"The Old Black Church"

Have you seen the new reality TV show "One Big Happy Family"? The show premiered Monday on TLC ...Now each of the four "big and happy" members of the Cole family weighs more than 300 pounds....This [show] is about fat people living in a skinny world... The six-episode documentary reveals the challenges of being morbidly obese, as well as the family's attempts to lose weight on their own...Norris Coles, 41, weighs 340 lbs. His wife Tameka, 36, weighs 380 lbs. Their daughter Amber, 16, weighs 348 lbs. Son Shayne, 14, weighs 308 lbs. Shayne is at risk for diabetes, but his mom sees nothing wrong with shoveling sugary snacks on the teen — which he happily devours. Amber admits that for her, food has become an addiction In fact, each of The Coles relish indulging in eats. However, the family has decided to turn to each other for the motivation to lose weight. Coles Family matriarch Tameka hopes that documenting their weight loss journey on the small screen wil

African-Americans have gathered in churches annually on New Year's Eve to praise God for bringing them safely through another year and to pray for his guidance in the New Year... The gathering of the faithful in prayer and watchful expectation on New Year's Eve seems to be a thing of the past... . Today's church seems to have a different focus than the church of old... Historically, Watch Night was known as a ''covenant services'' as a way for congregants to reaffirm their faith ... Historically on Dec. 31, most black congregations, use that services as the start of their devotion service for the year ahead... . The vigil services has been abandoned pretty much for big name stars and a party atmosphere ... Question: Which big name star will be at your church Dec 31, 2009? Martha Munizzi will be at my home church .

Hallelujah!! I am so glad that Jesus don't see us like man do...Nor do He see us like we see ourselves....Did you no that some of the greatest people in the Bible considered themselves unqualified?...Remember Moses told God he wasn’t a good speaker... Gideon told God he didn’t have the right family background... Jeremiah told God he felt as helpless as a child... Paul described himself as the chief of sinners and the least of the apostles... Everyone, including Samuel the prophet, thought David wasn’t qualified to become king.... But God thought differently! So my question is: What are you telling God about you? For me, i am too old for any more changes.

Merry Christmas to The Old Black Church blog roll and it many visitors...

The daughter and I took my three year old grand baby to see The Princess and The Frog Saturday night and I was very disappointed...Let me say my review of the movie in this post is from my point of view as a Christian....I was not prepared for voodoo, graveyards , demons , evil spirits, spells and the occult .... Now I grew up around and saw first hand the effect/affect of voodoo on a people (at least that's what I believe) I have never heard or seen any good come from the practice of voodoo....And being exposed to voodoo at a young age I have/had developed a deep fear of it...How can you explain “friends on the other side,”to a 3 year old?That's a hard thing to do....I was disappoint that the main focus of the movie was not on the Princess and the Frog’s relationship as the title would lead you to believe... Instead it focused mostly on the Evil Shadow and his voodoo curses....He even referred to them as “his help from the underworld....”Now, I am aw

The six most important words "I admit that I was wrong!" The five most important words "You did a great job." The four most important words "What do you think?" The three most important words "May I help?" The two most important words "Thank You!" The most important word "We." The least important word "I" - Author Unknown -

God made, Adam bit, Noah arked, Abraham split, Joseph ruled, Jacob fooled, bush talked, Moses balked, Pharaoh plagued, people walked, sea divided, tablets guided, promise landed, Saul freaked, David peeked, prophets warned, Jesus born, God walked, love talked, anger crucified, hope died, Love rose, Spirit flamed, Word spread, God remained.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that Rod Parsley is claiming to be the victim of a "demonically inspired financial attack": The Rev. Rod Parsley, megapastor and televangelist, has issued a desperate plea for money, telling his flock that he is facing a "demonically inspired financial attack" that is threatening his ministry. Parsley is asking for donations by Dec. 31 , calling that date an " unavoidable deadline " during an episode of Breakthrough posted yesterday. It seems that the "demonically inspired" attack came as a result of a $3 million dollars deficit for this quarter and a $3.1 million dollar settlement over a severe spanking incident at the church's daycare center:

I am a seasoned listener of Sade...One who has always loved her music...From her old albums like "Kiss of life" and "The Best of Sade:" No ordinary love Please -send -me-someone-to-love Smooth Operator The Sweetest Taboo For all those who don't know, the sultry singer's career has spanned three decades, four continents and multiple genre's including, but not limited to Jazz, R&B, Soul and Soft Rock....Sade is gearing up for her 9th official release.... "Soldier Of Love"It's the 1st release off the new album....I heard it on the TJMS yesterday....It's OK!...All I can say is Sade still got the sound.

