MUNGER AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH HONORS AND CELEBRATES with PASTOR W. C. DAVIS
On Sunday, October 20th, words like Praise the Lord, Hallelujah, Thank you Jesus bounced off the walls of the sanctuary of Munger Avenue Baptist Church as the members, family, and friends celebrated the 21st Anniversary/Appreciation Service for Rev. and Sis. W.C. Davis. The worship service was heightened further with praise, prayers, and tears when Pastor Davis announced that the Criminal Case of theft had been dismissed by the District Attorney’s office on October 16th.
Rev. Davis who is the 16th Pastor of the 125 year old African – American church has the longest tenure of any pastor had been charged with theft by a long-time deacon, and two individuals who had rejoined the church 1 month prior to making the charges.
A group of individuals set out to maliciously prosecute and persecute him by seeking to destroy his name, his reputation, and his ministry through the news outlets, Facebook/Internet, and individuals going door – to- door sharing partial and unsubstantiated documents.
Unfortunately, the big hoopla, fanfare, big television news story was not there to announce his dismissal as they were to pronounce his indictment. Most news outlets choose to report whatever someone says, because it’s too expensive to seek out the truth, and there appears to be no money in reporting the truth. Thousands of people who heard about this case will never know that Rev. Davis has been cleared of all charges. Thousands of people who viewed this on Facebook and the internet will never read a retraction. Psalms 119:69 – 70 states, “Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart. Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law.”
The unwarranted legal actions of a few has not deterred the regular church services and Sunday the songs of praise, testimonies of the Lord’s faithfulness, tributes of honor, and the dynamic message delivered by
Rev. F. M. Davis Pastor of Zion Baptist Church in Denver, Colorado who is the Pastor’s brother was a visual testament to “God’s Goodness.”
As followers of Christ, we can expect that people will make false accusations against us but Jesus encourages us in the words of Matthew 5:11 – 12 that says, “Blessed are you when people falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.”
The theme for the service was, “The Audacity of Faithful Leadership,” with the scriptural references 2 Corinthians 4:7 – 10 & 1 Corinthians 2:1 – 5. He religiously related and connected everything that the Pastor and membership has experienced these last four years.
Rev. F. M. Davis’s booming voice resonated through the walls of the sanctuary as he dissected the message, using “The Undenialable Marks of A Champion” as a sub-topic. He challenged the Pastor and congregation using three points. The first was the value of the treasure. Rev. Davis told us to recognize the treasure we have in this earthen vessel. It was given by God and should be used to glorify him. The second point was the vigorousness of the test. He let us know that we all will experience trials and tribulations in this life, but he admonished us to be of good cheer, the Lord had overcome the world. The last point was the victory of the testimony- Rev. F. M. Davis said, “we all should have a testimony of the Lord’s Goodness.”
The morning service was closed with the remarks given by the honorees. Pastor Wade Davis using words from the Apostle Paul stated, Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of peace will be with you.
Although a civil – lawsuit is still pending, his emphasis is to reclaim, restore, rebuild the church, honor God, and encouraged all of us to display God’s love to the world around us.
