... is more than going after funds for the budget and rescuing the property from decay and neglect. Living in a church community is also going after those who have wandered from the truth. The late Reverend C. L. Franklin, former pastor of Detroit's New Bethel Baptist Church and father of singer Aretha Franklin, stated a profound truth about the Parable of the Prodigal Son. In a direct way the parable is an indictment of the father in the story. The Parable of the Prodigal Son is the last of three parables ...
... kings or queens. We have no royal family, so we have to invent our royalty. We had the “King of Rock’n’Roll,” Elvis Presley. We had the “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson. We had a “King of Soul,” James Brown. We have a Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. We have a “King of all Media,” Howard Stern. We have a Queen of Clean, Linda Cobb. We even have a King of Greasy Goodness” for the Queen of Clean to clean up: Burger King! But in countries like the Motherland, Great Britain, there is a real ...
... where you work or at home. You feel taken for granted, maybe even taken advantage of. Does anyone here know what I’m talking about? I wonder if it didn’t strike a painful chord with many women, particularly married women. Several years ago the great Aretha Franklin sang the Otis Redding song, “Respect.” “All I’m askin’ is for a little respect when you come home (just a little bit).” I suspect all of us hunger for respect. We hunger for people to listen to us. We hunger for people to take our ...
... attractive. The Christian faith is attractive. Our message is the most attractive message in the world! God created us, loves us, and wants a relationship with us. He wants us to share his love with the world! What is more attractive than that? The late Aretha Franklin understood the attractiveness of God’s light and love. She once said, “When God loves you, what can be better than that?” She was right. There is nothing better than that. But there are a lot of people who don’t know that love — who ...
