Summer 09 Eif Magazine

SUMMER 2009 VOL. V N0. 2

THE POWER OF FAITH TO TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE!

MAGAZINE

CONTENTS

SUMMER 2009

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009 Vol. V, No. 2

Editor Antracia Moorings Columnists Dr. LaVerne Tolbert Contributing Writers Pastor Robert Bolden Kerri Webb Art Design Lorena Iñiguez Elebee

6

11

12

EIF Graphics Designer Ardena Brooks Photographers Harry Langdon Richard Ventura Proofer Gayle Williams Make Up Adrian M. Evans

Editorial Offices 7901 South Vermont Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90044 (323) 758-3777 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.faithdome.or g

16

6

23

FEATURE ARTICLE

Passing the Baton: Consecration and Installation of Pastor K. Price, Jr. By Kerri Webb

12

On Sunday, March 15, 2009, approximately 6,000 people attended the installation and consecration ceremony of Pastor Frederick K. Price, Jr. as he became the head of Crenshaw Christian Center as its presiding Pastor.

To order from or to subscribe to this magazine: Call 1-800-927-3436 Ever Increasing Faith Magazine is published by Crenshaw Christian Center, a recognized nonprofit corporation. 2009 Crenshaw Christian Center. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Ever Increasing Faith and the logo on the back page are registered trademarks of Crenshaw Christian Center, Inc. in the United States and other countries where Ever Increasing Faith Magazine circulates. Ever Increasing Faith Magazine has no subscription or newsstand price and is supported through contributions. All gifts to this ministry are tax-deductible. Printed in the United States of America.

18

11

3 5

UP CLOSE:

Angel Price: A Look At the New First Lady

16

FROM THE HEADLINES

Drew Dimmel: The Voice of Ever Increasing Faith Ministries

Living A Disciplined Life

For years, Drew Dimmel was the voice of Ever Increasing Faith Ministries—that is until he had to step back from the job he loved.

No one can be successful in ministry who is undisciplined. There are too many undisciplined pastors, too many undisciplined evangelists, too many undisciplined ministers of the gospel. In this teaching, Apostle Price shares that to be successful, one must be disciplined!

HEALTH & HEALING

A Look At Asthma

By Pastor Robert Bolden

Asthma is a inflammation of

DEPARTMENTS

On the Calendar Contributors

THE WORD OF FAITH

By Dr. Frederick K.C. Price

One minute she’s a pastor’s

18 25

23

By Antracia Moorings

By Antracia Moorings

A Message from Dr. Price

the lungs in which the airways are reversibly narrowed. Asthma affects 7% of the population, or 20 million Americans, and 300 million worldwide.

wife and the next moment, she’s the first lady of a legacy. Angel Price reflects on being CCC’s first lady.

Parenting Matters

26

Q&A: Straight Talk with Drs. Fred & Betty Price

On the Air

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

3

a message from dr. price

Entering Into God’s Rest Hebrews 4:10 says, For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. In other words, stop laboring by your own effort, and let God work on it through you. It is sometimes difficult for people to do that — cease from their own works. Because they think they are so important that if they don’t do “it,” “it” will not get done. But people end up killing themselves with that kind of thinking. I do not fool myself into thinking I can do it all. I have my place, my call, and my anointing, but I let the Greater One do the work. I am always at rest. I could be stressed out right now because of all the things I have to do and all that I am responsible for. But I refuse to be stressed out. I have delegated authority to others, and they do the work that they are assigned to do. There is no way in the world that I could have grown Crenshaw Christian Center into the flourishing congregation that it is now if I did it on my own without God’s help. I’m smart enough to know that I need God—in everything. I know some ministers — bless their hearts — who are trying to carry their entire congregation. That is impossible, and God did not tell you to do that. Nobody’s shoulders are big enough to do —Hebrews 4:10 that. A minister’s job is to give you the Word, to pray for you, and then he has to let you carry yourself. This past March, my son Frederick K.C. Price was formally installed as pastor of Crenshaw Christian Center on his 30th birthday. It was indeed a joyous occasion to watch what was prophesied years ago fully come into fruition. I pray that I have lived this out for my son so that, as he pastors the church, he will remember that God does the real work. Over 25 years ago, I started resting. I labored to enter into the rest by faith. Hence, I have had more to do than I have ever dreamed of doing in seven lifetimes. My wife and I sit and wonder sometimes why we have so much to do. It is because God knows we can handle it. God knows it is not going to hurt us or kill us, because we learned how to rest. I absolutely love my job, and I would actually pay God to let me do what I do. That is because I have learned to do my work in His strength. I have learned how to rest — not to look at circumstances, not to walk by sight. It is my hope that you learn how to rest in God as well.

“For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. ”

invitation to salvation

If you are not a Christian and would like to become one, pray the following prayer:

Dear GOD in Heaven, Thank you for sending Your Son JESUS CHRIST to destroy the power of Satan over my life. I accept Jesus now as my personal SAVIOR and LORD, and I choose to turn away from the sins of my past to a renewed Life in Jesus. You said that if I would confess with my mouth the LORD JESUS and believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead, that I would be saved. I believe JESUS died for my sins and that You raised Him from the dead for my benefit. HEAVENLY FATHER, I thank you for the gift of salvation and for accepting me now as Your child. In JESUS’ name, Amen.

If you have prayed this prayer, please let us know by writing to us at: Crenshaw Christian Center P.O.Box 90000 Los Angeles, CA 90009 Attn: Administration Office

4

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

on the itinerary

2009

CALENDAR

July 27-31 FICWFM Convention Crenshaw Christian Center Los Angeles, CA

August 5-6 In His Presence Church 21300 Califa Street Woodland Hills, CA 91367 (818.313.9393) [Pastor Mel Ayres] 7:00 p.m. nightly Apostle Frederick K.C. Price

August 5 AUGUST 6, 2009 Advancing the Kingdom of God Ministries P.O. Box 357 Torrance, CA 90508-0357 Conference held at: Doubletree Hotel 2 Civic Plaza Carson, CA 90745 [Dr. Milton S. Herring, I] 7:00 p.m. Pastor Frederick K. Price, Jr. August 9-16 Alaska Cruise

August 20-21 Pastor Alonzo Ward Pastor Frederick K. Price, Jr.

August 20-22 Harvest House Christian Center 200 Rothrock Road Copley, OH 44321 (330.576.6276) [Dr. Jerome a. Parker] Conference will be held at: John S. Knight Ccnter 77 E Mill Street 330) 374-8900 Akron, OH 8/20-21 @ 7:00 p.m. / Apostle Frederick K.C. Price 8/22 @ 9:00 a.m. breakfast mtg / Dr. Betty R. Price

September 4 & 6 St. Louis Christian Center 870 Pershall Road St. Louis, MO 63137 (314.867.1894) [Dr. Alfred D. Harvey, Jr.] Apostle Frederick K.C. Price September 17-19 Daylight Christian Center 15831 W. 7 Mile Road Detroit, MI 48235 (313.270.4412) [Pastors Jerome & Theresa Talley] Meeting will be held at: Cobo Conference Center 1 Washington Blvd

September 18-19 Living Word Bible Church 3520 E. Brown Road Mesa, AZ 85213 (480.964.4463) [Dr. C. Thomas Anderson, Senior Pastor] Fri, 9/18 @ 6:45 p.m. Sat, 9/19 @ 12 noon Sat, 9/19 @ 6:45 p.m. Pastor Frederick K. Price, Jr.

September 20 CCC East Apostle Frederick K.C. Price September 24-25 Gospel Tabernacle 277 Clifton Street Atlanta, GA (404.370.3800) [Bishop Wiley Jackson] Apostle Frederick K.C. Price

August 23 CCC East Apostle Frederick K.C. Price Setpember 2 Destiny Christian Church 12119 16th Avenue South Burnsville, MN 55337 (952.890.1477) [Pastor Joe Braucht] Apostle Frederick K.C. Price

September 3 Dunamis World Outreach Church, International 3212 Hartlage Ct. Louisville, KY 40216 (502.447.9096 [Dr. Shannon C. Cook] 7:00 p.m. Apostle Frederick K.C. Price

contributors

Detroit, MI 48226 9/17-18 @ 7:00 p.m. nightly / Apostle Frederick K.C. Price 9/19 @ 10:00 a.m. / Dr. Betty R. Price

Minister Robert E. Bolden is a graduate of the Ministry Training Institute at Crenshaw Christian Center. Bolden accepted the lordship of Jesus Christ in 1980. Bolden is one of the Instructors for the Spiritual Enrichment classes offered at CCC. Bolden is also an Instructor at Abundant Harvest Christian Center School of Ministry in association with Trinity University, an accredited school of theology where he teaches classes such as the Principles of Faith, Pneumatology & Angelology.

Los Angeles

New York

Kerri Webb, the former Senior Writer for Ever Increasing Faith Magazine, has been a member of Crenshaw Christian Center for almost 30 years. A graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, she is currently the media spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, and is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and the National Association of Black Journalists.

