Denzel Washington in Powerful Speech Opens Up on Faith and Raising Children "In the Fear of the Lord"
"Through my work I have spoken to millions of people. In 2015, I said I'm no longer just going to speak through my work. I'm going to make a conscious effort to get up and speak about what God has done for me." –Denzel Washington
(Los Angeles, CA)—Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington delivered the keynote address at the Church Of God In Christ's (COGIC) annual "We Care" Charities Banquet, where he opened up about his deep Christian faith and emphasized the importance of raising children in the fear of the Lord. (Photo by Nathan Brown/COGIC)
According to a report from the St. Louis American, the 60-year-old actor recited the Lord's Prayer before highlighting his family's connection with the Church of God in Christ and sharing his personal testimony.
"My father, my earthly father, Denzel Washington Sr. was a pastor for the Church of God in Christ for 60 years," Washington said. "I can remember the most important time in our house—and he would be so excited—was when he was preparing to attend Convocation in Memphis, Tennessee. I didn't know what he was doing when he got here—in fact, I couldn't even say the word, but I knew it was important to him."
The "Man on Fire" actor recalled how every year, his father would travel from upstate New York to Tennessee. "He would get his best two suits together, and my mother would fry him a tin of chicken and prepare a thermos of coffee, and he would make the drive," Washington said. "I know he's smiling in Heaven, seeing his son doing the best I can do today, by the grace of God..."
In continuing his address, Washington, who has four children with his wife, Pauletta, emphasized the importance of sowing into young people both in faith and finances, drawing connections to his life and personal testimony.
"Forty years ago, March 27, 1975, I was in my mother's beauty shop. I had flunked out of college. I had a 1.7-grade point average. I had no future," Washington said. "I was sitting looking in the mirror, and I see a woman behind me sitting under the dryer. Of course, the voice of God always comes from under a dryer."
The woman, one of the oldest members of his family church, began asking for a pen and paper so that she could write down the prophecy she had for Washington's life...
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