Posted by: pastorapbell | June 25, 2012

as we examine why the body works!

Every body needs a head. Without leadership, it is impossible to function. For us as Christians, Christ is the head of the church (Colossians 1:18) and it is he who causes the body to function. The functionality dictates that all the constituent parts operate in synergy, working together for the greater good and not trying to function on their own. This ‘body’ metaphor is a ‘really good one’, as it sets out our interdependence and connectedness. The strategy of anyone who wants to stop the body from functioning is to disable the head. Satan thought he had achieved this with Jesus’ crucifixion at Calvary. But he got it wrong. The slavers succeeded to some degree with their aggressive methodology of ‘breeding’ Negros to fulfil their economic desire by emasculating the Black male.

Today we need men who can unashamedly declare that they are the head of their house without the need to apologise or compromise. Men do not have to be misogynists, dictators or tyrants. They can be the leading figure in their home, churches and communities and support those women who are also gifted leaders. By doing so, men will once again be operating and displaying the father heart of God. That is they will be loving and giving, firm in their dealings but fair. As part of the Caribbean Diaspora I want to engage with strong Godly men who can be real fathers and good role models for the next and future generations.  Please read Colossians 1:15-23.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | June 18, 2012

as we look in to try to work out!

Although we are one body, we are composed of constituent parts. These parts are connected together to function as one so that we can be classified as fully human. If we were to use the Greco –Roman motif to try to describe the make-up of the body, we could easily forget that the different parts of the body, work together to function as a whole and not as individuals. Let me explain this further. We may say that the body is made-up of spirit, soul and flesh. Moreover, these constituent parts work together to make the whole.  This means that although the individual parts are individual, they cannot be individual on their own and must exist in unison with the other part or else they cannot function. This Greco-Roman model is useful but can be confusing is taken on its own to describe the functionality and make-up of the human being. On the other hand, the Jewish motif sees the whole body and one. Therefore, when they use language to describe the functionality of the body, they are describing the entire body and not just the part that they are speaking about at that particular time. For instance, when the Psalmist says “Lord I praise you with my whole heart” (Psa. 138:1), he does not mean that his organ that pumps the blood around his body is praising God, his whole person is involved in praising God and not just his lips which utters the words.  Bearing this is mind we can say that for the Greco-Roman perspective the human being is body, soul and spirit.

Using terms as tri-partite does not convey the whole essence of how we are ‘made’ and is too simplistic a model to describe the complexity of human. Each section is a motif to describe the functionality on a micro and then a macro level. On a micro level, the body consists of bones, flesh and blood. The bones give the body structure, whilst the flesh gives it mobility and flexibility and the blood give it life. Similarly, the soul of the individual can be defined as, the mind, the will and the emotion. The mind is the major part of the person while the will determine how the mind functions and the emotions are the outworking of the functionality. Finally, we can define the spirit of an individual as comprising; the conscience, connectivity to God and the intuition. Again, the conscience is the major part, whilst the connectivity to God and the intuition determines how the conscience functions.

If any part of the human make-up is damaged then the body will suffer and will not function properly. By pronouncing that an individual is a slave, their soul is the first part that is affected. This drastically reduces their will to live. This in turn affects their spirit and then eventually their body. The whole purpose of the slaver is to break or damage the will of the individual. This has the knock on effect of altering their conscience (spirit) and changing then forever.

To change the way we behave towards each other, the first thing that must happen in us is that our minds are completely renewed. By doing this we enliven our consciences and rejuvenate our bodies. We hear sports coaches telling us that ‘the game is won in the minds of the individuals’ before a ball in kicked or a bat wielded. For us as Christian, once we win the micro battle, the macro one is a fore gone conclusion.

Question, are you body, soul and spirit or all heart?

Read Romans 12 for a synopsis for what I am talking about.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | June 14, 2012

as we navigate a path towards a common destination

One of the purposes of removing the slavery mindset from our people is to re-constitute order among the community. The lack of respect for authority, the dishonour that is meted out to those who the Lord places above us and the inability to work effectively together   makes for a difficult journey towards our promised place. Although our ancestors used the methodology of working behind the scenes as a survival mechanism, we as the inheritors of the new covenant and the blessing that goes with that, should now know better. However, unless we are delivered, that is our minds are renewed, we will perpetuate the propensity to challenge anyone in authority or seen as an authority figure.