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

5

feature article

Passing the Baton: THE CONSECRATION AND INSTALLATION OF

Pastor Frederick K. Price, Jr. SOME PEOPLE CELEBRATE THEIR BIRTHDAY WITH CAKE, ICE CREAM, MAYBE SOME BALLOONS, FLOWERS AND OF COURSE, GIFTS. SOME LIKE TO RING IN THEIR BIRTHDAYS WITH A FESTIVE PARTY, WHILE OTHERS PREFER TO SPEND IT IN QUIET REFLECTION. SOME PEOPLE SEE THEIR BIRTHDAY AS A TIME TO TAKE PERSONAL INVENTORY OF THEIR LIVES.

6

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

Apostle Frederick K. Price and his wife Dr. Betty pray for Pastor Fred and new first lady Angel.

However, one particular person celebrated his 30th birthday unlike anyone else— he took leadership of a 25,000-member megachurch!

Apostle Price during the ceremony.

By Kerri Webb

O

n Sunday, March 15, 2009, approximately 6,000 people attended the installation and consecration ceremony of Pastor Frederick K. Price, Jr. as he became the head of Crenshaw Christian Center as its presiding Pastor. On his son’s 30th birthday, Dr. Frederick K.C. Price officially handed the torch to Frederick Kenneth Price, and stepped down as acting Pastor of CCC.

The transition, which was years in the making, certainly made history for the members, staff and First Family of CCC, but it is also perhaps the first time a father handed over the operation and leadership of a predominantly Black “megachurch” to his son. The 2-hour ceremony began with the CCC Sanctuary Voices’ moving rendering of “Order My Steps” as a formal processional of CCC’s pastoral staff, dressed in the clergy white collar and black suits, marched in and took their places. It was a stunning visual representation of the depth and solidarity of CCC’s church Elders, Ministers and Deacons. As the choir reached the crescendo of the song, everyone rose as Pastor Price, Jr. proceeded down the aisle; bringing the Faithdome alive with thunderous applause. Certainly not one who enjoys being at the center of attention, Pastor Price, Jr. modestly acknowledged the well-wishes of his flock as he passed by hundreds of parishioners who waved, cheered, took photos, and blew kisses at their new leader. Similar to the way a bride walks down to the wedding aisle to meet with her groom as

brilliant red tunic, similar to those worn by the Pope or a Catholic Cardinal, made his way down the aisle as the crowd erupted in cheers and applause that reverberated throughout the entire sanctuary, nearly drowning out the choir. With a 7-ft. shepherd’s staff in hand, Apostle Price beamed as he took his place at the platform, between CCC Senior Pastor Craig Hays, and Bishop Jackson. The three men stand behind a long table draped with beautifully brilliant white cloth and facing a strong, poised, and composed Pastor Price.

they partake in a life-changing covenant, Pastor Frederick Price, Jr. also walked down the aisle towards his destiny as the future of CCC. Once at the platform, in the center of the sanctuary, Pastor Price, Jr. took his place. Blinking back tears, he lifted his hands giving praise to God and politely acknowledged the cheers of the crowd. With the choir still singing, next in the processional was the Episcopal Cross bearer (similar to a wedding’s ring bearer). Cloaked in a white gown, Pastor Price, Jr.’s nephew Tyler Buchanan carried a solid brass cross down the aisle and placed it on the platform for display. Following the cross bearer in the processional was the Chaplain to the Apostle, Bishop Wiley Jackson, founder of Gospel Tabernacle Churches of Atlanta and Stone Mountain in Georgia. Bishop Jackson is best known to CCC members as a prominent member of the Fellowship of Inner-City Word of Faith Ministries (FICWFM), and was also welcomed with applause and cheers as he made his way down to the platform. And then came the moment of truth. Apostle Dr. Frederick K.C. Price, clad in a

As the choir finished their song, the crowd applauds and cheers for approximately 1 full minute before taking their seats and prepare for the responsive reading, led by Dr. La Verne Tolbert, of CCC’s church Elders. The parishioners followed and participated in the reading that was found in an 18-page color commemorative program distributed at the beginning of the service. “The time has come and is now that we, who worship the Lord God, should do so in Spirit and in Truth,” began Dr. Tolbert. “It is God who has made us and not we, ourselves. We are the sheep of God’s pasture. God has called us out of darkness into God’s Glorious Light.” After the responsive reading Minister Gail Riley gave the invocation. “Today is a day of transition; a day of new beginnings. It’s a day where the baton will be passed from one anointing to another,” prayed Minister Riley. “We also celebrate his birthday, his birth from his mother’s womb and his entrance into destiny. For he was born for such a day as this.” After the invocation, Dr. Delores Jones read from Numbers 27:12-23; Jeremiah 3:15, referencing the call to ministry leadership and service of the church. Minister Alice Gier read 1Timothy 4:12-16, encouraging Pastor Price, Jr. to not allow his youth to be an obstacle that impedes him from doing what EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

7

feature article

Pastor Creflo and Taffi Dollar.

the Lord has called him to do.

so remarkable was its “I’m so glad that Ceremony formalities. After the special Holding in their hands blue remarks and a palpable musical hymnals, the CCC Sanctuary I lived to see this rendition of “More Than Voices led the congregation in a day when we Wonderful” by CCC’s own Hymn of Praise, “All Hail the Gertrude Badley, the consecraPower of Jesus Name.” would install the tion process began with “The “This is a day we’ve been when Pastor Hays formally new Pastor of Call” looking forward to for a long, and publicly presented Pastor long time,” said Pastor Hays. Price, Jr. to Apostle Price to be Crenshaw “I’m so glad that I lived to see considered for the office of Head this day when we would install Christian Center.” Pastor of CCC. the new Pastor of Crenshaw Christian Center.”

One of Pastor Price Jr.’s professors, Pastor Larry Matteson of Cottonwood Christian School of Ministry, publicly congratulated him and gave some words of advice. Kenneth Copeland provided a video message congratulating Pastor Price, Jr. on this special day. “This was no surprise that you would one day be installed as pastor,” Brother Copeland said, “and that you would come to that place where your dad with a smile on his face could hand the baton off to you and the congregation would know that the church is not only in good hands but will continue to grow for another generation. Gloria and I and our family and all of our ministry family…we join our faith to his…we stand side by side with him in the Name of the Lord Jesus to get this work done to preach the Word…” A moving video message of support was also presented by Oral Roberts, Sr. “Freddie is anointed of God. I know that because I’ve placed my hands on him and I felt the anointing of the Holy Spirit flood through me into him,” Brother Roberts said. “I know in my heart that he’s going to be a good Pastor under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I’m so happy to be a part of this.” Perhaps what made the Installation

8

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

“Apostle and Council of Pastors, by the will of God and in His presence, we present this candidate to you and the church for public consecration to the sacred office of Pastor to the Church Universal and the world,” presented Pastor Hays.

— Pastor L. Craig Hays

As the Founder of CCC, Apostle Price received Pastor Hays’ presentation of Pastor Fred Price, Jr. to be installed as the Pastor of CCC. “Will you be loyal to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ, as this Church has received them,” Apostle Price asked Pastor Price, Jr. “And will you, in accordance with the canons of this church, obey your Apostle and all others who may have authority over you and your work?” Pastor Price, Jr. boldly responded, “I am willing and ready do so and I solemnly declare that I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God and to contain all things necessary to salvation; and I do solemnly engage to conform to the doctrine, discipline and worship of the church.” After “The Call” to the service of Pastor of CCC was completed, Apostle Price performed the “Rite of Installation,” officially naming Frederick K. Price, Jr. the Pastor of CCC. The rite is a thorough declaration and promise to commit to and execute of the

duties of the head of the local church. The congregation formally accepted the new pastor and also declared their support and prayers him and his wife. At the end of the rite, Apostle Price handed over his job to his son. “The office of Pastor of Crenshaw Christian Center is now committed to you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” Apostle Price decreed. “The God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in you that which is pleasing in His sigh, through Jesus Christ; to whom be the glory forever and ever.” Apostle Price and his wife Betty, laid hands on Pastor Price, Jr. and his wife, Angel as they knelt before them for prayer. When they arose, they became the new Pastor and First Lady of Crenshaw Christian Center. “Thank you Crenshaw Christian Center for receiving my baby,” Dr. Betty addressed the church. “I know that he’s going to be a blessing to this ministry…I know that in my heart.” The grand finale of the service was featured guest speaker Pastor Creflo Dollar, Founder of World Changers Ministries International. It was during a sermon that Creflo Dollar ministered in the FaithDome 13 years ago, when Pastor Price, Jr. received the call into ministry on his life. The rest was history. “Apostle Frederick K.C. Price, thank you sir, for all of the years of serving and ministering the work and loving the people,” Brother Dollar said. “Pastor Fred K. Price, Jr., you are absolutely anointed for this task. And I pray that I can be a blessing to you.”

—EIF

Even with the historic Installation ceremony just mere days away, it was an ordinary business day at Crenshaw Christian Center’s corporate offices in Los Angeles. Despite the fact that an extraordinary event was being meticulously prepared, rehearsed and finalized in the FaithDome, Apostle Dr. Frederick K.C. Price and his wife, Dr. Betty Price, were in their offices busily keeping a tight schedule of appointments, returning phone calls and tending to a myriad of ministry affairs. Just yards away in his own office, Pastor Fred Price, Jr. was occupied with his own ever-growing list of church duties, projects and assignments. Just by walking down the hall of executive offices, no one would have ever expected that a huge changing of the guard was in process. And that’s exactly the way it was intended to be.

