"The Old Black Church"

2012 was a big year for the church community and the world. Today I'm looking at some of the biggest stories of the year selected by me and based on Google feedback from around the net.   1.) Bishop Eddie Long crowned king of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.   2.) The foolishness of Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.   3.) Southern Baptist Convention Elects First token Black President!   4.) President Obama Endorses Same-Sex Marriage!   5.) Rev. Frank Ray friend and wife fighting during 1st Sunday communion!   6.) Pastor Creflo Dollar gets arrested for correcting his seed.   7.)     Mormons  no longer  considered  a cult by most white evangelicals.     8.) The Black Church was instrumental in helping re-electing President Obama.   9.) The death and funeral of Whitney Houston!   10.) Church Of God In Christ elect a new general board while keeping Bishop Blake as head.     11.) Shooting at World Changers Church Internationa

Lord, Pastor Ed Young of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, is forever stirring up controversy in his effort to stay relevant in today’s culture. He has released a promo for a new sermon series he’s doing  in the coming week called “What Would Jesus Say To......" This is how it's  explained on the church web site:

Watch Night Services in most predominantly black churches start  around 9 or 10  p.m.  , with the first hour being devoted to those giving testimonials of thanks to God for the year past and watching in praying in faith for  the future. On New Year Eve since the dawn of time black folks have gathered annually to praise God for bringing us safely through another year. The annual Watch Night service for many in the Black Community is a traditional service that has  strong roots that go all the way back to the time of slavery. This year, the Watch Night tradition will follow the historic document to its home at the National Archives with a special midnight display planned with readings, songs and bell ringing among the nation’s founding documents. Article Here!

Oh Lord!! There's a video game that lets you play the son of Satan. In the Lucius video game, you play the son of Satan the Biblical Antichrist. Evil lurks in the heart of man. Great article here!

According to reports, Adam Lanza played the first person shooter game Call of Duty for hours every day. Call of Duty Violent Video Games | Was Adam Lanza a Devil Worshiper?  According to reports, Adam Lanza was battling some inner demons. The 20-year-old, who went to Sandy Hook Elementary and killed innocent people, was not only reported to suffer from Asperger’s Syndrome, he was also into violent video games.

According to "Black Blue Dog" Bishop Wiley Jackson of Gospel Tabernacle Church and his brother Rodney Jackson may be spending up to 10 years in prison for scamming some of their "Pew Sitters." My Thoughts: Pastors need to preach the word and stop trying to get the "Pew Sitters"to invest in things. That's not what they were called to do. They were called to feed the  lambs/sheep  flock the word of God, encourage them, counsel them, be a help to them and not try to be their investment broker. That's someone else job.

Kwanzaa, is an African-American cultural holiday which is celebrated each year from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. Its roots trace all the way back to the first harvest celebrations of Africa.

It has come to my attention via Facebook that the "Blue Pinstripe Suit" which was once overwhelmingly popular for the man of the cloth is no more. The "Blue Pinstripe Suit" has now been replaced with the blue jean suit with the fancy embroidered  pant leg.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Pastor Marvin Sapp is starting the new year off with a "Holy Consecration Conference" featuring a Bishop, a Dr  and a  Prophet.

 Welcome back to the pulpit Pastor Dollar.

There's nothing more dear to the heart of God than winning souls for the Kingdom. For some of us the opportunity to personally share the salvation message just never seems to be right,  maybe  we should consider text messaging  a  heartfelt  text explaining it.

WOW! 2 local churches established in 1 city.....Congratulation to Pastor William Murphy and church family for their church planting on the South side of Atlanta.

After some what of a rocky year , Grammy Award nominee, James Fortune is back on top, named Number 1 on Billboard Magazine's Best of 2012 Gospel Songs/Artists Year-End list. His current release IDENTITY was recognized at Number 5 on both the Best of 2012 Gospel Albums/Artists and Best of 2012 Best Gospel Album lists; with his hit single "Still Able" at Number 8 on the Best of 2012 Gospel Songs chart. Article Here!

Angry folks on Facebook have forced "The Discovery Channel" to cancel a new show, which features a family of gun makers. After what took place  Friday in Newtown folks are demanding that the show be taken off the air because of the gun culture it promotes. I wonder will the violent video game  be the next thing force off the market??

Other churches might do toy drives but John P Kee and New Life Are doing a gun drive. The New Life Fellowship Center, official Gun Drive Starts Thrusday Dec. 20th through Sat. Dec.22.

Praying for all families! Come Lord Jesus, 18 children. As a mom,  I'm stunned. I cannot begin to imagine the pain these parents are in. Look at the fear in most of those kids faces. Sad!

My thoughts: The church folks have come out to battle Thomas Rhett a new mainstream country artist who is stirring controversy, with a radio single and music video that imagines what it would be like to spend time  social  drinking with the Son of God. Thomas Rhett, son of singer-songwriter Rhett Atkins  says that he penned the song “Beer With Jesus” three years ago to put into words“If I could have a beer with Jesus, Heaven knows I’d sip it nice and slow,” the song begins. “I’d try to pick a place that  ain’t  too crowded, or gladly go wherever He wants to go. You can bet I’d order up a couple tall ones; tell the waitress put ‘ em  on my tab.”  Wow I can't even arrange in my mind sitting down drinking with Jesus. For me the artist Mercy Me said it best:  I can only imagine , What it will be like,  When I walk By your side,   I can only imagine,  What my eyes will see,  When your face Is before me I can only imagine. Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel Wi

Bishop Jakes makes a historical announcement that MegaFest 2013 will be held in Dallas, TX for the very first time . Article Here!

