Page 3 - The Voice

NOVEMBER 9, 2020
VOL. 2
WORD FROM NBCA INT’L INC. BROTHERHOOD PRESIDENT FORESTAL LAWTON
When we met in Tampa in February, little did we realize; that nearly all of our Churches would have to leave the Church buildings and gather by means of modern technology, through Social Media. Many of us have been restricted in our abilities to leave our homes, due to stay at home orders, work and jobs being limited to essential staff, schools being cancelled and the overall economic picture of our Nation having turmoil. In addition to economic issues, we have also faced a degree of social unrest a reminiscent of the 1960s. Little did
we realize that COVID-19 would be such a devastating disease, the likes of which none of us had witnessed in our lifetimes. Our small gatherings were cancelled, then our Congress. For many of us, it was learning how to utilize ZOOM platforms, conference calls, and the like. Additionally, health challenges and deaths have also been a part of the picture. For many the question has arisen, Does God Care?
We know that uncertain times reveal reality. You cannot predict the future based on the past. We are praying that God will deliver us from this Covid-19 Pandemic and we have come to realize that our lives and conditions in which we live will not go back to the way they once were. We realize that we cannot go back to the way things once were. The one thing we can be sure of is that our God is faithful, and He will deliver us in his own time. In the meantime, we can be comforted by His Word.
At the request of President Tolbert to come up with ideas to maintain some contact with our Brothers, we asked that the Regions continue to have their monthly conference calls but instead of planning for the Conference that they would extend the calls to others in their Regions and present topics of interests, bible lessons, and prayers for those in the Region. We also made plans to have national conference calls where brothers from across the Nation would come together. This conference call was held August 17 with nearly 60 persons participating. We also encourage local groups to continue to meet in virtual settings since many of our church buildings were closed. In June, we partnered with the BOOTCAMP for their pre-Father’s Day three-day bootcamp. This bootcamp saw over 2,000 viewers each night including many of our NBCA Brotherhood men.
There is still a Great need for the Brotherhood in 2020. While the economic crisis still runs rampant in many of our communities and we are needing to find ways to deal with this Covid-19 Pandemic; while many of our young men don’t see the relevance of the Church, we must be about addressing and helping to correct those issues. The Challenge is Great, but we serve a Great God. Let our work continue and let it begin with each one of us.
Brothers, while we remember the rich heritage of our great leaders of the past, Dr. Ira Clark, Waymon Smith, Cornelius Lee and Eugene Giles, we must continue our efforts to address the needs of men in this present age. We have seen several of our states and local Churches embrace the bootcamp model and for that we are thankful.
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