'Brick City"

Many are experiencing the documentary "Brick City" for the first time this week. I was able to watch the whole series last week after I attended the premiere @ Newark's Symphony Hall. I was the invited guest of Earl "Street Doctor" Best who I became connected with when He was released from prison. Without being cynical I must say I was changed mentally by what I saw. I reflected on my own journey, views and the call on my life. I came to the conclusion that I had failed my community in numerous areas. I am a product of these streets that were filmed, I am a child of the fifties and I remember the 67 riots in a real way, I remember the National Guard riding through the streets. I remember the assassinations, of Kennedy, King, Evers, and Malcolm X. I remember the Black Panthers, H. Rap Brown and Stokley Carmichael. I remember leaving the church as a teen and spending time in the Nation of Islam was a F.O.I. and remember the teachings of that day. Now in 2009 and enduring much affliction over the last year. I find my self called back to the struggle, called back to the streets, called backed to the people, called back to activism. Called not just preach the gospel but to exhibit the tenets of the gospel in a tangible way. Now I find my self in stop the violence rallies, I appear at the scenes of shootings and homicides. I now interact with the street organizations and fellow warriors. In spite of our differences our goals is to save our children and to help build up our community. To stand for those who can't stand for themselves. Personally I can't do that from the safety of a pulpit but I have to be in the number that encounters the uncertainties of a sick village. When you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem. Thank you, Street Doctor and Ras. Thank you, Jayda, Creep and Jiwe. Thank you, King Sau, Forrest Whitaker and Corey Booker. Thank you, Todd and the Street Warriors. Thank you, Lord for redefining my purpose and allowing me to pursue my greatest passion. To serve and care for the village you have placed me in. Peace & Love

Season's Change

The calendar has changed and we are now in the fall season. Regardless of the temperature I see the leaves starting to change. This has impacted my journey greatly. Many live their whole life and never get a chance to pursue their passion. As a designer's original I am like no one else. I pursue my passion regardless of what other's think. My passion at fifty is much different than my passion at forty. Time is precious and I don't desire to waste a second of it. As the trees change the leaves that change colors eventually fall off and become fertilizer for next year's spring. In life you will encounter peoples that change colors and fall off. Let them be your stepping stone to the next level that God's has ordained for you. It's time to fly like a eagle. Don't run from the storm but run to it and then soar above it. In order to pass your test you have to endure the test and every test has a time limit. Let the haters and negative minded people fall out of your life, you will be bare in the winter. But spring is coming and new opportunities, will come your way. Be like a tree that planted by the river of water and there is a season where your leaf or true connections Will not whither, Seasons do change and you should too. It's insane to do the same thing and expect different results. Stand up, mount up and fly! It's a new seasons seize the moment.

"Back on my grind once again"

God's mercy and the prayers of many has manifested a fresh healing in my body. Now I am able to return to the assignment that God has assigned to my hands. I no longer look at the pastoral ministry as just a burden, it is also a blessing. Over the last six months I have been able to struggle, wrestle and mature in my own personal faith. The opportunity to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, to teach and make disciples and to win souls to the kingdom is such an noble assignment.. This past Sunday a visitor reminded me when I ministered to him in the nineties when He was on his bed of affliction. Now he was encouraging me because I had forgot that encounter but, he never did.

My ministry has been through many transition over the last 2.5 years but it has worked together for our good. Now as we embark on a new chapter in our existence as Pastor & people. I am excited about the possibilities as we strive to serve the Lord with our whole heart, body and soul. The one lesson I have learned over the years is not how many people you can count. But, how many people can you count on? I saw the manifestation of my labor as I recuperated over the last three months from my second surgery. God has blessed me to lead a great group of believers. Today I celebrate the grace of God and the group of believers he has assigned to my care. I serve because He bled and love because He first loved me.

Understanding your place in the body

I have been blessed by God to sit under the tutelage of some great preachers and scholastic minds. I have heard countless sermons,witnessed very diverse styles and personalities and heard many didactic discourses on what God is saying today. If you do a summary of your experience you will get the impression that everyone is destined to be on top. The consensus is if you are not on top then you should be striving to get there. This is the reflected paradigm of the kingdom today. Every conference , every book, every Apostle , Bishop and Prophet declares they have the answer for your situation. Yet there some scriptures in the word of God that does not change. Psalm 34:19 David sung, Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivers him out of them all. Ask Bishop Jakes, Paula White, Bishop Morton, Bishop Pearson, Ted Haggard, Juanita Bynum,and numerous others about the afflictions of being on the top. Broken marriages, mental breakdowns, children issues, and sexual challenges are all par for the course. In I Corinthians Chapter 12 Paul talks about the purpose of gifts and the unity in diversity of the body of Christ. This makes me wonder are many trying to fit in the crowd or in the body? Are you flexible to change or are you rigid when change comes? I am very secure with my understanding of my place in the body. I understand that everybody can't be on top. Someone has to be the neck, the arms, the hands, the legs even the feet for the body to function properly. I am just as content being a urban storefront preacher. Why, you may ask? My answer is this is where God called me to be. I rather be in the will of God than beholden to the expectations of the people and my colleagues. I strive to preach the love of Christ, the redemption of the cross, the power of his blood, the significance of his burial and the power of his resurrection. This may be a pluralistic society and I am a part of a very diverse body in Christ, but one thing is certain there is only One Lord, One Faith and One Baptism. Be excited about your position in the body of Christ. It is he who has called and placed us and not we ourselves. I rather be a designers original instead of a cheap attempt at impersonating someone else who understands their place in the body. Be blessed, be faithful, and watch God manifest his will and purpose for your life. Peace & Love be unto you.

