Hold On, We're Coming Home

Look and see, for everyone is coming home. Your sons are coming from distant lands; your little daughters will be carried on by the hip. Your eyes will shine and your hearts will thrill with joy. Isaiah 60:4

Last year, Drake released a hit song and video titled “Hold On, We’re Going Home”, which he rescues a woman from an angry mob of kidnappers while reassuring her that they would eventually be going home. The lyrics below underscore the significance of home:

                        I got my eyes on you

                        You’re everything that I see

                        I want you heart, love, and emotion endlessly

                        I can’t get over you

                        You left your mark on me

                        I want your heart, love, and emotion endlessly

                        ‘Cause you’re a good girl and you know it

                        You act so different around me

                        ‘Cause you’re a good girl and you know it

                        I know exactly who you could be

                        Just hold on we’re going home

                        Just hold on we’re going home

                        It’s hard to do these things alone

                        Just hold on, we’re going home (home)

About this time every year, we hear and retell the Christmas story and I’m sure you’ll hear it again sometime today, if not before Thursday. What I would like to focus on is Joseph’s homecoming to Bethlehem from his current home in Nazareth. In those days, Caesar Augustus imposed taxes based on where you (the husband, man of the house) were from, not where you currently live. Every man returned to his hometown upon decree to be counted in the census. Joseph brings a very pregnant Mary to Bethlehem for this reason (see Luke 2:1-4). To make it easier to understand, imagine me packing up my wife and driving back to Conway to be counted in that city’s census after being away for so long. Since I (technically) haven’t counted as a fulltime resident since the late 1990s, it would be tough to uproot my life simply to be counted in the city’s population. However, we are to give Caesar what he is due. [Sidebar: I was in Arkadelphia in 2000 and Benton for the 2010 US Census counts. Conway is just the town I grew up in and where my paternal lineage lies.] More so, try walking forty-eight miles from our neighborhood to Friendship with someone who could have very well been ready to give birth and definitely wanted off her tired feet. Joseph was also commissioned by God to undertake the arduous journey – certainly he didn’t know the child Mary was carrying would be our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. After a period of time of fulfilled obligations to Caesar in Bethlehem, they returned to Nazareth (2:39); no word about grandparents or how the in-laws took to Joseph and Mary’s extended stay. Since he was a carpenter, I’m sure he could always find work to provide for his family.

Strange parallel:  My father is a carpenter by trade and mother stayed at home with my brother and me throughout a significant part of my childhood. While we have heard Jesus had siblings, He and I are both firstborn boys.

Isaiah implored the Israelites in Chapter 60 to look around them and see that everyone is coming home. Today, we fly, drive, hop, skip, jump, sail, walk, roll, etc. to be home for Christmas just to be back in a native setting. As much as I try to tell myself that Bryant is home because we bought that plot of land and have established roots in the city, the holidays remind us that home is where the heart is. It’s why as a customer service manager who worked Christmas Eve in college I quickly sprinted to my white Mercury Topaz to enter Interstate 30 and embark on that two-hour trip home. It’s why we scurry to Big Mama’s house and church for ham, dressing, a feel-good message from the pastor, and our babies to give us the same joy their grandparents shared not that long ago.

One day, we are all going home. It’s hard to do these things along – just hold on, we’re going home.

I Can't Breathe, You Can't See

Preface: I know that the majority of law enforcement officers are honest, hardworking good people who are out to make a difference every day. To the great officers out there that I interact with – even occasionally – thank you for your service in making our world a better place than we found it. As a former teacher, I know what it is to have your chosen profession questioned daily and lumped into one band of stereotypes. However, we do have some rogue cops who for one reason or another think they are above the law or have an inferiority complex that has never been truly dealt with who do sully the profession. This post (as with all of my other blogs) are derived from my experiences, hopes, wishes, desires, and more toward a more authentic equality than a colorblind system that tends to avoid the pursuit of justice. If you don’t see color, then you certainly do not see a Henderson State-educated 36-year-old husband, friend, co-worker, neighbor, etc. as much more than another big black man with a deep voice.

Thoughts? Be constructive, not trollish. pic.twitter.com/JAQCpAT616
— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) December 9, 2014

Order rooted and maintained by fear, intimidation, violence, brutality, and incarceration is both cruel and immoral. Justice is order’s intended soul mate yet serving justice is twice as hard as doling out fear. Black America knows this better than anyone else with our twice-as-hard spirit: the one of having to work twice as hard to even be considered, and often our reward is a menial prize that we still have to fight tooth-and-nail for. If we’re satisfied with just getting in the door, then we’ve lost our way. More so, having a few dollars, a house on the hill, and being seen on television nightly does not mean the race is over; instead, each can be considered a deterrent  thanks to the predatory nature of greed and power. While there is nothing wrong with being able to provide a better lifestyle than the ones we were afforded, do not let the titles and little bit of power fool you into thinking this is what equality is about. If that is the case, then we have lost our resolve to take the road less traveled a la Robert Frost and our complacency will cost us dearly.

The legal proceedings and maneuverings that have sparked protests in Ferguson, Sanford, New York, Cleveland, and throughout our nation all expose our monumental failures to build and protect the gains of our parents, grandparents, and countless relatives won during the civil rights era. We know that not all of the evidence presented in every case was legitimate, as are each grand jury’s members truthful or representative of the communities they were commissioned to serve. What price are we willing to pay for our children and next generation?

#wakethefuckupamerica pic.twitter.com/9dyeqCfjhE

— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) December 9, 2014

Toward the end of his life, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned a Poor People’s Campaign – a connection for the working-class with the African-American twice-as-hard spirit designed to defend civil-rights legislation from inevitable backlash. He visualized the poor, vulnerable; the downtrodden unifying to uproot the political seeds deigned to grow income inequality. Sadly, he was murdered before it came to fruition.

Unfortunately, we are unaware the People’s Campaign was Phase 2 of a four-step civil rights movement and further lost in the woods about Barry Goldwater’s emphasis of Law and Order being the bedrock of pushback toward civil rights.

