The AMCC (Part 2: The Found Sheep)

In Luke 15:1-7, we find Jesus telling Pharisees and the teachers of the Law a parable about the lost sheep. Notice by the title, I’m going to reverse the parable.

The summary of the parable in Luke 15:1-7 is that one who goes looking for the sheep that’s lost and that heaven rejoices over the one sheep that was lost is found. Those in the AMCC rejoice more over the found sheep than they do the lost sheep. Remember in Part 1 (using myself as the example for this): the AMCC would consist of me, my family in my clique. The AMCC focuses on ensuring the safety of the 99 sheep that are found and let the one sheep that’s lost stay lost and they don’t even get prayed for (unless it’s someone within their own circle, then they’ll call everyone to prayer cause it’s part of their clique). Tragically, the one who’s lost and on their way to hell, doesn’t even get prayed for, and then have the nerve to point a finger when they don’t even go to church. I experienced something like this in 2011 when I had a heart for someone, and many people who are plagued with the AMCC mentality told me to let that person that’s lost go, we care about ensuring you remain part of the found sheep. Again, if it was someone within their family, we pray. It’s easy to be in the AMCC because is structured and comfortable. And if a person has a leadership role within the AMCC, it’s definitely a place of comfort and a position of power (and everyone beneath must submit).

The AMCC is one that is focused on ensuring that the gifts and talents of members who attend this church, stay in the church (for some churches, it’s called the law of consecration). All of your times, gifts and talents must be used for the service of the local church, denomination, and for the building of the local church (to make the church and the pastoral team look good). If you dare to step outside that box, you are set apart because you’re making an impact not only in the local church and environment around you (and you’re not looking for attention). But the pastoral team and leaders within the community aren’t getting the glory that they want – and that’s typically the mentality of the AMCC. My former church was a great example of this: they were focused on the found sheep and if we did go and witness to someone, it was to bring them to church and let the pastor indoctrinate them to his teachings (of course, his prayers for people who wanted to know the Lord were along the lines of submitting to his teachings – that men be the lord over the house and slap their wives if they don’t submit to his teachings).

In my current church, we had a guest preacher from New Orleans around November of 2012 and he talked about what I’m talking about since the last part of 2011 (I will focus on what he said in Part 3). The tragedy is that no one really wanted to talk about the lesson after the service after church; they were focused on ensuring that a seat was occupied, they had favor with the pastoral team and that they were on the role of attendance.

I will close Part 2 with something Joyce Meyer said (I don’t agree with everything she says, but she hit this on the nail). She said this, in quote: “there’s someone around you that you’re giving up on, don’t give up on them because it’s the most comfortable thing for you. Make sure you go to God and ask Him if He wants you to give up on them. Are you ready for me to turn my back on this person and walk away? We say we want to be used by God, but do we really? Do you really want a ministry? We beg God to use us for His glory, to show us our calling and our ministry; but we don’t want to be around sinners or anyone that makes us uncomfortable. We don’t want to stick with people that don’t just make us feel icky and give us goosebumps all the time! We have to get to the point where we say, I’m not here just to make myself happy. And you’re just going to have to be uncomfortable at times.”

She just told us how to break free from the AMCC mentality. Stay tuned for Part 3.

What Breaks The Heart of God (Part 1: The Golden Calf)

I’m not going to cover everything that breaks the heart of God. I’m just going to cover maybe 2 or 3 things. This first one is really going to be something serious, so get ready to take offense (ha ha).

When Moses didn't come down from the mountain on the children of Israel's timetable, they got Aaron to make a golden calf & they worshipped it saying this is OUR god. No different than today, when God doesn't respond, we look to man or an image and esteem them as our god. This was something I posted this past Friday on my Facebook wall. Now let me expound on this one.