I did memorials with them, attended weddings that they [officiated], phone counseling—everything. Every duty, everything that [the pastoral staff] did, Pastor Hays wanted me to see how it was run. It was hands-on training for several years.” So as the rest of the world watches the epic changing of the guard between father and son— perhaps the first of its kind in the history of the Black “megachurch”—it continues to be business as usual in the church office. “I’m ready. I’ve been ready because I have been prepared and trained in every detail for the past six years,” Pastor Price, Jr. expresses with the intensity of a boxer ready to get into the ring. “I was probably ready some time ago, but it was just a matter of time of when.” According to Apostle Price, the Installation and Consecration ceremony itself is a formal demonstration of the transition of responsibilities

Celebrating While Fulfilling Obligations Everyone knows by now what happened in the FaithDome that glorious Sunday morning on March 15, 2009 when Pastor Fred Price, Jr. took over the reigns of Crenshaw Christian Center. The pageantry of the installation ceremony was a sight to behold as Pastor Price, Jr. official became the Pastor of CCC. However what was even more remarkable about this transition is the fact that while some exciting changes are on the horizon, very little of what makes CCC the successful global ministry that it has become will actually change. “I almost wish I had never used the word retire,” chuckles Apostle Frederick K.C. Price about his new role at CCC. “When someone hears the word ‘retire’ they think about going fishing or sitting in a rocking chair. Not me. I’m still going to be here doing what I’ve been doing, but now, I don’t have to be concerned with overseeing the day-to-day administrative activities of the church. I still plan on teaching at least one or two Sundays a month. Betty and I will still have our regular Tuesday night Bible Study classes. The only times we won’t be here to teach is when we’re out of town.” For Dr. Betty Price, the transition was an easy one to make and is excited about what the future has in store for she and her husband. “We’re excited that we have someone like our son to step in to take the job and carry it on,” she says with pride in her eyes. “Now we’ll be able to work on other projects such as seminars and speaking engagements. There’s always work to do and we really enjoy our work, so it’s not going to be too much of a change for us.” Preparing the church for a new pastor is no small feat. The new pastor must understand all aspects of the church and comprehend the roles of the pastoral staff. Under the specialized training and mentorship of CCC’s Senior Pastor, L. Craig Hays, Fred, Jr. had been groomed for this ultimate assignment as CCC Pastor since 2001. “I sat with every pastor on staff to see what they did and what they specialized in,” recalls Pastor Price Jr. “I went on hospital and home visitations,

from one figure head to another, “It’s a lot of pomp and circumstance and for our ministry; it’s historic. I would liken it to the inauguration of the President,” Apostle Price explains. “The old president goes out, the new president comes in and we have an official ceremony inaugurating the new president. That would be the comparable event [with the installation and consecration ceremony]. It’s an official, public declaration of the transfer and installation of Freddie as the new pastor.” Excitement had been brewing about this inevitable changeover every since Pastor Price, Jr. taught his first live sermon in June 2002. From that point on the world watched as the future of CCC began to evolve right in front of everyone’s eyes. “We picked Father’s Day 2002, as the initial step as far as being in front of the [congregation] and ministering the Word,” reflects Pastor Price, Jr. “So once that started, I knew that it was just a matter of repetition for me to get comfortable ministering and get comfortable with the congregation.” Over the course of six years, Pastor Price, Jr. continued to win the hearts and support of not only the parishioners of CCC, but also the viewers of Ever-Increasing Faith television and Internet broadcasts. It soon became apparent to the church executive staff that he was ready to go to the next level. “For my father, there was a level of comfort [about the transition] that he needed to have,” explains Pastor Price. “So when he reached that comfort level, he said he that we were ready to go.” With that approval from Apostle Price, it was on—with some conditions, of course. “I told him that you will never learn how truly know how to drive a car until you take it out on the streets,” Apostle Price explains. “So now I have to let you take this thing and go with it. However, the only thing that I ask is that any ideas, dreams or visions for the ministry that you believe you’ve received from God, before you implement them,

please run them by me because it might be something that I tried 20 years ago and went through finding out that it’s not going to work, so why waste time. Just run them by me; I’m not going to run you, but I may I might be able to give you some advice because I’ve been here a little bit longer than you have. And I might be able to point some things out to you that you might not have thought about.” Armed with his father’s blessing and support, the transition process was almost complete. All that was needed was a date and time. “It was a magnanimous thought, when it was first brought to me,” remembers Pastor Price. “I’m talking, October 2008, which feels like yesterday, I was sitting down with my sister, Angie, and she’s saying that it’s going to happen by the first of the year, you know, ASAP.” Once it was discovered that Fred Price, Jr.’s 30th birthday would fall on a Sunday, it was determined that date would be the best time for the celebration. “It’s an exciting thing to know that I can relinquish the title of pastor to my son, but I’ll always be the Pastor,” Apostle Price reiterates. “Just like the President is always the President. All [former] Presidents are referred to as Mr. President even after they are out of office. So I’ll still be Pastor, but [Fred, Jr.] will be acting Pastor.” Just because Apostle Price isn’t the acting Pastor of CCC, don’t think that he’ll just be resting on his laurels. It is still business as usual, but now, Apostle Price will be able to branch out into other projects that he previously didn’t have time to do, such as participating in speaking engagements and host ministerial seminars and workshops. “It’s exciting because it portends me being able to do some other things that I was limited in doing while I was the pastor. I get invitations to speak at churches all the time, but I wouldn’t go because I just felt an obligation that I needed to be here,” explains Apostle Price. “I’m very judicious about fulfilling my obligations and I felt that as the Pastor I should be here. Now, I have more latitude to do more Sunday speaking engagements and I can consider visiting other churches as a guest speaker during their Sunday services. According to Dr. Betty, this new freedom benefits FaithPartners and EIF viewers and readers who live outside of California as now she and the Apostle will be able to travel to various churches around the country. “We have viewers who write in and say that they’ve wanted to meet him for years,” says Dr. Betty. “So that’s the kinds of stuff that he’ll be able to do now. So it will be even better for EIF viewers.” For Pastor Fred Price, Jr., and the ministry at CCC, the future is truly bright. With the support of the congregation as well as his family, CCC’s newest Pastor and First Lady Angel Price, are well on their way to doing big things within the Body of Christ. “This ministry will continue to be the pillar that it is in the community of faith. Nothing will be watered down. I’m going to be shooting for us to be bolder and more powerful; if it’s even possible to be more courageous than my father, then that’s what I’m going to be shooting for.”—EIF

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

9

10

(800) 927-3436

www.faithdome.org

(800) 927-3436

www.faithdome.org

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

up close

Angel Price:

A Look At the First Lady

“I know I can’t please

everybody, but I just want to please God.”

A

By Antracia Moorings

s Pastor Fred Price, Jr. stepped up to take the role as head of Crenshaw Christian Center, his wife Angel Price realized that she too was being thrust into the spotlight as first lady of the church. It was, she admits, a bit daunting to take in the news at first. “I was really shocked,” she says when her husband came home to tell her he was going to be named pastor of the mega-church his father Apostle Frederick K.C. Price founded. “I didn’t think it was going to happen this fast. I thought this was going to happen when we were in our 40s. Then I would be over some of my shyness with speaking in front of the congregation. “The first thing I had to do was calm down and not be overwhelmed,” she recalls. “Until it was official, I just had to act like it wasn’t happening, just to keep myself calm. I was just having regular days like I’d never heard anything. I just kept playing it cool.” Yet once all the news became official and the day of the installation service came, Angel says surprisingly she wasn’t nervous. Instead, she felt like she was in the middle of God’s will for her life. “I had perfect peace,” she says. “No butterflies in the stomach. No lumps in the throat. I was like okay this is that peace that surpasses all understanding because I was not nervous. I was really excited. I thought I would be shaking in my boots. I feel like I can do everything now because that was huge to overcome and not be tripping.” Now that she has a few months of being first lady under her belt, Angel admits that living in the spotlight does have its challenges. Chief among them is having people always have an opinion about what she’s doing and expecting her to fit into a certain role. But she’s already learned the secret to combat that. “I pray a lot,” she says. “I’m always asking the Holy Spirit to help me. Certain parts can be overwhelming because I’m in the public eye so much. I’m not used to having so many people watch me. I’m just taking it one day at a time so that I don’t get overwhelmed and that I’m not scared. My focus now is on being Freddie’s wife and little Freddie’s mom.” That’s not to say that in the future she won’t take a bigger role in the ministry. She says she’d rather move out when God calls her to move out, instead of moving out on other’s people’s expectations. Right now she says she has a heart for young mothers who may not have any one to reach out to. One thing is for sure, she has a great example in her mother-in-law and former first lady Dr. Betty R. Price who she says told her that there is no need for her to rush out and try to fill her shoes. That’s a sentiment that her husband of seven years totally agrees with. She says he told her she doesn’t have to do anything in ministry if God has not called her to it or if she’s not 100% comfortable with it. “I admire everything she does because I think she’s kinda perfect,” says Angel smiling. “You know how people say, “what would Jesus do?” I sometimes say, “what would Dr. Betty do?” I want to have her train of thought because I want my first response to be the right one. I’ve also learned to take that same attitude with marriage. You want to be the best at everything you do. You want to support your husband who has so much on his plate. In everything, the home, the kids, how you look. And that represents your husband, it represents Christ. At the same time, I’m representing their family and my family. I want to make sure that I can be the type of first lady that she’s been. My thought is if it’s not broken don’t fix. We just changed faces. I’d rather just follow and continue on with what she’s done. There might be new things that come up. But I’m not rushing anything. I don’t feel like anything needs to be changed because what she’s laid out is already great. I know I can’t please everybody, but I just want to please God.”—EIF

