The Old Black Church

R eader Donald Trump surrogate Pastor Mark Burns tweeted a political cartoon yesterday depicting Hillary Clinton in blackface. The tweet sparked controversy online and within the Trump campaign. But Burns initially defended the tweet before apologizing and removing it within three hours. The Pastor is now apologizing for tweeting the racially offensive cartoon. The image shows Clinton in blackface, holding up signs that say “F*** the Police” and “I Ain’t No Ways Tired of Pandering to African Americans.” She also sports a t-shirt that reads, “No Hot Sauce, No Peace.”  It's a shame that a pastor would post something so racist. I guess trump money is more important than doing right. Trump can send out all his well paid black preachers to talk for him but I'm supporting Hillary Clinton.

R eader, the above question is from a Christian columnist for the Iowa-based Telegraph Herald .  It seems like the columnist is having a hard time reconciling why God would allow such a tragedy to occur to a devout Christian family who was about to go abroad to spread the Gospel. I believe God is the final arbiter in the affairs of man. God doesn't owe us an explanation or reason for anything He asks us to do. We can never put God in the position of owing us ANYTHING! When unspeakable tragedy and incompressible loss occur, we are saddened, angry, even vengeful and we are full of questions. Why would God allow this atrocity? How can God bring good from such sadness? How should I pray in this time of great suffering? Anyhow,  Jamison and Kathryne Pals and their three children were about to embark on a long-term mission trip to Japan when they were all killed in a traffic accident. Why would God allow such a tragedy to occur?

R eader on September 3, 2016, the Racist Republican Candidate Donald J. Trump will be interviewed by Bishop Wayne T. Jackson, President, Impact Network, on the issues that directly affect the heart of many areas within the African American community.  According to social media, Trump Campaign asked for the Interview and not Apostle Jackson. This interview will premier during an exclusive Impact Network special presentation called, “Voice of the People.”In an effort to reach out to African-American voters, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will make his first foray into black churches with a visit to the Great Faith Ministries Church in Detroit on Saturday and tape an interview with the church's Bishop Wayne T. Jackson. Jackson told his parishioners that the visit was planned and released a statement early Monday morning that the interview with Trump, which will be broadcast on his Impact Television Network, was neither a rally nor an endorsement of Trump's

R eader, chaos erupted once again at an Upper East Side church on Sunday morning over its troubled pastor. CBS2’s Steve Langford exclusively reported that Rock Church Pastor Daniel Iampaglia appeared to grab the results of the latest election of the Board of Trustees out of the hands of a church official who was attempting to read them during the Sunday service. Last December Pastor Daniel Iampaglia had been arrested on suspicion of stealing money from the parish after surveillance video captured him allegedly pocketing the church's offerings. A temporary restraining order preventing the church from firing the pastor is still in effect. Video and source here:

R eader from Bishop to talk show host. Over a 100 million homes will soon have access to Bishop TD Jakes' wealth of wisdom thanks to Oprah. Of course not everyone in the kingdom of God are high fiving the Bishop on his newfound fame:

R eader best selling Author and Pastor Rick Warren has come out with yet another way out for Christians who wants to rally behind Donald Trump. According to Warren it takes years for us to grow to adulthood, and it takes a full season for fruit to mature and ripen. The same is true for the fruit of the Spirit. The development of Christ-like character cannot be rushed. Spiritual growth, like physical growth, takes time."The development of Christ-like character cannot be rushed. Spiritual growth, like physical growth, takes time" - Rick Warren. Source:

R eader, today's Sunday worship services were the last sermon at Bethel AME for newly elected Bishop Frank M. Reid Jr. The new bishop gave his final sermon to the congregation at Bethel AME Church in Baltimore today. He has served as a minister at Bethel for 28 years. Bishop  Reid has been chosen as a bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The appointment is particularly historic because he will now follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, who were both bishops, also named Frank Madison Reid. Reverend Reid will lead the AME churches’ social justice mission. Congratulations to Bishop Frank Madison Reid III and family for almost 28 years of reminding saints in Baltimore that "God is still in charge" and the "power of a blessing." A Final Service for Bethel AME Church’s Rev. Frank Reid

