InfoDailyNews.com

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
—Matthew 28:29-20

These verses of scripture are known to Christians worldwide as the Great Commission. It is the foundation of discipleship and it contains the formula for the harvest of souls and church growth. So if the formula has been given why then are so many people reluctant to go to church? The problem is not with these verses of scripture, but rather it is with rules, regulations, clergy and doctrine within the church as a whole.

Salvation is based on the premise that anyone who asks for God’s help in turning away from their sinful ways, that He (God) would not disappoint that person. But because many people have had at least one bad personal experience with a local church, those who are outside the membership of the church have made up their own terminology to describe their encounters in church. Such terminology often stereotypes the church, its doctrine, its members and clergy. It is this stereotyping, brought on by the church’s behavior that works against the church as a whole, to discourage many people from attending or joining a local church body.

“Snakes in the Pulpit,” “Pimpin’ in the Pews,” and “Empty your pocket Ministers” are but a few of the labels that cause people to run from the church. Many people who go to church for the first time know nothing at all about church doctrine, they only know what they see and experience. What they see are people who claim to love you but will almost come to blows if you sit in the seat that they claim as their own. What they see are people who have immersed themselves up to the neck in hallelujahs while gossiping about your attire.

Church doctrine does teach that Christians should love each other as Christ loved the church, but too often this love for each other comes across as a Sunday morning groupie type of illegitimate love that evaporates with the benediction.

Church doctrine also teaches about money because we would all agree that money is an important part of our lives today. Jesus taught about money and mentioned it to his disciples quite often. But have you ever been to a church where everything is about money? The people dress as though they are going to a fashion show. The worship songs are about earthy treasures, the sermon is about money, and the church collects in access of three offerings. By the time you leave the service you feel as though you’ve been to the casino instead of a church service.

Before you jump the gun and misinterpret what I am saying, let me say that I am a Christian and I am not condemning the church. I am only enlightening the body concerning some serious changes that we should be adopting. If I, being a sheep in the fold can see the carnality of a people who are pretending, just think what the real pretenders must see.

Do you attend church? We encourage you to post a comment.

Article Source

On Sept. 4, 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina two men were shot to death and four other people were wounded by NOPD Officers on the Danziger Bridge in New Orleans. Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old man who is described by his relatives as having the mental capacity of a child, and 19-year-old James Brissette were brutally and irresponsibly shot to death by New Orleans Police Officers responding to allegations of a shooting on the Danziger Bridge as many survivors of Hurricane Katrina listened on transistor radios. Four other people were severely wounded in the shooting.

Survivors of the shooting testified that they were unarmed and were abused by the officers, who without identifying themselves, jumped out of the back of a truck and started shooting without warning. Blacks in New Orleans have long endured this kind of treatment as the police department often responds to blacks more like terrorist rather than professional law enforcement officers.

The officers say that they were fired upon first as they responded to calls over their police radio about people shooting at rescue workers, but no weapons were ever found.

Murder and attempted murder charges against seven New Orleans police officers were dismissed by Criminal District Court Judge Raymond Bigelow. His reason: an Orleans Parish prosecutor tainted the secrecy of the grand jury process by showing a piece of testimony to another officer.

Indicted in the shootings and charged with first degree murder in the shooting of Madison were Sgt. Kenneth Bowen, Sgt. Robert Gisevius, officer Anthony Villavaso and former officer Robert Faulcon who quit the NOPD after the storm and also faces a first-degree murder charge in Brissette’s death. Officers Ignatius Hills, Robert Barrios and Michael Hunter were also indicted with attempted murder charges for wounding or shooting at the other victims on the bridge.

According to a 53-page report the police investigation into the incident conducted by the NOPD’s homicide unit was incomplete and questionable. No physical evidence was collected by the police immediately following the shooting. The officers went back to the scene seven weeks later to collect evidence and some of that evidence was discarded by the police department.

Innocent people died at the hands of gun wielding, badge wearing terrorist minded want to be police officers who think they are above the law and the New Orleans Criminal Justice system supports such behavior. For too long and too often blacks have been murdered at the hands of the NOPD and nothing, absolutely nothing is ever done about it. Where is the justice in the New Orleans Criminal Justice System?

Article Source

Comedian and Actor Bernie Mac dies at age 50

Famed Comedian and Actor Bernie Mac died in a Chicago area hospital of complications due to pneumonia Saturday morning, August 9, 2008.

Bernie Mac whose birth name is Jeffrey McCollough was born in Chicago, IL, in 1958. Growing up in a large family Mac learned humor at an early age which paved the way for his future as a Comedian. Mac got his first standup comedy experience when he was eight-years-old. He performed a routine about his grandparents at the dinner table in front of the congregation at church. In the years ahead Mack developed his ability to make people laugh and in 1977 he began to perform as a professional comedian in the night club circuit.