Our forefathers developed the Ananci technique as a survival mechanism for dealing with the ravages that occurred under slavery. However, by introducing and releasing this Ananci spirit we enable it to permeate from generation to generation. What then are the main characteristics of this spirit? The individual operating under this aegis always tries to be cute. They are like double agents who tell their listeners what they want to hear. For example, they would gossip about their friends to you and vice versa, but would be all nice when all parties are together. This spirit causes confusion and only fuels bad blood. Once the individual is delivered, they will be taught that all those who are called to lead must do so from a position of service. The servant leader model is the model sanctioned and demonstrated by our Lord Jesus. And it is this spirit that Jesus wants to release among us.

We all must remember that most double agents get destroyed or killed. When people are working behind the scenes, scripture informs us that their deeds will eventually come to the light. So we have a decision to make, either we can continue to perpetuate the Ananci spirit or we can ask Jesus to fill us to over flowing with the precious Holy Spirit! The choice is yours. Read 2Timthy 3.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | May 31, 2012

as we ask the question; who is the daddy and who is the real father?

Some of the issues we face as men are universal. However, some of these issues are specifically related to our shared history. Let me explain. The inability to express one’s feelings will cause the individual to internalise those feelings. When they are internalised they will result in bitterness, anger, rage and feelings of worthlessness and a sense of having no purpose in life. A man, who is not in touch with his feelings, is a man who does not know himself. So how can he reflect the image of a caring loving father if he has never had one or had the opportunity to learn from one?

This is the plight of many men and in particular, those from the African Diaspora. Many of our men have bought into the theory of forming transient relationships and living large for ‘the now’. Still many father children and then leave the women to raise the children on their own. Others just go from women to women perpetuating the curse and the original plan of the slavers. This behaviour perpetuates the rage, anger and callousness, beaten into our men when they arrived in the West over 400 years ago.

The beatings, the branding, the castrations, the inability to chose your life partner or to live where you desired were all contributing factors to the way men from the African Diaspora grew up. For example, there are many of us whose fathers left the home when we were very young to go abroad to earn money to give their children a better life. This in itself caused myriad internal issues, many of which have never been dealt with. These issues and those from generations past are still affecting us today.

In this year of jubilee and celebrations, we need reparation from the Queen as the head of an empire, all be it a declining empire, that was complicit in demasculating the African male. We also need healing and deliverance from the rage, anger and fatherlessness that became our portion.  We do not need Million men marches anymore, we do not need protest marches, we need the deliverance and restoration of the African Diasporan male. How do we go about it, watch this space…..read St John 14.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | May 29, 2012

Words to live by for as we declare that; “This is the year of Jubilee and much more.”

How can I be a real man who reflects the true image of the creator? There are many theories today about the origin of humanity, however I believe these theories reign in confusion rather than create certainty in the minds of those adhering to these theories. Firstly, the fact that we are here on the planet living and breathing is a fact. We only have the capacity to be sure about a fraction of our antecedents. If the records conveyed to us are skewed, then we will be totally lost. One of the most debilitating things about the trans-Atlantic slave trade was the total ‘air-brushing’ out of the contribution to pre-modern and modern history by the descendants from Africa.  The demasculation of the African male has lead to the disease of fatherlessness perpetuating from generation to generation for the past 400 years or so. This year is significant for several reasons.

  1. Those from the African Diaspora have the opportunity to model real fatherhood to those potential fathers who are coming behind us.
  2. We can reverse and even circumvent the Willie Lynch methodology by working together and supporting each other.
  3. We can be real men of God by displaying and reflecting his characteristics.

To do this though, we all need deliverance. This deliverance comes about by each individual receiving healing into those areas that have lain dormant for generations.   This is where the precious Holy Spirit alone operates.  It is he who will reveal to us the areas that needs healing. Indeed my colleague reported to me that whilst she was receiving prayer ministry against the ravages of slavery that she felt an intense heat on her back and the Holy Spirit whispered to her ‘branding’. This was the trauma that her fore-parents were subject to which has never been broached. As we are being delivered and healed we can become the visionaries that will transform nations and bring about the salvation of millions. Read Psalm 119:130 and Matthew 6:9-15.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | May 23, 2012

as we ask the question, ‘What does it mean to be created in the image of God?’

Over the years and certainly during the pre-modern and modern ear, western philosophers have tended to create God in their image. The icons, images and frescos have all tended to portray a God that looks like the prevailing culture. This type of attitude not only breaks the first commandment given by Yahweh (Ex. 20:4), it denigrates anyone else who does not look like what is being portrayed. So there is a need to revisit the imago Dei to determine what Yahweh actually meant when he stated that man was created in his image.