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

11

from the headlines

Drew Dimmel:

The Voice of

Ever Increasing Faith Ministries By Antracia Moorings

F

or 13 years, D r e w Dimmel was the unmistakable voice of the Ever Increasing Faith Ministries television broadcast. Listeners grew used to hearing him open the show saying, “Welcome to Ever Increasing Faith with pastor and teacher Dr. Frederick K.C. Price.” Earlier this year, Dimmel decided to hang up the mic—a hard decision for the 61-year-old father and husband who made a career of doing voice-over work for 30 years. It was a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease in 2001 that led to the decision. “I’ve done pretty well,” says Dimmel of living with the disease. “I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of what was my voice. I can still talk like that when I need to. The problem is I can’t do it consistently.” Though his retirement decision was a hard one to make, Dimmel says he looks back over his career and marvels at how it all came about. Dimmel started early as the leader of a local rock band in Kansas City, Missouri called the “Classmen.” It was one of the most popular bands in the 60’s in Kansas City and stayed together for 18 years. The band’s biggest hit was the graduation song “Graduation Goodbye” that was released in 1969. Drew played piano, bass, trombone and sang with the group…and was generally considered the director in charge of the band’s musical arrangements and production. A 1966 graduate of Van Horn High School, he went on to earn his music degree from the UMKC Conservatory of Music. He met his future wife, Jane, in 1973 (they recently celebrated their 35th anniversary and have two grown sons.) He credits Paul Welsh, former partner with the ad agency NKH&W(elsh) with suggesting he do voice work. “He said ‘you’ve got a good voice, have you ever thought about announcing?’ I’d thought about it from time to time. He told me that the Ad Awards were being changed to the Omni Awards and they were going to pre-tape all the announcements. He said, “Why don’t you do it for us.” I got them done and he said, “I bet you’ll get some jobs from this.” And he was right, I got three calls.” The last call Dimmel received was from ABC Television. And the

12

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

next day he was the announcer for the number one station in the city. “As things went on, I realized I didn’t know anything abut the business,” explains Dimmel. “So I started sending my tapes to radio stations and talent agents. I was still doing on jingling too and a gentleman from Oral Roberts Ministry Jeff Pittman heard my work, he came up to hear my music. He was doing a show and wanted me to do the music for it. We met for lunch and he asked me what else I did. At that moment, a commercial I did came on. I pointed up and tried to look nonchalant and said, “yeah, that’s me.” He said, “you’re everywhere.” They had an announcer who lived in LA who didn’t want to travel so he said he’d fly me in to Tulsa once or twice a week.” Known as a nationally recognized “voice artist” in television, radio and commercials. Dimmel has done work for more than 40 radio and television stations and for dozens of Christian broadcast ministries, including Dr. Billy Graham. Dimmel admits that, over the years, he’s met his share of wonderful people. But he counts Apostle Price and Ever Increasing Faith Ministries as one of the highlights of his career. “One day in 1997 or 1998, I just happened to be in California speaking in Anaheim. Since I was in the area I decided to come to Crenshaw Christian Center for a church service.” “It started out in the parking lot,” says Dimmel of his warm welcome. “Handshakes and smiles everywhere. I was already feeling pretty blessed by the time I walked in the front door. I was escorted in by Angela Evans and they put me on the front row where the family sits. It was a blessing from the start to the finish. Angela got a note and then she said, “my dad wants you to say something.” So I was thinking what am I going to say? Meanwhile the mic is coming my way and I thought I’ll just say what everyone hears on the opening of the show. So he introduced me, I stood up and said, “Welcome to Ever Increasing Faith with pastor and teacher Dr. Frederick K.C. Price.” You would have thought I’d spiked a touchdown at the Rose Bowl. Everybody screamed. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around and it was Ed McMahon and he said, “you have a remarkable voice young man.” I’ll never forget that day, it was quite an experience.”—EIF

(800) 927-3436

www.faithdome.org

(800) 927-3436

www.faithdome.org EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

13

Dear Apostle Price, I stumbled across your service one Sunday in 2004 as I lay bedridden for seven months with what my doctor called “the worst pregnancy ever.” As I listened I had vague flashbacks of seeing you on TV 23 years prior when I was about 6 years old and my parents would watch you from time to time on Sundays. I was raised by two unmarried parents who were 20 and 21 when I came into this

world. Because they were forced to go to church by their parents who didn’t practice what they preached, they viewed church as punishment and never made me go. So I received no guidance on how to live as a Christian, who Jesus was or anything. Needless to say, when the tests of life came, I was completely ignorant and unprepared for anything. I got pregnant for the first time at age 14. My mother, who was heartbroken, took me to the clinic to have an abortion.

A few year later, I “fell in love” with an unsaved man and we decided to shack up for five years. I lived in what I thought was a monogamous relationship and got pregnant three times more—each time being told it wasn’t the right time and ending the pregnancy in abortion. I had two miscarriages after that. Our relationship was a complete mess. Finally, when I thought I had the courage and strength to leave, I found out I was preg-

POWEROF FAITH my life. I started reading the King James Version of the Bible because I’d already read everything else in the house and still had 6 more months to kill. Because of the language, I didn’t understand half of what I read so many times I just put it down. Then one Sunday, I was channel surfing and heard the intro music to your broadcast which reminded me of when I was little. I stopped to watch for a few minutes. You were speaking about “How Faith Works.” I listened for 10 minutes and was totally captivated. As I listened to you, I felt a pull to get my Bible and follow along. I was amazed. I’d never heard anyone teach like you. You were very easy to understand, always had scripture to back up what you said and the repetition is exactly what us hard-headed folks need. I was hooked. I could hard wait for each Sunday to come so I could watch you and learn more. I spend days struggling through the King James Version of the Bible so I could review review all week long what you had taught. I had someone bring me a computer so I could watch you online for Bible study and the Sunday services. I bought the New King James Version of the Bible and started studying daily. But the most important thing was I did as you said and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior and obtained salvation. Is started praying daily. I asked God to let my baby be born healthy, I asked Him for a normal, fullterm delivery and I asked Him for a baby girl. On March 3, 2005, despite all the negative reports I got from doctors, that is exactly what I received. Mia Jasmine was born healthy, full-term and happy! During this same time, I promised God that when I got out of that bed with my healthy baby, I would get out of shacking, fornication and every immoral act that I’d

14

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

done. And that is exactly what I did. I’ve been learning and following the Word for four years now—all thanks to you. I study the Word daily and as I’ve heard Pastor Fred, Jr. say, I made sure that the last thing my daughter hears before she closes her eyes at night is the Word. I’ve returned my low-self esteem to its rightful owner—the devil—as a Christian, it has no place in me.

We Want To

Hear From You!

These past four years have felt more like 20 simply because I have come so far. I just had to let you know how much you’ve influenced me and say thank you!

Write to us at:

—Michelle Simon and Mia

Ever Increasing Faith

(The ministry flew Michelle and her daughter out for the installation of service of Pastor Fred Price, Jr. in March)

Magazine, P.O. Box 44185, Los Angeles, CA 9000 9-4871 or e-mail your letters, feedback or testimonies to [email protected]

Thank You

I want to sincerely thank you once again for blessing me with your teachings on faith. My life has changed so much for the better. That is why I wanted to become a Faith Partner. I want to be a blessing to the ministry. I am believing God for more so I can give more. Thanks again. I walk by faith and not by sight. —Ronald Gray (Newark, New Jersey)

Include your name, address and phone number. Letters chosen for publication may be edited for length and clarity. All submissions become the property of Ever Increasing Faith Magazine.

nant again. Being determined not to hop up on some table for another abortion, I went to the OB/GYN. She explained to me that because I had so many abortions, followed by miscarriages, my cervix was basically non-existent and it would be almost impossible for me to deliver a health baby full term. I was crushed. It was like all the years of pain, sorrow and stupid choices finally caught up with me. I broke down crying, scared that the one thing I wanted—a baby girl—I would never have. She promised to help me but only if I changed a lot

of things. She put me on complete, strict bed rest. I had to go on disability and completely stop working. I had to give myself needles full of medicine twice a day to prevent clotting. I had to have stitches to keep the baby in, take sponge baths, use bed pans and most importantly, not stress the baby. I also spent two months of this time in a hospital on a bed that rotated me upside down to keep the baby from falling out. I barely ate, never slept and was probably, slowly but surely, becoming depressed. I’d never felt so stupid and alone in

TESTIM ONIES what people had done to me. I did not realize I was destroying myself.

