Fantasia headlines Super Bowl Gospel Celebration; Lewis receives award

By Grelan Muse Sr.

Pew Talk Radio

Kirk Franklin, center, and Donnie McClurkin 

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis won a Super Bowl with his team on Feb. 3, but the win is not the only accolade the now retired three-time defensive player of the year achieved in New Orleans.

On Feb. 1, Lewis was honored with the Lifetime of Inspirations award during the 14^th Super Bowl Gospel Celebration.

An extremely emotional Lewis accepted the award from his eldest son, Ray Lewis III. The all-pro was joined on stage by his two daughters, younger sons, and his mother, Sunseria Jenkins.

Lewis shared with the audience the importance God plays in his life and the relationship he has built with his family. He discussed a conversation he had with his biological father that changed his life.

“One day I went on a six hour ride with his biological father. I wanted my dad to tell him all the things he had to say to him that he didn’t tell him as a child and all the pain he had within him. I wanted to hear it. After that, we put it in the past. Now, we have a better relationship.”

Lewis said the move also helped him become a better father to his children.

 

“I encourage you all to be responsible for rearing their children and teaching them respect. Be a parent and not just their friend.”

The bond Lewis has with Jenkins always been his strength. He said he started lifting weights at an early age to become strong enough protect her from an abusive relationship.

Lewis is only the second person the celebration has honored. He joins former NFL coach and current Sunday Night Football analysis Tony Dungy as the other award winner.

The NFL-sanctioned gospel celebration featured a star-studded show with Grammy winner Fantasia as the headlining act. The singer said it was a blessing to be able to appear in the show.

“My life has been up and down. I had to make God the center of my life. Doing so, I had to go back to my foundation, the church and singing gospel music and re-establish the relationship I had with God,” Fantasia told Pew Talk Radio during a brief interview on the red carpet. She attended the event with her mother, Diana Barrino.

Additional performers included Donnie McClurkin, Bishop Paul S. Morton, LeCrea, Myron Butler, and Pastor Marvin Winans. Kirk Franklin will serve as host of the music portion, with “The View” co-host Sherri Shepherd as MC for the event.

The NFL Choir also performed selections for the audience. The choir, in its sixth year of existence, includes former and current NFL players and coaches.

NFL Hall of Fame QB Jim Kelly shares parenting plays in new book

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ANS) – NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback Jim Kelly shares fatherhood advice in his new book The Playbook for Dads - with Ted Kluck – (FaithWords/Hachette Book Group, September 2012).

Kelly, who spent 11 eleven seasons as quarterback of the Buffalo Bills, helped lead the team to the playoffs eight times, including four Super Bowls. The Kellys have shared Hunter's story all over the world and in Jill's book, Without a Word.

Relaying insider information on his toughest job, Kelly tackles 10 important lessons that fathers should be sharing with their children.

"Being a father is hard work," writes Kelly. "It's hard work just like being a quarterback was hard, relentless work … But I can honestly say that it's the greatest, most important job in the world."

According to a news release, relating personal experiences on and off the field to fatherhood, Kelly walks fathers through his game plan, challenging them to coach their children through 10 important lessons: thankfulness, confidence, respect, preparation, passion, perseverance, character, responsibility, teamwork, and spiritual life.

"It seems like many of these principles are fading away in our society, and I think it's our job as fathers to preserve them and pass them along to our children," writes Kelly.

In September 1997, three months after their infant son, Hunter, was diagnosed with a fatal disease, Jim and his wife, Jill, founded the Hunter's Hope Foundation. Sadly, Hunter died at age 8 from Krabbe diesease.

Each parenting lesson begins with a letter to his late son and ends with a letter to his two daughters, Cam and Erin. Kelly shares details of his and his wife Jill's journey to Christianity after the passing of their son, and how that experience has changed their lives for the better – forever.

FaithWords publishes books for the growing inspirational market. Based near Nashville, Tenn., FaithWords has grown dramatically by acquiring a solid list of faith-building fiction and high-profile authors with edifying messages, including best-selling authors Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, John Eldredge, and David Jeremiah. Several FaithWords titles have appeared on national best-seller lists, most recently Every Day a Friday by Joel Osteen, Living Beyond Your Feelings by Joyce Meyer and I Never Thought I'd See the Day! by David Jeremiah.

