Saint Sabina closes out a whirlwind week with Pastor Donnie McClurkin

By Chinta Strausberg

Donnie McClurkin was the keynote speaker at Saint Sabina’s two-day revival held earlier this week where he challenge the standing-room only crowd to know who they are and to understand the power and authority God has given us. Pastor McClurkin also sang a medley of songs including in Russian and Italian and also with the Howard University Choir (Photo by Chinta Strausberg)

In a nearly five-hour gospel, spiritual explosion, Grammy award winner Pastor Donnie McClurkin late Monday and Tuesday night received several standing ovations as he preached on and sang a medley of his songs in a number of languages including Russian challenging the Saint Sabina audience to know who they are.

But, his message and challenges during the revival were the same—take the authority that god gave us over the land and stop waiting for God to do what he has assigned you to do.

Unfortunately, Pastor McClurkin , who in 2001 founded the Perfecting Faith Church, said too many people have not been told who they are and what they can become and there in lies the problem. “God is looking at us. God gave authority to you….”

McClurkin got a round of laughter when he said, “I am trying my best not to be too Pentecostal. They say this is a Catholic church but it ain’t nothing here Catholic….” Listing many of the religions, McClurkin said, “Episcopal, Catholic, COIG, CME’s, AME’s…” divided they cannot stand and reminded the audience that they are all “the body of Christ.”

“This is not a church,” he said. “Jesus did not die for these pews, this pulpit” and neither did he die for the building.

All too often, McClurkin said, “In our religious piety, we have become pretentious and look to God as a crutch…and tell God what to do what he gave us the responsibility to do…. We have made him into a genie in a lamp…someone who twitches his nose and makes things happen for us…” like something magic.

“The reason why Chicago…New York are in the state they are in is because of us. It has nothing to do with God. We have been looking for God to do something for us…and God is saying why are you relinquishing your authority? What have you become so weakened…that you think I’m supposed to come and do this”?

McClurkin talked about people who were “false prophets…manipulating us from our living and because religious people are so emotional, we respond to a frenzy preaching…but because of emotions…we are starving…because we don’t know who we are….”

As ministers, McClurkin said, our job is to show you who you are, to preach you into your purpose to show you the image of God in you. We don’t know who we are…. We believe our humanity is an excuse for our failure…. We use that as an excuse but that is an indictment against you, not an excuse for you…that takes away your reason for failure because humanity is something great. Humanity is only second to deity for man was made in the image and likeness of an unfailing…wonderful God.”

“Man is made in the image and the likeness of the Holy God so failure is not acceptable,” he said. “Failure is not acceptable in humanity.” “Don’t you understand how wonderfully you are made”?

McClurkin told of how he was once broke. He only had $1.00 and how he gave ten-cents of that to God. He was told he could not sing, but when he was in his 20’s, he got a job cleaning toilets at a clinic for $120.00 a week. It was there he would sing and one day a Miss Washington heard him. She had him to go to the chapel from 12 noon to 1 and he would go back to cleaning bathrooms.

He listed all of the places he has performed since including the White House, for Nelson Mandela and many other places abroad including Australia, Japan and Nigeria. “I am blessed and highly favored,” he said. “Know who you are,” he said.

He went from being broke in 2001 to “sitting in my own house,” but his blessing came after he said God told him to give him 40-years of his life. McClurkin said he did just that. “You are the head, not the tail.”

Pastor McClurkin spent nearly two-hours singing in various languages including Russian. He also sang Monday night with the Howard University choir.

“In the religious world, we do not know who we are so we allow things to happen,” he said.

On Monday and Tuesday nights, Pastor McClurkin sang a medley of songs including, “We Fall Down, But We Get Up.” Here is the link to that song.

Father Pfleger called the two-hour music explosion “unbelievable” and said Pastor McClurkin “an anointed man of God.”

A line formed where members bought McClurkin’s latest CD, “Donnie McClurkin Duets.”

Here is the link to one of Pastor McClurkin’s most popular song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3ewPHaPBfA