Mourning the life of a Legend: Dr. Evron E. Stafford

On April 8, 2008, the church community was shaken as they mourned the loss of a great and legendary leader, Dr. Evron E. Stafford. Dr. Stafford served the Los Angeles Christian community for more than 45 years. He served as the Senior Pastor of the historical Mt. Tabor Missionary Baptist Church for more than 30 years. He is known as the "GODFATHER" to many Pastor's and Ministers across the country and world. More than 7,000 people responded to the call of salvation through his ministry. Mt. Tabor has always been a leading congreation here in the LA area.

Mt. Tabor was organized June 29, 1958 in the sanctuary of the Three Oaks Baptist Church with Dr. H. D. Higdon, deceased Pastor of the Israel Baptist Church and the late Dr. N.E. Taylor, deceased pastor of the Zion Baptist Temple of Compton officiating. The Group of ninety-nine baptized believers moved about from place to place worshipping in homes, sometimes garages until Dr. J. T. Stewart of Shreveport, Louisiana was called to pastor the newly organized church. Dr. Stewart accepted the call July 1958. Due to failing health, Dr. Stewart retired December 16, 1976 and was given the Honorary Title of Pastor Emeritus by the membership. Reverend B. D. Eldridge was very instrumental and did a wonderful job in keeping the membership together until a pastor was able to close his pastorate in Shreveport Louisiana and officially take over the leadership of our Church. Reverend Evorn E. Stafford of Los Angeles was called to Pastor Mount Tabor and accepted this responsibility July 17, 1977. Pastor Stafford was serving as an Assistant Pastor at the Paradise Baptist Church in Los Angeles. Pastor Stafford began right away to lay the groundwork for the success experienced by our Church once he became Pastor.

We purchased and converted lots on 67th and 65th Streets for additional parking space. Our facilities expanded to include the property on the Southeast corner of 66th Street and we purchased the property on the northeast corner of 66th Street. In addition to the never ending duties as Pastor of Mt. Tabor, President Stafford served as a member of the Fellowship Baptist District Association, past President of California United Baptist State Convention and Corresponding Secretary for the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. We are blessed with a great Pastor who strives for a wholesome and joyful atmosphere for all the Church Family. He teaches us to care and be concerned for our brothers and sisters in Christ. In that vein, the Lord has allowed us to continue our bus ministry to visit the sick and the shut-in and reach out to the community through our radio ministry. Twice a year our members and friends donate clothing which we give to those in need and we distributed food to the Community during the year. As we look back, we can see that Mt. Tabor has been tremendously successful under the leadership of two gracious leaders that we have been privileged to call Pastor over 48 years. Dr. Stafford leaves to cherish his memory a lovely wife of more than 40 years, one son and two daughters. He will be cherished and missed. "He has gone to a city older than Eden, and taller than Rome" ~ Dr. C.A.W. Clark

My visit to April's INCREDIBLE PRAISE!

Sorry that this blog is almost 2 weeks late. But here is the latest report on this month's INCREDIBLE PRAISE. On April 20th, I again visited the Zion Baptist Evangelical Temple in Compton for the fourth service of "INCREDIBLE PRAISE". This service is purposed to be the premier worship experience for Young Adults here in southern california. It is a vision of Dr. Kevin Stafford that individuals from various churches can come together and praise & worship God. This month's service was "WORSHIP WITHOUT LIMITS". The attendance was down, however, the momentum and flow was at an all time high. Pastors, ministers, evangelists and musical guests was present and participatory (my new word). There was a great delegation of youth and young adults. The special guest were an anointed dance ministry from Los Angeles, CA named "The JOY Praise Dancers". These young people were surely on fire for the Lord. This month we were blessed with a lecture from Min. Stacey Neale. Min. Neale is a member of ZBET and he was a blessing. Min. Neale is one of those who were blessed with the gift of preaching. He basically came from the womb preaching. This lecture was only his third sermon ever and what a wonderful job he did. The Rev. Tyron Delbert Robinson served as the Keynote Speaker. Rev. Robinson serves as the Pastor of the Kingdom Builders Christian Fellowship of LA. What a powerful and well received word. What a night. The people of God was blessed and I look forward to round #5 which will take place on May 19th @ 6pm sharp! This service is postured to take place every 3rd sunday of the month. I send a shout of to the ministry team of IP and ZBET for their spirit of excellence and servanthood. You will do yourself a favor to not miss the next "INCREDIBLE PRAISE". Until we meet again...........F. Demond - www.newcopasadena.org