Law and Order – the American political strategy of choice of the past fifty years – did not put Goldwater in the White House. Historians know that he got his ass handed to him by President Johnson, losing every state but Arizona, but his emphasis is what brought President Nixon to the Oval Office and former actor Ronald Reagan the California governorship in 1968. It also justified Nixon’s War on Drugs, harsh sentencing requirements (crack offenders were locked up twice as long as cocaine violators), the dehumanization of black offenders, the Mulford Act of 1968, and the preference of order rooted in fear and punishment. Law and Order also provided America’s mass incarceration. As a result, the ten years of progress have produced at least a handful of useful laws that have been thwarted by fifty years of legalized mass incarceration and inequality.

This is segregation by incarceration (SBI), pitting the police vs. the African-American community. No flyers, no press conferences for those who opposed the end of an American apartheid system in Jim Crow, none of that. Segregation was not about to lie down and concede defeat and pledge support for racial equality. Its newer and not-so-evil-looking strategy was to take down the blatant whites-only sign and trade them in for strategic enforcement of criminal laws that pack poor people behind bars and inevitably break up the traditional pathways to upward mobility.

SBI is much worse and corrosive than Jim Crow ever was. One unintended benefit of Jim Crow was it forced black people to build and rely on our own economic, educational, and social systems. SBI is like diabetes – a silent killer with no benefits. It extinguishes hope and in effect, litters society with a multitude of grown-up boys who become parasitic not only on the affected families but also the areas they live in. In short, segregation by incarceration has left African-Americans distrustful of law enforcement via decimating the black family structure and placing a cultural rot that prison culture and black culture are synonymous.

Once capitalism got into the incarceration business, lawmakers and states began racking up profits in untold dollars without mention of the lives damaged in the process. Most states have private prisons which are often run more shoddily than the worst state institutions in their heydays, and now even corporations have thrown their hats in the ring employing people in the most dangerous situations all in the name of saving money to have a cheap labor force! Where do people get picked up? On the block, that’s where. The drug war has constructed an environment conducive to prison life and the yards; think about the codes of silence imposed.

Why did the gangs accelerate in growth in California in the 1970s and ‘80s? Why was gangsta rap born in Los Angeles?

Because Ronald Wilson Reagan planted that seed of Law and Order in California first.

Aside from Bernie Madoff, what happened to the white-collar thieves and corporate thugs whose greed nearly destroyed the national economy and put a standstill to the 2008 presidential campaign? Most of them have their jobs and some are lobbyists to the same lawmakers who turned a blind eye to their looting. Worse, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has made a link that loose cigarettes are worth more than a black man’s life – and this is what the Republican Party is trotting out for President in the next cycle? In an act of bipartisanship, even our original “first black president” Bill Clinton instituted draconian three strikes and mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines as a measure to get Southern whites on board with Law and Order. Look below and read the LBJ comment and tell me if this is accurate.

LBJ was right about enough Arkansas voters. Thank you for voting the way you did. pic.twitter.com/g96f65f4e7
— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) November 5, 2014

I can’t breathe, but you can’t see.

America is still a place where race trumps self-interest, where the middle-class and poor have more in common with each other than the one percenters we keep voting in. Just as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson does not speak for all black people, I would surely hope Rush Limbaugh and Tom Cotton are not representative of all white people. I’ll trade you Charles Barkley and Ben Carson for Phil Jackson and a pack of Ramen noodles (I jest), but you get the point. To maintain a perceived superiority, some people are willing to lie on the grenade of unfair justice in order to claim they are the chosen ones.

Why do you not see? Is it because your rose-colored glasses are tinted to a prescription that only limits to those inside of your immediate world? What about lumping all people unlike yourselves to a neat little box (ex. my black/white/gay/Asian/Hispanic/atheist/fill-in-the-blank friend)? Or does it not matter because it isn’t in your homogeneous villages?

Justice is not blind – history has proven that through the posthumous pardons and blank apologies. America is not.

Open your eyes.  

 

Making Forward Progress

When my wife and I moved into our house, we found a way to either work outside or inside to make changes to the home weekly for the first year we lived in it. Not long after I had mowed the grass one summer evening, our neighbor Tim walked across the grass and remarked that we were always doing something to make the property look better. Homeowners know where I am going with this one:  it is a combination of community pride and helping property values rise. Perhaps I was thinking about the New England Patriots’ training camp and ensuing preseason schedule when I replied, “man, we’re just making forward progress.”

As believers in Christ, we should never be satisfied to stay in one role thinking we have reached the pinnacle of spiritual success rather continue to “grow in the grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Jesus does remind us in John 15:16 that we are chosen to go out and bear fruit. As a result of healthy growth, our spiritual fruit continues to grow throughout our lives. Our Lord is the vine, we are the branches. As long as we grow together, we will bear lots of good-tasting fruit.

In a move of forward progress to become more like God, we can be content that He who began a good work in us will continue it until it is completed upon His return.

The 2014 Thank-You Tour

At the beginning of the year, my sole resolution was to make one post to my blog per week, and for the most part that has been successful. Some topics have been fun while others were heart-wrenching, and they’ve even allowed for a Bible verse or sermon text and accompanying notes from my pastor. Thank you for reading, commenting, and otherwise keeping it mature; if I do not directly shout you out, it doesn’t mean any less of you. You’re all supremely wonderful souls!

• Obviously, thank God for keeping me around here for this long. He’s not done with me yet and in His will, 2015 will be greater.
• Chastity for putting up with the nights when those creative juices go wild and I just have to write. Thank you for being such a great wife, friend, compatriot, and (future) mother. I love you in words unspoken and actions beyond my comprehension.
  • News sources for pushing many of my prompts. You would think ABC, CNN, CBS, NBC, Fox, Al-Jazeera, etc. would be the sole sources; special shout outs to Facebook and Twitter for showing an up-to-the-moment insight of reality that tends to be unheard even if it isn’t what we are accustomed to.
  • My family for reading – and sometime critiquing my work. I’ll try not to make it so obvious next time, but living among you is a bonus.
• The Mount Zion Baptist Church family for some of the activism posts in mission-fulfilling work. Sunday after Sunday (and Wednesdays and Vacation Bible School), it’s both an honor and privilege to be a part of the community – and not holding my Bryant residency against me.
• Thanks to Noel, Rickey, and Sylvia for reading everything and bringing the competitive banter that makes AD&AD better. When I get paid, it’s on like Donkey Kong!
• Thank you Rineco for the time to think, pray, write, and being my bread and butter. Many nights all I have are sports-crazed co-workers and eccentric supervisors to deal with, but all 300+ of you are appreciated. What was originally going to be a six-week situation has become 2 ½ years of relationships and continuing opportunities, so thanks for keeping income toward my house.
• Thanks to all of my neighbors for making our block such a great place to call home. I owe each of you barbecue, so come on out anytime – not just when the blue tent is open.
  • Thank you to the friends I have gained and lost, for everything has a season. To all I missed on the shout-out column, thank you anyway for being you.