A former pastor who once was consider to be America's next great black preacher... Has admitted to fathering a child by a woman who claims he raped her during a counseling session in 2004...Court documents show the civil lawsuit was settled in mediation and terms are confidential... Initially the victim accused Gilyard of using a session after her husband died to convince her she needed to have sex with him to hasten her healing.... Her lawsuit accused Shiloh of negligence in hiring, supervising and retaining Gilyard as pastor...The victim amended her complaint to say that when she rejected Gilyard’s advances he pushed her to the floor and sexually assaulted her. When she later discovered she was pregnant, she said Gilyard persuaded her that only by continuing to have sex with him would she receive support...The church quietly settled the suit for $300,000. But , over the years Gilyard has resigned from a total of five churches...All with a claim of sexual misconduct

"I won't complain" used to be one of those anchor songs you could here in almost any black church back in the day....I was always amaze thinking how folks could mange to go through life without complaining....I know some might say, “but isn’t it possible that some complaints might be legitimate?” The answer would be Yes! but that don't make it OK....Again you might ask what about injustice, abuse, betrayal, robbery, gossip, etc....Yes! These are good reasons to complain...But I have learn as Christians we are called to be salt and light in a dying world...It's hard to be a light and complaining at the same time....Any way aren't we suppose to solve problems that arise in life by practicing spiritual principles on a daily bases?....I know if you are like me to do nothing at the time makes it seems like I don't care....But complaining about it is not doing any thing either,especially not by Jesus definition....I know and believe that J

I found this footage of a preacher ranting about the evils of Pikachu and co..You know Pokémon , right? Nintendo franchise....Cute, cuddly, scrappy and adored by the kiddies....Well, this pastor seems to think they are SATAN’S OWN SPAWN ...Now, I do believe in indoctrination...I also believe it to be a slow but sure process....Either by television, music, art etc....Non-Christian and Christians alike might see these characters as relatively harmless....Now Pokemon had its origins in Japan and quickly fascinated children of the west after its introduction in the mid-1990s... Pokemon is also linked to the martial arts of the Japanese. ..There is no question that there are many other games and activities that are built upon the occult and upon paganism...I am not saying that Pokemon is evil....I believe parents should exercise spiritual discernment when it comes to things like this.

Do you believe in Subliminal messages?I really don't no if I do or don't ...But what I will say is if you look at the body armor Beyonce is holding you'll see the same face that is in the satanic symbol.... Now it might not be Beyonce trying to send a message, but it looks like someone might be...I read some where that these photos are part of a promotion for her perfume, Sasha Fierce...Now Beyonce is the one who has made the claim that she's a Christian.

Estelle Walker, 50, of Brooklyn is charged with four counts of second-degree child endangerment and faces up to 40 years in state prison with at least 20 years before parole eligibility, if found guilty at a trial...Walker rejected a plea bargain offer in September 2008 that would have spared her any more jail time than the year she already spent in the Sussex County jail but would require probation and further counseling. She has since been released on $200,000 bail...Like an unfortunately large percentage of Americans, a New Jersey mother lost her job in 2006....From reading the article she made no effort to find a job, instead expecting God to supply for her five kids... Three of her children testified against her for starving them for approximately three months...We have to be careful in our interpretation of the word of God... 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” James 2:17 “ Faith without works is dead.”

