Books

Prayers That Make Men Better

As Father’s Day is upon us, three Black clergymen have published a book of prayers that have worked for them as they navigated the many challenges of this thing we call LIFE. In their book “Prayers That Make Men Better,” Rev. Johnnie Clark, Sr., affectionately known as Papa Clark, shares prayers that helped him overcome a 30-year heroin addiction.

Published

1 year ago

June 21, 2023

Oakland Post

Photo courtesy Y’Anad Burrell.

By Y’Anad Burrell

As Father’s Day is upon us, three Black clergymen have published a book of prayers that have worked for them as they navigated the many challenges of this thing we call LIFE.

In their book “Prayers That Make Men Better,” Rev. Johnnie Clark, Sr., affectionately known as Papa Clark, shares prayers that helped him overcome a 30-year heroin addiction.

His sons Bishop Keith L. Clark, general overseer of WORD A Family of Churches in Oakland, and Bishop Johnnie Clark, Jr., pastor of WORD Tracy Campus, both share prayers in this book that have helped them grow through the myriad of peaks and valleys that come with pastoral leadership, fatherhood and relationships.

Prayer has been a vibrant part of the Clark family heritage. The family has spent many years devoted to cultivating a prayer life that covers the physical, mental and spiritual health. “We’ve only been able to lead our families and communities through death, disappointment, depression and desperation because we have sought after God with our whole hearts, minds, bodies and souls.

“We looked at our combined 11 decades worth of personal and professional experiences in the communities we serve to compile a short list of effective prayers,” said Keith Clark.

In addition to being one of the authors of this book, Keith Clark, had a vision to create a unique space for men to be their authentic selves, where they can have transparent conversations among each other in a judgement-free zone.

With that in mind he designed a special Bible study every Tuesday in Oakland where all men are welcome to come and hang out and hear God’s word presented in a way that is interesting, intriguing and insightful.

At these sessions, men have shared how they have grown in areas that have held them back over the years. Paul Brown, aka PO, who hosts the meetings at 8916 International Blvd., in Apt. C at 7 p.m., understands the importance of creating this space as his life has changed for the better and he wants other men to experience the change they desire for themselves, their families and friends.

Prayers That Make Men Better can be purchased on Amazon or at www.wordafc.org

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Oakland Post: Week of September 11 -17, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 11 – 17, 2024

Published

1 week ago

September 13, 2024

Oakland Post

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Book Reviews

Book Review: “The Fallen Fruit” by Shawntelle Madison

You’re lucky you didn’t hit your head! The damage you did to yourself was bad enough. You didn’t need a head wound to lay you low, too. You haven’t skinned your knees like that since you were ten years old. Your elbow still hurts from that tumble. But read the new book, “The Fallen Fruit” by Shawntelle Madison and be grateful: you’re still in the here and now.

Published

1 week ago

September 10, 2024

Oakland Post

Book Cover. Courtesy of Amistad Press, Author Shawntelle Madison

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

c.2024, Amistad

$28.00

437 pages

You’re lucky you didn’t hit your head!

The damage you did to yourself was bad enough. You didn’t need a head wound to lay you low, too. You haven’t skinned your knees like that since you were ten years old. Your elbow still hurts from that tumble. But read the new book, “The Fallen Fruit” by Shawntelle Madison and be grateful: you’re still in the here and now.

She should’ve just put a “For Sale” sign on it and sold the place, like she was told.

Cecily Bridge-Davis was warned by the locals that the portion of the old Bridge farm she’d inherited was “godforsaken,” but she had to see it. Maybe it would help her understand her father, who’d up and died when Cecily was just a baby. If she could find anything about him, the trip wouldn’t be wasted.

The property was overgrown, rundown, and there was a tumbledown cabin on it that she couldn’t resist. Inside the cabin, Cecily found a Bible, and an X-marked map.

Millie Bridge prayed that she’d be the one to fall.

It was 1920, and her brother, Isaiah, was meant for better things. She’d be able to handle a trip back in time better than he, but it was a fifty-fifty chance. Their father was a Bridge man, and the family curse that’d been around for hundreds of years would send one of his children to another time in the past, which is why the offspring of every Bridge man carried freedom papers with them.

Since one never knew if, where, or when they might fall, one could never be too careful.

Bridge-Davis looked over the Bible and followed the map to a hole in a tree stump, where she found an old satchel and more questions. Was she actually supposed to believe that, as an only child, she might disappear one day, only to reappear in another time?

How could that happen? Moreover, how could she tell her husband and children?

Autumn seems to be the right time for a spine-tingling, twisty-scary novel, doesn’t it? And “The Fallen Fruit” is just about the right book.

If you mixed together the movie Groundhog Day and Octavia Butler’s “Kindred,” you might have something close to what’s inside this novel. The difference is that author Shawntelle Madison adds a few more levels and a lot more characters to time-travel, meanwhile keeping readers guessing as to where this curse began.

Sometimes, that makes this novel scrape against your imagination until it’s raw. Other times, it feels oddly like an adventure story or a survival-type tale, a test of resourcefulness that you can place yourself inside. And then there are shades of romance, to keep you rapt.

If you’re someone who tends to overthink novels, you may not like this one; it leaves a lot of questions that don’t get answered. But if you’re up for a thrill-ride of a novel, “The Fallen Fruit” is a gem. A speculative fiction fan will go head over heels for it.