Inspiration Indiana Article Title: “I Have an Attitude Problem” Submitted by: James E. Tyson, II
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s a child, into adulthood, I can remember vividly my grandfather, the late Bishop James E. Tyson (who was affectionately known in Indianapolis as “The Godfather of Pentecost”), teaching us, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Simplistic statement? Yes; however, the significance it carries extends itself beyond faith-based environments, and it is applicable to the business sector, educational arenas, and even in articles written by a new columnist for Inspiration Indiana Magazine. You would think the wise thing to do would be to share that I am a husband to a beautiful wife, father of two amazing children, an Executive Pastor at Christ Church Apostolic (Indianapolis, IN), among other things. After all, this is your first impression of me, right? I suppose that would be the “sensible” thing to do; however, let’s consider a road less traveled. Permit me a moment of transparency, if you will, and indulge me to share something personal about myself. “Hi, my name is James and I have an attitude problem.” Before you begin to draw conclusions about me and my previous statement, may I share something else with you? There’s a strong possibility you have an attitude problem as well. Consider this with me. The surest index of your spiritual and natural well-being is the degree of gratitude in your life. With this understanding, over the past several years I have grown to develop an appreciation for this season of the year, more specifically the Thanksgiving season, because it affords me the opportunity to assess if my attitude is in its proper place. Truthfully, there have been several occasions that I have come up short. This reality has caused me to be more intentional about addressing my “attitude problem”. Often, when it is said an individual has an “ attitude”, it is automatically associated with a negative context. However, when we are considering the word
“attitude”, we are referring to the following three areas: a specific feeling with regard to a person or thing, the position or posture of the body appropriate to or expressive of an action or emotion, and a settled way of thinking about someone or something. So then, what I do, where I am, and how I think are all reflections of my attitude. My attitude is not simply a reflection of the words that I verbally speak; rather the scripture teaches us in Proverbs 23:7 (King James Version), “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” I share in my book, Treasures of a Worshipper, how we govern our thoughts plays a tremendous role in how we govern our life. The true test of your level of gratitude to the Lord lies, not merely in your ability to say you are thankful, but, do you think thankful? That is an amazing thought to consider! This is the differentiating factor between those who simply say, “Thank you” because it is the Thanksgiving season, and those that are “Thankful” or consistently have an attitude of gratitude. So, my question to you is simple, yet profound. “How do you think?” You remember in Luke 17, when Jesus healed the ten men of leprosy in a certain village? The scripture shares with us that out of the ten men, “...one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God…” (Luke 17:15 KJV). Consequently, the nine other men tend to gain a negative reputation because of their failure to act as the one man who returned. After truly considering the plight of these men, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that each of these men had a degree of gratitude because the severity of leprosy was too extensive for them not to see, feel, or acknowledge something within them was different than moments ago. Here’s the key! What shifted the one’s gratitude to being GRATEFUL was the corresponding action to his memory of nearly experiencing death due to an incurable disease; his interaction with Jesus changed everything! “What does this one man teach us?”, you ask? He teaches us, worship, without your thoughts, lacks authenticity. When you truly have an aptitude for a thankful attitude, it will exude from your spirit. There is a strong possibility that you are reading this article in a public location or even in the privacy of your own home. No matter where you are, could you just take a moment right now (yes, now) and just whisper a, “Thank you”, to Jesus. The two questions that we must bring comprehension to for this month’s reading are, “Why is it
important for me to think thankful?” and “Why is it necessary for me to have an aptitude for a thankful attitude?” There is something special about thanksgiving (the action, not the event) that God holds dear to His heart. God thinks so highly of thanksgiving that the Bible shares, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you,” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV). If you are truly thankful in everything, you must be thoughtful in everything. Here’s my challenge to you during this Thanksgiving season. Ensure that your Thanksgiving “season” converts to a “thankful attitude”. You may find it necessary to sit and develop a “Thank You List” to God. In the event that your attitude, your mind, and your body take on a lethargic disposition, you’ll have something to refer to that will provoke a “thank you” out of your heart. Here’s a small portion of my list: My “Thank You” List •Lord, you have protected my family and I all year. Thank you! •Lord, you have given me a stable mind. Thank you! •Lord, you overwhelm me with grace and mercy daily. Thank you! You can take it from there! Again, there’s potential for, both, you and I to have attitude problems; yet, the solution is attainable. Replace your seasons of thanksgiving with an aptitude for a thankful attitude. “Hi, my name is James and I’m grateful!”
Farrakhan rekindles controversies about race, Jews, 9/11 in speech at Watergate Hotel
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efore a crowded ballroom at the Watergate Hotel, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan called on President Trump to repent for what Farrakhan called America’s mistreatment of black people over the centuries.
