CONVERSION

[Yesterday I shared my Christian conversion experience in this comment. May it bless someone!] My change was gradual , at first, but later traumatic. I was raised in church. Mama and Daddy took us to church every Sunday. We were members of St. Matthew Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Meacham Park, Missouri . We were also keen on education . We kids played educational games to amuse ourselves and read books and magazines, in addition to playing kids' games. As I grew older, I began to read more broadly about black history. I asked the pastor if I could teach a black history class to the kids of the church, when I was 15 or 16. He rejected the idea from the pulpit in a sermon in which he said "black was ugly ." I never went back to the church as a regular member and became suspicious of other black churches. But my daddy and mommy remained steadfast and didn't bother me. Even so, I would search out preachers who knew and loved black history. At age 17, I heard a Rev. Ross on the radio in St. Louis preaching my kind of black history gospel. Me and my sister, Schleria, drove downtown trying to find the church where he was preaching. We never did, but at least, I knew that they existed! When I got to Howard, I audited a course on black theology at the old school of religion on main campus. But it was Jesus-rich and black history poor, so I dropped it. When I was in law school, I encountered Dr. Leon Wright, an adept Buddhist who brought another vision to me. Of course Rankin Chapel's Dean Evans Crawford had prayed some old school prayers that rocked my soul, not to mention the original Howard University Gospel Choir with Richard Smallwood , etc . , who blew the roof off! After law school I came to KC and started to get these letters from Mama, inquiring about my religion. She was as persistent as Monica was on Augustine . In the early 1980s, I began to write the great American novel. But I could not quite say what I wanted to say. So, I read a Gideon Bible that I had found in a motel room desk drawer and kept. In two years , I finished reading it. I then read the Quran that Muslims had given me as a gift for speaking at their temple and other works . Eventually, I wrote "Exhalations from My Soul" as the last issue of my THE NILE REVIEW black historical newsletter . It summarized my views of God and man and nature from my studies and experiences. In the early 1990s. I was hospitalized with several serious afflictions. I had surgery and survived miraculously. I promised Jesus if he gave me my life that I would give it back to him. He did! And I did! This is the story of my conversion ! Thereafter, in 1993, I joined Allen Chapel AME Church in Kansas City. It was pastored by Alvin L. Smith. His "Looking for a few good men" sermon, combined with his 39th Psalms invitation recitation slew me in the spirit! I joined and later became a preacher myself. And I am still here by God's grace in June 2019!