ADDING JESUS TO THE SHOW

Minister Marion Hall aims to ‘win souls for God’ at Reggae Sumfest

Says she is filled with ‘more fire’

Published:Tuesday | March 28, 2023 | 1:03 AM Stephanie Lyew/Gleaner Writer

Contributed

Minister Marion Hall

On July 22, spirits will be lifted at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex in Montego Bay as Minister Marion Hall promises a divine cultural experience to those who will converge for the annual Reggae Sumfest production.

“I’m adding Jesus Christ to the show,” she told The Gleaner, while admitting that she did not want “anyone to get it twisted thinking they gonna come and see the Lady Saw behaviour … . No, no, none of that”.

Early last year, Skatta Burrell, popular music producer and a member of the Downsound Entertainment group, the organisers of the music festival announced, that he would love to book Hall for the 2022 staging of the event. However, she quickly rejected the idea, noting that she would not be gracing the stage unless Gospel Night was returned to the calendar.

Recalling her grand exit from dancehall in 2015, the musical minister said that she knew Reggae Sumfest 2015 was going to be the last time she would close Dancehall Night, so this year, she is booked on the diverse roster, which features primarily conscious reggae entertainers.

“I’m very excited. I know the fans are excited. I’m the only female to ever close that event, and when I closed out on Dancehall Night, I walked away knowing that I was gonna walk away from the industry. So to come back as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, wow! I know that the Devil was just trying to twist me up, turn me, and tell me, ‘You shouldn’t do this or that’. I’m coming in and coming in hard. So demons, I’m telling you right now, you gotta leave that territory. I’m taking dominion over Montego Bay that night,” Hall said.

She continued: “Studying the Bible, when I look at Jesus Christ and the people who He dwell among and hang out with, He said, ‘I didn’t come to call the righteous but sinners, unto repentance’. You don’t just win souls in the Church, the souls that are already saved. God is looking for lost souls, and wherever He leads, I will follow. Don’t get it twisted now. I’m not boring. My performance at Sumfest won’t be boring. It’s gonna be epic.”

After much deliberation and collaboration with Downsound Entertainment to produce new music, Hall is excited to engage festival-goers, and she has been mentally and spiritually preparing herself for the stage. She revealed that when she was saved, she was confused, “and people were pulling east, west, north, south, and there were some things that I thought I shouldn’t do and that I shouldn’t go to some places,” but over the years, she has made peace with the choices to give her life to God and continue music but use it to minister the gospel.

“I’ve been talking to the Lord about it already, and I know I gotta go into prayer and fasting to prepare, and that’s why I make sure I get the night that I chose to go on, you know. Bless the name of the Lord. Yeah because listen, God didn’t take all the fire out of me. He added more fire in me,” she shared.

Some of that fire is visible in her latest singles, Sorry To Hurt Your Feelings and I’m Doing Better, which is a production of Downsound Records (DSR). Speaking about her collaboration with the label, the dancehall icon-turned-minister explained that the original plans were to record two tracks, but this has evolved into the production of a full project after she, along with DSR principal Joe Bogdanovich, went to Nashville, Tennessee, to meet with Grammy Award-winning musician Gramps Morgan and his guitarist for a studio session.

She said: “We didn’t plan for it … . I’m just too talented. To put me in a studio with Gramps Morgan’s guitarist, I mean, every time I opened my mouth, it was just something that was irresistible. I think he had, like, 30 guitars in the studio, and before we knew it, we ended up with five tracks, and I recorded three of them when we were planning to only do two, one there and one with another producer. Safe to say, it seems like we’re gonna have an album.”

Hall said she truly enjoyed working with the DSR principal. From her dancehall years until now, she believes the focus has been on producing quality music.

“Even when I was in dancehall, he was always a respectable person, and he knows what he’s looking for. I think Joe wanted to do something that he had never done before, and I wasn’t even expecting Joe. The Lord told me about a door. He said to me, there’s an open door that I’ve set before you that no man can shut. I remember him using His own words. He said before I get to that door, I have to go through some other doors. They are doors where disappointment lies, you know, pain and heartaches and all kinds of setbacks and delays,” she said.

“He told me to continue walking, so I was expecting the door to open from the inside, like inside of the church, you know? But it opened from the outside. So I’m just working with what God sent my way. God will send a raven to feed his people. So I just bless God for Joe and, you know, it’s good music. It’s clean music. It’s godly music,” Hall affirmed. 

