How did you and your church spend MLK weekend? Here's what I did.

Friday after work I clicked my heels at the prospect of a three day weekend. Yahoo! Friday evening my daughter and I went on our monthly date. Dinner at Denny's and a cruise through the mall. Bought the wife a calendar featuring great danes, her favorite breed of dog. She was tickled with it.

Saturday: Men's breakfast at the church. After the food we watched a TD Jakes video on Jonah. He preached a great word on running from God. Many men were greatly convicted and made new committments to the Lord. After I got home I found the family lounging around laughing at Carol Burnett reruns. I joined in, then spent the rest of the day preparing a class I had to teach Sunday.

Sunday: 8:30 is prayer meeting, and God's presence was mightily felt. This contributed greatly to the extraordinary time of worship in song and the Word. Pastor preached possibly his best sermon yet on living in the supernatural. The altar was filled afterward with people seeking a higher walk with God. There was also one new salvation. Praise God the offering was bountiful, and I'm glad my pastor isn't afraid to teach on giving. My role in the service was to lead the intercessor team.

After church I met with a team I'm training in demonic deliverance techniques. We ate lunch, then had class until 4:00. I hope to have the first team ready by April. They'll minister deliverance to people pastor refers for ministry.

At 5:30 I dropped the boy off for youth group, then rushed to get home by 6. We had a small group of people out to the house for yet another class. Subject was the role of words in spritual warfare and personal victory. Afterward there was a spontaneous time of sharing where personal problems came out. This led to a powerful time of repentance and deliverance in our living room that lasted until 10:30.

Monday: We were planning to have elder's meeting in the evening, but since we all had the day off we decided to knock it out before lunch. We had prayer, then looked at finances and applications for new elders. After that I spent the day doing chores around the house and helping momma redecorate (read spread junk around) the house.

A great weekend overall featuring good family time and a harvest of fruit for God's kingdom. The fruit consisted of worship (that gets better each week), transformed lives, commitments made, and workers trained. Based on the fruit God cares about, can you and your church say you did anything as worthwhile?

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2004

Answers

Well RP, thank you for taking the time to post this timely question. First I would suggest you go to the search engine google and do a search under" How are churches celebrating Rev.Martin Luther King day and weekend.

Members of my church were equally busy, The king family has asked once again that americans focus on giving service to honor and celebrate the holiday. Our outreach director coordinated schedules with members to visit our nursing home that we adopted, we also had a meeting after church to begin work on agriculture research. One of our members is a professor of plant pathology and a soil microbiologist, he has developed an organic fertilizer that will help sustain plants during time of draught, we are also working with other scientist in Montana who have developed inexpensive techniques to clean water. We are working on putting a package together of funding, seeds, manuals to send to our ame churches in africa to help our farmers. We are excited, it will be a lot of work, but the reward is big time.

We are working with americorp in our town to help the community connect with volunteer opportunities in our town. Our church is co- sponsoring this activity. So we too were busy, following the suggestion of the king institute on how to celebrate his holiday.

And we committed to prayer on his holiday for those who are poor. Thanks for asking.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2004

Sis Denise, excuse for being presumptuous, but I don't think RP is so much interested in "how churches are celebrating", but how WE are celebrating/observing the weekend.

My observance, as usual, was at Capital University (Columbus/Bexley OH) for their annual "MLK, Jr. Day of Learning" which consists of an opening convocation and various workshops, films, etc. - a day of events focused on "the dream". Capital U is a Lutheran university.

Details of the day's plans may be viewed at: http://www.capital.edu/MLK-day/

This year's speaker was Dr. Tonea Stewart, Chairman of the Theatre Dept. at Alabama State University. She is also an actress who appeared in a recurring role on "In the Heat of the Night" and in "Mississippi Burning", "ER", "A Time to Kill", and more.

Following lunch in the student center [a wonderful buffet meal, especially for the occasion and featuring several local jazz artists], I either remain at CU for afternoon activities or go to the MLK, Jr. Complex in town for their afternoon open house and a variety of performances.

It ain't just another holiday or day off from school or work.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2004

Ooops, I forgot part of the question. My church did nothing special this year. We used to have several tables at the local MLK Breakfast, which I think is still the largest such event in the nation, but the attendance has been dwindling. We have purchased up the three or four tables; this year only one was purchased and not all were sold (at $25.00) each. There was a prominent speaker, but I don't have his name handy.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2004

Do not fear Rev. Clark, I knew exactly what Rob meant and is trying to do. We have danced the dance before. Please re-read my post again. The civil rights movement was never an "I" movement, it was a movement predicated on groups of people fighting racism, groups of people meeting to plan boycotts, groups of people attending church together to be strengthened, groups of people coming together to walk for a year to boycott the buses.

