The Old Black Church

L ord have mercy, Dennis Hof author of the book The Art of the Pimp is a Nevada strip club owner who runs five brothels recently won in the Republican primary for a state assembly seat, in part due to white evangelicals who were willing to back the candidate despite his unscrupulous profession. ( You Can Read It Here )  The outcome has left some scratching their heads as to why professing Christians would compromise in this regard, and others lamenting the apparent neglect of the standards for selecting civil leaders as found in Scripture. 

I saw this pic on my timeline early today of the 20-year-old rapper who was  ( You Can Read About It Here )  killed last week and was finally laid to rest today, with a very nice grave marker, which is causing a buzz among his followers.  It's still sad that this young man died so early. He didn't have time to think about the way he was living and change for the better. Again, young folks take a good look. You might think you're untouchable, just goes to show you're not. The Bible makes it clear that all of us—you, me and all will die one day. In Psalm 89:48, a poet named Ethan asks, "What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave?" (NIV). Solomon says it this way in Ecclesiastes: "Death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart" (7:2, NIV).

R eader Rev. Anthony Evans, President of the National Black Church Initiative just issued a  press release saying he and his organization does not support Ben Jealous for governor of Maryland. “Let me be very clear about our opposition to Mr. Ben Jealous. We will be letting every Church; every Christian and every pastor know about Ben Jealous’ hatred of the Christian Church. This has nothing to do with his politics. This strictly has to do with his moral character and we have the right to judge his moral character against our Biblical edicts and principles. Ben Jealous has sinned against the Bible, God and the Black Church and we would love to forgive him, but he must repent first. Because we know he is going to refuse to repent for his stance, therefore the Church has no obligation to support him in his endeavors. We are not telling our who to vote for. This is a non-political statement, this is a moral statement. We are just saying that any Christian who believes in the Bible

Y 'all this is interesting, a children conference that equips a generation for early discipleship. Whatever happened to the local church doing this kind of work?  KKC creates a weekend for children, whose purpose is to disciple and activate the spiritual gifting’s in youth while providing them a platform to utilize what they’ve learned during worship. KKC partners with parents so that together they may raise children who wholeheartedly serve Christ through obedience, worship and Godly character.

T his here is a prime example why you don’t worship man and ceremonial rituals and relics. This Catholic Church is a doggone shame and the pastor needs to be removed. This woman of God served the Lord, she and her family and friends deserve much more respect from this clown pastor/priest or whatever he is. 

Y ’all remember Jahi McMath, the Oakland teen whose brain death case captivated the world while machines kept her breathing? Well her mother Nailah Winkfield said her daughter died during surgery in New Jersey on June 22 after suffering from internal bleeding and kidney issues, her family and attorney said Thursday.  Nearly five years after California officially declared her deceased, the state of New Jersey has issued a death certificate, listing the preliminary cause of death as bleeding. Her body will be flown home to Oakland next week [...] Her long, chaotic legal and medical battle took the McMath family to New Jersey, the only state where families can reject brain death on religious grounds. It began on Dec. 9, 2013 at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, when the then-13-year-old girl went into cardiac arrest after complications from a complex nose and throat surgery.

S ix-time GRAMMY® winning chart topper ISRAEL HOUGHTON kicks off “The Road to DeMaskUs Tour,” launching the twelve-city tour in Chicago, IL beginning Thursday, September 27th, with tickets for select cities on sale now. Inviting fans along to explore a new journey on “The Road to DeMaskUs Tour,” in support of his upcoming solo album Road to DeMaskUs out September 21st, Houghton’s fall tour continues to eleven additional cities until October 13th, hitting Detroit, MI; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Washington DC; Richmond, VA; Atlanta, GA; Orlando, FL; and more. Source Here:  

Y' all those are not my questions, but they are questions that were found in one of my Facebook groups.  So this week Christian rapper JGivens has come out about his homosexuality via his Twitter account and has caused a big ole stink among his followers. Jeremiah Timothy Givens, who goes by the stage name JGivens, is an American Christian hip-hop musician. Link to his music:

C ourageous Conversations pairs African American voices trained at conservative evangelical seminaries or divinity schools with African American voices trained at mainline seminaries or divinity schools to discuss controversial topics.  They will have their first national Courageous Conversations event in Chicago, IL at the Historic Progressive Baptist Church on Monday, September 3rd. There will be 24 scholars and pastors to discuss topics like justice, the authority of scripture, sexuality, and gospel preaching.    More about the project here:

