Fighting Fat in the name of the Lord

[Ursus]

From the below article:

Pastor Charles Flowers who heads a the Faith Outreach Center International in San Antonio, Texas, used this advantage to begin a 100-day weight-loss challenge between several church's throughout San Antonio and Austin; stating that religion is not just about the spirit.

"The gospel is a gospel of spirit, soul and body," he said. "We pay a lot of attention to the spirit side and very little attention to the body side."[/list][/size]
Anybody here recognize this guy?  :twofinger:   :twofinger:

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The Christian Post
Wed, Aug. 10 2011 10:36 AM EDT

Southern Churches Lead Campaign to Fight Obesity

By Fionna Agomuoh | Christian Post Contributor

Several Baptist churches throughout the south are beginning campaigns in order to help their congregations be healthier.

Obesity has become increasingly common within the faith-based communities and many feel the church is the prime location to start urging people to begin taking care of their bodies.

Pastor Michael Minor, head of a Mississippi church is one such person. He began a health movement at his church by banning fried chicken from congregation events. Church chefs now prepare baked and grilled chicken and soda has also been banned, replaced with water and Crystal Light.

Minor who has been an advocate of health in churches for over 10 years has also had a walking track set up in his church's parking lot.

"Our bodies are not our own. They're a gift from God," he said. "We should do a better job with our bodies."

A Northwestern University study published in March linked church involvement with higher instances of obesity in young people. It detailed that people between the ages of 20 and 32 who attended a church event at least once a week were more likely to have a BMI of 30 or more by the time they reached middle age.

With obesity being a rampant and continuing problem in the United States even without the church connection, health officials are looking at the initiatives being lead by church leaders as a positive step in combating the nation-wide epidemic.

Director of the Office of Preventive Health for the Mississippi state health department, Victor Sutton notes that pastors have a significant influence on their congregation.

"Sometimes you can have a doctor tell someone something, and they'll blow it off," he said. "A pastor can tell someone what to do, and they'll take it as a scientific fact."

Pastor Charles Flowers who heads a the Faith Outreach Center International in San Antonio, Texas, used this advantage to begin a 100-day weight-loss challenge between several church's throughout San Antonio and Austin; stating that religion is not just about the spirit.

"The gospel is a gospel of spirit, soul and body," he said. "We pay a lot of attention to the spirit side and very little attention to the body side."

In continuing efforts to spread the message of health beyond his own congregation, Minor plans to set up an alliance of health advocates to assist congregations within the National Baptist Convention in starting health initiatives in their own churches.


©2011 The Christian Post.

[Ursus]

"The gospel is a gospel of spirit, soul and body," [Pastor Charles Flowers] said. "We pay a lot of attention to the spirit side and very little attention to the body side."[/list]
A previous ministry of Pastor Charles Flowers, also attentive to "the body side," became more than a lil infamous a few years ago ... due to an incident involving a van, a rope, and a teenaged girl.

[Xelebes]

I'm not aware of the history, is there something I can use to refer to?

[cmack]

He was just trying to motivate her:

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/18991/charles-flowers

A San Antonio pastor and an employee of his Christian boot camp were arrested Friday on aggravated assault charges, accused of dragging a girl behind a van after she failed to keep up during a running exercise.

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23158/l ... nistries-5

The San Antonio-area pastor accused of dragging a 15-year-old girl behind a van at a Christian boot camp in 2007 is being sued in Bexar County by the girl’s mother, Frances McClintock.

The suit, filed Monday in state district court by attorneys Carl J. Kolb and Terry Martin, seeks at least $2.5 million in damages.

The suit names, among others, Pastor Charles E. Flowers and his former training assistant Stephanie Bassitt, who initially were charged with second-degree felony aggravated assault in the alleged dragging of Siobahn McClintock behind a van at the Love Demonstrated Ministries’ camp 10 miles west of Corpus Christi in Banquete.

The charge later was reduced to a Class A misdemeanor, and a mistrial was declared when jurors couldn’t reach a decision in May. Kolb said the McClintock family continues to be affected by the “outrageous” experience. “We wouldn’t treat our dogs that way,” he said.

http://news.exchristian.net/2007/08/pas ... -teen.html

Pastor praised for abusing teen
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The San Antonio pastor charged with assaulting a teenage girl at a Christian boot camp returned to his church Monday.