You see, Moses was communing with God during the time of the golden calf. But the children of Israel didn’t understand patience. Again, no different than us, we try to find our own savior (most of the times, through men). They arbitrarily assumed that Moses forgot about them so they decided to make a god who led them out of Egypt. It’s interesting they wanted to make a god that showed they were led out of Egypt, considering in Numbers, they were so ready to return to Egypt. They were the epitome of wanting to have their cake and eat it too. No different than us, we want to live prosperous, but at the same time, we want to covet anything that doesn’t belong to us, but will sure enough fight to have it. We want to have our cake and be able to eat it too; at the same time, be jealous when one person does it the right way but you’re stuck in the same situation. Aaron, giving in to these trifling people builds a calf. When confronted by Moses, Aaron blames them saying, “you know how determined these people are to do evil.” He should’ve manned up and said; I gave in to what they wanted. He blamed the children of Israel. No different than us, we’ll blame others for our own screw-ups.

Aaron said, tomorrow, there will be festival to honor the Lord. The following day, the children of Israel sat down to feast, but it turned to a wild party.

What’s the underlying message? Our culture is so numb to what’s right and wrong, that we’ll worship anything that pleases our flesh or gives us what our flesh wants (irrespective if it costs you your spiritual life). Do I fall guilty of this? At times I do. What we need to do is consider every action that we do. Who are we praising, God or man? Why do we get offended when we insult the golden calf and not take offense when we grieve the Lord by our actions? Why do we demand that the world stops to hear a golden calf speak as if the calf is God? I foresee many people falling to the golden calf (it could be a man, an image, anything that does not exalt God for who He is). Sadly, our actions determine who we are really serving.

Part 2 will talk about needed rebukes but not given due to ears being itched. Stay tuned.

The AMCC (Part 1: Its Origins)

Around November 2011, when my life was going down the toilet, God was speaking to me about many churches today. Yes, I’m in church, but I noticed a common trend occurring (and it tied into the state of the economy). Many people have asked me, what does the AMCC stand for? It simply stands for the American Middle Class Church. I took some heat from those in my current church, and I’m sure I’ll take some heat for this now. It doesn’t concern me in the least. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with the AMCC per se, when the mentality overrides the Bible, then there’s a serious problem (and I believe on some level, it has).

So, where does their origin begin? Well, in life, there are three classes of people and their economic state. You have the rich, the middle-class and the poor. I work in a system where the majority (if not all) would be classified as middle-class. There’s nothing wrong with that. Because of the pressures of the economy, what you find is that attitudes are based on what the economy is doing and not based on the word of God. The attitude I found to be true (especially in 2011) was this: I will do what I can to protect me, my family and my clique within my place of employment. You could call that the dog-eat-dog syndrome also. What you have here is nothing more than a middle-class fight. If you’ve been around me long enough, you would hear me say that the middle-class fight is going to get worse as the years progress.

What is sad is that we carry that same mentality over into the church world. If you have wealth, you’re frowned upon, and if you’re poor, you’re frowned upon as well. In the church world, you have many churches that you would probably call a middle class church. But because most of our demeanor has been protecting me, my family and my clique, that mentality carries over and we use that same principle when it comes to prayer, and if someone is in need. If you’re outside the circle, you’ll get help, but also be snickered behind your back (or they’ll internally gloat knowing that you need them). Heaven forbid someone outside a person’s circle is thinking about ending their life. The simple words “get over it” would be used. If they’re part of the clique, they’ll be showered with prayer and anything else that would show favoritism. If you speak out of this mentality or the schisms within the church that even look like this mentality, you’ll be called out as being cynical. Most people who cry “you are being cynical” are simply immune to it and are comfortable in this mentality. In this mentality, it’s real easy to become complacent and have your head stuck in the sand. It’s easy to identify someone in this church – example: you may have some that want to help others outside their AMCC wall (and that’s a good thing), but because they may feel trapped in the wall, they remain there and end up losing effectiveness because they don’t go down to their level. They’ll stay within those walls, and talk down to you when you don’t measure up to them. That’s not getting a full picture of where others outside your AMCC circle are.

Part 2 will discuss a parable of Jesus and how this ties into the AMCC. Stay tuned.

Author Spotlight (LaCricia A`ngelle)

I was privileged to meet this author at the BWABC Literary Festival this past September in Memphis, TN. I know it's been a while since I did an author spotlight, so for the beginning of the new year, I put the spotlight on fellow author LaCricia A`ngelle.

