Prayer isn't something you have to earn — it's a freedom you already have. This post looks at what it means to pray honestly, without polish or permission, using the story of the friend who knocks at midnight and the promise that no one is ever "too far gone" to come back. If it's been a while since you last prayed, or since it felt like anyone was listening, this is a plain look at what scripture actually says about that distance — and how to close it.  Read More

June is National Men’s Health month. We also celebrate Father’s Day. The Compassion of Jesus Christ has been on my mind. In Strong’s Concordance, the Greek word is Splagchnizomai, which means “to have the bowels yearn, feel sympathy, to pity, have compassion, be moved with compassion.” It also means “to be moved as to one’s inwards (splanchna), to be moved with compassion, to yearn with compassion...  Read More

When Heaven Enters the Room and the Church Receives Her FirePentecost isn’t simply a moment the Church remembers. It’s a mystery the Church continues to live. It’s the holy day when the promise of Christ became visible, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles, and when waiting disciples were filled with divine authority and power for the life and mission of the Church.From a Renewal Cente...  Read More

Great and Holy Friday is not only a day of sorrow. It is a day of revelation.It reveals what kind of love God has for the world.This is the day Christ does not step back from human suffering, betrayal, injustice, shame, and death. He enters it willingly. He receives the full weight of the cross, not because He is powerless, but because love chooses to go where wounded humanity could never heal its...  Read More

We are living in a time when womanhood is constantly being discussed, debated, reshaped, and redefined. Every day, women are handed new scripts about what it means to be strong, valuable, fulfilled, liberated, and seen. Culture speaks loudly. Social pressure moves quickly. Expectations multiply. And in the midst of all of it, many women are left carrying a quiet weariness in the soul.Because benea...  Read More

Black History Month arrives each year at a difficult intersection.On the one hand, it calls us to remember. On the other, it often finds us exhausted—morally tired, spiritually fractured, politically polarized, and unsure how to speak truth without inflaming wounds. Many in the Church feel trapped between silence and slogans, between fear of saying the wrong thing and fatigue from saying nothing a...  Read More

Most of us don’t struggle with planning our lives. We struggle with living them.We make schedules. We set goals. We block our calendars. And yet, somewhere between intention and execution, we stall.Not because we lack discipline or because we don’t care. But because we are tired in ways a planner cannot fix. For years, productivity culture has told us the problem is time.Manage it better.Control i...  Read More

We are like trees in the seasons of preparation; the word of God is working at the core to manifest stability and productivity in us   Read More

Little Task:  Big JobWritten by Pastor Carmela E. Head Many prized art painting masterpieces begin with one stroke of the painter’s brush. Most of the time we see the end result of many hours of combining paint using various brushes to create special hues. Defined paint strokes and visualization come into play over time to complete a wonderful work of art.  With much concentration, hours and days ...  Read More

AUTUMN RAIN: THE UNFORGETTABLE PROMISE OF SUSTENANCEWritten by Pastor Carmela E. HeadThe Renewal CenterThe season of yielding much fruit and vegetables is here!  The bounty of apples, pumpkins, and big baskets or barrels of abundance are evident everywhere reminding us of harvest and plentitude.With Autumn comes a promise of harvest.  With the Autumn rain comes a promise of refreshing from the sco...  Read More

Right PassageWritten by Pastor Carmela E. HeadThe Renewal CenterWhat a memory!  I clearly remember traveling along on the road during a vacation on my way to a destination I had never been.  While casually driving, enjoying the serenity of the view around me and enjoying the quietness, all of a sudden, as I was in the middle of a five-lane highway with multiple signs approaching leading in every d...  Read More

“Seasons of Renewal”The season of Spring is upon us.  Look around your environment and take note of the changes emerging.  Trees are budding and in some place’s daffodils are blooming.  Daylight hours are now longer after turning the clocks ahead, providing time for more sunlight.  Something is happening in the earth during this time of renewal. The season of winter has passed and there is an awak...  Read More