Be Still...

“Be still and know that I am God.” This has been my intention over the past two (2) weeks, “Be still…”

While this is a challenge for me because I work it is a necessity for me as it relates to my ministry…publically and privately. I try my best to hear from God and sometimes for me it’s best that I go into a shell mode or as Jesus declares in Matthew 6…”go to your secret closet”. The time has been very enriching. There have been challenges along the way that tried to get me out of my “Be still…” moment. Nevertheless the time has been extremely wonderful for me.

Over the past two (2) weeks I’ve read 2 books, “Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry” By John McArthur and “Character Forged from Conflict” by Gary D Preston. Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry is a re-read for me so I read what I thought was needed information. However, “Character Forged from Conflict was a must read for me and I’m glad I read it. I started a new book this week entitled: “Being Holy, Being Human” by Jay Kesler. The thesis of the book is on being transparent without being hypocritical as Christians. I’ve read the introduction and chapter 1, so far so good. Another must read.

I’ve also used this time to spend with the family. For the first time in years, Tracy and I rode our bikes to El Torito for brunch. Good time of eating and talking with Tracy something we haven’t done in a minute. We ate so much that riding back home was a BIG challenge. But we made it home. We tried to train our puppy cocker spaniel (Rocky) to go outside without running crazy in the streets after cats. However, that joker did what we thought he would do run down the street after cats. It was short lived as he got tired and just wanted to lay around afterwards. But it was cool, watching Tracy do her HGTV thing in the rose garden, Aysia on the phone sitting on the back of the truck, Myles playing football (or something in the street), and me running in/out the house watching Cooley High (my favorite movie).

Later that evening Kari and lil Jimmy met us at Blizz for frozen yogurt Sunday. Then they played a Operations game while I watched my Bulls struggle playing the Heat. They had no answers for Chris Bosh. He did whatever he wanted to do. And then, lil Jimmy beat me in Michael Jackson’s dance game to “Billy Jean”. He knew all the moves. So, later Sunday night I practiced so he won’t beat me again. It’s on lil boy! See you on the dance floor!...lol

Much Needed

Over the next couple of weeks I will be taking a much needed time of rest (it’s called vacation). The first five (5) months of this year has been challenging, a blessing, tiring, frustrating, prayerful, and fulfilling. I guess the best way to explain it is I’ve been a bag of mixed emotions since 2011 started. So, the church and I decided, I need to rest as I seek God for direction for the future of ministry.

However, as life would have it the challenges keep coming as my wife received the news Sunday morning that my brother-in-law, Ronald (Ronnie) Spears pasted away at age 47. Totally unexpected and it’s taking the entire family/friends for loop trying to understand what happened. We may never receive an answer but I do believe in the sovereignty of God. He and I had a wonderful relationship coupled with mutual respect for one another. And I will miss him dearly! RIP in peace my brother. And please keep the Tracy and the entire family in prayer. Tracy and Ronnie had a wonderful relationship that expressed love, joy, and respect. Literally, people seeing them would think they were husband and wife the way they spoke and laughed with each other. Needless to say, she’s taking it pretty hard and I request the prayers of the righteous to help her make it through this loss.

This week I started taking intentional steps in my devotional time by making sure I’m not reading my favorite topics but reading material and scripture on what will renew my spiritual strength and vitality. By doing this, I realized I made one of the best purchases of my life; Logos Bible Study Software. I’ve heard about the software but never purchased it because it was a little expensive in my opinion. However, in Dec of 2010 a representative came to our church to do a show-in-tell of the software and after that I was sold on the product. I’m so glad I got it!

The resources and accessibility available are priceless. My iPhone has become my best friend. I was able to download software app on my phone to access all resources for study, devotional reading, and pastoral assistance material. Wow! Before I purchased this product, each week after church I would copy, paste and print study material to read on the bus, at lunch, or wherever I could fit in study time with me being a bi-vocational pastor my study time is limited. My bat cave for study is wherever I make it at the time. But now I can study from my iPhone and no matter where I leave off on my iPhone or laptop computer I can pick up where I left off with my study. I love it!

