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God gives the power to 'slip
through impossible situations,' Felton says

PHILADELPHIA (March 19, 2003) – At times Pastor J. Louis Felton was subdued and expressive. His finish was powerfully impassioned. Throughout, he guided his listeners through a powerful teaching sermon of Isaiah 53 that built on the African roots in scripture as a basis for African American pride, confidence and empowerment in a world that is still too inhospitable.

Felton, senior pastor of Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Kalamazoo, MI, brought home a clear and present point near the end of his message. "As an African American you are bound to experience hell, trouble and rejection, but when God is through with you, you will never be the same." He preached at Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ in Philadelphia's West Oak Lane.

His theme was "Gospel Preaching and the African American Experience." He dwelled at length on the gospel sense of Isaiah in the chapter, noting the language "Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people…" "Isaiah was not a prophet of doom," he said. "All some preachers know how to do is rip you and cut you and knock you down." Isaiah, on the other hand, was the first to have a real gospel presence in his message. Felton touched powerfully on how his African American listeners could view with pride the Afro-centric nature and location of much of scripture. "You can't talk about the gospel without talking about Africa," he said. "Moses was born in Africa…" And Adam and Eve had African roots. He taught much about the role of early prophets in scripture too. For example, Isaiah's message was so powerful and gospel oriented that the prophet could "say seven centuries before Christ that he would be wounded for our transgressions."

Many in today's church "have cactus personalities," Felton said. "They get along with God but not with you." With Christ in one's life, "we can deal with being planted in a place that is inhospitable," he said. The presence of Christ "makes you like tree fruit that comes forth in its season. The more people try to destroy you the stronger it makes you." He noted that Jesus while strong was still tender, so strong and tender he could counter the culture of his day to liberate the sick and the poor. Jesus also evidenced a healthy respect for women, Felton noted.

And the message of Christ finds a special meaning for African Americans who know the experience of being "despised, rejected, bruised and wounded" including having to endure substandard schools. He noted how many African Americans in the nation's history "had fought for America" through battles in other places and then come home to be "villified and sit in the back of the bus."

"But I don't need an organ and choir to be able to look back at my life and know where God has brought me from," Felton said, "and to know the joy of what the Lord has done for me. When God anoints you, he gets you ready for the suffering you will face." And God gets you ready in such a way that you discover the strength "to slip through impossible situations."

Felton was the sixth of eight preachers in this, the 21^st annual Preaching with Power series sponsored by the seminary's Urban Theological Institute.