Tuscaloosa Tornado

Today was my fourth time visiting Tuscaloosa after the deadly tornado hit.  House after house destroyed and cars thrown around like toy hot-wheels cars.  There's not a lot I can do except cut down trees that are dangerous to passers by, or will be dangerous as they rot and die.  The ones that are left have been stripped of the majority of their limbs and leaves.  There is debris that needs to be moved next to the road so that crews can pick it up however so just in case you don't have a chainsaw there is plenty to do in that department.  Bring gloves and plenty of water if that's what you'd like to do.  Be sure to check in at the McAbee Center so that the city of Tuscaloosa can get credit and reimbursed for all of your volunteer hours.  I can assure you, they need all the help and reimbursements they can get as the infrastructure in the hit areas has a lot to be desired.

Some of the volunteers today ran across a bible that had obviously been tossed in the wind like so many things during the storm.  It was tattered and torn.  It was open to the book of Judges.  To some this would be a coincidence and to others a sign, but either way, I'd never seen a bible that had weathered the storm like this one.  It could still be used unlike most of the houses in the area and it's words were alive unlike the hundreds of people who passed away in the storm.  In the summer heat you could smell the rottening decay of animals and spoiled food from freezers that no longer were located where they originally were sitting, and then there was that Bible; every page could be read.  Even though it was tatered and torn, none of the pages were stuck together and none of the ink was smeared from the wetness of the storm.  There it sat open to the book of judges.

I spoke with quite a few people and heard some stories, some stimulating and some saddening like the old lady who was hiding in her tub for dear life when the roof disappeared and the toilet water started funelling up to the sky right before she went for a ride for a hundred yards, still in the tub until she and the tub landed safely on the ground with only a few bruises.  One saddening story was the lady that walked in front of one of the lots I was working on a few weeks back who held her dead baby in her arms while she cried.  The baby that was in the tree that came from a different county was yet another sad story.

One gentleman I spoke with lost everything including his work uniforms.  He had been living in that house since he was a baby and forty years later lost everything except the clothes on his back.  He brought up his insurance and said "by the way, you'd better make sure you have the names, models and serial numbers off of every thing of value inside your house if you expect the insurance companies to do much for you.

This was all a wide awakening event for me, but it makes me realise that we are here for only short while and the bible teaches not to put much stock in worldly possessions, but at the same time to not worry because God will take care of us.

Matthew 6- ¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Seeing the destruction in Tuscaloosa reminds me that everything could be gone in a second. It brings life into perspective.  What are we taking with us?  What are we accomplishing with our hands?  What are we accomplishing with our mouths?  What are we accomplishing with our bodies?  What are we accomplishing in our souls?  What are we accomplishing outside of our bodies and souls?

Matthew 6:21 (New International Version)
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Wow.  What a deep verse and so true.  For a believer, one treasure is so empty and one is so full of life.

In Tuscaloosa there are many houses that were made of wood and brick that are gone completely now.  The people that were inside were either injured or dead.  They thought they were safe and many were not.

Sometimes we try to stay "safe" and not do what we know is right, not say what we know is right, not teach what we know is right, not fight for what we know is right but in the end can we truthfully say that we truly lived or will we say that we led the sheltered life? If there's a chance that you're going to be sucked up into a storm one day regardless, wouldn't it be nice to just "live" in the mean time?

There are many who live in a sturdy and secure home, but the storm killed them years ago.  Don't let that be you.  Sometimes you just have to step out on a limb, because if you don't, you just ain't living.  There may be risk, but some of the greatest things in life require risk.  Without a doubt, risk combined with faith is a powerful combination.

Ward 3 Election - May 24th, 2011

Judgment Day... I mean, City of Selma Ward 3 Election Day, May 24th, 2011

Ms. Lola Sewell and local radio talk show host (96.3 fm) "Sunshine" on the sidewalk near the Christian Outreach Alliance at 700 J.L. Chestnut Blvd. which is one of two (the other one being at the Dallas County Court House) voting locations for the elections.

A "peaceful" protest of one of the candidates Gwen Brown with Real Talk Selma, the Freedom Foundation, the Selma Community Church, the Parker Community Church, the House of God and Random Acts of Theater (RATCO). All of these organizations and the people that are active members of these organizations are considered by many in this community and in this country, including “multiple” cult experts, a destructive cult.