That should do it. God bless, I’m out.

Unpaid Overtime

No one likes working for free, even if they are salaried employees who just happen to love their jobs. For 36 years, I’ve worked for free.

Entitlement is a privilege and a handicap I KNOW nothing about it. I work twice as hard to be considered...
— Cari Champion (@CariChampion) December 4, 2014

Before you dismiss this post as another “woe is me” rant, ask yourself:
-          Do you know it is like to be followed in a store?
(I do. Any Dillards and the Gap in Avon. Hell, anywhere on Route 44 between Winsted and West Hartford. )
-          Do you know what it is like to be mistaken for the help?
(Again, I do. Years of retail and tech tend to do that. I guess I look like a Gap employee who happens to be your favorite tech support guy. Damn the fact I taught English for eight years.)
-          Do you know what it is like to be petted like a dog because of your hair?
(That I have not. The women in my family and friends have not been so fortunate, particularly if they are natural.)
-          Do you know what it is like to have your ideas initially cast aside as the black guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about, only to be implemented without receiving any credit for your efforts?
(All the time. I’ve even been called a liability in some team-building exercises.)
-          Do you know what it is like to be told to “get over” slavery after #neverforget Pearl Harbor, September 11, the Holocaust, etc.?
(I do.)
-          Do you know what it is like to travel and worry about finding a “safe” place to eat, purchase gas, or even after a long day’s drive?
(I have. See the Dairy Queen in Anderson, MO and its deafening silence, any Chili’s restaurant, and the proliferation of Confederate flags near my destination.)

So have millions of other black Americans. Rich, poor, and middle-class. Uneducated, and those with Ph.Ds. and JDs. Famous and anonymous. Even POTUS has endured the trials in his policies and setting an agenda.

I’m tired. I can’t breathe. Tell Fabolous I can’t breathe with the weight of the world on my shoulders and neck because NYPD has it in a chokehold or Darren Wilson shot it six times or George Zimmerman was scared.

#WhyImTired The American political/justice system does not care for us unless it is emptying out our pockets.

— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) December 9, 2014

How can I lead the way if society emasculates, humiliates, ignores, profiles, chokes, drags, shoots, or hangs us daily?

I’m tired of your bullshit apologies, press conferences, detached presidential speeches, reluctant diversity sessions, the gone-too-soon funerals and a legal system that is stacked against me and mine.

I tell ya, I’ve been working a lot of unpaid overtime for the past 36 years. From having to be twice as qualified for half the respect and a fraction of the pay. (I’ve gotten in a lot of trouble for saying that line with a certain former employer, who is embroiled in racism allegations. In a way, serves ‘em right.) From my body of work, I think I should have a greater role in how we evolve as a people. Disagree? My ancestors, in large part, built this nation for free. Think about it – and without the advantages of receiving western land at the turn of the century, learning how to farm and manage it via land-grant colleges, in addition to being shut out of low-interest loans.

To understand the plight of unpaid overtime, view this Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. sermon on economic injustice and see how it moves you.

Quick Reminder of Christianity

But if we say we love God and don't love each other, we are liars. We cannot see God. So how can we love God, if we don't love the people we can see? 1 John 4:20

All Rise!

Judge not, that ye be not judged. - Matthew 7:1
— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) November 25, 2014

Without knowing it, we judge people every single day. People who wake up early consider late risers to be slothful; speeders despise the person doing five miles per hour below the speed limit in the left lane; most New Englanders - depending on which side of the Connecticut River they live - add the word sucks to Yankees or anything New York related as a superiority of Boston, Providence, Hartford, Portland, New Haven, and so forth; and even our children have picked up on it:  they play with the kids who have the same things they do and dress . Judgmentalism is prevalent in small homogeneous towns and even in medium sized ones [think: Conway > Cabot] when both are more similar than not. As a result, we eventually become intolerable to be around because we are so busy tearing people down due to insecurities. 

Every day, we are walking a fine line between judgment and judgmentalism:  the former is holding people to a standard we did not create (Thou shalt not kill, commit adultery, covet, etc.) and the latter is thinking ourselves morally superior because we haven't committed the acts of others, such as not using your turn signals when changing lanes on the highway. While murder is commonly frowned upon as a universal sin and rightfully deserving of its punishment, we fail not only each other but our Father when we claim an artificial standard such as looking down on beer drinkers because you do not partake in the consumption. I like beer, but it is for the taste NOT to get drunk. If you see me at Vino's with a locally brewed pint of porter, it is because I prefer the taste of it as opposed to reaching intoxication. 

We all have the right to respectfully disagree with each other and tear down policy, but where we fail as a race is when we diminish the value of a fellow human being simply because you do not like his/her politics or personal behavior is not a good strategy for persuading him/her to change. It also raises the level of invective, which is not only injurious to our politics but also to the one contributing to the vitriolic atmosphere. 

Pray for peace. Expect dissent. #Ferguson
— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) November 24, 2014

What is the primary objective in debate? It is to persuade one another to accept our superior view, if not consider it. Criticism is a double-edge sword; are you being objective in your argument, or exercising moral superiority? If it is the latter, then you just committed the sin of pride. Proverbs 16:18 reminds us that pride comes before destruction - and if you disagree, keep living.

