Brittney Holman is led by her life’s purpose and teaches her mentees to do the same. Holman lives a life of intentional impact and doesn’t rest on the laurels of her entrepreneurial exploits. While her classmates were only daydreaming about their future, Holman opened owned and operated the first of her three braiding salons in her hometown of Orangeburg, South Carolina at the age of seventeen. Holman knows all too well how easy it is to slip through the cracks and succumb to the limited access to opportunities in urban communities and strives to bridge the gap for young people through the Brittney LaShe Youth Mentorship program.
Each summer, the Brittney LaShe Youth Mentorship equips and empowers youth seven and up to build generational wealth using biblical principles. The mentorship costs an average of $500 per child and year-long fundraising efforts help offset the cost for children who can’t afford it. The three-part curriculum tailored to the individual needs of the student is titled “READY” “SET” “GO.” Mentorship can be a difficult concept for young people, so Holman employs a patient process that affirms the message, “with a covering (like Holman’s mentorship program), they can do big things in Christ!” The Brittney LaShe Youth Mentorship is a conduit of community betterment through youth mentorship and empowerment, workshops, and its annual summer camp.
This is the perfect summation of who Brittney Holman is; a life coach and certified lifeguard, rescuing at risk youth from the deep waters despair and a lack of resources and opportunities. Additionally, Holman is a serial entrepreneur, graphic designer and self-published author or numerous books with many new exploits on the horizon. Her pursuit of greater opportunities for youth is relentless, however Holman paused long enough to be honored for her efforts by the Orangeburg Rotary Club.
“I was born to serve. I love the fact that God uses how I overcame my struggles to inspire the youth. Empowering them empowers me!” -Brittney LaShe Holman
Holman’s success story is no fantastical escape from the throes of poverty. Rather, a testament to the arduous work that lifted her from her young life’s early challenges. Holman has triumphed over a painful past that includes molestation by her grandfather and paternity discovery that threatened the identity she knew. Holman’s mentorship program endeavors to provide a much-needed aversion to the hardship she was forced to as a child and teen. “Teens shouldn’t have to worry about surviving but focus on living,” Holman says. After putting the financial literacy lessons and independence encouraged by her stepfather into practice, the Brittney LaShe Youth Mentorship began with faith-based empowerment, courage, and entrepreneurship as its hallmarks serving youth in South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Kentucky.
Great plans are in the works for Holman and her annual youth summit. This immense undertaking is quite cumbersome, but through donations and the use of her own money, she provides a life changing experience each year. If you would like to be part of this year’s sponsorship class, you can email Brittney at: brittneyholmon@gmail.com.
Click to listen to our interview Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie as she talks to us about SELAH 2020
Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first woman elected to this position in the denomination’s 233-year history, and presiding prelate of more than 200 churches in Texas, has joined forces with Minnie’s Food Pantry, to feed the growing number of North Texas families facing food insecurity. Bishop McKenzie will host a virtual edition of her annual leadership conference, SELAH: The Main Event, on November 20-21, 2020. The event is open to the public and forty percent of registration will go to Minnie’s Food Pantry. Attendees can register at bit.ly/SelahMainEvent.
Named one of the top eleven conferences for women who want to level up by Essence Magazine, Selah is a place for leaders to reset, refresh, and recalibrate. This year’s line-up includes power-packed speakers and performers, including Grammy-award winning recording artist, Marvin Sapp; author, Minda Harts; master entrepreneur, Gloria Mayfield Banks; author, Rev. Dr. Cecelia Williams-Bryant, preacher and author, including her newest book, “Together: A Biblical Meditation and Guide to Enrich Covenant Marriage”; Nicole Fortune, National Manager, Customer Relations Toyota Lexus Financial; Rev. Dr. Danielle Brown, pastor of church life at Cathedral International; Nicole Roberts Jones, nationally recognized transformational speaker and bankroll your brilliance expert; and Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie.
“There are thousands of families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of them have food security issues for the first time in their lives,” said Bishop Vashti McKenzie. “We felt compelled to support Chery Jackson and Minnie’s Food Pantry to help her help hurting families. We invite our Selah women and the Dallas Metroplex to join us.”
