Monumental Baptist Church

Ministry Matters
by Rev Dr J. Wendell Mapson Jr

September 2, 2024

A few days ago, my wife and I joined our second-born son and daughter-in-law in taking the two-hour drive to enroll our granddaughter in college where she would begin her freshman year in a new and exciting journey of learning and discovery. A young woman entering a new chapter in life, and we are blessed to be a part of a priceless experience as we reflected upon the meaning of these moments.

The college campus is the place where the mind is stretched and the world is enlarged. A place where the young learn how to think critically. A place that teaches students how to think, not what to think. A place where students are exposed to great thinkers and the great ideas that have shaped civilizations, some of which now have been reduced to decay and dust. A place where students gather from other parts of the country and beyond and where young people learn to live in a world they will inherit and, hopefully, make better.

Of course, I could not help but to remember the first day of my freshman year on campus over 800 miles from home. My own existential angst. Wondering whether or not I would fit in or be overwhelmed by the rigors of academic life. Seeing the campus for the first time. Meeting my roommate for the first time. When we entered the gates of her campus, I saw mental pictures of my campus. And when we entered her dormitory, I saw mental snapshots of my unadorned and modest dorm room and the amenities that were lacking in my day. We had pay phones in the hallways but no cellphones. Fans but no air-conditioning. No on-line registration or apps allowing us to view our schedules. No multiple menu choices in the cafeteria.

How swiftly time passes. It seemed like just yesterday our granddaughter was a child entering kindergarten. Now she is a young adult embarking upon a rite of passage that thousands of young people are experiencing at this time of year as anxious parents (and grandparents) reluctantly loosen the strings which, since their birth, have bound our young to us. These are the moments for which parents prepare their children, even if the parent is not fully prepared. Yet, moments fraught with anxiety and trepidation. Moments of physical and emotional separation. Moments of release, though they are never released from our prayers. Children grow up and become the adults we helped to shape. Like the eagle, they deserve to soar but cannot if their wings are clipped by overbearing and controlling parents.

We carry with us to the campus our fears and concerns for their safety. We know that bad things can happen. We know that we live in an unsafe world. We know that campus life is not immune to the same dangers that lurk outside the campus gates. We know that the young are also vulnerable and capable of making bad judgments. We know that they may be surrounded by unhealthy influences. We know this because we once were them. We, too, have traveled that road.

We also know that college is not just a glorified high school but a place where learning and academic pursuit are taken to a newer, higher, and demanding level. Suppose they don’t make it? Suppose they and their roommates are like oil and water? Suppose they can’t manage the rigors of the academy the same way they aced exams in high school? What will they do with the new-found freedom to which they are now entitled? And how much will this freedom cost them and those who love them? Freedom at what price?

Yet there comes a time when we must trust that they will be guided by the Christian values we have taught them. That they will eschew evil and choose right over wrong. That the lives we have lived before them matter more than we think. We trust that they listened more than they pretended to listen and paid more attention than we thought to the sermons they heard from the pulpits of our churches. We want to be able to brag about their moral and ethical integrity as well as their academic and scholarly achievements.

As we along with other parents drive through the campus gates headed home without them, we leave the children we have nurtured into their teen years in the hands of strangers. Professors, dorm counselors, and hopefully friends they will make for life. We leave them in the hands of their “alma mater,” Latin for “nourishing mother.” But most of all in the hands of a loving God who watches over them day and night and hears our prayers for their safety and wellbeing.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Mapson

Join us tomorrow at 10 AM, in-person or online, for a special prayer 🙏 as we lift up teachers, admins, and students heading back to school! 📚✨

🎉 MBC Teens! Join us this Friday, Aug 30 6-8:30pm for a Back 2 School Game Night! 🎮🍕 Fun, food, trivia, and cash prizes! Don’t miss out—invite your friends!

Email [email protected] for more info

Ministry Matters
by Rev. Dr J. Wendell Mapson Jr

August 26, 2024

Last week the Democrats were the last of the two major political parties to present their case before the American people regarding who should be elected president and vice-president in November. An election that will be one of the most consequential in American history as well as one that will help define and shape America’s future. Each convention brought to the stage persons strategically chosen to make a compelling case for their candidate. Each convention was well-orchestrated theater, designed to stir up and engage the faithful while attempting to woo independents and the undecided into its camp. Each was a made-for-television spectacle. High stakes political drama.

