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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — "Jesus loves the little children,
"All the children of the world."
That's what the congregation of Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church in Rio Rancho is singing as several small children make their way up the aisles to where the Rev. Charles Becknell is waiting for them in front of the altar.
This is the part of Emmanuel Missionary's Sunday service known as "Let the Children Come."
When the singing is done and the children are seated near Becknell, he says, "Did you all do good in school this week?"
"Yes, pastor," the children respond loudly and in unison.
"Did you obey your teachers?"
"Yes, pastor," the kids shout out.
"Did you obey your parents?"
"Yes, pastor," they answer, but more feebly this time because moms and dads, who might have a different view, are present.
"Did you say your prayers last night?" Becknell says.
"I forgot," a little boy admits before tacking on a detailed explanation about how that happened.
Becknell, 74, is obviously enjoying the exchange. He has made young people - toddlers through young adults - the focus of his ministry, establishing a summer reading program as well as a practice of reviewing report cards.
When teaching the little ones during this segment of the church service, he has been known to use a hand puppet and, to the accompaniment of much eye-rolling among older members of the congregation, to tell knock-knock jokes.
But on this day, a recent Sunday, he settles for reminding the children to clean their rooms, brush their teeth and say their prayers and on imparting a lesson about friendship.
"When you find a friend, you stick with him no matter what," he says. "But be careful how you choose your friends."
Focus on youth
Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church sits on a hill at the corner of Northern Boulevard and Huron Drive in Rio Rancho. It serves a small congregation.
"We may only have 60 people, but we have 60 people who are committed," Becknell said.
Becknell is committed to working with the congregation's young people, because he believes that's the best way to effect change.
The Rev. Charles Becknell teaches a lesson during Sunday School at Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church in Rio Rancho. Becknell said his congregation is small but committed.
The Rev. Charles Becknell teaches a lesson during Sunday School at Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church in Rio Rancho. Becknell said his congregation is small but committed.
"My emphasis is on reading," he said. "If you can't read, you are totally lost. The kids here have to read 12 books every summer, two of them about black history. I had one young girl, she was 8, read 44 books over the summer."
Becknell's own love for reading was encouraged by Eloise Valley, who taught him in the third and fifth grades in Hobbs.
"But I did not need a lot of encouragement," he said. "There was not a lot to do in Hobbs. We didn't have a TV."
One incident, which is seared into his memory, helped make him the ardent proponent of reading he is today.
Becknell started seventh grade in 1954, the year the Hobbs schools integrated. For the first time, Becknell was in a class with white students.
"The teacher asked what we did over the summer," Becknell said. "A lot of the white kids were telling about their vacations, where they went. When the teacher asked me, I said, 'I read "Midsummer Night's Dream.' " She said, 'You people are not ready for that.' "
He said he knew exactly what she meant by "you people." And he knew that teacher was wrong and he was set on proving it.
When the young people of Emmanuel Missionary have completed their summer reading, Becknell presents them a certificate of recognition during church services. Children who are too young to read get a certificate when their parents have read 12 books to them.
Church member Annette Tumbling said the reading program helped her and her son, Adrian, through a rough patch in their lives.
"Adrian was about 6," she said. "It was a time when I needed to spend time with Adrian outside of just being a mom. I had to read to him. He enjoyed my reading to him. He enjoyed the stories I read to him. He became more social, and it helped me stay close to him."
High expectations
As president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of New Mexico, Becknell is a vocal advocate for civil rights and respect for all peoples. A brochure distributed by the SCLC advising people how to have safe encounters with the police is titled with the acronym POLICE. That stands for Polite, Obedient, Lawful, Intelligent, Compliant and Educated.
Becknell employs that brochure in his community work, not in his ministry. But the qualities spelled out in that acronym are at the heart of the philosophy he tries to impress on the young people in his congregation - especially "Educated."
"He tells them that education is something no one can take away from you," Annette Tumbling said.
To that end, Becknell requires the young people in his congregation to bring their school report cards to him.
"If a child is not doing well, I meet with the student and the parents and we work out an improvement plan," he said.
Becknell said that while he does not accept excuses for low achievement, he believes recognition of accomplishments and praise helps young people succeed.
"When we do get bad grades, he talks to us and is up front and honest about it," said Adrian Johnson-Tumbling, now 17 and a Rio Rancho High School student.
"His manner is calm and encouraging," said Giovanni Colindres, 15, a Cleveland High student.
Juliana Colindres, Giovanni's mother, said she sees Becknell's reading program and report card review as a positive approach, not as butting into family business.
"He wants the children to know that he cares about them and how they are doing," she said. "If they need help in a particular subject, there may be someone in the congregation with an expertise in that subject that can help."
Annette Tumbling said the report card review keeps Adrian on his toes.
"Adrian can do the work, but he's a teenager. He can get lazy," she said. "Having to be accountable to pastor helps. There's something about pastor that makes you want to do a little bit better. He expects kids to do their best."
Becknell doesn't keep stats, but he believes his programs for young people are paying off.
"I have seen kids go to college, and we have several who have come back from college and are serving in the church and in the community and have pretty good jobs," he said. "Kids want to be held accountable and they want to be recognized for their achievements, and we do both."
Working with the young people has been a learning experience for Becknell, too. He once thought holding public office was the way to get things done. Now, he knows he does not need such a big stage to make a difference. A church on a hill in Rio Rancho will do just fine.
"Once I got into the ministry, that was it," Becknell said. "This is where God wants me. If I'm going to change the world, I can do if from here."
Charles Becknell came late to the ministry. He was 46 when he was ordained on Aug. 9, 1987. He has been pastor of Emmanuel Missionary, which he founded, for 22 years.
His résumé both before and since his ordination is diverse and distinguished.
He served as New Mexico criminal justice secretary under Govs. Jerry Apodaca and Bruce King.
He was director of the African-American Studies program at the University of New Mexico from 1969 to 1975. He worked for 14 years at the University of California at Davis as a trainer of managers and supervisors and was director of affirmative action at San Joaquin Delta (Community) College in Stockton, California.
He now serves as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of New Mexico and as chaplain of the SCLC's national board of directors.
He was born in Levelland, Texas, in 1941, but his family moved to Hobbs in 1942. He grew up in the segregated world of that town in the 1940s and '50s, a story he recounts in his 2003 book "No Challenge - No Change."
In August 1954, the Hobbs public schools desegregated. Becknell went on to play basketball for legendary coach Ralph Tasker at an integrated Hobbs High and earn an athletic scholarship to Albuquerque's College of St. Joseph on the Rio Grande, later the University of Albuquerque.
Becknell got bachelor's and master's degrees in secondary education at St. Joseph and a Ph.D. in American studies at UNM.
"My desire was to run for public office and change the world," he said. "That was my goal."
He's still set on changing the world. He's just going about it in a different way than he envisioned.
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Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com
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