LINK:  https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20230328/minister-marion-hall-aims-win-souls-god-reggae-sumfest

CHAMISA LOOKS TO GOD

 

God is in it – says Chamisa after Al Jazeera expose’, as followers demand more  

26th March 2023 News Headlines

By Staff Reporter 

CITIZENS Coalition for Change (CCC) President Nelson Chamisa’s ‘God Is In It’ mantra has riled some of his supporters who have demanded that he do more than just bank on Jehovah’s intervention in the Zimbabwean crisis.

Chamisa had reacted to Al Jazeera’s Gold Mafia documentary by posting a verse Saturday morning, accompanied by the now common statement.

“The wise acknowledge and seek their God. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their ways are vile. God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God. Psalm 53: 1-2 Blessed Sabbath,” said Chamisa in a tweet that had #GodIsInIt

THE WISE ACKNOWLEDGE & SEEK THEIR GOD…The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt; their ways are vile…God looks down from heaven
upon the sons of men
to see if any understand,
if any seek God. Psalm 53:1-2 Blessed Sabbath! #Godisinit

— nelson chamisa (@nelsonchamisa) March 25, 2023

 

Earlier on he had said: “The fish rots from the head, the Al Jazeera documentary exposes the extent of the rot at the top, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. This clearly shows how corrupt, rotten and broken leadership has destroyed a jewel and great country. Zimbabwe is not poor, it’s just poorly governed!”

A number of supporters however were not keen on hearing the Word, arguing they were either tired of him sharing bible verses with little to no action and that his actions were ‘deflating’ them.

Chamisa has not waivered despite past criticism. He has maintained that no CCC plan will be publicised and that his party will operate in relative secrecy so as to thwart any possible infiltration.

He has credited that for attacks on his person and the party by state security agencies and Zanu PF members, which he has said show they are on the right path.

“This is the time you need to be going guns blazing on the Gold Mafia. All Chamisa does is preach verses nxaaa. You don’t get the work you need to do to win for sure. Masses are like school kids it is emphasis and repetition of message that will do wonders,” said a Twitter user, Walle, in response.

Dude seriously .This the time you need to be going guns blazing on the gold mafias.
Its chamisa he does what preach verses.nxaaa.
You dont get the work you need to do win for sure.Masses are like school kids its emphasis and repetition of message that wil do wondèrs

— walleh (@sshortwave) March 25, 2023

 

The Gold Mafia is a four-part documentary on how high-ranking officials, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Special Envoy Uebert Angel and niece Henrietta Rushwaya are working with corrupt individuals to launder money using government’s mineral serve Fidelity Printers and Refinery.

It is a two-year-long investigation whose first episode was released Thursday.

“We need action now; we have had enough of these verses. By now I would have thought the communication department would have held a press conference expressing the masses’ anger. Please lead!!” said Kay Jaricha.

We need action now, we have had enough of these verses. By now I would have thought the communication department would have held a press conference expressing the masses anger. Please lead!!

— Kay Jay Jaricha (@jaykaymunya) March 25, 2023

The CCC is yet to officially comment on the matter, with indications it could do so after all four episodes are broadcast.

LINK: https://www.newzimbabwe.com/https-www-newzimbabwe-com-god-is-in-it-says-chamisa-after-al-jazeera-expose-as-followers-demand-more/

GOD WHO REMOVES DEMONS

Metro

March 28, 2023

American reality star, Blac Chyna removes ‘demonic’ tattoo, implants, fillers after finding God

After removing her face fillers and implants, Blac Chyna continued her epic make-under ‘healing journey’ by having the Baphomet tattoo she got in 2021 lasered off her left hip.

According to Daily Mail, Washington, DC-born 34-year-old shared two videos documenting her road trip to Henderson, NV and subsequent visit to Clear Out Ink over the weekend.

‘I am releasing all negative energy that is holding me back,’ Blac – who boasts 21.8M, social media followers – explained.

‘It gots to come off. Do you know what I mean? I’m about to have no mark of the beast – anything like that. When I first got the tattoo, that is not what it meant to me. I just don’t want anything negative or demonic on my body anymore.’

