Fall-Winter 2004-05 Newsletter

Eddie in a volleyball game - 1995

EDWIN SCOTT - Yet another young brother goes out into eternity while givin' a go at the "game."  When I first started meeting the young people of South Camden, I found my heart hit time and again witnessing their courageous, charactered attempts to face the war being waged against them.  Out of all those young people, Edwin (Eddie) was one who burdened me the most.  I was saddened to learn that he was only 25 years old when he was gunned down on September 1, 2004 by an unknown assailant who shot him in the chest at the corner of Ferry Avenue and Filmore Street in South Camden, NJ.  Memories of him reach back to the time when he was about 15 or 16 years old and he was involved in the programs at South Camden's Fellowship House (right around the corner from where he died).  Eddie was the go-to fun dude who made everybody smile or laugh, but it wasn't all that hard to see a profound sadness just beneath the surface.  Anthony W. called to tell me about Eddie's murder — Ant had greeted Eddie in passing only 4-5 hours earlier and when he came back through, he found the corner where Eddie was standing taped off as a crime scene.  Once again (and again . . . and again . . . and again), a family, friends and a community are left hollowed by bullets; saddened and maddened by yet another son / brother / uncle / nephew / grandson gettin' suddenly ushered out (of season) into eternity — ahead of the "normal" time.  Grievin' for another lost son, Eddie: another young Black male goin' for the gamblin' green of the game but losin' it all as red rivulets of his own life's blood ebbed outta him on a hard-scrabble South Camden street corner.  How long, O LORD?  How long?  Gonna miss him, Father, and I know I gotta trust 'n wait on You to reveal the "whys" of this not-surprising but heartache-inducing tragedy.  

The New York Times did an article on Camden on Wednesday, December 29, 2004 ("Camden's Streets Go From Mean to Meanest" by Jeffrey Gettleman.  A photo essay accompanying the article contains an image of the corner where he died with a memorial scribbled on the door of an abandoned storefront. (NY Times site registration required)

CAN YOU IDENTIFY the SOURCE of the FOLLOWING QUOTE?  "I think we need to pay more attention to boys.  I think we've paid a lot of attention to girls for the past 30 years, and we have this idea in the United States that boys can take care of themselves.  We've raised them to be totally self-reliant, starting really too early.  They need the nurturing that all humans need.  And I think that there are a lot of life skills that we teach girls but we don't teach boys.  We actually have neglected boys."  Not only do boys now attend college at lower rates than girls ... but "they're the ones who are in trouble, who have been adjudicated, who can't read, who are not doing well in school and drop out in frustration and embarrassment.  A lot of times they're the ones with the drug and alcohol problems."  How do we reach them?  You begin in the home with parents ... and you can also reach them through programs such as Boys & Girls Clubs or Big Brothers Big Sisters, and even through athletic coaches.  "I'd love to work with coaches on ways we could better mentor boys."  Use your cursor to highlight the answer here: Laura Bush, in a Parade magazine interview with Lyric Wallwork Winik, January 16, 2005, p. 5. Interesting, huh?

Were ya looking to find out what happened with YUBM Ministries during the spring/summer of 2004?  Click here.

If you're wondering, "Why this "YUBM" thing?,"
check out this article from the New York Times.
Tell me it don't break ya heart 'n make ya mad.
The title of the article: "Betrayed by the Game"

And here's another : "My Turn: Raising a Son —
with Men on the Fringes" by Robyn Marks found
in the July 19, 2004 edition of Newsweek, pg. 12

PRESENT PURSUITS and PAST PERAMBULATIONS
( listed in reverse chronological order )

The N.B.L.I. 2005 Retreat Choir ready to sing, Sunday morning in Word of Life's Conference Center

NEW LIFE BIBLE INSTITUTE RETREAT - Word of Life Conference Center, Schroon Lake, NY - March 18-20, 2005.  "The Ultimate Makeover" was the theme of this annual retreat, capably led again by Sis. Joyce Burton.  This year featured two speakers: Bro. John and Rev. Joel Ruffin (sons of the late Pastor Timothy Ruffin and his wife Sis. Betty Ruffin [who is still very active in the Bible Institute they started about 27 years ago]).  John and Joel brought God's Word to the group of 75+ saints, who in turn represented a number of churches throughout Philly.  Another great and grand time of teaching, singing and fellowship, and I am a blessed man for the privilege of being able to participate in this event.  I wrote a choir selection (which the entire group also sang as a worship and praise song) entitled, "Change Me, Lord" and was thrilled with how it turned out on Sunday morning.  A special shout-out to choir director (and PowerPoint operator ! ) Evangelist Cheryl Johnson for all her excellent expertise in pulling things together musically (that's her in the foreground by the music stand, back to the camera).  Soloists Diane Allen and Larry Johnson are standing next to the lectern.  Information link here.