Opinion: Why your single moms ministry won't grow

By Jennifer Maggio

Special To Inside The Pew

The Life of a Single Mom Ministries exists so that no single mom walks alone, regardless of race, socio-economic status, or story. Our passion is to see single mothers connected to the house of God, thriving and flourishing to live the life He intended. One way we do that is by helping churches establish long-term, healthy single moms support groups or ministries.

I consider it an honor and privilege to work beside some of largest churches and nonprofits in the world. In doing so, I have found some things that may hinder your single moms' ministry from growing and I wanted to share them with you (and hope we have your permission to be brutally honest):

1. Ministering only to single moms within your church will prohibit your ministry from growing. Sixty-seven percent of single moms are outside your church walls, so be sure to welcome in the community.
2. Failing to provide a free meal and free childcare will hinder growth within your ministry. Single moms are busy and often do not have the time or money to provide childcare themselves for a Bible study. In addition, providing a meal is a great way to bless the moms and their children. (Read the book, The Church and the Single Mom by Jennifer Maggio, for ways to provide this at little to no cost.)
3. Your meetings drone on and on. We suggest meetings to last only 90 mintues. Single moms are busy and need to be able to plan their schedule for themselves and their children.
4. You are trying to integrate a single mom’s group on a Wednesday night or Sunday morning service. Weekday meetings are extremely hard for single parents who are juggling full-time jobs, soccer practice, second jobs, homework, and night classes. Friday, Saturday, or Sunday nights are, by far, the best nights for single moms to get out. (No homework for kids, no night-time classes, no work the next day, etc).
5. You are afraid to change. I once heard a dynamic speaker say, "When women's ministries turn into women's miseries, it is time for a change." The same is true for single moms ministries. Your church may have been doing the same thing for single moms, the same way, for 15 years. It may be time to shake it up a bit. Have some fun. Have some giggles. Give your ministry a face lift.
6. You need to plan an "event" to get the single moms in your church and community excited. There is no better way to attract some new faces (and regain some old ones) than to have a single moms' conference, night of beauty, night of worship, game night, or something similar.
7. Your leadership isn't diversified. In order to reach all single moms from all backgrounds and stories, it is important that the key leaders and volunteers within the ministry are diversified. For example, if you have exclusively 40-something divorcees in leadership positions, do not be surprised if teen moms aren't interested. We all want to know that someone understands our story. And when a new single mom walks into your ministry, she wants to see someone in the room who looks like her. It is a simple, but true statement.
8. The ministry leader for your single moms ministry needs equipping. Maybe she's tired and needs some more volunteers. Maybe she was never properly trained on how to lead women. Maybe there is a wonderful teacher waiting to "bud", but she hasn't found her voice yet and needs some encouragement on how to do that. Or.....maybe the wrong leader is leading within the ministry. Maybe her time has drawn to a close and God is moving her into a new season of life. This last fact cannot be determined without great prayer, but it is crucial in the survival and thriving of your single moms’ ministry. Sometimes as ministry leaders who are desperate for workers (the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few...), we don't diligently seek God about who the right person is for the job. Consequently, we have some misplaced leaders within single moms' ministries who really need to be replaced. When done properly, this is beautiful for all involved, as it frees the current leader to fulfill the role God called her to, and it allows the new leader to also fulfill her role.

Jennifer Maggio is considered one of the nation's leading authorities on single parent issues. She is an award-winning author and speaker who travels the country sharing her own riveting story. She has been featured on countless radio and television programs, and founded The Life of a Single Mom Ministries, to equip the body of Christ on how to best meet the needs of single parent families. For more information on running an effective single moms ministry, please visit http://www.thelifeofasinglemom.com.

‘Manifestation’ about holding on to God’s promises, seeing them unfurl

By Donald Lee
Special to Inside The Pew

Minister Aaron Moses — the next big thing in Christian rap — wants those within an ear shot of his voice to know that their dreams, fueled by their faith, will come into fruition, if they dare to stand unmoved by circumstances that may suggest otherwise.
“Believe beyond measure; never stop believing,” said the Baton Rouge, La., rap artist and founder of HopeMusic & HopeMovies Entertainment. “Philippians 1:6 tells us that He who began a good work in you shall perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

“So, just believe. When belief stops believing, you continue to believe,” Moses said. “When your money don’t believe in your dream no more, you continue to believe. When your body, your emotions and every fiber of your existence other than your soul refuse to believe in your dream, you believe in your dream, that you can do all things through Christ which strengthens you (as Philippians 4:13 states).”
And that strong conviction that he preaches is what his audience hears emphatically throughout his album Manifestation, which was released in May and can be purchased on iTunes or Amazon.