“Can you live with North Korea with nuclear weapons? I think you’re going to have to, even though you have war plans already to knock out North Korea.”
The 84-year-old leader, his speech accented by images of former U.S. presidents and a poster of a Nation of Islam book about blacks and Jews, dove into all sorts of controversies – from slavery to the unhealthy water in Flint, Mich., to current reports of sexual harassment by national leaders and celebrities. The Nation of Islam’s influence has waned since its heyday in the 1950s and ’60s, when the movement claimed to have half a million adherents. African-Americans were drawn to its message of self-sufficiency and piety that combined a mistrust of the white establishment and a call for black separatism. Its numbers are now thought to be much smaller.
“America is a great nation but America needs to reflect on her sins,” Farrakhan told a gaggle of reporters and hundreds of supporters who showed up Thursday (Nov. 16) for an event billed as “a major message” to the Trump administration. For more than two hours, Farrakhan drifted from politics to religion – citing Christian and Muslim scriptures – and back. He combined condemnation of presidents past and present — though he was more supportive of former President Obama — with declarations of his continuing devotion to Elijah Muhammad, his predecessor as leader of the Nation of Islam. “I am here from my teacher, not out of hate but out of hope that maybe what I say to this 45th president of the United States of America might have an effect to get him off the course that he is on,” Farrakhan said. He suggested Trump forgo plans to confront North Korea. “You will never get North Korea to give up what she has as a trump card – that’s over, Mr. Trump,” he said.
Farrakhan addressed the long-standing charge against him of anti-Semitism, which arose during his support for Jesse Jackson’s 1980s presidential campaign. He said he admires Jews and their contribution to civilization. “There are righteous Jews, good Jews, Jews that want to practice the teachings of the prophets,” he said. “But then there are others who don’t wish to practice and it is they that hated Reverend Jackson’s desire to be president.” He repeated his conspiracy theory that 9/11 was a setup. “The country was so divided that what it needed was some event that could pull a divided country together,” he said of the time after the contested election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. “So here comes 9/11 and they said Muslims did it.” And as for recent sexual harassment scandals, Farrakhan maintained all members of Congress might be guilty. And he quoted Allah’s words that are rendered in at least one English translation of the Quran as: “Did I not find you groping and show you the way?” Farrakhan said it wasn’t “nice” for Trump to call protesting football players names for kneeling at games and said blacks were under attack in other ways.
“You’re under assault, black brothers and sisters,” he said. “Why is the sperm count in black men falling? Because of the food you eat and the water you drink. The lead in the water in Flint is not an accident.” Farrakhan said he planned to contact Trump via mail and added, drawing laughter from the crowd, “I don’t go to White Houses.” His speech came two years after he spoke in Washington at the “Justice or Else” rally in 2015 to mark the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March that brought hundreds of thousands of black men to the National Mall. The anniversary event brought together supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement along with Latino, Native American and Palestinian activists who urged better treatment – from opposing deportation to reducing mass incarceration.
A Catholic priest is mediating Mugabe’s departure
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o one yet knows how the 37-year reign of President Robert Mugabe will end, but many are hoping a Jesuit priest will lead the way to a peaceful transition of power in Zimbabwe. The Rev. Fidelis Mukonori on Wednesday (Nov. 15) began to mediate between Mugabe and the military shortly after the country’s generals put the 93-year-old authoritarian leader under house arrest. Mukonori, 70, the Mugabe family’s longtime spiritual adviser, is trying to negotiate a deal that would transition Mugabe out of power or send him into comfortable exile, perhaps in neighboring South Africa. The priest first met Mugabe, a Catholic in an overwhelmingly Protestant country, in 1974 at a Jesuit social service agency outside the nation’s capital, Harare, where Mugabe’s sister worked. The priest has served as the first family’s chaplain for all Mugabe’s years in office, which have been marked by political and economic turmoil. Mugabe to many is still the hero of a revolution that overthrew white majority rule. But he is also widely blamed for the nation’s economic tumult and reviled by those who resent the strong and sometimes violent arm he has used to retain power. Mukonori, though, has tried to portray Mugabe in a more sympathetic, religious light. Many people do not know this side of Mugabe, the priest in 2015 told The Herald, a national newspaper in Zimbabwe. “I think very few people have the time to understand him and how spiritual he is,” Mukonori said. “Robert Mugabe moved in the battlefield with the ro-
sary in his pocket. Robert Mugabe would be saying his rosary sitting in the car, Robert would say his rosary flying on the plane.” Mugabe’s mother had given him the rosary when he was going to war, telling him that he had no other weapon to offer him protection, according to the priest. “Pray your rosary,” the priest said Mugabe’s mother told him. Mugabe was born at a Catholic mission station and attended a Jesuit school in Zimbabwe, which was then known as Southern Rhodesia. Even before 1980, when the current nation of Zimbabwe was founded and Mugabe became its first prime minister — and then president — Mukonori has been by his side. The priest, who hold a master’s of theology from Santa Clara University’s Jesuit School of Theology in California, aided in the birth of Zimbabwe as its founding was negotiated in London, with the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. More recently, Mukonori has served on a commission drafting the country’s new constitution. This week, the generals said they seized power to end corruption in the country, which was plunged into political turmoil earlier this month after Mugabe fired Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Mnangagwa had been in a power struggle with Mugabe’s wife, Grace, to succeed her husband. Mugabe is apparently insisting that he be allowed to serve his full term as president. General elections are set for July 2018.