R eader what do you think? David E. Taylor posted the following to his Facebook page:  " Raised from the Dead! David E. Taylor Commands Her to Live Through Sending a Text Message Through Facebook - Releasing the Supernatural Resurrection Power of God! She Lives! Message from her Daughter: Thank you sooo much Dad (Apostle Taylor), the doctors were sooo amazed for my Mom's speedy recovery , she was dead for 40 minutes but God resurrected her !!! After clinical studies / they tried not to give her diabetic pill and guess what - she got healed from her diabetes as well.... She doesn't need to take her medication no more - she will go home today ..... Thank you thank you sooooo much for praying for us ...This was her yesterday! That's Power! What do you need resurrected that is dead in your life today? A Marriage? A Relationship? Ministry? Finances? Health? Children? a Business...? Call David E. Taylor's 24/7 Prayer Line Now to Pray the Prayer of Agreement and Re

R eader, in my opinion,  most right-wing Christian media has an obvious agenda, get Trump elected at all cost.  Did you ever think there would come a day when someone would pose such queries about the former First Lady of the United States the former Secretary of State, and now the Democratic nominee for president of the free world? Lord, know's  I didn’t. But a new documentary has surfaced a couple of weeks ago demanding answers. Titled “Hilary Clinton—The Antichrist Or the Illuminati Witch?” the video doesn’t leave room for any other answer—as far as its makers are concerned, the question begs an either-or answer. Source for this post here:

R eader, so according to TB Joshua Ministries , if you type "amen" then this will happen to you. Now, the number of people foolish enough to believe this and type "amen" is incredible.

R eader 56 year old Tulsa Pastor, Gregory Hawkins, is sentenced to seven life terms, one for each count of child sex abuse with a 15 year old girl he got pregnant. The molestation had gone on for a year before he was caught. Hawkins started having sex with the girl when she was 14, and it lasted for a year until she got pregnant and went to police. Prosecutors said Hawkins had the girl lie and say her mother was prostituting her out. The mother lost custody and the girl went into foster care with parents that were employees of Hawkins, which gave him access to her whenever he wanted. Monday, Hawkins asked for mercy, but prosecutors told the judge he's manipulated the court system once and should not be allowed to do it again.   Former Tulsa Pastor Sentenced To Life For Sexually Abusing Teen

R eader J.Spivey Production Presents: Gigantic Gospel Concert 2016 Saturday, Sept 10th @Friendship West Baptist Church and Sunday, Sept 11th @World Harvest Outreach Church.  Featuring Tasha Cobbs, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Nesha Cortex, Pastor Kim Burrell, Jessica Reedy, Casey J, CeCe Godbolt and Kathy Taylor and Favor.

R eader these stories continue to get stranger and stranger as yet another holistic doctor has been found dead in Florida. Is it a coincidence or is big pharma secretly connected to this? The latest was Dr. Sebi, 82 years old — known as the man who developed an all-natural cure for AIDS, cancer, diabetes and other diseases — died while imprisoned in Honduras.  And Dr. Abdul-Karim, of Florida known for helping the underprivileged, he was a holistic dentist and an all-around great man. He was found dead while jogging, despite being in otherwise good health. Is the FBI and internal security agencies in any country for that matter , concern over this? Nearly 50 holistic doctors have been found dead within the past year. What’s going on? Our hearts go out to everyone who knew Dr. Abdul-Karim.  His close friend says, "It just doesn't add up." http://truththeory.com/2016/06/26/50-holistic-doctors-have-mysteriously-died-in-the-last-year-but-whats-being-done-about-

R eader a religious group is currently in trouble for taking food stamp money from its members. Now yall need to take heed,  if your pastor requires this of you and others, he/she may be the next one in trouble. It's not a matter of religious freedom it is called breaking the law and greed.  Being required to pay tithe on food stamps is just wrong. As a taxpayer, I find that offensive. People who qualify for food stamps probably don't have enough income to pay taxes after they take the earned income credit and deductions for children, but in theory that would make money received from the government and then paid as a tax deduction.  I love the following question by Elder Samuel Williams: " If you visited a member of your church's home & you see obviously that they are struggling financially. They depend on food stamps, HUD, etc. to make ends meet. They depend on family members to help them until they're able to get stable. Their income is zero. They lo

R eader Luke 5 records Jesus calling his first disciples. In both instances, in the calling of Simon Peter and Levi the tax collector, Luke notes they “left everything and followed him.” In other words those who followed Christ got to give up something. That still hold true today! It will cost you something to follow Christ. Anyhow,  Ciara doesn't hang out with Kim Kardashian anymore. Doesn't act slutty anymore, marries a God fearing man and they're blaming this on Christianity. At least that's what I'm getting out of this post.   Can somebody help me understand another point of view. Am I missing something here? God help us all. Source Charismanews.com 

