They Said it Couldnt Be Done!!!

This summer the Lord spoke to me and told to to, "Take the Kingdom to the College". After approaching many sources and hitting dead end after dead end I knew that this had to be a GOD move because he was te only one that could open this door. The college I targeted was an historical black college (Miles College), but it was also founded by the C.M.E church. Many city leaders, pastors, students, and falcuty said that they would not allow us to minister on campus due to how radical we were and that we were not C.M.E.

After hearing this you can only imagine how I was feeling, but I knew that every answer from GOD is a promise from GOD. I was up late one night and I couldnt sleep, so I started listening to one of my fathers old messages and in it he stated, "That if its GOD that told you it was going to happen Take your hands off of it!!!" Then my mentor Dr. Jamal Bryant came on TBN and stated that GOD was about to break the barriers of tradition!!! I immediately began to worship GOD because I knew it was about to manifest!!!

The next day I recieved a call from friend that he ran into the SGA president and she was excited about bringing us to the campus, and after that it was a domino affect taking place. I met with all the greeks, the SGA, campus ministers, the band, etc. God was moving like nevver before, but there was one last person we had to win. Dr. Beaty (The Dean of Chapel) My mind was racing how could I meet with him and show him that what were going to do was going to be relevant. Then GOD open another door!!!!

I got a call from the college to speak at there weekly chapel service. I really didnt know what to expect.from what I've heard it wasn't the greatest of atmospheres, but I knew that If GOD opened the door I had to walk in it. Needless to say GOD move (as if their was ever a doubt) and at the conclusion of my sermon I asked everyone who was ready to give there life to Christ over 200 hands went up. YES!!!!!!

Since that day we were able to have a service every other monday night on campus. Every time the doors open hundreds piled in to worship GOD, and their lives were never the same. I recieved a phone call on yesterday from a parent of one of the students and she told me these words, "After coming to the Royal Nation my son called me crying and apologizing. I asked what was wrong, he told me mom I planned commiting suicide tonight I caould handle everything that was going on, and I thought I was going to a party, but it was a church service and GOD told me that I was born for such a time as now. "

You really dont know who life depends on the order that GOD gives you. If I would've said NO to GOD who would it had affected, but when you say YES watch GOD move. Peace

Have We Not Learned!!!

The civil rights movement is without a doubt the greatest movement to ever take place. The impact that it has made will forever echo in eternity. Leaders emerged on the scene and took the nation by storm and empowered all who believed. One in particular is Martin Luther King Jr. Not only did he impact the world but he empowered others. He groomed Rev. Jessie Jackson to become one of the next great leaders. This is the picture of empowerment!!! Each generation is responsible for the next generation.

The problem I see now is that those who were empowered then aren't empowering now! With the problems surrounding Jena 6 & the Don Imus incident both situations were direct attacks on our generation. An each time Jessie Jackson & Al Sharpton showed up, gave boring speeches filled with excessive rederick, and left! Many are calling this move the next great move for civil liberty, and a new move calls for new ideas, new energy, and most of all new leadership.

I myself am sick and tired of glory seeking leadership! Don't just show up when the cameras are on, but stay once the cameras are off and train someone, mentor someone, EMPOWER SOMEONE!!! Martin was effective because he had elders that he conversed with regularly and he was leading his generation! (I know because my family walked right with him to the very end) The reason why Rev. Jackson & Al Sharpton aren''t effective is because they don't have a clue how we feel or think. If your going to speak for us at least listen to us!

In closing, I'm very disappointed in the NAACP & The SCLC!!! With this being a quote "youth move" they have kept there directors of youth quiet. They should be the one's speaking up and standing out, but that's not going to happen because they all have been waiting and praying to GOD that they would get there chance to be Martin Luther King Jr., and now that the opportunity is here instead of realizing that their time has come and gone they rather try and fail then train others to reign. Harry Belafonte said, " We have to realize that we must shift from the front to the background, and from the leader to the elders."

Leadership you share power you keep. Either let us help or were just going to take over. It's your choice. This is not a threat, but a promise. Empower someone!