There are recordings of Gwen's preacher and leader Mark Duke stating how he wanted to get "authority over the people" and how he laid out a plan to gain control of the people of Selma. This plan included "kissing babies" on every corner and whatever else they needed to do to obtain their goals.
I believe that if you're going to kiss a baby, then you should not be fake about it. After much research and study into this group, there certainly has been much fakery going on. I'd even go far as to say there are some very "serious" and "strange" things that have happened and continue to happen within the cult, past and present.

There were eight candidates who ran for the vacant seat of Dr. Monica Newton who moved with her family to Georgia months back. When the polls came in this evening we find out that it has been narrowed down to two, Greg Bjelke, a local businessman, and Gwen Brown, a local don't have a job troublemaker who speaks of unity in one side of her mouth but out of her heart, and by direction of her divine and anointed spiritual leader Mark Duke, divides and stirs up more than a hungry chicken scratching for maggots.

For those of you who still think that people didn’t start calling this organization a cult until they came to Selma and started working with black people, think again. I could supply you with emails from before they even moved to Selma where Mark Duke is threatening to sue a lady for calling them a cult, while at the same time his “spiritual partner” Shawn Samuelson was calling her a “goat” in another email telling her they didn’t pray to the same God and to never come back to their church, while at the same time Shawn and Gwen were sweet talking the ladies husband about continuing to come and talking bad about his wife. The couple wised up and decided they didn’t want to be a part of a group that tried to “play them against one another” which turned out to be a good decision for them. Other couple’s did not fair so well as it’s even been documented that the Freedom Foundation encouraged and even financially supported other couples divorces.

Selma, I've been saying this for several years now. They have a strategic plan to gain control of this city. A serious side effect of that plan is to quicken the demise of Selma and Dallas County. Please wake up and do your research, get a plan, and put that plan into action before it's too late. It’s hard to compete against a man who believes he won’t have eternal life unless he gets control of your city, but everyone needs to start.

A Wake up Call on Cult Motives

A  wake up call:

To anyone reading this site that thinks the FF are such great people because they are going out into the community -

Historically almost every cult HAD TO HAVE A CAUSE to stir up people's hearts.

Historically almost every cult HAD TO MARKET THEIR ORGANIZATION and the most famous cults included plays and music into their scheme, attaching onto children which eventually grabbed onto the parents.

I know it hurts that every "event" you go to is put together for the wrong reasons when you think it is coming from the heart of Gwen Brown and Mark Duke, but if you really study up, I believe you will wake up and see but don't kick yourself too bad... because many of you followers had the right intentions.

If you really study up and look at the people the FF have given something too, didn't that person either have some talents/strengths that the cult could monopolize on? Think about ol’ Dusty. He's pretty talented on the theater side isn't he; therefore his support could help them recruit more people into RATCO. There are others that are very social and have a way with people that help in recruiting also... Wow. This isn't rocket science here.

How about Ronald? Part of their strategy was to play the race card and get racial emotions stirred up and polarize the city. When they realized that Mark Duke early on that Mark wasn't going to be accepted strategically they needed a black man, and one with a past, to start recruiting more from the black community... and they needed someone with local roots/ties, and Ronald needed a meal ticket and a boost in the community, but it's too bad that he doesn't realize that he was cheated... and took second best... If Ronald was a Christian and scripture wise it's hard for me to imagine that, but just in case the Lord is in his heart somewhere, then I pray the Lord shows him that he took a shortcut by joining up with this group... He could have found a job and worked his way back into society... but Mark manipulated him and is still using him as a pawn...

Mark's using the same marketing techniques Jim Jones with the People's Temple used... the most famous destructive cult in the history of the United States... He used the race card to stir up people's emotions.. I can remember Jim had up a sign at his church at one point that said “Black People are Welcome Here”. Doesn’t that sound just like something Duke would put up at his church to “stir the pot”? If you’ve ever heard Jim preach and also Duke preach it’s really scary about how much their sound alike and preach about the same things and keep bouncing the subject around… People were calling Duke the “Spin doctor” and still do and ironically when I researched the People’s Temple, I found out that people called Jim the “Spin Doctor” as well….probably 80% of his congregation was black and the others were whites that wanted to hear the message of racial reconciliation. The heart was right but the location was wrong.