Not today, Satan! After removing her face fillers and implants, Blac Chyna continued her epic make-under ‘healing journey’ by having the Baphomet tattoo she got in 2021 lasered off her left hip

‘I just don’t want anything negative or demonic on my body anymore’: The star documented the removal process on her Instagram account

Pricing at Clear Out Ink starts at $100/treatment, but it can take as little as three or as high as 12+ laser sessions (spaced six-eight weeks apart) to totally remove the offending ink.

The Black Hamptons actress didn’t just remove the Baphomet either, she also had smaller pieces ‘Jay’ (for YBN Almighty Jay) and ‘Stevenson’ (for Tyga) removed.

The former stripper recently candidly revealed to DailyMail how getting baptized and reconnecting with God inspired her dramatic physical and mental make-under, which has seen her dissolving her filler, quitting her ‘degrading’ OnlyFans career, and shedding her infamous stage name in favour of embracing her birth name.

The 34-year-old reality star, who is now going by Angela White, explained that – following her baptism in May last year – she came to the realization that continuing to share very X-rated images and videos on the ‘degrading’ platform was not ‘what God will want me to do’.

LINK:  https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/03/american-reality-star-blac-chyna-removes-demonic-tattoo-implants-fillers-after-finding-god/

VANGUARD

SCHOOL FOOTBALL

 

Starconnect Media > Sports > African pupils to participate in inaugural CAF school championship

Sports

African pupils to participate in inaugural CAF school championship

Last updated: 2023/03/20 at 4:40 PM

starconnect 2 days ago

THANDISIZWE MGUDLWA l Monday, March 20, 2023

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – South Africa will host the inaugural CAF African Schools Football Championship tagged CAF school championship at King Zwelithini Stadium, CAF announced this week.

The soccer spectacle will take place at Durban’s King Zwelithini Stadium from 05-08 April 2023.

According to CAF, the first year of the Programme a historic and first of its kind Schools Programme that has attracted over 44 000 boys and girls in 41 African countries under the age of 15 to not only compete on the field but to be empowered through a number of
programmes aimed at capacity building.

Also revealed is that this is a culmination of a journey that started with Schools competition at National level and then Zonal Phase.

Moreover, the Continental Phase of the competition will see some of the top schools in Africa compete for the ultimate prize in what is expected to be a weekend of festivities in KwaZulu-Natal, Durban. The Final will be played on Saturday, 08 April 2023.

CAF General Secretary General, Veron Mosengo-Omba commented: “We are excited to reach this state and to see what started as a vision being implemented and benefiting the young people in Africa. It is history in the making.

The CAF African Schools Football Championship is very important to CAF, it is important to Africa and it is very important to CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe. For the first time, CAF is not just talking about developing the youth, but we are investing in a tangible way to the future of Africa. We are giving hope, we are giving a platform.”

On the Final in Durban, Mosengo-Omba added: “Following extensive consultation that also included inviting Member Associations to submit applications to host, South Africa’s Durban was given the go-ahead. We have a lot of confident that we will work together with SAFA, with South African Government and KwaZulu Natal to ensure that this is a
success.”

CAF President’s Dr Motsepe’s Vision to Invest in Youth: The CAF African Schools Football Championship was first announced by CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire in April 2021.

At the announcement, Dr Motsepe had said: “The best investment we can make to ensure that African football is amongst the best in the world and self-sustaining, is to invest in schools’ football and youth football development infrastructure for boys and girls at club and national level. This is one of my key focus areas as President of
CAF.”

And since its launch in Mozambique last year, the CAF African Schools Football Championship has already impacted many lives. Thanks to a donation of USD 10 million by the Motsepe Foundation that will go intoprizes of Schools at National, Zonal and Continental level, Schools will be able to use the money for Development projects, CAF noted.

Prize money :
Zonal Phase
Winner (boys & girls)                   $100,000
Runner-up (boys & girls)                $75,000
Third place (boys & girls)              $50,000

Continental Phase:
Winner (boys & girls)                   $300,000
Runner-up (boys & girls)                $200,000
Third place (boys & girls)              $150,000

LINK:  https://starconnectmedia.com/african-pupils-to-participate-in-inaugural-caf-school-championship/

Starconnect Media

DEPENDING ON GOD

2023 elections

March 19, 2023

A’Ibom gov-elect Eno, dedicates victory to God

…Appreciates voters for massive support

…Reiterates promise to run an all-inclusive govt

...Extends an olive branch to other contestants

By Chioma Onuegbu, Uyo

THE Akwa Ibom State governor-elect , Pastor Umo Eno of the People’s Democratic Party PDP has dedicated his victory to God for for the Grace He has shown him, and for the strength to carry on in the face of several challenges.