Shopping, buying, getting, having all comprise Great American addiction. No one is immune; when the underclass riots, they steal stuff.
— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) November 23, 2014

Public exposure of private sins reminds us of our own cover ups. Just because James is a womanizer does not mean for Mary to look down on him, as she may be a vain character - explain her multiple Botox surgeries, a medicine cabinet full of makeup, closet full of clothing with the price tags still on them, and the obsession of taking daily selfies. Each of us is capable of doing the same things we abhor given the right circumstances and opportunity. It does not provide an excuse to be a racist or Pharisee or Sadducee, but it does explain the action.

No killing policemen or politicians, the underclass steals stuff as a result of Great American addiction to having stuff.
— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) November 23, 2014

Over in Matthew 7:1-6, Jesus invokes for us not to judge because it can and often will come back around to us. For example, middle- and upper-class people tend to look with disgust when the underclass revolt against a verdict that they disagree with by stealing merchandise and destroying the stores in their communities since they do not live, much less associate with them. What would happen if when a police officer got away with killing a child the 'hood came and executed his family and everyone in the political structure established before him to protect "law and order"? In 'Merica, you know who I am talking about. I am by no means advocating violence, but it (and racism) are this nation's greatest exports - even over McDonald's, General Motors/Ford, and Wal-Mart. 

To overcome judgmentalism - and public shaming:

• Know thyself. Take a look in the mirror. If you don't have any skeletons in the closet, you're not looking deep enough. 
• Know Christ. Earlier, I've pointed that Jesus is the best example to follow. He did unconditionally love all of us saints and sinners alike; try being closer to Him and less like ourselves.
• Know the Pharisees and Sadducees. Some people will always cherry-pick facts and the ministry to defend their points of view. Pharisees were the people in our day who thought they were perfect and stayed comfortably in their lanes. They primarily kept the things that were easy to follow, used blustery language to describe it, and ignored the hard stuff. Sadducees were the people who were unconcerned about the world surrounding them because it was not in their realm. While today's Pharisees may be seen at Tea Party rallies, our modern-day Sadducees are busying themselves with pushing a plutocracy and generally unaffected by dissent until their pocketbooks are significantly impacted. 
• Confess thyself. We have to let others know of our sins and struggles. You don't have to tell everybody how much dope you sold out of that apartment in Ashbury Court or how many women you and your line brothers "set out" in your early twenties. Confession means going public with things we have kept private; once this happens, we realize we don't have a leg to stand on and others know it. 

Showing grace is an extremely radical concept. If we're able to do this, it will save us from the prisons of self-righteousness. Who knows, you may even gain a friend and influence people for the rightful cause of Christ. 

Remember, the sins of some people are obvious, leading them to certain judgment. But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later. - 1 Timothy 5:24

No Shave November

I'll miss having this beard. But I've got to be a good employee, so it goes away tonight.

Kickin' Down Doors

Revelation 7:9

After this, I saw a large crowd with more people than could be counted. They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands.

'Bye Felicia

In the 1990s cult flick Friday, Angela Means Kaaya plays Felicia, a strung out drug addict who portrayed the character so well many people actually thought she was one in real life - which is more opposite than her real-life return to the media as the mother of Miami Hurricanes quarterback Brad Kaaya. Everyone remembers "'Bye Felicia", as the saying has become a dismissive line when someone announces they are leaving and you can care less about where they go. Their real names become irrelevant as a result; it didn't exactly help her case that she was always dirty and begging living from one high to the next,

Among the Israelites, too many people listened to the complaints for such a long period they began to agree with them. Obviously this displeased God, and for very good reason. God had delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, agreed to live in their midst, and provided them with food and drink with nary a thank-you. Their appreciation? More whining, In their complaint, Israel forgot the manna was a gift from God's living hand (Numbers 11:6) and even had the audacity to create a golden calf to worship not unlike their onetime captors! Does this sound like anyone you know? Because complaining poisons the heart with ingratitude and can become a contagion, God had to judge it.

You know what happened next: A generation was told 'Bye Felicia. Moses led the people around in a circle for forty years until the last whiner perished before he and Joshua captained a younger set to the Promised Land.

Each day, let us avoid being dismissed like Felicia by remaining faithful and grateful of what God has offered.

Windfall

At one point or another, everyone wishes they would hit a financial windfall through winning the lottery, receiving favor in a written will as a benefactor, or winning a settlement. Most of us have noble desires such as starting an endowment, taking care of the family, and/or blessing the local congregation with a monstrous tithe. Somewhere along the way, those who unexpectedly receive a huge amount of money lose their way; sadly, many end up broke, awash in legal expenses and without such a sterling reputation,

Agur shared his thoughtful insights in Proverbs 30:2-3 that anticipate such heartbreak. Brought low by the awareness of inclinations, Agur saw the dangers of having too little or too much. He prayed, "Give me neither poverty nor riches - feed me with the food allotted to me; lest I be full and deny You and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God."

Agur saw the special challenges that come with both wealth and poverty, but also with our tendencies. Each give us reason for caution - and together, they show our need for the One who taught us how to pray. "Give us this day our daily bread." Rather than seeking solely wealth, our desires should be redirected to being comfortable.

Question of the Day for November 9

African ancestors believed in purifying themselves in the nearby river before religious ceremonies. This tradition of purification before worship was carried over to America, including attire (the "Sunday suit", etc.). Today, many churches promote "come as you are" worship. What are your thoughts on this practice?

Tear Down These Walls

The years following World War II were labeled the Cold War as nations jockeyed for superpower status via exchanged threats and power lunges including the Bay of Pigs and the space competition. The Berlin Wall, built in August 1961, divided the East German capital from its Western counterpart; it stood as one of the most powerful symbols of the smoldering animosity. To most Westerners, it was representative of good vs. evil:  the “good” West Germany was as modern as anything in the United States, Canada or Western Europe, and the “evil” East Germany embodied the communist Soviet Union and its ideas of socialism. Penalties for trying to cross the wall – if the climbers were unsuccessful – included long prison terms and sometimes death, as the Moscow-led government strongly discouraged dissent. On November 9, 1989, the announcement came that citizens could freely cross from East to West Berlin. The following year, the wall was demolished resulting in long-lost families and friends being reunited.

Joseph was such a man who defied walls. Back in Genesis 37, we all learned about the hatred, jealousy, and eventual sale of the youngest sibling by his older brothers to slave traders en route to Egypt. To cover up the sale, they alleged that an animal had killed Joseph leaving his father Jacob to tear his clothing in mourning! When a famine brought the family face-to-face many years later, Joseph treated the brothers with kindness (Gen. 50:21), helping to restore the damaged relationship between them.

