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    Broward County’s First Ladies

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    First Lady Dr. Ophelia Sanders
    First Lady Dr. Ophelia Sanders
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    First Lady Dr. Ophelia Sanders
    First Lady Dr. Ophelia Sanders

    By Elayne Samuels

    “And the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him an help meet.”Genesis 2:18 (American King James Version) The Strong’s Concordance defines the term “help meet” with both words having the same meaning.

    Both the words help and meet mean “aid”. As the “help meet” of the man of God in each of our local houses of worship, the First Lady is an encourager, supporter, and exhorter of the vision(s) that God gives to her “Boaz” for their specific house of worship. This week’s featured First Lady is First Lady Dr. Ophelia Sanders of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church of Pompano, Beach, Fla. Interview with First Lady Dr. Ophelia Sanders.

    WG: What is your life verse?

    First Lady Sanders: My life verses are Romans 8:28 which says, “That’s why we can be sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” and Philippians 4:13 which says “Whatever I have, whatever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.” I chose the Message Version translation because it makes it plain and simple.

    WG: Do you remember your salvation moment? Please discuss.

    First Lady Sanders: I gave my life to Christ when I was nine years old. However, like others, throughout life’s transitions, I detoured; but not too far away, and I came back. Over the past three years, God has been using me tremendously and guiding me in a higher real of ministry. God is my Father and my Husband/Pastor is my covering.

    WG: Is there a spiritual move of God that you would like to see an increased evidence of in Broward County?

    First Lady Sanders: I would like to see churches come together and realize that it’s not about the size of the church, the number of members, or the social or economic status of the membership, but about the salvation of God’s people. There are so many people that would love to change their lives but we keep them away because of the way we look down on them. We need to unite with other churches and Pastors. Lastly, I’d like to see more God-fearing people in government so that we can impact our communities and schools.

    WG: What are the titles of some of your favorite Christian songs/singers?

    First Lady Sanders: The lyrics of Marvin Sapp’s “Your Grace and Mercy” are so powerful. It’s a testimony. Two other favorites of mine are “Order My Steps” by WOW and “No Weapon” by Minister Louis E. (my husband).

    WG: Do you watch or listen to other pastors? (National or local) Who are they?

    First Lady Sanders: I enjoy listening to T.D. Jakes. Whenever I am led to watch him, there is always a message of encouragement. On a local level, I attend conventions, conferences, and anniversary programs where I listen to the Word from other pastors.

    WG: Family Life— Your spouse? Children?

    First Lady Sanders: God has given me the most wonderful mate in the Rev. Louis Sanders. We met at a worship service at New Bethel Baptist Church in West Palm Beach, Fla over 21 years ago and we are still on our honeymoon. We are the pa-rents of four adult children and the grandparents of twelve.

    WG: Do you have a secular job? If so, what is your position?

    First Lady Sanders: I retired from The School Board of Broward County, FL in 2009 where I served as a Program Specialist. Currently, I serve as the Executive Assistant at Macedonia Missionary Baptist. I have a personal consulting business where I help small churches organize their financial record-keeping systems. I recently completed a PhD in Industrial/Organization Psychology from Capella University.

    WG: What are your personal interests/activities/goals?

    First Lady Sanders: My personal interests are (1) serving God, (2) spending quality time with my husband and family, (3) ministering to women in the age group of 18-55, and (4) planning events. I enjoy working with community-based organizations and with my sorority, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. My ultimate goal is to be an effective help-meet for my husband and to move forward in ministry as God sees fit.

    WG: Please complete the following: Jesus is my

    First Lady Sanders: Jesus is my shelter, my strength, my anchor, and my guide.