Pastor Eno who stated this in his victory speech made available to newsmen shortly after he was declared winner of the election on Sunday by the electoral umpire, reiterated that he would not disappoint his political father, Governor Udom Emmanuel and Akwa Ibom people.

He added that the leaders and stakeholders of his party the PDP, as well as his campaign team deserved a huge pat on the back for staying true to their convictions and their unyielding dedication to the party’s victory at the polls.

His words: ” Fellow Akwaibomites, I stand here, humbled yet energized by the massive support and overwhelming vote of confidence in my capacity to be your Servant-Leader in the next four years that you showed me yesterday, at the polls. It was peaceful, credible, fair and a ringing expression of the will of our people.

“You came out massively to vote for the continuation of the peace and security of lives and property we have enjoyed in the last almost eight years; the continuation of a Christ-centric leadership, of humility in governance, compassion, competence, character and development across all sectors.

“You did this, so our children and generations yet unborn will enjoy the dividends of democracy and live happily, in brotherhood, love and unity.

“I dedicate this victory to God, for the Grace He has shown me, for the strength to carry on, in the face of several challenges and for the inner peace to keep moving with my eyes clearly set on the ball and not to be distracted. to “THAT SAME GOD’ be all the glory!.

“Let me specifically thank my political Father, the Leader of our party, our dear Governor, His Excellency, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, for seeing in me, what others may not have seen.

” Thank you Your Excellency, for standing by me, for leading the troop for the continuation of good governance, for insisting that what God has started in Akwa Ibom State, must continue and the story be told in more enchanting chapters.

“I pledge to you, Your Excellency and our dear people who have bought into your vision that I will not disappoint in this onerous task God has placed on my shoulders. Like you have shown, I am coming thoroughly prepared to hit the ground running from Day One”

The incoming governor of Akwa Ibom State, also thanked the first Lady, and his Campaigner-in Chief, Martha Udom Emmanuel for the long hours, the soaring speeches at campaigns which ultimately manifested in the massive victory he got during the Saturday poll.

He equally thanked his wife, children, and their spouses, his siblings, grand-children, and extended family for the comfort, unwavering support and prayers they provided him in the face of vile, manufactured lies and propaganda that were concocted against him.

“I know how emotionally traumatized those moments may have been, but the battle is over now, and I bear no grudges. Let me thank the Church, and Fathers in Faith for your prayers and intercessions.

“I am one of you, and I pledge to continue to run a Christ-Centric administration where good will always trump evil, and where morality and good conscience will form the building blocks of our administration.

“To the youths of Akwa Ibom State, thank you for maintaining the peace and taking ownership of the collective destiny and aspirations of our people to live in peace. By your avowed dedication to end violence and embrace peace, we were able to have a very peaceful elections yesterday. Kudos to you all!”, Pastor Stated.

Continuing, he commended hisopponents for putting up a good fight, adding “In any political contest, a winner must emerge . And today, it has pleased God to place me as the winner of this contest.

” I hereby extend an olive branch and my hand of fellowship to all my brothers who contested with me, to join me in building the Akwa Ibom State where the symphonies of peace, development, love, unity and brotherhood would continue to ring louder and bind us all even deeper together.

” As a pastor, I harbor no hate or animosity towards any one. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “with malice towards none, with charity for all”, I promise to run an all-inclusive government, where no one would be punished or victimized on account of holding a different political opinion.

“We are all Akwaibomites first and foremost before our political labels. Political parties are vehicles to attain power, they cannot substitute the bond of unity and brotherhood we have all shared for centuries. It is a known fact that politics may have created a gulf of alienation in some sections of our society.

“I hereby pledge to set up a Reconciliation Committee to bring our brothers and sisters together and look at things that deepen our unity than those that divide us. Akwa Ibom is Rising and it will always be!

“As we all join hands with one voice to kick-start this journey of our next phase growth and development as a State, I therefore, once again implore us all to jettison all forms of bickering, hatred, malice, blackmail, pull-down syndrome and their attendant retrogressive tendencies, so that we can jointly build the AkwaIbom of our dreams.Thank you for this great opportunity to serve”.