The story captured national headlines after Pastor Charles Flowers and an employee were charged with dragging a 15-year-old girl behind a van.

Flowers and his wife, however, told his congregation that they would get through the difficult time with faith -- but no fear.

The church was filled to standing-room-only capacity by supporters rallying behind Flowers and camp trainer Stephanie Bassitt.

Flowers' attorneys said they would build a strong case around Flowers' honorable reputation, showing that they're representing a man who is known for helping the community.

They also explained how problems are bound to develop for a pastor who faces lots of resistance from troubled teens at camp.

Can't let those wicked teens disrespect ya!

Good catch Ursus.

[cmack]

From the above article:

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/18991/charles-flowers

It appears in Texas you can run a boot camp and abuse kids with impunity as long as the camp lasts less than 11 weeks.

Exempt from regulation

Last year, Love Demonstrated Ministries reported private and government contributions totaling $314,673 to operate the boot camp, with nearly 89 percent of the costs, $278,549, going for salaries.

Associate pastors at the Faith Outreach Center couldn’t be reached for comment Friday.

Patrick Crimmins, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, said it “appeared that this operation is probably exempt from our regulation.”

He said for a camp to be licensed, it needed to operate longer than 11 weeks.

The camp in Nueces County only lasts 32 days.

[Ursus]

From one of cmack's links above:

The charge later was reduced to a Class A misdemeanor, and a mistrial was declared when jurors couldn't reach a decision in May. Kolb said the McClintock family continues to be affected by the "outrageous" experience. "We wouldn’t treat our dogs that way," he said.[/list]
The teen boot camp was known as Love Demonstrated Ministries, based near Corpus Christi, TX.

At the time of all the hoopla, I believe it was the Corpus Christi Times which had the most coverage of this case. The heartlessness and cruelty of the online commentary was, quite frankly, pretty shocking. Apparently, the locals were, in large part, all gung-ho for dragging disrespectful/errant teens behind vans. To me, it kinda read like "confessions of a lynch mob." Hopefully, that was just a very vocal minority.

From what I recall, the girl wasn't just pulled by the van, she fell down during the experience, and was consequently dragged through the dirt. Flowers is lucky the girl wasn't more seriously injured than she was.

[Troublemaker]

He was just trying to motivate her:

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/18991/charles-flowers

A San Antonio pastor and an employee of his Christian boot camp were arrested Friday on aggravated assault charges, accused of dragging a girl behind a van after she failed to keep up during a running exercise.

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23158/l ... nistries-5

The San Antonio-area pastor accused of dragging a 15-year-old girl behind a van at a Christian boot camp in 2007 is being sued in Bexar County by the girl’s mother, Frances McClintock.

The suit, filed Monday in state district court by attorneys Carl J. Kolb and Terry Martin, seeks at least $2.5 million in damages.

The suit names, among others, Pastor Charles E. Flowers and his former training assistant Stephanie Bassitt, who initially were charged with second-degree felony aggravated assault in the alleged dragging of Siobahn McClintock behind a van at the Love Demonstrated Ministries’ camp 10 miles west of Corpus Christi in Banquete.

The charge later was reduced to a Class A misdemeanor, and a mistrial was declared when jurors couldn’t reach a decision in May. Kolb said the McClintock family continues to be affected by the “outrageous” experience. “We wouldn’t treat our dogs that way,” he said.

http://news.exchristian.net/2007/08/pas ... -teen.html

Pastor praised for abusing teen
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The San Antonio pastor charged with assaulting a teenage girl at a Christian boot camp returned to his church Monday.

The story captured national headlines after Pastor Charles Flowers and an employee were charged with dragging a 15-year-old girl behind a van.

Flowers and his wife, however, told his congregation that they would get through the difficult time with faith -- but no fear.

The church was filled to standing-room-only capacity by supporters rallying behind Flowers and camp trainer Stephanie Bassitt.

