Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram - Chair, Commission on Publications
The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, Editor
1. THE EDITOR’S CORNER:
- Yesterday, The Christian Recorder Online featured a letter received from a bishop who said that he was the Presiding Bishop for Grace Ministries International Fellowship. He went on to share that the fellowship “assist those churches in reaching the next level in ministry” by offering a fully accredited seminary where persons can earn the M. Div., D.Min., Th. D., and Ph. D by seminary extension. The seminary is not fully accredited by the American Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and in looking at the requirements I am utterly amazed that any minister would attempt to circumvent the requirements of the AME Church by matriculating at an unaccredited institution.
The letter also quotes the bishop as writing, ”You may have a concern about being connected to a connectional church such as AME, CME and AME ZION and being a part of this fellowship. Well, that is exactly what it is, A FELLOWSHIP, not a denomination. We have in our fellowship Bishops who are AME but not Bishops in the AME church system.” I am equally amazed that any AME who has studied AME polity, or who has been in the Church “a week or more, would know that we follow the Bible and the Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.” From that “bishop’s” standpoint, just because he says what he has is a fellowship and not a denomination and therefore ministers in the AME Church can become “bishops” in his fellowship does not make what he says as a rule for members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. We must follow the doctrine and polity of the AME Church. The African Methodist Episcopal Church elects and consecrates bishops to superintend the work of the Church. The AME order of ordained ministry is deacon and elder; that’s it! We don’t have apostles, prophets and prophetess as a part of our ordained ministry.
The AME Church also has clear requirements for ordained ministry and one of the requirements is graduation from ATS accredited theological seminaries. Grace Valley Theological Seminary is not accredited by ATS and therefore students who attend and graduate from that institution would not fulfill the academic requirement for ministry in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Candidates for ministry in the AME Church should do in consultation with their pastor, presiding elder or bishop.
We also have a system of ministerial Boards of Examiners. The Reverend Dr. Joe Darby wrote, “The Boards of Examiners should be about the business of making sure that those who go into ministry in the AME Church know what it means to be an AME in polity and doctrine. I'm fond of telling Admissions classes in the first session, ‘Being admitted on trial means that we're trying you and you're trying us. If you eventually realize that your call to ministry is not in the AME Church, then leave now - no harm, no foul!’"
Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram of the Tenth Episcopal District commented. “The clergy of the African Methodist Episcopal Church must learn to follow the polity of the Church.” He went on to say, “The polity of the church takes precedence over what someone outside of the Church says. Our clergy should know that.” General Officer, the Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour said, "Something has to be done about this. AME ministers are going to be AMEs or they are going to be something else. They can't be both."
I read the letter that the good “bishop” wrote the Reverend Joe Darby today in which he wrote: "I sent out an invitation for pastors of the AME, CME and AME ZION to consider becoming a member of Grace Ministries International Fellowship. The intent of the letter was to create a fellowship of pastors and churches to assist each other in leadership and growth skills. Grace Ministries is not a subtle attempt to create a denomination but to give people an opportunity to do special ministry in special areas to create holistic growth in the local church.” Sounds innocent enough, but the invitation sounds to me that it smacks at, “wolves in sheep clothing.”
I was amazed at the number of AME email addresses to whom the good “bishop” sent his response. Imagine a seminary degree that you pay $1500 and write a 50 page paper, and that includes the bibliography. Wow! The good “bishop” should at least have “a blush of shame.” Those preparing for ministry should be willing to sacrifice and “sweat” in preparation for the ministry. You don’t get a seminary degree overnight! It takes hard work! The Church needs ministers, who are legitimate, not “fly by night ‘jack-leg’ preachers.” The AME Church is a legitimate Church that requires legitimate academic preparation.
The Reverend Joe Darby, the scholar, responded to the “good “bishop, in part, - “As a member of my Conference Board of Examiners, I have a particular sensitivity to that (AME ministers being a member of ‘fellowships’). I do discuss and promote ecumenism when instructing candidates for admission to AME ministry. I also make it plain, however, that their admission to an AME Annual Conference means that they will embrace and defend the doctrines and polity of the AME Church and cannot be ‘a little bit AME.’ We have had problems with others whose intent is not as worthy or God-inspired as yours - those who tell those ‘young’ in ministry that when it comes to denomination and acceptance of polity, you can be more than one thing at the same time, and that is contrary to the teachings and practices of the AME Church…”
(Read all of this in The Christian Recorder)
- I am still requesting news articles from all of our Episcopal District. I believe that the news I the Christian Recorder should be balanced and balance can be achieved if Episcopal Districts will send their news items to, Editor, The Christian Recorder chsydnor@bellsouth.net or mail to 512 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203-4181.