All of you should know that there are other integrated organizations in this city with truth in their hearts. Ronald knows this, but it's his job to ignore it... He's getting paid and played....He's been programmed to ignore it... It's his job to promote otherwise... but it's not too late...

Think about it... There are over a hundred hours of sermons that leaked out... Mark Duke talking about the black preachers in Selma... Mark Duke talking very negatively about Martin Luther King Jr and Jessie Jackson.  Ronald Smith - don't you think he's talking about you too behind closed doors with Gwen Brown and his spiritual partner Shawn Samuelson (and even his legal wife Becky) ?  Come on, if he talked about all of those other African-American preachers, don't you think he'd talk about you too if there was something he thought he could gain from it?  Don't fool yourself.

So it's my prayer that everyone in this city and the cult wakes up and smells the rotten/decaying stinking false motives of the Freedom Foundation and gets into a real organization/church that displays the True Gospel of Christ...

James Perkins Jr. Kicked Me out of African-American Church

Well, last night, Thursday, May 12th, 2011, I played a part in something that certainly made me understand and connect more with the emotions of former cult members.

I was excommunicated from a church, a black church here in Selma. I can't think of the name off the top of my head, because it was dark when I arrived and didn't see the sign, but I'll post the name soon.

Yes, for the first time in my entire life I was requested to leave God's house, a Christian place of worship and one of those people requesting that was the ex-mayor James Perkins Jr after Ronald Smith with the Freedom Foundation and the pastor of their church, the Selma Community Church, told everyone present that he couldn't remain in the same room with me.

I spent the entire day with a integrated group of volunteers from Selma working in Tuscaloosa and was in the process of dropping the last volunteer off at a local stop the violence meeting located in a local church a couple of blocks north of J.L. Chestnut. At the request of Mark Myles who had just spent the day with me, I entered into the church to sit in and listen in on a community stop the violence meeting only to find out that it was mainly a Freedom Foundation and Perkins event instead of a community event, although there were some others there, it appeared to me that Perkins was running the meeting and although Ronald Smith wasn't contributing anything, the way he acted later, I do question the authority he had in that particular stop the violence campaign.

I sat peacefully and quietly for approximately 20 minutes or so, and then Perkins singled me out and asked me to tell everyone my name to which I replied "My name's Dewayne Allday and I just wanted to say that it's a commendable thing trying to figure out ways to stop the violence in Selma". Those were the first words spoken by me. Perkins commenced to explain what they were doing but was interrupted by Ronald Smith who stood up, pacing the floor and announced that he couldn't be in the same room with me, that I was a thorn in the side of the Freedom Foundation since day one, that I was a racist and that I was one of the ones that called into the radio station all the time on their show and on whbb... Then he told everyone that there was "nothing good at all inside Dewayne Allday". He told everyone that he was going to have to leave because he couldn't stand to be near me.. That's when Perkins stated that he didn't realize who I was and that he was glad to now be able to put a face to the name and connect all the dots together.

I was the only white person in the room except for Gwen Brown and one guy I recognized as Freedom Foundation (can't think of his name). Perkins asked me what I wanted to say about the allegations and I calmly told them all that I certainly wasn't a racist and that there were plenty of African-Americans in this community and elsewhere that would vouch for me without even batting an eye, and I said that as far as calling into any radio show, I have never called not even once, and I listen very rarely; in front of Ronald Smith's peers I called him a flat out liar. This was very easy for me to do even considering I was somewhat at a disadvantage to debate since I really only was friends with one person in the room. However, everything I said, I said looking them straight in the eye and without hesitation.

There were probably 12 people in the room at the church and they started asking me a string of questions... a couple requested that I leave the facilities. One asked me what I had against the Freedom Foundation. I told them the Freedom Foundation was a cult and that Allan McConnell who worked with Watchman Fellowship, one of the nation's most recognized cult monitoring agencies as well as several other nationally recognized cult specialists had labeled them so. I told them there were some serious issues within the group. I told them that I knew nothing about the group until I met Mark Duke in person and the hair stood up on the back of my neck and more red flags went off about him than ever before in my life that he was evil.

