My Problem With Donald Trump

When I heard Donald Trump refuse to denounce the KKK and say he didn’t know much about the KKK my stomach turned. The KKK has killed thousands of Black people in America from the end of slavery even to this present age. Thousands of Black men have been lynched, thousands of Black women raped, and we could NOT go to the police because many of them were in the KKK. The KKK burned WHOLE black communities and towns burned Black churches (BTW 8 Black churches were burned in 2015). We talk about Islam and Isis but the KKK has killed more Americans (Black Live I guess don’t matter) than Isis has.

My Uncles fought in WWII and when they cam home from France after the war they had to ride on the back of trains and buses even though they were wearing their Army uniforms, I hear Trump say “Let’s make America Great Again”….in my mind he wants to take us back to a day and time that were NOT GREAT for Black people.

M. Hamilton Stevens

What Can Churches do To Help Save Camden?

 

I am Chaplain at a Trauma Hospital in one of America’s most violent cities, Camden, NJ. I have to take family members to identify dead young men riddled with bullet holes. I am also a Pastor of a local Church in Camden. I have lost count of the young Black and Hispanic Males (and a few females) That have died from Gun Violence here in Camden. When I drive through the city I see so many young minority men wandering aimlessly down the street, some making drug deals and many using drugs. I also see a LARGE influx of WHITE people BUYING drugs primarily HEROIN. My church has an alley next to it and there are homeless heroin addicts sleeping and shooting up there. One white lady died in that alley last month from an overdose. What is the answer to these horrible situations? What can Churches do to help this devastation in this City on the Waterfront? It isn’t just a BLACK or HISPANIC problem it is EVERYBODY’S PROBLEM.

First of all, we need to confess our sins to our Lord and repent from them.  We need to recognize our sinfulness of apathy, pride, gossip, and any idols of ‘doctrinal purity’ that are so divisive.  We need to forsake them, and drop to our knees, pray, confess, forgive, and go on.  We need to recognize that we must be united to be strong.  But we must do this without compromising the gospel of truth (1 Cor. 15:1-4; Rom. 5:1).  The enemy wants us fragmented, not God. Before God can heal the City of Camden the Christian Community MUST repent and cry out to God. Pastors have to stop being HIRELINGS and GIVE rather than beg and PIMP God’s people.

Second, we need to recognize the Great Commission as something more than a recommendation from Jesus.  It is not an option.  It is a command. Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . . ” (Matt. 28:19).  Are we being fishers of men or keepers of the aquarium? Are we being obedient or comfortable? We must be AGGRESSIVE in Evangelism, street corner preaching, handing out tracts, Bibles, and food to the homeless. “Having Church” and Raising offerings is NOT making our city better, the Church has to TAKE IT TO THE STREETS.

Third, we need to work together as much as possible to bring the gospel of truth to the lost.  This will require sacrifice, prayer, humility, and risk.  We cannot easily undo the great fragmentation of the body of Christ, but we can cross the denominational boundaries by focusing on that which unites us in the faith: Jesus is God in flesh (Trinity), salvation by grace through faith alone, the atonement, and forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ shed blood.  We need to look at the essentials and let the gospel of God change the hearts of people. Protestants and Catholics must unite and work together realizing that Jesus Christ is NOT divided nor should WE BE! We also have to support Law Enforcement and stand up to the evil. Stop this stupid “No Snitch” rule and let’s make sure the killers and dealers of death go to JAIL.

Fourth, we need to use whatever gifts the Lord has given us for the increase of His kingdom.  Whether it is praying for the lost and for the workers in Christ, or helping support financially, teaching the body, doing works of administration, or whatever gift you have, use it for the glory of God.  Give it to Him and ask Him to bless you by letting you use your gifts and then do it!  And don’t be afraid to fail.

