VOLUME 96 NO. 4 JULY/AUGUST 2020
CHRISTIAN OUTLOOK
MAGAZINE
THE
FEATURE STORY
SOCIAL JUSTICE
& RIGHTEOUSNESS Bishop Richard D. Howell Suffragan Bishop David E. Johnson PREACHING 101: Giftedness and Character
I AM A GENTLEMAN
PRAYER
Jermaine L. Anderson
Suffragan Bishop Vanuel Little, Jr.
Bishop Noel Jones w
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From the Desk of the Presiding Bishop
Bishop Theodore L. Brooks, Sr.
Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc.
Greetings in the matchless, amazing Name of Jesus Christ! Lady Brooks and greet you warmly with the love of God! The year 2020 has been an unprecedented one thus far, which for many of you reading is an understatement. For many, the doors of the church are still closed, and the circumstances of the pandemic COVID-19 are back on the rise. However, I have found comfort in the Lord and a sense of peace that only comes from relationship with Jesus. Indeed, our world is confronted with changes left and right beyond even COVID-19, and too often it feels as if we are confronted on every side with new challenges. Despite these many challenges, we can rest assured in the consistency and faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him, we find our stability in an unstable world. In Him, we find peace in chaos. In Him, we find hope for an uncertain future, and the confidence to keep going day after day. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever more—and He will be with us through each change we may feel and experience. Though we are unable to gather together physically this year, we have worked tirelessly to offer to you the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World’s first ever Virtual Convention. I pray you are blessed by the seminars, prayer sessions, and worship services. As much as we are not able to be together in Baltimore, we are still unified in spirit and across the airways. Each of us is a member of the Body of Christ, and in that we are never as alone as we may feel. We are together and unified in the Spirit of God no matter how the world shifts us, and that, my brothers and sisters, gives me hope for when we will gather again. The Master’s Servants, Bishop Theodore and Lady L. Janice Brooks
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“GOD’S PROMISE TO PERFORM”
JULY/AUGUST 2020
FROM THE
EDITOR Evangelist Neechy Dumas
Thank you to the many readers and subscribers of the May/June issue of The Christian Outlook. Your support has once again amazed us with record breaking numbers of pre-orders and overall magazine sales. We are also excited about the newly launched DIGITAL version of The Christian Outlook. A special thank you to our amazing team (listed on page 4) for their continued support of this immense effort; even in the midst of uncertain times, they have consistently helped to push this great magazine forward.
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would like to thank our Presiding Bishop, Bishop Theodore L. Brooks, Sr., for the continued opportunity to serve our great organization in this capacity. His notable leadership during a time of pandemic and civil unrest has met us with compassion and hope. In recent months, we have found ourselves in a position to learn more about our culture, our environment, our laws and even ourselves. Many have shared that in the midst of a global pandemic and social unrest, they have learned a new craft or skill, spent more time with family, leveled up with their technological know-how and even had the courage to remove things from their life that were hindering their growth. I truly believe that this is still the year where God can and will bless us with the performance of EVERY promise that He has made us. (Romans 4:21)
Suff. Bishop Johnson on their perspective of Social Justice and Righteousness; that you’ll see once again see how the power of PRAYER is still able to change things from Suff. Bishop Vanuel Little, Jr.; and that you’ll be motivated to pursue your dreams by the inspirational interview with Jermaine Lawrence Anderson. “God’s Promise to Perform” will stand no matter what transition you may be going through, and it is in His promise that we find hope and peace in spite of all adversity. May you continue to have a blessed and prosperous year. Blessings, Evang. Neechy Marketing & Publications Director @Neechy
As you flip through the pages of this issue, I believe that you’ll be enlightened by Bishop Howell and THE CHRISTIAN OUTLOOK
“GOD’S PROMISE TO PERFORM”
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ears ago, I led a series of workshops with our church’s Ministerial Alliance entitled Preaching 101 and Preaching 102. During these sessions, the ministers and I explored various topics that formulate the foundation of an effective and prolific ministry, such as hermeneutics, homiletics, the anointing and the art and science of preaching. Though we had many sessions in these series, one stands out as being particularly impactful in the life of those called to lead or preach. This session illuminated the relevance of giftedness and character in the work and life of a minister. A question was asked of Martyn LloydJones, “Who is the greatest preacher you’ve ever heard?”