Sowing in Good Ground

Dear Pastor Price, I watch you all the time on TBN and Daystar. I love watching you and your wife and son. I have learned a lot from you all. I know that I am sowing in good ground. Every since I have been sowing, I have been receiving. I know I am doing the right thing. —Carrie Mae Hillard (Parkdale, Arkansas)

One day lying in bed I came across your program. It seems as though you were talking directly to me about how death and life are in the power of the tongue. My finances were a mess, but I became a FaithPartner and I started with $20 a month, then $40, and then $100. My debt was greater than my paycheck. After a while, I didn’t pay attention to it. Things started looking up. I even visited your church here in New York. Then I had a setback. At first I was in control then I got sick again. I fell behind but I pledged to continue to be a FaithPartner. If more ministers really want to bring the lost closer to God, they need to follow in your footsteps. For you definitely deserve to be the Apostle of Faith. I never took interest in the Word until I started following your teachings.

ment in support of an agreement with your affirmation to the ministry gift of apostle. I just want to say from the bottom of my heart THANK YOU, GOD BLESS YOU, and YOU HAVE MY GRATTITUDE!!! Words cannot explain what you mean to me. I follow you as you follow Christ. If it weren’t for you allowing God Almighty to use you to teach the Word as you do, I would have been dead a long time ago (and I am only 41 years young). I am a single parent (father) of a 13-year-old son whom I have raised since he was 7 months old. Keep up the good work in Christ Jesus and you have my prayers daily in the Spirit. Sincerely Yours, —Brother James L. Daniel (Carson, California)

God Bless you and your family. —Eileen Boykin (New York City, New York)

A Faithful Viewer

Changing My Life by Following The Word

Since I started watching Ever Increasing Faith on TV, my life has changed for the better. My faith is stronger than ever. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001. Before then, my faith was weak. I was an angry, bitter person with the world about

Grattitude and Blessings!

This is just a short note of encourage-

I receive such great and wonderful teaching from Apostle Price and the whole ministry. I am a faithful viewer for a long period now. God speed! Love Yall! — Minnie L. Thomas

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

15

health & healing

All About

“Asthma” A

By Robert Bolden

sthma is a chronic (long-term) lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways. Asthma causes recurring periods of wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. The coughing often occurs at night or early in the morning. The airways are tubes that carry air into and out of your lungs. People who have asthma have inflamed airways. This makes the airways swollen and very sensitive. They tend to react strongly to certain substances that are breathed in. When the airways react, the muscles around them tighten. This causes the airways to narrow, and less air flows to your lungs. The swelling also can worsen, making the airways even narrower. Cells in the airways may make more mucus than normal. Mucus is a sticky, thick liquid that can further narrow your airways. This chain reaction can result in asthma symptoms. Symptoms can happen each time the airways are irritated. Many times symptoms are mild and go away on their own or after minimal treatment with an asthma medicine. At other times, symptoms continue to get worse. When symptoms get more intense and/or additional symptoms appear, this is an asthma attack. Asthma attacks also are called flare-ups or exacerbations. Asthma affects people of all ages, but it most often starts in childhood. In the U.S., more than 22 million people are known to have asthma. Nearly 6 million of these people are children. And every day, about 60,000 of them miss school or work. In fact nearly 200,000 hospitalizations and 750,000 emergency room visits for children due to asthma in 2006.

In the U.S., more than

22 million people are known to

have asthma.

Unfortunately, asthma can act up whether you’re at home, or at play. And each person may have different reactions. It is import to treat symptoms when you first notice them. This will help prevent the symptoms from worsening and causing a severe asthma attack. Severe asthma attacks may require emergency care, and they can cause death.

16

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

Many parents wonder if their child will “outgrow” their asthma over time. Children do experience complete remission more frequently than adults; 30 to 70% of children with asthma are markedly improved or have no signs of asthma as adults. In children with seasonal allergies, asthma symptoms may worsen during pollen season; trees pollinate in early spring, grasses in the late spring and summer, and weeds in the summer and fall. Symptoms can also flare as a result of mold growth during rainy seasons or in damp areas). Asthma symptoms often develop in children before five years age, although it is sometimes difficult to diagnose asthma in infants and toddlers.

TREATMENT Treatment for asthma generally involves avoiding the things that trigger your asthma attacks and taking one or more asthma medications. Treatment varies from person to person. Most people with persistent asthma use a combination of long-term control medication and quick- relief medication, taken with a hand-held inhaler. Because asthma changes over time, you will need to work with your doctor to monitor your symptoms and learn how to make needed adjustments. The right medication for you depends on your age and symptoms and what seem to work best to keep your asthma under control. In most cases, these medications need to be taken every day. On December 11, 2008, the joint Advisory Committees of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – including the Drug Safety & Risk Management Advisory committee, the Pediatric Advisory Committee, and the Pulmonary-Allergy Drugs Advisory Committee – completed a review of the benefits risks of asthma medication. The FDA frequently convenes advisory committee meetings to obtain independent expert guidance and recommendation on clinical matters. The committees concluded that the benefits of the FDA approved asthma medication outweigh the risk in adult and adolescent asthma patients.

health & healing

NATURAL AND HERBAL From the natural standpoint the possible indications of asthma are, chest congestion, cough and cold asthmatic attacks, excessive nasal discharge, irregular breath, dry cough, bronchitis, pleurisy, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, Chronic cough. There are certain herbal products that help in reducing the inflammation of the bronchioles. Useful in chronic coughs and have anti tubercular properties. Herbalist and those in the natural field of health care agree that mucus is one of the major causes of asthma- the Greek word for Mucus is Catarrh which means to flow down, there are several herbal products available to help remove mucus from the lungs; Mullein, ALJ, Fenugreea, & Marshmallow.

ALLERGENS

Indoor and outdoor allergens are an important trigger of childhood asthma, particularly for children older than three years of age. These include: • House dust (i.e., dust mites, cockroaches, mice dropping), particularly during vacuuming

As a believer we understand that healing belong to us as a covenant right. We also must excise our rights by using God’s Word concerning healing. Isaiah 53:4-5, Matthew 8:17, 1st Peter 2:24, clearly these scriptures tell us that healing belong to us. We see also in Philippians 2:9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him (JESUS) and given Him (JESUS) the name which is above every name. So, we have the right and privilege to use that name against asthma and everything that is associated with it. In Mark 11:23 the Word says that whosoever says to this mountain, Be removed and be cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believe that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. In this case the mountain is asthma, and we say to asthma be removed and be cast into the sea, and not doubt!—EIF

• Animal exposure; cats and dogs are especially provocative but other furry animals (gerbils, rabbits, hamsters, etc. • Pollens • Molds • Indoor pollutants, paint, perfume, space heaters, gas stoves, room deodorizers).

National Heart Lung Blood Institute, National Lung Health Education Program, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immun, Herbalist Horace Evans, Body Knowledge

(800) 927-3436

www.faithdome.org EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

17

parenting matters

This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:27 NASB)

Visiting the Orphan: Where is the Black Church? By La Verne Tolbert, Ph.D.

U

pon learning that he was to be emancipated from foster care, an 18 year-old boy attempted suicide by standing in the middle of the railroad tracks…

I’ve just returned from the triennial Society for Children’s Spirituality: Christian Perspectives Conference held at Concordia University June 14-17th. At this gathering, scholars and practitioners share research and best practices regarding the spiritual life and nurture of children. Our goal is to examine faith formation—the process of becoming a Christian, a disciple—in the light of God’s redeeming work through Jesus Christ.

Why? Children are often neglected in the church at large. Usually, the focus is adult ministry since these are the ones who tithe. But a church without children is a dying church! Since parents will decide to leave a church they absolutely love to join one that effectively ministers to their children, churches with dwindling numbers are reevaluating their priorities. The same is true with research in the area of Christian education and spiritual formation. To make certain that children remain at the top of everyone’s radar, this conference seeks to renew the vision of students, professors, parents, and volunteers. This year, I was one of six plenary speakers. Because of the growing number of children in our churches who are in foster care and in need of adoption, I conducted research to examine the extent of the problem. I was both encouraged by and appalled with the information I discovered. Nationwide, there are 500,000 children in foster care. African-American children are 40% to 50% of all children needing foster care/adoption. (Blacks are only 12% to 13% of the total US population.) Black children remain in the system for approximately 10 years, which means that too many of our children are institutionalized. In Los Angeles, there are 105,000 children in the foster care and every day, 3,000 children are in need of an adoptive family. When these children reach age 18, they are “emancipated”.

18

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

Fifty percent (50%) become homeless within 18 months of emancipation. Only 3% earn college degrees. In California, 70% of the prison population has been in foster care. There’s little here that’s encouraging. Surprisingly, the research I uncovered pointed to a long history of faith-based involvement in ministering to the needs of the orphan—children who have been abandoned by a parent or primary caregiver, or who have been physically, sexually, or emotionally abused or neglected.

