Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 249 AUGUST 2016 BODY OF CHRIST NEWS A Heartbreaking Week Heartbreaking is the only way to describe the range of pain over the events this week in Baton Rouge, Minneapolis and Dallas. There is a reason this keeps hap- pening and will continue to happen in our nation. Not all policing agen- cies across our nation have the ability to reform themselves when it comes to a code of conduct when engaging an ever-increasing multi- ethnic public. De-escalation tactics and implicit bias awareness must be learned and employed before deadly force is introduced. We cannot allow racist and cow- ardly acts such as we are witness- ing in Dallas to skew the neces- sary narrative needed to unify our nation. Having served as a police chaplain for 12 years, my heart goes out to our faithful law enforce- ment officers. We need to pray for all the victims of senseless killings we have witnessed this week, and for the families affected by these days of violence. We know our first charge is prayer (2 Chron. 7:14) and, after watching the video out of the suburbs of Minneapolis and the Dallas police attack, prayer was my refuge and strength. True law enforcement reform has to come from the top down. Sensitivity training in mul- tiethnic engagement must come from the U.S. Justice Department down. It is the only way to stem the tide and change the course of these types of outcomes. We as Americans can no lon- ger rest in the assurance "that everything is fine between all Americans." Everything is not fine in these dark times in our country. This is not our America; we are better than this. We need to build bridges of understanding among all Americans, not walls of fear and mistrust. It's time for the best of America to rise and unify. We are better together, as a unified nation. We are called to have compassion and to pray. And with God's direc- tion, we are prompted to action. By Rev. Dr. Robin D. Holland Tug of War In my 39 years of living I have had many valuable lessons, some have shaped my life for the better and oth- ers have caused more pain then it’s been worth. However, I am grateful for every lesson that has changed my life because without the good or the bad, I would have remained stagnant. With each life lesson I realize that there is also an internal Tug of War. This Tug of War can occur for many reasons, some reasons explainable, others not so much. Some Tug of Wars come because we are battling internally a moral decision, or per- haps we are hiding information or maybe our flesh is at war with our spirit, which can happen often as a believer in Christ Jesus. Where ever our Tug of War may be originating from, we must realize and remember that if we keep our eyes on God and our ears to His heart we gain strength for the Journey and wisdom for each decision. For those of you that have small kids, you can appreciate this illus- tration. I was at my kid’s school for field day. During this fields day the kids had at least 6 stations of activi- ties, and one of the last ones was a tug of war challenge. My son’s class went to the rope and positioned them- selves evenly on both sides and began to pull. Each side was pulling with great strength, perseverance and con- centration. Somehow, my son’s side began to lose strength and the oppos- ing side seemed to gain strength, they had the upper hand for sure. As I stood on the sideline watch- ing this challenge, I noticed my son seemed to lose heart and he started to give into the thought of losing, as I observed this, I began to encour- age him to pull harder, stronger and don’t give up. He heard my voice and then repositioned himself for win- ning, he started pulling harder and more intently. All because he heard my voice. How many times in life are we at a tug of war moment and all we need is to hear the voice of authority, God our father? When He speaks miracles happen, when He speaks the wind ceases, when He speaks bodies are healed, when He speaks hearts are mended, when He speaks direction is given. When He speaks, our most challeng- ing moments become our most triumph times. In the midst of life’s tug of war, we must position ourselves for winning, we do that by engaging in sincere prayer time, making realistic goals, assembling an accountability team and being honest about where we are in life. The truth of the matter is we will all engage in a tug of war in our lives but what makes us winners is how we position ourselves. Not focus- ing on the details of the challenge but entering into the challenge with a winning attitude, understanding that Christ defeated everything on Calvary’s cross. Are you ready to go to war? Indeed you are because you’re already a winner!! Pastor McDonald & Yuliya Surina Tie The Knot! Pastor Greg McDonald and Yuliya Surina were United in holy matrimony on June 25, 2016 at 2pm at Heritage Christian Center in Aurora Colorado. Bishop Dennis Leonard Sr Pastor Heritage Christian Center and Pastor Curtis Dean Sr Pastor In His Presence Christian Center performed the mar- riage nuptials. The happy couple honeymoon in St Croix US Virginia Islands. Robin D. Holland By Sparkle Robinson TESTIMONY Sparkle Robinson & her children RACE IN AMERICA We cannot allow racist and cowardly acts such as we are witnessing in Dallas to skew the necessary narrative needed to unify our nation.