Morris Jr., Larry Jr. and Justin at Christian Union Church 

MARCH MADNESS YOUTH REVIVAL - Christian Union Church - Philadelphia, PA - March 13, 2005. A great big THANK YOU to the saints at this happenin', extremely "youther-friendly" church in southwest Philadelphia for allowin' me ('n my "madness"), Ack Davis 'n R. Swift to roll up in ya spot and go at some stuff for a minute.  You all ministered mightily to my heart in your love for your young people and for your vital ministry there in your neighborhood.  A great big shout-out to Pastor Larry Tucker, Sr. and (First Lady), Sis. Deborah Cain, Gil H., Allan J., Sis. Darah G., Larry T., Jr. (aka "Kanye East" / drummer artiste), keyboardist Morris T. Jr., bassist Justin (quite a band y'all got there) and so many others.  Y'all refreshed the heart of this saint, and I thank you deeply for your ministry to me. 

Phanatik in his "break-out" gear, the other praise dancer and DJ Official at the 1s and 2s

"THE INCREDIBLE WALK" - Phanatik's solo album release concert - Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, PA - March 5, 2005.  Well, in summary, THIS WAS ONE REALLY FUN EVENT!  The Phanatik not only has a great gift for teaching and communicating God's truth in a refreshingly street-relevant way — he also has a great sense of wit and humor and he found a way to bring a nice blend of seriousness and playfulness to the evening.  [He called the rapping part of the program "the commercials" and the times he spoke as "the [real] show."  Nice.]  He was capably assisted with the program by Cross Movement label-mates DJ Official on the one & twos, FLAME (from St. Louis), as well as Shabach (from NY) and Evangel (from MD).  Evangel rolled through with an a cappella spill that spun stunned headz with it's well-crafted lyrical craziness.  And while it's not an entirely original idea in the Christian event world, it certainly was for the Cross Movement camp: the idea of letting the audience bounce around inflatable globes (about 18-22" across) during the concert.  It worked.  There were also two dancers (the young sister's name is Joyce, but I didn't catch the brother's name) who accompanied a few of the Phanatik's songs.  They thoroughly convinced me that Christian street dancing does indeed qualify as a very viable (and excellent) ministry.  In one song one dancer played the part of the "new nature" while the other played the part of the "old nature" — stunning and insightful.  Last but not least, the Phanatik brought in a nice dramatic visual component, showing a brief video clip of the 2003 movie "The Hulk" on the walls, accompanied by a crescendo of exploding sound (during which the artwork/backdrop fell to reveal yet another backdrop [sin's strongholds torn down]) and him coming back onto the platform in a "Hulk"-influenced outfit (representing the "new" man breakin' through).  I'm guessin' about 50-60 young people came forward during the invitation.  Photos posted here. 

FELLOWSHIP ALLIANCE CHAPEL - Medford, NJ - March 4, 2005.  Once again invited to do the Bible study for the S.A.L.T. crew.  This time the topic was evangelism (coming out of Acts 17:16ff).  Thanks, Carl B. for the invitation.  Had a great time with the saints there that evening.

