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Special Thanks

Are you “Hating” on anybody? Is anybody “Hating” on you? If so, don’t let it control your life. Be prepared for it, acknowledge it exists and move on. Remember Jesus Christ said in John 16:18, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.”

If we dedicate our lives to following Christ, we can be as-sured that we are going to be “hated” for various reasons. Maybe we will be ”hated” if we are blessed with fame, a successful position or pastor-ate, house, wife or husband, children and other trappings that go with success. Maybe we have been called to oversee a successful “mega” church to work in the in the kingdom of

Christ. Maybe others have been called to some little unheard of church with a handful of mem-bers and have not been so fortunate. So they might look at you with envy. Christ knows our

capabilities, He knows what we have, what we need and what successes our ego can handle. If we can’t handle things like He thinks we should, we might end up with egg on our face.

Joel Osteen says about “Haters.” ‘When you’re blessed, the haters come out. When you wear God’s blessings well, don’t be surprised if it draws jealousy out of people.” Get over it and move on in the name of Jesus Christ.

Haters have existed since the beginning of time. Indian political and spiritual leader Ma-hatma Ghandi said about haters: “First they ig-nore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” Think about it – it is not about you and them – it is about you and God.

As Christ’s ambassadors, we have to exam-ine our own attitudes and behaviors to see if we are displaying attitudes not of Christ that might cause the “haters” to come out.

If Jesus Christ, our Lord, head of the church who was so much more than us in personal greatness and personal worth, was hated by the world, why should we not expect it to be hard,

or strange when we experience it. Perhaps when we stop focusing so much on ourselves and place the focus on Christ, where it rightly belongs, we won’t have so much time to be con-cerned about the “haters” out there. Samuel Jackson said, “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” So be kind to each other, haters and non-haters alike and remember they hated our Lord and Savior before they hated us.

In the spirit of Christ, I wish my mother Cassie M. Payne and all the mothers, biologi-cal and otherwise, a belated happy and blessed Mother’s Day. To my wife, Celeste, the mother of our son Devon (our pride and Joy) Happy Mother’s Day and Happy Birthday.

Ivory D. Payne Publisher

Don’t Hate

“The true measure of a man is how

he treats someone who can do him

absolutely no good.”


encouragement & inspiration

By Jessie ToddContributing Writer

My mother died three years ago, “Being old and full of days,” as the Holy Scriptures so eloquently phrases it. She was ninety-one, still as beautiful as I remembered her. She made that step into eternity on my birthday. I received the call as I was prepar-ing to board a plane to visit her. I lived in another state most of my adult life, but our house in Florida was the place I visualized as “home.” I visited every chance I got. It is still difficult to celebrate a Mother’s Day without her. There are times when the pain of losing her is gut-wrenching, especially when I realize I will never again see her or hear her say in her southern drawl, “Hey sugar.”

I am the mother of a son and a daugh-ter and my legacy from her is to try to live up to the role model she left for us. My dad died when I was just fourteen years old, so Mom filled the role of both parents. She was my biological mother and a very special one, but mothers are not necessarily created by birth; some are created by adop-tion.

Adoption began with our adoption into God’s family. Our spiritual adoption occurred through God’s grace when He

brought us into his redeemed family, and made us partakers of all the blessings He provided for us. First John 1:12-13 tells us, “yet to all who received him . . . He gave the right to become children of God – chil-dren born not of natural descent, nor of hu-man decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” Adoption represents the new life in Christ and the privileges associated with being God’s children.

Three cases of adoption are mentioned in the Old Testament: Moses, (Ex.2:10), Genubath (1 Kings 11:20) and Esther (Es-ther 2:7, 15). The adoption of Moses by Pharaoh’s daughter is the first human adoption noted in the bible. “Then Pha-raoh’s daughter went down to the Nile . . . she saw the baby and felt sorry for him . . . when the child was older she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son.” Exodus 2:5-10.

Societal adoption legally and perma-nently places a child with a parent or par-ents other than the birth parents. An adop-tion order severs the birth parents rights and transfers them to the adoptive parents. When adoption is finalized, there is no le-gal difference between adopted children and those born to parents. It is the same with us as children of God. All who accept Him becomes his spiritual children.