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Interview with Jamal Bryant

Obviously you have a heart for the youth. Your background speaks to this with your involvement with the NAACP, the youth experience at this years MegaFest in Atlanta . In this society where we have low morals and low standards, what are some of the struggles that you have seen, ministering to young people about obstacles they may face in a world? What is your answer to those who are trying to live in today's society by Gods standards?
Pastor Jamal Bryant: I think in part it is hard to be a Christian, because being a Christian requires discipline and many of our children don't have parents they have grown friends. In order for you to be a Christian, you have to be discipline to say to your children, these are the rules, these are the laws, this is the standard. Our youth are living with parents who don't give them a standard of excellence, who don't give them rules of engagement. So, we are finding a generation of seekers who never find the discipline. So the church has to then institute for our young people, what is the demarcation for the standard of excellence.
In the prison, the fastest growing religion is Muslim, is Islam. So this says that people are not non-religious, but the shun away from stuff that is unstructured and undisciplined. If I want to be undisciplined, why go to church. It's just something that I do socially, but it is not doing anything for me spiritually. And so the same thing they get at school, they get at church. It's time for me to sit down then I go eat. Then after I go eat, I come back for class. The same thing happens at church. I come to morning service, we go to eat, we come back to afternoon service but there is no homework. So young people are looking for is discipline, or else church is just an extended P.E. class.

UGN: You have an awesome responsibility to lead others, why do you think God has put you in that position?
Pastor Jamal Bryant: I have no idea and I wish He would have chosen someone else. I went to Duke to study law and become a civil rights attorney, but God redirected my path. What God spoke to me is that justice has to come in the church before it goes to the courthouse. There is a grave inequity of injustice that goes on in the church that deals with racism, sexism and classism. In dealing with classism there is an injustice because we portray that you are blessed based on what you drive and what you wear and you are cursed if you are living under poverty. That a class system. There's a sexist system because we will allow in many churches women to fry chicken, fold the bulletins, be in charge of hospitality but they can't speak from the pulpit. There is in fact a racist class because in many sectors of our communities we will give more to a Tele-evangelist who doesn't look like us then we do for the pastor that looks like us, and buries our grandparents, baptizes our children and preaches to us everyday. So, the church has to reconcile ourselves that before we can change the world we have to change the church.

UGN: During your message tonight you briefly mentioned cloning. We have a generation that is looking for something and they are looking to be cloned like a Jamal Bryant. What do you say to those people who don't have a figure like you, or Bishop Jackson? They come out to conferences but they don't have a mentor or someone that they can clone themselves after?
Pastor Jamal Bryant: The church is guilty of false marketing because the church should not clone other Bishop Jackson's or other Pastor Bryant's because they don't know him, they don't know me. They know what I do. What we ought to be cloning is disciples of Jesus Christ. If I'm shaping you to be like me and you get behind the office and hear me cuss or you find out that I am frustrated with some armor bearer or officers who haven't done their job, then you are going to lose heart and lose passion because I have let you down. But my goal ought to be look past me and see how God is. If you put everything into the pastor and when the pastor falls, you won't be able to stand. But if you've built disciples, they will still be able to stand because you say the Jesus that was in them.

UGN: What was the biggest hurdles that you had to overcome in pursuit of your purpose?
Pastor Jamal Bryant: The biggest hurdle that I have had to overcome is finding new hurdles. Once I get past something to know that I have not arrived but there is still a greater challenge. That is the challenge for all of us is so that we don't get stuck in neutral to know that there more. If we put our gauge just on a Bishop Jackson or a Bishop Jakes then that is all that we have to aspire to. For young people, every generation is suppose to exceed the previous generation. If all you do Marcus, if the Lord places on you to go into ministry, is to go as far as I have gone, you are not a success. You have to got to go passed what it is that I have done.
The difference between pastoring and fathering is that pastors what you to follow them, but fathers want you to go past them. It's up to us to make sure we don't block or limit the next generation. We need to push them to go past what we have done.

UGN: When you failed the 11 th grade and decided to drop out, what made you make this decision? What was your families' reaction?
Pastor Jamal Bryant: I wanted to drop out Marcus because I failed out of a gifted and talented school. Where I was suppose to do well. I failed out when my state testing scores where in the top 20 percentile. I flunked out with a 1080 on the SAT. So, it wasn't that I could not do the work, but I was in and environment where education wasn't cool. So, I wanted to drop out because of embarrassment.
But my parents were under the old school, either you were going to college or you were going to the military. Since I knew I couldn't get up at 5:30 I knew I could get up for a 8:00 class. So that was the easiest option for me.
I knew that I wanted to be successful. But Marcus no matter what it is that you want to do in live, you have to practice and you have to have discipline. If you want to be a rapper, you can't just go on stage you have to have a note book. If you want to be a good basketball player, you have to practice after the team has gone home. So I had to figure out whatever it was I wanted to do, I had to study for. I couldn't be anti-studying, but I had to start studying something I had passion for.