Not only is study material limitless but resources for pastoral ministry, church administration, leadership development, sermon preparation, marriage counseling, singles ministry, and more are available as well. Books I’ve always wanted purchase is now on my iPhone thanks to Logos. Wonderful purchase, thank software developers.

Also, over the years I’ve developed my own sermon preparation worksheet. Here it is…


Monday:
BIBLE TRANSLATIONS



Tuesday and Wednesday:
VERSE BY VERSE OBSERVATION WORKSHEET

SCRIPTURE CROSS REFERENCE (S)


KEY TERMS (look for long words, big words, sophisticated words, repeated words, central words, emphasized words, words that catch your attention)


DETAILS – WHY (look for therefore, for, since, and, but, that, because) – why is this here? why is he saying this?

DETAILS – WHAT (look for verbs and actions taking place) – what’s going on?

DETAILS – WHEN (time chronology-appointment) – when did this happen?

DETAILS – WHERE (geographical location and spiritual location) – where did this happen?

DETAILS – WHO (look for people in the text) – who’s in the text?

DETAILS – HOW – how does it happen?

DETAILS – HOW – how does it apply?

ATMOSPHERE (sensing what you read – the Bible is about people let them live – 5 senses HEAR, SEE, SMELL, FEEL, LISTEN)

Thursday:
WORD STUDY AND SYNTAX WORKSHEET

COMPOUND WORD ‚ YES ‚ NO
VERSE
WORD
STRONG’S NUMBER
GREEK WORD
PRONUNCIATION
PREFIX
SUFFIX
BASE WORD

ORIGINAL GREEK DEFINITION


TYPE
MOOD
TENSE
VOICE
CASE
GEBDER
PERSON
NUMBER of TIMES USED in Script.

OCCURENCES IN THE BIBLE
# of times it occurs in Scripture:

Authors usage in the same book and other books he has written:

Authors first occurrence of the word:

First occurrence in the Bible:

Other writer’s usage of the word:

Ways it is translated:


CONCLUSION BASED ON CONTEXT AND COMPARISONS


DEFINITION (your definition is the final product)



Friday
STUDY TEXT OUTLINE:


Saturday:
COMMENTARY NOTES

Commentary By:

Notes



Saturday PM and Sunday AM:
Sermon Writing


This may like a lot to do but sermons don't grow on trees and this works for me and keeps me focused.

Something Has To Be Done

Contemporary pastors are caught in frightening spiritual and social tornadoes which are now raging through home, church, community, and culture. No one knows where the next twister might touch down or what values the storms will destroy. As a result, pastors ask themselves, "Does pastoral ministry make any difference in morally turbulent times?"

Society cannot flourish without godly pastors. how alarming for the Christian cause when men and women of God feel forced to brood about the future o fministry as they watch their work get harder and their world grow more corrupt.

Something has to be done. Ministry hazards are choking the hope out of pastors' souls. They feel disenchanted, discouraged, and often even outraged. They question why they should be expected to squander energy on trivial matters when evil threatens to wreck the human race. Fatigue shows in their eyes. Worry slows their stride. And vagueness dulls their preaching.

The church faces a perilous future when pastors find it so tough to survive emotionally and economically. Many flounder for meaning and mission as traditional morality keeps buckling under brutal unrelenting assualts from secular society. For good reason, pastors dread what will be next as the moral richter scale shoots up to a shocking six most days and sometimes tops ten. Some pastors consider their lives to be shadows of what they dreamed they would be, because many old formulas for ministry no longer work.

Something has to be done. Overwork, low pay, and desperation take a terrible toll as pastors struggle to make sense of crammed calendars, dectic homes, splintered dreams, starved intimacy, and shriveled purpose. Some quit in utter hopelessness to sell used cars, hawk Amway, or peddle water softeners. Others lapse into passivity like holy robots. And many of the remaining stouthearted hold on by their fingernails, hoping to find a hidden spring to refresh their weary spirits and scrambled thoughts. No aspect of pastors' lives has been spared, neither personal nor professional.