Rev. Dr. Mark H. Stevens

Chaplain and Pastor of Mt Calvary COGIC, Camden NJ

Boyz to Men

 

I am a Chaplain in a Trauma Hospital in Camden NJ, On a regular basis I have deal with teenagers being shot, killed, overdosed, and stabbed. I usually take the mothers to see the dead bodies and most of the time there is NO FATHER AT HOSPITAL. This is the Elephant in The Room folks, our young men are often BORN without a father, LIVE without a father, and yes DIE without a father…..boys cannot become MEN without MEN to teach them. We need to stop making EXCUSES for having all of these babies out of wedlock. If you are a REAL man you will marry the woman you say you “love”….real love requires REAL commitment brothers.

Chaplain Mark H. Stevens, Th.D.

Racial Harmony in The Upper Room

The greatest miracle at Pentecost wasn’t “speaking in tongues” the great miracle was that every race under the sun was united in prayer and in purpose. It takes the power of God to stop racism, if the Churches in our country are racist then we have a problem. Christians have to set the example for the rest of the world to follow. The awesome power of the Holy Spirit can and will break the stronghold of racism in the church so it can spread to the rest of society.

Racism is rampant more than ever! Our electing President Obama is a step in the right direction, but reality is, it has probably incensed the white supremacy movement to a point that they might even be more intolerable than ever towards African Americans.

Racism is obviously not a new concept. It has been around forever. Nothing has changed, it has not gotten better, what has happened is African Americans, Jews, Hispanics, and other races that have been targeted have climbed the social ladder and in turn we have been tricked into believing we are less racist. That simply is not true.

Blacks are still targeted by cops, whites are still angry at blacks, blacks still don’t trust white people completely, can you blame them, whites are still getting sick of what we call reverse racism, Mexicans want a better life, and the government cannot control immigration, so people target Mexicans, gangs based on race are still popping up all over, and finally, God forbid if you are a Muslim boarding an airplane. Did you see the movie Soul Plane? It is not easy being Middle Eastern in America right now.

Please don’t kid yourself that we are coming together as one and stop the fight against racism. Hate and intolerance of others will only stop with future generations. I believe whole heartedly that if you are racist by the time you are an adult, your belief system is imbedded so deep into your psyche that it is almost impossible to change. We have to start with the young and impressionable, just the same as the groups that recruit people into the KKK or any other organization that has hate written all over it do. As Christians we have to acknowledge the “Elephant in the room” (Racism) and preach against it in ALL of our Pulpits, we must pray for the kind of racial harmony that took place in the Upper Room at Pentecost. Only with God’s help can racism ever hope to end!

M Hamilton Stevens, Th.D, CPRP

Why Prince’s Death is Such a Loss

I know some of my very conservative Christian friends wonder why I lament over the death of Prince since he was NOT a Gospel Musician, but I am a lover of music and talent, Prince is the last of a dying breed. Everything today is synthesized and created in a studio, artist lip sync , and sample everything….Prince was a musical genius and YES I believe God give people TALENT. He is not really appreciated as a musician as he should because most people focus on his flamboyant behavior and clothes…but that man played multiple instruments and his guitar play was as good as or better than Hendrix, Clapton, and Santana’s. RIP Prince I pray you had a talk with Jesus before you passed and I for one will always love hearing “When Doves Cry”.

M. Hamilton Stevens 

3 Things Black Youth Need to Grasp

In the horrible days of slavery Blacks were punished if they tried to read or had possession of books. Before the Holocaust the Nazis burned books especially history books. The Bible says it best “My people PERISH because of the lack of knowledge” What type of knowledge are we lacking that is destroying us?

1. Knowledge of Self – Black youth need to know that out history didn’t start when we were herded off of slave-ships like cattle, our history is traced back to Africa where we were Kings, Queens, and warriors. I remember Richard Pryor did a skit on his short lived TV show about a group of Archaeologist that discovered a great cache of Egyptian artifacts, and Pryor played their servant….while they were examining things remarked “Wow all these drawings are of Black people”….when he said that they closed his Black behind in the  tomb with the TRUTH.
2. Knowledge of Finances and Business – Every race seems to understand this better than our people, we are a consumer race, and everyone else knows it. We don’t own a damn thing but we buy everything everyone else produces.
3. Knowledge of God – Yeah we know how to “have church”, but we don’t even know that the people in the Bible we study about were people of color. We also don’t value the power of God IN US. The same God that created the Universe is in YOU…not in a BUILDING…IN YOU!!!!