History

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, there were segregated orphanages that were started by Protestant activists. Following the Civil War, these institutions—black and white alike—were considered failures because of the emphasis on discipline and regimentation. Children were housed in overcrowded facilities and suffered poor nutrition. By the late 19th Century, Settlement Houses spread from London to the United States. These facilities housed families and sported pools, gymnasiums, libraries, medical facilities and soup kitchens. By the 20th Century, orphanages began to disappear altogether. Following the Great Depression, public agencies assumed responsibility for delivering child welfare services and churches focused instead on residential treatment centers (drug/alcohol abuse, etc.). This is good news! The Church has been involved. But where is the Black church today? Researchers estimate that there may be as many as 8.7 million adults attending predominantly black churches. How well are we ministering to the children in foster care—children who come from our own communities? Can you imagine what our nation would be if these orphans were raised in Christian homes and became pastors instead of prisoners? Something is wrong with the black family, and something is wrong with the church’s response to these crumbling households. Why should we care?

Pure Faith

James, the brother of Jesus, tells us why. Penned in AD 46, his was one of the first letters written to the church at Jerusalem. Here were Jewish believers who, once converted, were cut off from all

financial support by their families. James writes to educate this new body of believers of their responsibility to care for one another, especially the widows and orphans. Faith, according to James, is both orthodox belief (inner transformation) and orthodox life (outer demonstration). In other words, if a person is truly saved, there ought to be some evidence in the way he or she lives.

You have faith, and I have works; Show me your faith without the works, And I will show you my faith by my works.

(James 2:18) Faith, James concluded, without works or corresponding evidence, is dead…nonexistent. Earlier in this letter, James clarifies what pure or true religion looks like. This kind of religion or faith “visits” orphans in their distress. The word “visit” sounds as if it’s a cursory term, something one does in passing. But this is not the case. The literal translation means “to help”. Pure or true religion helps the orphan because this child is distressed—suffering severe pressure of pain or sorrow and anguished with severe bodily or mental pain.

Where is the Black Church?

Happily, there are some proactive efforts to address the needs of these children which may spark ideas for interested churches and individuals. Outstanding among these is “One Church One Child” which began in Chicago in 1979 by Father George Clements, a black Catholic priest. Thousands of children have been adopted through this partnership with the Department of Children’s and Family Services (DCFS). Crenshaw Christian Center (CCC), where Pastor Frederick Price, Jr. is pastor, is actively involved in meeting the needs of children in foster care. In a collaborative effort with DCFS’ Edwina Lewis, Ph.D., Supervising Children’s Social Worker and Jeanette Hawes, Executive Director, Jahi A.N.T. Homes, Inc., a creative theatrical team, CCC provides mentors and free facilities. Church members were recruited to serve as mentors and have received DCFS clearance and specialized training. On Saturday mornings, they drive children to and from CCC for rehearsals for an upcoming “Let Me Tell You” theatrical production where children will tell their stories through drama, dance, and music. Crenshaw also sponsors Adoption Sundays to encourage members to become adoptive parents.

Ministries and Organizations Helping Orphans The following is an additional sampling of ministries and organizations in Los Angeles that proactively help the orphan: 1. Child S.H.A.R.E. challenges and equips congregations to provide foster and adoptive families for children

2. Kelly Parker, President/CEO, House of Mercy Ministries, is a knowledgeable, resourceful Community Partner who advocates for mom and dad in social service Team Decision Making Meetings;

3. Project Accountability, Ron Cole, Executive Director, Los Angeles, is not a foster program per se, but by providing educational resources such as parenting programs and by assisting increasing communication between parent and child, more families remain intact.

5. The South County Faith-Based Council evaluates needs, identify resources, provides family education, holds forums, and serves as a resource for foster parents 6. KidTrek, Joseph Parker, President and CEO trains Associate Ministers who serve as family coaches to help families remain intact through intentional, long-term relationships

4. PowerGirls, Helena Titus, Executive Director, provides mentoring with an emphasis on education and social skills for girls and emancipated youth through age 25

A Seat at the Table

I arrived at the conference in Illinois in time to attend a Sunday morning Lutheran church service. It was beautiful to see the children participate as an integral part of the worship. At one point, the teacher invited the children to sit on a picnic blanket in the front of the church where they were taught a 10-minute lesson: Just as each child belongs to a family and has a seat at the dining room table, baptism makes a child a part of God’s family and there is also a seat at God’s table.

7. The Kid Save Program explains Dr. Edwina Lewis, DCFS Supervising Children's Social Worker, enlists volunteers who have DCFS clearance to “babysit” on weekends to give foster parents a break (babysitters may bring the children to church on Sunday if the child would like to attend)

8. Safe Families for Children sponsored by Olive Crest Homes and Services for Abused Children, a Christian foster/adoption agency, encourages church members to temporarily open their homes to children— newborn to 16—whose parents are experiencing a crisis

9. Rites of Passage, Elder Irving Tolbert, Chairman, is a year-long mentoring program for boys patterned after the African tradition where boys leave the village for a year and return as men. Housed at Faithful Central in Los Angeles, this program addresses the needs of the fatherless by providing male role models and has graduated over 300 boys in the past 10 years.

I thought about the orphan. She has no family. He doesn’t have a seat at the dining room table. In fact, these children are not even sure where they may be tomorrow or next week or next year. Family is key to spiritual development as this example demonstrates. And the church is where family begins. We can do more! We must do more! Researchers acknowledge that the African-American church has not fully recognized its potential to provide homes and families for Black children. Isn’t it time for a change?—EIF

La Verne Tolbert, Ph.D. is Founder/President of Teaching Like Jesus Ministries, Pasadena, CA www.teachinglikejesus.org. She is author of Teaching Like Jesus: A Practical Guide to Christian Education in Your Church (Zondervan) and Keeping You & Your Kids Sexually Pure (www.xlibris.com). Following her presentation, Dr. Tolbert was elected as Chair of the Society for Children’s Spirituality: Christian Perspectives, Inc. For the PowerPoint presentation visit www.childspirituality.org. This article was adapted from her paper, “Orphans Among Us: Evaluating the Ministry Needs of Children in Foster Care in Los Angeles.”

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

19

life lessons

Warning to Ministers, Their Wives and Mistresses: An Excerpt From Dr. Betty’s New Book Letters from Two Mistresses

These are the correspondences I received that compelled me to write this book. I just recently turned half a century. I’m so thankful to God for this blessing. So many women hide their age, but I’m thankful to see half a century gone by. I am writing to tell you that I’m a partner. I am not bragging about being a partner because I have not been faithful with my tithes or offerings and the commitment I made with Crenshaw Christian Center (CCC) in L.A. I lost my job of ten years a couple of years ago…and I have not been able to find another one that has good benefits and one that’s interesting while helping others…I was fired for wanting to be treated like the “Heathers” and “Brookes” that worked at the clerk office. I went back to school for a couple of semesters to bring myself up to date with modern computer technology. Six months before my termination, the Lord allowed me to purchase a three-bedroom, two-bath condo that’s surrounded by lakes with people water skiing, fishing, and sailing their big boats. I was blessed to buy this condo while being faithful and obeying the Lord with paying tithes and offerings to CCC in Los Angeles, California. I sowed seeds into good, fertile soil with your ministry and was blessed with this purchase after filing bankruptcy and a foreclosure on my previous home. Dr. Betty, I know I’m blessed because to this date, I have not missed one payment on any of my bills, including credit card purchases. Mind you, now, I was making ten dollars an hour working on a government job for ten years, with my starting salary of five dollars an hour. Granted, I don’t live in a high life of luxury spending, but the life that I live is a life of trusting God for all my needs and for what His Word says—that if you have the faith of a mustard seed, you can move mountains out of your way. I was not sure what a mustard seed was [when I first heard that promise preached], so I went and purchased a box of them. Anyway, I am writing because I can’t seem to find my space here anymore at fifty. I’m going through my midlife feeling sorry for myself, gaining mad weight, and sitting around being lazy. I have started having an affair with a married man who happens to be an ordained bishop. I tell myself that everyone does it; then I ask the Lord to please forgive me, and I try to move on with my life. But I keep going back on that “Lord, please forgive,” and the forgiveness the Lord has extended to me many times. I can’t seem to say no to the bishop’s attention to me. And mind you, it’s not a lot of attention that he is able to give to me. I used to talk—not really badly (but not nicely either)—about other women who engaged in adulterous relationships with other men. Dr. Betty, I always prayed to the Lord not to ever let myself become involved with someone else’s husband, especially a man of the Lord’s cloth, because I feared the Lord and still fear Him. I pray and pray, but my self-esteem has been somewhat stripped by what happened at [work]. It’s been two years, and [yet] I have all of this work experience

20

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

and can’t find a job at fifty years old. Please pray for me, please! Oftentimes I ask the bishop, Aren’t you afraid of the Lord, or do you and He have just that tight understanding? He says that every time he leaves my presence, he feels really bad, but not bad enough to just stop. And get this, Dr. Betty, I had been without an intimate relationship with anyone for eight years and was trying to wait for the Lord to send me my husband, friend, and constant companion. I told the bishop this before we ever had a physical relationship. You would think that he would be thinking with his big head… This is an extremely small amount of money to send to say that I am so grateful…for your husband’s teaching that I watch each week on Sundays. I used to send my tithes to CCC in Los Angeles…I’ve slacked off big time because I don’t have a lot coming in, but I do have a little coming in. Please keep me and others like me (’cause I’m not the only one in a sick situation like this; some folks are way far worse than mine) in your prayers. I also practice what Dr. Price Sr. says: “Learn to pray for yourself.” I do and pray for others as well. I mean not to bother you, for I know that folks write to you every day about such petty things. As I mentioned earlier, I turned one-half of a century this year, and I only celebrate the decades in my birthdays, like at thirty, forty, and now fifty. I thank God for [the numbers] one through nine, but after the first thirty years, they started coming too fast. I decided to just celebrate the decades in those years of life. I try to do something really special on that decade year, and writing to Dr. Betty Price is my really special something this decade. If I get a response that would be cool and the best of the best, but please let me assure you that I am so thankful for just being allowed to just write to her… I know it sounds corny, but that’s what I like…Please pray that I find the right job that the Lord might have for me so that I may help myself and others and not have such a low self-esteem… Dr. Betty, I respect people’s union with God, because when the Lord blesses me with such a union, I would want it also to be respected…

“I ask the Lord to please forgive me, and I try to move on with my life. But I keep going back on that “Lord, please forgive.”