Beyond the glitz and glamour of these two prime-time events, it is worth noting the stark contrast between the two visions for America’s future and the kind of nation each party represents. Anyone who chooses to sit out the coming election by falsely believing that his or her vote doesn’t matter is sadly delusional. And anyone who could not see the contrast between the two visions for America and the two candidates each represents is either blind or suffers from distorted vision which may be a condition worse than blindness.

Last month the GOP paraded a tired list of grievances articulated by its sour and sullen, gloomy and complaining representatives spouting grievances and appealing to the worst within the human spirit. We saw cultic-like allegiance to a poster child for unethical, amoral, racist and misogynistic behavior. But one who has been given a free pass even by millions who claim that Jesus is Lord.

Last month we saw a convention that seemed cold and dark. A dystopian tale of doom and gloom unless voters elect a “savior” who will purge the evil within the nation, including immigrants and others who don’t bend to his will. Much is made of the so-called “criminality” of immigrants while nothing is said about the young, white, male American citizens who, with an AR-15 in hand, have committed horrendous mass shootings taking the lives of innocent children who were given no chance for a bright future.

Hidden under the floorboards of the convention’s stage was a scary document called “Project 2025” which reshapes the America we have known and destroys the democracy we hold dear. A convention large on fault-finding but short on meaningful solutions to the nation’s problems. We saw sore losers continuing to lick their wounds and spout misinformation and lies while enabling those who are most vile and vindictive.

However, last week we felt a breath of fresh air. Not that all the speeches merited high praise. But at least we felt a fresh wind blowing across a divided and fragmented landscape. No candidate is perfect, and no political party is without flaws. Yet when graying former President Obama spoke, we were reminded of the hope he embodied two decades ago. The courage to hope. The audacity of hope. The convention in Chicago gave us the feeling that hope can rise from the ashes.

One party represented whining and grumbling because it desires the power to shape America in its image and by doing so to trample on the rights of ordinary people as it decides which Americans deserve the blessings of this land. The other party offered a warmth and compassion, a respect for the dignity of the human race and a sense of justice for the least and the left-out. One party wants to decide who belongs. The other party believes that we all belong.

There seemed to have been a sense of joy and exuberance last week, missing from last month’s gathering in Milwaukee. When the Bidens and the Obamas came out on stage respectively, we saw tender embrace between couples that did not seem scripted but genuine. We also saw it in the reflections of the second gentleman and his daughter concerning his wife and her stepmother. We saw relationships, not political alliances. Warmth and not coldness. Genuine love and not contempt.

We are naïve to believe that either political party can save us or that either party has access to a magic pill that once taken can solve all the problems and fix us in the broken places. However, come November each voter must decide between decency and decadence. Between honor and dishonor. Between going forward or falling backward. Between feeding the demons or exorcising the demons. Between our fears and our faith.

The function of government is not to save but to govern and to make government work for the people it serves. It is the obligation of Christians to help elect persons to political office who represent the values of our Lord even if they are not believers themselves. Governments need not be religious or non-religious. But governments must be just and compassionate.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Mapson

🌟 Join us for the grand finale of our SUMMER PREACHING SERIES! 🙌 Dr. Marsha Brown-Woodard will be our guest preacher this Sunday at 10 am. 🕙 Worship with us in-person or online ✨

⛪️ See you there!

WAYS TO WATCH - [Link in bio]

Ministry Matters
by Rev. Dr J. Wendell Mapson Jr

August 19, 2024

More summer musings. The 2024 Olympic games are now in the rearview mirror. Games that featured over 300 events covering 32 sports with over 10,000 athletes competing over a 17-day period and representing 200 countries. For me, track and field has always been the greatest athletic attraction pulling me into its orbit. A powerful metaphor of life as a “journey” which is also a biblical theme.

Abram (later called Abraham) is tapped on the shoulder and invited by God to travel on a journey to a land of Promise, not knowing where he was going but following an unseen Presence. In track and field, the relay races are reminders that we never finish the journey we begin. Each runner passes the baton to the next runner and the journey continues.

Led by God, a bunch of rag-tag Hebrew children with the dust of Egypt clinging to their sandals, journey to Canaan-land as God begins to shape them into His people while demanding their obedience. The steeplechase reminds us of the obstacles along “the journey” and the hurdles that must be jumped. A sure way to lose the race is to trip over a hurdle.

During the games we saw athletes burst out of the starting block with lightning speed but falter near the finish line. Runners who were expected to win but lost and runners who were expected to lose but won. Runners who couldn’t run because of last minute injury and runners who sustained injury while running. Runners who ran out of gas and runners who turned on the gas. One runner bragged before the race about an impending victory, then lost. His “talk” outdistanced his “walk.” Some athletes use a bitter defeat as fuel for future victory.