Something has to be done. Just when they are most needed, pastors are going haywire. It is obvious that nothing but vital faith will revive our times and culture. Now more than ever, a disintegrating society needs the spiritual salt that pastors provide.

Something has to be done. Pastors are at risk. The risks they face demand an all-out corrective action by the church. All this squandered devotion and wasted talent must be stopped so ministry can be restored to equilibrium and usefulness. Surely God intends pastors to be whole persons, flesh-n-blood examples of how the Gospel works in this kind of a world.

Something pastors can do. To enjoy a fulfilling future ministry that can transform our culture for Christ, pastors must intentionally move their focus away from trivia to singnificance. In the process, pastors will be reawakened spiritually and challenged professionally. God always enriches the worker busied with his work.

Effective pastors for the new century must be whole persons who deliberately balance being and doing, family and church, person and profession, worship and work. That means wounded healers must allow themselves to be healed through the same Gospel they use to bring recovery and wellness to others. The results: those now victimized by high demands of ministry will become triumphant victors (Pastors at Risk - H.B London, JR and Neil B Wiseman - pp. 11-13).

My Birthday!

Today is bitter/sweet for me. I thank God for allowing me to see 42 years here on earth. However, yesterday ended on a sour note which in turn has placed somewhat of a damper on this day. I was laid off from work right after lunch yesterday (at least I went home on a full stomach) and to be honest I didn’t see it coming. I thought everything was good, I made past a dozen layoffs already and who would have thought I would be a part of this economic disaster.

I’ve worked for Monogram Aerospace Fasteners for seven (7) years. It was a good experience, I met cool people, I made a spiritual impact (I believe), and liked what I was doing. I was comfortable! I teach that sometimes God will interrupt our comfort zones to move us to test our faith move us to the next level.

It’s ironic that I would loose my job in my seventh year as an employee when the church and I will celebrate 7 years of ministry partnership between pastor and people. One ends but the other continues. I really don’t know what to make of it right now and this is not how I wanted to spend my birthday. Stressing about bills being due and I don’t know where the money is coming from. But, I won’t complain (even though really want to)

To my co-workers, thank you for your friendship and I pray that God will continue to bless you richly! I’m so glad we had this time together just to laugh and maybe sing a song. But before you know it it’s time to show it, now it’s time to say so long! Peace and blessing!

What next, Clint?

When Tracy and I talked last night about it, she said: “Clint, would you have left your job any other way?” My response, “Probably not.” She says: “Now, its time for you to focus on the ministry of prayer and the word to grow the church. God’s got everything else”. I’ve been praying for God to open up doors for me to be in full-time but not this kind of a door.

We never know what doors God opens for us to walk through and many times it’s not our choosing. It’s only ours to walk through them.

I will be totally honest with you, I’m scarred to death (not literally). But when I look back over my life all I ever did was step out on faith and my testimony is I’m still here by the grace of God. God didn’t leave me then and He won’t leave me now.

Look out church, pastor has time for prayer and study.

Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. – Galatians 6:6

Happy Wedding Anniversary!

Today Tracy and I celebrate 17 years of marriage. I don't dance like I used to back in the day but here's some memories of what we used to do.

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He Influenced My Life

On Sunday before church started, my mother came into church with some of my childhood pictures. Of course as mothers do so often, she showed them to all the members before letting me see them. When I finally did get them I went in my office and started to glance through them. And there it was a picture of me, my dog (I can’t remember his name), and my “Pa Pa”.

I didn’t have a chance to look long before having to pray before going into service. But after church, I looked at that picture again and started to reminisce about my days as a young kid sitting on the porch with my “Pa Pa”. The summation of my memories is simple, “He influenced my life tremendously”.

There was no doubt in my mind that he loved me like his own son. I remember our talks on the porch, the spankings that were always coupled with ‘This is going to hurt me as much as it hurts you”, our fishing trips, his BBQ sauce (which I make to this day), his hard work as a self learned mechanic, his work in the church as a deacon, his love for his wife and family, and most of all he love God. My Pa Pa loved the Lord with all his heart. He couldn’t read or write but he knew the Bible.