LaCricia A`ngelle is the author of Girl, Naw! and Positive Deception, Christian novels published by His Pen Publishing. A Chicago native, this wife, mother, licensed evangelist and top selling author is on the rise to the top!

With a writing career that began when she was just a child, LaCricia A`ngelle quickly realized that God had blessed her with the ability and an unrelenting love for the written word. She has taken her childhood talents of writing songs, short stories and even a non-fiction book as a teen, which she tossed to the side because of fear, to a powerhouse novelist who has matured in her craft thanks to God’s continued grace and HIS pen, which helps her, put the words together.

When asked about her genre of choice, LaCricia A`ngelle responds: “As a Christian Fiction Author, I not only write for entertainment, I also write for ministry. My goal in every piece of written work I produce is to draw someone closer to Christ. My characters face real situations and I write so that anyone who reads my work can get something out of it.”

Whether young or old, when you read a LaCricia A`ngelle original, prepare to laugh, cry, pray, and stop to say “hmmm.”

Website: www.lacriciaangelle.com

Email: author@lacriciaangelle.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lacriciaangelle

 

Gun Control vs. Mental Illness

I'd like to start this with a clip from my novel Deaf, Dumb, Blind & Stupid: There are so many people who are plagued with ADD, ADHD, PTSD, BPD, Bipolar and other mental disorders, and we steadily punish them for their mental differences and chemical imbalances ... Why are we only sympathetic if OUR child has a mental disorder? On the contrary, if you know someone else whose child has a mental disorder, they need a beating ... Somebody needs to hear them, or we as a country will continue to lose God-gifted people to the hands of death. Either abused victims will take their own lives, or they will become sadistic and take somebody else’s life. If we don’t discern their hearts and pray for them, these are the consequences that will be suffered among teenagers and among people who are dying.

Many people talk about gun control being the issue. I believe mental illness is the issue (and we want to do something about it after the fact). It’s time for us to get our heads out of the sand and be proactive in saving people (especially the next generation). Instead of cursing those with mental illness, they deserve love and respect just like we do. I personally believe the media is using “gun control” for political reasons. Seriously, guns don't hate or kill, people do. Gun control won’t solve the problem. Dealing with the root of mental illness (but more importantly sin) is how to deal with hatred! We can talk gun control all over the place, watch there be more homicides. Remember illegal business controls America. Something to think about.

My plea is for the mothers of America to not put a band-aid on this thing called mental illness. Parents look at that as an embarrassment (ruining the image of the mother). How do I know this? I have a mental illness and in therapy. Now, will my illness make me go out and kill someone? No! For some it might. Now when it comes to suicide, the possibility is greater & we struggle with that regularly. I pray that mothers of America stop living in denial when abuse is happening in your home and you actually know it. Back to suicide, when a person has a mental illness (and no one even bothers to look at it), it's no surprise if they become sadistic. Adding insult to injury, when we even think of suicide or actually proceed with it, we're looked at as outcasts.

In the AA community, mental illness is looked at as the “dirty or little black secret.” We can never see the truth if we stay in darkness. Sadly, we put stereotypes on people, every situation must be evaluated. Some would say if blacks murdered, they’re a criminal. If whites murdered, they have a mental illness. That stereotype is totally wrong. Every situation must be evaluated. If I were to murder someone, they wouldn't say I have a mental illness, but use the stigma that "I'm black!" Never mind the fact I have a mental illness. Every part of our bodies get sick, even the mind (I don’t care how holy you think you are, it gets sick like every other part of your body). Yes, we do have battles in the mind, but there’s nothing wrong with seeking help if you have a mental disorder. But for some of us, we’re so holy that we want to preach over their heads talking down to them like they ARE stupid. But if it was your child, you’d want everyone to stop what they were doing and help your child, pray for you and your child. That shows how selfish we are.

There are some who know people with mental illness, and you intentionally make them the poster child and talk down on them like they’re stupid. How dare you?

And there are some who say that the shooter should’ve just shot himself. Here’s my response: We as a country glorify death, provided we don't have to give up our own lives.