Perkins asked me if I thought black people were inferior to whites. I was a little confused about the basis of his question, whether he was speaking about a race as a whole or whether he was asking me specifically if I felt superior to him, but I replied that I look at the individuals intelligence and heart, and it doesn’t' matter what color, whether black, white, Asian or Mexican. He asked me if I were a Christian. To which I replied "since the age of 13".

Someone asked me what I thought the Freedom Foundation was doing to which I replied "cults are a huge money maker... a manipulative front...fake....I said that there is a whole lot of money to be made in the cult business..."

One guy said that the entire white community supported the Freedom Foundation until they [the Freedom Foundation] started driving around with black folks in their vehicles] to which I told them that there was email evidence that their church had been labeled a cult prior to them even moving to Selma... that there was a married couple who had been attending some of their church meetings and the woman wanted to bring her minister to listen in at a meeting and via email Shawn Samuelson got angry with her and called her a goat and told her she didn't want her coming back but at the same time Shawn and Gwen were "circling" the lady's husband sweet talking him and telling him negative stuff about his wife, encouraging him to continue going. After the wife accused them of being a cult, Mark Duke's email actually came into play where he even threatened to sue the woman if she ever mentioned them being a cult or him a cult leader again. I looked at Gwen who had a "deer in the headlights" look on her face and said "you were a part of all those emails and correspondence Gwen.. what do you have to say.. You know exactly who I am talking about don't you...?" No response at all...

There was a little more ongoing debate before Perkins announced he was making an executive decision that he felt was in the best interests of the group and that was to request that I leave the premises, and some of the others agreed, although I could tell that some of them were contemplating some of the things I had said, even one had mentioned he had heard talk of the group being a cult... One had made some comments prior to all that going down that indicated to me he didn't trust them...

Although they asked me to leave, Perkins did follow up and say that he would like to follow up with me at lunch one day on the topic to which I replied, "I'd be up for it any time", and I sincerely mean that. No matter what he did or what I said either then or now should stop a civilized dialog and share our thoughts.

That was my first experience being kicked out of a church. I can very well picture former and present cult members being chastised and ridiculed in front of the others. Now I understand just all the more clearer how a cult works and how a "Christian" church is so much better than that. I understand now completely that if Ronald Smith and James Perkins would kick a person out at someone else’s church, then certainly they would handle themselves in the same manner in their own churches. It's not like I went there with ill intent. I was dropping someone off and they invited me in. I think stopping the violence in Selma and working towards that goal is a worthwhile and commendable thing. I do however question the motives of this particular group. What happened to me makes me think back about a sermon Mark Duke with the Freedom Foundation did when they came to Selma when he said that they were planning on getting political and would be kissing babies and doing whatever they needed to do to gain control and get power over the people in this city and if anyone would like to get a copy of that sermon to hear it in his own words, I'd be glad to find you one. I was sitting quietly in the meeting, even paid them a compliment that stopping the violence was a commendable thing until Ronald Smith ostracized me and made completely false allegations towards me in front of group of people who knew nothing about me. Although I can try to relate with Perkins position there was no reason to request me to leave. I would have left on my own. However, there was someone who asked me if I would be willing to work with the Freedom Foundation with what they were doing, I said that I would not be able to work with the Freedom Foundation, and I stated that I don't think many people would, especially after being treated like that. Keep in mind that had Ronald not attacked my character and lied about me the way he did, I would have listened quietly and eventually exited the building without a single peep of controversial talk.

In retrospect, I wish I would have given every single person in the room my phone number in case they wanted proof of the allegations that I made. I hope that something good comes of all this.

Ronald Smith and Gwen Brown have no place in any Anti-Violence programs since I'm convinced in my heart they put a racist pig in Colorado up to threatening me and my life and then letting that guy get airtime and lie about me on their radio show. In my opinion, this group is horribly bad for Selma, and I certainly believe there is plenty of evidence out there to support my opinion. As Forrest Gump would say "and that's all I've got to say about that".