ENGAGED!

 
By Eric Stradford

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 49th Quadrennial General Conference urges its members during a designated "Social Action moment" to immediately call their members of the House of Representatives and urge that they rescind the action taken against Attorney General Holder. BEGINNING 6 AM MONDAY, JULY 2!!! FB, Tweet, Call Congress www.house.gov. If they don’t answer, try www.senate.gov, and tell them WE ARE ENGAGED!

AMWS, Virtual, June 30, 2012 – Reports from Nashville’s Gaylord Opryland and A.M.E. Church Members Connecting Around The World signal a mass revival for the African Methodist Episcopal Church. In one word, the historic church, founded by former slaves in Colonial America is ENGAGED!

More than a million delegates, officials and friends are connecting good ol’ common sense with innovation to make business as usual a practice of the past. The event is the 49^th Quadrennial Session of the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Reports estimate approximately 10,000 people were on hand for the conference keynote speech by First Lady Michelle Obama. LIVE STREAMING technology carried the address worldwide via Internet.

As Mrs. Obama addressed AMEs in Nashville, her husband addressed the nation on the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Health Care for America Act of 2010. The term “ObamneyCare,” crediting (or blaming) both Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates’ (Barack Obama and Mitt Romney), best describes the Massachusetts plan that inspired the newly upheld law of the land.

Mainstream news reports, attempting to encapsulate the historic event and its impact on global issues earlier misreported the gathering as an “Annual Conference.” But those in the know can tell you, there is a big difference between an Annual and General Conference. One of the biggest differences for folks at the conference facility has been on-demand contact with a virtual delegation of “friends” connecting through Facebook, Twitter, and various social media outlets.

But, the virtual delegates are not necessarily “married” to any one social media platform. They are shopping for just the right tools to support their own innovations in Episcopal governing. The church’s own social media outlet is the oldest existing black periodical in America, and the only one in the United States whose existence dated before the Civil War. It supports an historic conference system that predates Bishop Richard Allen’s founding of the institution in 1787.

The old church newspaper that used to get scooped on almost everything AME seems to be on steroids today under the leadership of a retired U.S. Army chaplain. Delegates elected The Reverend Dr. Calvin H. Sydnor, III at the 47th Session, General Conference of The African Methodist Episcopal Church, convening in Indianapolis Indiana, July 2004. His reelection this year was unopposed.

Youth Achievers USA Institute, a national 501c3 nonprofit partner is providing air coverage as a demonstration in innovative communications for church in community. Since 1994, The American Mentor Wire Service, a YouthUSA program, has offered good news strategies for believers. Sydnor and a few forward thinking church leaders see the glass getting fuller, while some diehards continue to hold fast to an “I CAN’T” mindset. Today, attitudes that impede growth and development for the church and the nation represent a threat to economic security.

YouthUSA hopes to counter the threat by increasing the peace where beneficiaries live, learn, work and worship. The ministry invites American youth, ages 7-24, to become ASSETS and therefore not LIABILITIES to their families and communities. YouthUSA got started during its founder’s transition from a mega church business manager to a national community organizer.

The Reverend Dr. Jo Ann Browning, Co-Pastor of Ebenezer AMEC, Ft. Washington, MD, touched Stephanie A. Walker Stradford, believing God for great things in her life. The church had grown so fast under God’s anointing that Steward Pro-Tem Melvin Clay would fall flat on his face seeking God’s divine guidance. That may sound too “churchy” for dignified pontificators, but the value of substantive sermons, relevant teaching and compassion for those in need called for a special brand of servant leadership demonstrated by the Reverend Dr. Grainger Browning and his “bone of bone.”

The rapidly evolving “Miracle on Allentown Road” struggled with exporting its effectiveness to church leaders beyond the physical walls of the church. “People needed to believe,” said Stephanie A. Walker Stradford. “Instead, some saw only the absence of stuff to which they had become accustomed.”

In 1996, Stradford launched THE ANNUAL YOUTH ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS as an economic program to ENGAGE youth. Her challenge was in testifying about The Miracle on Allentown Road to other churches. “I was surprised. It didn’t go over very well,” said Stradford. “We test marketed brands such as AME Storehouse, Matah, and Free African Society for the 21^st Century (FAS2).” More recently, YouthUSA developed the ChurchUniversal.us brand in support of AME Regional Social Actions in Sanford, FL.

This week, Friend James Winfrey III posted, "The CLASS LEADER system: Is it being utilized in your church?" In a nutshell, Winfrey drew attention to the single most vital issue for the church today—youth. Too many local AME Churches are not engaged in Class Leader Development. Without trained, effective CLASS LEADERS, the local church is not assessing needs on a regular basis. There is a widening gap between pulpit and pew that perpetuates a negative perception of the AME Brand.

One Social Action turns a problem into an opportunity—ENGAGE!

“To fully understand the continuing social activist & evangelical relevance of the African Methodist Episcopal Church you must experience the General Conference in Action! If we could translate this to the local level we would be a huge mobilizing force!” posted The Reverend Charles Boyer, St. James AME Church.

Boyer’s post may have inspired next Sunday’s sermon for local churches around the world. John 14:12-14 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!

In one click, the local church family can connect to CLASS LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT for THE WHOLE VILLAGE.

Program Officers for YouthUSA are meeting with General Conference participants seeking support for mobilizing local community assets IMMEDIATELY. The message is reflected in a collaborative definition of Positive Youth Development. 12 U.S. government agencies define Positive Youth Development as an intentional, pro-social approach that ENGAGES youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, and families in a manner that is productive and constructive; recognizes, utilizes, and enhances youths' strengths; and promotes positive outcomes for young people by providing opportunities, fostering positive relationships and furnishing the support needed to build on their leadership strengths.

www.YouthUSA.net/Connect

Connecting with YouthUSA requires a computer, a high speed Internet access and a commitment to America’s future. Are you engaged?  

Connect NOW!

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