emulation of what’s popular is the norm. Yet, too much emulation leads to a deficit of leaders who can operate within the uniqueness and idiosyncrasy of their own minds. Young ministers often feel the need to fit into a certain culture or norms. But, as far as I am concerned, we don’t need anybody to fit into a pre-established culture. We need ministers who know their job - the art (i.e. creativity) and science (i.e. structure) of delivering divine truths with the purpose to persuade. If you are going to adhere solely to traditional norms, you will never break out and become a leader. You will never be able to lead with confidence in the interpretation and application of the unique messages that God gives you.
or devalue the significance of the preacher’s Word. For instance, I had a preacher friend who died a couple of years ago. When he died, I received numerous phone calls from people who had heard different stories about what happened, and they were calling me to confirm. After speaking with my sources, I reported back that he did not die in the sordid way that was believed. One of the people that I told said, ”Well, I’m so glad, Bishop, because I have always enjoyed his preaching.” And being the antagonist that I am, I said, “Now, dear sir, if he had died the way that you thought, would you now un-enjoy his preaching?” This man did not have the capacity to make the distinction
Preaching Giftedness and Character Written by Bishop Noel Jones
His reply was, “I do not know that I can tell you who the greatest preacher I have ever heard is, but I can tell you this quite certainly -- the greatest preaching that I have ever heard is the preaching of John Hutton.” I ask you, as I asked my ministers on that day, what is the distinction between the two -- greatest preacher versus greatest preaching? I believe that effective preachers must be able to answer this question for two reasons. First, we must establish that a significant part of ministry, pastoring and hermeneutic interpretation is one’s ability to think -- and even more important is one’s ability to think outside of the box. In today’s fields of pastoring and preaching,
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The second and primary reason I pose this question is for us to ruminate on two qualities that necessarily impact ministry -- giftedness and character. As the quote suggests, declaring that one is a great preacher takes into account qualities that may have nothing to do with their preaching, such as moral dispositions and mental tendencies. Many times, people will not receive a Word because they have heard something about the messenger’s character. In other words, there is a tendency to devalue the preacher’s message because of his or her perceived morality. Yet, the quality of preaching is not necessarily influenced by character. Receptivity of preaching can be stifled by the preacher’s character, but because it’s blurred to you does not negate
“GOD’S PROMISE TO PERFORM”
between the preacher and his preaching. Some of the most controversial characters in the Bible were the most prolific. Let’s insert David into this conversation. While he was one of the most gifted characters in the whole Bible, he was also one of the most questionable. We praise David for writing the 23rd Psalm. However, when you read II Samuel 12, did you stop reading David? We must have the ability to distinguish between giftedness and character. Preachers, do not let the religious subculture negate your growth in the Word by encouraging you to disqualify yourselves because of your secrets. Now, in no way am I suggesting that, as preachers, we be loose. That is not God’s intention.
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101: But, at the same time, I don’t want you to abort your gift because of your shortcomings. Nor do I want you to question your calling because you are going through a character development experience. You can make dreadful mistakes, and I’ve made some awful ones, but as long as you remain connected to God, you can recover.
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s I close, I want to share one last story. The great E.V. Hill preached a sermon in Chicago related to this very topic. In it, he told of a time that he questioned his own calling because of a character development experience in which he was involved. I don’t know what he did. He didn’t say what he did. But, Dr. Hill said that because of what he did, he was going
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to quit, and he shared those plans with a friend. After he did, the friend asked him, “What did you just say?” And, Dr. Hill replied, “Man, I can’t go any further.” The gentleman then said to him, “Well, I guess you just gave God some new information. God is now going to take your gift because He found out something that He didn’t know when He gave it to you.” Of course, E.V. said, “Man, you’re stupid”. And, the gentleman responded, “I’m not the stupid one, Reverend. You are.” The gifts and callings of God are without repentance, which means that if you have the unmitigated gall and audacity to call yourself a minister of the Most High God, then I have to conclude that you were
“GOD’SITPROMISE “NOW SHALL SPRING TO PERFORM” FORTH”
chosen before the foundation of the world. When God called you, He knew the mistakes you would make. And if you were not qualified for His gift when He knew the end of your life even before the beginning of it, then He wouldn’t have given His gift to you. God didn’t guess when He hired you. Your life’s resume was in front of Him when He called you. So, as you navigate the often treacherous subculture of religion, please remember that your gift has nothing to do with your developing character; character development is a life-long process. Regardless of what you have done, now is the time to repent, connect with God and keep preaching. The world needs what you have.W
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