Dr. M. Hamilton Stevens

Only in New Jersey….Gangsta Easter Bunny

JERSEY CITY — Easter may be just a week away, but the holiday spirit came to a halt today after a mall bunny found himself tangled up in a brawl.

In a video posted on Twitter this evening from Newport Mall in Jersey City, an Easter bunny can be seen exchanging punches with customers waiting online to have photos taken.

At the beginning of the video, the bunny — without his floppy ears — is seen being separated from a man wearing a brown shirt.

But just seconds after they are taken away from one another, the bunny throws his gloves off and approaches the mall goer again.

Why Do Men Cheat?

WHY DO MEN CHEAT?

 

1. They’re Avoiding Intimacy
“Some men cheat to avoid any real intimacy. Intimacy scares them, so they distance themselves from their wife or girlfriend by cheating on her,” says psychiatrist Gail Saltz, MD. This way they never have to fully rely on someone else, so they can’t get hurt. Yeah, it makes sense in their minds…

2. They Crave Intimacy
On the flip side, some men are searching for intimacy outside of their relationship. According sex expert Emily Morse, some couples drift apart over time and don’t communicate about their lack of intimacy. When that happens, some men think it’s easier to just cheat instead of talking about it.

M. Hamilton Stevens, Th.D.

Lack of Knowledge is Killing Black People

In the horrible days of slavery Blacks were punished if they tried to read or had possession of books. Before the Holocaust the Nazis burned books especially history books. The Bible says it best “My people PERISH because of the lack of knowledge” What type of knowledge are we lacking that is destroying us?

1. Knowledge of Self – Black youth need to know that out history didn’t start when we were herded off of slave-ships like cattle, our history is traced back to Africa where we were Kings, Queens, and warriors. I remember Richard Pryor did a skit on his short lived TV show about a group of Archaeologist that discovered a great cache of Egyptian artifacts, and Pryor played their servant….while they were examining things remarked “Wow all these drawings are of Black people”….when he said that they closed his Black behind in the  tomb with the TRUTH.
2. Knowledge of Finances and Business – Every race seems to understand this better than our people, we are a consumer race, and everyone else knows it. We don’t own a damn thing but we buy everything everyone else produces.
3. Knowledge of God – Yeah we know how to “have church”, but we don’t even know that the people in the Bible we study about were people of color. We also don’t value the power of God IN US. The same God that created the Universe is in YOU…not in a BUILDING…IN YOU!!!!

Dr. M. Hamilton Stevens

Advice my Mother Gave Me

My mother Mary Louise Stevens was a very wise woman, she wasn’t a college graduate but she LOVED education. She often bought me books to read instead of toys. I could always read very well even at a young age. She always pushed me to do well in school, I had some emotional issues growing up without a father, but my mother was a strict disciplinarian that kept me on track. The Elementary School I went to told my mother I should go to Special Ed, my mother wasn’t having it. I was made to go to Summer School TWICE by my mother. She always taught me that I had to work twice as hard as white people and even then I won’t be treated as an equal. I’ll never forget the first time I came home on leave in 1977 after Basic Training we went to Chase City Virginia to visit my Grandfather and aunts, I always looked forward to this because of the food, the church, and the hugs I got from my Aunt Myrtle. My mother was very wise she always had a visual aid to help me understand things better. She took me to a Drugstore downtown where she used to go, we had lunch, and after lunch she took me around the back where the old colored and whites water fountain was. We just stood there and stared, finally she said things have changed but hearts and minds are still the same sometimes. She said the laws made folks do the right thing but if you notice there are STILL two separate water fountains even though the signs are down. I’ll never forget that moment.

M. Hamilton Stevens, Th.D., CPRP