[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 89 (Thursday, June 20, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E950]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   IN RECOGNITION OF BISHOP L.D. SKINNER, SR. AND LADY RUTH SKINNER)

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 20, 2013

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Bishop L.D. Skinner, Sr. and Lady Ruth Skinner who will celebrate 20 
years as Founders, Leaders, and Servants of the Bread of Life Christian 
Center and Explosion Ministries Fellowship Association of Churches. 
They will be honored at a Leadership Appreciation Banquet on Friday, 
June 21, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at the Columbus Convention and Trade Center 
in Columbus, Georgia.
  Bishop Skinner was born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, to the 
late Richard and Alethia Skinner. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in 
Biblical Studies, a Master of Arts in Theology and a Doctor of Theology 
in Biblical Studies, all from North Carolina College of Theology.
  The Founder and Senior Pastor of Bread of Life Christian Center, 
Bishop Skinner is also the Founder and Presiding Prelate of Explosion 
Ministries Fellowship Association of Churches (EMFAC), a fellowship of 
interdenominational ministers, pastors and bishops who look to Bishop 
Skinner for instruction, covering and counsel. Bishop Skinner has 
several ``Timothys,'' ministerial students that he has trained, now 
actively pastoring. In addition, Bishop Skinner has served in various 
other ministerial and civic capacities, including Vice President of the 
Columbus Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance and Vice President of 
the Columbus NAACP. He is the author of three books, Overcoming 
Grasshopper Mentality: How to Whip Negative Thinking in Eleven Easy 
Steps, Prayer: An Awesome Weapon, and Encounters with God: My Life, My 
Story, Ailfor His Glory, as well as several manuals on leadership, 
marriage and finances.
  The daughter of the late Deacon Charles McDaniel and Elder Jessie 
Pearl McDaniel, Lady Ruth Skinner is the First Lady of the Bread of 
Life Christian Center and the National First Lady for EMFAC, both roles 
that allow her to serve as a matriarch and nurturer to men and women at 
large. She also performs the role of Ruling Elder and President of the 
Women's Department at Bread of Life. In addition, she has served as 
Adult Choir President and Minister of Music, among other capacities 
within the church.
  Bread of Life Christian Center was established in 1984 with an 
initial group of twenty souls meeting in the basement of Bishop 
Skinner's home. In the intervening years, the congregation moved 
several times, outgrowing each facility, until May of 1996, when they 
moved into their current home, a $1.2 million facility with a 600-seat 
sanctuary and 30 classrooms to house an ever-growing congregation.
  Bishop and Lady Skinner are a dynamic force of life, spirit and 
faith. Bishop Skinner's understanding, compassion, and kindness have 
made him a guiding light within the community. Lady Skinner, a woman of 
striking conviction, unconditional sincerity and impeccable integrity, 
is looked to by the congregation for nurture and example. Just like 
fruit trees are often planted in pairs so as to produce more fruit, God 
planted the lives of Bishop and Lady Skinner together so they could 
bring the fruit of the Word to more of His children to satiate and 
sustain them throughout the journey of life.
  Bishop Skinner and his lovely wife, Lady Skinner, have together 
cultivated a large family of dedicated and faithful Christ followers. 
They also have raised a beautiful family of their own--three sons, 
Elder Darnel Skinner, Jr., Darrell L. Skinner, Darius L. Skinner and 
eight grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to 
Bishop L.D. Skinner and his wife, Lady Ruth Skinner for their many, 
many outstanding years of Pastoral Ministry. They have transformed the 
lives of countless people and their leadership has inspired many others 
to also help lead the way to eternal life.

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