"Holding on to your intergrity during your calamity"

Job 2:9-10 His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
NIV
Job 2:9-10 His wife said, "Still holding on to your precious integrity, are you? Curse God and be done with it!" He told her, "You're talking like an empty-headed fool. We take the good days from God — why not also the bad days?"Not once through all this did Job sin. He said nothing against God.
THE MESSAGE

“Holding on to your integrity during your calamity”

How should one respond during the mist of their calamity? This has been on my mind for the last month. I have been dealing with what seems one calamity after another. Stress had moved me from having normal pressure to malignant hypertension. Now I found myself on medication and other health issues rising to the surface. If that wasn’t enough, I then had a heart attack at what seemed like such an in opportune time. I am a pastor, a teacher, a man of God now unable to properly process the stress in his life. Now, I seem unable to handle the calamities of personal and ministerial life. Was God silent for a reason? Was He aware of my dilemma? Was he allowing these uncomfortable situations to mature me? Today, I got my answer from the private moments of Job and his wife. Reeling, from the endless tragedies in their personal lives his wife speaks her mind. Job makes one of the most profound statements of a lifetime. Should I only accept the good from the Lord and not the bad? How freeing this was for me to reflect on this statement. When you accept the fact that God is in control of your life then why not accept everything he allows to come your way? I feel release and a step in the right direction. God I trust you to work things together for my good in when the calamities of life shown up in my life. I believe this is how you maintain your integrity during your calamity. I will now wait until my change come. I don’t believe he brought me this far to leave me. May this short note bless you like it blessed me Peace & Love, Pastor Ali.

"Having a hunger for God"

Matt 4:4

4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
NIV

As I embrace the timetable of my healing I am forced to reflect on how I came to the place of needing to be healed. Was the culture of the church actually killing me? My journey in the church world has always been surrounded by food. As a former cocaine addict with an obsessive compulsive personality. I had never learned the beauty of temperance, moderation or self control. I came from the BT Express generation "do it until you are satisfied whatever it is do it'. One of the biggest myths in Christendom is that every one will be delivered without facing the consequences of your actions. Galatians 6:9 states that God is not mocked what ever a person sows that what they shall also reap.

Oh what a shock it was when it came time for me to pay the piper. When I came out of the streets and returned back to God in 1990 I was 240 pounds and for the last four years I have been hovering around 420 pounds. The concept of clean living was killing me. In reality it was my failure to embrace healthy alternatives. My good friend Pastor Henry Clay would always declare to me that we are preaching about how great God is, yet we are destroying the temples that he has given us.

This is not a post heart attack confession this is a reflection on the grace of God in spite of me. I could place blame a number of things but the reality is I did it to myself. I failed in my hunger for the words of God. Oh yes, I used his words to preach, teach, for personal devotion, and theological reflection. Yet, I have not seen the manifestation of the vision, my dreams or the over abundance of souls running to the throne of grace.My spiritual life was in a recession and my heart attack was my bailout. Have you ever been guilty of working for the master, serving the master, and not letting the master work on you. Public success but a private mess.

Well in 2009 I won't talk about it, I will be about it. I know who I am and to whom I belong and my goal is to seek first his kingdom and the healing , weight loss, abundant life and freedom to serve him in spirit and in truth will follow. I have to not look at other's vineyards but bloom where I have been planted. As my doctor told my wife, don't let the church folks feed the bear. Jesus took it a step further, don't leave by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Just because it is before me doesn't mean I have to eat it. I hear God saying "Bryant
don't live to eat, but eat to live. My prayer for today is Lord I thirst for you, I long to live in your presence. My heart seeks after you, Draw me nearer to the beauty of your holiness. This is my thought for today, Peace

"When God Forces You To Lay Down"

Grace and peace, I write this blog from my seat of recovery. It is amazing when you are breezing through life and ministry and then suddenly the piper comes by to be paid. After celebrating 14 years of pastoring and fifty years of life. I suffered a heart attack on December 28, 2008 two hours after preaching. One artery was 100% blocked and another was 95% blocked. While I was looking forward to preaching on New Years Eve, I spent that night in the hospital laying down. There comes a time in life that if you dance to the music you have to pay to the piper. God was not going to let me spend another year in gluttony, stress, or dealing with the multiple issues that arise in ministry, When God forces you to lay down you have plenty of time for self examination. How did I get to this point? How long will I be out of commision? What is God trying to tell me? He spared my life so what lessons do I need to learn? I am still in the process of healing, major life changes and recovery. As I take the time to seek God's face I also have time to experience his comfort, grace and abundant provisions. Trust me a heart attack is real and when you are looking death in the eye some things just don't matter. I do not have the answers yet, but I do have a plan to get better, live better and do better. God has a plan for my life and my journey is not complete. So when God changes the plans of your life don't fret. Just trust him enough to know that it is working together for your good, Now I must lay back down and get some rest. Check your health today and make sure God will not have to force you to lay down. Pray for me as I pray for you. Peace & Love, Pastor Ali

2009 "My Year Of Recovery and New Life"

Romans 8:28 declares "All things work together for the good for them that love the Lord and are the called according to his purpose" As I write from my bed of recovery this scripture is life for me. On Sunday. December 28,2008 I suffered a heart attack. Long story short I am glad to be alive, and the life changes I will have to make will work together for my good. Keep me in your prayers as I pray for you. Peace & Love, Pastor Ali