Faith in Action

Faith in Action has just confirmed that Dr. James Cone, Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology at Union Theological Seminary, will be our featured guest on the radio program (WWIN Spirit 1400AM) on Monday, March 31, 2008 1PM - 2PM EST.

Dr. Cone, considered by many to be the father of Black Liberation Theology, is probably best known for his ground-breaking works, Black Theology & Black Power (1969), A Black Theology of Liberation (1970), God of the Oppressed (1975), and Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare? (1991).

In light of the national discussion of Dr. Jeremiah Wright, democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, and the character of Black preaching, I am honored to bring to the Faith in Action family a discussion with a man who can speak most authoritatively about the unique character of the Black Church and its Liberation Theology.

Tune in Monday, March 31, 2008 on Spirit 1400AM (Baltimore) from 1PM - 2PM EST as we speak with professor, author, and lecturer - Dr. James Cone.

In the meantime, enjoy this clip of Dr. James Cone at Tavis Smiley’s State of the Black Union 2003.

I’ve uploaded the interview to the big ipod on the right of the homepage. Take a listen and let me know what you think. (You can also subscribe in itunes)

Also, I want to encourage those in the Baltimore area to pick up this week’s edition of The Baltimore Afro American Newspaper. My radio program was featured on the Faith in Action page.

I’m extremely encouraged by how God is allowing the show to grow in such short time. We’ve only been on the air for about 7 weeks and have been featured in the Afro and cited in the Washington Post for out interview with Sen. C. Anthony Muse. We’ve also reached a great milestone via our feedburner service. We now have 104 subscribers to this blog! Couple that with the nearly 10,000 page hits in January and February 2008 and you get a sense of the potential of all of this.

Students from Morgan State University will soon be coming on board to provide further support (advertising/sales, alternative media, production) and thanks to Chip Dizard from Absolute Presence, you’ll soon be able to watch one of the radio programs. (Check out Chip’s blog too)

A special limited time offer is being extended to all businesses owners who would like to advertise products or services to my vast radio and internet audience. Please contact me for details. (It’d be a good idea to get on this train now. I’m offering BIG hook ups while I’m in the process of building my base. Once that base is built, special offers will be few and far between.)

Thanks to all of those who support the Faith in Action radio program on Spirit 1400AM and please continue to keep me in prayer.

I’ll be interviewing Marvin “Doc” Cheatham, president of the Baltimore City NAACP about the current objectives of the organization and the massive membership drive they are currently undertaking.

Del. Jill Carter (D-41) will join us as well to talk about legislation that she has introduced to the Maryland General Assembly including a bill that would encourage the Baltimore City Public School System to educate our high school students to the details of the federal, state, and local political process. (Have you ever asked a high school student to tell you who their elected officials are?)

We’ll also chat with Risa Goluboff, Professor of Law and History at the University of Virginia, about her book, The Lost Promise of Civil Rights.

PLUS - we may have a special surprise for our listeners. One of the baddest poets on the planet just might pop in so you definitely don’t want to miss it.

Faith in Action - Today - Monday, March 10, 2008 1PM - 2PM on Spirit 1400AM.

Hey folks. Yesterday’s edition of Faith in Action is now online. You can listen to the clips by checking out my ipod on the right of the homepage or you can subscribe to the show in itunes by clicking here.

Also we have an address now for Faith in Action:

Heber Brown, III
P.O. Box 39221
Baltimore, MD 21212

If you have an announcement, news, or a CHECK (lol) that you want to send my way you can send it to the address above. Also you can always contact me via the internet.

Thanks for your support.

We’ll start by having a discussion about Episcopal Order. More and more Black Church-goers are noticing a change in the religious practice of the church. You’ll see more bishops in denominations that historically have not had bishops, you’ll see more emphasis on episcopacy, armor bearers, the investiture, and clerical rank. Here’s the question: Is the Black Church going too far in modeling Roman Catholic religious tradition? How does this nuance impact historic African American religious practice? And what’s up with all the big chef hats, staffs, and heavy gold chains?? LOL - kidding…we won’t ask that…at least not that way.

Then we’ll have a discussion with Felicia Wilson and Danielle Carter, mother and sister of Isaiah Simmons, III, who was killed by staffers at the Bowling Brook Preparatory School in Carroll County, Maryland in January 2007. Though the state medical examiner has ruled Isaiah’s death a homicide, no one has been charged with his murder. Felicia and Danielle will talk about their efforts to secure justice for Isaiah.

We may also have a discussion with Delegate Jill Carter (D-41) about some important legislation that she’s working on and a representative from the Baltimore Prays Movement - an interracial, international assembly of religious leaders who are interceding for the city of Baltimore.

My guest co-host for the day will be Rev. Ronald Covington.

For those in the Baltimore area please tune in today at 1PM ON SPIRIT 1400AM.

As always, I welcome your contributions to help keep me on the air. I am paying for my own time which has its benefits and challenges. The benefit is that I enjoy more freedom to produce a show that aligns with my vision and isn’t subject to the scrutiny of radio executives who don’t understand its benefit. The challenge is that I must pay every week to keep my show going. I am preparing to contact a great number of local businesses to help me underwrite the cost in exchange for the promotion of their services to an extremely vast audience comprised of radio listeners and blog visitors, but I welcome individual contributions as well. If you appreciate Faith in Action and you are able to donate $15, $25, $50, $150, or more to help keep this thing going, I would greatly appreciate it. Make your donation today!

Hey folks. Look at the ipod at the left of the homepage and you can listen to the interview that we conducted this past Monday with Sen. C. Anthony Muse on Faith in Action. Sen. Muse is in a unique position in relation to the gay marriage debate. Muse is a State Senator and also a Pastor. Listen as he explains his position on whether or not same-sex couples should be granted the right to marry in Maryland.

Also - you appreciate what we’re doing on Faith in Action and would like to see us continue engaging critical issues from a Faith perspective, then please consider making a donation to our efforts so that we can remain on Spirit 1400AM. You can make secure, online donations of $15, $25, $50, $75, $150 or more by visiting my Faith in Action Radio page.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Today, Rev. Scott Adams and Pastor Reginald Thomas (Greater Gethsemane Church) will be holding it down in my absence on Faith in Action. I have some business to take care of today, but the show will be left in very capable hands.

They’ll be talking about Gay Marriage in Maryland. This has been a perennial issue in Maryland for the past few year’s in our state’s General Assembly and some say that the “pro-gay marriage” activists have built the necessary support needed to push this over the top.

There are a plethora of bills that the Legislature is considering. The State Senate had its first round of hearings on these bills on Feb. 14th. The House will be hearing its bills in committee this Thursday, February 28, 2008. (Click here to see the full rundown of bills being considered.) Some say the issue is whether or not same-sex partners should be afforded the same rights that heterosexual partners are afforded under the law. Others say the issue is the normalizing and legislating of deviant behavior that goes against natural order and God’s design.

How should the state of Maryland come down on this issue?

That’s the question we’ll be asking Sen. C. Anthony Muse who is a member of one of the committees considering this issue and Chair of the Prince George’s County Legislative Delegation. Muse is also the pastor of The Ark of Safety Christian Church in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. He is the lone democrat who has joined five republican senators in pushing legislation that would authorize a man and woman to enter into a “covenant marriage” - a move intended to strengthen heterosexual marriages, but does not address same-sex marriages.

Find out what he, Pastor Reggie Thomas, and our spirited callers have to say about this issue today at 1PM on Faith in Action on Spirit 1400AM (Baltimore). For those outside of the Baltimore area, the audio will be posted to the blog later this week, but in the meantime feel free to post your comments/questions here and we’ll possibly address them on air.

Hey folks,

Faith in Action is on Mondays at 1PM now on Spirit 1400AM. The signal strength on Sunday night wasn’t strong enough to encourage a large listening audience.

The first Monday afternoon show was yesterday and it was great. There was greater energy and some great calls during the To The Point segment. Rev. Scott Adams and I hosted the program. We opened the phone lines to talk about the issue involving the former minister of music at Bethel AME Church who was arrested for having a sexual relationship with a 12 year old member of the congregation. I didn’t really want to engage this issue in isolation so we discussed it from a broader perspective of what can we learn from this extremely troubling experience. What safety precautions should Black Churches employ to minimize the possibility of sexual/physical/emotional exploitation and violation in the congregation? Many great ideas were shared during that segment.