Flowers' attorneys said they would build a strong case around Flowers' honorable reputation, showing that they're representing a man who is known for helping the community.

They also explained how problems are bound to develop for a pastor who faces lots of resistance from troubled teens at camp.

Can't let those wicked teens disrespect ya!

Good catch Ursus.

Maybe Danny isn't really on vacation

[cmack]

From one of cmack's links above:

The charge later was reduced to a Class A misdemeanor, and a mistrial was declared when jurors couldn't reach a decision in May. Kolb said the McClintock family continues to be affected by the "outrageous" experience. "We wouldn’t treat our dogs that way," he said.[/list]
The teen boot camp was known as Love Demonstrated Ministries, based near Corpus Christi, TX.

At the time of all the hoopla, I believe it was the Corpus Christi Times which had the most coverage of this case. The heartlessness and cruelty of the online commentary was, quite frankly, pretty shocking. Apparently, the locals were, in large part, all gung-ho for dragging disrespectful/errant teens behind vans. To me, it kinda read like "confessions of a lynch mob." Hopefully, that was just a very vocal minority.

From what I recall, the girl wasn't just pulled by the van, she fell down during the experience, and was consequently dragged through the dirt. Flowers is lucky the girl wasn't more seriously injured than she was.

Young people are the only minority left that it's okay to discriminate against. Had that Pastor been dragging an African American, a Hispanic, or even a dog, like the quote above mentions, then he'd have been sent to prison for decades. There is something terribly wrong with any society that hates its own children and treats them worse than dogs.

[none-ya]

Has anyone noticed just how many FAT CHRISTIANS There are?[attachment=0:1agwr3cf]christian-weight-loss.jpg[/attachment:1agwr3cf]

[Ursus]

On that note, here's another article from the same time period, also from The Christian Post:

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The Christian Post
Wed, Aug. 10 2011 12:46 PM EDT
Obesity: Churches Fighting the Good Fight of Faith and Fat

By Andrea Marcela Madambashi | Christian Post Correspondent

While reports continue to indicate that Americans are piling on the pounds, church leaders across the country are becoming more concerned over people's health, and have started making plans for church congregations to fight obesity.

An increasing number of churches have realized the important role they have to play in the battle and are now pairing the battle of faith with the battle to eliminate obesity.

"Churches are a foundation in the community," said Victor Sutton, director of the Office of Preventive Health for the Mississippi state health department.

Plans in one church have begun by cutting fried chicken from the fellowship hall, according to a pastor from Mississippi. He has convinced his African-American congregation to initiate the efforts to try and fight against obesity among them.

"Our bodies are not our own. They're a gift from God," justified Michael Minor. "We should do a better job with our bodies."

Other Christian leaders are also taking action to solve the problem. Pastor Charles Flowers of San Antonio launched a 100-day weight-loss challenge between churches in his city and Austin in July.

"The gospel is a gospel of spirit, soul and body," said Flowers, senior pastor at the Faith Outreach Center International in San Antonio.

The focus of the program is not only on slimming down but it also aims to help congregants resolve other issues such as emotions that cause them to overeat.

According to him, people in the church are more likely to pay attention only to spiritual matters but neglect their own physical bodies.

Flowers has said, "We pay a lot of attention to the spirit side and very little attention to the body side."

A church in Nashville has also eliminated fried food from its servings. Other initiatives have included using reduced salt and replacing pork-based products for turkey.

Early reports have said that the programs are bearing good results. Minor, who worked on health initiatives in the mid-South for more than ten years said the members of the programs have gotten better and looking healthier.

"We've got members who are feeling better, looking better," he said. "We haven't gotten everybody, but people are more accepting of it now."

Because of the success of the initiatives, Minor has been allowed by the educational arm of the National Baptist Convention USA Inc. to establish a network of trained ambassadors to promote initiatives in each of its congregations.

As awareness of the problem grows, some churches have even begun developing health ministries and are addressing medical issues using weekly bulletins.


©2011 The Christian Post.

[Oscar]

It is some kind of weight loss competition: http://http://www.twocitytransformation.com./

We will update the wiki page about the boot camp with the new information.