If we've built walls of anger and separation between ourselves and others, the Lord is willing and able to help us tear them down today. All we have to do is ask.

The Black Panther Party's Ten Points

Call the brothers controversial if you may, but at least they had a plan. These are the famed Ten Points from the Black Panther Party.


1. We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our Black and oppressed communities.

We believe that Black and oppressed people will not be free until we are able to determine our destinies in our own communities ourselves, by fully controlling all the institutions which exist in our communities.

2. We want full employment for our people.
We believe that the federal government is responsible and obligated to give every person employment or a guaranteed income. We believe that if the American businessmen will not give full employment, then the technology and means of production should be taken from the businessmen and placed in the community so that the people of the community can organize and employ all of its people and give a high standard of living.

3. We want an end to the robbery by the capitalists of our Black and oppressed communities.

We believe that this racist government has robbed us and now we are demanding the overdue debt of forty acres and two mules. Forty acres and two mules were promised 100 years ago as restitution for slave labor and mass murder of Black people. We will accept the payment in currency which will be distributed to our many communities. The American racist has taken part in the slaughter of over fifty million Black people. Therefore, we feel this is a modest demand that we make.

4. We want decent housing, fit for the shelter of human beings.
We believe that if the landlords will not give decent housing to our Black and oppressed communities, then housing and the land should be made into cooperatives so that the people in our communities, with government aid, can build and make decent housing for the people.

5. We want decent education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present-day society.We believe in an educational system that will give to our people a knowledge of the self. If you do not have knowledge of yourself and your position in the society and in the world, then you will have little chance to know anything else.

6. We want completely free health care for all Black and oppressed people.
We believe that the government must provide, free of charge, for the people, health facilities which will not only treat our illnesses, most of which have come about as a result of our oppression, but which will also develop preventive medical programs to guarantee our future survival. We believe that mass health education and research programs must be developed to give all Black and oppressed people access to advanced scientific and medical information, so we may provide our selves with proper medical attention and care.

7. We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of Black people, other people of color, all oppressed people inside the United States.
We believe that the racist and fascist government of the United States uses its domestic enforcement agencies to carry out its program of oppression against black people, other people of color and poor people inside the United States. We believe it is our right, therefore, to defend ourselves against such armed forces and that all Black and oppressed people should be armed for self-defense of our homes and communities against these fascist police forces.

8. We want an immediate end to all wars of aggression.
We believe that the various conflicts which exist around the world stem directly from the aggressive desire of the United States ruling circle and government to force its domination upon the oppressed people of the world. We believe that if the United States government or its lackeys do not cease these aggressive wars it is the right of the people to defend themselves by any means necessary against their aggressors.

9. We want freedom for all Black and oppressed people now held in U.S. federal, state, county, city and military prisons and jails. We want trials by a jury of peers for all persons charged with so-called crimes under the laws of this country.
We believe that the many Black and poor oppressed people now held in United States prisons and jails have not received fair and impartial trials under a racist and fascist judicial system and should be free from incarceration. We believe in the ultimate elimination of all wretched, inhuman penal institutions, because the masses of men and women imprisoned inside the United States or by the United States military are the victims of oppressive conditions which are the real cause of their imprisonment. We believe that when persons are brought to trial they must be guaranteed, by the United States, juries of their peers, attorneys of their choice and freedom from imprisonment while awaiting trial.

10. We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, peace, and people’s community control of modern technology.
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are most disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But, when a long train of abuses and usurpation, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.

Takeaways From the 2014 Elections

Thank God the political season is over! It's a short post, but I'll share my takeaways from the 2014 elections.

1. This has been a very nasty cycle. I know Arkansans are sometimes rightfully stereotyped as a bunch of ignorant racist hillbillies, but bringing in Crossroads GPS and others of their ilk to do the dirty work makes the Willie Horton ads look lightweight in comparison.

2. I don't like how Bryant Mayor Jill Dabbs so quickly aligned herself with the state party when our town could really use strong leadership and someone who isn't trying to use the job as a springboard for higher office. I didn't vote for her solely for that reason; shady accounting and spending are also bones of contention.

3. We like our beer, weed, etc. Saline - and to an extent, Faulkner - is full of drinkers who are going to satisfy our vices. Just flip the county wet already! This point is moot if the state ever decides to enter the 21st Century and allow alcohol sales in all 75 counties.

4. The state Democratic Party has taken black voters for granted. However, the Republicans through their rhetoric have indicated time and time again that they don't give a damn about us. Case in point: Voter ID and how party members (Asa Hutchinson, Tim Griffin, Leslie Rutledge, Tom Cotton, Jason Rapert, etc.) have blamed President Obama for all of the world's calamities from tornadoes to oil spills to lower gas prices and Stand Your Ground.

5. For all of the money wasted campaigning, the national deficit could've been completely eradicated. Truth is, at $438B, I think both sides have the money to be solvent for the first time since the Andrew Jackson administration.

6. I know I'm going to be castigated more than usual, but maybe it's time for churches to get taxed after all. That fence symbolizing the separation of church and state keeps getting torn down. Voting on religious convictions has not always led to good governance because the US does not have a state religion contrary to what Oklahomans think.

7. I'm REALLY going to miss Gov. Mike Beebe. 

8. Look for outgoing Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to do something big in the next two years. I think he'd be a great President or Vice-President, but from the way conservatives have treated President Obama, we may never know.

9. Race is always going to be the 800 elephant in the room. Until we realize that 1) we're God's children and all bleed red and 2) engage an honest discussion,  we'll always be divided by what scares us. If you wish to debate me, I'm ready any time, any place. Bring your A game!

10. If Arkansas manages to make a clean sweep, maybe I should call our realtor/cousin Kerrie and find a technical writer gig back East that will provide a good life for us.

11. After today, no more wasted paper jamming up my trash can!

12. If the GOP wins the Senate, at what expense is their victory? Is it a sugar rush, or something long-term? Aside from the South, their core voters are older and whiter than the rest of the nation.