As a kid, I would sit on the porch with him from sun up to sun down and we would talk about everything. I was a little kid with kid conversation but he made me feel like I was a grown man. When he worked in the garage, I was there handing him his tools and on occasion changing a screw. When he would BBQ, I was there watching him make the sauce. He told me don’t give this recipe to anyone other than your grandson, God willing. So, I guess Lil Jimmy is in line for the secret recipe. When he went to church and bible study, I was there sitting next to him or standing next to him while he did devotion. He taught me more than this blog will allow me to write. But the best thing he taught me was to love God with my heart, mind, and soul. He wasn’t a very affectionate person but I knew he loved me because he showed it in other ways, like working hard for his family and always being there as a supporter of our endeavors. I know for a fact that this is where I get it from. I’m not an affectionate person in communicating my love but I do work hard and try to be a supporter of family/friends. Thanks, Pa Pa.

When I turned 6 years old, he would always say to me; “Clint, God has a call on your life like no other get ready for it”. I never knew what he meant because I was a kid who didn’t understand God’s will for a person’s life. Plus, all I wanted to do was play basketball.

We moved to Los Angeles and I received my call to ministry at 13. The first person I spoke to about my call was my pastor and the second person was my Pa Pa. When I told him of my call he said; “Clint, I told you God had a call on your life like no other and to get ready for it”. He prayed one of the most powerful prayers ever for me over the phone. We both cried and hung up the phone.

When we moved back to Texas, he was always there for me when I preached, sung a song, had a basketball game, cried because of peer pressure (people calling me a church boy), needed someone to talk too, and when I had my Jonah moments running from my ministry call, he was there for me. He would always remind; “Clint, remember God’s will for your life and don’t let people make you miss what God has called you to do.”

I left Texas in 1985 to come back to Los Angeles with my mother and siblings. My Pa Pa and I would talk just about every other day. His wisdom was priceless and tried to soak it all up.

My last physical contact with my Pa Pa was, I believe, 2000. We had a family reunion in my hometown of San Angelo, Texas and someone purchased me a ticket to come preach the weekend services. There were so many obstacles trying to prevent me from getting to Texas that I almost didn’t go. I’m glad I did. When I got to my grandparents house, I ran to his room as he laid in an hospital bed. I went in and sat beside his bed and we started talking like the old days. Due to his stroke, he couldn’t speak much but he understood every word I said to him. And then it happened, he spoke a few words to me; “Clint, don’t forget your calling!” My family ran into the room speechless because these were the first words he spoke in months. We all prayed and cried together. I preached like a maniac that night because all could hear is my Pa Pa’s words; “Clint, don’t forget you calling!” That trip changed my life and it was worth the struggle trying to get there.

When he passed, I couldn’t get to Texas but I was cool with it. I cherish the time we had and the time he lived. I thank him for influencing my life to be the man I’ve become. I hold on to his words; “As a man you will make mistakes. Be a man and learn from them to become a better man” – Quote by my Pa Pa.

I miss him dearly and when I get to heaven I want to hear God say; “Servant, well done!” But then I want to hear my Pa Pa say; “Clint, I’m proud of you!”

Thank you Pa Pa for influencing my life and I hope I’ve made you proud.

I Can't Believe It

I Can’t Believe It!

I can’t believe we’re midway through 2009. Time has gone by so fast. I guess the saying is true; “Time flies when you’re having fun. As usual for me, my mind started racing through events this year that have changed my life.

In January, Pop Ted passed away to a heart attack. He had been in and out of the hospital but we thought it was routine and didn’t pay much attention to the reports of my mother. Receiving that phone call that Sunday night after preaching was emotional and shocking. We missed during the Super Bowl party and this 4th of July. His passing as left a huge hole in our family, we miss him dearly. My mother is bouncing back to her normal self but she still struggles each day.

