Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 14 October 2005 — Page 13

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Order of Service Religion

B SECTION FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2005

SPIRITUAL OUTLOOK Stress on the job By REV. JACQUELYN POWELL

Week after week I hear members of my church complaining about the stress on their jobs. They are usually worried they will either get fired or laid off. I’m talking about people who love the Lord and are serving him. Many of the complaints are about unsaved supervisors who are giving them the blues on adailybasis. Many of them feel as though they can’t do anything right. There are even supervisors who claim to be saved but are availing themselves to the enemy to be the worst nightmare of those believers they are supervising. My advice to them usually sounds something like this, “trust God, the Lord works in mysterious ways.” This is true you know. As I look back at times when I felt stress on my job it was usually when the Lord was telling me it’s time to go. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe the Lord would have you moving from job to job on a consistent basis. I believe you will have longevity and stability on the job he has sent you to. Suggestions for the weary souls on the job: 1. Make sure you are doing your very best on the job. 2. Practice your spiritual disciplines before work on a daily basis (spiritual disciplines are your personal devotionals such as prayer, Scripture reading, singing etc. basically spending time with God on a daily basis). 3. Find a prayer partner to pray with you atworkwhen you are feeling down. 4. Anoint your office or work area (you have the power to take authority over your situation). 5. Ask the Lord for direction, allow a few minutes during your devotional time to hear the Lord speak 6. Ask the Lord to reveal to you your assignment for beingonthejobyou currently have. Many times the Lord has a proj ect for which he is using you for the good of others. 7. Go above and beyond the call of duty. 8. Trust the Lord, know that he won’t put any more on you than you can bear. 9. Wait on the Lord (the Lord will give you directions, follow them completely, the Lord will either move you from that situation or he will move the person who is harassing you or making your life miserable). 10. Ask the Lord whether he wants you to return to school or begin to focus on a ministry. The word of God tells us that he’ll keep you in perfect peace if we keep our minds stayed on him. Sometimes stress on the job comes from the fact that we are not paid enough or we are working our own businesses and are worried that we won’t have enough money to make ends meet. One thing to always remember is that the Lord blessed you with whatever you receive whether it’s from a job or your own business. We must remember to give God what belongs to him. We must pay our tithes and give our offering. ► See STRESS, B4

MINISTER FRANKIE MORTON TAKEN TO THE NEXT LEVEL

ORDINATION RAISES ISSUES

Minister Frankie Morton, speaking during Pleasant Union's youth conference this week, is hopeful that her upcoming ordination will inspire women in ministry to remain steadfast in the face of challenges. (Photo/J. Hurst)

By BRANDON A. PERRY Staff Writer

N

aturally, a feeling of joy and excitement has surrounded Minister Frankie Morton as she prepares for one of the most memorable

evenings of her life.

At the same time however, she is being watchful of observers who, depending on their point of view, could use her ordination

to demonstrate why placing women in the pulpit is a good

(or bad) idea.

Morton will be ordained Oct.14 at 7 p.m. at Pleasant Union Baptist Church, 1202 Eugene St. Several pastors will be in attendance, and the featured message will be delivered by Dr. Edward Wheeler, president of Christian Theological

Seminary.

“It will be interesting to see what happened that night,” said Morton. Currently serving as the youth minister at Pleasant Union, Morton acknowledged that her ordination raises a significant level of controversy simply because she’s a woman. Although the Roman Catholic Church is sometimes criticized for not ordaining women, many conservative Protestant male leaders continue to hold the traditional belief that women should “never be over a man,” especially in the church. Morton noted that her event is historic because the ordination of women is particularly rare in the Baptist community (the last pastoral ordination she attended for Baptist women took place two years ago), while some other groups such as the Disciples of Christ, Episcopalians, Lutherans, United Methodists and the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church have ordained women on a comparatively routine basis. Some religious scholars say this difference can be traced to the decentralized power structure in the Baptist faith, which supplies a basic religious dogma but allows local churches to have a certain degree of autonomy in day-to-day affairs. Thus, a Baptist pastor holds significant sway over what happens in

“his” pulpit.

Morton believes some women have been hurt by gender discrimination in ministry. She recalled situations during which male ministers refused to attend a service where a woman preached, and another incident where a stand was placed on the floor of a church so that a prominent woman pastor wouldn’t need to speak in the pulpit. “There are women all over this country sitting down on ► See MORTON, B3

Minister Derwin Smiley launches show for youth

By BRANDON A. PERRY Staff Writer

When people give in to the temptation of comparing him to his older brother Tavis, a popular talk show host, Derwin Smiley patiently notes that his primary goal is to equip youth with the tools they need to succeed in an increasingly complicated and dangerous world. To that end, the local minister and educator recently launched the “Derwin Smiley Show,” which airs every Tuesday on Comcast Channel 76 from 6 to 6:30 p.m. Smiley said the purpose of the show is to focus on youth issues by addressing their concerns, highlighting positive choices that will help them achieve their goal and formulating solutions to youth issues such as relationships, money, education, drugs alcohol, violence and pregnancy. “Serious times call for serious conversation,” Smiley said. “And there’s just such a need among youth and I want to let them know I’m there for them. I just try to let them know they can do anything, you have to develop your talent and just go for it.” The “Derwin Smiley Show” features an in-studio discussion segment with special guests, filming on location in the community and entertainment. It is filmed in partnership with Indiana Black Expo’s Youth Video Institute (YVI), anine-month program designed to train youth ages 13-19 in all areas of video production. The show’s creation comes just a month after Smiley convened the second annual Back-to-School

Derwin Smiley gave up a law career to purse ministry and education. (Photo/J. Hurst)

Christian Leadership Summit, an educational empowermenteventthatattractedhundreds of students, parents and educators. Smiley’s passion for youth stems from his five years as a middle school teacher in the IPS system, as well as his own experiences as a teen-ager growing up in Kokomo, Ind. Duringthoseyears he ran with a 12-member street gang called “Posse,” which required new members to “jump” (or beat up) people during initiation. Smiley was probably the only one who left the gang to finish high school and prepare for college. Eventually, two members died of drug overdoses while five oth-

ers were sent to prison for beating a man to death. “That’s very frighten ► See SHOW, B3

IN THE SPIRIT

Celebrating 83 years Rev. Bernard Murphy (standing) was the guest speaker during Mount Nebo Missionary Baptist Church's 83rd anniversary. Mount Nebo Pastor Hilton Hudson looks on. (Photo/C. Guynn)

REVIEW

Kirk Franklin offers ‘pain medicine’

By AIMEE MAUDE SIMS Associated Press Writer

On Kirk Franklin’s latest album “Hero,” when the gospel superstar sings “To all my people in the struggle, you think God’s forgotten about you, here’s some pain medicine,” he’s describing pain he’s all too familiar with. On the cathartic track “Letting Go,” Franklin somberly recounts being given up by his mother, struggling with pornography and sex, and getting high in the church’s parking lot to Tears for Fears chorus: “Shout, Shout, let it all out.” Then Franklin’s stellar vocal ensemble delivers the “pain medicine,” singing in unison on the title track: “Jesus, You are my hero/You came and you saved the day.” The album contains Franklin’s typical

but explosive mix of hip-hop and R&Bflavored gospel. He also uses samples from soul classics — from Earth Wind and Fire’s “Keep ► See REVIEW, B3

PAHF it R1

CYAN MAGFNTA

Rl ACK