From Gang Member To Hip-Hop Church Leader Good read : Pastor Troy A Evans says that leading church folks isn't that much different from leading gang members.  Pastor Troy A. Evans (known as PE) was born and raised in inner city Grand Rapids, Michigan. By age 13, he had dropped out of school and begun his downward spiral. At age 16, he became a father and got involved in local gang activity . He quickly became a leader in the gang. The rest Here!

  The King James Bible has been edited to be more friendly  A gay-friendly version of the Bible is out in hopes to end Christian arguments that same-sex couples are on their way to hell.  The 'Queen James Bible' is a new interpretation of the Bible, in which its whole aim is to show Gay Christians that God loves them. The book editor said' You can’t choose your sexuality, but you can choose Jesus. Now you can choose a Bible, too.' This  Bible will be held in the hands of Gay Christians  knowing it cannot/will not be used to spread homophobia in the name of a loving GOD. The editor of this particular book has taken  8 verses from  6 books, including Genesis and Leviticus and reinterpreted them to show love.  The editor claim homosexuality wasn't mentioned until the 1946 Revised Standard Version. Editor's notes here! 

My thoughts: This is not a surprise to me, with so much heresies going on today Jesus is often misunderstood. I'll agree with others the Game has been pushing the limits of religion with his new album, Jesus Piece.  Saturday night he showed just how far he would go and how low he would stoop. While performing at L.A.'s House Of Blues for his album release concert. The Game called for a man to come on stage to pray for him, who supposedly represent Jesus. I pray one day this young man gets a  clear understanding of Jesus as Savior and Lord.

WOW! Beside yesterday here's something else you and I  will never see again according to the experts. 12/12/12 is the last of the repetitious  , continual , repetitive dates for 100 years.

My thoughts on today's devotional: You know sometimes we foolish humans will thank God for any and everything even when we know in our hearts that God hand was not in it.  Our fingerprints can be all over it and we will say to the Lord, "Thanks for that, Father."   And the Lord is answering  back, "Who? Me? That's not my work. "That was your doing."  Some examples of this are : 1) When we fudge on our income tax, get a nice refund and thank God for it. 2) When we  manipulate, connive , scheme and lie to get to the top, then thank God for the promotion. 3) When we are the 3rd party in someone's marriage, it ends we thank God for a mate. God knows, as you know, that you maneuvered and pulled strings. So when you get more money than you deserve, get that bigger office and the key to the executive washroom, that other person's spouse, don't give God the credit. He doesn't want it. This was your plan. In other words. We cannot sow

 The Conservative Christian activist group One Million Moms  is  asking  Christians everywhere to boycott JCPenney  (again)  because talk show host Ellen DeGeneres appears in a Christmas TV ad ( video here ) for the retailer. My thoughts: Heck no I'm not going to boycott JCPenney over the  Ellen DeGeneres Christmas Ad.... . And  the nerve of the group "One Million Moms  ask other Christians to partake in this kind of foolishness is  crazy to me.  The group" One Million Moms" are the worst examples of what a Christian should be and have already used up their  15 minutes of fame.

Lifetime has a documentary series coming in 2013 that aims to take a closer look at the lives of real "Preachers' Kids" in America. . Some kind of way, and I don't know how but Lifetime has managed to find girls who parents are the Preacher/ Pastor/ Minister and is constantly trying to challenge their parents' rules. Girls who feel a conflict between having faith and wanting their own life outside of church... . Girls who, want to tell about how they deal with the peer pressure of fitting in while meeting the expectations of their parents, as well as church members. As a parent this right here really blows my mind: Lifetime also,have managed to hear from parents who are Preacher/ Pastor/ Minister  about the difficulties of maintaining the image of the perfect family. Article Here!

Morehouse college soon to offer a course they hope will deliver theoretical insight into LGBT pop cultural, political and social structures.  Some say, the  college should be commended for its giant step towards campus inclusion and the ultimate embrace of gay Men of Morehouse.  Others say, embracing gay men as classmates and graduates are an endorsement of homosexuality, or more specifically, an endorsement of effeminate behavior and culture. These few work diligently behind the scenes to pressure Morehouse leadership and its key supporters to create distance between the school’s legacy and a growing segment of the college’s future entrepreneurs, scholars, educators and community servants – simply because they are gay. Article Here!

Preston Gannaway/Photographer My thoughts: Jesus had the deepest respect for the (house of worship) Temple and its traditions. According to John, Jesus went to the (house of worship) Temple to celebrate various holy day festivals.   He even cleansed the Temple courtyard out of respect for what the Temple meant: God's dwelling place on earth. According to Mayor Rahm Emanuel Chicago police will be making strong moves and efforts to keep the respect of the (place of worship) Temple in place. The Honorable Mayor Emanuel said the city will confront continuing violence—which has included violent attacks at funerals. The mayor expressed anger that people have been shooting and carrying guns at gang-member funerals.  “The police department is going to change the way they deal with gang funerals,” he said. “If you cannot respect a place of worship, at a time of a funeral, we are going to show a different type of attitude.” The funerals will be treated as “gang events,” with mou