TRANSFORMING YOUR WORLD

Hey Saints,
Missed you last week. Rev. D and I had homework and two tests to do, in addition to all the other "normal" activities and, well, you get the picture. Worship services have been so blessed. We remain in awe of the things our Lord continues to do. We're excited because this weekend we will have our Circle-Up event. This is an event where a large number of people from all over the ATL metro area will come together and form a human sign in support of the people of Haiti. Thanks to the efforts of Annette Vick, along with the assistance of John Russell, we will have an airplane fly over our church parking lot to photograph the human sign. Each participant is asked to give at least two dollars to be a part of the sign. All the money will go to Haiti relief. It promises to be a great time for a great cause. Please continue to pray for Haiti. They will need so much help for years to come.

The final document for TMI's Strategic Plan has come back and wow, the level of professionalism and excellence is great. This plan will serve as our road map for the next ten years. An awful lot of prayer and hard work has gone into this process, but certainly this plan is under the ultimate authority of the Holy Spirit, who may alter or change it at anytime. This plan however, will give us a great sense of direction and purpose as we move forward. Many thanks goes to Rev. Gwendolyn Young of Richmond, VA who has so graciously facilitated this process. If anyone is ever in need of strategic planning, I highly recommend her.

Two thumbs up to our Training, Education and Development (TED) department, along with the Youth department, for outstanding Black History presentations throughout the month of February. Outstanding work! There are more exciting things happening so please keep TMI in your prayers as we continue to expect our God to do great things.

Over the last couple of weeks we have given sermonic focus to the need and blessing of wisdom. God has dealt with us mightily, and it has been great to see folks crying out to God for divine wisdom. I certainly don't have space here to go through those teachings, but let me encourage each of you, wherever you may be in the world, James chapter one says: if you lack wisdom, ask God and He will give it to you without finding fault with you. It is impossible to fully know the will of God, the word of God, or how to live as a child of God, without wisdom. Seek it, cry out for it, and God will give it to you. But ask, only if you believe God will give it to you, and be prepared to be misunderstood by many who are not seeking and increasing in the wisdom of God. It will require patience and endurance, but God will use you to bless even them in a mighty way. Proverbs eight declares that wisdom (Sophia) calls out for you. Find her, and when you do, you will have found something far more precious than all silver and gold.

God bless each of you, and remember, we love you...love each other in the Lord!

TRANSFORMING YOUR WORLD

Hey Saints;
Here in the southern U.S. we've been getting a lot of rain and our friends to the north have seen lots of snow and/or freezing cold. I think everyone is ready for summer. For some of you in other parts of the world, it is summer and we hope you are enjoying it, but we here are ready to trade seasons with you. Our prayers and resources continue to go out to the people of Haiti. Here at TMI, we will soon launch a project called "Circle Up" that will bring together people from the surrounding communities to form a huge human sign (formation) in our parking lot. A local news helicopter will fly over and take aerial pictures of the formation which will be aired on T.V. Each participant in the formation, which will be a part of this human sign to show love and solidarity for Haiti, will give a contribution to participate. ALL proceeds will be given to a Haiti relief fund. No individuals will be shown, only the large group as a whole. The anticipated date for this project is Saturday, February 27th from 6pm to 8pm. Anyone in the ATL area is welcomed to join in. I would like to give special thanks to Annette Vick who is organizing this project. Haiti needs help desperately. I encourage you to be creative in how to raise money for Haiti. Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:35-40; "For I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took me in, I needed cloths and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.......what ever you did for one of the least of these my brothers of mine, you did for me."
True worship is not just our words, our shout or our dance, rather it's in the way we reach out to others in need or distress. We are so often preoccupied with our own issues that we fail to hear the cries of others in far worse conditions than our own. Serving God is serving others. God knows what we need and promises to take care of us if indeed we will do that which is important to Him, reaching out to help others and leading the lost to Christ. Make it your life's goal to serve others and God will bless you. You won't need to seek the blessings and favor of God, His blessings and favor will find you!
Well, TBN was great again. We thank God for Paul and Jan, Dottie and Carolyn for the invitations extended to us. Rev. Gardenia and I also received invitations to the Trumpet Awards. It too was a great experience. The awards show will be aired on TV One on the fourth of April. Thank you Shavonne. Oh yes! And our church sign has finally arrived and is up and, wow, it's nice. We saw it going into mid-week service and, wow, how it lit up the night sky. That's two wows! Thanks Elders Steve Stevens and Tim Young. Well, gotta go. Until next week, God bless you all. We're praying for you!