From the western mindset, image means likeness. So my children look like me to a certain extent, since they all carry my DNA. However, for the Jewish mindset, image conjures up a more wholesome connotation. Image is not just about what is on the surface, but goes much deeper than that. So let me consider my children again. On the surface they may or may not have all of my features, however on closer examination and by spending time with me and then time with them, you will notice that our mannerisms, gestures, terminology and inquisitiveness are all in sync. And so whether they look like me on the surface or not you can tell that they belong to me by the attributes they display.

When the writer of Genesis states that we were created in the image of God and that there was a gender specific model [each gender has specific attributes for their particular gender], this is what I believe he is saying. Every human being has the characteristics of the creator. And these characteristics are not surface deep. They are embedded deep in the psyche and soul of the individual. The problem we face in coming to God and recognising him as father is trying to figure out what he looks like. So when Jesus told Philip that when he looked at him he will see the father, our reading of this passage is to say, well if Jesus had a beard, then the father must have one. If Jesus is olive skinned then the father must be olive skinned also, and so on (John 14:8-9).

Well Philip, this is what the father looks like. And this is what we are to aspire to. The father is loving and kind, slow to anger and abounding is steadfast love (Psa. 145:8). The father is patient and forgiving and is waiting to restore those who have gone astray (Luke 15:11-32). The father bears fruit of righteousness which has been deposited in all of his creation (Gal. 5:22). And finally the father is prepared to sacrifice his only son so that we can be fully human again (John 3:16; 19:30). So the question I would like to ask my readers today, whether you are Black, White or Asiatic, is this, when I look at you can I see the father?  Endeavour to become the wisdom of God and read Proverbs 8.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | May 11, 2012

as we understand what it takes for real men to stand up!

There are many views about the role of men in society. In years gone by men were seen as the hunter gatherer and the leader in the home. With the advent of modernity, post modernity, generation X and post generation X, the role of the male has become somewhat blurred and non plus. What do I mean by this? The promotion and push for equality has taken precedence over the construction and reconstruction of the created order. This in no way means that I am advocating male domination or encouraging people to be misogynists.  On the contrary I am advocating a biblical approach to the pivotal role that the male plays in the ordering, disciplining and development within the home first. As the father it is the responsibility of the man to organise the worship in the home, i.e. he must operate as the priest in the home. It is also his responsibility to organise the discipline in the home. Contrary to our post-colonial understanding of discipline, this about training and teaching, in particular boys and adolescents to become men.   The role of the modern man is neither of these. Similarly the role of those men, who were emasculated during the period of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, is totally confused.

The effects of slavery on our Black men is an ongoing cause for concern, as generation to generation continue to perpetuate the curse that the English horse breeder, Willie Lynch put on us. let us look at some of the effects of this.

A large number of Black men are still producing off-springs with several women.

Many fail to see the need to have monogamous relationships

Many fail to understand their mandate

Many have bought into the ‘short-term’ live for now tomorrow we die mantra

Still many do not leave any sort of legacy for the children they produce

The curse of illegitimacy is perpetuated as boys progenate without having the tools to deal with the outcome.

The only way to break this curse and deal with the fallout, is to be delivered by coming under the umbrella that is Jesus and embarking on a programme that flushes out old notions of manhood, insignificance, worthlessness and short-termism, from the minds of those affected. The process can only be started when we make ourselves vulnerable as the apostle Paul reminds us in his letter to the Philippians in chapter 2:1-11. Please read this and meditate on it.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | May 1, 2012

as we ask the question, when will men take their rightful position?

When we look seriously at the statics, it is surprising how many of our young men end up not fulfilling their enormous potential because the sin of the fathers. The emasculation of black male under colonialism has taken its toll on the rest of the family. And so today we have many families that are headed up by females. Do we think this is strange? Let us look at what the slavers did to bring about this situation!

They destroyed the language of the slave.

They treated the male of the race as a stud and took him from plantation to plantation to ‘breed’.

They beat the young men to the point of death, to make them weak. This engendered in them anger and rage that was seldom dealt with.  Also a mistrust and antagonism against authority figures.

They introduced the curse of incest. So we end up with situations where some children have the same father and grandfather.

They instituted fear and distrust among the community. The result is that we still work against each other as the default rather than the exception.

 

Although the slave trade and slavery was abolished in the Caribbean in the 19th century, the legacy of rage, anger, illegitimacy, incest, worthlessness, pity and blame are still very much at the forefront of our psyche. So how do we move forward?