As hard as it might be to imagine, not all “natural” mothers love their children, and many adoptive mothers love their children as much, and often more than any birth mother. Giving birth does not neces-sarily make a woman a mother. It takes a special woman to mother, one who is will-ing to invest her life in another human be-ing who is totally dependent on her. I knew such a woman inti-mately; my sister. She was a social worker (now deceased) for more than thirty years for the state of Florida. Through her contacts, she became aware of an unmarried mother, who was expect-ing twins. For reasons known, only to her, the mother did not want to keep her babies and put them up for adoption.

Like the biblical Hannah, my sister longed for children but the joy of being a mother was denied to her. Through God’s divine plan, that unmar-ried expectant mother and my sister were brought to-

gether. After countless weeks, meetings, forms and counseling my sister and her husband brought home not one but two

She is the MotherSee mother, Page 15


“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children…” is the first half of Proverbs 13:22. There has been much spec-ulation as to how this verse is to be under-stood and implemented. The obvious idea is that grandparents should leave money to their grandchildren. We’re sure that is true, but we suspect that there is much more to the concept of inheritance than just leaving our progeny financially set. We suspect that a valuable inheritance must include our values, virtues and vision.

Children are precious, delightful, full of fun and hope. They bring joy and rich-ness to all those that will take time to ap-preciate them. But there’s the rub. Far to many children are neglected and treated like they are a nuisance. In our fast past world, that treasures achievement and col-lecting things, there is far too little interest in developing children. This is systemically true.

Recently, we listened to an intriguing report on CNN. It featured a spokesperson for The Children’s Defense Fund. During the interview, the spokesperson alluded to a report presented to The Children’s Defense Fund by Hart Research Associates. The sta-tistics they presented were both startling and alarming.

40 percent of Black children are born poor. In the fourth grade, 85 percent of Black children cannot read or do math at grade level and later almost half drop out of school. A Black boy born in 2001 has a 1 in 3 chance of going to prison in his lifetime.

The CNN interviewer, Ali Velshi asked the pertinent question, “What is the an-swer?” Assignments were proposed for many segments of society. The government must provide better schools. Churches and social agencies must offer better programs. However, the role and responsibilities of

parents was alluded to only as a passing afterthought

Here now is our issue, a call for pa-rental action should have topped the list. None have better access, more of a vested interest in and most of all the privilege of molding and shaping the lives of children than do their parents. We suspect that the root cause of so much of these alarming sta-tistics and the state of unpreparedness of our children is due to parents transferring their responsibilities to other entities.

Television and other forms of elec-tronic entertainment are seen as convenient babysitters. School programs are made to bear the entire burden of the educational development of our children. And while the “it takes a village to raise a child” con-cept is attractive and has merit, we must be careful to avoid dumping our children in someone else’s lap.

We passionately recommend that all parents revisit and reevaluate their child raising practices. Ask the hard questions, like who exerts the most influence with my children? With as much objectivity as can be mustered, avoiding the presumptive and usually unrealistic commendations of our own children. Instead find out if your children exist in any of the categories of ac-ademically under-performing children not-ed in the Hart Research Associates report.

Adult personal achievement is gratify-ing to be sure. We are convinced, however, that the consistent, long term investment in the education and moral development of our children will produce a joy and sense of fulfillment that no other pursuit can aspire to. If enough of us buy into this vision, our culture will not only survive but also thrive. Please, let’s put the children first.

The Fraziers

“Put The Children First”Bishop Clifford L. Frazier & Co-Pastor Pamela Frazier

www.battleforthefamily.com

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COLUMBUS, OHIO — A large and enthusiastic crowd gathered at a uni-versity Saturday to see President Ba-rack Obama kick off what his campaign described as the first rally of his re-elec-tion bid, especially in a battleground state known for its critical stakes in No-vember.

Thousands of people filled the Je-rome Schottenstein Center at The Ohio State University in Columbus to hear the president and first lady Michelle Obama speak. Several expressed sup-port for the Democratic candidate de-spite criticism on how he’s managed the economy’s slow recovery.

“He needs time,” said Donna An-derson, a 55-year-old consultant from Columbus who is focused on health care reform. “He inherited a mess. It’s going to take more than four years to see the results of what he’s doing. Noth-ing turns around overnight.”

