Rev. Gregory Manning, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Kansas City, Kan., used the analogy of hot coals in a barbecue grill during his Friday sermon.
 
"Not all of them glow with the same heat at the same time," Manning said. "But my hope and prayer is that as you get hot [with faith], you'll pass that on to the one next to you."
  
Rev. Yohannes Mengsteab, national director of New Mission Field Development for LCMS World Mission, taught those at the Saturday morning worship service the word segum (promounced sey-GOOM), which is Eritrean for "keep on marching."
 
Originally from Eritrea, Mengsteab said in his sermon that the word describes the resolve and work ethic of his countrymen and symbolizes the 40-year wanderings of the Israelites before crossing the Jordan into their promised land.
 
"This convocation is not for baby Christians, but for mature Christians who have to grapple with hard questions, grasp God's truth, and lead the people like Moses and Aaron," Mengsteab said.
 
"If our light doesn't shine in the cities," he asked, "who is going to bring the light of Christ to those in darkness? I'll keep on marching, we will keep on marching, until every city has the light shining, until every person sees the light of Jesus Christ."
 
With John's account as his Saturday sermon text, Poulson compared faith sharing to the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000 from the young boy's five loaves and two fish.
 
He noted that this is "more than a story about meals in fields, but about multiplying faith. The Lord magnifies it."
 
"Sharing is required," Poulson said. "God radiates the flame of faith in us, and we radiate it to the world.  What's in your lunch bag? God can use it to magnify faith.  Give it to Him."
 
Dr. McNair Ramsey, interim president of Concordia College, Selma, Ala., preached on the sub-theme of not letting the Holy Spirit's fire go out and also reported on improvements at the college as it prepares for an accreditation visit this fall.
 
Those improvements include higher enrollment projected for this fall, upgrades to campus facilities, staff retreats, improved security, heightened communication with alumni, and increased financial support.
 
"Don't let the fire at Concordia College, Selma, go out," Ramsey told the assembly, after which Board Chairman Anthony described that institution as "the only historically Black Lutheran college in this nation."
 
Dr. Frazier Odom of St. Louis said "the fire must never go out" in his sermon at the Sunday morning service at the convocation's end.
 
He reminded worshipers that just as the Old Testament temple priests had to make sure the sacrificial fires at the altars be kept burning, New Testament Christians must keep the flames of faith alive for service and sharing with the unchurched.
 
"Go back home and tell your fellow members that you're fired up, determined to go out and do what you can to change the neighborhood where you live," Odom said.  "Spread the Word of God. ... and do not be afraid [to do that]."
 
As an example, Odom related how members of his home congregation - Great Commission Lutheran Church in St. Louis -- got over being "petrified" to knock on neighbors' doors as the result of a workshop conducted by Rev. Carlos Hernandez, director of Districts and Congregations with LCMS World Relief and Human Care.
 
"We have to get out of the pews and into the streets," Odom said, "and tell everyone that Jesus Christ is Lord and has the answers to their problems."
 
In a similar vein, Dr. Robert Scudieri told those at the Saturday banquet that "there is no fear in love. We love because He first loved us.  God took the initiative."
 
Scudieri said that "churches go the wrong direction when they think they exist only for their members. The Lord called the church into being to seek and save the lost."
 
"God has many opportunities for Black ministry in the years ahead," Scudieri said, ending his remarks with the Eritrean word Mengsteab earlier taught the convocation audience.
 
"Segum -- keep on marching," Scudieri said. "Go forward in faith."
 
Delegates adopted four resolutions in a business session, as they voted to:

Convocation registrants expressed their own appreciation for and impressions of this year's event.
 
"I think it's a wonderful thing," James Belton, a retired postal worker and member of Peace Lutheran Church, Washington, D.C., told Reporter.  For him, the convocation provides "great ideas for ministry," including "many to help us take care of our youth so that they get the encouragement they need to stay in the church."
 
Belton said he has been to "just about every convocation" in the last 30 years, along with his son, Dr. Victor Belton of Atlanta.
 
"It's our man thing," he said with a chuckle, turning serious as he added he "would like to see more men at the convocation -- more men in church."
 
Also a veteran convocation attendee, Cynthia Tillman of Elkridge, Md., said she looks forward to each one for the inspiration they provide and "to see lots of people I know."
 
Tillman is director of Open Arms Christian Child Development Center at Our Savior Lutheran Church, Laurel, Md. She previoiusly taught and held administrative posts with Lutheran schools in several Midwestern and Southern states.
 
That Open Arms center, with a Bible-based curriculum, serves many military families and currently enrolls 175 children, ranging from infant care through age 12 -- with 40 percent of them from unchurched families, Tillman estimates.  She added that a number of its students have been baptized.
 
Besides attending worship and business sessions, Tillman handed out brochures and talked with participants about the school at its table in the convocation exhibit area.  She said visitors coming by the table expressed "considerable interest" in outreach through education.
 
Derick Dorsett, 12, was one of 80 registered for the youth component -- having traveled to the convocation with other registrants from St. Luke Lutheran Church, High Point, N.C.
 
He said he was "having fun" meeting other young people, "hearing about Jesus," and participating in youth arts-and-crafts projects that "show our faith."
 
When asked if he thought such activities would help him with "radiating the flame" and if he knew what that meant, Derick smiled and said just one word -- "definitely."
 
Although exact dates have not been set for the next LCMS Black Ministry Family Convocation, it is being planned for Houston over several days immediately before the July 10-17, 2010, Synod convention there.

Posted Aug. 14, 2008