Some of the Episcopal Districts are doing very well and you see their news. The Christian Recorder readership wants to read about what’s happening in all of the Episcopal Districts. Help us to become a better paper by sharing with us what is happening in your Episcopal District!
Color pictures are $35 for the color separation fee. Black and white photos are free.
2. BISHOP PHILLIP COUSIN TO JOIN HEADS OF FAITH COMMUNITIES IN CALLING FOR POLITICAL WILL TO END HUNGER:
Bread for the World Organizes Historic Gathering at the Washington National Cathedral
WASHINGTON—“As Christians worldwide observe the season of Easter, religious leaders from many different faiths are planning a historic gathering to celebrate the triumph of life over death,” says Rev. David Beckmann, President of Bread for the World. “When all of these leaders come together and commit to help end hunger in our nation and our world, they will be creating the potential for life to flourish in places where before there has only been despair.”
Bread for the World is organizing the first-ever Interfaith Convocation on Hunger, which will bring together prominent religious leaders from around the nation, including Bishop Phillip Cousin, Senior Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, to address the scandal of hunger in the U.S. and around the world. Held at the National Cathedral on June 6, the event will include a call for the president and members of Congress to join with Christians, Jews, Muslims and people of other faiths in a new national commitment to end hunger.
Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane of Cape Town, South Africa will preach at the Convocation. He will urge U.S. policy makers to address the needs of the over 36 million people who struggle to put faiths. On the eve of National Hunger Awareness Day, this Convocation will usher in scores of observances around the United States.
This event will be the culmination of One Table, Many Voices: A Mobilization to End Poverty and Hunger. Bread for the World, with partners Call to Renewal and America’s Second Harvest, will host the conference from June 4-7. Held in Washington, DC, the national gathering will include food on the table in America. People of faith concerned about hunger will raise their voices in song and seek guidance from the sacred texts of many faiths. On the eve of National Hunger Awareness Day, this Convocation will usher in scores of observances around the United States.
This event will be the culmination of One Table, Many Voices: A Mobilization to End Poverty and Hunger. Bread for the World, with partners Call to Renewal and America’s Second Harvest, will host the conference from June 4-7. Held in Washington, DC, the national gathering will include workshops, plenaries, and a lobby day on Capitol Hill. (For more conference information, visit www.onetableconference.org)
Other denominational leaders, in addition to Bishop Cousin, represent, The Wesleyan Church, The Salvation Army, Bible Way Churches, Worldwide, Christian Reformed Church, Episcopal Diocese of Washington, United Methodist Church, Allianza de Ministerios Evangelicos Nacionales (AMEN), Buddhist Vihara, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Reformed Church in America, Seventh Day Adventist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ, Presbyterian Church USA, American Friends Service Committee, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, DC, Church of the Brethren, The United Church of Jesus Christ, Apostolic, Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, Evangelical Covenant Church, National Baptist Convention of America, and United Church of Christ.
The Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour, Jr., Publisher
The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor III, Editor
1. THE EDITOR’S CORNER:
- Yesterday, The Christian Recorder Online featured a letter received from a bishop who said that he was the Presiding Bishop for Grace Ministries International Fellowship. He went on to share that the fellowship “assist those churches in reaching the next level in ministry” by offering a fully accredited seminary where persons can earn the M. Div., D.Min., Th. D., and Ph. D by seminary extension. The seminary is not fully accredited by the American Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and in looking at the requirements I am utterly amazed that any minister would attempt to circumvent the requirements of the AME Church by matriculating at an unaccredited institution.
The letter also quotes the bishop as writing, ”You may have a concern about being connected to a connectional church such as AME, CME and AME ZION and being a part of this fellowship. Well, that is exactly what it is, A FELLOWSHIP, not a denomination. We have in our fellowship Bishops who are AME but not Bishops in the AME church system.” I am equally amazed that any AME who has studied AME polity, or who has been in the Church “a week or more, would know that we follow the Bible and the Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.” From that “bishop’s” standpoint, just because he says what he has is a fellowship and not a denomination and therefore ministers in the AME Church can become “bishops” in his fellowship does not make what he says as a rule for members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. We must follow the doctrine and polity of the AME Church. The African Methodist Episcopal Church elects and consecrates bishops to superintend the work of the Church. The AME order of ordained ministry is deacon and elder; that’s it! We don’t have apostles, prophets and prophetess as a part of our ordained ministry.