Anderson and others recognized the importance of Obama choosing to kick off his re-election bid in Ohio. He won the state in 2008, and it’s a swing state considered critical to winning the White House.

“It’s a key state,” Anderson said. “He’s got to rally here and all over the state. The more he can get his word out, the better.”

Merre Phillips, a self-employed marketing specialist from Tiffin, Ohio, said she was curious about seeing Obama in person. A big supporter of environmental issues including less-ening reliance on foreign oil, she said she’s already decided she’s not voting for a Republican in November.

“Obama still needs to earn my vote,” the 49-year-old said as she filled out a ticket form to enter the arena.

Phillips, who came to the event with her boyfriend and his 15-year-old daughter, said it was important for her to see the president.

“I wanted to feel him connect with the average voter,” she said. “That con-nection is still important. That’s my rea-son for coming. To see he still gets it.”

Mrs. Obama spoke about education opportunities and senior citizen care before introducing her husband to the

stage. Although the president didn’t discuss any issues specific to Ohio, he touched on several important issues including job recovery, health care re-form, and education.

It was the kind of speech that still moved Tara Windle, a public school teacher from London, Ohio, who voted for Obama in 2008 and plans to do the same in 2012. Windle, who’s focused on health care reform, wore a bright T-shirt with Obama’s face on it and two pins supporting his re-election campaign.

“It’s the same message of hope,” she said. “Hope for this country. It brought tears to my eyes.”

Obama, who has primarily focused his re-election campaign on the econ-omy, also addressed the critical youth vote by including points on student col-lege debt.

Max Berger, a 26-year-old group organizer with the Occupy Wall Street movement visiting from New York City, said he’s critical of Obama’s public com-ments on keeping interest rates down for Stafford student loans because it doesn’t fix anything.

“It’s telling that Obama’s big initia-tive to reach out to young people is to not let things get worse,” he said.

Still, Berger said he will vote for

Obama in November because he feels he’s a better option than Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee.

“I was a huge fan of Obama,” he said. “I’ve been very disappointed over what’s happened the last four years. I think Obama knows he has a problem with young voters.”

Several elected officials spoke at the rally, including U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, astronaut and former U.S. Sen. John Glenn and former Gov. Ted Strick-land.

Obama was scheduled to travel lat-er to Virginia Commonwealth Univer-sity in Richmond, Va.

columbus oh

Ohio voters share their key issues at Obama rallyObama In Columbus


HOPE • RECOVERY • FAITH WELLINESS • TREATMENT • UNITY

Roughly half of Americans (52%) say Barack Obama’s expression of support for gay marriage did not affect their opinion of the president. A quarter (25%) say they feel less favorably toward Obama because of this while 19% feel more favorably.

There are wide partisan and age dif-ferences in reactions to Obama’s expres-sion of support for gay marriage, accord-ing to the latest weekly survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted May 10-13 among 1,003 adults.

About half of Republicans (53%) say they feel less favorably toward Obama be-cause of his support for gay marriage. By contrast, 60% of independents and 52% of Democrats say their view of Obama has not changed. Among independents, as many say they feel less favorably as more favorably toward Obama as a result of his gay marriage decision (19% each). Far more Democrats say they feel more favor-ably than less favorably toward Obama (32% vs. 13%).

Among those 65 and older, 42% say they feel less favorably toward Obama,

while just 15% feel more favorably; 38% say their opinion of Obama is unchanged as a result of his expression of support for gay marriage. Among younger age groups, half or more – including 62% of those un-der 30 – say they opinion of Obama was unaffected by his gay marriage announce-ment.

The opinions of whites largely re-flect the population as a whole: 49% say Obama’s expression of support for gay marriage did not alter their opinion of the president. Among those who say it did, somewhat more say it made their view of him less favorable than more (29% vs. 20%). Most African Americans, on the other hand, say the announcement did not alter their opinion of Obama. About two-thirds (68%) say this, while about as many say it made them view Obama more favorably (16%) as less favorably (13%).

Obama’s expression of support for gay marriage comes at a time when the public’s support for allowing gays and lesbians to marry is growing. Accord-ing to a recent Pew Research survey, 47% now say they favor allowing gay marriage

while 43% oppose this. In 2008, 51% op-posed allowing gay marriage, while 39% favored it.

to sampling that would be expected at the 95% level of confidence for different groups in the survey.