13. If the Democrats are able to hold the Senate, how will President Obama's final two years shape up? Will they remember their principles or stand knock-kneed as they keep getting bullied around?

14. What happened to telling the truth?

15. Is it me, or does Tom Cotton come across as a character from one of John Grisham's novels? The one which a virtual unknown wins statewide office by saying little more than no until - gasp! - he suffers a tragedy and has to look at his record?

I think that will be enough. Share with your friends and let's chat.

Sunday Morning Devotional

Psalms 34:1-8

I will always praise the Lord. With all my heart, I will praise the Lord. Let all who are helpless, listen and be glad. Honor the Lord with me! Celebrate his great name. I asked the Lord for help, and he saved me from all my fears. Keep your eyes on the Lord! You will shine like the sun and never blush with shame. I was a nobody, but I prayed, and the Lord saved me from all my troubles. If you honor the Lord, his angel will protect you. Discover for yourself that the Lord is kind. Come to him for protection, and you will be glad.

Does Blackness Require a Litmus Test?

blackness (blak-ness) - 1. referring to how black an individual is by measuring his or her behavior to how well they fit the stereotype. Can also be referred to the respect but not posing of one fitting the black stereotype. 2. a socioeconomic identity pertaining to only black Americans. 

In light of the events arising from the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks' locker room and the comments retired NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley made about blackness - or the lack thereof - I wonder if there is a litmus test to be sufficiently black. This has been a fixture recently in large part of the 2008 election and subsequent 2012 re-election of President Barack Obama.

Does blackness require a litmus test? I'm pretty certain I've failed most of them, but Johnny Law & politicians see me as something else.
— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) October 28, 2014

What exactly is blackness constituted of? Being able to play basketball and recite rap lyrics exceedingly well? The number of women that a man has sex with? Is it the style of dress? What about the cars we drive - or aspire to own? Our grasp of the English language - specifically, having the ability to make complete sentences and extended conversations without the crutches of "uh, you know what I'm saying", or the use of swear words to convey a point? Perhaps blackness can extend to the foods we eat and/or the people we associate ourselves with? Or even the jobs we perform, for those of us who are gainfully employed? To find ourselves in a narrow box not only limits our world to what we are acutely familiar, but it also red lines us to being overrepresented in the things that do matter to all of us such as the crime blotter. 

The question of blackness has been around since our ancestors were forcibly brought to America as slave labor to toil in a strange land rife with abuse and unfavorable conditions both man-made and natural. For example, a principal slave route was from west Africa in present-day Liberia to New York City and New Haven! How much of our original culture have we been able to retain if it has been both a portal and a conduit for the ruling class and even other minority groups to wreak havoc and contempt toward our very existence and humanity. What was initially established as a coping mechanism since we lost almost everything else save religion (see Answers to the Questions Religion Didn't Answer) to survive the insanity of our oppression has become an idiocy of its own by the ignorant in speech and conduct. We have employed and taken full advantage of the very concept of blackness regarding employment, education,and a myriad of opportunities that were lost to us due to our heritage; on the flip side, it has been used as a trump card when someone is viewed insufficiently black. You know the nicknames: house Negro, sellout, Oreo, Uncle Tom, OJ.

Where Charles Barkley gets it wrong about blackness having a litmus test is the fact that as a former professional basketball player, he spent seventeen years in front of the media speaking his mind and has the bank account to insulate himself from the struggles of the rest of us. I do agree with him in the sense (grudgingly) about the crabs in a barrel mentality; ideally, we all should applaud each other for being successful in our arenas of life but it does not always happen. Intelligent black males - we're more than simply well-spoken - are often targeted by the so-called blackness police. Trust me, I've been harassed regularly by that outfit for years. Being smaller and smarter than most of my contemporaries in addition to generally nerdy before it was cool, I was the picture of "trying to be white" when it was a case of wanting to be accepted. Obviously, their definition of blackness was way different from mine - and it still is. 

We're the only people who are rewarded more with street cred for going to jail or sleeping with multiple women. For doing the right thing by getting a quality education, going to work every day ON TIME, and thinking ahead toward the future, we're labeled as squares. Well, cool with me. 

How the hell does that happen?

Could it be the subliminal messages we are reared with, to give back and reach out to those who helped us get to where we are? Example:  When I get paid, I'm gonna buy my momma a new house. It's easy for athletes to do so when they turn pro and make a fistful of dollars in their early to mid-twenties, but what about those of us who stayed in school four, five or six years to earn degrees? I don't know who Bobby Shmurda is? Fine, I'm almost 36. I let that party scene go years ago. Those who have to settle for Mitsubishis instead of getting new Bimmers to show the fruits of our labor? Being asked if (or what) fraternity I would pledge in college, as if that should matter more than getting my degree. By the way, I did join Alpha Phi Omega. I was told by more than one person I was again "too white" for the Divine Nine. What about the one that I grew up hearing - and I'm sure every brother heard it at one point or another:  If she can't use your comb, she can't come home with you. Yeah, I dated white women in the past and probably ninety percent of my friends are white - classmates, buddies, co-workers - but does it mean I am any less black? Life would be difficult if I were limited to a microcosm of what is perceived versus who I really am. 

Just for giggles, I'll add a few litmus questions to determine authenticity:

• Do you know what worldstarhiphop.com is?
• Upon getting paid, your check goes to a) the bank in a savings account; b) court fines for that battle royal from the other Saturday night at the club; c) f**k that, I'm getting the new J's; or d) heading to the rim shop to stunt 22" wheels for the weekend?
• Do you sag?
• How many baby mamas do you have? How is the relationship with them, if multiple?
• Is anything not rap, R & B, gospel, or the blues considered "white music"?
• Do you own multiple flat-billed baseball caps and matching t-shirts for each?
• Does your V8 Chevrolet have $2 worth of gas on a regular basis?
• Have you ever bought or sold food stamps?
• What is more attractive in a woman, a big brain or a big butt? Don't deny it.
• What do you call the guy at work who gets to wear regular business clothes instead of a company-issued uniform?
• When your child needs discipline, is it with anything you can reach (i.e. belts, switches, the Bible) or a few minutes in timeout?
• Matter of fact, what are you views on timeout?
• Do you turn up on the 4th of July and do nothing for Juneteenth?
• Is basketball - or football - the scope of your outdoor activities?
• Does the word "motherf*cker" enter regular conversation? Is it used as a noun, verb, and an adjective?
• Do your rims, paint job, or stereo system in any combination cost more than the actual car?
• Is school for nerds? What is the purpose of education beyond the fashion show the first week?
• Do you know what CME holidays are in the church?
• Have you done unsavory deeds to make sure a bill was paid before its shut-off date?
• How many tattoos do you have?
• What colors do your wave caps come in other than the customary black?
• If someone outside of the group uses the N-word, what is your reaction? 