We saw runners win the gold because they “leaned” into the finishing line. And runners who were disqualified because of an infraction, reminding us of Paul’s cautionary words to those called to ministry, “I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.” (1 Cor. 9:27-NLT).

The winners at the Olympics receive medals of gold, silver and bronze. But the prize in Paul’s day was a wreath made of green leaves, branches or twigs, a crown which he says is laid up for him… given to him “by the judge who judges rightly.” (2 Tim. 4:8-10). He writes to the Corinthians, “All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.” (1 Cor. 9:25).

Speaking of races, we are in the midst of a presidential race which will determine the future of America and answer the question of what kind of nation do we want to be. Our vote will determine who we are. Many raised concerns about the NABJ (National Association of Black Journalists) inviting ex-president Donald J. Trump to be interviewed at its annual convention in Chicago. Why give one who has a history of stirring up racial animus such a platform? However, the responsibility of journalists in our society is to raise serious questions about issues that concern Black people, even with persons with whom we disagree.

True to form, as one commentator wrote, Trump “stumbled all over the place.” Once again, he put his foot in his mouth and proved that he could not handle the questions raised by the highly regarded journalist, Rachel Scott. Intimidated by the competence of a Black woman, he accused her of asking a question in “a horrible manner,” while repeating his false claim that he has been the best president for Black people since Abraham Lincoln. Sadly, he believes his own lies and vilified
the press each time the truth is in conflict with Trump-truth. He has turned millions of his acolytes against serious and fair journalism. In the words of NABJ president Ken Lemon, “We have been called to speak truth to power.” Trump’s appearance before the Black journalists further exposed “the Emperor who has no clothes.”

Between now and election day we will continue to be inundated with negative political ads telling half-truths, taking a candidate’s words out of context and portraying them in a bad light. The real danger to our democracy is anyone who would take government from the people and use power to further their own agenda.

Back to the 33rd Olympiad and the events of track and field. In sprint and hurdle events, in order not to risk disqualification, runners are required to stay in their pre-assigned lanes. If only we in the church would learn to do likewise.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Mapson

Every round goes HIGHER! We are excited for week 2 of our SUMMER PREACHING SERIES. 🙌 Don’t miss out—join us at 10AM as we welcome Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Haggray.

⛪️ See you there!

WAYS TO WATCH - https://tinyurl.com/3xduh3yw

Ministry Matters
by Pastor Mapson

August 12, 2024

Summer is an appropriate time for what I call “summer musings,” scattered reflections on events that either have already taken place or that are currently shaping the news. I shall mention three.

The summer Olympics have drawn to a close in Paris, “The City of Light,” so named because it was the first major European metropolis to install oil streetlights as early as the mid-17th century to make the city safer. Olympic contests can be traced back to ancient Greece. Gathered in the French capital are thousands of the best athletes in the world, each competing for medals, whether gold, silver or bronze, and each donning the flag of the country each contestant represents. A gold medal, melted down, is worth under $600. I am in awe of lightning-fast athletes who believe they can outswim a sailfish, outrun the wind, and twist and twirl in the air while defying gravity. Winners become instant rock stars, national heroes in the countries they represent.

These superior athletes have undergone rigorous training of body and mind in order to reach the vaunted Olympic tri-level podium. Yet even the slightest injury can force a fine-tuned athlete to withdraw before fulfilling the life-long dream. A 100-meter race can be decided within the span of 10 seconds and the difference between winning the gold and leaving empty handed can be 0.005 of a second. So close! One runner won because at the last second, he leaned into the finishing line. Because he “leaned,” he made history. Winning athletes may claim to be “the best to ever live” or “the best in the world.” Yet in spite of such hyperbole, they can only claim to be the best to ever compete on the Olympic stage. But we move on.

On the political scene, Republican troglodytes are calling Vice-President Kamala Harris a DEI hire, which stands for diversity, equity and inclusion. Columnist Jenice Armstrong calls it the new woke, replacing CRT and its predecessor, affirmative action. Harris’ detractors falsely suggest that she is on the ticket only because of her race and s*x, yet conveniently ignore that she has already served with distinction as district attorney for the city of San Francisco, Attorney General for the state of California, four years in the U.S. Senate and vice-president of the U.S.