LINK:  https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/03/aibom-gov-elect-eno-dedicates-victory-to-god/

VANGUARD

New York Mayor: Lack of faith is biggest challenge for NYC

New York Politics

Mayor Adams wants NYC to be a ‘place of God,’ calls on faith leaders and NYers to pitch in

By Michael Gartland

New York Daily News • Mar 16, 2023 at 2:54 pm

 

Mayor Adams called on New Yorkers to transform the city into “a place of God” Thursday — the latest in a series of faith-based remarks that have defied conventions set by his City Hall predecessors.

Adams, who was speaking at a faith-based summit on mental health, posed much of his speech in the form of questions that boiled down to one focal point: How does one reshape New York City into a place that exudes an aura of faith and God?

“How do we take a city that is the center of the power of America and turn it into a city, when you enter it, everyone sees faith and sees God?” the mayor said during Thursday’s confab, held at Columbia University’s Teachers College. “Our challenge is not economics. Our challenge is not finance. Our challenge is faith. People have lost their faith.”

Mayor Eric Adams speaks at the Greater Allen A.ME. Cathedral of New York on Sunday, January 9, 2022. (Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Adams’ latest comments on the subject of God and belief come two weeks after he stirred up controversy when he declared he doesn’t believe in the separation of church and state, a perspective he clarified days later by saying that “government should not interfere with religion, and religion should not interfere with government.”

Since making those statements, he’s taken more than one question from reporters on the topic, has floated the idea of encouraging spiritual exchanges between houses of worship, and on Wednesday, during an appearance at a gun violence summit hosted by national faith leaders, he called on clerics to be part of a “major recruitment campaign” to get young people to become police officers.

“We should be part of the rallying call of having good, God-fearing young men and women play this awesome role of public safety in our city,” he said at that event.

Front page of the New York Daily News for March 1, 2023: In speech to faith leaders, Adams dismisses need to separate church and state. Mayor Adams, speaking Tuesday (above), made comments that could be at odds with the established constitutional provisions separating religion and government. (New York Daily News)

The mayor’s most recent predecessors — former Mayors Bill de Blasio and Michael Bloomberg — were typically more restrained when speaking on faith and rarely detailed their own personal experiences with religion.

Adams, who was raised in the Church of God in Christ, a Pentecostal denomination, has offered a different approach and drawn criticism in the process. Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said earlier this month that his remarks continued “to raise concerns that he doesn’t respect the separation of church and state.”

Thursday’s comments on faith in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights were broad in scope — and more personal than some of his previous statements.

Adams described his childhood and how his mother, who died weeks before his inauguration, would emphasize the importance of people feeling and seeing God when they walked into their home.

“Mommy used to say to the six of us, she says, ‘When people walk into this house, do they feel God? Do they see God? Do they feel the energy of God?’” he said. “So here’s my question. Our home is New York City. When people walk into this city, when they get off the bus, when the asylum seekers come in, when they enter the city for the first time at JFK or Amtrak — do they feel God?”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams host the annual Interfaith Breakfast at the New York Public Library on Tuesday, February 28, 2023. (Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Adams attempted to then answer his own question with another rhetorical flourish pointed at the asylum seeker crisis he’s struggled to address since last year and the city’s continuing homelessness dilemma.

“If this was a home of God, we would not be asking the question, what are we going to do with our asylum seekers,” he said. “If this was a home of God, we would not be asking the question of what are we doing with the young men and women who are growing up in homeless shelters that have not even seen someone come in and minister to them.”

Adams has repeatedly called on the federal government to pony up more cash to house and provide other services for the more than 40,000 migrants who’ve come to the city since last year seeking asylum. And earlier this week, he approved a form of ministry, albeit secular, for people living in homeless shelters in the form of a law that now requires the city to provide mental health services to women and children living in family homeless shelters.

But other, broader issues, he suggested on Thursday, remain unresolved.

He said he’s fearful of what’s happening in the city and in the country as a whole — and pointed to the easy access children have to cannabis products, cosmetic surgery and phone-based apps like TikTok as bellwethers which show the country is moving in the wrong direction.

Adams, who’s railed against social media repeatedly, pointed to China’s approach to TikTok as one that’s superior to the one now being taken in the United States.

“They don’t allow the TikTok that our children are looking at. They don’t allow it in China. They only have education TikTok. Our babies are waking up every day in the morning, on their way to school, stopping into stores and bodegas and buying gummy bears and Skittles laced with cannabis and sitting inside the classroom,” he said. “We are seeing the erosion of the foundation of our future.”