Speaking Engagements throughout the month of April

The month of April as far as ministry was busy for me, but not with preaching assignments as usual. My regular day to day schedule was hectic and I thank God for the strength to perform the tasks at hand. Though I'm always grateful for the many preaching opportunities that is extended to me outside of the ministry where I pastor, I'm always thankful for what we call the easy months. This month, I only ministered three times at other churches and twice it was for the same church. I ministered on saturday April 9th at a Youth & Young adult prayer breakfast for the Mt. Zion MBC here in Los Angeles. I also ministered last Friday evening for them during their pre-anniversary services honoring their Pastor and Wife. The Mt. Zion church is led by the legendary Dr. James Toldson. I have always had a great appreciation for the man and his ministry. Dr. Toldson is a great friend of my grandfather and has always been kind to me during my years of ministry. As a matter of fact, I cherish the fact that over 20 years ago, it was he that extended an opportunity to me to minister my second sermon ever at the Mt. Zion Church. I preached for his anniversary in my grandfathers place. WOW! Twenty years later and I am sharing with this church for the same occasion. What a blessing. Their Youth & Young Adult prayer breakfast was held at the Hawthorne Airport Ballroom. Both services was a blessing and the great people was very hospitable.

On this past sunday, I also had the great honor of sharing with my good friend, Dr. Michael Albert and the people of the Mt. Aaron church. It was the 4th Pastoral Anniversary of Dr. Albert. The congregation at Mt. Aaron shared much love with this leader for his diligence and commitment to ministry. Dr. Albert is a genuine, sincere Christian leader. He is most notably known for being a giver and a man of prayer. This was my fourth year ministering at this service and again I am thankful. I pray God's best blessings for these two congregations and leaders. I ask that my blog readers would remember them in your prayers. Continue in the favor of our Lord!

F. Demond

How To Memorize Scripture

He was in the wilderness. He was exhausted. He was hungry and thirsty. He was alone. He was attacked by the Devil. He was armed with the word of God. He was victorious. With confidence in the sacred scriptures, Jesus prevailed against the Enemy's deceitful schemes (see Matt. 4:1-11). The Lord defeated Satan with three verses from Deuteronomy. How much more can you I resist temptation, live obediently, and endure hardship if we get the word of God into our hearts and minds through scripture memorization.

There are very few spiritual disciplines that are more beneficial than scripture memorization. It arms you with truth to resist temptation. It renews your mind as you meditate on scripture. It shapes and strengthens your prayer life, enabling you to pray the scriptures back to God. It makes the wisdom of God readily available for decision-making. It arms you with biblical authority for counseling fellow-believers or witnessing to lost people. It gives comfort in times of grief, sorrow, and persecution. And it fills your mind and mouth with truth to offer as grateful praise to God in worship.

Here are seven steps you can take to begin and stay on track down the narrow but life-giving path of scripture memorization.
1. Have a plan.
When left alone, good intentions suffocate spiritual progress. Godly desires must have the fresh air of practical commitments in order to breathe and live and grow. So establish a definite plan for scripture memorization - a plan that works for you. Decide when you will do it. Select what verses you are going to memorize. Have a plan and establish measurable, challenging, attainable goals.

2. Start small.
Don't begin by telling yourself that you are going to memorize a chapter a week. No you’re not. And your failure will only discourage you in the future. Remember, each victory will help you another to win. So start small and build on your successes. One or two verses a week is a good place to begin.

3. Select verses that are meaningful to you.
The Bible is filled with hundreds of verses worth memorizing. Many profitable Bible memory systems are also available. And pastors and teachers may encourage you to memorize certain passages. Draw from all of these sources for ideas. But also select your own memory verses. Choose passages that are meaningful to you and that you find helpful.

4. Make memory cards to keep with you.
Write out the verse on a card that you can take wherever you go. And when you have spare moments – on a break, in a waiting room, or between activities – you can read, review, and recite your memory verses.
5. Get a Bible memory partner.
Do you have a prayer partner? If not, you should. A good prayer partner can give you support, hold you accountable, and celebrate victories with you. A good Bible memorization partner can do the same. Iron sharpens iron. So consider partnering with someone for mutual support in memorizing scripture.

6. Keep practicing your verses.
Scripture memorization does not come easy for most of us. But don’t be too quick to blame it on a poor memory. Scripture memorization is spiritual warfare. But our spiritual enemy cannot prevail against the word of God. So keep practicing your verses until you get them down. Then constantly review them. Remember, repetition is the key to memorization.

7. Pray for God’s help.
Do you fear that you cannot memorize scripture? Tell God about your fears. Do you need strength to remain focused? Ask the Lord for it. Do you need wisdom for selecting verses or managing your quiet time? Pray with confidence for these things. God is glorified as you learn to think and behave biblically. So labor and pray and trust the Lord to help you to make the word a treasure in your heart, so that you might not sin against him (Ps. 119:11).

Taking Back What The Devil Stole!