Survey Polls Americans About Obama’s Support of Gay Marriage

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Okay, I couldn’t resist calling these “secrets.” Why? Well, they are such a missing practice in ministry today, they functionally behave like secrets. You be the judge:

Secret #1: Ask God for supernatural insight into your “ministry best.”

He already knows what you can do best because he created you to do it. Every

other step in this process fails without a spirit of great de-pendence on God and the full realization that ministry is a stewardship, not derived from you. Peer into your history. Reflect on your identity. Gaze at your strengths. Pray for vision.

Secret #2: Define your “ministry best” with great clarity.

Have you found that amazing place where the right words symbolically yet powerfully capture your “ministry best?” Great leaders usually do, and they know it’s worth sacrificing the time for internal wrestling and outside coaching. Clarity isn’t everything, but it changes every-thing. Name your “ministry best.”

Secret #3 Refine your leaders’ understanding of your “ministry best” with great patience.

Be confident in this: Leaders always overestimate how much their team “gets it.” Check out Jesus’ ministry to strengthen this point. Your tools to create understand-ing are time and dialogue. Make the time. Tee up the dia-logue. Start with your inner circle. When they are clear, get

every leader in your ministry together and do it again. You are not done with this process until everyone responsible for money or people in your ministry is clear.

Secret #4: Communicate your “ministry best” to ev-eryone with great passion.

Now it’s time to open the floodgates. Weave it into every sermon. Bring it up at each meal. Tell the story at today’s meeting. But remember to increase your passion. How do you do that? Consider what problem your “min-istry best” solves. Stir your heart with that problem. Com-municate the answer in a way that others will really feel it, not just hear it.

Secret #5: Consistently change, modify, or tweak the least effective one-third of what you are doing in light of your “ministry best.”

Does this sound hard? It’s really not when you do the first four practices well. In fact, this can be a lot of fun once the leadership team is aligned. To help you identify the

See 6 SecretS, Page 15

church leadership 6 Powerful Secrets to Unleash Your Ministry Best

do you change your worship music/style when you get feedback or criticism from people... how has your leadership style changed over the last five years?

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Inspired by President Barack Obama’s 2010 Fa-ther’s Day address, Fa-thers Incorporated (FI) has launched its Ties Nev-er Broken campaign. Fa-thers Incorporated, a not-for-profit organization in New York is committed to eliminating fatherlessness and increasing the com-mitment of men to become mentors. Over the last sev-eral months, the campaign has garnered international attention and is supported by The White House and several major urban cities. The Ties Never Broken campaign is symbolized by the social marketing icon of a “blue bow tie.”

New to the team in championing the mission of responsible fatherhood is Fred Hammond, Gram-my Award and multiple award-winning perform-er, producer and writer. Hammond joins fellow co-spokesperson Chris Broussard, journalist and sports analyst for ESPN. “I am excited to serve in this honorable capacity of sav-ing our children,” states Hammond. “I’ve spent my life striving to be a re-sponsible father and man, and I find it unacceptable

what’s happening to our children because of the dis-engagement of fathers and able bodied men.”

“For years, FI has been working in the field of responsible fatherhood, with the goal of creating ef-

Fathers Incorporated Announces Fred Hammond To Serve As Co-National Chair and Spokesperson For “Ties Never Broken” Campaign

Chris Broussard and Fred Hammond to lead the effort of

the “Ties Never Broken” Blue Bow Tie Campaign

See hammond, Page 15


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The En Sound Music Awards, one of Gospel’s most recognized awards events of its kind, will be heading to the Porter San-ford III Performing Arts Center in the city of Decatur, GA on July 29, 2012 and promises to be an evening packed with great perfor-mances and surprises.

Founded in 2006 by independent gospel recording artist and Founder of En Sound Entertainment, Delroy Souden, this award ceremony has created a buzz on all conti-nents and is one of the most talked-about events of its kind. Its purpose is to recognize independent Christian and gospel artists.

“There’s hardly a day that goes by when someone doesn’t ask, when is the next En Sound Music Awards or, Are you accept-ing submissions for the next En Sound Mu-sic Awards?” Souden said.