By mispronouncing the vice-president’s name, they intentionally challenge her racial identity, dehumanize her and render her the “other,” meaning “not one of us.” An indication of their inability to recognize and accept a smart, intelligent, articulate and highly qualified Black woman. Black people have always had to “prove” themselves by running twice as fast and working twice as hard only to be dismissed as unworthy.

Also, August 2nd would have been the 100th birthday of literary genius and civil rights activist James Baldwin who was born in 1924 and died in 1987 at age 63. Other Black activists have confronted issues of racial injustice in various ways, from outright violent rebellion to peaceful protest. However, James Baldwin was gifted with the power of the pen and used words to speak with compassion and eloquence about the plight of the oppressed. His circle of friends, colleagues and fellow activists included Martin Luther King Jr., Harry Belafonte, Robert F. Kennedy, acclaimed playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, and novelist Angela Hansberry, among others.

Born to an u***d mother who eventually married a Baptist preacher who gave him his surname, Baldwin effectively wrote against the backdrop and influence of the Black church and the Pentecostal worship experience. Author Robert Jones Jr. notes that Baldwin “wrote with a kind of moral vision that was as comforting as it was chastening—almost surely the influence of the pulpit he occupied as a child preacher in his native Harlem.” While a college student, two of his novels impacting me most were both set in church. The first, “Go Tell It On The Mountain” and a second which became his first play, “The Amen Corner.” A third novel, “The Fire Next Time,” begins with a letter to his nephew imploring him not to believe the negative things racists say which do not testify to one’s humanity but to their inhumanity and fear. In an essay, “Down at the Cross,” Baldwin reflects on the role of religion in society and its negative impact when used as a divisive force. He was a friend of Medgar Evers and outraged when the Mississippi field worker for the NAACP was assassinated in his driveway by a white supremacist in 1963. James Baldwin was truly a prophet without a pulpit.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Mapson

We kick off our Summer Preaching Series with what we know will be a powerful experience! 🙌 Don’t miss out—join us at 10AM as we welcome Rev. Robert V. Shipman Sr.

⛪️ See you there!

HEY MBC FAM!
☀️ Our Summer Preaching Series is back! Join us every Sunday at 10AM this August. Pastor Mapson is away, but we’ve got an amazing lineup you don’t want to miss! If you can't join us in person, catch us online. Invite your friends and family!

WAYS TO WATCH** 👉 [Link in bio]

“🎓 College Send-Off this Sunday following morning service! Let’s support and uplift our students as they take the next big step in their journey. ✨

Ministry Matters
by Pastor Mapson

August 5, 2024

While for the last few weeks the nation’s attention has focused on several impactful events, including the attempted assassination of a former president, the theatrical gathering of Republicans in Milwaukee to “anoint” a convicted felon as their standard-bearer in the upcoming presidential election, the withdrawal of President Biden from his quest seeking a second term, and the emergence of Vice-President Kamala Harris as the party’s presumptive nominee, another event has passed by virtually unnoticed.

I refer to the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In this current generation and political climate, it is hard to imagine the bill’s impact and implications at a time when segregation was the law of the land, particularly in the South but also in subtler ways in the North. At the time the bill was signed into law, it was one of the most momentous pieces of civil rights legislation in American history, moving the nation closer than it had ever been to equality and hastening the end of Jim Crow.

In the East Room of the White House where President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the bill 60 years ago were iconic civil rights leaders and activists, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Height, A Philip Randolph, Whitney Young and others who had been fierce advocates for social change. Sixty years later, President Joseph Biden traveled to Austin, Texas, home of Lyndon Johnson’s presidential library, to proclaim July 2, 2024 as the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.

When originally signed, the law “outlawed segregation in business establishments, public schools and other public places, while prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, s*x or national origin.” The legislation also established the Equal Opportunity Commission and led the following year to the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act. The passing of these bills precipitated the exodus of whites from the Democratic Party which was perceived as favoring racial equality in favor of the Republican Party which was more sympathetic in stoking white, southern resentment.

However, the 60th anniversary commemoration of this landmark legislation has taken place against the backdrop of political unrest and racial turmoil, and in an election year climate which gets nastier with each passing day. The Supreme Court has been stacked with conservative jurists who have rolled back civil rights already gained, including women’s reproductive rights and is sympathetic to insurrectionists who participated in the January 6th riot at the Capitol by giving them a mere slap on the wrists. The high court is no longer the once cherished and highly respected judicial body it once was.