And today it is still about "we" so my post was to say my weekend was spent effecting change with my congregation. In our church, we do not end the work of the lord at 12:30. Many a night I get a call from a member with an idea and we all begin to work.

And one last thing remember the words to the great civil rights sone "WE shall overcome someday!" We have and we will continue to overcome.

I forgot one last thing, if one wants a great "I" song Remember "Ain't nobody gonna turn me around, turn me around, ain't nobody gonna turn me around.

We will never forget Dr. King!

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2004

The banners found on lampposts throughout Downtown Atlanta sum it up quite well, indeed. I believe this has also been adopted as the National Slogan, which all Americans who seriously celebrate this day observe.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday - January 19, 2004.

"A DAY ON, NOT A DAY OFF"

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2004

OK, I've seen some fine activities listed so far. Now ask yourself whether they had anything to do with the Great Commission. Jesus fed the poor, but that wasn't His primary mission. His primary mission was not economic justice, racial equality, nor honoring honorable people. It was making disciples out to the ends of the earth.

A reading of the Gospels shows most of Jesus' activities revolved around prayer, casting out demons, healing, miracles, and teaching the Truths of the Kingdom. Seems there were a lot of misconceptions about God and His Law that needed correcting. In the midst of the worthy activities everyone took part in this weekend, including ministering to the elderly and poor, did anyone get saved? Did people seek to know God more intimately? Were demons cast out, or was the supernatural seen? Was Jesus glorified, or did He have to share the spotlight with a man?

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2004

As usual I am saddened by the ignorance of RP. Unfortunately in all of your getting this weekend you still failed to get an understanding.

Martin Luther King nor the holiday celebrating his work needs to be explained to you. However let me answer your question by saying this everywhere I went and I heard people talk about Dr. King or speak about his work, they always gave credit to God for using a man, perhaps a flawed man but yet one of his sons, to let others know that with God all things are possible. That in spite of the cancer of racism that pervades this land of ours God is still in control and if we would only trust in God and follow his commandments to love the hateful and the ignorant justice will fall down and every valley would be exalted and every hill and mountain made low. Everywhere I went RP I learned that Martin Luther King preached about how God makes the difference. That is a salvation message, that lets the whole world know that there is power in God. We learned that we can overcome the demonic forces of racism and poverty and yes ignorance because of men like Martin Luther King Jr. were not afraid to stand on the promises of God.

Thanks to this weekend and the services I attended I can be to demon of racism that you so willfully allow to live in you and rebuke and tell it to trouble me no more.

And for that I give God all the praise.

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2004

RP,

It appears as though you hide behind Jesus, but you have not the love of Him in you.

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2004

Rob, I am not sure that you are aware that Dr. King was Rev. a minister, everything he did was grounded in the gospel message as it is written in the Bible.

Economic justice, feeding the poor and biblical commandements, God is quite clear that the poor, widow and children are taken care of. It is the recurring theme in the Bible.

The greatest commandment that Jesus gave us, was to love one another, the great commission to go out and make disciples in the world is predicated on that love and our desire to share the love of Jesus with others.

Rob, I know this is head game with you to stir up trouble, and though others may defend you, I will continue to speak out. As I have said in a previous post, before I have danced this dance before.

I thank you for an opportunity to share about discipleship that happened at our MLK celebration on Monday. Rob I am an ordained minister and though I was a keynote speaker, I am first and foremost a preacher, after I finished my speech, I sang, in addition we had a band and 4 other gospel songs were sung. I thanked everyone for coming. Half of those that attended asked where my church is and said they will come tuesday. Several asked for my card to call me and talk about God. Some asked for prayer.

You see Rob, there is no way one can talk about Rev. King and NOT talk about God and the great commission.

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2004

the above should say "they will come sunday."

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2004

I once heard a missionary say that if satan can't drag a Christian to hell, he'll settle for neutralizing that Christian so he's no threat to the kingdom of darkness. There are any number of sidetracks Christians get involved in that aren't sin, but at the same time don't bother the devil one whit.

As a result the missionary said, 2000 years after Jesus said "Go ye" there are still vast tracts of the earth which have never had an adequate Gospel witness, and which have virtually no Christians at all. 2000 years!!! Incredible.

Now as for all the accusations against my character, as I've said before that's a price I pay for speaking in a public forum. Having said that, you might consider leaving the accusations to the one who makes it his business to accuse the bretheren.

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2004

RP:

First, I am not trying to neutralize you or your mission. I want to bring you out of the darkness of your narrow mindness into the diversity of God's love.

Second, the accusations you are reaping are the results of the seeds you diligently sow.

Take your own advice for a change:

" you might consider leaving the accusations to the one who makes it his business to accuse the bretheren."

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2004