If you're offended by any of those, I'm not sorry. I feel the same way when you question my blackness when I am more than willing to share my knowledge and idiosyncrasies about myself as well as deviate from the stereotypical thugs and assorted idiots who have made a mockery of what it is to be black. 14.5 million people do not all behave in monolithic lockstep, so why do we expect us to? I don't think we require a litmus test solely because our individual experiences are part of a larger collective tapestry. I do believe Russell Wilson and Charles Barkley are their own brands of black, just as the rest of us - and even those who are perceived as fake, like Supreme Court judge Clarence Thomas and our lost brethren like rapper Yung Thug. 

Who in the hell approved you to be the blackness police, anyway?

Black People After Work

Truth? I know it holds some weight for me. pic.twitter.com/80WfIaaNIL
— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) April 13, 2014

Wait til I clock out...

Saline County Election Ballot

A pair of important things for Saline County residents to know. These two links are the election ballot and the hours at the polling places countywide.

 Saline County's Election Ballot for 2014


Where To Go Vote In Saline County

The Hottest Rap Bars Of 2014

If you haven't heard how David Banner killed the Hip-Hop Awards Tuesday night, check this link out and tell me what you think.

2014 BET Cypher

Enjoy!

Swagger Jackin'

(swagger jacker) – a person who steals someone else’s flow, lines, jokes, style, actions, swagger, etc.

Taken from Urban Dictionary

For as long as I can remember, black culture has been hijacked at every corner and sold to the highest bidder at the expense of dignity, self-respect, and integrity. Ours is an experience akin to the cartoonist Aaron McGruder of Boondocks and Black Jesus fame as “pilgrims in an unholy land” in the manner anything uniquely African-American ends up capitulated – and worse, mocked by the mainstream. Swagger jacking – the practice of some people who take others’ style, flow, swagger, actions, and speech – is another way of calling it gentrification, a loss of cultural signifiers. In this case, I’m choosing to focus on the jackers themselves and their (recent) mesmerism with our culture prior to its eventual ostracism. If that is too many $5 words for you, here is the translation:  That was wack before it became cool, and now it’s lame again.

I feel like something is missing every time I come home. I understand that Conway is changing, and to many of us, not really for the better. I’m certain the Markham Street redevelopment project could have been accomplished without uprooting whole neighborhoods, buying out longtime residents – or waiting for their deaths, as I witnessed with my grandparents – as it presents newer challenges:  Where do they go? At what cost? I’m looking beyond the financial impact. Along with the St. James CME Church that was moved two blocks next to what was my grandparents’ home of nearly fifty years to accommodate the nearby private college and its expansion plans for parking, green space, and more buildings, local businesses are struggling to keep their doors open. If I see that Doc’s Barber Shop is converted to a boutique years after Roger Nelson plied his trade palming ninety percent of black Conway male heads all those years, I will scream!

Dammit, it’s home. I know the house rules of capitalism – if you have less money than someone who wants to live/work/play where you are, then you lose. Swagger jacking is more about culture than geography, about attitude and art, about a certain ownership pride instead of comparative wealth, and that makes it both more deliberate and more insidious. In other words, winning at ‘big bank takes little bank’ only means your money has no regard for roots long established. Using community hallmarks as business names for places overpriced to the displaced is beyond disrespectful.

Another citation of swagger jacking is our music, rhythms, and style. Until Eminem rocked a du-rag, the mainstream considered the public wearing of wave caps ghetto and mocked our Afro picks. You know, the real ones with the black power fist, peace sign, and metal bristles. While I haven’t seen white kids utilizing picks, the fact Questlove keeps one seems to be a signifier that they are acceptable; twenty years ago that was not the case. On the contrary, where are the white rappers who have made millions from our struggles when all of this domestic terrorism is happening to our young brothers and sisters like Renisha, Oscar, Trayvon, Jordan, and Mike? I’m looking squarely at Slim Shady, Paul Wall, Miley Cyrus, Iggy Azalea, Justin Timberlake, Vanilla Ice, etc. Perhaps Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines are a lot more solidly rigid than any of us anticipated. An indictment of our temperament is their seemingly “earning a ghetto pass” simply because we enjoy their entertainment value, leading thousands of teens and young adults to think the same way regarding African-American culture.

America was literally built on the backs of black folks. The way our swagger has been Deeboed is nothing short of criminal – if you don’t believe me, visit a car lot and tell me 22s on a Cadillac do not catch your eye. Explain why your sons sag their jeans and daughters are twerking on YouTube, and both own multiple pairs of Air Jordan sneakers. If these swagger jackers really want something, feel the sweat beading up on my forehead every time the police drive behind me or the stares my wife and I have received upon entering certain restaurants. You don’t understand the gravitas of the struggle – it’s a phase, a play thing, a hash tag. Stop. 

Seeing Upside Down

In light of the Ebola outbreak and subsequent fear-mongering across the United States, a Dallas-area pastor has been noted for his continual prayers for those stricken with the fatal disease. Father Jim Khoi, Nina Pham's pastor, has communicated with her mother and is asking for prayers via Skype. Her condition is steadily improving as a result of not only a transfusion of plasma from a Texas physician who has survived the disease but also through the power of prayer. Many mission-based churches specialize in visiting homes for AIDS and Ebola patients still exist in addition to the state and federal prison ministries. Among the downtrodden, the wretched - the rejected of this world - God's kingdom takes root most firmly.