Trophies will be presented in 22 cat-egories this year, including Male Vocalist of the Year; Female Vocalist of the Year; Song of the Year, Artist of the Year and Album of the Year. In addition, there will be perfor-mances from Atlanta’s own Delra Harris, Mike Willis & The Called (NY), Terea (NJ),

Sho (MD), Andre Byrd (NY), Saxophonist Courtney Fadlin (JAM), Deanna Ransom (DE), Chiquita Green (PA) and others.

This year, the event will be hosted by Gerard Henry, formerly of BET’s “Lift Every Voice”. Henry states, “I am always honored to be a part of special events that not only honors but identifies the HIDDEN TREA-SURES within the body of Christ. Music is an integral part of our daily experience and these artist have purposed to offer their gifts

to enhance our experience with God. That must be celebrated!”

Requirements for the En Sound Music Awards include but not limited to artist visi-bility on the web; Internet/Terrestrial radio; press releases; blogs; interviews; album re-views; television appearances; busy perfor-mance schedules etc., and must become a member of the Christian Internet Radio As-

The En Sound Music Awards Heads For Atlanta GA On July 29, 2012 Hosted By Gerard Henry

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See en Sound, Page 15

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COLUMBUS, OHIO — May is Men-tal Health Awareness Month. Our mental and emotional well-being is very impor-tant to our overall health. 1 in 5 people are affected by mental health challenges. Mental health issues show no boundar-ies and affect people from various social and economic classes, religions, cultures, and races which means anyone can be af-fected by mental illness. Some may not recognize the signs and symptoms of men-tal health issues and/or struggle with the taboo and stigma associated with these health issues. Stigma says when people perceive their living with mental health is-sues as different or weird they may not ask for assistance and therefore not receive or obtain appropriate care. The media per-petrates this stigma through showing per-sons with mental health issues as “crazy.” This is unacceptable. The media can also be an ally in promoting recovery and resil-iency. To have an understanding of men-tal and emotional wellness, we must have the education and awareness that assist in our understanding and supporting these individuals who may struggle needlessly. Through this education and awareness we add culturally competent and appropri-ate mental health professionals that em-brace individuals where they are and re-spect who and whose they are. There are so many people who have gone through and understand the journey of living with mental health issues and they have be-come advocates to fight for others.

How exciting and blessed I am to meet so many wonderful people through Tova’s N.E.S.T. As we connect with faith and other communities, we build relation-

ships and spend time with some wonder-ful “folks.” Imagine working with a young woman beyond her symptoms and behav-iors to allow her to share her dreams and

aspirations. Imagine meeting a frail and saddened African American older gentle-man sharing the trials and tribulations of his life during the 40’s, the loss of his

spouse, and moving to assisted living. A story of faith, strength, and perseverance leaves you on the edge of your seat want-ing to hear more. Imagine meeting a child so symptomatic she cannot attend school. Imagine this child taking your hand (hav-ing never met you before) sharing her pet rabbit, she asks you to read her favorite story with her that allows you to witness a side few see. Imagine a child not want-ing to live anymore and telling her mother, “There is something wrong with me and if you cannot help me live, then you have to help me die.” Imagine a family or individ-ual being consumed with a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder, and to have symptoms labeled as “bad behaviors” followed by stigma bounding them up leaving a large dark cloud of shame, blame, and guilt over them. To make matters worsts, imagine not receiving services or services not be-ing appropriate and professionals that do not respect the dynamics of your family or culture. Imagine feeling overwhelmed and loosing hope. Just Imagine!!

Now, just imagine taking a group of passionate people which include mental health professionals who “get it.” Then add persons who have a “lived experi-ence” complement this experience with a knowledge base regarding mental health, substance abuse, and co-occurring dis-orders. Connect these individuals to the community. Add some compassion, re-spect, empathy, and opportunity. Now imagine again the young woman attends an appropriate program and receives sup-ports and services to work at a major hos-

may is mental health awareness month

Faith & Mental Wellness

health & welliness

See change, Page 14


home & garden

(NAPSI)—Once a year, many people scour their homes—deep cleaning and get-ting rid of items they haven’t used or worn in years. However, people who clean and stay organized throughout the year are more likely to be happy, healthy and finan-cially comfortable.