In talking about the title song Manifestation, Moses, 26, shares how it depicts his life’s transformation.

“At this stage of my life (six years ago), I had totally made up my mind that I was no longer going to prostitute my gift to the world, and I was going to present it holy before Christ,” Moses said.

He shares the meaning of the opening stanza in Manifestation. The line goes: “The realest quote I ever wrote, didn’t bother to put friends on it, it’s time for it to manifest, my whole family depend on it …”

“What I meant by that was my life had to change in order for a lot of people around me to change,” said Moses who’d lived a hard life, having battled drug addiction and having buried his mother who died of AIDS at age 45 in March 2006.

“I was always a leader of men,” he said. “But being intricately involved with the yoke of bondage and contrary spirits, I allowed myself and those who were around me to become isolated and stagnated (regarding) the things of God.

“So, when I speak of ‘I didn’t bother to put no friends in it,’ I’m speaking of the time when I no longer needed to be validated by people who were around me to accomplish that which I was created to,” Moses said. “In other words, the life that God created for me to live was more important than the opinions of those who were around me.”
And when Moses began to put things in to their proper perspectives, he began to see the physical manifestations of the promises of God in his life. As today’s youth would say, “This CD go hard.”
There are 12 tracks on it. Each offers a candid look into this artist’s heart. Each one ministers greatly to the souls of its listeners while captivating them with hardcore beats and a voice that sounds fresh off the streets.
The first track on the CD, “Welcome,” introduces listeners to an album that promises to sustain their attention with “custom-made” beats that keep their heads bobbin’, anointed lyrics that spit Holy Ghost fire and heart-felt messages powerful enough to make a thug weep. Those who are about that (thug) life, after listening to these songs, will receive an impartation of wisdom that is sure to redefine their definition of manhood.
The lines in the song are “a representative of the struggles that I came through as a child,” said Moses, who wrote his songs and is the album’s executive producer. “And also, the song represents me as a person beyond music. It represents me as a preacher, my testimony. And also I wanted people to be able to see Christ in me without the commercialized version of Christ.
“I wanted people to be able to take someone like me (as a positive example) who abused ecstasy pills, smoked marijuana, who dropped out of high school, who made countless bad decisions and completely turned my life around for His glory,” said Moses, who will be getting his associate’s degree in entertainment technology from Baton Rouge Community College in the fall.
On the third track, “Keep Me Going,” Moses shares, “It might be your grandparents, it might be your kids, there’s somethin’ that’s inside of you that’s tellin’ you don’t quit.

“It might be your old man, it might be your pastor,” he said in the song, “there’s somethin’ that’s inside of you that’s tellin’ you don’t slack up. Go hard or go home, or play sick and stay home. Better bring your A game. I’m Monday night in the Super Dome. I keep going for the prostitutes, keep goin’ for the drug addicts, keep goin’ for the drug dealers, my momma had a drug habbit. I seen victory and I liked what I saw, so He must keep showing, it’s that thing that keep me goin’… ”
In other words, there’s something on the inside of individuals, the song explains, that gives them that extra incentive to strive for a better life and refuse to give up.

“This brother is real, and I’m feelin’ that,” said Baton Rouge radio personality Guy Brody.

Moses said the chief thing his music is written to do is point people to the Lord.
“Christ has made salvation available to any and everybody who is willing to receive Him in their hearts, according to Romans 10:9,10,” Moses said. “That is what’s most important.”

Visit Moses on Facebook, and follow him on Twitter at @hopemusic. To book him, call Lakeisha Moses at (225) 278-1789 or e-mail themanifestation@yahoo.com.

Pew Devotional: ‘Living by faith and not by sight’

By Elise LaVan
Special to Inside The Pew

As said in 2 Corinthians 5:7 “We live by faith, not by sight” (NIV). Having faith through the good times and bad is the key to living life to its fullest. When life starts to get hard, you push through it, and come out strong. Keeping your faith alive and strong makes you see more to life when everything is going well. And then when things start getting hard, because of your normally strong faith, it will be easier to make it through the rough patch.

God is always there for you to turn to when things don’t go your way. God wants us to, and teaches us to trust in Him always, no matter what. Even though people aren’t always there for you and sometimes can let you down, God won’t. God never gives up on anyone and helps you through everything. If you want God to help you, you need to let Him. You need to let Him into your heart, life, and soul.