The AME Church also has clear requirements for ordained ministry and one of the requirements is graduation from ATS accredited theological seminaries. Grace Valley Theological Seminary is not accredited by ATS and therefore students who attend and graduate from that institution would not fulfill the academic requirement for ministry in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Candidates for ministry in the AME Church should do in consultation with their pastor, presiding elder or bishop.
We also have a system of ministerial Boards of Examiners. The Reverend Dr. Joe Darby wrote, “The Boards of Examiners should be about the business of making sure that those who go into ministry in the AME Church know what it means to be an AME in polity and doctrine. I'm fond of telling Admissions classes in the first session, ‘Being admitted on trial means that we're trying you and you're trying us. If you eventually realize that your call to ministry is not in the AME Church, then leave now - no harm, no foul!’"
Bishop Gregory G. M. Ingram of the Tenth Episcopal District commented. “The clergy of the African Methodist Episcopal Church must learn to follow the polity of the Church.” He went on to say, “The polity of the church takes precedence over what someone outside of the Church says. Our clergy should know that.” General Officer, the Reverend Dr. Johnny Barbour said, "Something has to be done about this. AME ministers are going to be AMEs or they are going to be something else. They can't be both."
I read the letter that the good “bishop” wrote the Reverend Joe Darby today in which he wrote: "I sent out an invitation for pastors of the AME, CME and AME ZION to consider becoming a member of Grace Ministries International Fellowship. The intent of the letter was to create a fellowship of pastors and churches to assist each other in leadership and growth skills. Grace Ministries is not a subtle attempt to create a denomination but to give people an opportunity to do special ministry in special areas to create holistic growth in the local church.” Sounds innocent enough, but the invitation sounds to me that it smacks at, “wolves in sheep clothing.”
I was amazed at the number of AME email addresses to whom the good “bishop” sent his response. Imagine a seminary degree that you pay $1500 and write a 50 page paper, and that includes the bibliography. Wow! The good “bishop” should at least have “a blush of shame.” Those preparing for ministry should be willing to sacrifice and “sweat” in preparation for the ministry. You don’t get a seminary degree overnight! It takes hard work! The Church needs ministers, who are legitimate, not “fly by night ‘jack-leg’ preachers.” The AME Church is a legitimate Church that requires legitimate academic preparation.
The Reverend Joe Darby, the scholar, responded to the “good “bishop, in part, - “As a member of my Conference Board of Examiners, I have a particular sensitivity to that (AME ministers being a member of ‘fellowships’). I do discuss and promote ecumenism when instructing candidates for admission to AME ministry. I also make it plain, however, that their admission to an AME Annual Conference means that they will embrace and defend the doctrines and polity of the AME Church and cannot be ‘a little bit AME.’ We have had problems with others whose intent is not as worthy or God-inspired as yours - those who tell those ‘young’ in ministry that when it comes to denomination and acceptance of polity, you can be more than one thing at the same time, and that is contrary to the teachings and practices of the AME Church…”
(Read all of this in The Christian Recorder)
- I am still requesting news articles from all of our Episcopal District. I believe that the news I the Christian Recorder should be balanced and balance can be achieved if Episcopal Districts will send their news items to, Editor, The Christian Recorder chsydnor@bellsouth.net or mail to 512 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203-4181.
Some of the Episcopal Districts are doing very well and you see their news. The Christian Recorder readership wants to read about what’s happening in all of the Episcopal Districts. Help us to become a better paper by sharing with us what is happening in your Episcopal District!
Color pictures are $35 for the color separation fee. Black and white photos are free.
2. BISHOP PHILLIP COUSIN TO JOIN HEADS OF FAITH COMMUNITIES IN CALLING FOR POLITICAL WILL TO END HUNGER:
Bread for the World Organizes Historic Gathering at the Washington National Cathedral
WASHINGTON—“As Christians worldwide observe the season of Easter, religious leaders from many different faiths are planning a historic gathering to celebrate the triumph of life over death,” says Rev. David Beckmann, President of Bread for the World. “When all of these leaders come together and commit to help end hunger in our nation and our world, they will be creating the potential for life to flourish in places where before there has only been despair.”
