Rev. Thomas C. Michael was keynote speaker at this year’s February Fundraiser. Sal’s Coal Fired Pizza in Somers Point hosted the event and surprised many with an outstanding, elegant breakfast in their new banquet room. Although we filled the room, we still need a few thousand dollars more to fund our activities at last year’s level.
Last October, 10 year old Micah Tennant was killed by a stray bullet while at a Pleasantville high school football game with his family. There was such a large crowd at his funeral in Atlantic City, that hundreds had to watch the service on TV monitors in overflow rooms.
Rev. Thomas C. Michael of the New Redeemed Deliverance Temple of Atlantic City and Absecon gave a brutally honest and powerful eulogy and sermon. Although it moved the crowd, it was not mentioned in the Press of Atlantic City.
We invited Rev. Thomas to be speak at our yearly February fundraiser this year. We think his words at that funeral are an important part of our message of Liberty and Prosperity for the year ahead. We also depend on this fundraiser to pay for the radio messages, postcards, and social media to deliver that message.
Benjamin Franklin said 300 years ago: “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters”.
In 2002, Chinese economist Zhao Xiao shocked Communist China with his widely published paper “Market Economies With Churches and Market Economies Without Churches”. Xiao wrote “there are churches everywhere” in America, whereas in China, “there are bathhouses everywhere“. He said we Americans were successful because we did the right thing because we wanted to, not because we were forced to. Xiao later quit the Communist regime and became a Christian.
Rev. Michael warned that we are rapidly losing that those values because we are no longer teaching them to our children.
At Micah Tennant’s funeral last year, Rev. Michael warned, “We cannot allow it to be normal for a young man to do the right thing only when a police officer is pointing a gun at his face”.
At that funeral Rev. Michael reminded us of the Old Testament Book of Judges. That book describes an age of evil and brutality in ancient Israel when “everyone did was right in his own eyes”. Rev. Michael began his presentation by reciting Chapter 2, Verse 7 of the Book of Judges which explained how this evil age began:
“The people served the LORD during the lifetime of Joshua and the lifetime of the older people who lived on after Joshua and who had witnessed all the marvelous deeds that the LORD had done for Israel. Then Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD died at the age of 110 years, and was buried. . . And all that generation were likewise gathered to their fathers. Another generation arose after them, which had not experienced the deliverance of the LORD or the deeds he had wrought for Israel. . . “
Rev. Michael explained how our generation enjoyed freedom, opportunity, success and safety because our parents and grandparents properly instructed us. He urged those of us who know this to teach our children and grandchildren those same values.
Rev. Thomas C. Michael is the founder and pastor of the New Redeemed Deliverance Temple formerly in Atlantic City, and now in Absecon. He is also a leader of the New Jersey and Pennsylvania jurisdictions of the Church of God in Christ, the largest African-American Pentecostal denomination in the world.
Although this year’s $50 February fundraiser was successful, we are still a few thousand dollars short of funding our activities at last year’s level. If you have not yet paid your $30 supporting membership dues, or donated this year, please donate now. Please pay online at LibertyAndProsperity.com or send your check to LibertyAndProsperity at 453 Shore Road, Somers Point, NJ 08244. Or bring it to any Saturday breakfast discussion, 9:30AM at the Shore Diner on Tilton Road by Parkway Exit 36 in Egg Harbor Township. Thanks. Seth Grossman Executive Director. sethgrossman49@gmail.com (609) 927-7333
Thank you for this video. Illness kept me from that meeting. I’m so disappointed. I really enjoyed Rev. Michael’s presentation. These things he spoke about are so, so true. Each generation has lost a little more politeness and thoughtfulness of others. I was happy to hear the Rev. charge parents with the job of teaching human considerations to their children. Things the way they are these days, teachers can only teach so much without being chastised themselves. However, the school systems had best begin to see how important our past is to maintaining our future. We need in-depth history to be returned to our curriculum . Seth’s talk was brief; but as always, he said soooo much in a short time. This was an outstanding meeting. I’m going to rewatch the video. Thank you again.