Fred Price Jr posted the following to his Facebook Page: Mark your calendars, Sunday, July 1, 2018. We would love to have you present with us in the FaithDome, or watch us online, live on Facebook, YouTube, or the Ever Increasing Faith App., downloadable in the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. However, you watch, you don’t want to miss the return of Pastor Fred Price, Jr. (@fredpricejr) to the FaithDome, Sunday, July 1st, 2018. #CCC #EIFMinistries #WelcomeHomePastor #FredPriceJr #FaithDome

J uly 10-13 all roads will lead to Greensboro, NC, where His Grace Presiding Bishop Neil C Ellis, will be hosting the annual Global United Fellowship Conference. Looks like by the flyer his Grace was trying to change the lineup some. This time around he's added no preaching Devon Franklin and added Bishop T.L Penny as one of the opening nights speakers.   https://globalunitedfellowship.org/events/  

B ishop Iona E. Locke has been on the battle field over 40 years for the Lord, a long long time. I would like to personally wish Bishop Locke a wonderful pastoral anniversary. https://www.bishopionalocke.com/

Tonight June 26th, Bishop Larry D. Trotter of the Sweet Holy Spirit Church, south side Chicago, is calling for 1000 people in prayer for Chicago. Can you sacrifice one hour in prayer for the youth, gun violence, the issues of our city, and the world as a whole?

All roads this week leads to COLUMBUS, OHIO for the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International Conference 2018. Get strengthened, equipped, empowered, and enhanced. 

I f your church would ever send out anything like this, you need to rethink the whole reason behind what you’re doing. Stuff like this is why people don’t do church. This young lady Azoia Williams posted the below post to her Facebook page after her church kicked her out. They said the absences have to be excused by the pastor. And now little sis has to go up in front of the board of trustees:  

The arrest of a well-known pastor outside of his church Sunday is being investigated by the Highland Park Police Department. Rev. David Bullock says he was trying to help police after an attack outside Greater St. Matthew Baptist Church in Highland Park when he was arrested. Rev. Bullock says a woman with a mental illness attacked two members of his church in the parking lot. http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/local-news/arrest-of-rev-bullock-outside-church-investigated-in-highland-park

L ord have mercy, three years after the congregation gave the pastor the boot, there's chaos in the church once again at New Galilean Missionary Baptist Church. This time it's the deacon board the congregation wants out. Members came close to blows Sunday morning, in the sanctuary. The years long power struggle has majority of the congregation giving the interim deacon board the pink slip.   Source Here:

Y 'all this post can be found on Exministries.com.  The bible says that in the end times, scoffers would come. Men that appear to teach God’s word but secretly they are aligned with people that promote the devil’s agenda and lead our very children to hell with their music. Not surprised by any of these “gospel artists” they all have their own self agendas that they are trying to get accomplished.  

R eader  help me extend warm CONGRATULATIONS to the newly named Executive Pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church; Pastor Dr. Carla Stokes. Bishop Neal Ellis preached yesterday service and appointed New Executive Pastor for New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. 

R eader, what y ’all thoughts on Real Talk Kim? I'm not one of her fans nor of her teaching, she reminds me too much of racist Paula White. Paula White rode to fame on the backs of black women, Real Talk Kim reminds me a lot of her in that way.  Anyhow Real Talk Kim is an upcoming popular preacher who preaches all over the world at least a numbers of weeks out the year anyway.  Someone over at Lipstickalley.com said that they attended one of her conferences and all of them in the audience were black women. During her sermon, she mentioned that “there’s a baby mama in this room that needs to let go (of hurt)”. I’m no baby mama, mine was born in wedlock, however, I found it offensive being that I am a black woman and everyone in the audience was black. She tries too hard to be “ down” and her sermons are messy. She comes across as messy to me. I unfollowed her. It’s a shame that black women have basically given her a platform.  Thoughts?

R eader if you need some balance in your life, then come be apart of this amazing retreat to fortify you with group therapy, financial planning, intercession, importation and relaxation.  What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas. 