LINK:  https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-elections-government/ny-mayor-adams-wants-nyc-to-be-place-of-god-20230316-fwn4bzllubeprpfwplzaqoptym-story.html

GOD 4 SPORT

Basketball

30-win Oral Roberts primed for another NCAA Tournament run: 'God is good'

By Kevin Mercer Mar 14, 2023 

Oral Roberts players celebrate after winning the Summit League, March 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Josh Jurgens)

College basketball fans may be in for a treat.

Two of the hottest teams in the country are set for a showdown in the 2023 men’s basketball NCAA Tournament, as No. 12-seed Oral Roberts (30-4) will clash with No. 5-seed Duke (26-8) on Thursday evening in one of the most intriguing matchups of the first round.

The Blue Devils have won nine in a row, including three in three days to capture the ACC Tournament title. Not to be outdone, the Golden Eagles won the most games in school history, went undefeated in conference play and have come out victorious in their last 17 contests, the last three coming in the Summit League Tournament to guarantee their spot in the field of 68.

WE’RE BACKKKKKK!
See you soon @MarchMadnessMBB #ORUMBB | #SummitLeagueChamps | #March2TheSummit pic.twitter.com/FfYrTdmjOZ

— ORU Basketball (@ORUMBB) March 8, 2023

After capturing the Summit League title last week with a 92-58 drubbing of North Dakota State, Oral Roberts’ sixth-year head coach Paul Mills had one thing on his mind as he opened his postgame press conference.

“God is good,” he said. “We are thankful. I’m thankful that I get to coach these guys, and they made shots tonight. I got an incredible group of guys.”

Neither Mills nor his Golden Eagles are strangers to March success, as college basketball fans remember well Oral Roberts’ incredible run to the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed two years ago. Mills led that team to a 75-72 OT win against No. 2-seed Ohio State in the first round, followed by an 81-78 victory over No. 7-seed Florida in the second. They fell just short of an Elite Eight berth in a 72-70 defeat to No. 3-seed Arkansas.

— ORU Basketball (@ORUMBB) March 8, 2023

Five players from that unforgettable team are still on this year’s roster, including senior leader and ORU’s leading scorer, Max Abmas (22.3 ppg). He was relied on heavily in 2021, and this season has been no different. Abmas, who has been known to post on social media about his faith in God, indicated on Instagram that he was placing his trust in God’s timing before his final season in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Abmas, Mills and others in the Golden Eagles program feel free to share about their faith openly at Oral Roberts, a private evangelical university founded in 1963 by the famous evangelist of the same name.

“As a globally recognized, Holy-Spirit-empowered university, we develop whole leaders for the whole world through a unique Whole Person education,” the school’s website says. “Students come to ORU not to ‘stay’ in their faith but to GROW in faith and to become the Spirit-empowered leaders they are called to be.”

In October 2021, Mills was a guest on the Sports Spectrum Podcast and he discussed his team’s memorable March Madness run, the lessons he’s learned along the way, and the platform he has to share about his faith in Christ.

“My job is to empty [my cup] and to make sure that I’m invested and I’ve poured into those guys and loved those guys, and those guys have no doubt,” Mills said. “Like, ‘Not only was he organized and passionate, but he loved us. That dude emptied his cup.’ … It’s my job to empty my cup. I just want to show up every day, love my guys, invest in my guys and empty my cup.”

Raised in Aldine, Texas, the son of a preacher, Mills learned from an early age that coaching combined his love for basketball and his love for serving others in Christ. It was the perfect fit for him. After 14 years as an assistant to Scott Drew at Baylor, Mills was handed the reigns at Oral Roberts.

“We always knew there was a sovereign God who presented opportunities, and it was our job (to speak the Gospel),” Mills said on the podcast. “Matthew tells us, ‘Let your light shine before men, so that they may praise your Father who is in Heaven.’ We just wanted to be light, and if ever we were given the opportunity, we wanted to make sure that glory was given in the right way and to the right Person.”

With the media attention that comes from an NCAA Tournament bid and a matchup against the powerhouse Blue Devils, Mills hopes for many more opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus. The first-round game is set to tip off at 7:10 p.m. ET on Thursday from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. The winner will face either Tennessee or Louisiana on Saturday.

LINK:  https://sportsspectrum.com/sport/basketball/2023/03/14/oral-roberts-ncaa-tournament-god-good/

SPORTS&SPECTRUM