I just wanted to share with my blog readers an interesting blog from a friend of mine named Rev. H.B.Charles Jr. He is the Senior Pastor of Mt. Sinai MBC in Los Angeles. He often share blogs that encourage me and make me think everyday. He is also an author and contributing writer for several published books. He has been named one of the most sought after revivalist in the country. He is one of the most prolific and profound expositor preachers of this day. I'm appreciative to his expressions which provides another form of ministry for him. I also encourage my blog readers to support his ministry. His ministry information is listed below. Please be blessed and enjoy. I also want to add that it was this Pastor that encouraged me to began blogging. Enjoy.........
*********************************************************************************
“I’m taking back everything the Devil stole from me!” Have you ever heard this statement? Have you ever made this statement? Have you ever thought about what this statement means?

Spiritual catchphrases. Theological sound bites. Pulpit ear tickling. Harmful error set to beautiful music. Nonsense. These things are the order of the day. Consequently, many of our lives and churches are preoccupied with superficial things, rather than the God-centered, Christ-exalting, Spirit-empowered, life-transforming, and culture-engaging mission and message of the gospel.

For instance, there is a popular "Gospel" song that declares God to be faithful and holy. But the response to these divine perfections is this: “I’m reaching the harvest God promised me. Take back what the devil stole from me.” Well, at least it rhymes. I think. I also think this way of thinking tries to make God our puppet.

The consideration of God’s attributes should cause us to respond with reverent worship, the confession of sin, and a passion to serve him. At least, that’s how Isaiah responded to the sovereign holiness of God (see Isaiah 6). But a true encounter with the majesty and supremacy of God will definitely not result in a militant determination to fight the Devil over the stuff he supposedly stole from you.

The Bible describes our great spiritual enemy in many different ways. It tells us that Satan is a murderer and a liar and a deceiver. The Devil is even pictured in scripture as a serpent and a roaring lion and a dragon. But the Bible does not say much about the Devil being a thief. In John 10:10, Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” But the “thief” Jesus is referring to is not Satan. He’s talking about false religious leaders! And, if Jesus was talking about Satan, why it is that we are only concerned about what he has stolen? Shouldn’t we be just as concerned about what he kills and destroys?

Beyond what the scripture tells us about Satan, we should also think about what it says about following Christ. We are to fight. Stand firm. Resist. Watch. And pray. But the instructions the New Testament give about spiritual warfare do not teach us that we should try to take anything back from devil. This is not the focus of the Christian life in any way. And talk like this only trivializes the biblical and historic Christian faith.

What stuff we are to take back from the Devil? If you let the high profile religious personalities tell it, we are to take back our families, health, wealth, joy, ministries, etc. Let the church say, “Huh?” This is really bad theology. It suggests that Satan is behind every adverse, difficult, or unpleasant thing that happens in our lives. And it fails to embrace the Lord’s sovereign authority, providential wisdom, and good purposes at work in our lives, including our bad times.

This way of thinking about fails to recognize that some challenges we face in life are the result of sin – both others and ours. Sometimes, we lose things because God will not be mocked. We reap what we sow (Gal. 6:9).

And there’s another important theological word that describes why some bad things happen: life. Life happens to all of us. Following Christ does not guarantee happy marriages, financial success, perfect health, problem-free relationships, or carefree circumstances. However, Christianity gives us resources for facing life challenges that unbelievers do not have. We can pray and trust and obey and wait and rejoice and love and forgive and give and serve in the midst of and in spite of life’s difficulties. But Christianity does not teach believers to attack the devil and reclaim stolen stuff from him.

In Ephesians 1:3, Paul declares, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…” Did you get that? In Christ, we are perfectly, completely, and irrevocably blessed. And we should praise God for it. But to neglect our great spiritual blessings in Christ and focus on things you think the Devil has stolen from you is to dishonor the unfailing promises of God, the redemptive work of Christ, and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. That’s like Bill Gates crying because he lost one hundred dollars. So I recommend that you let the Devil keep whatever he has stolen from you! Friend, if the Lord Jesus is the Forgiver of your sins and the Leader of your life, you have too many blessings to enjoy and bless God for to worry about what the Devil supposedly stole from you.

I pray that this post has both blessed you and empowered you with more information. Continue in the faith. F. Demond

Rev. H.B. Charles - Mt. Sinai M.B.C. Los Angeles, CA

http://www.msmbc-la.org/ * www.myspace.com/hbcharlesjr

*He is available for conferences, workshops, revivals, seminars etc.......

40 years Later - In Remembrance of Dr. MLK Jr.

