SC Leader Institute


The South Carolina Institute of Leadership and Success (SCiLS) is a non-profit that I founded in 2017.

Our mission is to improve lives by supporting and providing programs that reduce the impact of generational poverty.
​
Our vision is for healthy, well functioning communities.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vanishing Vestments?

Image
For nearly a year, I have been researching the use of vestments and clerical attire within the Pentecostal church. To understand this issue, we must look deep into the history of our denomination. And by “deep”, I mean that we must realize that our history pre-dates the birth of Pentecostalism (as a denomination) in the late 1800s. Many evangelicals (to include Pentecostals) fall into the trap of not considering church history prior to the mid-1800s. We tend to form many of our beliefs and values as if we were created in a vacuum some 1,800 years after the resurrection of Christ. This perspective can tend to skew our understanding of many “orthodox” practices. In 1738, John Wesley had a religious experience that led to the founding of the Methodist Church. Wesley was a priest ordained by the Church of England (Anglican). Even though he founded the Methodist denomination, he never left the Anglican priesthood. Regarding the use of vestments and more orthodox worship styles (responsi...
Read more

Straight Outta Compline

Image
In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of periods of fixed prayer at regular intervals.  This practice of daily prayers grew from the Jewish practice of reciting prayers at set times of the day known as zmanim. Psalm 119:164 states: "Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws". Compline, also known as "vespers" or "night prayer", is the final period of prayer  during the day, occurring just before turning in for the night. The reading or reciting of compline typically takes less than 10 minutes. I often use this time as a way to settle the events that occurred  during the day and get my mind and spirit ready for rest. Much in the way one might use a meditation, compline helps me transition from activity to sleep. I was first exposed to compline in high school as it was often read at the end of the day at church retreats and, yes, even some lock-ins. I fell in love with both its...
Read more

What's Next?

Image
What's Next? On May 19th, in the year of our Lord 2018, I became licensed as a minister within the International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC). This required me to complete 10 classes over the course of 10 months. The program is accredited and classes are eligible for college credit, although I did not go that route. I participated in roughly 50 hours of online training, read or listened to nearly 3,000 textbook pages, completed almost 700 short answer/essay questions, wrote 3 sermons and 1 paper on my newfound hero John Wesley. I became familiar with the IPHC Manual, the Methodist Book of Discipline and further acquainted myself with the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. This all concluded with an panel style interview where I had the opportunity to explain my calling. I will admit that this journey started off more academic than it did spiritual, but about half way through, as things started to become more real, the journey became far more spiritual than anything else. ...
Read more