One of the ways to explain the rise of Donald Trump is his appeal to working class whites who feel that they have been left behind and ignored at the expense of gains made by blacks and other minorities. Yet in an article written by German Lopez, studies are cited that show that on average, black people still make less money than white people and that the overall income gap between the races remains large. Even poor whites enjoy the benefits of white privilege historically not accessible and available to minorities. Many working-class whites have abandoned the Democratic Party because the Republicans have promised to fight for them, to be their “savior, and to restore their “rightful” place in a country that “belongs” to them but has left them behind.

Lost in the conversation is the fact that black people have never enjoyed the privileges enjoyed by even poorer whites who were never subject to enslavement, racial segregation, Jim Crow, lynching and intimidation at the polls. Many poorer whites resent blacks who have reached the middle and upper classes, believing that they are either undeserving or that, though unqualified, they benefited from affirmative action.

The current Republican party has tapped into this deep resentment, anger and fear on the part of working class whites, though in reality, blacks and working class whites have more in common then working class whites have with their own white upper classes. Those in power always benefit when they can keep the underclasses fighting each other. Throughout American history, blacks and minorities have been demonized by politicians who have convinced whites that blacks are their enemies.

If those iconic civil rights leaders in that photo taken in the East Room could gaze upon the current economic, social and political landscape, what would they say about how far we have really come in 60 years? Not as far as we had hoped.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Mapson

Ministry Matters
by Pastor Mapson

July 29, 2024

Two events within the span of two weeks have captured the nation’s attention and helped to reshape the political/historical landscape. One is the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump as he spoke at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. The event was held immediately prior to a trip to Milwaukee to accept his party’s nomination for president. To say that he accepted his party’s nomination is an understatement since it was more like a coronation of a king, a week filled more with theater than with substance.

For a very brief moment in accepting the nomination the former president gave the appearance that he had undergone a “conversion” experience as he solemnly invoked the name of God to satisfy his white evangelical followers. But within a matter of minutes his acceptance speech changed course and reverted to the Donald Trump we have grown to dislike for the way he casts himself as a populist savior, the “great white hope” dedicated to the restoration and solidification of white privilege, purveyor of white grievance and protector of the social order. He resumed the role he played well as former “divider and chief,” spreading venom and hate to those eager to embrace his narrow vision for America.

The media unfairly focused on a frail president and his debate performance while completely ignoring the indecency, incompetence, incoherence and ineptitude of his debate opponent and the existential and political threat he is to America. This coming election will say just as much about Americans as it will about the candidates. It is not the candidates alone who are being judged but we, the people.

Though many reacted to President Biden’s departure from the race with unbridled glee, my reaction was one of sadness coupled with sorrow. Though many of us disagree with his unwavering support of Israel’s handling of the war in Palestine, I see him, unlike his opponent, as a man of integrity, principle and compassion. One who loves his country more than he loves himself. A family man who endured the horror of the death of his first wife and daughter when their car was struck by a tractor trailer while they were on the way to buy a Christmas tree. An accident that left their two sons, Beau and Hunter, ages 3 and 4, with a concussion and broken bones respectively.

A man who has devoted 50 years, half a century and more than half of his life to the public arena as a politician and servant of the people. A man of decency and honor. A devout Roman Catholic. A politician of compassion and empathy who led our nation out from the depths of a deadly pandemic, gave us the most solid economy in decades, restored our standing in the world, reduced the cost of medications, fought for reasonable and common-sense gun restrictions, pushed policies that would protect the environment and curb climate change and at no time acted as if he was above the law.

But one who could not survive the perception that his mental and physical decline made him unfit to hold the high office. And while, unfairly, the focus has been on him for the past few weeks, the real enemy of the American people has gone unchallenged and unscathed while the press has given him a pass.

While the President was vilified for a poor debate performance, Donald Trump’s debate performance escaped scrutiny, even though over 30 lies dripped from his tongue. Even though his aim is not to become president but dictator and king. Even though he incited a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. Even though he is a convicted felon, a s*xual predator, and a failed businessman. Even though an anti-discrimination lawsuit charged him with racial bias in renting his NY apartments to blacks.

And now our nation is at another crossroads. Another defining moment in a country still struggling to exorcise its demons, and still deciding whether it wants to be ruled by an arrogant dictator or by the people. A nation fueled by fear and mistrust of the “other.” Or whether it wants to be a nation embracing all of God’s children. Whether it has the moral and political backbone to elect a black woman as its next president and by doing so, be a “light to the nations.” Whether whites will support a black woman. And more importantly, whether black women and black men will support a black woman. A woman who is qualified, dignified, competent, and ready to lead.

The question now is whether America is too comfortable with its demons to break free before it’s too late.

Grace and Peace,