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    This College Chaplain Fills The Pews By Teaching, Not Preaching Lawrence Lockett Jr., Morgan State University chaplain. Credit: Lawrence Lockett Jr. via LinkedIn By REV. DOROTHY S. BOULWARE (Source: Amsterdam News) It’s understandable for parents of strong faith to worry about the spiritual lives of their children who’ve gone away to college. After all, it’s easy for a young person, perhaps on their own for the first time, to suc-cumb to the temptations of partying late on Saturday night and sleeping in on Sunday morning. But Minister Lawrence Lockett Jr., chaplain at Morgan State University in Baltimore, is packing them into the pews most Sundays. He is engaging them in lively ways during the week. And students are joining the choir, accompanying worship on various instruments, and serving as readers and leaders throughout the service. It is by the grace of God for sure, but also by the loving service of Lockett, who’s beginning his second year as the school’s director of chapel. He has grown his flock from the 25 or so students who showed up at his first services to more than 200 each Sunday. Sometimes, it’s standing room only. “We’ve been trying to figure out what to do next because on Easter Sunday we had 342 people, and some were standing in the back,” he said. Word In Black talked to Lockett about the secrets of his success: how his adjustment of Sunday ser-vices got people into the pews, why his philosophy for guiding students on their spiritual journey centers on independent thought, and how his “Spin the Block” initiative is shaking things up on campus. The in-terview has been edited for length and clarity. Word in Black: The first thing we want to know is, how do you get so many young people to chapel every Sunday?. Lawrence Lockett: Well, first of all, I changed the time of service from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. I realized a lot of the students like to sleep in late. It gives them time to do whatever they need to do. I’m sure many of them still like to party hearty over the weekend. So they have a good chance just to kind of refocus, recali-brate, get themselves lunch, and then come over to the chapel for service. When I started in November, maybe 20-25 students came, but now it’s over 200 that come every Sun-day, and it’s pretty cool. So now we’re repositioning ourselves to go after the freshman class this year. If we have the same success as last year, there’s definitely not going to be any room. Word in Black: Tell me about pastoring on a college campus. Lawrence Lockett: Morgan actually started as a biblical institute, so the Christian traditions have al-ways been here. As a pastor or shepherd, I’m walking students through their questions, not always just trying to preach answers to them. It’s about being vulnerable. I tell them I was in their same position, just trying to figure it out. And it’s not me just trying to give them answers. Having been there helps me really walk with them and anchor them in the storm of life that’s going to come. I want them to understand that their soul really matters. A lot of students focus on mental health, but they really need to focus on spiritual health as well. It should be one and the same. So I’ve been trying to preach that, if anything, spiritual health is just as important as your mental health. But we do encour-age the use of the counseling center, for sure, if there is a mental health crisis. WIB: What does Monday through Friday look like for you? LL: Mondays, we are usually off because of Sundays. On Tuesdays, we have Bible studies, so I’ll host a Bible study at noon along with my colleagues that work in the chapel. And then, I’m teaching a class called Hip-hop and the Gospel on Tuesdays at 2:30 p.m., dealing with mixing culture and religion. On Wednesdays, we do something called “breath and balance,” which is just a meditative type of pro-gram with breathing exercises as stress relievers. We work with the School of Nutrition Science and the food resource center so that the students get a nice free meal and practice breathing exercises and meth-ods to feel good about the day. For Thursdays, we started something called the mosaic, in which we have different campus ministers gather in small groups, just like a mosaic painting. So the students who come on Sundays then get plugged into small groups on Thursdays. And on Fridays at 1 p.m., we do prayer for Muslims.. We have an imam lecture and then lead in corporate prayer. It’s a good mix. WIB: What is “Spend a Block?” Didn’t you receive an award for it? LL: That started last year. We just basically do services outside: outside the residence halls, in the quad, wherever it may be. Honestly, worship on a college campus looks different than it did 20 or 30 years ago. Students want something real and authentic, something they can gravitate to, and something that’s convenient. So when we’re outside, people are like, “What’s all the noise outside? What’s all the music?” Then they come outside, and there are chairs, so they grab one and sit and enjoy the service. We come to them. They don’t have to come to us. At the very beginning of the semester, we do services outside the four resi-dence halls. And that kind of gives us a steamroll into homecoming week. And we’ve seen a lot of success because of that. WIB: What should I expect when I arrive for Sunday service? LL: You’re gonna see a lot of involvement with students. I’ve learned that students like to feel invested, and they want to participate in what’s going on. They don’t want to be told by adults what they should and shouldn’t do. So when you go to the service, you’ll see our praise team full of students. You’ll see a choir full of students. You’ll see students reading scripture. You’ll see students giving testimonies. And then I’ll come in and give a sermon, or I’ll have a guest friend or a guest preacher come in to do the sermon. But you’re gonna see a lot of student involvement, and I think that also assisted with a lot of the growth be-cause when they see fellow students, they understand they’re just like me, and if they can do it, I can do it. WIB: What about musicians and choir? LL: The musicians are also students. They say, “Hey, I love to play. I wanna use my gifts in some way, shape, or form.” And they’ll ask whether or not there’s a spot for them. And we say absolutely. And there is a chapel choir. Some of the members are also members of the university choir. WIB: What is the “next” you see for the chapel? LL: I want the students to know God, find freedom, discover purpose, and make a difference. The chapel really is the heartbeat of the campus, and I want students to know more about where faith, hope, and belonging really stem from. I also want the chapel to become more interfaith and involve as many students and beliefs as possible.