Saturday night praise rally at the J.A.M. youth retreat - Hagerstown, MD

J.A.M. YOUTH RETREAT - Hagerstown, MD - February 18-20, 2005.  We had a really great time (again) with the saints from First Baptist Church of Highland Park and Emmanuel Baptist Church as they teamed up for their annual youth retreat — this time at the Shiloh Conference Center in Hagerstown.  Sometimes regular annual events have the tendency to become predictable, but the young people, their leaders, the outside speakers combined with a new retreat venue made this retreat a more bangin' than usual event.  Big-ups again to Sis. Janice Edwards, Dea. Ed Harrison, Sis. Deborah Crabbe, Min. Reginald Pickett (F.B.C.H.P. Youth Minister) who coordinated this teen retreat.  Big ups also to speakers Rev. Jumaine Jones, Adam Hansford, Rev. Adamio Boddie, Min. Dormetria Robinson, Min. Joshua Symonette, and Rev. Tracy Victor-Butler.   I am grateful for the retreat coordinators' hospitality in allowing me to bring along a Dobbins H.S. sophomore (Sean R.) and for (again) giving me the privilege of leading in praise and worship (thanks also to the praise team teens led by Brittany H.).  Surprised (and glad) to see Justin S. who came all the way from college in Rhode Island to do the sound for the weekend.  A couple of really encouraging things about this annual event: the incredibly large number of committed adults from F.B.C.H.P. and E.B.C. who  return year after year to are to minister to these young people AND the incredibly large number of young adults (graduates of the J.A.M. Ministry) who return year after year to join in the work of this dynamic youth ministry.  Thanks y'all for puttin' me in the mix with ya.  (Still tryin' to figure out how to come up with a Christian go-go worship song.)  Want some pictures?  Go here.

DOBBINS HIGH SCHOOL VISIT - Philadelphia, PA - February 8, 2005.  Our "Contemporary Adolescent Culture" class at C.U.T.S. got a feel for what's happenin' on the public high school front, when we walked across the street from where our class meets in north Philadelphia to spend a few hours visiting with good friend, high school math teacher James Murray.  As is always the case when visiting a public school (Eastside H.S., Simon Gratz H.S., the Pierce School, Furness H.S.), you know you're going to get a real education.  I've got a lot of deep respect for Mr. Murray and his awesome teaching gift — especially regarding a subject a lot of people have difficulties with: mathematics.  Okay, maybe it's just me.  No small feat to engage 33 or so students per class 3 times a day for 90 minutes a pop.  Also had the privilege of meeting a number of students (some whose testimonies are astounding [especially thinking of senior class twins Chantell and Shantell ( sp.? )]).and principal Charles Whiting.  As expected, it was a real heart-stirring visit and leaves me asking, "Lord Jesus, what's the next step?"  (Went back again the week after.  More at the YUBM Ministries blog on an interesting comment a student made about the movie, "Lean On Me.")

Merc speaking at the Streamside youth retreat

Here's a photo of just about everybody (except Owen who we owin' this picture to). 

STREAMSIDE YOUTH RETREAT - Stroudsburg, PA - January 21-23, 2005.  It's on again.  The youth retreats that used to be held on the regular a number of years ago have stared up again after a long hiatus, thanks to the persevering efforts of Rev. Nate 'n Elsie Adams and Bro. Jerrick (Sr.) 'n Jackie Croston.  Even though the weather people forecasted a blizzard over the weekend (which indeed happened), the retreat went on — and oh, what a fantastic time we had.  Pastor S. Mercer ("Merc" from Philadelphia Bible Fellowship at Chew Ave. and Fairhill St. in the Olney section of Philadelphia) brought God's Word to about 50 or so teenagers plus counselors and staff gathered from 7 churches in the Philadelphia area, and even though it was cold, snowy and windy, a really warm time was had by all.  Wonderful to see this event start back up again, and I for one am hoping it will continue on for years to come.  Had the good opportunity to assist in the worship 'n praise element of the retreat, and even though we didn't have a drum set, 15-year-old Jon Adams still was able to provide some beats: via human beat-boxing.

Assembling the Nations' inaugural meeting

ASSEMBLING the NATIONS SUMMIT - Wilmington, DE - January 15, 2005.  A group of hip-hop artists got together at Praise to the King Ministries to discuss building a ministry coalition.  Good to see some cats I had met or had been in contact with once before: Hak RAW (youth pastor at P.T.T.K.M.), Pastor Nailah B. Gilliam and Skeez (a rapper I had met once before when he and King Cyz rolled through Philly a couple of years ago) and a couple of members of the rap crew, Frontlynaz along with several others involved in youth ministry.  The Phanatik spoke for a bit about the genesis of the Cross Movement, Ron Tinsley (one of the co-conveners) also spoke and we all lookin' forward to getting back together to take the next step.