UGN: When you were in high school, what kind of student were you. A jock, a class clown, what?
Pastor Jamal Bryant: All of the above. I was president of my freshman class and my sophomore class. I was the co-caption of the wrestling team. I was the class clown. I was the captain of the debating team. I won the Black History month contest, and still flunk. You know what I mean.
I flunked having two parents in the household. There are so many peers that don't have the advantage you have. They don't know or have a relationship with their father. Don't go to church. They find themselves in a crux but they don't get the push. My parents mantra for me was “failure is not an option.” So I had to win even if I didn't like doing it.

UGN: Where did you get the name The Empowerment Temple?
Pastor Jamal Bryant: When I started the church Marcus I was just leaving the position of National Youth and College Director of the NAACP. I wanted to start a church with a name that young people could understand. I didn't want to name it Mount Sinai and they don't know what happen there. I didn't want to name it “International” and they have never been on a plane. I wanted to give it something so when they heard the church name they would know what it meant and a reminder that we live up to the name. Empowerment Temple says that we are to empower people. If I do anything outside of empowering people, it goes against what the church stands for.

UGN: My generation is being called the Joshua generation. The generation that brings back Jesus Christ. What else do you see for my generation positive and negative?
Pastor Jamal Bryant: I think we are Joshua and Jabez. Some stuff was given to us. Joshua was a fighter and our generation hasn't learned how to fight for anything. We are the first generation that hasn't had a battle.
In the 60's the young people started the revolution for Civil Rights
In the 70's the young people started the revolution about the Vietnam War
In the 80's the young people started the battle for gay rights
Our generation, the only thing that we fought about was the death about Tupac and Biggie
We haven't fought for anything, stuff has been given to us.
In the spirit of Jabez, we don't where he purchased the property, whether it was inherited to him. But he said, what was given to me, God enlarge it. We have to ask God to enlarge the gift that was given to us that we didn't have to fight for.

UGN: What do you feel is the biggest downfall or weakness for the body of Christ and for the Christian youth.
Pastor Jamal Bryant: I think the biggest weakness is that we are not blessed, we are spoiled. We have received so much without having to fight for it. Because we didn't fight for it we don't appreciate it as much. We think that if we shout, turn around three times, in 30 days it's going to come, but no one is talking about war-fare and sacrifice. I think when we go through war-fare and sacrifice we will be able to appreciate what the Lord has given us.

UGN: If I were to drop by your house, what would I find you doing?
Pastor Jamal Bryant: You would find me playing with my nine-month old daughter trying to teach her how to walk. You would find me reading. You would find me on the internet. You would find me watching a movie. Or if I'm leaving the Next Conference, you would find me sleep.

UGN: What type of music do you listen to or enjoy?
Pastor Jamal Bryant: (Laughing) This is a lot of questions you are asking me. I listen to all kinds of music. I listen to hip-hop. I listen to classical music, that's what I studied. I listen to gospel music. I try to be open all different genre of music.

UGN: Alright thank you.
Pastor Jamal Bryant: Thank you, I appreciate you. (Laughing) Thank you for my six, three questions.

Do you ever wonder why things in your life happen the way they do? Do you wonder why they were allowed to happen to you? Do you wonder why you had to go through that situation? Or has there ever been a situation where you thought to yourself, I knew this would happen. I knew it was going to work out this way.

Do all things really work together for good?

These are all questions surrounding the providence of God. We often wonder why we go through the situations, ups, downs and repeat instances that life has to offer. We go through these situations because … It Is Supposed To Happen. The things that happen in your life are suppose to happen the way they happen.

The reason you were sick is because you were supposed to get sick. You had to get sick because that would prompt you to go to the doctor. You had to go to the doctor because after his examination he had to let you know that your blood pressure was high. Thank God you came in.

The reason you were late is because you were supposed to be late. You had to be late because you had to avoid the major accident that would have happened if you'd been in the intersection on time.

The reason your son was born is because he was supposed to be born. If you had gone through with the abortion then you wouldn't have the preacher you have today.

The reason you were laid off is because you were supposed to be laid off. If you had not gotten laid off, you wouldn't have received an offer for double your old salary with twice the opportunity for growth.

It's not coincidental. It has been established by God to happen. It happened because you are predestined. It happened because it is God's plan because your destiny has already been established. You can declare it happened for your good. Understand what you go through is for your benefit. What you go through provides the opportunity for growth and development while bringing you closer to Christ. If you hadn't gone through some of the experiences you've had then you wouldn't have learned from them. If you wouldn't have learned from them then you wouldn't be where you are today. You wouldn't have what you have to stand on which is how you keep going. All things are working together for good. It might not feel good but God will work all of it out.

Sometimes God is creating for you. Sometimes he is eliminating for you. Sometimes he is building, sometimes he tears down. He is doing this for your ultimate good. All that is happening happens on purpose. So since you now know that what happens in your life, whether good or bad, happens for a reason; Since you know it happens because it is all in the plan; Because you know it's in the plan and that it will all work out for your good, when it happens, just praise him. Tell the Lord Thank You. Hallelujah.