If we every need an example of a fallen man we can look at David...If we every need and example of some one who got back up after sin and failure it's David....I believe David must'a fell on his knees, and prayed: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving kindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions... Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” ( Ps 51:1-2 ).I know some of us don’t know what repentance means...We offer a little prayer that goes: “Lord, I’m sorry for my sins... Forgive me in Jesus’ name. Amen....”But real true repentance begins with confession, which means to agree with God that what you did was wrong and needs to be made right... David prayed: “Against You…have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight” ( Ps 51:4 ). Genuine repentance means acknowledging that your sin is first and foremost an affront to God... It makes no excuses... It says, “This is my problem and my sin... I d

Is there any thing that would cause you to ever considering leaving the United States and permanently relocating elsewhere in the world?( Think About It!! ) Well, it seems on a recent Focus on the Family broadcast, James Dobson stated that he and wife Shirley might consider leaving America and living in "exile" if the proposed health care reform measure were to include taxpayer-supported abortions...Some times the Christian right gets on my nerve with the stupid talk...I'm sure there were Christians paying taxes to the Roman government even as the government was heavily persecuting Christians ...Most likely Jesus paid taxes to the Roman Government also...And I don't believe Jesus said a word about what His money was being used for.... I believe some of us think that we have a say about how our tax dollars are spent...I honestly don't believe we do...Because if we did my tax dollars would not be funding the 2 wars that we're fighting right

I was listening to " Tell Me More" Npr radio show with Michelle Martin.... Mrs. Martin and her guests were discussing Mrs.Rogers and the fact that some think she should be fired .... I think the talk of firing Mrs. Rogers is a little extreme...I believe Mrs. Rogers may have learn a valuable lesson in this...I don't believe Mrs. Rogers is the one who took an oath to take a bullet for the president... The Secret Service did...Therefore I believe they're the ones who needs to be discipline. Question: Should Mrs. Rogers be fired?

I am in a hard place in life right now...I am constantly renewing my mind with some wonderful promises God has given to me in His Word....I am not just reading them casually either, like I might have done if not in this place of pain... But today I am processing them slowly, deeply, prayerfully and repeatedly...I am letting the truth of them change my thinking and strengthening my faith. “No weapon formed against me shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against me in judgment He shall condemn. ( Isa 54:17 ). “The Lord…is with me; never again will I fear any harm.( Zep 3:15-19) “Be strong and courageous. ( 2Ch 32:7-8) . "My soul finds rest in God alone; ( Ps 62:1-2 ) . “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; ( Php 4:6-7 ). “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate me from th

The thinking of this young man is the mirror image of how my son think....Especially when it comes to the use of marijuana and wanting folks to feel sorry and pity his behind for being stupid.. "If I made a mistake with marijuana, why am I not eligible for rehab? I've been on marijuana since a teenager. I need some rehab. Jail is not rehab." Question: Were did our young people get the idea that marijuana is not a drug?My son would always try an trip me up with: "of course you no its not a drug it's a plant" But it's an illegal plant. Any way during his last few hours before heading off to prison on drug charges this Baton Rouge rap artist sat down and talked about the decisions he has made and what is ahead for him...Torrence "Lil Boosie" Hatch was sentenced to a 10-year prison sentence... Hatch pleaded guilty to a third-offense marijuana possession charge and later violated his probation... He wants people to know the

Are you in a storm today? If not most likely you are headed for one or coming out of one...I pray that the Lord or Lord and the King of Kings be with our young people! When I look at the storm of unemployment that our young people are facing at this hour it's troubling and scary...Especially if they have not been train or taught how to ride out life storms... Unemployment among young people is particularly troubling, because the consequences can be long-lasting.... This might be the first generation that does not keep up with its parents' standard of living... Jobless teens are more likely to be jobless twenty-somethings... Once forced onto the sidelines, they likely will not catch up financially for many years... That is the case even for young people of all ethnic groups who graduate from college . Lisa B. Kahn, an economics professor at Yale University who studied graduates during recessions in the 1980s, determined that the young workers hired during a down economy g

