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Young minister takes the message 'to the streets' |
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Friday, 23 October 2009 |
By Jeannetta Edwards
Daily Times Leader
Belzoni, Mississippi might be considered a “one-horse town” ... if they had a horse.
What they do have is a claim to the title of “Catfish Capitol of the World.” And Belzoni, nestled in the Mississippi Delta, with a population of less than 3000, has at least one other significant contribution to society. It is the birthplace of the Rev. Roscoe Shields.
Shields was appointed pastor of the Lee Memorial Seventh Day Adventist Church, located on Highway 45 Alternate North, and Salem Seventh Day Adventist Church, Columbus, a little more than a year ago. He brings with him, in addition to his wife, Shaundrika, and their three lovely daughters, Ashira, 9, Jada, 6, and Nesiah, 1, a passion for spreading the gospel through preaching, teaching and healing.
Recently, his congregations sponsored an afternoon of speakers and entertainment on the campus of Mississippi University for Women. The program included noted lecturers, including Dr. David and Beverly Sedlecek, Dr. Renee Mobley; Redemption; Marcus D. Wiley, renowned comedian from the Yolanda Adams Morning Show; Sherice Tomlin; and Stric’ly Jesus, a gospel rap group, of which Shields is a member.
Stric’ly Jesus, with nine members from across the United States and Canada, was founded by Minister Fred Whitlow II, aka Min. Fred II. Shields, whose stage name is Pastor Ross, got involved with the group after meeting Whitlow at a block party in a public housing project.
“I am involved in street ministry, which is where I go out and minister face-to-face to people who may not attend church service,” said Shields. “We go outside the norm.”
The delivery method used by Stric’ly Jesus is rap music, because, according to Shields rap transcends the barriers that often divide people.
“Actually, if you think about it, rap has been around a long time,” said Shields, who is as comfortable speaking the King’s English has he is in the genre of rap or with the Hebrew, Greek or Arabic languages. “Uncle Remus was a rapper. He used rhymes to say things in such a way people would understand. The slaves also used a coded language to convey messages. Rap has a code as well. We decided to utilize that code as a method to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
By using rap, Shield says the group reached a large spectrum of people in the hip hop culture. Rap transcends race, gender, economic status, age — all barriers that separate people. Stric’ly Jesus has performed from New York to California and will appear Oct. 26 in Hunstville, Ala., on a program to help feed the hungry.
Although, Shields, now 38, admits he knew there was a calling on his life from a very young age, he did not accept it for more than 25 years.
“I knew when I was 3 years old there was a calling on my life,” he said. “But I did not accept that call until I was 28.”
Raised first in the missionary Baptist church, Shields followed his mother, who converted to the Seventh Day Adventist faith when he was 12 years old. He converted at 14, but when he went to Atlanta to study computer science at DeVry Institute, Shields decided to walk another path.
“I believed you either had to be hot or cold,” he said, “and since I was not ready to commit to the Lord completely, I decided not to be involved in church, any church, at all.”
After dropping out of college because he found he could make more money as an entrepreneur, Shields became rather successful in a short period of time. He found riches to be “easy come, easy go.”
“When you are young and you have a lot of money, you tend to blow it,” he said. “I opened a medical clinic on a dare. I told a friend I wanted to open a clinic and he said I couldn’t because I didn’t have a medical degree.”
Shields opened the clinic and went on to several other “Midas-touch” ventures. He had been out of the church for more than nine years, when he made a decision to change his lifestyle.
“I decided I had to change my friends or change my friends,” he said, explaining he had to change the way his friends viewed and lived life or he had to change his circle of acquaintances. “Some of my friends went their separate ways and some of them are still my friends today. But, I knew I had to change the way I was living.”
Shield opened a clinic which focused on the treatment of chronic back pain and Multiple Sclerosis, hiring contract doctors and therapists to treat patients. Later, he went into consulting with doctors and developing business plans for their clinics. At 21, he began buying and selling houses.
“At 21, I bought my first house for $41,000 and sold it for $76,000,” he said, but God had a different plan. “I made a lot of money ... but the very day I was to sign my first million-dollar deal, I told the lady I would call her the next day. I did not sign the paper. God spoke to me that night.”
After telling his new bride of his decision to enter the ministry and getting her unyielding support, Shields enrolled in Oakwood University in Huntsville and earned his bachelor’s degree in Theology, with a concentration in Pastoral/Evangelism Ministry and a minor in Biblical Languages. He is currently enrolled in a Master’s degree program and plans to pursue a PhD. in Psychology.
While working on his undergraduate degree, his wife became seriously ill, Shields juggled the responsibilities of a full-time student, husband, father, homemaker and worked as a mortgage consultant.
“I found I could learn easier if I taught, so I taught my daughters Hebrew and Greek in order to learn the languages,” he said.
After serving as youth pastor at New Life SDA Church in Huntsville, Shields was appointed as senior pastor at Lee Memorial and Salem in June of 2008. He finds the biggest challenges facing organized religion today to be “organization.”
“A lot of people are moving away from organized religion,” he said, “preferring instead to meditate or worship on their own, but we cannot forsake the assembling together.”
Another issue confronting the church is the number of people who are hurting, either as perpetrators or victims, who believe they are beyond forgiveness.
“We have to let them know that they can be and are forgiven and address the healing they need to be made whole,” said Shields, who has a degree in counseling. “We must create a space where the stranger can put off their ‘strangeness’ and not be a threat to others.”
Among the plans and ongoing projects Shields has for the community are a community center, located on Highway 50 West, which provides clothing, food, household items free of charge, a sweet potato gleaning project, marriage and family counseling, and parenting classes in conjunction with Sally Kate Winters Family Resources.
“We go into the fields and glean.” said Shields, “and we give the sweet potatoes away. All anyone has to do is come and pick them up. Bring your own containers because we don’t have anything to put them in.”
Shields plans to continue to bring nationally renowned speakers and entertainers to the Golden Triangle area. Next week, the churches will sponsor a series of four workshops on relationships. They will also present a Deaconess Workshop in November. Future plans include a community center, providing educational opportunities, a senior citizens program designed to reach the total person, and other projects to enhance the economy of the Golden Triangle.
Humbly, Shields does not take credit for any of his past accomplishments or future endeavors.
“The polished person you see before you has not always been that person,” he said, giving God the glory. “I knew how to hustle, how to survive, but I did not know how to live.”
God put him in the path of people who would mentor him, teaching him how to dress for the position he wanted to have before he had it, how to communicate effectively and the social graces.
“I didn’t even know how to order from a menu,” he said, acknowledging his passion for key lime pie, “but someone took the time to teach me how.”
His greatest joy is helping people understand life is a journey.
“I love making the Bible come to life. I love teaching. Once I make it real to you, then you can apply it to your life,” he said.
He uses the passage from Psalm 23 as an example. That scripture speaks of the “valley of the shadow of death.”
“We have to understand that in order to have a shadow, you must have a source of light,” he said. “The source of light is not the s-u-n, but the s-o-n.”
For more information, tax deductible donations, GTR events visit www.accordingtotheword.org or call Shields at 425-6380.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 26 October 2009 )
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