Mack mad his big screen debut in the 1992 film, “Mo’ Money.” Other film works include appearances in “Above the Rim,” the 1994 Drama starring Duane Martin, Leon, and Tupac Shakur, the 1995 Sci-Fi Horror “The Walking Dead starring Boris Karloff, Ricardo Cortez, and Edmund Gwenn.

Bernie Mac can be best remembered for the Television Sitcom “The Bernie Mac Show.” Bernie Mac brought so much joy to so many and he will be sadly missed by all of America.

Senator John McCain and his followers have been singing the same old song concerning the war in Iraq, but is the war in Iraq the only concern of Americans? McCain acts as if the Iraq War is America’s only worry so he has made it his campaign stronghold.

But what about the problems that we are faced with at home? Should we sacrifice our livelihood for the sake of winning the war in Iraq? God forbid that we should neglect our own to feed another. Why should we continue to deprive Americans the basic necessities of a good life to rebuild a country that we should have never destroyed to begin with?

Senator McCain does not speak for the average working American; he speaks only for rich Americans.

How will we move ahead in America to repair the breaches in the levees of our government and the failing American economy? This is one question that Senator McCain has not sought to answer but it is a very important question that is on the minds of the American people nationwide.

Senator McCain is using a scare tactic that will not be successful in this present day. Americans are more concerned with fixing the problems that this present administration has created than they are with winning the war in Iraq.

Article Source

Will you be ready?

By Eric Dunbar

There is one subject that people tend to avoid—death. At the same time, people are curious about the subject and want to know if there is life after death. I know that many of you are skeptics and no words will ever make you believe the life changing experience that I had on Tuesday, June 17, 2008. There is one very important question that I would like to ask you; but first I want you to think about people around you—those people who you love very much.

On that day I awakened with the thought of going to work. My custom is to work on the Internet writing articles at least one hour before I go to work; but after about 20 minutes of sitting at my computer I began to feel bad. I told my wife that I would not be going to work because I felt bad. So I sent an e-mail to my supervisor saying that I would not be coming in to work on that day. I went back to bed hoping the extra rest would make me feel better.

By 10:30 that morning I began to feel better so I sat down at my computer to write an article for my upcoming VinePublication.com Newsletter. At about 11:30 a.m., I got hungry, so I went downstairs to the refrigerator to get the sandwich that my wife had prepared for my lunch had I gone to work. No sooner than I had finished the sandwich, my chest began to ache. 11 months prior I had a serious heart attack, and I have had several smaller ones since, so immediately I recognized the pain and I knew I was having another serious heart attack.

I called downstairs for my wife, Dorth, to help me, but she did not answer. Then I remembered that she yelled upstairs to me saying that she was going outside to put the garbage out. I looked for my nitroglycerin which I usually hang on the door knob of my bedroom door but it was not there. The pain was getting more intense as I continued to look for my nitro. I eventually found it on my desk where I had been working. I knew I had only minutes to get the little life saving pill under my tongue, so I hastily opened the little metal container that I usually kept around my neck to get at the miracle pill that I thought would save my life.

Normally it would take 15 to 30 seconds for the pain to subside after placing the nitro under my tongue but this time it was not working. The pain grew in intensity and my vision began to fade. Again I called out to my wife for help. Normally it would take 15 to 30 seconds for the pain to subside after placing the nitro under my tongue but this time it was not working. The pain grew in intensity and my vision began to fade. Again I called out to my wife for help.

“Hey,” I yelled, “I’m in trouble!”

She knew from the sound of my voice that the thing she feared even more than I did was happening at this very moment—I was having another heart attack. I could hear her running up the stairs, but I proceeded to make my way to my bed. As soon as I got in the bed I got dizzy and light headed. Dorth was now standing directly over me.

“Do you want to go to the hospital?” she asked. But before I could answer her, the scenery changed. I was no longer looking at my wife but I was looking at my son, Jamil. How can this be? I wondered. This is impossible, I thought.

My son was murdered in May of 2004; I had not seen him in a little over 4 years, but yet he was standing about 20 feet in front of me with that big smile that he was known for, with his arms outstretched.

“Come on daddy, I’ve been waiting for you,” he said.

He was so real, and I was so peaceful and I did not feel any pain; instead I felt an overwhelming sense of love and peace like I had never felt before.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Right over there,” he answered.

I just stood there in amazement. I looked around to see where I was, but I could not see anything through the bright light that shone all around me. Before I could answer him or step toward him, I heard a voice speak to me from out of the light. It seemed as though the voice came from every direction. I looked around me but I couldn’t see anyone; all I could see was light.

“Are you ready?” said the voice. The sound of the voice that I heard was soothing and not only could I hear it, I could feel it too. It felt as though the sound passed right through me. Again I looked toward Jamil.

“Come on it’s just right over there,” he said as he pointed into the light.