“I see clients every day who are ex-tremely stressed due to the level of disorga-nization in their life,” said Lisa Zaslow, pro-fessional organizer and owner of Gotham Organizers. “If you keep your home orga-nized, with a minimal level of clutter, you’ll see a number of benefits above and beyond being able to see your floor.”

What are the other areas of your life that benefit from being organized?

Emotional—A high level of disorgani-zation can lead to excessive stress. Zaslow helped one client reorganize her home, and afterward the client “woke up happy, in-stead of stressed like before.”

Health—An organized home is cleaner, keeping germ and bacteria levels to a mini-mum.

Financial—“You’d be surprised how many people have money in old purses when I come to help them get organized,”

said Zaslow. Additionally, being organized means you’ll be on top of paperwork—one missed credit card payment can rack up late

fees, increase your interest rate and affect your credit score.

Knowing that there are all these addi-tional benefits, how can you get started? Ac-cording to Zaslow, it doesn’t matter where you start, so begin with the easiest or most annoying task.

• Cull through closets and storage to find items that you’re no longer using and get rid of them, like gadgets, last season’s clothes or collectibles. If they are still in great condition, bring them to an eBay Trad-ing Assistant. Trading Assistants are experi-enced eBay sellers around the country who will sell your items on eBay for a commis-sion. They do all the work for you—making you money while you clear out clutter.

• Box up excessive paperwork or mag-azines and label them “Items to sort” as the first step. It will make you feel better to know the process has begun.

• Organize one room at a time to make the task less overwhelming. Making your-self a schedule of which room comes next helps show your progress.

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pital with benefits. The older gentleman obtains supports and services which in-clude meeting other older African Amer-ican men he can connect with and he is laughing and enjoying life again. The little girl’s mother does not give up and the girl receives appropriate services, and with the unconditional love of her moth-er along with the support of family and friends she graduates “Scholar Athlete of the Year” and later attends college. She goes on to advocate for others who live with mental health challenges. The young child is in a new school where the teacher has aides to assist and all are appropri-

ately trained. Recently while working with some

youth we talked about the gang violence and killings in their community. These youth talked casually about their friends and acquaintances and how the violence was “just a part of life.” With no emotion or concern these young people talked and I became saddened to see the hopeless-ness in their eyes. The trauma of violence has impacted their perceptions of tomor-row and their feeling about today – These youth were “numb.” The affects of vio-lence can be disabling to ones mental and emotional well-being. How do we move

toward healing and hope? As a commu-nity we can hold the hope for our young people until they can hold it for them-selves. We cannot discount their journeys and through action address these issues that continue to impact their lives.

Tova’s N.E.S.T meets individuals and families as a “like face”, a “trusted mes-senger”, a person smiling, standing with confidence, and a commitment to assist. We “give a bridge to hope as people move toward new beginnings.” Tova’s N.E.S.T, Inc. has a non-traditional approach to providing services which includes hope through education and awareness train-ings, advocacy and support. Additionally,

Tova’s N.E.S.T, Inc. gives the opportunity to others who have overcome similar chal-lenges to participate in the continued suc-cess and growth of the organization as the organization is driven by persons in re-covery including youth and families.

A beautiful quote by George Wash-ington Carver speaks volumes our being our brother keeper.

“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, com-passionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong, because some day in life you

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three-month-old infants – a son and a daughter. She was on pins and needles until the adoption was finalized – and they were legally hers. They brought much joy to our family – my mother was the baby sitter – and like most children, I am certain they brought some sorrow to my sister and her husband. As parents, we enjoy the happiness and endure the sad-ness that our children bring. Just as God loves us, His adopted children, we love them anyway.

I want to share this very touching poem, entitled “The One Who Follows Me,” author unknown, with our readers: “A careful mother I ought to be, a little one is following me. I do not dare to go astray, for fear she’ll go the selfsame way. I can-not once escape her eyes, whatever she sees me do, she tries. Like me, she says she is going to be, that little one who fol-lows me. She thinks that I am good and fine, believes in every word of mine; the base in me she must not see, that little one

who follows me. I must remember as I go, through summer’s sun and winter’s snow. I am building for the years to be, that little one who follows me.”

