Matters of Faith

A practical application of the Word of God for everyday issues.

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James ‘Loren’ Russell was born in Harlem, New York, and raised in the Bronx, where he and his wife (Evelyn) of thirty-eight years currently reside. Loren began his professional career as a life insurance agent, quickly rising to sales manager and then senior management. To fulfill his entrepreneurial ambitions, Loren established The JLR Company/J Loren Consulting, LLC to provide financial planning services in general, “Biblical Economics” services to the religious community, and motivational and developmental seminars and workshops. He served 7 years with the Southern Baptist Convention as the Northeast Strategy Coordinator, Regional Church Finance Consultant, and Church Planting Coordinator for NYC. Loren earned the Master of Divinity degree from Drew Theological Seminary and received an Honorary Doctor of Ministry from the Virginia University of Lynchburg. Through J Loren R Consulting, LLC, Loren provides financial, strategic planning, and business consultations to churches, not-for-profit organizations, and businesses nationally, with a specialization in urban church strategies. Loren’s spiritual and civic commitment keeps him busy. He is currently providing pastoral leadership to The Evangelical Church of God and continues as an Associate Minister and former Sunday School teacher at his home church, Goodwill Baptist Church. He is the founder of the Back In Stride Ministry, a ministry designed to help ex-offenders to establish their businesses; past President of the John L. Scott Associate Ministers Auxiliary of the United Missionary Baptist Association; founder and Chief Chaplain of the New York State Chaplains Workers Task Force, Inc; President of the 42nd Precinct Community Council, Clergy Liaison, and Moderator for the Ceasefire Initiative all for the New York Police Department; President of the Home/Simpson Street Homeowners Association, Bronx, NY; Board member of Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement (HCCI); 3 times past President of the Yonkers-East Yonkers Rotary Club, NY, and past District Governor for Rotary District 7230. Loren has a chapter capturing parts of his life in the book, Children of the Dream – The Psychology of Black Success by Audrey Edwards and Dr. Craig Polite. He also helped establish and provided voice-overs for the Speaking Community Calendar at Bronx Net Cable, Bronx, NY. Rev. Dr. Russell is an author who writes a weekly column called “Matters of Faith” that appear in several publications, Yonkers Insider, Better Mag magazine, Positve Community Magazine, and Pamela’s Big Heart Newsletter, and on his social media outlets. In addition, he hosts a weekly internet radio talk show, “Matters of Faith: The Radio Show” (Matters of Faith YouTube channel), and authored and published Matters of Faith: The Book. Loren is a frequently sought-after preacher, keynote speaker, motivational instructor, workshop leader, and Master of Ceremonies for a variety of programs. Loren’s favorite quote is by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. which epitomizes his philosophy on life. It states, “We must all learn to live together as brothers, or we will all perish together as fools.”

Going the Distance!

By Reverend J. Loren Russell

2 Corinthians 5:1-8 (v. 7) NKJV

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

“Going the distance” is a term often used in the boxing world to describe someone who completes every scheduled round, especially if they are on the losing end of the fight. It describes someone who shows endurance and tenacity, someone who has determined that they are going to stay the course no matter what. We admire people like that. They personify for the rest of us what a person with a made-up mind can do.

In this letter to the Corinthian church, especially in this chapter, we see Paul as both a realist and visionary. On one hand, he is compelled to admit that these earthly bodies, no matter how well we take care of them, or how much good we do while we are in them, are bound for the grave. But as a visionary, he says we ache for our mortality to be swallowed up by life. John 5:24 captures the spirit of Paul’s writing when he quotes Jesus who said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” Talk about a reason to go the distance!

How far will you go in your faith? In verses 8-10 of the fourth chapter, Paul acknowledges the pressure of endurance but still encourages them to stay strong. He says they are  “hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” When Paul uses the word “we” in his letter to the Corinthian church, he is talking about himself and his readers. He says those who are willing to go the distance are able to stand through the hardest of times, not just when things are going well.

With Paul as our guide, pleasing God as our goal, spreading the gospel as our motivation, not concerned with race, creed, culture, or gender, eliminating external distractions, maintaining an eternal perspective, and being completely secure in knowing that being absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, we can go the distance. I am reminded of a poem that says, “It’s easy to smile when life goes by like a song. But the man worthwhile is the man with a smile when everything goes dead wrong.” Are you willing to go the distance?

Be Blessed!

Rev. J. Loren Russell is the Clergy Officiant at the Evangelical Church of God and associate minister at Goodwill Baptist Church, both in the Bronx. He is the President/CEO of The JLR Company/J Loren R Consulting, LLC for Church Financial & Strategic Consulting (718-328-8096). He writes this column  and produces and host’s “Matters of Faith: The Radio Show” on Monday nights from 8:00 – 10:00 PM on The Matters of Faith YouTube channel. Be sure to Friend, Like, and Share the column and the channel.  Email us at mattersoffaith.mof@gmail.com. Order your copy of Matters of Faith: The eBook at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/993177.

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