What it is — scene at the C.L.F. youth group meeting

CHRIST LIBERATION FELLOWSHIP YOUTH MEETING - Philadelphia, PA - January 14, 2005.  It's gonna take a bit more time before I write about the great time I had with C.L.F.'s youth group (led by good friend Sis. Pat Little and the great team of youth leaders she's assembled) at 65th and Lansdowne. Stay tuned.

TIMOTHY ACADEMY CHAPELS - Philadelphia, PA - January 7, 2005. Had the wonderful privilege again to speak to 2 chapels ((Kindergarten through 4the grade and then 5 through 8) on Samuel's receptivity to the word of the Lord in a time of spiritual malaise.  During one of the chapels the statement was made, "Jesus said, 'I am the light of the world.'  He also said, 'You are the light of the world.'  How can both of those be?"  A 3rd grader named Luis responded, "Because Jesus lives in us."  Wow ... out of the mouths of babes.

Ambassador drives home a point at the Pastors' luncheon

CROSS MOVEMENT MINISTRIES PASTORS' LUNCHEON - November 30, 2004. One of the on-going outcomes of the Westminster conference (see below) was a follow-up pastors' luncheon which was held at the First Presbyterian Church of Germantown.  Thirty-four or so pastors and ministry leaders heard from the Ambassador and C.M.M. executive director Zack Ritvalsky and had the opportunity to meet with a good turnout of members from Philadelphia's Christian hip-hop community.

Ack Davis, K-K and Bahdru: some of the "behind-the-scenes" people affiliated with the Cross Movement

EASTERN UNIVERSITY - covered Prof. Calenthia Dowdy's "Urban Youth Ministry" class - St. Davids, PA - November 9, 2004.

MANNA BIBLE INSTITUTE STUDENT & ALUMNI RETREAT - Quarryville, PA - October 29-31, 2004.  Yet another great gathering of the saints at Black Rock under the direction of Sis. Maria Goode-Burton, Sis. Winni Mercer, Sis. Cleonia J. Walker and the rest of the Manna Retreat staff.  Rev. Steven Lawrence – back for a second year with his engaging process-oriented presentational style – brought us some thought-provoking material in line with the theme, "Behind the Veil: In the Holy of Holies."  Again, I had the  privilege of assisting in leading the worship 'n praise portion, along with Evangelist Cheryl Johnson with the retreat choir (which again did a fantastic job).  

FELLOWSHIP ALLIANCE CHAPEL - taught the Friday night singles ministry (S.A.L.T.) Bible study again - Medford, NJ - October 15, 2004. See www.faconline.org for more info.

Panelists (l to r) Shai Linne, Phanatik, Ron Tinsley, Lee Jerkins, John Leonard, Rasool Berry, Bill Edgar, TRUTH, Ambassador

"CONTEXTUALIZING without COMPROMISING: A Case Study in Reaching the Hip-Hop Culture"  October 8-9, 2004.  http://www.wts.edu/news/missionconf2004.pdf  What a ground-breaking and fantastic time!  This was the 2004 two-day Student Missions conference held at Westminster Theological Seminary in conjunction with Cross Movement Ministries and Rock Soul Ministries.  The program – designed to initiate a dialogue between hip-hop and the theological academic community – consisted of three plenary sessions (addresses on contextualization and apologetics by W.T.S. professors John S. Leonard [Practical Theology Department] and Dr. William Edgar [Apologetics Department], and the third ( "Hip-Hop as a Context for Christian Living") by Cross Movement lyricist William Branch (The Ambassador).  There were also a repeated series of four simultaneous breakout sessions led by members of the hip-hop community (Rasool Berry [from the Impact Movement] did "The Worldview of Hip-Hop," Emanuel Lambert, Jr. [a.k.a. Da' T.R.U.T.H.] did "Message-Centered Outreach vs. Method-Centered Outreach," Shai Linne did "Using Hip-Hop to Teach Doctrine" and Ron Tinsley and Brady Goodwin, Jr. [a.k.a. The Phanatik] did "Strategies in Reaching the Culture") and the conference wrapped up with panel discussion with all presenters responding to questions from conference participants.  I was given the honor and privilege of being host and facilitator for the conference, capably put together by Cross Movement Ministries executive director Zack Ritvalsky, Cathy Beech, Kim Gordon, W.T.S. Student Missions Fellowship's Sam Boyd and W.T.S. Dean of Students Jerry McFarland.  A big "THANK YOU" also to J. Stafford Carson, Executive Vice President at W.T.S. for your vision and help in bringing this event to fruition.  Photos posted here.