Y 'all can say what YOU want to but in my HUMBLE opinion, in order for a pastor to be effected he got to be respected . A bad decision or choice can quickly destroy an entire life's brand. The climate in most churches today is one of no trust and disgust.  I believe one of the biggest problem for todays church is there's no system of accountability, most churches do not have clear guidelines for accountability. No pastor occupying the pastor’s office entered the ministry with the intentions to do wrong.  He fell into sin and one thing led to another. (Sound familiar? It’s how life works.)  There are 7 distinct sexual lines no pastor should ever cross in order to protect his marriage, church and himself. 1. Do not use cologne.  2. Do not hug women.  3. Do not be in your office with a woman alone.  4. Do not be in the church alone with a woman.  5. Do not make pastoral visits alone.  6. Do not compliment a young woman on her appearance.  7. Do not fantasize ab

D isturbing video has emerged of a priest slapping a baby across the face as he administers a baptism. In a 40-second clip posted online, the French-speaking clergyman is seen to lash out in frustration during the ceremony as the tiny child is held by a woman thought to be his mother. The exact location of the church and date of the incident are unclear, although the video surfaced on the internet on Wednesday.  ( You Can Read About It Here )

A pastor in Nigeria has urged his followers to pay him more than $2,000 to unleash a squadron of “prayer warriors” to help the country’s footballers secure a World Cup win. Earlier this week, self-styled prophet Tommy Yisa Aika said that the Super Eagles lost their opening match to Croatia because God was punishing them for hiring a white coach, Gernot Rohr.  You Can Read It About Here:

R eader this is a doggone good read from Pastor John Pavlovitz.  The events that are taking place at the Border is an atrocity . I believe it is yet another event that is exposing the heart condition of the Church. The heart beat is no longer synchronized  with the Heart of God, the beat is off and we need to address it.  Once again thank you Pastor John. 

Y'all I really don't understand these social media apologies from prophets that start off with "If I ever offended I apologize" posts. Now with the present allegation against Prophet Carn going viral, I got a strong feeling that this is what's about to go down. Stay tuned!

O pinions are good but we should not gloat about the embarrassment or demise of others. We are all fallible and believe it or not....at the mercy of others too. With that said, I witness a lot of mixed messages this past week from the Christian community over the death of young hip-hop rapper XXXTENTACION.  Source Here:

A new campaign is seeking to redefine the "outdated" term "white people" with the "people-first" term "people of light," which is short for "people of light skin." Lord have mercy this is what happens when you got so much privilege that you can rebrand the moniker you manufactured in the first place. You know whites are the ones who created the ‘white’ category and who was and wasn’t white.  ( You Can Read About It Here )

R eader here's a story that's going viral among the black church crowd. Gospel Musician and former Kingdom City Church Praise Leader Pierre Whitlow has called Prophet Brain Carn out for allegedly sleeping with his wife. When confronted, Carn fires the man and leaves him and his wife homeless ( Carn paid their rent) and jobless.  Some folks in the Christian community are saying it's time that Prophet Brian Carn and his entire ministry be SHUT down. How many times does this guys name have to be caught up in some sort of scandal before all these elders and so-called spiritual leaders admit that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH?

The COGIC Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake announced that in a couple of years the COGIC Holy Convocation will return to Memphis.

T oday concludes the nation's largest black denomination 113th annual Congress of Christian Education in Oklahoma City. The group converged this past Sunday on the downtown area with cars, church vans and charter buses full of members eager for a week of educational classes, worship services and other activities. The National Baptist Convention USA kicked off its annual conference with an opening worship service at the Cox Convention center and the faith organization's leaders held a news conference on Monday, where the President of National Baptist Convention, Dr. Jerry Young addresses the masses on the immigration/ human rights crisis in America today.

I see Bishop Carlton Pearson trying to sugarcoat what Pastor Tim Rogers said by saying the same crap he said.  Gospel Artist and Minister Tim Rogers preached a eulogy recently and in the message he says Hell is a fairytale and people are upset. Now, Bishop Carlton Pearson wants to work with the guy. I tell you, one lies and the other one swears to it. Carlton Pearson co-signs the lie (like any of us should be surprised), of Pastor Tim Rogers, that there is NO HELL. Lord, help your people to know you for themselves, to know your Word for themselves and to identify False Prophets in Pastoral Clothing.  Check Out The Clip Below:

L ord have mercy, I Thought This Photo Was Fake... It’s Not! It’s The Cover For July 2018 Issue Of The Time Magazine. TIME Magazine newly released cover depicts 45 towering over a crying young girl whose image has become synonymous with the "zero-tolerance" immigration policy. http://time.com/5317522/donald-trump-border-cover.

