Payne Chapel AME Church
The Mighty Men of Payne Chapel AME Church: Seeking to be Kingdom Men
“A Perspective on Becoming a Kingdom Man: Four Pillars”
By Marlon P. Heaston
According to the United States Census Bureau (2016), sixty-nine percent (69%) of children under the age of 18 live in a two-parent home. However, when breaking down the statistics of two parent homes by race, the results show a significant difference between White children (74.3%) under the age of 18 living with both parents compared to Black children (38.7%). This disparity of family structure, especially in the Black community, has had an impact on children’s needs such as their education, financial prosperity, health and other social- emotional components.
Even though these statistics may be inauspicious and concerning, the men of Payne Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church, of whom I am honored to be an actively involved member, located in Nashville, Tennessee (TN) embarked on a“Kingdom Man”journey in April of 2018 to defy the odds of a broken man, family, church, and community structure. As a collective group, we made a commitment to “visibly demonstrate the comprehensive rule of God underneath the Lordship of Jesus Christ in every aspect of our lives,” which is the mantra mentioned throughout Dr. Tony Evan’s renowned book “Kingdom Man: Every Man’s Destiny…Every Woman’s Dream.” During our journey and commitment to become Kingdom Men, we met weekly on Saturday mornings to fellowship and learn the values noted in this valuable text.
In addition to gathering on Saturday mornings from April through June, we recapped our journey seeking to become Kingdom Men, which we are daily striving to perfect, with a Kingdom Men’s Retreat from June 22– 24, 2018 at Henry Horton State Park in Chapel Hill, TN. Our guest facilitator was the Reverend Leonard Burton. The retreat theme was “Seeking to Be Kingdom Men: At Home, In Church, In the World.”The retreat was a culminating exploration of the four primary pillars of becoming a Kingdom Man. They are:
- Personal Life
- Family Life
- Church Life
- Community Life
According to Dr. Evan’s four pillars, “if you are a messed up man, you are going to contribute to a messed up family. If you are a messed up family, you are going to contribute to a messed up church. If you are a messed up church, you are going to contribute to a messed up community. If you are a messed up community, you are going to contribute to a messed up state. If you are a messed up state, you are going to contribute to a messed up country. And if you are a messed country, you are going to contribute to a messed up world.”
Becoming a kingdom man may seem overwhelming and feel like an isolated journey when thinking about the four pillars. During our men’s fellowship on Saturday mornings and at the retreat, I was blessed to learn that you do not have to go through this journey alone. Over the course of our three-day retreat, we not only learned the biblical characteristics of becoming a Kingdom Man, but the Rev. Burton created a learning environment where we had private think time, paired-share opportunities, and group share outs of what we learned personally about ourselves and real-life applications from others about being Kingdom Men. During our men’s fellowship, I also learned that it is vital to speak the truths of God to others so that we can be a blessing and support system to other men, families, and community members—remembering that our impact will have a lasting impact on the world. In the Bible, there is one profound passage, Psalm 128, which illustrates the pathway to becoming a Kingdom Man. This passage cites varying particulars of the four pillars:
“How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
Who walks in His ways.
When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands,
You will be happy and it will be well with you. (Pillar 1: Personal Life)
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house,
Your children like olive plants
Around your table. (Pillar 2: Family Life)
Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed
Who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion, (Pillar 3: Church Life)
And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
Indeed, may you see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!” (Pillar 4: Community Life)
As Kingdom Men, it starts with us! We must fear the Lord our God each day! This requires us to sacrifice our fleshly desires and seek God’s agenda daily for our lives. It may be difficult somedays, but in the end the ultimate prize is joy while on Earth and everlasting life with our Savior. The next step of becoming Kingdom Men noted in verse three of Psalm 128 is to continue to reflect the image of God to our wives and children. The statistics of the family breakdown can be disheartening, but we as kingdom men have the responsibility to break the cycle and reflect God’s image of the family. After creating and maintaining a kingdom family, it is a Kingdom Man’s duty to spread the Word of God beyond his home, which is the church. As noted in “Kingdom Man,” we should be careful not to be cultivated into the traditions of the church such as programs, projects, preaching, and buildings ALONE, but be change agents who prepare “believers to display God’s glory, impact the culture, restore lives, and advance the kingdom.” As we continue to be transformational leaders within ourselves, our families and our churches, we must take the next step of making a positive impact in our communities. Dr. Evan’s mentioned in his book that as Kingdom Men, we should go beyond the church walls and be mentors to the princes. By aligning our works under God’s comprehensive rule in every aspect of our lives, we have the power to change our communities and the world.
I am extremely inspired by the direction we are headed as the men of Payne Chapel A.M.E. Church The time we have spent together fellowshipping has motivated me to strengthen my own personal life with the Lord, as well as, model His agenda with my family, church, and community. Our pastor, the Reverend W. Antoni Sinkfield, has definitely set the tone and continues to guide us to build a stronger relationship with God; which in turn will have a positive impact on our society. It all starts now! What are you willing to sacrifice to become a Kingdom Man?
References
The majority of children love with two parents, census reports.(2016, November 17). Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2016/cb16-192.html
Evans, T. (2012). Kingdom Man: Every man’s destiny every woman’s dream. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, INC.