As well in January, I lived to see the inauguration of a black president, President Barack Obama. I remember as a little boy sitting on the porch with my grandfather listening to him share the struggles of black culture and his hope to see a change for the better. Unfortunately, he did not get to see the fruit of his labor (as well as so many others), the first black president. Truth be told, I didn’t think I would see it either. My witness of this historic event has changed my life in so many ways. I see the potential of my future and the future of my children. There’s nothing we can’t accomplish in this world. I didn’t always think like this because I grew up in a racially hostile environment in Texas where we had to be escorted into high schools to play basketball games. I had to run home from school at times because of the color of my skin and the neighborhoods that didn’t like it. I’ve never been a racist (thank God for that) but it wasn’t easy growing up in such an environment. Seeing the support of president Obama from all ethnic groups encourages my soul to know that we have come a long way as a nation. The atmosphere of our generation is filled with potential. We need to keep dreaming and working toward our desired goals. The only person that can stop your progress is you. Don’t be or become your own stumbling block.

In March, First Goodwill celebrated 69 years of ministry. God has been faithful to our throughout these years and with a newly renovated church our potential is great. Nothing and no one can stop God’s work. That’s how I sum up God’s faithfulness to the church.

Living through this recession (or the great depression II) as made an impact on my life and the life of my family. Amazingly enough God has met every need for us. We’re still holding to our house and car. Our bills are being paid every month, we eat every day, and we get a chance, from time to time, to hang out with each other at 31 flavors. Through these hard economic times the promise of God in Philippians 4:19 has been proving: “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus”. This recession is nothing more than an opportunity for God to keep on blessing.

In June, I celebrated 7 years of employment at Monogram Aerospace Fasteners. I never thought I would be here this long because my plan was to work for about 1-2 years and then become full time at the church. I was under the impression that being a working pastor was bad thing and all pastors should be in full time ministry. But when you look at the biblical pattern of Jesus and Paul, they were both working pastors as carpenter and tentmaker. My desire is to be in full time ministry. However, I realize that I can be just as effective in bi-vocational ministry as a full time pastor. It may take a little longer but slow growth sometimes is the best growth. It’s not easy being a pastor on a secular job where there’s 85% Catholic, 5% Jewish, 2% Christian, and 8% who knows. But God has been using me to develop meaningful relationships. Friends of mine, Carroll and Paula, started attending church about three (3) years in Wilmington, Ca and in a conversation at lunch they both told me that it was my witness as being down to earth, touchable, and personable that lead them to do so. Paula, who’s African American, grew up Catholic and his now a Christian. Her husband, Carroll, grew up Baptist but had some prodigal son moments. They both have a lot of questions and I do all I can to assist them without overstepping their pastor’s teaching. They didn’t come to First Goodwill but I’m glad to know that God did use me in some way to lead them to Christ. I’m working on another brother but he’s going to take some time for sure to convert. I have patience.

And in most recent days, we’ve experienced the loss of Farrah Fawcet, Ed McMann, Steve McNair, and the king of Pop, Michael Jackson. WOW! As I sat with Myles over the past week watching Michael Jackson’s life story, I found myself telling stories of my childhood like my grandfather used to tell me.

I never thought I would live to see events like these but God knows our destiny.

As I remember the first six (6) months of 2009, I can’t resist looking forward to the next six (6) months of 2009.

This year Tracy and I will celebrate 17 years of marriage in September. Many people didn’t think we would make it this far but we’ve out done some of our friends, family, and associates in our marriage relationship. Tracy is a wonderful woman with many gifts and talents for beyond what she believes she’s capable of doing. She’s a great mother and grandmother. She’s overcome great odds of her past and our future is very bright.

I’m watching my children grow up to be wonderful young people. Aysia will be a High School Junior and Myles a High School Sophmore this coming fall. Both with great potential and hope they believe in themselves as much as I believe in each of them. WOW! Soon and very soon we will be done with the troubles of the world when they graduate.

