BLACK SUCCESS HEADQUARTERS

The print magazine claims a 29-year history. Now the website takes up providing college, grad- and professional-school, and career information for African-Americans. Besides the job postings and advice, there is also a less-serious side with sports and music coverage. http://www.black-collegian.com

Teaching & Living Confidence

How I love the wisdom of Nelson Mandela as expressed in the piece below:

Shine as Children
Our deepest fear is not that we are Inadequate;
it is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us . . .
As we let our own light shine we give others permission to do the same.
--- Nelson Mandela

Deep down we all want our children to go forth into the world with confidence, letting their lights shine brightly, trusting and serving God. But they will never learn to do so if we have not mastered the art ourselves. We cannot hope to teach them with mere words; we must instruct by example.

I am constantly amazed that the Christian community so frequently mistakes shining confidence for false pride. Jesus never hesitated to both display and speak of His powers, always attributing the glory to the Father. We can do nothing without Him, but with Him and in Him, we are awesome!

We have light and power from above, so why do we hide it under a bushel basket and instead try through our own efforts to create a light in our lives not from the Lord. While we strut and primp and puff ourselves up seeking men's praise for our imagined worth, our true worth as God's children often lies hidden from the eyes of the world.

We may readily brag to a stranger about a great golf shot but be afraid to tell our best friend about Jesus. Or we may be too timid to share how God has brought some special blessing, but think nothing of discussing some misfortune. Our children see and learn... and immulate.

Why are we so afraid? Consider the following...

If You Think You Aren't Worthy
Submitted by Bobby Lewis

There are many reasons why God shouldn't have called you. But don't worry. You're in good company:

Moses stuttered.
David's armor didn't fit.
John Mark was rejected by Paul.
Timothy had ulcers.
Hosea's wife was a prostitute.
Amos' only training was in the school of fig-tree pruning.
Jacob was a liar.
David had an affair.
Solomon was too rich.
Jesus was too poor.
Abraham was too old.
David was too young.
Peter was afraid of death.
Lazarus was dead.
John was self-righteous.
Naomi was a widow.
Paul was a murderer.
So was Moses.
Jonah ran from God.
Miriam was a gossip.
Gideon and Thomas both doubted.
Elijah was burned out.
John the Baptist was a loudmouth.
Martha was a worrywart.
Mary was lazy.
Samson had long hair.
Noah got drunk.
Did I mention that Moses had a short fuse?
So did Peter, Paul-well, lots of folks did.

But God doesn't require a job interview. He doesn't hire and fire like most bosses, because He's more our Father than our Boss. He doesn't look at financial gain or loss. He's not prejudiced or partial, not judging, grudging, sassy, or brassy, not deaf to our cry, not blind to our need. As much as we try, God's gifts are free. We could do wonderful things for wonderful people and still not be...Wonderful.

Satan says "You're not worthy."
Jesus says, "So what? I AM."

Satan looks back and sees our mistakes. God looks back and sees the cross. He doesn't calculate what you did in '78. It's not even on the record. Sure. There are lots of reasons why God shouldn't have called us. But if we are magically in love with him, if we hunger for Him more than our next breath, He'll use us in spite of who we are, where we've been, or what we look like.

I pray that as Christians, we will step out of our limitations into the illimitable nature of who God is. Then our passion for God and our passion to communicate Him will make mincemeat of our limitations.

Pastoral Candidates

The following is a confidential report on several candidates being considered for our pastorate.

Adam: Good man but problems with his wife. Also one reference told us that he and his wife enjoy walking nude in the woods.

Noah: Former pastorate of 120 years with not even one convert. Prone to unrealistic building projects.

Abraham: Though the references reported wife-swapping, the facts seem to show he never slept with another man's wife, but did offer to share his own wife with another man.

Joseph: A big thinker, but a braggart, believes in dream-interpreting and has a prison record.

Moses: A modest and meek man, but poor communicator, even stuttering at times. Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.

David: The most promising leader of all until we discovered the scandalous affair that he had with his neighbor's wife.

Solomon: Great preacher but our parsonage would never hold all those wives.

Elisha: Reported to have lived with a single widow while at his former church.

Deborah: Strong leader and seems to be anointed, but she is female.

Jeremiah: Emotionally unstable, alarmist, negative, always lamenting things, reported to have taken a long trip to bury his underwear on the bank of a foreign river.

Isaiah: On the fringe? Claims to have seen angels in church. Has trouble with his language.

Jonah: Refused God's call into ministry until he was forced to obey by getting swallowed up by a great fish. He told us the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.

Amos: Too backward and unpolished. With some seminary training he might have promise, but has a hang-up against wealthy people--might fit in better in a poor congregation.

John: Says he is a Baptist, but definitely doesn't dress like one. Has slept in the outdoors for months on end, has a weird diet and provokes denominational leaders.

Peter: Too blue collar. Has a bad temper-even has been known to curse. Had a big run-in with Paul in Antioch. Aggressive, but a loose cannon.

Paul: Powerful CEO type leader and fascinating preacher. However, short on tact, unforgiving with younger ministers, harsh and has been known to preach all night.

James & John: Package deal preacher & associate seemed good at first, but found out they have an ego problem regarding other fellow workers and seating positions. Threatened an entire town after an insult. Also known to try to discourage workers who didn't follow along with them.

Timothy: Too young!

Methuselah: Too old . . . WAY too old!

Jesus: Has had popular times, but once his church grew to 5000 he managed to offend them all and then this church dwindled down to twelve people. Seldom stays in one place very long. And, of course, he's single.

Judas: His references are solid. A steady plodder. Conservative. Good connections. Knows how to handle money. We're inviting him to preach this Sunday. Possibilities here.

TOP 15 THINGS THAT GOD WON'T ASK
Submitted by Staff Writer Sharon Barrett

1. God won't ask what kind of car you drove, but he'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.

2. God won't ask the square footage of your house, but he'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.

3. God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, but he'll ask how many you helped to clothe.

4. God won't ask about your social status; he will ask what kind of class you displayed.

5. God won't ask how many material possessions you had, but he'll ask if they dictated your life.

6. God won't ask what your highest salary was, but he'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.

7. God won't ask how much overtime you worked, but he'll ask if you worked overtime work was for yourself or for your family.

8. God won't ask how many promotions you received, but he'll ask how you promoted others.

9. God won't ask what your job title was, but he'll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.

10. God won't ask what you did to help yourself, but he'll ask what you did to help others.

11. God won't ask how many friends you had, but he'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.

12. God won't ask what you did to protect your rights, but he'll ask what you did to protect the rights of others.

13. God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, but he'll ask how you treated your neighbors.

14. God won't ask about the color of your skin, but he'll ask about the content of your character.

15. God won't ask how many times your deeds matched your words, but he'll ask how many times they didn't.

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