Bread for the World is organizing the first-ever Interfaith Convocation on Hunger, which will bring together prominent religious leaders from around the nation, including Bishop Phillip Cousin, Senior Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, to address the scandal of hunger in the U.S. and around the world. Held at the National Cathedral on June 6, the event will include a call for the president and members of Congress to join with Christians, Jews, Muslims and people of other faiths in a new national commitment to end hunger.
Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane of Cape Town, South Africa will preach at the Convocation. He will urge U.S. policy makers to address the needs of the over 36 million people who struggle to put faiths. On the eve of National Hunger Awareness Day, this Convocation will usher in scores of observances around the United States.
This event will be the culmination of One Table, Many Voices: A Mobilization to End Poverty and Hunger. Bread for the World, with partners Call to Renewal and America’s Second Harvest, will host the conference from June 4-7. Held in Washington, DC, the national gathering will include food on the table in America. People of faith concerned about hunger will raise their voices in song and seek guidance from the sacred texts of many faiths. On the eve of National Hunger Awareness Day, this Convocation will usher in scores of observances around the United States.
This event will be the culmination of One Table, Many Voices: A Mobilization to End Poverty and Hunger. Bread for the World, with partners Call to Renewal and America’s Second Harvest, will host the conference from June 4-7. Held in Washington, DC, the national gathering will include workshops, plenaries, and a lobby day on Capitol Hill. (For more conference information, visit www.onetableconference.org)
Other denominational leaders, in addition to Bishop Cousin, represent, The Wesleyan Church, The Salvation Army, Bible Way Churches, Worldwide, Christian Reformed Church, Episcopal Diocese of Washington, United Methodist Church, Allianza de Ministerios Evangelicos Nacionales (AMEN), Buddhist Vihara, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Reformed Church in America, Seventh Day Adventist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ, Presbyterian Church USA, American Friends Service Committee, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, DC, Church of the Brethren, The United Church of Jesus Christ, Apostolic, Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, Evangelical Covenant Church, National Baptist Convention of America, and United Church of Christ.
3. DEVOTIONAL: GOING FORWARD WITH GOD SEEKING LIFE AMONG THE LIVING THE PASTOR’S CORNER:
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb…But when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus…Suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them…The men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!” Luke 24:1 - 6
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb…But when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus…Suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them…The men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!” Luke 24:1 - 6
The words of the two angels present to us the very essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the resurrection. “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!” The resurrection story is the story of the power of the Living God to bring life to that which was once dead. The women who went to the tomb early Sunday morning were the same who “saw the tomb and how His body was laid in it.” (Luke 23: 55) Jesus was dead!
The circumstances these two women encountered were real. Their perceptions were accurate – Jesus was dead.
Too often, we counsel others and tell ourselves that the things we encounter are not real. To ignore the realities we face can lead us to place our hope in improper sources and deny the power of God. How futile it would have been for the women and the Eleven to say of the pierced, scourged, beaten, dehydrated, and blood drained body of their Messiah, “Jesus isn't really dead. He’s just unconscious. I'm sure He'll wake up any minute now.” They would have been seeking life among the dead.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the story of the power of God to bring life to that which is dead. It is the story of the Living God’s power over death. The Living God gave Abraham and Sarah a son, Isaac, even though their reproductive capacities were dead (Genesis 18: 11-12). The Living God, through the prophet Elijah, brought life to the son of the widow of Zarephath even though the child was dead (I Kings 17: 7-24). The Living God, through the prophet Elisha, brought life to the son of the Shunammite woman even though her child was dead (II Kings 4: 8-37). The Living God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy over dry bones, that they would live, even though the bones were dead (Ezekiel 37: 1-15). The Living God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, called Lazarus from the grave even though Lazarus was dead (John 11: 1-45).
Faith in God is trusting in the Living God to bring life to that which is dead. The marriage that ends in divorce court is dead, but the Living God can bring new life re-establishing the marriage. The congregation that has dwindled to two or three members and a dilapidated facility is dead, but the Living God can plant the seeds of His body and bring new life through a new congregation. The person who continually denies the saving grace of God is dead, just as we once were. But we know “[we] were dead in [our] transgressions and sins…And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches in His grace.” (Ephesians 2: 1, 6-7) Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God was dead. But He has risen. He is alive. And because He lives we have hope - hope in the Living God. He is the source of all life. And we can seek life among the living.