I’m watching my grandson grew up to be a smart young man with a whole lot of potential. We have a love hate relationship, I love to see come and happy to see him go home. Most of all, I love him dearly. Kari is great a mother. I only have one request, let the boy get dirty sometimes…lol. She is filled with creative painting talent that eyes have not seen as of yet. Keep up the good work.

In October, I will turn 42 years old, if God spares me to live that long. When I look at my history all I can say is I made it. I plan to do a blog of testimony around my birthday. My version of TV One’s Unsung – After the Dance: The Life and Times of Clinton Smith on October 1st, 2009 at 9 am. Don’t miss it.

In November, God willing, I will be celebrating 8 years as pastor of First Goodwill Missionary Baptist Church. We have accomplished so much as pastor and people that it blows my mind. I’m glad and privileged to serve such wonderful people and a great church. Our church is destined for greatness for beyond our wildest dreams with God’s help.

I can’t believe this year is half done already.

Where Are They Now?

It was 1978 when Vendon, Sylvester (Sly), Russell (Preach), James (Howard) Brown, and myself formed “The Sons of God” under the leadership of Barnett “Brother B” Williams. I’ll never forget our first rehearsal, truly a big mess. None of us (and I mean) none of us could hold a note. We rehearsed for months before our debut at our home church, The Household of God Bibleway Church in Lynwood, Ca. We practiced two songs everyday.

Then it finally arrived, our debut during the 9 am worship service. I’ll never forget our names being called and the members cheering us on with “Amen!” “Sing, babies!” “Alright!” We stood at the microphones with shaking knees. The music started, we opened our mouths, and did our dance routines. Our first songs were “Cast All Your Cares (An Original)” and the Clark Sisters, “Is My Living In Vain”. Wow, what a rush! I sang soprano with Russell, James (Alto), Vendon and Sylvester (Tenors). We had no idea what to expect. The church received us well and after church our pastor took us out for pancakes.

We rehearsed every day of the week after school and after 6 months of rehearsing, we jelled together into one voice. Bro. B was hard on us in rehearsals. We were just little kids who wanted to play outside. But for him, he was a perfectionist and didn’t accept just anything. He believed in giving our best for God in everything we did and anything less was unacceptable.

We sang all over the city of Los Angeles with other groups like: The Spiritualettes, O’Neal Twins, Clara Ward Singers, Keith Pringle, The Bailey Family, and so many others. Every Saturday and Sunday we traveled somewhere to sing in this big long silver 8 door station wagon with tinted windows that we called “The Silver Bullet”. Believe it or not, we had a driver. We really enjoyed singing every week.

My mother Brenda and Aunt Betty were our managers. They were just as hard as Bro B. Combing our hair before singing, selecting our wardrobes with these huge bow ties, making sure our shirts were tucked into our pants, and we had on clean socks, T-shirts, and underwear. We’re boys, we could less about all of that stuff just let us sing.

I remember one concert we did at New Congregational Baptist Church on Vermont and Imperial (I wonder if that church is still there). We drove into the parking lot and all these girls ran to the silver bullet as if we were celebrities. We got out of the car went into the church to change our clothes and the concert started. For me it was like being in another world when I started sing. As a matter of fact I still do it sometimes, close my eyes and sing like I’m the only one in the building. When the concert concluded, we changed our clothes and when we walked out of the church to get into the silver bullet, people were asking us for autographs, pulling on our clothes, and stuff. And yes, we soaked it all up too! When we got to my cousin’s house we were so energized that we couldn’t sleep, so we started singing and wrote our first song together, “The Love Song”. Bro B loved it when we shared it with him at rehearsal the next day.

We never made an 8-track, 45, album, or cassette of our own material but we did sing background on other projects.

We entered a talent contest at the Maverick Flats on Crenshaw. First place prize was a recording contract with a record producer out of Boston, Maurice Starr. We won the talent show and made an appointment to meet with Mr. Starr. During that meeting he explained that he was looking for another Jackson 5 group. My mother, aunt, and Bro B weren’t having it. They explained to him that our boys is a gospel group and will not be an R&B group. The fellas and I wanted to have a quick meeting to discuss it without Mr. Starr to try and convince our parent managers to let it happen. Needless to say, we lost the argument. They decline and Mr. Starr continued his search and found New Edition. I was angry at them for not letting us take advantage of the opportunity. But after watching VH1’s Behind the Scene on New Edition, I’m glad we didn’t jump on that opportunity.

