Minister of Self-defense Melds Christianity, Karate

c. 2006 Religion News Service ADAMSVILLE, Ala. _ On a breezy Thursday night, the only sound at the front steps of Victory Christian Fellowship is the barking of a dog in the distance. It is here that Dustin Cornelius, an engineering analyst for Southern LINC Co., comes to wind down after a long day at […]

c. 2006 Religion News Service

ADAMSVILLE, Ala. _ On a breezy Thursday night, the only sound at the front steps of Victory Christian Fellowship is the barking of a dog in the distance. It is here that Dustin Cornelius, an engineering analyst for Southern LINC Co., comes to wind down after a long day at the office.

But Cornelius is not here for Bible study.


He is here to learn how to fight.

Pastor Jim McCann III is offering karate classes in the church’s youth room twice a week. He said he has more than 30 students in this fusion of karate and Christianity.

“I really like the fighting and the sparring,” Cornelius said. “After a long day’s work it’s kind of good once in a while. I get any frustrations out.”

McCann, a second-degree black belt in Yoshukai karate, said learning self-defense is not contradictory to his faith.

“God doesn’t expect us to lie down to someone and let them molest our families and molest our homes,” McCann said. “He expects us to protect our home and our family and our country.”

At 6-foot-4 and 350 pounds, McCann is an imposing figure. The life-long fan of contact sports started training in karate when he was a teenager in the early 1970s. He quickly rose through the ranks and earned his black belt.

But McCann said he was lost.

“I was a hell-raiser,” he said. “I came to a point in my life when I knew I needed a savior.”

A turning point was the birth of his daughter in 1976.

“I held her in my hands and I said I don’t want her to live like I lived,” he said.

When McCann started the ministry, he decided to give up karate. In the mid-1980s, when he believed his life was back in order, he started training again.


Then, in the early 1990s, McCann said, he received a new inspiration in the form of former Harlem Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon, who had come to Adamsville to preach. One morning over breakfast, Lemon told McCann that God wanted him to use his talents in karate to reach out to young people.

“That’s when I began training again so I could do this,” McCann said.

McCann started teaching karate at the church in July. He charges $40 a month, with classes open to church members and non-members.

In the youth room, McCann weaves in some preaching with his karate lessons. While teaching his students how to perform a round kick, for example, he impressed on them the importance of having a solid foundation.

“It’s like life,” he said. “If you don’t have a good foundation in life, you’re never going to make it.”

Donna Thompson, 40, of Adamsville, started taking classes in the summer with her two teenage sons and the girlfriend of one of them.

“It’s a good outlet,” Thompson said. “I learn a lot, and it’s good exercise and good self-discipline. And it’s a good way to spend time with my family.”


MO/PH END RNS

(Ryan Mills writes for The Birmingham News in Birmingham, Ala.)

Editors: To obtain a photo of pastor Jim McCann III, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.

Editors: Display these words above the byline: “Blessed be the Lord my strength which teacheth my hands to war and my fingers to fight.” _ Psalm 144:1

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