Let the Lord know that no matter what circumstances you find yourself in you will praise him. Praise him because you know that the situation is put in your midst for your ultimate success, for the ultimate blessing at the ultimate level.

Scripture References Romans 8:28-30 Hebrews 1:3b Colossians 1:17 1 Timothy 6:15b Romans 8:29-30 Romans 8:28 (NIV) Ephesians 1:11-12 (NIV) Romans 8:31 (NIV)

You Have Too Much To Lose

Have you been yearning to have something that you know you are not supposed to have? Do you desire to be somewhere or with someone that you know you should not be with? Do you envision yourself doing something that you know you shouldn't do? Does it keep you up at night or daydreaming through the day? Is there a person that you just have to have?

If you are having these experiences, I want to submit to you that you are experiencing the spirit of lust. Lust is what if often defined as one of the seven deadly sins. Although we know that a sin is a sin, there are certain sins that have such a hold on us that they move into every aspect of our lives. This yearning and desire for something that has not been ordained for us is lust.

Lust is not physical attraction. Lust is a choice to commit in your mind what you would like to do with you body. Lust is the inappropriate looks and attractions towards things that are forbidden.

In the beginning God created everything. Once he had created the heavens and the earth he created man and woman and placed them in the Garden of Eden. Upon placing them there he gave the specific instructions regarding his creations. One set of instructions was for the trees in the garden, Adam and Eve could eat from any one of them EXCEPT the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He instructed them that if they ate of this tree they would surely die.

Well we know how the story went from there. The enemy, Satan, came in and tempted Eve to touch what she had been instructed not to touch. He convinced her that it would be OK to touch the forbidden. He used tactics to entice her to touch THAT tree that God had instructed them not to touch.

When God commands not to touch THAT tree he is not holding back blessings, he is not trying to deprive them, he was asking for obedience. Just as he does in our lives today. God provides many blessings to you. However, he also has commands that he expects you to follow. When he provides instructions, he is looking for your obedience to his will.

Eve was persuaded to touch the forbidden tree by Satan's craftiness. He used the same methods then that he uses on us today.

He Twists The Truth - He creates doubt in our minds. He causes us to wonder, did God really say that? He causes us to begin discussing the issue to the point that we have twisted the truth so much that our thought are now tainted.

He Taints Our Thoughts - We begin to think, it will be o.k. if I touch it. I won't die this one time. He convinces us that everyone is doing it. He presents it to us in a way that allows us to believe that there is really nothing wrong with having it. He knows that tainting our thoughts creates temptation.

Temptation itself is not sin. Jesus was tempted and did not sin. God uses temptation to develop us. For instance, you don't know if you have patience unless you've been tempted to be impatient. You don't know if you have true joy unless you are in the midst of sorrow. You won't know if you have peace unless there is chaos and confusion. You won't know if you have humility unless you have to refuse to be prideful. You won't know if you have endurance unless you have to reject the temptation to give up. God makes it work for your good. Consider it a compliment. You are pressing toward the mark. The enemy won't tempt someone who is already eating off the tree. However, the problem with temptation is that if unchecked it leads to lust.

When lust has been conceived, you become trapped and are now torn between doing what's right and doing what's wrong. You have now touched or tasted a tree that you have been forbidden to touch or taste.

Beware because the consequences of falling in to lustful situations is deadly. You won't get away with it. Just as there were consequences when Adam and Eve ate from the tree. There are consequences for your disobedience. God will begin to take away your trees. He will move you from the garden.

So before God has to step in and begin removing things from your life, back away from the tree. If you are bound and feel like you can't get out, I would like to let you know that there is freedom from THAT tree.

You can obtain freedom from the tree by being aware of the trees that trap you and stay away from them. Run in the other direction when their branches reach out to grab you. Cry out for help. Seek God and he will provide you the strength to stay away.

Jesus has provided another tree for us to run to when we are being trapped by our forbidden tree. The tree that was planted on Calvary. The tree that we are invited to eat from. The tree that Jesus hung and died on so that we may be redeemed.

Whenever you are tempted to touch THAT tree, turn to this tree that will keep you away from the forbidden.

In the words of Ice Cube, "You Better Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself"

Scripture References

Genesis 2:15-17
Genesis 3:6
James 1:14-16
Matthew 5:28
Job 31:1
Roman 13:14
1 Corinthians 10:13
1 Peter 5:8
2 Timothy 2:22
Proverbs 16:17
Hebrews 4:16
1 Peter 2:24