Your relationship with God will depend largely on your view of Him. When someone says, “Why me,” God has gotten His way. He wants to get your attention, and clearly He has if you acknowledge the problem. You know the problem is there and now how you deal with the problem is all up to you.

Elise LaVan, a junior at Montini Catholic High School in Lombard, Ill., is just a normal teenager finding her place in the world, exploring, and having a great time doing it. The best thing in the world to Elise is being happy and laughing all the time. To contact Elise, email her at pewnews@aol.com.

Ariz. pastor sent to prison for at-home Bible study

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

PHOENIX, AZ (ANS) – A Phoenix pastor who was jailed for holding a Bible study group on his private property is now holding one behind bars.
According to Fox News Michael Salman is serving a 60-day sentence in Maricopa County's notorious Tent City jail for allegedly violating his probation by holding religious services on his property in violation of zoning and building codes. He was arrested July 9, after authorities charged the one-time gang member hosted Bible sessions for as many 80 people on his 4-acre property, which he tried to claim as a tax-exempt church.

"And I'm sure he'd do it all over again," attorney John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, told Fox News.
In a sense, he is. Salman has assembled a Bible study group on site that has been attended by as many as 30 inmates, according to Whitehead. On Thursday, he was chosen to lead inmates in prayer for the anniversary of the Tent City jail, just before they dined on moon pies, according to a report.
The story said that the married father of six is an ordained pastor of Church of God in Christ and founder of Harvest Christian Fellowship. He and his family believe he has the right to worship at home on his private property.

"The only people who came to our home were family and friends," Salman said in a video posted online before he reported to jail this week. "Our home was not open to the public; it was private."
His wife, Suzanne Salman, said her husband's constitutional rights have been violated.
"Christians deserve the right to gather at their homes privately just like every other American has the right to gather for their reasons," she told Fox News.
But the city rejects the idea that Salman is doing time for saving souls.
"The case is about the building that is used for regular assembly does not meet construction and fire code requirements for assembly," Phoenix officials said in a statement.
The outdoor facility where Salman is now being held was incorporated with the county jail in 1993 in order to house a growing number of inmates. Whitehead said the conditions are hellish.
"It's like a Guantanamo facility," Whitehead said. "It can get up to 140 degrees out there ... putting someone in Tent City for violating zoning laws is insane."

Fox News says that Salman "has done hard time before." The former gang member was arrested for a drive-by shooting as well as being charged with impersonating a police officer. His neighbors say the physically imposing Salman makes them nervous, despite his status as a changed man.

Homeowners Association President Mike Simms told Fox News Salman applied for a permit to build a game room on his property, but installed pew-like seats and a pulpit. Salman has responded by saying "game room" was the best description available for what they were building.

"Salman is scheduled to be released Sept. 9, but Whitehead hopes to win an early release for his client," concluded the story.

Gold medalist Gabrielle Douglas' strength is in the Lord

Gabby's tweet before All-Around competition: 'Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things He does for me'

By Aimee Herd

Special to ASSIST News Service

Gabrielle Douglas displays her gold medal

LONDON, UK (ANS) -- One of the favorites for Team USA this Olympics has been 16-year-old Gabrielle Douglas, who helped her team garner gold in women's gymnastics. She also competed in the All-Around competition, along with teammate Aly Raisman, and Gabrielle took gold once again.

Setting Gabrielle – affectionately called "Gabby" by her teammates and fans – apart is her willingness to share with the press, Facebook and Twitter friends, about what gives her strength, courage and peace in the midst of the fierce contest of skill: her faith, and relationship with the Lord.

Upon learning that she and her fellow USA gymnasts had won gold, she posted on Facebook, "We are the 2012 London Olympic Gold Medalists!!! We are all so happy right now. It's a dream come true! Gotta give God the Glory! Thank you everyone for praying for me! It means so much to me! Now I have to prepare for the All-Around competition! I am so excited! Gabby."

In an Us Weekly interview, Gabby said, "Right before a competition I pray and listen to music." And when she was asked by the press how she focuses and stays calm when surrounded by the immense pressure of the Olympic competition, the teen replied that she meditates on Bible Scripture.

In evidence of that, on the morning of the All-Around competition, Gabby tweeted, "Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things He does for me."

A video posted on Crosswalk describes the journey Gabby and her family has taken on her road to the Olympics, including the difficult decision by her mother Natalie – a single mom – to allow her youngest daughter at 14 to move halfway across the country to train.

Despite the cultural differences, Gabby found a second home with her host family in Des Moines, Iowa, and the move for intense training paid off.

Watch the moving video here.