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the assasination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He is no stranger to this country or even the world, so therefore I don't have to introduce him to you. It was exactly 40 years ago that this Civil Rights Leader was assasinated by Mr. James Earl Ray. It happened in Memphis, TN at the Lorraine Motel. The night prior to His death, Dr. King delivered his final speech "I've Been To The Mountaintop" to a packed audience at the historical Mason Temple there in Memphis. Mason Temple is the headquarters for the Church of God in Christ denomination. Here is the closing stanza from his farewell speech:

"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord".

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. April 13, 1968 (the day before his assasination)

Elijah - Resting In God

“Then he went on alone into the desert, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, Lord," he said. "Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree.”

(1 kings 19:4-5)
"I have had enough, Lord," he said. "Take my life…” Are you tried? Oh, if someone told you the trails and tribulations that you have to face when accepting Christ into your life, would you have ran away into the desert? Even today, I speak to many Christians who feel beaten up. They have been so faithful for some long that sometimes they long to bypass living in this world and long to worship Our Father in Heaven. Some long to be just like Elijah and ask that the Lord take the Breath from away them.

But what did the Lord do? He sent an Angel to Feed Elijah. Why didn’t he let Elijah die as he requested, because God has a greater plan than death for his life. For the Lord let Elijah rest, but soon the Father Call him to the mountain to see his Glory. Beloved, I know there are many of us at different stages in our life. Some many Christians today feel like they are died to God and his purpose for their life, but I tell you this, you are just sleeping underneath the Broom tree! If it was God wills for you to die, you would be dead. But, God has kept you and sustains you even through all your circumstances.

“And he did deliver us from Death and will continue to deliver us.” (2 Corinthians 1:10) God will never forsake you. He has delivered you from death and he will continue to deliver you. Elijah lay under the tree and asked to die, but God did not take his life, he sustained it. Never give up! God is calling that in this time of Pressure and in this time of need, we should be broken and down on our knees in Prayer asking for relief.

“While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could deliver him out of death. And God heard his prayers because of his reverence for God. So even though Jesus was God's Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.”

(Hebrew 5:7-8) “With a Loud cry and tears…Jesus was God’s Son; he learned obedience from the things he suffered.” Even the Jesus Cried and Suffered, how much more do we suffer? It is by loud cries and tears that the Lord answers our prayers and pleading. If you are feeling the pressure to give up, cry out to Jesus. Cry out to our Father in Heaven to send his Angel to be by your side. Elijah thought he was running away from the Father in the Desert to die, but what he didn’t realize that he was running into the arms of the Lord. Even when you are feeling the pressure to give up, know that the Lord is not ready for you to give in.

Believe, Believe, Believe! Rise up, for the Lord your God’s purpose for your Life was not death, but life eternally and eternity with him starts today!

F. Demond

Sweet 16 ~ Happy Birthday Breanna!

I can't even believe that I have a child that have passed the age of 16. I never shall forget the day that she was born. It was an amazing experience in my life. My life was literally changed forever. The day was March 29, 1992, in Hollywood, CA, Breanna Jaqual Harris was born into the world. My precious daughter. I was right there from beginning to end. It was the day of the enfamous "Rodney King" verdict. I remember watching the news of the verdict announcement after I came out of the delivery room. Though the world was about to enter complete chaos, I was enjoying the happiness of being a new father. She was released from the hospital on April 2, which was the day that the "LA Riots" started. What a tragedy. Her first day in real civilization was the beginning of a city in turmoil. I remember asking the hospital for extra bottles and diapers due to the stores being looted and on fire.

Sixteen years later and my precious one is still here. She is a sophmore in High School and a STAR on her track team. I love her dearly and thank her for being the wonderful daughter that she is. I am thankful for her intelligence (she get that from me), wisdom and integrity. She is a good girl if I must say myself. On her "SWEET 16", I had the priviledge of sharing the entire day with her. I almost could not believe it myself but, she actually wanted to share this special day with her father. Dont I feel blessed. I would think that a 16 year old would have other plans that did not include her Father. I guess that suggests that I am a pretty fun Father. Interesting....Mmmmmm! We just kind of hung out and had some much needed fun. Congratulations........Breanna. Your Father loves you with all of his heart. I salute you! I ask that all of my blog reader would keep her in your prayers. Her desire is to be a television news anchor. Watch out NIGHTLINE..........here comes Breanna............

F. Demond

A STRONG WOMAN ~vs~ A WOMAN OF STRENGTH

*A strong woman works out everyday to keep her body in shape,
but a woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape.

*A strong woman isn't afraid of anything,
but a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of her fear.

*A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her,
but a woman of strength gives her best to everyone.

*A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future,
but a woman of strength realizes life's mistakes can also be God's blessings and capitalizes on them.

*A strong woman walks sure footedly,
but a woman of strength knows God will catch her when she falls.

*A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face,
but the woman of strength wears grace.

*A strong woman has faith that she is strong for the journey,
but a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong.