CL I CK P I CTURE TO VI S IT ABUNDANT GRACE FELLOWSHI P . . . Story and Pictures by Dr. Yvonne D. Nelson I can remember visiting Abundant Grace Fellowship when it was located on West Raines at Westmont Road. I distantly remember meeting the Senior Pastor, Dwayne Hunt, and working with Elder Earl Sayles, someone who regularly kept me abreast of the many good things that were happening at and through Abundant Grace in its former Westwood area location. This must have been around 2004-05. Fast forward a few years. Several places of worship have tried to make 1574 East Shelby Drive home, but sometime around or after 2007, Dwayne Hunt made the location part of the Abundant Grace vision. From that day to this, I have seen nothing but great things happening from that location. In addition to Hunt, the leadership team includes Sayles, the Connections Pastor; Clifton Johnson, the Administrative Pastor; Children’s Ministry Pastor, Gayle Hunt; Young Adult Pastor, Elyse Jones; and Healing Grace, Elder Jacqueline McCreight. Service begins Sunday mornings at 10 AM and Bible Study and Bible Study Groups meet on Wednesday’s at 11:30 AM and 6:45 PM. The office can be reached by phoning (901) 789-4722, the same number the church had on East Raines Road. I sat in on the 10 AM service on Sunday, May 19, 2019. Pastor Hunt has a unique way of teaching the Bible, one that, like myself, believe most everyone would thoroughly enjoy. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed the lesson because I understood the message and I understood the message so well, that I was able to recite parts of it to others days after I’d heard it. The message that Sunday had four main characters (1) the Father - Isaac, a type of God the Father; (2) the Mother - Rebekah, a type of Church; (3) the Older Brother - Esau, a type of Jesus; and the younger Brother - Jacob, a type of us. Do you know this story? The way Pastor Hunt explained it made it simple to understand, but “when is a lie, not a lie?” was the question he posed. I replied, “Never, and I believe that I was correct.” As the story went, the Father was old and failing and witnessed this to his 1st born Son, Jesus. Although a private conversation, the Mother (the church) overheard the conversation and quickly called for the Brother. The Father had instructed Jesus to go fetch goats and to prepare his favorite meal and bring it to him so that he could give the “Blessing.” Jesus had left to fetch and prepare the meal for his father, but the Mother and Brother were faster accomplishing the task because they worked together whereas Jesus worked alone (this is my interpretation). The Brother came back with the fetch and the Mother prepared it as the Brother clothed himself in Jesus best suit of clothing. Now the Brother smelled like Jesus, but his skin was smooth, not hairy like Jesus’ skin, so the Mother used the fur from the goats he had fetched to put over his smooth skin. The Brother was still concerned that the Father would know who he was, but the Mother insisted and he went in to serve the Father the meal she had prepared. The Father ate the food and questioned the Brother. When the Brother said he was the 1st born, the Father did indeed believe him and gave him the “Blessing.” So when is a lie, not a lie? I still say, “Never.” What do you say? And how can you relate to the moral of this story? The story did end with a demonstration using two church members who enacted the various parts of the story for additional clarity. The entire ceremony was entertaining, yet informative and it did not include anything that wasn’t necessary for even the youngest mind to understand. Of course the Father recognized his error when Jesus returned, but just like you and I, he could not take back that which has already happened. Upon being satisfied with his sermon, Pastor Hunt and Elder Sayles welcomed two of the four new members to the stage to be introduced to and inducted into their new church families and then invited two families with new babies requiring christening. A few important announcements were made and I even had another chance to alert more Shelby County residents about the environmental injustice being delivered directly to residents in the northwestern part of Whitehaven—the individuals who live close to Waste Connections of TN, LLC, the waste transfer service company that Continued on Page 25 26
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