Could it happen here? How churches are preparing for a mass shooting
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id they know how many rounds a gunman fired into First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas? Did they know how many little boys and girls he killed? Did they know there was a second violent church attack that same day in Fresno, Calif.? Barry Young’s voice rose as he led an “intruder awareness and response training” for church personnel Saturday (Nov. 11) at Prairie Baptist Church in Scotts, Mich. “What happened in Texas isn’t new. It’s just larger than normal,” said Young, the vice president of church security ministries at Grandview, Mo.-based Strategos International, a Christian company that teaches people at schools, churches and other institutions how to deal with a violent, armed intruder. “We’ve got to get church leaders’ heads out of the sand.” It was the weekend after the deadliest church shooting in American history, after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton urged viewers on Fox News, “We need people in church — professional security or at least arming some of the parishioners or congregation — so they can respond when something like this happens again.” As church leaders across the country considered how to respond — to comfort their congregations but also to make them feel safe — nearly 80 people from churches across Michigan, Indiana and Illinois gathered at Prairie Baptist for the training presented by Strategos, the largest church security training ministry in the world, according to Young. Strategos, which is affiliated with Abundant Life Church in Lee’s Summit, Mo., southeast of Kansas City, has trained more than 20,000 church leaders since 2007. But since the most recent Texas church shooting, Young said he’s been overwhelmed with requests and is filling up his schedule so quickly that one Boston church will have to wait a year for its training. Saturday’s training was peppered with horrific details from the Texas church shooting, alarming statistics
and Bible verses delivered in a call-and-response cadence familiar to many churchgoers. “I wish it was 1950 … but it’s 2017, and the American church has to change,” Young said. His voice jumped another decibel: “I said the American church has to change. How many people have to die before the American church changes?” Prairie Baptist Church Prairie Baptist Church planned the event at least six months ago to boost the skills of its security team and to help other churches in the area do the same, Associate Pastor John Woullard said. When it came to the timing — a week after the Texas church shooting — Woullard said, “God just had that all worked out.” Prairie Baptist, housed in a long, low building covered in tan siding, sees about 200 people on a Sunday morning, the associate pastor said. That’s about the average size for a church in the United States, according to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. The church has had a security team for about three years, after Woullard went to a similar training and, he said, “my eyes were opened to how much is going on in the world and how little we know what’s going on in our building during a service.” “It made my eyebrows go up.” Prairie Baptist’s security team has about 10 members who rotate serving on a Sunday, he said. One person is positioned to greet people at the front door, which is kept locked. Someone is in every part of the building every few minutes to check on Sunday school classes and to make sure everyone is safe. Several are armed. On Saturday, Richard Wise, head of Prairie Baptist’s security team, greeted visitors warmly at the door with a firm handshake. He was wearing an earpiece and a cheery blue button-down shirt with the church’s logo, and both he and Woullard were carrying concealed weapons, according to Wise.
Churches are considered “gun-free zones” in Michigan, but gun owners can carry their weapons with a pastor’s permission, Woullard said. And a Michigan Senate committee approved bills last week that would give blanket permission to carry concealed weapons in churches and other gun-free zones. “The Bible says, ‘Redeeming the time for the days are evil.’ We have to be diligent and understand the times we live in,” Woullard said. The associate pastor pointed to the biblical Book of Nehemiah, in which the people carried a tool in one hand and a sword in the other as they rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem. He offered as an example the Founding Fathers, who could not have won the Revolutionary
more than 1,500 violent church attacks in America, and church violence has gone up 2,380 percent, Young said. Chinn’s statistics, however, have been called into question and include the many violent deaths on church property that are suicides. Last year alone, there were 246 violent church attacks, Young said. On Nov. 5, there were two. He poked the media for failing to report the story. “The media sometimes doesn’t tell the truth,” Young said to laughs, “and so most people don’t know that there was a violent church attack last Sunday at the exact same time” as the shooting in Texas.