If you have a moment, I have a YouTube link on my wall (about abuse/mental illness), check it out.

Author Spolight (Shani Greene-Dowdell)

I was privileged to meet this author at the BWABC Literacy Festival this past September. In fact, her novel Secrets of a Kept Woman is now a stage play. Having said that, show your love for my sister & fellow author Shani Greene-Dowdell).

She brings to the forefront issues of every woman’s heart and soul. She keeps it real and says what every one else would only dare to think. Author Shani Greene-Dowdell’s powerful and provoking writing style and insight into the sexuality, joy, pain, and frustration in relationships distinguishes her as an urban fiction and erotica author. Shani Greene-Dowdell is a living example that consistency, perseverance, and prayer are the keys to success. As a living example of living victorious over every obstacle, Shani shares her lessons learned and inspires others with the truth in her written works. As a prolific author and playwright, Shani Greene-Dowdell unveils the common hopes, dreams, and obstacles that every woman encounters.

Her sophomore novel “Secrets of a Kept Woman” is a powerful journey addressing the complex needs of African American women to embrace one another instead of tearing each other down. Uninhibitedly, Shani shares with her readers’ passion, humor, and the intricate bonds of friendship. Shayla, Rhonda and Gladys learn the importance of cherishing the love that binds them by seeking the love of God before it’s too late. “There is nothing like being in synch with someone that knows your heart, knows your spirit, and knows exactly when to stroke them both,” narrates a passage from the book. Bringing to the forefront probing, honest, and life-changing issues, Shani’s “Secrets of a Kept Woman” uses everyday language and metaphors to empower readers to have healthier relationships with those closest to their heart.

Shani is committed to writing about issues that empower women, especially by empowering them to achieve their dreams at all costs. Her novels show uncommon faces in urban fiction that include college graduates, doctors, lawyers, and business owners. She demonstrates that in order to find diamonds in life you have to have clear vision and be prepared to work, which means you have to be prepared to work on yourself during the process. As a native of Alabama, she paints pictures of her community through poetry, short stories and novels, and continues to broaden her horizons through her stage play, Secrets of a Kept Woman and hopes one day to see her work in film.

Email: info@nayberrypublications.com

Web: www.nayberrypublications.com

Author Spotlight (Ondrea L. Davis)

I am so blessed to present this author as the spotlight for this week. I was able to meet her in person at the BWABC Literacy Festival in September and I'm looking forward to working on my next project with her. With that said, show your love for my sister & fellow author Ondrea L. Davis.

Ondrea L. Davis is a native of the Washington, DC area.  She graduated in 2010 earning a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting and most recently received a Master of Arts degree in Social Behavior. Ondrea is a 35 year old mother of 11-year old twin girls and a 9-year old son.  Her children are members of the Cub Scout and Girl Scout troops where she serves as a volunteer. Ondrea has always been very active within her church.  With a passion for helping our younger generation, Ondrea works with the Youth Department where she currently serves as Vice President.

In 2010, Ondrea heeded the call to pen her inspirational true story.  After many months of soul searching, she signed on with Foresight Publishing, LLC and released How could my husband be GAY? This title garnered several awards, including 1st place in the 2011 Readers Favorite Awards in Non Fiction-Relationships, the 2011 Books-And-Authors.net Book of the Year for Autobiographical Alternative.  The book was also listed as a 2011 African American Literature Book Club (AALBC) Bestselling eBook.  Ondrea’s much anticipated second novel is scheduled to be released in early 2013.

In her spare time, Ondrea loves traveling, singing, reading, spending time with family and working with her company, Foresight Publishing.  In addition, she enjoys tours to speak with churches, book clubs and women's interest and youth groups promoting the awareness of subjects we tend to ignore.  She has found that many times the things we want to avoid are the things we need to discuss the most.  Her theme is “DISCUSSION -> AWARENESS -> PREVENTION”.  Ondrea thoroughly believes in taking simple preventative measures, such as discussion and encouragement to help guide people along the right path, rather than waiting until after mistakes are made and suffer unnecessary consequences.  For more information, please visit www.ondrealdavis.com.