There's a new book out “Crooks and Homos in the Pulpit.”By national talk show host Reuben Armstrong...Who is Essence Magazine # 1 best selling author...He's also the author of “Snakes in the Pulpit." In this book Mr. Armstrong has put T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, Eddie Long and Creflo Dollar under fire once again......Talk is that Mr. Armstrong has also come under fire for exposing what he perceives as the lies and deception of ministers, Pastors, church leaders and parishioners. The book focuses on Mega pastors such as Bishop T.D. Jakes, Bishop Eddie Long, Joel Osteen and Creflo Dollar. Critics are calling Armstrong's book controversial and an a wake up call to the Body of Christ. Armstrong who held a private conference with some prominent ministers and church leaders to discuss the book and his concerns about the rampant spread of homosexuality and thievery that has taken over the lives of many pastors and ministers.... According to Armstrong, "Crooks and

Have you ever wonder What-if ? Check this out: It’s said that Dan Rhodes met Dave Thomas long before Thomas opened his first Wendy’s. Rhodes admitted that he always knew young Thomas would “some day be something big.” But still, when given an opportunity to invest in Wendy’s, he didn’t. Later he met Colonel Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, and had a chance to buy his stock before it went public. But he turned it down because he didn’t agree with some of the Colonel’s ideas. When he was in the restaurant business, Rhodes often had a salesman named Ray Kroc in his office trying to sell him equipment. Rhodes admits that Kroc was a nice guy; however, he chose not to invest in his little hamburger joint – McDonalds! A few years later on an Alaskan cruise he met an attorney from Seattle who suggested that Rhodes invest in his son’s new computer company. It had a funny name – Microsoft! Again Rhodes declined. Now,I know what you're thinking don't nobody get that many op

I would like to take this time to wish every household and family a Happy Thanksgiving and leave this pray with you: Father, we enter into Your gates with thanksgiving and present an offering of thanks...We enter into Your courts with praise! We're thankful and delight to say so...We bless and affectionately praise Your name! For You are good and Your mercy and loving- kindness are everlasting...Your faithfulness and truths endure to all generation...It is a good and delightful thing to give thanks to You O Most High.

You can't touch it, but it affects how you feel. You can't see it, but it's there when you look at yourself in the mirror...You can't hear it, but it's there every time you talk about yourself.... What is this important but mysterious thing? It's your self-esteem!Self-esteem isn't bragging about how great you are.... It's more like quietly knowing that you're worth a lot (priceless, in fact!). It's not about thinking you're perfect — because nobody is — but knowing that you're worthy of being loved and accepted.... That picture hurts my heart !

Today's devotional is so powerful that I decided to post it....God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper” ( Ge 2:18 ). God gave Eve one basic responsibility – to help Adam.... Guys, get this: husbands bear the primary responsibility for the home! When Eve ate the forbidden fruit, God said, “Adam, where are you?” Adam was held responsible for the breakdown...So in other words if you're a Christian man who have walked away from your responsibility...Guess what! God holds you accountable. Here’s another thought. Before God gave Adam a wife he gave him a job, and specific instructions to obey ( Ge 2:15-17 ). Ladies, don’t mess with a guy who doesn't want to work for a living, or obey God. Furthermore, if he tells you, “I don’t need you,” run and run fast! The whole idea of creating Eve was that Adam needed her. Until someone can say, “I’m incomplete without you,” they’re not ready for marriage. Marriage is a big decision, so allow God to h

I didn't grow up on gimmicky church attendance programs...The only gimmick we had was canvassing the neighborhood on Sat. morning looking for people who did not belong to a church... I am having a very hard time accepting what the church is doing in these last hours....Now the church is offering things to folks to get them to come to church.... I realize Jesus fed the 5000 and some focused on the loaves and fishes ( John 6:26 ) , but it wasn't His motive to entice them. Anyhow, you've probably heard of this story of the pastor who's paying folks to come to church. I believe that incentives creates a problem that lead folks to start thinking, "What's in it for me?" So my question is what are the limits? Should the church use incentive programs to get folks to invite others to come to church? Do your church use incentive to get folks to come to church? If so how is it working? What do you think?