I have a very heavy heart as I write this e-mail, since I do not know how to say what I am about to explain to you. I have been a Christian for more than eight years…I was married for five years, and my marriage should not have happened in the first place. We got counseling from the pastor of our church, and it did not work. When I became separated from my husband, who was a leader of

the church and later left, my pastor and prophet started an intimate relationship with “…my pastor me. At first I was very hesitant, but what he said made sense. And so, I fell in love. I now and prophet realize that it was not love. started a relaDue to this relationship, I blossomed in the house of the Lord. I started many differ- tionship with ent things and made lots of money for the me. … I fell in church. I started preaching and ministering in dance, so much so that I minister at other love. I now churches. The power of the Lord is so overwhelming that people receive break- realize that it throughs. was not love.” It has now been four years since the relationship started, and I have become very antagonistic toward him. I am disrespectful in major meetings and angry all the time. During the four years we have been together intimately I have not been faithful. I have always felt like this is not right, so I started other relationships to take away the pain of being with a married pastor, prophet, and motivational speaker with three kids. He, the pastor, has always supported me, and if I need anything at all I can have it. But I am bitter, and it is manifesting in the way I behave. I don't know why, but it is getting worse. Sometimes I feel like just dying. I have contemplated suicide more than once. Recently—and this is why I need your advice and prayer—the pastor said that God told him I needed to change. I have always felt like God did not want this relationship, but he says that God wants us, me and him together in an intimate relationship, to grow his church. I suggested we change our relationship to friendship, since I felt this was probably what God wanted. He got angry, and I got scared. So, we are in a relationship still. He ended up saying that God wanted me to be a good girl and to stop giving him trouble. If I do what God wants, then all my ministries would come forth. Right now, he says I am hindering the work of the Lord by being this way to him. I have also become quite unfired for the work that gave me so much joy and energy. Although, I still spend every evening after work in church, and I still show up to do whatever work I am asked to do. I still have meetings with my volunteers, and things go as normal. But people are starting to notice the difference in me and in the way I treat the pastor. I don't want to be this angry person, but I need release. I know in the Bible it says, in the Lord and you shall be estab“Sometimes I “Believe lished, believe in his prophet and you shall feel Like just prosper” [2 Chron. 20:20]. I know that I never question God, and the pastor dying. I have should hears from God and relays the message. I contemplated don't know what I am asking from you, but will tell you how to answer me. I know. suicide more GodWhy am I coming to you? I had a vision of than once.” being in your church a long time ago. I believe what you and your husband preach with all my heart, and I know God will help me through you. Please do not delay in a response. My life is at present hanging in a balance. I thank you very much for your support. YOURS IN CHRIST, LEVELHEADED

My answer to “Levelheaded” was that her spirit was totally against the immoral lifestyle that she was sharing with the prophet. She needed to leave that ministry and repent, and God would forgive her.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. —1 JOHN 1:9

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.

—HEBREWS 8:12 I also told her the scripture that she was referring to, 2 Chronicles 20:20, was talking about a righteous prophet, and if she did not get out of that situation, her future would not be good because there are consequences to the choices that we make. I talked with her again later, and at the time of that conversation she had not gotten out of the situation as yet because there are personal benefits that she is receiving from staying in it. My prayer for her is that the Holy Spirit will bring conviction to her to make the right decision before it is too late. This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bish-

op, he desires a good work. [God is telling you that this is a good work.] A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife [not women on the side], temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. —1 TIMOTHY 3:1–7

Apparently a lot of ministers don’t read this part of the Bible. They want to know about faith—how do I get a house, how do I “If a man get a car, how do I get clothes, or how do I get shoes? How about how to take care of desires the your wife? Or wife, how about taking care of position of a your husband? You need to learn how to use your faith for these types of things. bishop, he It says in Titus 1:5–9, “For this reason I desires a good left you in Crete, that you should set in order work. A bish- the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—if a op then must man is blameless, the husband of one wife, faithful children not accused of dissibe blameless.” having pation or insubordination. For a bishop —1 TIMOTHY 3:1–7 must be blameless [blameless does not mean “perfect,” but one against whom no evil can be proved; we are not perfect and might make mistakes], as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.” So I believe these are some things laid out for our leaders—pastors, men, and women in ministry.—EIF

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

21

LIVING A DISCIPLINED LIFE

word of faith

N

By Apostle Frederick K.C. Price

o one can be successful in ministry who is undisciplined. There are too many undisciplined pastors, too many undisciplined evangelists, too many undisciplined ministers of the gospel. To be successful, one must be disciplined!

In I Corinthians 9:27, Paul says: But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. Notice what Paul tells us here: But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection…. The “I” that Paul is talking about is the spirit man on the inside. “I” is the real you. “I” is the you that has been born again. Your body is not you. You are not flesh and blood. Have you ever heard someone say, “Well, what do you expect? I am only flesh and blood. What do you want me to do, be an angel or something? I’m just flesh and blood.” You are not flesh and blood. You are a spirit! You have a flesh and blood body, but you are not flesh and blood. Flesh and blood is where you live. You are a spirit made in the image of God. The great Apostle Paul said that he kept his body under and brought it into subjection. That tells me that the body is out of subjection, and if I do not bring my body in line, it will stay out of subjection. Notice what Paul did not say: He did not say, “I put my body under.” If he had said that, he would only have to do it one time. But he said, “I keep my body under.” The reason he had to keep it under was because it wanted to get out from under—the same way your body does. And if you do not keep that sucker under, it will get out from under and do something it is not supposed to do. Unfortunately, we hear about it getting out from under all the time in the ministry fraternity.

If you cannot discipline your body, you will not discipline your spirit. You cannot! It is impossible! You cannot see your spirit, yet you are looking at your body every day, and it will get out of control if you let it. How are you going to control something you cannot even see? You have a body that you are looking at all the time, you haul it around, you push it in and out of cars, you feed it, you are stuffing it, undershirt it, you shave it, you spray cologne on it, you deodorize it, you bathe it; and sometimes it gets out of control—while you are looking at it every five minutes! How are you going to control your spirit that you have not even seen? Paul said, but I keep under my body and bring it screaming and hollering into subject, because screaming and hollering is what it will do. It does not want to conform to God’s Word. It is not subject to the laws of God. You have to bring it into submission and keep it there.

“A minister of God has to be disciplined, and it starts with the flesh. ”

If you want to be successful, you have to discipline yourself. And it starts with your body. If God cannot trust you with the house you live in, why would He give you 5,000 church members?

It costs something to be disciplined. It will make you scream sometimes. It will make you holler sometimes, because your body does not want to conform, but you have to make it conform and bring it into subjection. Subjection to what? To the Word of God and to your own recreated spirit. It does not work automatically; you have to stay with it all the time. I like to eat. I love good food. I particularly enjoy ice cream. Sometimes I will get a craving for it just as they say some women who are pregnant have a craving for some particular food item. Sometimes when I get that craving, just to let the devil know that I am in control, I will deny myself, and I will refuse to eat it. I tell my body, “I am in control—me, the spirit man. The man on the inside is in control. Body, you do not control me!” No ice cream is going to have me crawling the walls at midnight trying to find a fix, like some preachers do with cigarettes. I will say it again, because it bears repetition: A disciplined life is what you have to have in order to be successful in your Christian life, as well as in the ministry!—EIF

This devotional was excerpted from Dr. Price’s book, “Practical Suggestions for Successful Ministry.” Please call us at (800) 927-3436 or visit our website: [email protected] for a complete list of his products.

A minister of God has to be disciplined, and it starts with the flesh.

