THE REAL VICTIMS

Being a HUGE football fan, naturally over the past few days I have been following very closely the Steve McNair murder investigation. And while it is a tragedy when any person is shot and killed--especially at such a young age like 36--the one thing that I think is not being focused on is the grieving family is left to deal with the complex questions.

To put it bluntly, while the media is focusing on the humanitarian that Steve McNair was, we shouldn't overlook the fact that the man was killed in the surroundings of an adulteress relationship. In short, McNair thought more about himself and his wants instead of being faithful to his family--especially the four children he left behind.

Now it is not my desire to throw stones at McNair in this post (although you might think otherwise), but it does speak volumes when a man is being praised for helping inner-city youth and starting foundations but no one is thinking about a wife who has to tell her children that daddy is not only dead, but has to tell them how he died!!

How does Mechelle McNair tell her children that daddy was having an affair and was killed by his mistress? Equally, how does she properly grieve in finding out this news at the same time as hearing that her husband of 12 years is dead? And finally, how will this situation affect the psyche of his children towards their father as they grow up to become active members of society?

In short, we must come to the reality that tragedies like this do not stop with the people that were directly involved. But rather, this is a incident that could have lasting effects 20, 30, and maybe 50 years from now with the people who are left behind. In short, the real victims of this tragedy are those who become engulfed in the poison that an incident like this can bring.

So while we pray for the families that are involved in this tragedy, let us also pray for the LORD to specifically heal their hearts from the betrayal and hatred that generally come from these ordeals. Unfortunately, nothing can change what happened but what can be prevented is the spread of the pain and suffering that these families now feel towards their loved ones and those on the other side of the fence.

PICS FROM THE WEDDING

Hello Everyone!

It has been a while since I posted (I have been trying to get adjusted both to work and as a newly married man). However, I would like to tell you that the Ebony Puritan Forum is back and possibly stronger than ever.

And to kick off my return, I would like to share with you some of the pics from the wedding. The LORD was pleased to bless me on March 28th in taking the hand of Debra-Anne Lettman as my wife. She is an amazing woman, and I look forward to loving and cherishing her and having her love and support for the rest of our days.

I would like to thank my wife's cousin Andrea and sister Roni for supplying these pics.

So with that said, Enjoy!!!!


The Bridal Party



I am watching Debra dance with her Uncle Larry



Deb and I doing our "surprise" dance


Deb and I cutting the wedding cake


Deb and I sharing a passionate kiss


More to come soon..............................

YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HELL, WE'RE JUST HAVING SOME FUN!!!

Today, I was sent an e-mail of a Church Anniversary service where the people had to dress in a certain color due to their generation. For instance, those born before 1946 are called "Builders" and those, in this congregation who fell under that genre, wore black. Those born from 1946-64 are called "Boomers" and they wore brown, from 1965-83 the people are called "Busters" and they wore gray, and from 1984 until now they are called "Bridges" and they wore red. And the idea this church was promoting was that they minister to all four generations of people.

And while this ministering to various generations should be honored and there is nothing inherently wrong with having the different generations dress in certain colors for such events, what disturbed me about this clip is that the pastor had the people get up and dance to certain songs of their generation like "they did when they first heard the song". So you have people slow dancing in the church and doing modern dances within the worship service. And this leaves me to ask the obvious question: What has happened to the reverence in our worship services?

Would we see this kind of behavior in the days of Moses? How about with Christ? How about the Apostles? Would we see it in the days of Luther, Calvin, Edwards, Spurgeon, or even as recent as 20 years ago? To quote Lance Lewis, the church is not being separated from the world, we are mimicking it and they are laughing at us.