R eader Rapper DMX has always wanted to be a preacher and in a recent interview on Breakfast Club, he mentioned that he feels being a pastor will align perfectly with his message as an artist. On this past Sunday DMX may have stepped closer to the vision of becoming a pastor as a recent video posted on Facebook shows the New York rapper preaching in a Phoenix church.  The Christian Post:

R eader, what is your church's practice when it comes to Deliverance Services? Is it something that's practice at your church? Is this something we as a Church should openly be doing more of? Or, is it better off being something private between the leadership and the members? I appreciate your input, so please don't hesitate to chime in with your comments in the comment section.

R eader Ex-Ministries got an interesting post up that is going to step on some toes. Especially when he talks about it not being biblical for a Woman to pastor nor call herself a bishop, apostle and rev. He talks about how every New Aged movement ever established have been created by a woman. The bible tells us that women must have male authority over their heads while spiritually operating because of the influence of angelic beings! [1 Corinthians 11:10] When women pastor or take the authority of a man in the spirit realm, they are out of Gods realm of protection and easily influenced by false gods, false doctrines, and sensual beings. MOTHER OF ALL GODS: FEMALE PASTOR TEACHES SINGLE CHRISTIANS TO SIN!

R eader, recently Vashon Dixon from South Bend, Indiana is very upset. She is so upset that she started a 24-hour live prayer vigil calling for the death of Pastor Matthew Stevenson. Why you asked? Because Pastor Stevenson won't endorse Donald Trump. She is praying that God kill Pastor Matthew in September the same month his father and grandfather died. She also believes Trump is Gods gift calling him Moses and the second coming. She also been collecting donation on PayPal and Gofundme for a car and white folks are actually giving her money poor Christian fools. The  girl started the "Die Matthew Stevenson" campaign in where she calls on Christians to wish for the death of Dr. Stevenson. Why? Unlike the gullible Christians who support anybody just because he or she shout Jesus, Dr. Stevenson decided to be the few pastors to speak against Donald Trump. Once the girl saw this, she started a campaign in where she promotes Dr. Stevenson as false and grave bound by this S

R eader a Detroit minister on Monday filed a lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court saying the tale of R&B legend Al Green was retold inaccurately.  On a March 9, 2016, installment of "Inside Detroit With Mildred Gaddis."  Minister Laura Lee who once collaborated with Al Green feels no love and happiness after hearing on the radio that she supposedly threw scalding-hot grits on the R&B legend in 1974.  Green's grits injury is a much-dissected event in the singer's biography. As summarized by the History Channel, the soul crooner had been in the bathtub on Oct. 18, 1974, when ex-girlfriend Mary Woodson burst in and showered him with scalding-hot grits.  "As a direct and proximate result of defendants' on-air broadcast of the false statement that plaintiff threw hot grits on Al Green, plaintiff Laura Lee has suffered ... loss of relationship with family and those she ministers to, ... mortification and infamy as a woman of God," the complaint

R eader you don't want to miss 3 days of anointed preaching, singing and testifying! It's our annual International Holy Convocation and you are certainly destined to experience a refreshing straight from Heaven.  Join our host, Archbishop Alfred A. Owens, JR, Presiding Prelate, Dr. Susie C. Owens, International First Lady and Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church family for an unforgettable three days.

R eader, Bishop Jonathan Bernard of Jesus Way International Ministries, have started a petition to run off community activist leader and COGIC Bishop Talbert Swan. Bishop Talbert W. Swan, II is a fourth generation member of the Church Of God In Christ and follows in the steps of several generations of men and women in the Swan family serving in the ministry. A native of Springfield, MA, Bishop Swan is the son of the Fred Allen Swan, Sr. and Delois Fason Swan. Bishop Designate Swan first acknowledged and accepted his calling into the Gospel ministry at the age of fifteen and was subsequently ordained in 1991 by Bishop L.C. Young, prelate of the Massachusetts First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction.   Rest Here: Lord have mercy what's wrong with folk?  

