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A personal story that I've told to Frats and some others, which means a lot to me.
To this day I cannot explain why I pledged, like many other very important things in my life. I got involved with some guys who wanted to do this and I went for it. I cannot explain my particular motivation. Now, I say serendipity, or better, Divine Providence. Since the most important thing that has ever happened to me, my Christian conversion, happended at age 17, everything else has had to fir with in that grid of worldview and being, including the Fraternity.
Among the things we were required to do while "on line" was have a party. We organized one at an off-campus party spot. It was designed as basically a keg party. It was very aweel attended by African American students on my 98% caucasian campus and many football players, who were the teammates of many of my LBs. More importantly for us, there were visiting Ques there, to check us out and "mess with us" a bit. Some of this happened at the party in full view of the party goers. One one occasion, one visiting Que stopped and talked to me "off the record," not as "Lamp. He told me things that I would need to know as Que! I've never forgotten these things; for now I believe that God used him to speak to me. He told me two things: 1) you will meet brothers who you'll not like and 2) the Fraternity is "religious."
The first truth is something that everyone joining a Greek-Letter org, church, club,etc. should come to terms with;for we are in a fallen world and we are dealing with fallen humanity(myself included!). Sometimes we can be shattered by the revelation that there are crooks, immoral, unfriendly, and selfish people whom we call brother or sister. Any time you'll dealing with human beings, you'll have some "mess." Maturity and a knowledge of our comman humanity and the grace and love of God, means that we see beyond this and seek to live out the lives we've sworn by sacred oath to uphold. It's the ideals that matter, and our efforts in God to live them out that matter, and on this journey you'll meet people who do reflect these God-inspired ideals.
The second truth is that the Fraternity is not just about people partying, stepping, carousing, cahsing women, etc. The roots of the Fraternity are deeply and inextricably Christian. This is something that is lost or obscured on many young brothers and,moreover, is something pushed to the side in our materialistic and narcissistic age we live in. As it says in the Omega Psi Phi entry in Baird's Manual, the essential bonds and foundations of the Fraternity were (and are!) religion, culture and tradition. This is something that I experienced when I read the Ritual fully in the summer after my initiation, and what I've experienced amongst the men of Omega. That "word" has been a blessing on my Omega sojourn. I see this as a part of my journey in Christ, something that God used to grow and shape me a s a man and as a human being.
As in the words of the second stanza of the Lampados Hymn, written by the late Rev. Reginald Daniels, which will forver be indelibly etched in my soul:"God give unto us great courage, give us faith and make us strong; that we who are within the band may not fail as we go 'long. Keep the soldiers of this army moving, guided by Thy hand. May we march across the desert and enter Dear Omega's Land." My the LORD's name be praised and be glorified!
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