War without weapons. And he pointed to the shooting the weekend before at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, which ended when a neighbor fired back at the attacker with his own gun. Church security.
In addition to the shooting in Sutherland Springs, which killed more than two dozen people, Manuel Garcia fatally shot his estranged wife, Martha Garcia, and her new boyfriend outside St. Alphonsus Church in Fresno, Calif., before killing himself later that day at his home, according to The Washington Post, one of several news outlets that reported the crime. And yet, while airports, public schools and other institutions have changed how they handle security in this era of mass shootings, the church has not, he said. Because it can take police four to nine minutes to respond to a call for help, he said, “We want to give you a comprehensive plan from the parking lot to the pulpit that includes Band-Aids to bullets to close the four- to nine-minute window.”
In his opening prayer Saturday, Wise made clear they weren’t just there to talk about guns. “When we talk about church security, it’s not talking about packing a gun or carrying a gun,” he prayed. “It’s about being prepared for every possible thing that we can think of, Lord. It’s just protecting the flock — it’s protecting what you have blessed us with in the ministry.” Inside the church, decorated with Bible verses, patriotic sentiments and a portrait of George Washington, Young shared a number of statistics taken from the statistics on deadly force collected by church security consultant Carl Chinn: Since 1999, there have been
Young advocated for three layers of church security: a parking lot team, greeters and ushers, and a security team. He shared three foundations of church
security — “look out,” “get out” and “take out.” He walked attendees through a lockdown, confronting somebody coming down the aisle at a church, and using a tactical pen — a writing instrument and weapon in one — for self-defense. As he demonstrated how to shoot beneath a vehicle and described what direction vehicles should be parked in relation to a building, a white-tailed deer bobbed across one of the surrounding fields. Marc Anderson of Kalamazoo, Mich., and his sisterin-law Anneliese Langs, a police officer who lives in Climax, Mich., came to the training at the suggestion of their pastor at Fellowship Baptist Church in Battle Creek, Mich. Their pastor also happens to be Langs’ father. She began discussing the idea of a security team with him after the church shooting earlier this year outside Nashville, Tenn., she said. Fellowship Baptist averages about 60 people each Sunday, and Anderson, who works for an aviation company in Battle Creek, already was thinking how he could scale what he’d learned for a smaller church and who might be interested in joining a security team. He’s encountered pushback to the idea, especially the idea of guns in church, including from his dad, who also is a pastor. “It doesn’t seem to make much sense,” he said. “As a pastor, you’re responsible for the people that come. … I don’t think there’s anything wrong with protecting the people that go there. You want them to feel safe.”
Christian players frustrated by criticism for anthem protest
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ric Reid and other Christian players who support Colin Kaepernick’s social justice movement want believers on the opposite side of the controversial anthem protest to ask themselves a simple but powerful question: What would Jesus do? Reid joined Kaepernick, his former San Francisco 49ers teammate, in kneeling for the “The Star-Spangled Banner” last year because he wants to be a “voice for the voiceless,” a lesson derived from a Bible verse found in Proverbs. The 25-year-old safety-turned-linebacker said he has discussed faith with Kaepernick, who remains unsigned. “It’s the foundation of why we started doing this,” Reid told The Associated Press on Oct. 29. “We all have a love for people. The Bible tells us love your brother as yourself so that’s why we’re doing it. “We have to speak up for those who can’t do it for themselves. My faith is ultimately what led me to start protesting and it’s what continues to drive me. Faith without works is dead. I feel like the past year before we started protesting, the Lord has prepped me for this moment.” Reid made the decision to kneel following a meeting
with Kaepernick and former Green Beret and Seahawks long snapper Nate Boyer. Kaepernick initially sat for the anthem before his conversation with Boyer. They chose to kneel because they felt it’s a “respectful gesture.” But the movement has drawn heavy criticism as it continues to envelop the NFL. President Donald Trump exacerbated the situation earlier this season when he suggested team owners should fire any players who knelt during the anthem. Kaepernick, who led San Francisco to consecutive NFC championship games and one Super Bowl, filed a complaint that team owners colluded against him because of the protests, which are aimed at raising awareness for police brutality against African-Americans and other issues. Reid said he’s “baffled” that some people misconstrue player demonstrations as being protests against the anthem itself, or the American flag, or the military or police. He’s especially frustrated by Christians who lash out against the players. “I do see some hypocrisy with the people that call themselves Christians,” Reid said. “If you know Jesus, he went into the house of God and turned over the tables and was angry and said they made the house of God into a marketplace so I would say this is something that He would do.” But the issue has been so divisive that Christians can’t agree. “This is not about black, white, brown, red or yellow; it’s about respect for the country and its flag, which symbolizes we are ‘one’ nation under God,” said Joseph Bruce Sofia, senior pastor at Gloucester Coun-