Each year, SELAH partners with an organization to make an impact in the community. This year, they are partnering with Minnie’s Food Pantry to feed families for the holidays. With the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic, job loss and unemployment at an all-time high, the number of North Texas families facing food insecurity has increased by nearly 60% since this time last year.
“From March until June of 2020, more than 1.9 billion meals were distributed nationwide to people facing hunger. Minnie’s Food Pantry has distributed 3 million meals since March and food pantries are giving out 60 percent more food than an average month,” said Cheryl Jackson, CEO and founder of Minnie’s Food Pantry. “The need is greater than ever and generosity of neighbors all across the country is a necessity to keep up with this demand.”
By Dick DeMarsico, World Telegram staff photographer – This image is available from the United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3c26559. Public Domain,
With
each new year comes another chance to celebrate the civil rights icon, the Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King is known for his leadership during the
civil rights movement that moved this nation beyond the quagmire of
segregation, whose progress would have been otherwise stymied by the unabated
undercurrent of unapologetic racism.
The Lorraine Motel, in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. King was shot by James Earl Ray on a balcony at the hotel in 1968.
The most humanizing elements of the civil rights movement proved that blacks deserved equality because quite simply, they were people equal to their white counterparts. This was a point of contention for whites and even some black people who could not see humanity under their brown skin. Dr. King was a young scholar who entered college at the age of 15 and earned his doctorate degree at the age of 26, but not even that made a difference to white people who couldn’t hear the drum major’s appeal over the deafening drumbeats of dissention.
We
remember Dr. King not only for what he accomplished individually, but as a force
that spurred this nation to consider how to become its best self. Blacks in
America experienced new levels of freedom and the many manifestations of racism
were finally being called into account. He was a man of inspiration and a man
of determination, this he passed on to the generations born before him
(comprised of former slaves and their direct descendants) and even to
generations after him, the world over.
During a 1967 speech at a junior high school in Philadelphia, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr asked the young people in attendance “What Is Your Life’s Blueprint?” admonishing them, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” Before researching it, I erroneously attributed the quote to the Memphis sanitation worker strike. The quote fit perfectly because during the strike the workers held up signs saying: “I Am A Man” and decried debasing wages and deplorable work conditions.
It
has been said that at that time, one of the easiest ways to insult a child was
to refer to his father as a sanitation worker. The job of a sanitation worker
in Memphis was one that robbed black men of their inherent dignity and though
fitting, was not part of Dr. King’s encouragement to the men whose cause he
took up in his last days. However, this quote was issued to junior high
schoolers who had yet to face the cruel reality of the world as adults at that
time. Still, the quote holds true today and as we pause to honor Dr. King this
year, here is a truth to consider.
Whatever you are called to do with your life, do it with all the grace and strength you have. This speech forever altered the trajectory of the lives of those children at the Barratt Junior High School. But what about us today, what is your life’s blueprint? That’s what Dr. King asked those young Philadelphians a mere six months before his life ended in Memphis, Tennessee.
Dr. King told the young people to “set out to do well” the jobs they would assume later in life. Can the same be said of us? Are we pursuing greatness with all our might? So many are aware of their life’s blueprint (purpose) but sell it short by not doing all they can to achieve it. This year, honor the legacy of Dr. King by making the decision to pursue your life’s work with all your might.
Dr. King was beaten, spat upon and challenged
by even those he gave his life trying to help, still he pressed on. This level
of determination is what he is remembered for. To quote one of the songs of the
movement, don’t you let anyone turn you around, keep on walking, keep on
talking, keep on pursuing until your life’s purpose is well within your grasp!
“Tell ‘em about the dream, Martin!” -Mahalia Jackson
It’s a good thing Dr. King had already been to the mountaintop, there are moments in the United States even today that make his dream seem more of an implausible hallucination. With every instance of police brutality and murder, voter suppression, low wages in impoverished neighborhoods, the uncovering of the depth of red lining that still affects black homeowners, privatized prisons and imbalanced criminal sentences, the uphill climb grows steeper.
In 2020, we are still climbing and striving in many areas to overcome what Dr. King along with other generals in the civil rights movement sought to lead this nation through and away from. Though “the marathon continues”, perhaps the key to finally overcoming is discovered in the collective lift contributed by each of us living our lives according to its blueprint.