We need to deal with the past. Blessing and curses are a reality. Someone needs to draw a line for your generation, your family and your community, so why not let it be you.  Other ethnic groups have their stuff to deal with too. But the African Caribbean community need to endeavour to re-construct the building blocks for growth. This starts with fundamental structure, the family. The man needs to get in his rightful position as the head and priest of the house. It is he who should call his family to worship and instruct them in righteousness. We have the biblical narratives that teaches us about God’s people who were trapped in slavery for over 400 years but were delivered and set free to become a nation of kings and priest to him (see 1 Peter 1:9ff).  And so using this model, we are precious to God our father.  It is He who has delivered us from the curse. So let us not be ignorant. Let us remove the scales that blur our vision and causes us to work against each other and put on Christ.  Read 1Peter 2 and focus on verse 9&10.

 

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 26, 2012

as we continue to look steadfastly to the cross!

We underestimate the enormity of the task undertaken and achieved by Jesus on the cross. If like me you are a descendant from the Caribbean, through no fault of our own, we have inherited the effects of the curse put on our forefathers by the Willie Lynch practices. This is so pervasive that 178 years after the abolition of slavery in the Caribbean, we are still reeling from the effects of it. Let us look at a few of these lasting effects. There are many men of Caribbean descent who think it is ‘cool’ to father as many children as they can with as many women as they can. Little do they know that this behaviour, of fathering a child and then taking no active part in that child’s upbringing was an integral part of the Willie Lynch theory of ‘breeding’ slave workers who would not challenge the status quo. Indeed, the male slave was so emasculated that he was treated as a stallion and then taken from plantation to plantation, to produce strong off-springs to work on the sugar, coffee and banana plantations.  Although we believe in Jesus’ finished work on the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit, there are many, even among those who profess to be Christians, who are still behaving in this manner. Another trait that is still prevalent in many with a Caribbean heritage is the pent up rage from the trauma of slavery put on our forefathers. This ‘post traumatic slavery syndrome’ means that the pain from the past which was never dealt with or allowed to be dealt with is being exhibited among our young people in the streets of Britain today. We have ‘Post Code’ killings, gang wars, drive by shootings and so on. These are all the products of untreated pain of the past. Since the slaves were not allowed to express or deal with their anger, it was taken out on those closest to them, namely their helpless children. These children would grow up thinking that beatings and violence was the norm and so perpetuate it.  And so today, in their search for identity and belonging, many youngsters turn to gangs who feed their desire to release the pain of the past and the pain of the ‘absent dad’ syndrome.

The inhumane treatment that Jesus went through prior to being humiliated and shamed by hanging in public naked has made a way for those of all us who unwittingly inherit this curse to jettison it. He has now become the ‘curse’ so that we might walk in his blessing. Our pain has become his pain. As slaves we lost our dignity. By dying naked on a cross so did He. And because of his shed blood we are released from the curse of slavery and from the rage that so easily beset us. What the abolition of slavery (1834) and the slave trade (1807) could not do, Jesus did. How enormous was that! Read Galatians 3:1-18.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 24, 2012

as we think about how His-story was unravelled!

The next day – The day after the Jews made inquiry whether he was the Christ. John the Baptist saw Jesus coming towards him and shouted out, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”St. John 1:29.

Behold the Lamb of God – A “lamb,” among the Jews, was killed and eaten at the Passover to commemorate their deliverance from Egypt, Exodus 12:3-11. A lamb was offered in the tabernacle, and afterward in the temple, every morning and evening, as a part of the daily worship, Exodus 29:38-39. The Messiah was predicted as a lamb led to the slaughter, to show his patience in his sufferings, and readiness to die for humanity, Isaiah 53:7. A lamb, among the Jews, was also an emblem of patience, meekness, and gentleness. On all these accounts, rather than on any one of them alone, Jesus was called “the Lamb.” He was innocent 1 Peter 2:23-25; he was a sacrifice for sin the substance represented by the daily offering of the lamb, and slain at the usual time of the evening sacrifice Luke 23:44-46; and he was what was represented by the Passover, turning away the anger (wrath)of God, and saving sinners by his blood from vengeance and eternal death, 1 Corinthians 5:7. Jesus knew his destiny as he said to Pilate, “for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice,” John 18:37b. Jesus was born that man no more should die; he was born to give all us the second birth, but only when we put our trust in him! What a saviour, what a man, the Lamb of God.

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