ty Community Church in Sewell, New Jersey. “The national anthem speaks of oneness and not division; it speaks of hope and unity, of poverty to wealth, from the ghetto to the Presidency. The Biblical principle of sowing and reaping is in effect here. Sow discord and we’ll reap discord. Oppression is a horrible thing, and needs to be taken on head-on, but take it to the town hall or courts or social media but, in my opinion, using the national anthem during a football game draws a line in the wrong sand.” Carl Lentz, the lead pastor at New York City’s Hillsong Church, said many people, including Christians, are ignoring the real issues. “What we see right now in culture is what’s easier? To make this about a flag, which it’s never been about, or to actually say, Colin, what’s your beef? What’s your passion? What’s going on?” Lentz said. “Our country has a sad history of missing the mark, missing the moment, and deflecting issues. To judge this guy for putting his career on the line for something he’s passionate about, I do not understand. It’s sad.” Baltimore Ravens tight end Benjamin Watson, a strong advocate for social reform, said he’s disappointed when Christians put “politics above the gospel, empathy and understanding.” “We talk about what Jesus would do. Let’s think about that,” said Watson, who has been standing for the anthem. “How should I Biblically look at this situation? Is my response as an American going against what my response should be as a Christian? If I’m a Christian, I want to delight in the things that (Christ) delights in and those things are blind. They’re not based on color, creed or culture or money. “Being kind is not predicated on what you can do for me. Justice is not predicated on if I experienced injustice or not. We can advocate for people who have experiences that we don’t even have. True justice is blind and righteous. Christians should be about expanding and promoting the gospel. If you listen or think about the subject matter that players and people are concerned about, you could not as someone who reads scripture turn a blind eye to it.” Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, one of the founders of The Players Coalition, said the Christian community could effectuate positive change if it wasn’t divided. “As big as we are, as much influence as we have on policy and politics, if the Church ever got behind really being for equality and really being for justice, it would show up, it would come,” said Jenkins, who has been
raising a fist during the anthem. “But a lot of times we don’t show the empathy, we don’t take the time to listen and we’re just as segregated as the world is right now.” Watson emphasized the importance of both sides listening to each other. “These guys love America. We’re not traitors, we just want this country to be better on some things,” Watson said. “When we’re able to sit and communicate with one another, it allows us to understand. None of us are perfect. Reid was one of three players who took a knee Sunday on Veterans Day weekend. “Our protest is against systemic oppression like we always say,” Reid said. “I didn’t feel the need to stand today. I have a military background in my family. I’ve spoken to family members who don’t feel disrespected.”
Catholic bishops take on racism in society and the church
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he head of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ anti-racism task force told his colleagues that racism “lives in a particular and pernicious way” in the United States. “Christ wishes to break down the walls created by the evils of racism,” Bishop George Murry of Youngstown told the bishops on Monday (Nov. 13) as they gathered in Baltimore for their annual November meeting. “Racism still exists and has found a troubling resurgence in recent years,” he said, noting the “white supremacists and neo-Nazis [who] marched with hate-inspired messages in Charlottesville, Virginia,” in August. “The hatred that is often in hiding for some was on full display,” said Murry, who is African-American. Murry is chair of the U.S. Bishops Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, which was established after Charlottesville by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Without naming names, Murry acknowledged that “some leaders and institutions within the Church have, at times, been part of the problem or failed to live up to our teaching in resisting racism.” “But the Church as an institution and Catholics in all walks of life have also dedicated themselves, arm-inarm with many others, to rooting out racism throughout the years,” he said. He recalled the 1979 pastoral letter, “Brothers and Sisters to Us,” where the U.S. Bishops wrote: “Racism is a sin: a sin that divides the human family, blots out the image of God among specific members of that family, and violates the fundamental human dignity of those called to be children of the same Father.” Since its creation in August, the Ad Hoc Committee has worked with the USCCB staff to produce resources to assist in preaching and teaching against racism, some of which is available on the USCCB website. The committee is also planning a national ecumenical and interfaith convening to take place in 2018, reported Murry. “This event is meant to begin a series of listening sessions and dialogues about racism within and outside of the Church, including its roots and impacts — spiritual and civil, individual and structural.”
Murry also reported meeting with members of Congress and their staffs to “learn about the work that is already being done, as we consider ideas about how best to go forward.”