Pastor James Moody
Quinn Chapel AME, Chicago
The circumstances these two women encountered were real. Their perceptions were accurate – Jesus was dead.
Too often, we counsel others and tell ourselves that the things we encounter are not real. To ignore the realities we face can lead us to place our hope in improper sources and deny the power of God. How futile it would have been for the women and the Eleven to say of the pierced, scourged, beaten, dehydrated, and blood drained body of their Messiah, “Jesus isn't really dead. He’s just unconscious. I'm sure He'll wake up any minute now.” They would have been seeking life among the dead.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the story of the power of God to bring life to that which is dead. It is the story of the Living God’s power over death. The Living God gave Abraham and Sarah a son, Isaac, even though their reproductive capacities were dead (Genesis 18: 11-12). The Living God, through the prophet Elijah, brought life to the son of the widow of Zarephath even though the child was dead (I Kings 17: 7-24). The Living God, through the prophet Elisha, brought life to the son of the Shunammite woman even though her child was dead (II Kings 4: 8-37). The Living God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy over dry bones, that they would live, even though the bones were dead (Ezekiel 37: 1-15). The Living God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, called Lazarus from the grave even though Lazarus was dead (John 11: 1-45).
Faith in God is trusting in the Living God to bring life to that which is dead. The marriage that ends in divorce court is dead, but the Living God can bring new life re-establishing the marriage. The congregation that has dwindled to two or three members and a dilapidated facility is dead, but the Living God can plant the seeds of His body and bring new life through a new congregation. The person who continually denies the saving grace of God is dead, just as we once were. But we know “[we] were dead in [our] transgressions and sins…And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches in His grace.” (Ephesians 2: 1, 6-7) Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God was dead. But He has risen. He is alive. And because He lives we have hope - hope in the Living God. He is the source of all life. And we can seek life among the living.
Pastor James Moody
Quinn Chapel AME, Chicago
4. LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
Dear Editor:
This is in reference to the article on page 4, Bereavement Announcements in your January 17, 2005 issue of The Christian Recorder regarding Mrs. Dollie Doctor Brown, wife of Presiding Elder George Brown, Sr. [Ret., Beaufort District, SC]. While I appreciate reading about my mother, I would be remiss if I said I was not heartbroken first, because of this great loss that has put a permanent pain in our hearts; and second, to read that she was the mother of only five children (Delores Richardson, Lila Nedd, George Jr., Phoenicia Flowers and Nathaniel). Suffice it to say, there were 11 children born to this union - NOT FIVE as you reported and 10 are alive and well! If you don’t believe me, just ask the other five (including myself): Frances Pinckney (San Diego, CA); Roxcena Rozier (College Park, GA); Kenneth Brown (Charleston, SC); Michelle Brown (Valdosta, GA), or even yours truly, Margie Brown (Washington, DC). By the way, this beautiful lady also had 15 grandchildren and 5 great grands.
Sincerely,
Margie Brown
922 Ingraham Street, NW
Washington, DC 20011
202/616-0421
This is in reference to the article on page 4, Bereavement Announcements in your January 17, 2005 issue of The Christian Recorder regarding Mrs. Dollie Doctor Brown, wife of Presiding Elder George Brown, Sr. [Ret., Beaufort District, SC]. While I appreciate reading about my mother, I would be remiss if I said I was not heartbroken first, because of this great loss that has put a permanent pain in our hearts; and second, to read that she was the mother of only five children (Delores Richardson, Lila Nedd, George Jr., Phoenicia Flowers and Nathaniel). Suffice it to say, there were 11 children born to this union - NOT FIVE as you reported and 10 are alive and well! If you don’t believe me, just ask the other five (including myself): Frances Pinckney (San Diego, CA); Roxcena Rozier (College Park, GA); Kenneth Brown (Charleston, SC); Michelle Brown (Valdosta, GA), or even yours truly, Margie Brown (Washington, DC). By the way, this beautiful lady also had 15 grandchildren and 5 great grands.
Sincerely,
Margie Brown
922 Ingraham Street, NW
Washington, DC 20011
202/616-0421
Editor's comment:
We offer our deepest apologies to the Brown family!