I took one step in his direction and again the voice that I had just heard said,

“Are you ready?”

As I gazed into the light I felt young again, and I heard my mother say, always be polite when someone is trying to help you. Then I remembered my wife. I thought, what is going to happen to her? That is when I answered the voice,

“No! I’m not ready.”

“Then you must go back,” said the voice from inside the light.

I looked at Jamil; he was still standing there in front of me smiling. I said to him,

“I have to go back now.”

“Okay,” he calmly said. “I’ll see you after while.”

I turned away from him and took one step in the opposite direction and when I did I was suddenly back in my bed. The first thing I saw was an oxygen mask going over my face. When I looked around the room I saw lots of people but I did not see Dorth. It took me a moment to gather my thoughts. Then I remembered that I had suffered a heart attack.

I did not tell my wife about the incident that I had experienced until the following day. To my surprise she also had a secret that she had not shared with me.

“You died,” she said. “You really left me. You had this glassy look in your eyes; they were motionless and I never saw them blink. I put my hand on your neck and there was no pulse. I felt your wrist and there was no pulse. I put my hand in front of your nose and mouth and you were not breathing. That is when I called 911.”

I do not remember seeing my wife on the phone but I will never forget the experience. I am not absolutely certain what happened to me, but the experience was not a dream; it was real. It has forever changed my view of life. Life is too short and too precious to waste on vanity.

About the question that I said I would ask you. It is probably the most important question of your lifetime: “When the lights go out, are you ready?”

Article Source

By Eric Dunbar Author of the e-Book “The Face of a Demon”

One of the most destructive and addicting drugs on the streets today is crack-cocaine. The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) reported in 1999 that cocaine was used by 3.7 million Americans, or 1.7 percent of the household population aged 12 and over. Estimates of the current number of those who use cocaine regularly (at least once per month) varies, but 1.5 million is a widely accepted figure within the research community.

Although cocaine use had not significantly changed over the six years prior to 1999, the number of first-time users went from 574,000 in 1991, to 934,000 in 1998—an increase of 63%. While these numbers indicated that cocaine is still widely present in the United States cocaine use was significantly less prevalent than it was during the early 1980s. Cocaine use peaked in 1982 when 10.4 million Americans (5.6 percent of the population) reportedly used the drug.

The survey conducted in 1999 found the proportion of American students reporting use of powder cocaine rose during the 1990s. In 1991, 2.3 percent of eighth-graders stated that they had used cocaine in their lifetime. This figure rose to 4.7 percent in 1999. For the older grades, increases began in 1992 and continued through the beginning of 1999. Between those years, lifetime use of cocaine went from 3.3 percent to 7.7 percent for tenth-graders and from 6.1 percent to 9.8 percent for twelfth-graders. Lifetime use of crack cocaine also increased among eighth, tenth, and twelfth-graders, from an average of 2 percent in 1991 to 3.9 percent in 1999.

But since crack hit the streets of America many other dangerous drugs have become popular among those who chose to use drugs for whatever reason, and many of the newer drugs are more dangerous than crack. Drug use is more responsible for the rise in crime rates rather than the emotional destruction that the drug commands. Drugs affect every sector of our society. From the suburbs to the inner cities, from the unemployed and homeless person to the influential businessman and woman, the influence of and homeless person to the influential businessman and woman, the influence of drugs are prevalent everywhere.

Article Source

The Federal Government sat on $87 million in relief goods meant to be given to Katrina survivors

By Eric Dunbar

The survivors of Hurricane Katrina all have one thing in common. They would all unanimously say that FEMA is one big joke. Logic would agree that $87 million and 2 years later the agency would be on top of things. Well obviously Washington does not function on logic. If you’re depending on FEMA to help in the event of a major catastrophe, I would not suggest holding your breath.

The agency that all Americans trust in and depend on is out of sync. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s wheel of action is broken and is in desperate need of repair. You would think that two years later FEMA would have gotten their stuff together; and if you are on the other side of the fence you may be surprised to know that nothing has improved at FEMA’s headquarters.

While the victims of Hurricane Katrina waited for government assistance FEMA was sitting on $85 million in household goods that was meant to be distributed to needy victims of the hurricane. Talk about waste! Material such as basic kitchen goods and sleeping necessities sat in warehouses for two years before FEMA finally gave it away. Two years; And what’s worse, the government was spending $1 million a year to store the material in a warehouse that was scheduled to be torn down. So that is a whopping $85 million in goods and another $2 million to store them for two years.

I am a Katrina survivor from New Orleans and like many other survivors I never saw any of these so called giveaway goods. When I was airlifted and brought to Armstrong International Airport I received one case of water and two packs of Army rations; one for me and one for my wife.

