership many times will automatically assume he is having sex issues or drug issues.  These issues may be the furthest thing from his mind, but yet he can't run the risk of opening that "Pandora box."  Sometimes the preacher is so guarded because if he is transparent he would  be seen as unholy or defiled, when he really is just being human.

The point that I'm making is that in no other field does the CEO or President have to be held to the same accountability than the preacher.  We run the risk of loosing membership, stability of the church, personal income, our reputations and more.  The calling of being a preacher/pastor is one of so much responsibility, unlike no other.

And the Dream Lives On (I was honored to be interviewed on this piece)

The Inner Struggle

To know that you have victory but to feel defeated is the encounter between our spirit and our flesh.  To know that all things work together for the good of them who are called according to His purpose even while you are in the pit, or the prison takes much spiritual maturity.

My dad teaches that this inner struggle is liken to a story of a young boy seeing the owner of two big dogs who were constantly barking and growling at each other.  The young boy asked the dog owner, "Sir, which dog will win if you allowed them to get at each other./"  The owner smiled and responded, 'Whichever one I feed the most."

So is it with the war between our flesh and our faith.  Whichever one we feed the most will become the victor over our life.

The Pain In The Process

The path of effective ministry is one that I would not wish on my worst enemy.  A heard a builder tell me that the deeper the whole in the ground the higher the building.  That seemingly is how preparation for effective ministry is.  You must experience hardship, trials and tribulations that cause a shake in your foundation.  You are humbled and reduced to almost nothing.  And through all of this, you still have to trust and depend on God.

He's taking you somewhere.  You will have to go through the fire in order to be shaped and created into the form that He wants you to be.  Gold, clay, steel and many more valuable resources must go through fire, and heat to become the finished project.  We must trust the process and know that it is all worth it.  If we suffer with Him, we will reign with Him.

Racism

Racism=preference+power