About Fred Willis, The Dreamer…
Preaching
for Fred Willis doesn’t
always emanate from behind a podium, he also speaks from his platform as a
journalist and broadcaster. He got busy building the SoulProsper Music & Media Group in 2012 and
has since created a digital media enterprise consisting of an internet radio station, independent music label, and news
outlet. In 2019, he released “The Journey to
Genesis: A Discovery of Your Created Purpose” to share his journey of discovering
his life’s purpose. In addition to reporting for his company, Fred has written
for numerous digital and print outlets sharing his gift of thought-provoking
writings.
“We lost two great men today, but it could have been a lot worse, and I am thankful our government has allowed us the opportunity to protect ourselves.”
Britt Farmer, Senior Minister, West Freeway Church of Christ (shared from Dallas Morning News)
The last Sunday of the year is often one of remembrance for churchgoers, but for the congregation at West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, it will forever be unforgettable. Just after taking The Lord’s Supper, a shooter now identified as Keith Thomas Kinnunen opened fire killing two men before his life was ended by a member of the church’s security team.
Two great men perished on yesterday. That is a fact that their families, the West Freeway Church of Christ, surrounding communities and churchgoers everywhere can’t forget. But in the midst of mourning these two great men, we must pause to celebrate the swift action of the not only the security team, but armed members of the congregation who drew their weapons in response to the evil that walked among them. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick hailed them men’s heroics saying, “The heroism today is unparalleled, this team responded quickly, and within six seconds the shooting was over.” As pointed out in many reports since the shooting, multiple worshipers drew their weapons, though only one shot was needed to end the threat in the house of worship.
Spiritually, there is also another aspect to consider and that is covering the house of prayer and ensuing services with prayer. Comfort and security at church are often assumed and not assured by the duty to pray and as the conversation continues for physical reinforcement, believers should also re-consider the need for spiritual reinforcement of increased prayer before service.
Former FBI agent and security expert Greg Shaffer said what happened Sunday inside the West Freeway Church of Christ is proof all houses of worship need armed security.
Today, as we reflect on the aftermath of the tragedy, we must also adjust to a new reality, weapons in worship. The bible declares that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4), but when God’s people were under attack they were instructed to not only sing praises to God, but to remain battle ready! The Pulpit Commentary goes so far as to say “Some understand this metaphorically. But the weapons of Jewish warfare in Nehemiah’s time were thoroughly carnal (Nehemiah 4:13, 16, 17, 18); and against adversaries such as Sanbailat, Geshem, and Tobiah, a nation threatened with extermination is certainly entitled to use the sword.”
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;
Psalm 149:6
The bible declares that the word of God is a two-edged sword, but make no mistake about it, the sword mentioned in the passage in the book of Psalm is literal. The house of worship is considered a war-zone spiritually, but it’s never safe to make it such literally. This is why only well trained shooters should be considered when defending against weapon wielding evil people. Untrained shooters could easily spark a shootout with an assailant and endanger more lives than originally intended.
Former Fort Worth Police Officer LaRhonda Young says that “every church needs to seek out their active duty military people, LE officers and veterans or former LE officers that are members of their church and ask them to serve as their eyes and if they have CHL encourage them to carry during every service.” This saved countless lives on yesterday and will probably be the model for houses of worship going forward. Former officer Young has made headlines earlier this year for the sake of proper training. In October, when Atatiana Jefferson was killed by a Fort Worth police officer, she decried the poor training incoming officers receive which lead to tragedies like this. She also shared with The SMG Report that proper training and not merely the presence of armed members is what ended the threat in the church on yesterday and encourages the same training for congregations, going forward.
When news broke of the shooting in Fort Worth, thoughts of First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs came to mind. Though no motive has been released, tt’s an inconvenient truth that houses of worship will need armed security because for most services, the most disruptive aspect of worship is an awry tambourine. The threat of mass-shootings in public places is very real and with each shooting, the sense of security enjoyed in public places whether defended by armed security or not is eroded, almost daily. What believers choose to do in the wake of yet another church shooting, will have to employ divine wisdom, swift responses and a sharp shooter.
Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie made history when she was elected Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first woman ever elected to this position in the denomination’s 232-year history. Now, she is making it her mission to empower other North Texas Women with the Selah Leadership Encounter for Women.
Named one of the top eleven conferences for women who want to level up in 2019 by Essence Magazine, “Selah Leadership Encounter for women is a place for leaders to reset, refresh, andrecalibrate.”
Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie invites you to the Dallas Edition of the Selah Conference
On November 21-23, 2019, McKenzie will bring the Selah Leadership Encounter for Women to Dallas. Named one of the top conferences for women in 2019 by Essence Magazine, Selah Leadership Encounter for Women will feature leading experts from around the country including Dallas’ own, internationally acclaimed actress and bestselling author, Priscilla Shirer; health guru and serial entrepreneur Pinky Cole, owner of the acclaimed plant-based restaurant and food truck, Slutty Vegan; Hollywood director Deborah Riley Draper; leading business expert Becky A. Davis; national speaker, trainer and author, Dr. Micaela Herndon; church founder and senior pastor Dr. Cynthia Hale; and author and movie producer, Cheryl Polote-Williamson.
Bishop McKenzie says of the purpose of the conference: “We do this at the end of the year because this gives us an opportunity to stop, break and then look ahead to where we want to go and what needs to be done in the upcoming year rather than rushing through thanksgiving and rushing through the Christmas holiday and rushing through the New Year celebration to arrive on January 2nd and you have absolutely no goals, no ideas…just a lot of resolutions that you’re not going to keep.“
The Selah conference and ideal has been going strong since the 80’s and Bishop McKenzie has sought out to make the conference a respite and safe space where believers can come to express their faith. “Many times when you’re on the job you can’t express your faith. When you’re sitting in the board room among a multiplicity of ethnic groups and backgrounds and a multiplicity of faiths, (you) can not express your faith (“I can’t have my bible on my desk, I have to go to the bathroom to pray, can’t say praise the Lord, hallelujah on my job”). So, we come together as women of faith to retool, to recalibrate, to take a look at our leadership skills and our leadership styles, to resource each other because there are women who have achieved. (presidents, vice-presidents, executive directors and administrative assistants)…to be able to resource other women who aspire to those positions.”
The Selah conference is a place to not only a place or respite, but the restoration of koinonia (fellowship). Bishop McKenzie feels that the church has lost its sense of fellowship; at the conference attendees will be free to not only worship, but to do so together! The conference serves to fill a need Bishop McKenzie is very much aware of. “There is no day off for us, So, where do you get a day off where you can stop, think, take a deep breath, press the rewind button? The Selah conference is that safe place.
The Dallas edition of the Selah Leadership Encounter for Women is a peculiar place for the conference celebrating women in leadership. The Container Store, Half Price Books, The Neiman Marcus Group and The Dallas Mavericks are just a few entities boasting a woman at the senior level of its company leadership. Nationally, the movie Harriet continues to wow at the box office, telling the story (though somewhat embellished) of the woman referred to as “A Woman Called Moses”. Today, we are seeing a turning of the tide in view of women as power figures and leaders, and rightfully so. As Bishop McKenzie and the amalgam of illustrious speakers convening to inspire and equip the women at the Selah conference know, in many places the future is female. It’s nothing to shy away or shrink back from, but to fully embrace as you leave the conference revived, refreshed, restored and most importantly equipped with what you need to face your future!
Listen to the full interview with Bishop Vashti McKenzie on SP Radio “Talking Points”
On November 21-23, 2019, McKenzie will bring the Selah Leadership Encounter for Women to Dallas. Named one of the top conferences for women in 2019 by Essence Magazine, Selah Leadership Encounter for Women will feature leading experts from around the country including Dallas’ own, internationally ac…
Men, it’s true that many of us are living what we see as purpose, but have you checked that with God? Are you certain that what you call purpose is that? Have you fallen into the trap of doing what’s popular only? Are you running from what God has told you to do?
I want you to take this journey with me. I want you to look deep and discover God’s purpose for you. Take a moment and complete this survey and share your journey of purpose with me. I’m dedicating this year to reach men, the leaders of our families and society to point us in the right direction and assume our God-assigned roles.
If you’re ready to join the journey, click here to get started!