We continued singing gospel music and enjoyed every minute. We turned the corner and wrote a gospel rap song entitled “God Save America”. The first time we performed this song in church they looked at us like we were crazy because of our dance routine, “The Gigolo”. Our pastor did not like it as well as some of the members. So we never did that song in a church service again but we did sing it at youth rallies and park concerts.

In 1982, I left the group to move back to Texas with my mother and siblings. It was hard because I didn’t want to leave the group. We weren’t just a singing group, we are family. We did everything together. When you saw one, you also saw the others. If you fought one, you fought all of us. We fought each other but that was longed live because when we got in rehearsal, we were family again. Inseparable is a good word to describe it. They continued until Bro B disappeared. I returned for the summer in 1983 and started singing with the group again. This time James Howard Brown was playing the organ for us. We tried everything we could to keep the group going but with no leadership it fell apart and we started being teenage boys.

Today, I’m a husband with a beautiful wife and kids and grandson. I pastor First Goodwill Church that I love and enjoy minister at each week. I oftentimes wonder how things would have turned out but I’m glad how my life has become. I won’t trade it for anything.

My cousin Vendon is married with kids and is a minister of music at a church in Palmdale, Ca. He, along with two partners, has a record producing company named 3 Kings. Their first R&B CD has been released, “The Soulmance” and the material is great. Look for it in stores nearest you. I’m proud of him.

James Howard Brown is a beast on the keyboards. I have not seen nor spoke to him in years but the last I heard He was playing at a church in Denver, Colorado. I’m sure rocking the house.

Sylvester “Sly” Williams is married and lives in Rialto, Ca. He started a record label company producing rap artist but not sure how that’s going.

Russell “Preach” Williams lives in Long Beach, Ca with his wife and kids. I have not seen him in over 10 years.

Vendon and I talk on a regular basis. We, also, do our best to support one another’s efforts. We talk about the group thinking of good times and we miss the fellas dearly.

Life moves on after the show and praise God for where I am now in life. I’m having a blast!
This is my version of Behind the Scenes – The Sons of God – Where are they now?

Sick!!!!!

I've been sick for the last two-days with food poisoning, I THINK. Sunday after church, the family and I went to one of my favorite restaruants for breakfast. I got fried pork chops, home style pototaes, scrambled eggs, and I ate some of Aysia's pancakes for my bread. It was good!

I went to my softball game but did not play because the fires we experienced over the weekend caused bad air quality so our game was cancelled, UGH! I ate dinner, brownies, and had some lemonade. I mean I did it up on Sunday. But when Monday came, I felt horrible. Everything I ate on Sunday started coming up or out on Monday. It was the worst feeling I've ever felt in years. I went to work anyway only to go right back home and there I stayed for the rest of day with a fever and stomach pains (I don't know how PMS feels but if it feels anything like what I felt on Monday, well...I leave it at that).

Yesterday, I felt a little better but needed to go to the church to do somethings with the contractor. I got there at about 9 am and was back home by 11 am. I started feeling bad and then I received a call from our sound tech to come back to map out stage area requirements for our sound system. I went back to the church and spent 3 hours there feeling extremely terrible. I prayed, "Lord, give me strength to follow this through these next few weeks."

On the way back to the church, I received a call from Bertollini to inform me that our chairs are ready for pick-up. So I need to schedule pickup of chairs but there is one problem, the stage is being poured today and contractors still have a lot of cleaning to do which will take them through next week as well. So, I'm going to schedule our pickup for next week Friday after Thanksgiving.
They were installing stalls in the bathrooms yesterday and carpeting upstairs above the bathrooms and front lobby area. The color scheme is the bomb! Unique only to First Goodwill.

Ok, I have to get to work now and catch up from two days of being off. Talk to you soon.