R eader you could not print enough money and give it to me for me to sell myself out like this and make a fool of myself for the world to see.  Not sure who follows this guy but it's sad that Pastor Darrell Scott lied on national TV and Joy had to call him out - if you for Trump be for Trump but don't try to rewrite the facts that is already written as it is for the last 8 years - a so called man of God - we wonder why people are leaving the church - it's religious leaders like him.  Anyhow over the weekend, AM Joy on MSNBC host Joy Reid wouldn't let Pastor Darrell Scott get away with telling lies that Hillary Clinton, not Donald Trump, began the birther conspiracy theory against President Obama. She held his feet to the fire and it made for great television. Reid kicked the show off by stating that Trump has been talking about getting black votes at predominantly white rallies, before she used a familiar philosophical question about a tree falling in a forest mak

R eader according to my timeline another movie with white people playing the role of Africans bombs at the movie theaters on its opening weekend. The remake of Ben Hur bombed at the box office or so Internet says. Idiots should have known better than to try and redo Charleton Heston's Ben Hur. This movie cost Hollywood $100 million to make and only pulled in $11 million. I saw the trailer for this movie for the first time yesterday. My first thought was, Why? Why make a remake of that movie. The original was fine as is, it didn’t need an update for a new audience. "...analysts believe that 'Ben-Hur' relied too heavily on out-dated forms of outreach. In 2004, 'The Passion of the Christ' established a template for marketing to values audiences by earning the buy-in of mega-pastors. In the ensuing decade, however, that kind of endorsement may not be enough." ‘Ben-Hur’s’ Box Office Bomb: 5 Reasons Why it Flopped | Variety

R eader time for the world to get to fixing itself again. An all-new season of OWN's award-winning series "Iyanla: Fix My Life" will return with an emotional four-part, multi-week episode when spiritual life coach Iyanla Vanzant invites eight women to move into a "House of Healing" to dispel the myth of the "Angry Black Woman" and address the misperceptions sometimes associated with African American women, their behavior and ultimately their cultural identity.   "Iyanla: Fix My Life" premieres on Saturday, September 10 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

R eader  here comes Frank Ocean latest project titled "Blonde," which has gotten the internet buzzing.  Frank Ocean came up with a thorough release plan for his follow-up to Channel Orange; according to social media.   Now, Me Myself and I like Frank Ocean voice, but this collaboration here with Kim Burrell, I don't get it? Just the vocal sound is unnecessary, and spiritually this song has no substance at all so I'm not really sure why he needed a "gospel" feature?  Anyhow, this project contains 17 tracks with 5 guest appearances featuring artiste such as Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Andre 3000, Sebastian and Kim Burrell.

R eader Travis Greene is the latest gospel music singer who is taking his ministry one step further by starting his own church. Greene, 32, made the announcement on Instagram about his place of worship opening its doors August 21, 2016, in South Carolina. Congratulation to the Grammy-nominated singer known for hits like “Intentional and You Made A Way".

R eader Church of God in Christ (COGIC) churches devastated by the recent flooding in Louisiana will receive assistance from COGIC Charities. COGIC Charities has committed $50,000 to help COGIC churches in the Southern Louisiana area hit by the recent flooding. The funds will be distributed through local jurisdictions to assist churches with their immediate needs. Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr. says, "The Church of God in Christ is committed to assisting our churches in the Southern Louisiana area that have been affected by the recent flooding. Our goal is to help as many of our churches with whatever they may need to help get their congregations back on their feet."  Currently, the Church of God in Christ has over 200 churches in the state of Louisiana and approximately five of them were damaged by or completely destroyed by floodwaters. These COGIC Charities funds will help local churches remove water, repair structures, provide food, water, clothing and any

R eader, I am surprised at the foolishness of people who continue to support the Osteen/Lakewood show as even a remotely Christian enterprise, much less a church. Osteen's world-renowned "worship leader," Israel Houghton admitted to cheating on his wife, which finally led to a divorce. Houghton was put on leave from Lakewood until the divorce was final and Houghton quickly became engaged to one of the wildest, most godless women in Hollywood show business, even while insisting that she is a real woman of God. Now, Christian Post reports that Houghton is back at Lakewood. Anybody can search the endless details on Google and see that there is nothing remotely Christian about the lifestyles of these people. Nevertheless, fickle people will continue to give millions of dollars to them because they are brilliantly talented celebrities who can do no wrong. Poor, poor God. If He even has a seat in that 30,000 seat auditorium, it must be far up in the nosebleed section. No, I t

R eader if you are a fan of the Oxygen reality show Preachers of L.A; I got  bad news for you. Looks like you are going to  have to find another guilty pleasure. Pastor Deitrick Haddon's wife Dominique Haddon broke the news of the show cancellation on Instagram  yesterday.