Taking God's assignment for our lives means we must look at the world upside down, as Jesus did. While it is easier - and often, naturally more gratifying - to seek out those who can do us favors with their abundance of resources, we should open our eyes to find those who are lacking what we have. Instead of the strong, we look for the weak; instead of the healthy, the sick. Rather than associating ourselves solely with the spiritual, visit the sinful. Is this not how God reconciles the world to Himself? In Matthew 9:12, Jesus heard them and answered, "Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do."

To hammer home the point, today's Ebola patients are the lepers from Jesus's era. These lepers were quarantined to isolation to prevent widespread infection of the disease among the population, and as a result were ostracized. Yet Jesus found the time to associate Himself with the lepers, signifying they were truly no lesser than those with clear skin. Imagine the Jews' reaction once they were healed! That could be likened to the American Christian's response after the early cases were vaccinated.

See the world upside down, as Jesus did. Don't waste your time with the 20% when the 80% have a greater need of you.

Timely Words

You may have heard the adage “Timing is everything.” According to the Bible, good timing applies to our words and speech too. Think of a time when God used you to bring a timely word to refresh someone or when you wanted to speak, but it was wiser to remain silent. On the contrary, I am guilty of sending unfiltered tweets, some of which have quickly returned to bite me on the behind forcing to defend or in some cases, recant the offending statement.

The Bible says that there is an appropriate times to speak (Ecclesiastes 3:7). Solomon compared properly time and well-spoken words with golden apples in silver setting – beautiful, valuable, and carefully crafted (Proverbs 25:11-12). Knowing the right time to speak is beneficial for both the speaker and hearer, whether they are words of love, encouragement, or rebuke. Your tone of voice can be the difference between being a blessing and a hindrance to someone! More importantly, keeping silent can also have its advantages. When we’re tempted to roast someone or make derisive comments about an idea, Solomon reminds us that it is better to hold our tongues, recognizing the times for silence. When chattiness or anger tempts us to sin against God or another human being, resistance comes by being slow to speak (James 1:19).

It is often hard to know what to say and when to say it. The Spirit will help us to be discerning. He will use the right words at the right time, tone, and manner for the good of others and for His honor.

Timely words are works of art.

Who Is Our Side?

Taken from 2 Kings 9:30-37

Jehu headed toward Jezreel, and when Jezebel heard he was coming, she put on eye shadow and brushed her hair. Then she stood at the window, waiting for him to arrive. As he walked through the city gate, she shouted down to him, “Why did you come here, you murderer? To kill the king? You're no better than Zimri!”  He looked up toward the window and asked, “Is anyone up there on my side?” A few palace workers stuck their heads out of a window, and Jehu shouted, “Throw her out the window!” They threw her down, and her blood splattered on the walls and on the horses that trampled her body.  Jehu left to get something to eat and drink. Then he told some workers, “Even though she was evil, she was a king's daughter, so make sure she has a proper burial.”  But when they went out to bury her body, they found only her skull, her hands, and her feet.  They reported this to Jehu, and he said, “The Lord told Elijah the prophet that Jezebel's body would be eaten by dogs right here in Jezreel. And he warned that her bones would be spread all over the ground like manure, so that no one could tell who it was.”

God keeps his promises; when he says it, that settles it. Like a protective parent, I'll deal with them when they're wrong, but let it come from my hands. Accept God at his work EVEN when you don't see the background work.

Ex. Faith is like cooking fried chicken. I don't see it yet, but I can smell it and hear the grease popping in the skillet.

Don't let your situation cause you to move from your blessings! When you're spiritual,  you learn how to pray for your oppressors versus throwing hands.

Jehu had a mission to clean up the mess left behind by Jezebel, who dumped God for her own secular agenda. He came back to Jezreel to work (God always has a ram in the bush). She dressed up and brushed her hair to mock him; after she fell to her death, the dogs devoured her body save the skull, hands, and feet.

The Jezebel spirit is a selfish one that supports fear. Learn to walk away from wrongdoing!

Feeding the Hungry Through Ministry

Over the next several blog posts, I will share information - and the process - as our church reestablishes its food ministry. This is physically one of the greatest ministries the church can actively show the world that we are a shining little light in a dark place because 1)we are putting the rubber to the road, and 2)we are addressing a serious need in our community. Thanks to FoodPantries for the step-by-step guide and all of you for your assistance in serving Saline County and beyond.

A food bank can be an incredible way to contribute to the community and help those in the area who have fallen on hard times. While setting up a new food pantry can be overwhelming, with some organization and hard work, you can make your new food bank a success.

Prior to actually requesting food, figure out what kind of food banks are in the area and what kind of gap your food pantry can fill. Do other food banks only serve in the early mornings, or do the only serve very small portions? By establishing what other services lack, you can better serve the community.

With some community backing, you can then look for a building or hosting structure to base your food pantry. Make sure the building has appropriate temperature control, storage, and refrigeration for the food, and that the building is easily accessible for the people you will serve.

Once you establish what niche your food pantry will fill, send a sponsorship request letter to potential corporate and private donors and follow up the letter with a polished presentation. These organizations can help you by providing essential equipment or funds and local schools and churches can organize drives to stock your food pantry’s shelves.

Search for volunteers at community centers like churches or township clubs. You’ll need about ten volunteers a month in shifts to cover accepting donations, cooking food, distributing food, and basic record keeping.

Once you have a base of volunteers, decide on what your operational hours will be. Regular and routine hours will make your food pantry successful as families will be able to depend upon it. Also decide on what demographics you will serve. Choose if you will only help those who live within your community, what income bracket they must be in, and what family size.

With your demographic identified, organize packs of food for each family. Most packets should include enough food stuffs to feed the family for three days. Families would also find it helpful if you separately packaged and included essentials like toiletries, diapers, and detergent.

While setting up a new food pantry can be a daunting task, with a little forethought and effort, you can help the local community and establish your food pantry.


IMPORTANT: If this message is about a particular food pantry, please specify more than just the name. Add city and phone number. Many pantries contact us and only provide their name. We have many pantries with the same name.

Other helpful resources are available as well, but not limited to rent assistance, transitional housing, free medical/dental clinics, and public assistance. Contact your local DHS office - as each branch has a list of services that can readily help your ministry.

 John 15:12 Now I tell you to love each other, as I have loved you.