Deforest Soaries Quotes

Powerful Deforest Soaries for Daily Growth

About Deforest Soaries

Deforest B. N. Okaro Soaries Jr., popularly known as Deforest Soaries, is an influential American pastor, author, and political figure. Born on February 19, 1954, in Washington D.C., he grew up in a religious household, which played a significant role in shaping his life and career. Soaries attended Virginia Union University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. He later received his Master of Divinity from Howard University School of Divinity. In 1982, he was ordained as a minister at the First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Michigan. In 1990, Soaries became the senior pastor at the Third Baptist Church of Glenarden in Maryland, a position he held for over three decades. Under his leadership, the church grew exponentially, becoming one of the largest African American megachurches in the United States. Soaries is well-known for his philanthropic work and community activism. He founded the Capital Bible Seminary and served as the undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) during President George W. Bush's first term. As an author, Soaries has written several books, including "The Audacity to Win: Your Life in Christ" and "Made for More: The Power of Living Beyond Yourself." His writings often focus on personal growth, spirituality, and leadership. In 2015, Soaries ran for the U.S. Senate as a Republican candidate but was unsuccessful. Despite this, he continues to be an influential voice in religious circles and beyond. His life's work embodies faith, service, and the pursuit of excellence.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The Bible says, 'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.' I believe that ignorance of God's Word is the root of many problems we see in our homes, churches, and society today."

This quote by Deforest Soaries suggests that the primary cause of various issues observed within families, religious institutions, and society at large could be a lack of understanding or knowledge about God's Word (the Bible). In essence, he implies that if people had a deeper and more profound appreciation for divine guidance and wisdom found in scripture, it might help alleviate many contemporary problems.

"Faith without works is dead. It's not enough just to know about God, you have to live it out in practical ways."

This quote by Deforest Soaries highlights the importance of applying one's faith in tangible, practical actions. Knowledge of God alone, without demonstrating that faith through good works and deeds, is considered incomplete or lifeless. In essence, the quote underscores the need to live out our beliefs, transforming them into meaningful experiences that benefit ourselves and others around us.

"God doesn't call the qualified; He qualifies the called."

This quote by Reverend DeForest B. Soaries Jr. emphasizes that God often chooses individuals for specific roles or tasks, regardless of their initial qualifications or suitability. Instead, it is through the process of being chosen (being "called") that a person grows and develops the necessary skills, knowledge, and character to fulfill the role effectively (i.e., being "qualified"). In other words, God's call provides the opportunity for personal growth, transformation, and equipping for the task ahead.

"The greatest poverty is not to know Christ."

This quote by Deforest B. Soaries Jr. suggests that spiritual poverty, or lacking a personal relationship with Christ, is the most profound form of impoverishment. It implies that knowledge of, and connection with, Jesus brings the greatest wealth: emotional peace, moral guidance, purpose in life, and eternal salvation. In essence, it underscores the transformative power of faith and Christianity in addressing the deepest human needs and longings.

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."

This quote emphasizes the importance of kindness and compassion in action, regardless of scale. It suggests that if an individual cannot help many people at once, they should focus on helping just one. The message is not to be discouraged by large problems or challenges, but rather to find ways to make a positive impact, even if it seems small, because every act of kindness matters and has the potential to ripple outwards.

When public access to voting is impaired or when public confidence in voting is diluted, democracy suffers and our freedom is less secure.

- DeForest Soaries

Confidence, Access, Suffers, Diluted

When I was growing up, we used to play basketball in a park that was never shoveled when it snowed. The basketball rims were never fixed. And we understood then that there was a relationship between public policy and our quality of life.

- DeForest Soaries

Play, Used, Our, Public Policy

And when people in power can stay in power they do very little to tinker with the apparatus that put them in power.

- DeForest Soaries

Very, Them, Apparatus, Tinker

I was the Secretary of State of New Jersey in November 2000. I paid careful attention to the challenges that stemmed from inadequate voting systems in various places.

- DeForest Soaries

New, Inadequate, November, Stemmed

What we say is that democracy means that you have the right to vote without intimidation and undue burdens. But if you stand in line for six hours, technically, today there is no document, no standard, no law that says that that's wrong.

- DeForest Soaries

Hours, Standard, Means, No Law

Beyond that, states had to also have electronic voting machines that made it possible for people who are physically handicapped to vote in private... and the computerized voting machine made it very easy for, particularly, the blind.

- DeForest Soaries

Blind, Private, Very, Computerized

The Election Assistance Commission represents a major, unprecedented commitment from the federal government to sustained freedom and vibrant democracy. I am humbled by the prospect of being one its charter members.

- DeForest Soaries

Election, Vibrant, Charter, Unprecedented

I found that there is very little interest in Washington for true election reform. That neither the White House nor either house of the Congress seems to be as committed to guaranteeing democratic participation in this country as we seem to be in other countries.

- DeForest Soaries

Country, Participation, Very, Guaranteeing

My sense was that most of the elected officials in Washington - in their heart of hearts - really believe that the system can't be too bad because it produced them.

- DeForest Soaries

Bad, Sense, Them, Officials

When Congress passed the Help America Vote Act in 2002, I was thrilled to learn that the federal government would offer resources to all states to assist them in enhancing the voting process in America.

- DeForest Soaries

Process, Congress, Enhancing, Thrilled

We had to depend on other institutions to do research on our behalf. We had to use the information that already existed to craft the best practices to distribute throughout the country. And we had to do all of that in ten months.

- DeForest Soaries

Country, Other, Months, Practices

We have no basis for having a recall of any particular type of voting equipment because there are no standards. And when we do have standards, even these standards are required to be voluntary.

- DeForest Soaries

Voting, Equipment, Having, Voluntary

It's an embarrassment that we don't have a broad enough consensus among political leaders that true reform should take place. I could count the members of Congress on one hand that took these issues seriously.

- DeForest Soaries

Political Leaders, Leaders, Embarrassment

Voting is the foundational act that breathes life into the principle of the consent of the governed.

- DeForest Soaries

Act, Principle, Foundational, Governed

I started out as a 16 year old registering people to vote.

- DeForest Soaries

Year, Old, Started, Registering

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