We then went on to to talk to Derrick Compton, Sr. (Baltimore Dry Out Initiative) and Steve Fogleman (Chair, Baltimore City Liquor Board). It’s nothing new to those local to Baltimore that there are about as many liquor stores in the Black Community as there are churches. Many communities struggle with poverty, crime, poor educational options, etc. and the presence of liquor establishments only compound those issues. What steps can concerned citizens take to deal with troublesome liquor stores? What steps can residents take to remove these establishments from their community altogether? These questions were answered during the latter half of the program.

Like I said - a great show all around. To listen to the show check out the media player on the right of the screen. It’ll also be up on itunes soon as well.

I am extremely thankful for two businesses that helped to underwrite the costs of this week’s show.

LaTarsha’s Math Tutorial

Call Latarsha’s Math Tutorial - where tutors specialize in tutoring mathematics. Again the number is 443-394-7337.

I’m also appreciative of Absolute Presence and its founder - Chip Dizard.

Absolute Presence is a friend of Faith in Action and I appreciate the support that they provided as well. For those in need of web development and/or video production services, I urge you to visit Absolute Presence. Their work is of the highest quality and affordable. Tell him I sent you his way and he’ll take good care of you.

Here are a few ways that you can support Faith in Action as well:

Please help me to keep this platform available to the broader community. As I said on the radio program yesterday, it’s not about Heber Brown, III - it’s about ministry. Help me keep this ministry going!

Thank you in advance for your support.

Well folks - the next chapter of Faith in Action has begun and this time we’re on Spirit 1400AM (Baltimore). The show tonight was great. We had callers right off the bat which is always a good sign and my guests (pictured above) were amazing. A special “THANK YOU” to Revs. Tamara Hardy, Scott Adams, and Ronald Covington. You all were awesome! Get ready because you will be back on the air with me before you know it.

Also - a special “Thank You” to those who have already made financial contributions to this ministry including members of my family, Bro. Chip Dizard from Absolute Presence, and Bro. Haki Ammi. I appreciate you! If anyone knows of any businesses or organizations that may like to advertise their products or services on my show please let me know by visiting my Contact Me page.

Soon the shows will be up on itunes and other internet locations so you can download and enjoy.

Next week - we’re talking about the prevalence of liquor stores in Baltimore City and what can be done about them. You don’t want to miss it!

Thanks for all of your support.

Once again it’s on! I’m back on the air, family! It’s been a long journey, but I’m finally getting ready to bring Faith in Action back to Baltimore’s airwaves. Same “Faith in Action” flavor, but this time I’ll be on Spirit 1400AM (Baltimore) every Monday from 1:00PM - 2:00PM.

Faith in Action is a religious public affairs program that seeks to build the bridge between belief and service. Don’t expect to hear about gospel concerts, church conferences, or “getting your praise on”. We’ll be talking about social issues and how our Faith guides us in engaging them. This show was created with my deep conviction that assures me that there is more to being a Believer than going to church on Sunday and singing/crying/shouting between 11AM and 2PM. I believe God demands more of me and all Believers.

Being that I am a Christian minister, the majority of issues will be engaged from that perspective, but hopefully people of other Faiths (or even no Faith) will find that my style is an inviting one that respects all perspectives.

I make no apology though that the lionshare of the show will target African American Christians in the Black Church. If the Black Church would just extend itself beyond the brick and mortar of its sanctuaries - guided by the message of the Prophets and Jesus - then I think much would change for the better in Baltimore.

So tune in this Monday. If you are tired of the same ol’ same ol’ in Christian radio, then I promise you will not be disappointed with Faith in Action. There will be NOTHING “same ol’ same ol’” about it.

Also, if you are able, I solicit your financial support as well to help me stay on the air. You can make a secure online donation by clicking here and if you would like to advertise your businesses or event please CONTACT ME concerning rates.

Thank you to those members of my family who have already donated. And a special shout-out to Bro. Haki Ammi and Chip Dizard from Absolute Presence for the generous donations as well. I will never forget your support.

Don’t forget - Mondays 1:00PM - 2:00PM on Spirit 1400AM.
(For those outside of the Baltimore area, I’ll be on Itunes soon enough.)