May each of you have the heart to conceive, the understanding to direct, and the hand to execute works that will leave the world a little better for your having been here. -- Ronald Reagan

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Senate Chaplin Barry Black

I happened to catch a bit of an interview on Laura Ingram's program a few days ago with the Senate Chaplin Barry Black. This is an impressive man of God. An impressive man, with a great story to tell.

He's the 62nd Senate Chaplin and a Seventh Day Adventist, and is Pastor to about 6,000 people on the Hill. Senators and their families, Chiefs of Staff and all their employees. He was a Rear Admiral and Chief of Navy Chaplin's when President Clinton appointed him Senate Chaplin.

He was one of eight children to a single mother in the projects in Baltimore. Her focus was God, Church and children. She would give a nickel for each Bible verse they memorized. He related to Laura Ingram that he started small, "Jesus wept", and mastered Proverbs because they were short, and it became his favorite book. A good thumbnail bio is here but I'm so moved by what he has to say. God's spirit flows from the man with strength and humility. Here are a couple quotes from him:

"My identity is not rooted in what my job title may be, because a job can change. My identity is rooted in who I am in Christ. And I see myself as the apostle Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 4:1, as a servant of Christ and a steward of His mysteries. So I think that whether I'm in the Senate, the Navy Chaplaincy, or in a congregational setting, it really doesn't matter. I believe that He requires, as Paul says, that servants and stewards be found faithful."

"If you want to faithfully interpret the word of God, start praying the Scripture. It will energize your prayer life. When you pray before an open Bible, you give God the courtesy of starting the conversation. And so I will open the Bible and I will read until something stops me, something impresses me, something warms my heart. And then I'll talk to God about it."

His book is "From the Hood to the Hill".

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