As I celebrate this Mother’s Day with my children, I hope I have made my mother proud. I have tried to walk in her footsteps and to be the kind of mother she was to me.

Comments may be sent to [email protected].

“bottom” one-third of your ministry ac-tivity, work as a team to place all of your ministries in three buckets, ranked A, B and C. Be courageous.

Secret #6: Reinforce the aware-ness and appreciation of your “ministry best.”

Pray about it daily. Remind people about it weekly; celebrate it monthly. If you start doubting it, go back to secret #1. Don’t let the idea of “being best” put pressure on you. Remember that the foun-dation of a “ministry best” is God’s work. He is the power source. He brings the fruit. Stay completely connected to and dependent on Him. If you take these se-crets seriously, it will be very important to stay connected to Jesus to keep your suc-cess from going to your head.

Will Mancini emerged from the trenches of local church leadership to found Auxano, a first-of-kind consulting ministry that focuses

on vision clarity. As a “clarity evangelist,” Will has served as vision architect for hundreds of churches across the country, including such notable pastors as Chuck Swindoll and Max Lucado. Will holds a Th.M. in Pastoral Lead-ership from Dallas Theological Seminary and

has authored Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture and Create Movement; he also co-authored Build-ing Leaders with Aubrey Malphurs.

More from Will Mancini or visit Will at www.willmancini.com/

sociation (www.1cira.org) before April 30, 2012; membership is totally FREE!!! Artists wishing to submit their professionally pro-duced and packaged CD releases or mp3 files to be considered, must do so no later than April 30, 2012 to:

En Sound Music Awards - PO Box 32507, Newark, NJ 07102-0907

Voting for the 2012 En Sound Music Awards will take place online and via text messaging and anyone over the age of 13 will be able to vote for his or her favorite art-ists. En Sound Entertainment is elated that this event will be held in Georgia, and ev-eryone who will be in attendance can expect a spirit-filled evening that features some of the finest independent Christian artists of today.

For more information contact Delroy Souden at:

Tel: 855-ENSOUND (367-6863) or 862-241-3351

Email: [email protected]

will have been all these.”As we celebrate this month, a change

must be made in how we support, em-brace, and respect individuals living with mental health issues and co-occurring dis-orders. If you would like more informa-tion regarding Tova’s N.E.S.T, please do not hesitate to connect us at 614.337.1311 or the Multiethnic Advocates for Cultural Competence at 614.221.7841.

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fective service models to serve men,” says Kenneth Braswell, executive director of Fathers Incorporated. “Our biggest strug-gle in combating both father absence and the lack of viable mentors is our inability to raise the societal level of conciseness regarding the importance of responsible male involvement.”

“It is our hope to garner the support of other influential men in sports, enter-tainment, business and in our faith-based communities to champion our efforts. Par-ticularly those who have played impactful fatherhood roles in television and screen, as well as those who have a passion for ele-vating the image of responsible fatherhood and family values,” adds co-spokesperson, Chris Broussard.

Fathers Incorporated will be engaged

in several projects within the coming months including the kick-off of Father-hood Buzz, an initiative with the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC) and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services in support of President Obama’s Responsible Father-hood and Mentoring Initiative. The NRFC Fatherhood Buzz is an effort to promote responsible fatherhood and disseminate parenting information to fathers, families, and the community at-large via one of the most trusted community resources for men – Barbershops. In honor of Father’s Day, seven targeted cities across the coun-try (Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee, WI; New York, NY; Phila-delphia, PA; and Washington, DC) will participate in the inaugural Fatherhood

Buzz event on Saturday, June 16, 2012. FI has also teamed with the McDonald’s Gos-pel Fest to promote the organization’s we-Mentor campaign in three cities: Newark, NJ; Chicago, IL; and Philadelphia, PA.

Additional FI partnerships and initia-tives include: “Power Down,” a campaign to encourage parents to acknowledge their children’s technology habits and “Rumble Young Man Rumble,” mentorship de-velopment strategies at the Muhammad Ali Center and several other activities to highlight the importance of father involve-ment. FI is working in partnership with ICF International, Ad Council and BLH Technologies.

For additional information and up-dates on the campaign, please visit www.fathersincorporated.com.

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