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

23

Broadcast

ONE HOUR BROADCAST SCHEDULE DATE

PROGRAM TITLE/DESCRIPTION

DATE

Sunday, Aug. 2

Fail Proof Living – Part 2 Part 2 of this four-part series, Dr. Price outline important steps to obtaining knowledge of the benefits in Christ. (#4 of Part 2)

Sunday, Aug. 30 Fail Proof Living – Part 3 Part 3 of this four-part series, Dr. Price discuss the benefits of acquiring knowledge and understanding of natural things. (#3 of Part 3)

Sunday, Aug. 9

Fail Proof Living – Part 2 This four-part series, Dr. Price outline important steps to obtaining knowledge of the benefits in Christ. (#5 of Part 2)

Sunday, Sept. 6

Sunday, Aug. 16

Fail Proof Living – Part 3 Part 3 of this four-part series, Dr. Price discuss the benefits of acquiring knowledge and understanding of natural things. (#1 of Part 3)

Sunday, Sept. 13 In the Midst of Famine Pastor Fred Price

Fail Proof Living – Part 3 Part 3 of this four-part series, Dr. Price discuss the benefits of acquiring knowledge and understanding of natural things. (#2 of Part 3)

Sunday, Sept. 27 In the Midst of Famine Pastor Fred Price Sunday, Oct. 4 In the Midst of Famine Pastor Fred Price Sunday, Oct. 11 The Seal of Apostleship Bishop Wiley Jackson Sunday, Oct. 18 The Little Foxes of Faith Apostle Price Sunday, Oct. 25 The Little Foxes of Faith Apostle Price

Sunday, Aug. 23

HALF-HOUR BROADCAST SCHEDULE DATE

PROGRAM TITLE/DESCRIPTION

Friday, Aug. 14

What we are, Where we are, What we have, What we can do – Matt 26:28 In this series Dr. Price reveals what the people of God are, where they are, what they have and what they can do [In Him]. God wants his people to live above the cir cumstances of Life.

Friday, Aug. 21

Friday, Aug. 28 Friday, Sept. 4

Friday, Sept. 11 Friday, Sept. 18

Friday, Sept. 25 Friday, Oct. 9

Friday, Oct. 16 Friday, Oct. 23

What we are, Where we are, What we have, What we can do – Matt 26:28 In this series Dr. Price reveals what the people of God are, where they are, what they have and what they can do [In Him]. God wants his people to live above the cir cumstances of Life. What we are, Where we are, What we have, What we can do – Matt 26:28 In this series Dr. Price reveals what the people of God are, where they are, what they have and what they can do [In Him]. God wants his people to live above the cir cumstances of Life. What we are, Where we are, What we have, What we can do – Matt 26:28 In this series Dr. Price reveals what the people of God are, where they are, what they have and what they can do [In Him]. God wants his people to live above the cir cumstances of Life. What we are, Where we are, What we have, What we can do – Matt 26:28 In this series Dr. Price reveals what the people of God are, where they are, what they have and what they can do [In Him]. God wants his people to live above the cir cumstances of Life.

Schedule subject to change.

24

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

PROGRAM TITLE/DESCRIPTION

Fail Proof Living – Part 3 Part 3 of this four-part series, Dr. Price discuss the benefits of acquiring knowledge and understanding of natural things. (#4 of Part 3)

Sunday, Sept. 20 In the Midst of Famine Pastor Fred Price

PROGRAM TITLE/DESCRIPTIONFriday, Oct. 30 What we are, Where we are, What we have, What we can do – Matt 26:28 In this series Dr. Price reveals what the people of God are, where they are, what they have and what they can do [In Him]. God wants his people to live above the cir cumstances of Life. DATE

on the air

Ever Increasing Faith Ministries’ Broadcast Schedule Sunday

4:00am PST

Lifetime (DirecTV subscribers, Channel 252)

7:00am EST/PST Lifetime (Cable subscribers check local listings)

8:00am PST

The Church Channel (TCC) (Cable & Dish Network check local listings) (DirecTV subscribers, Channel 371)

8:00am PST

The Word Network (Cable subscribers check local listings) (DirecTV subscribers, Channel 373)

9:00am PST

Crenshaw Christian Center Live (faithdome.org & StreamingFaith.com)

10:00am PST

TCT-Total Christian Television (DirecTV subscribers, Channel 377)

*NEW*

Tuesday Friday Daily Weekly

3:00pm PST 5:00pm CST

Daystar (Charleston, SC, Channel 248)

7:00pm EST

WJYS TV 62 (Chicago) www.wjystv62.net/flash.php

7:30pm PST

Crenshaw Christian Center Live Bible Study (faithdome.org & StreamingFaith.com)

6:30pm PST 24/7 24 hours 24 hours

TBN On Demand www.faithdome.org Christian.TV (www.christian.tv) Ever Increasing Faith Network (at faithdome.org & StreamingFaith.com)

Podcasting– (users must have iTunes) http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=267246478

news & notes

Passing of a TV Favorite

Honoree Loretta Jackson (center) is surrounded by well-wishers and (far left) CCC employees Wanda Dennis, Angela Evans, Cheryl Price and Warren Milner (far right)

One Of Our Own Gets Honored

Loretta Jackson, Director of Finance for Crenshaw Christian Center, was honored in July at Recycling Black Dollars 15th Annual Masters Series Award Luncheon. The event, which was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel LAX, honored the “Masters of Finance” in the Los Angeles community. Jackson was joined by other honorees including: Leon T. Garr, (President and CoFounder of Founder’s National Bank & Garr Construction); Dr. Lula B. Ballton (CEO, West Angeles Community Development Corporation); Mr. Wayne-Kent A. Bradshaw (President & COO,

Daystar (DirecTV, Channel 369 or check local listings)

Cheryl Price and Angela Evans were on hand for the awards.

Broadway Federal Bank); Ms. Linda Smith (Executive Director, Los Angeles Minority Business Opportunity Center); Mr. Ellis Gordon, Jr. (Financial Consultant, Gordon/Barash Associates, Inc.); Mr. Wilfred L. Marshall (Economic Development, U.S. Department of Commerce); and Mr. Farid A. Haqq (Education and Financial Consultant, Farid A. Haqq & Associates).

Ed McMahon, the legendary TV host and longtime sidekick-second for the late comedian Johnny Carson, died June 23, 209 at age 86. McMahon and his wife Pamela were long-time members of Crenshaw Christian Center and great supporters of their home church. “He was an incredible human being and extremely generous. He served our church faithfully along with his wife Pamela McMahon. He loved giving, especially to chil-

dren and those who were disenfranchised,” said Mrs. Angela Evans, president of Crenshaw Christian Center. “He hosted a large concert to benefit Crenshaw Christian Center’s Frederick K.C. Price III Schools and continued to be a consummate fundraiser for our school. He did a toy giveaway for our community at the church for a number of Christmases, which was well received and appreciated by the community. We loved him and will miss him greatly.”

Myfaithspace, the social networking site of Ever Increasing Faith Ministries at www.faithdome.org as been renamed to Netfaith at the suggestion of Brian Carr. Here are some other social networking sites associated with the ministry.

Myspace — www.myspace.com/eifm Twitter — www.twitter.com/faithwalkwithme Facebook — http://www.facebook.com/pages/Los-Angeles-CA/ Crenshaw-Christian-Center-Ever-Increasing-Faith-Ministries/123153800203 Tangle (Godtube) — http://www.tangle.com/everincreasingfaith Youtube — http://www.youtube.com/user/faithwalkwithme

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

25

straight talk

Q&A with Drs. Fred and Betty Price

It seems that I keep making decisions that are leading nowhere fast. How can I learn to make better choices in my life? The word choose or choice means using your free will to make decisions concerning your life.

We have the awesome privilege to use our will to make choices that influence our lives for good or for bad. The dictionary says the word choice also means the ability to recognize alternative and possible consequences, thereby enabling the selection of that which is most desirable, admirable and honorable. There are several choices that we make in life that are essential to our well being. First, the most awesome choice anyone can ever make is to choose Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. If you have never done this, the Bible says you are living in death more than in life. The second choice that is essential to your life is to be filled with God’s Holy Spirit. John 14:26 says: But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you. Acts 1:8 says: But you shall receive power

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations mentioned above are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible.

(800) 927-3436 26

EVER INCREASING FAITH MAGAZINE Summer 2009

when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. After you have received Christ, then you need to receive the Holy Spirit, because He is the One who gives us the power to live the overcoming life. So many of us as Christians lived without the Helper for so long because we didn’t understand the importance of receiving Him. Yes, we were born of the Spirit when we received Jesus, but that does not mean we were filled with the Spirit, because if you are not speaking with tongues according to Acts 2:4, you are not filled with the Spirit. Each of us needs to choose to continue in God’s Word. There are too many Christians who don’t continue in the Word or continue in prayer. You should always take time to talk to God every single day. When you do, you are being obedient to the Word, and you will reap the benefits.

Do you have a question on your mind? Write to us at: Ever Increasing Faith Magazine, P.O. Box 44185, Los Angeles, CA 90009 or e-mail [email protected].

www.faithdome.org

EVERINCREASINGFAITH

MINISTRIES CRENSHAW CHRISTIAN CENTER

P.O. Box 90000 Los Angeles, Ca 90009 (323) 758-3777 www.faithdome.org

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Crenshaw Christian Center