R eader, money is a significant motivator behind those who would compromise the truth, for the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil (I Timothy 6:10-11). Even in Paul's days, there were men who taught the gospel for the money that they could make from it (Titus 1:10-11). Recently ousted Church of God in Christ Pastor Dr. Earl Carter have uploaded yet another passionate video, in which he's trying to point out to the Christian community and to anyone that will listen; about the corruption surrounding the COGIC money.  In the video, Dr. Carter makes shocking claims that saints are numb and more loyal to tradition and to man than to Jesus. Question do anybody care? 

R eader, when a disaster happens and it's to someone or something the religious right doesn't agree with, it's punishment. But when that same something happens to those on the religious right it's a test.  We're used to the religious right blaming natural disasters on homosexuality and abortion. Which has raised an important question on social media:  What message was God trying to send Tony Perkins over the weekend? Because the Christian Right leader's Louisiana home was flooded to the point where his family had to evacuate by canoe. I am not happy he lost his home, but I will freely admit to smiling at the irony a little.

R eader I am not in this space advocating for racially segregating worship.  Lawrence Ware addresses churches who are unwilling to speak on root causes of racism. "If you attend a Christian church that has little to say in support of the movement for Black lives, if your pastor has called for prayer in regard to unity but has not pushed the congregation to engage in social protests to address the systemic nature of racial injustice, then White supremacy, not Jesus, may be your god. If racism is, indeed, a sin problem and not a skin problem, then someone needs to repent. And by someone, I mean America." I agree with the following comment: A people who has lived on the underside of the American dream  because of their skin color is likely to understand the Bible differently from those who have reaped its benefits. In the same way that both the slave and the slave owner prayed to a divine being but their understanding of God differed radically from one another, Black c

R eader, the Religious right is sacrificing their core beliefs for power this election season.  "the Devil does not come to you bearing horns but instead appears as everything you ever wanted..." Trump, the reality-television star and real-estate mogul is the living, breathing embodiment of what many evangelicals have spent their careers warring against. Many evangelicals have advocated for abstinence education in public schools, lamenting premarital and extramarital sex. Trump has repeatedly bragged about his sexual encounters and multiple affairs with married women. Many evangelicals champion the “sanctity of marriage” and lament America’s high divorce rate. Trump has been divorced three times. Many evangelicals fear America is becoming too secular. Trump doesn’t regularly attend church. Evangelicals often oppose gambling. Trump has made much of his wealth from casinos. I rather run through hell with kerosene drawers on than to give this hate monger my vote. From the f

R eader despite the widely publicized lows in Prophetess Juanita Bynum ministry, there have been several anointed highs as well. If you frequent this space on a regular then you know that I have mad respect for Prophetess Juanita Bynum, I personally like her. Someone emailed me the above pic alone with a message asking about the prophetess appearance:   " I wonder if she reviewed this video before releasing it. I would not have known who she was if her name was not written in the subject line. " In all honesty, I believe it's the camera and the lighting. Thoughts?

R eader Pastor Donnie McClurkin took to periscope today to address the CHRISTIAN POST article that falsely stated and announced his engagement to Nicole C. Mullen.  Pastor Donnie confessed his love for Nicole but made it clear in his scope that without proper counseling, there would not be a wedding....and they both  agreed to this.

R eader join Bishop Hezekiah Walker & the Pentecostal Churches of Jesus Christ as they present their Holy Convocation 2016 "The Covenant Keepers Gathering" August 17th - 20th in Baltimore, Maryland. Make plans to join them for the "Radical Restoration"!

R eader,  I read a very interesting Facebook post by Dr. Alexis Carlion Maston. She makes a good argument about the double standard for men and women in the church. Christian women, are told to marry a Godly man but then you have these preachers, worship leaders out here, marrying entertainers who songs, movies, etc. don't represent a woman of Godly character. It does leave a lot of women feeling slighted because it's like you can't win even when you're doing the "right" thing. I too was a little shocked when I found out Israel Houghton was dating Adrienne but didn't give it a whole lot of thought.  The point is most women in the church house are told to wait for a Godly man to find her but while they are in the church waiting, the men of God are looking at everyone but them.  As she said, it's like a slap in the face. I honestly don't think the intent here was to be judgemental. I feel what she was saying and I have been wondering the sam