KENNY THOMPSON is having an interesting first year at McKendree College out in Lebanon, Illinois.  Not getting a whole lot of playing time as yet, but he is on the team that's coached by Harry Statham, who now holds the national record for 4-year college basketball wins. Be patient, K.  Stay strong!  

DENIS 'n REBECCA JOHNSON, JR. (from Rochester, NY) were here in Philly for a few days to attend the funeral of their uncle.  Amazing and encouraging to hear what the Lord Jesus has been doing in their lives (they've been married for 2 years after meeting in college).  Denis is leading both the youth and music ministries at their church (affiliated with Bishop Joseph L. Garlington's Reconciliation! Ministries International (based in Pittsburgh, PA) and it sounds like there are some really exciting things going on in the Rochester fellowship.  To give you an idea of Denis' formidable keyboard skills, he was once personally asked to accompany Donnie McClurkin (much to Denis' initial consternation) and was able to stay with him for the whole set!  That may not mean a lot to some folks, but to those who are familiar with McClurkins' music, that's sayin' a whole lot about Denis' musical ability.  Denis rolled through Philly again — sat in on my Contemporary Adolescent Culture class (along with Roberts Wesleyan College friends Alicia and Kelly), and then interviewed me for a paper for one of his classes.

COREY RED 'n PRECISE - two Christian rapper friends of mine - were featured in a September 13, 2004 New York Times article entitled, "Rappers Are Raising Their Churches' Roofs" by John Leland.  Praise the Lord for this amazing opportunity.

5 YOUNG BULS in NEED of INTERCESSORY PRAYER WARRIORS - C. (24 years old), H. (16 years old), J. (18 years old) and S. (15 years old).  Two are aspiring rappers, the third just likes listening to it; one has a father who wants nothing to do with his son, one is in the midst of some difficult family struggles, one has done some prison time and is struggling to follow Christ — and all are trying to find their way through life.  Their pain 'n pathos is palpable - they are all connected to a church (but ain't feelin' it) and would rather be perceived as sons of the street down here than a son of the Street for eternity.  Pray for them.  The seductive siren call of the street is comin' on real strong these young buls (as well as to the rest of their tribe).  S. is on the football team at a large north Philly high school and struggles with peers pressuring him with the stuff that goes along with being a high school athlete.  On the flip side is another 15-year-old named Jonathan A. who went out onto the street and tried to share Christ and got beaten up by a 16-year-old for doing so.  Stand strong, son — we praise the Lord for how you stood up for your Savior against someone who stands opposed to Him — and took the beat-down for His Name's sake.  We thank the Lord for you and for the joy you bring to His heart.  Father God saw what went down, He sees the pain it brought, and He will see that this incident brings Him glory.  And yeah, we're prayin' for that 16-year-old.  U got to him for Him.

PRAYER PRE-VIEW

DeVOS URBAN LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE - I ask you to pray for a brother who's doing some awesome urban ministry in Wilmington, DE.  He's a part of the current DeVos Urban Leadership Initiative and has asked me to mentor him for the next year — a profound privilege and an honor.

CENTER for URBAN THEOLOGICAL STUDIES - - teaching "Contemporary Adolescent Culture" (MIN 319C) and "Ethics" (PHI 112C [as an independent study]) - Philadelphia, PA - Spring semester 2005.

TIMOTHY ACADEMY CHAPELS - Philadelphia, PA - April 8, 2005.

TRUE LIGHT FELLOWSHIP CHURCH - YOUTH SEMINAR (ages 12-21) - Philadelphia, PA  - April 12, 2005.

PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT of EDUCATION SITE VISIT for Masters of Arts degree program (Urban Youth Leadership) at Eastern University - Philadelphia, PA - April 21, 2005.

STREAMSIDE YOUTH RETREAT - Stroudsburg, PA - May 27-30, 2005.

Thank you for your faithful love, prayers, patience and support,

His ‘n yours, with much love ‘n respect,

HEP