Most of the items meant for Katrina survivors was dished out to dishonest people who didn’t really need the support. The people that represent us in Washington has been bad managers of the average American taxpayer’s money when they allowed conn artists to walk in without proper identification and walk away with thousands of dollars. In essence the conn artist got conned. The agency that we all put our trust in after a disaster such as Katrina was not prepared for thousands of dishonest people who saw the Katrina disaster as a way to get over on the government. Many American citizens gave from the kindness of their hearts to the victims of Katrina but their gifts never reached the people who needed them the most.

Though the tents in tent city are disappearing, thousands of people are still living in abandoned buildings. It seems that the honest people got shafted while the dishonest and money hungry—people who know how to work the system got the royal government hookup. Pallets at the Fort Worth warehouse were piled high with boxes of buckets, boots, cleansers, mops and brooms. There were stacks of tents, lanterns and camp stoves for people still displaced, as well as clothing, bedding, plates and utensils.

FEMA confirmed that it had kept the merchandise in storage for the past two years and then gave it away to cities, schools, fire departments and nonprofit agencies such as food banks. In all, General Services Administration records show FEMA gave away 121 truckloads of material. This is one of the reasons why many victims of Katrina say that hand-outs from Katrina were racially censored. Rather than give the items to those poor black people, who needed them, FEMA decided to sit on the material for two years and then give it to anyone other than the people it was meant to be given to.

Article Source

By Eric Dunbar
VinePublication.com

James Watson, the father of DNA said in a conversation with the Editor-in-Chief of The Root, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., that blacks are intellectually inferior. In their conversation Watson clarified his views concerning race and genetics.

Watson was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology on Medicine in 1962, along with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, for “their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material.”

Watson is most remembered for identifying the “double helix” three-dimensional structure of deoxyribonucleic acid, more commonly known as DNA.

Although Dr. Watson may is a genius with a low IQ, he is certainly not the authority who determines how brilliant a person will be.

An article released on October 14, 2007 in the London Sunday Times titled The elementary DNA of Dr. Watson quoted the Dr. making racist comments about black people in which he suggests that the inherent biological differences in intelligence between black people and other ethnicities distinguishes that blacks are inferior in their level of intelligence.

But if this were true, how could the ancient history of African contributions to this world’s society of humanity be disregarded?

More than a century after the last slave became a free person, blacks have tested Dr. Watson’s theory and proven it to be wrong. Blacks have made great intellectual accomplishments not only in America, but around the world. In fact the Illinois Senator, Barack Obama has proven that Dr. Watson’s theory is just that—theory. Certainly the Senator has not come this far in the political race for the Presidency of the good old U.S. of A by pickin’ cotton and raisin’ watermelons. So with all due respect to the noted Dr. Watson there is a world of difference between theory and reality.

Article Source

By Eric Dunbar
VinePublication.com

It seems that every time you bat an eye there is a man of the cloth reaching out to help Barack Obama win the Presidential election. But their words are anything but the words of a crusader. First the Reverend Jeremiah Wright spoke up for Obama in several racist sermons that were condensed into a 30 second clip that made headline news across America. And this time, from the same church, came the comments of Father Pfleger, a Catholic Priest who came across as more of a comedian than a priest.

Quite honestly, I think the church should address some of the racial issues rather than sitting in church pretending that the issue of racism does not exist. According to the Bible, the church has the keys to the kingdom. It also states that we have authority over the enemy—and the real enemy is Satan.

The most recent comment from the Trinity Church of Christ made by Father Pfleger has led many people to believe that the real reason Senator Obama left his church of over 20 years was because of the church’s theology.

Father Pfleger’s video clip comes across as a comedy act as compared to that of Pastor Jeremiah Wright, whose sermon had heavy racial overtones. At least that’s the story as told from one point of view—white America.

But many black churches all across America identify with like sermons that depict their long struggles as a people in a country controlled by white people.

Even today, many white churches are saying, “We respect the fact that you are a Christian, but you can’t worship here.” It is the church that in fact who holds down the last frontier of segregation in America. There are more segregated churches in America than there are schools.

I do not condone the sermons that have been publicized coming from the pulpit of Trinity Church of Christ, but in black churches, black people make light of their struggles that have been, and still are far worse than the words said in either of the sermons that made the nation’s news headlines. I personally think that when one can laugh about tragedy—and especially the kind of tragedies that many blacks have endured at the hand of whites, it is a sign of healing.

There once was a time when it hurt blacks to talk about Uncle Willie whom a group of white men hang on a tree because he looked at a white woman. It used to hurt when a black person had to sit in the back of the bus, although it was empty. It used to hurt when blacks were treated as animals wherever they went. When you can make light of your struggles and tell jokes about the many painful events of your life, it is a sure sign that you still remember, but it doesn’t hurt anymore, and that is the first sign of healing and forgiveness.

Watch Video of Father Pfleger’s attack on Hillary Clinton

Article Source