I know that I may get a lot of ridicule for this post that I am getting ready to talk about, but I am going to say it any way....I believe G Craige Lewis is WRONG for the way he's attacking Hip Hop....The theological depth of the lyrics in most Christian Rap should put to rest any concerns about God’s ability to redeem all music styles and forms for His Glory...Now I will agree Lewis has done a helluva job of packaging his message...Now Lewis has went as far as to pull the God card you know the one were he was call by God...I remember the Incident in Waco, Texas were the guy said he heard from God and what about Jim Jones? and I could go on and on....I do agree with Lewis with some of his concern about Hip Hop....Like , hip hop being filled with idol worship, sexual impurity, perversion, drug and alcohol use, materialism, and immediate gratification....If I am not mistaken isn't that whats in the world? I respect the time and work he has put into his presenta

I found these 2 pictures side by side in a comparison kinda way on a black conservative brother blog...It pain me that he would stoop so low in his comparison of Palin and black women....Especially after reading some of the hateful comments that was left there....I was reading this article that really shocked me:Racial Discrimination is one of the major threat to African American women's mental health .... It undermines their view of themselves as masters of their own life circumstances and makes them less psychologically resilient and more prone to depression...From my reading about Michelle Obama she and black women has little in common with Sara...While Palin has achieved a measure of success,I think it's primarily based on her appearance,and her whiteness...There is no way you can compare black women 2 to Sara Palin it won't work.

( Psalm 109:8 ) is a response to the bumper sticker (1 Timothy 2:1-2 ) ...So my question what if one of your Christian friends had either sticker on their car, what would you think? And if we have to choose which covenant to live out of (Old or New), which would it be? For me I rather live under grace...By the way if you want to vote him out of office that's fair enough vote him out... I am often told to read the bible in context. So, let us look at the context... Let his days be few; and let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places. Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labor. Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favor his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out. Let the iniquity of his

This morning's I was reading a New York Times old article that was discussing the growing phenomenon of teens attending more than one congregation or tapping into more than one spiritual stream...This is indeed an interesting phenomenon...But to me, it seems to produce confusion....I believe in my heart it's important that children observe the practice of faith by their parents first and then others .... If the family is always scattered on Sunday morning, there is the danger that they'd drift apart as well...Having said that, once in a while if a teenager wants to visit a friend's church for special program, I believe that it is ok...There is something about family that means sticking together... Sooner or later, the teenage will become an adult and have their turn to make their own decisions including place of worship... Meanwhile, the parents should make this decision ...What do you think? Is this good or not? Should teens have such a choice?

The Bible talks about "lying signs and wonders" in the endtimes, done by the power of the enemy. ( 2Th 2:9 ) For at the coming of the Lord there will be great activity on the part of Satan, in the form of all kinds of deceptive miracles, signs, and marvels, as well as of wicked attempts to delude.... I was reading a post about a magician with the stage name, Criss Angel . who can supposedly levitating from one building to another...He says all he does is an illusion...What do you think? Is this just a crane/helicopter with actors and actresses hired to act amazed, or is this for real?Remember how Moses' rod swallowed up the Egyptian magicians' snakes? Illusion or Reality?

Why should people be meek and humble? I believe a lot of America's problems are caused by pride, arrogance, ego, self-exaltation, haughtiness, and self-will ... What does the Bible teach about meekness , humility , gentleness, and lowliness in contrast to pride, selfishness, self-will, and arrogance?On Saturday, the LA Times asked the question about President Obama's bowing before other world leaders, " How Low Will He Go ? "So, I'm asking should a U.S. President demonstrate humility? Should a president ever apologize when America has done wrong in the past? Meekness is a fruit of the Spirit which seems to be lost in our aggressive, self-centered culture.... Because people associate it with weakness, most people today do not admire others for being "meek."It is a quality of character very noticeable in the greatest human being ever to grace this earth—and one that all of us sorely need today...Question should our Commander-in-Chief not allow th

Rapper 50 Cent is releasing a cologne called "Power by 50 Cent." But what caught my attention was the ad for the cologne.... That Photo shop is out of control!Gone are his tattoos... I don't care about airbrushing....But when you clean up minor imperfections to the point that's it's a different person picture... Come on! There’s plenty of complaining about how women get photo shop alot but what about the men? Gone are his tattoos...Look at what they did to his face?