And on top of all this, the Pastor kept saying, "You are not going to hell because of this. We are just having fun". And from a Christian perspective, this is true because our salvation is in Christ. So, a Christian need not be afraid of getting eternally condemned because they dance to "My Girl" in the worship service. But does this statement give us the right to act any way we want when we come into the presence of God? For instance, would we wear sneakers and jeans to a meeting with President Obama because we were certain he wouldn't throw us into federal prison for such? Equally, if we have a high ranking position on our job, does that mean we can blast music and "cut a fool" because there is no fear of being fired? I think not! We give reverence where reverence is due. And if we can put on our best and show respect towards Obama or our bosses, how much more should we show reverence to the very One who gave us life and gave His life for our redemption?

And in a postscript to this Pastor's statement, what about the unbelievers who went to this service and came away with the idea that the church is no more than a big club? What about those people who were desiring to see something that service that would distinguish the church from the world, but saw the same sinful mindsets and ideas that they are always around? And, even worse, what about those who came in as skeptics and felt like their criticisms were justified? In other words, while the statement holds true for believers, it doesn't hold true for the sinner because they are still locked in their sins and this could've been the last opportunity they had to hear the Good News about Christ.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am not taking an R.A. Torrey approach and saying Christians should not dance or go to movies. However, when we come together as a Body to worship the LORD, this is not the time to listen and dance to The Temptations or Kanye West. It is a time to humbly honor and praise the LORD of Heaven and Earth through His Son, Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And that is what the church is commanded to do. To exalt the excellence of Christ and to distance themselves from the world. And until or unless we do this, church services like this will slowly swallow the church's objectives into chaos.

To see the video of this service, click here

A QUOTE FROM JOHN DONNE

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I am reading through for the first time, The Supremacy of God in Preaching by John Piper. And in the book, there is an excellent quote by Jacobean poet and preacher John Donne, relating the preacher's heart to the people he preaches to. If you are a minister of the Gospel, does these words reflect your heart:

"What sea could furnish my eyes with tears enough to pour out, if I should think, that of all this congregation, which looks me in the face now, I should not meet one at the Resurrection, at that right hand of God".

I'M STILL ALIVE!!!!!

As some of you know, I am getting married to my amazing fiancee on March 28th. And, due to this, I have not had the time to post on The Ebony Puritan Forum like I want to (in fact, this is my first post of the year--Happy New Year everyone :-) !!!!!

But, as the wedding comes closer and more fires are put out, I will definitely take time to post at least 2 times a week. In short, The Ebony Puritan Forum is NOT DEAD!!!!

So, for all those who enjoy the post on this site, I am truly sorry for my absence and I hope you check frequently on the site for more of my thoughts on the impact of Reformed Theology throughout the African-American Church as well as the world!!!!

THE EBONYPURITAN FORUM'S 100TH POST

It has been over 14 months in waiting, but guess what: THE EBONYPURITAN FORUM HAS REACHED THE CENTURY MARK IN POSTS!!!!!

To all the readers, both casual and devoted, thank you for all your support and comments. And I intend on continuing to give you my thoughts as it pertains to Reformed Theology and the African-American society as a whole!!!!

YOUNG, RESTLESS, AND REFORMED

If there is one thing that blesses my heart outside of seeing my own African-American brothers and sisters come to a knowledge and love of the Reformed faith, it is seeing this same knowledge and love through young people.

I have many friends who are either young adults themselves or older adults with young children, who passionately expresses their joy in the Reformed faith in various ways. And the diversity is amazing in and of itself: On one hand, I know young people who express their Reformed beliefs in listening to LeCrae and Paul Washer and others who express their beliefs in singing hymns and listening to Lloyd-Jones.

But in both cases, they have one major objective: to exalt Christ, promote God's Sovereignty, and uphold the glorious Doctrines of Grace. And while this "youth movement" has caused many older Reformers to become uneasy, I personally believe some good can come from this. Because the LeCraes, the Flames, the Washers are allowing youngsters to enjoy their Reformed beliefs in many nontraditional ways. And let us not forget that there was a time when the Luthers, Calvins, and Spurgeons were once scorned and seen as "over the top" in their society.

So, instead of criticizing this movement, let us build upon it. Because truly, there are a lot of things these young Reformers can learn from older Reformers and there are many things that the older Reformers can learn from younger Reformers as well.