Well it is according to film critic Armond White.. I am sure everyone has heard about the film Precious based on the novel Push by Sapphire. The film is set in the year 1987 and it is about an obese, illiterate, black girl named Precious. Precious was raped by her father and emotionally abused by her mother...The film had a solid opening last weekend grossing $1.8 million in only 18 theaters. The movie will be slowly released to build word of mouth for the Oscar season. Film critic Armond White is receiving a lot of internet buzz because his review of the film is very controversial. White believes the movie is racist, sexist, manipulative, and is pure exploitation of the black poor. For example, Precious steals some fried chicken and eats it...White also slams Tyler Perry, Oprah, and the director Lee Daniels. White calls the lead actress in the film a hippopotamus. The issue of body image is a very integral part of the movie. What do you guys think?Is Precious Racist, S

To me Larry Jones is the face for Feed the Children, not board members... There is missing information here as to the reason why he was asked to step down.... He either failed in his duties or integrity or he was taken over by those board members....The man who made the charity popular through its TV ad campaigns featuring hungry children was fired Friday. "There's going to be thousands of children go[ing] hungry this Christmas because of what they did," Jones, who is the face of the charity in the commercials, told The Oklahoman. "I thought they had enough foresight to see that this is by far the best time of the year to raise money...This makes absolutely no sense - none at all." I don't know what's going on but Feed the Children has about 6 lawsuits going since a power struggle began over a year ago....There are about 200 employees...Jones founded the hunger relief organization in 1979, and for years was featured on television advertisements seekin

I stumbled across this article on MSNBC.com and thought it's worth mentioning.... It turns out that Wal-Mart has got us cover from the cradle to the grave...You can buy infants milk at Wal-mart as well as coffins online, that's right, coffins.... Now it is truly your one-stop shopping destination...The best part is that you can find the caskets under the "health and beauty" section:) I would love to thank Wal-mart for reminding us that one day we all are getting up out of here...Way to go Wal-Mart!

Phyllis Schafly the well-known conservative activist son Andrew...Has decided to fix something that I did not realize was broken-the Bible...Now this Harvard Law and Princeton undergraduate who's major was in electrical engineering has the urge to fix something... Andrew has actually taken it upon himself not just to mis-interpret Scripture, which would at least leave room for discussion, but to change the actual wording of Scripture for his purposes....Clearly, Andrew believes that Jesus would be a Republican.... Worse than that, he wants to strike out any evidence to the contrary....Andrew is the one who created Conservapedia which is the conservative’s answer to Wikipedia, an on line encyclopedia that he believes has a liberal bias.... Conservapedia, however, is more than a conservative encyclopedia.... It has undertaken the translation of the Bible that will correct the liberal thoughts that's in the book...The best translator of any thing especially the Bible

Gospel rapper Da’ T.R.U.T.H. announced that: “in light of a moral indiscretion in my personal life, I will be taking a sabbatical from music ministry and teaching upon fulfilling my current commitments to work closely with my pastor, church, and restoration team.” When we sin and fall down is it best to just be quiet about it and let it be discovered or put it out there and let's deal with it? What's done in the dark always comes to the light...Da' Truth could have hide this from his wife and the public but he chose not to....But by taking this path it seem to say that he's more honest, more repentant and more mindful of the path to recovery and restoration...Mine-you he was the first one to come forward and admit that he fell.... I respect Da Truth a lot more because he came out and said something... Right now, there’s talk going around about Tye Tribbett…Right now he’s not acknowledging or admitting to anything...But if it turn out that he did get someone

Blogs are buzzing and web searches are heating up for pictures of Sammy Sosa’s skin after the baseball star was snapped at the Latin Grammys looking a bit… well, pale... Sammy Sosa’s previously dark skin is now Michael Jackson-pale, and fans want to know exactly how one of their favorite players of all time has drastically changed so much over the past few years...Retired MLB right fielder Sammy Sosa seems to have undergone a bit of a strange transformation after his last appearance in baseball in 2007....Sosa hasn’t commented on his new, lighter complexion, but the internet is speculating that Vitiligo or fashion bleaching may be at least partly a cause.In addition the cat-like green eyes seems to suggest the latter may be more likely than the former.