N early 800 New York Catholic priests received a message about how to maintain their moral integrity from Pastor Rick Warren, who used Scripture passages and his experiences from 40 years as an Evangelical Christian pastor, to speak personally to fellow pastors.   ( You Can Read It Here )

M y thoughts on Pastor Tim Rogers telling people that there is no Hell....this is a tragic error of doctrine. Back in my youth it seemed that every other Sermon from the pulpit was about staying out of Hell. Now it seems that you never hear any Sermons preach from the pulpit about how terrible it is there. I must be honest with you, I cannot in my recent memory recall the last time I sat in a church and actually heard a pastor warn the pew sitters on the dangers of hell. Preachers these days just don't preach on hell anymore. The largest denomination in the country shut the door on hell years ago and quit preaching on it. All you will hear today from most pulpits is, “God loves you. Just walk this aisle, and accept Jesus into your heart and you will go to heaven.” But that's not the true gospel, that is a lie from the very pit of hell. As a young child that scared me and began my quest to find Salvation.  Anyhow, at a recent funeral Pastor Tim Rogers says to believe in hell

I found this interesting thread on Twitter of all the faith groups/faith leaders condemning either the Trump admin’s zero tolerance policy that separates families (and/or asylum change), Sessions’ argument that the Bible supports its enforcement, or both.  The list credit belongs to National Reporter, Jack Jenkins.    Here are a few:

Wow! Six hundred United Methodist clergy and laity are bringing charges against Jeff Sessions for violating portions of the United Methodist Book of Discipline. If more churches had been willing to sustain charges against slaveowners and segregationists, then we might have a much more racially just church in America. --------------------- "As his denomination, we have an ethical obligation to speak boldly when one of our members is engaged in causing significant harm in matters contrary to the Discipline on the global stage." Thanks to Jemar Tisby for this breaking news.   ( You Can Read It Here )

Outside of murder what in the world did she do that could warrant a 30 year sentence? Multi-time Grammy award winner Kirk Franklin revealed Thursday that his sister was sentenced to 30 years in a Texas state prison. The singer did not reveal on what charges warranted such a lengthy sentence but the “Brighter Day” artist has been open in the past about his sister’s drug addiction.   “For over ten years, my younger sister was incarcerated in a facility here in Texas. She was in love with a young man who was drug dealer,” Franklin said in 2015. “He introduced her to not only selling drugs, but using as well. When he was arrested for drug trafficking, she was arrested along with him. After she served her time, she was brought before the review board who determined she was ready to be released and brought back into society. The documents were signed and she was set free… but only on paper.”   ( You Can Read The Rest Here )

L ord have mercy y 'all tell me what you think about this? I found the below post on my timeline. Dr. Andrew Smith took to his Facebook and installed a rather  thought-provoking post. Said Smith, a longtime Apostle, to the masses: Thoughts?

S ophia Ruffin, The Comeback Kid Presents “Set Free & Delivered” a conference just for those who want to be delivered and set free from whatever that have got them bound, September 13-15 in Chicago Heights.  Look at that awesome lineup: Apostle John Eckhart, Bishop Juanita Bynum, Latrice Ryan, Ryan Lestrange, Tiphani Montgomery. 

T his is an interesting read that I found on my timeline. According to the King James version of the bible homosexuals are to be stoned to death but the church and the state do not enforce this law today, why?  Is this a case of observing some of the Old Testament, but not all? How do we know which laws we should follow today?

A ccording to E-book Author Mack Major demons can follow hair weave all the way from across the ocean to your head.  This is why the Bible warns us stringently about consuming things that come from pagan cultures! "No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons." 1 Corinthians 10:20.

A n outspoken atheist's life takes a surprising turn when he accepts a social media friend request from God. Watch what happens when this unwitting agent of change becomes part of the grand design when God Friended Me joins the CBS fall lineup Sundays 8/7c.

R acist Attorney General Jeff Sessions sparked an uproar when he used the Bible to defend the Trump administration’s controversial policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the border. In a speech to law enforcement officers about the immigration policy, Sessions said: “I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes.” Sessions' remarks were directed toward the numerous faith leaders who have called the separation of families "unchristian." However, Sessions appears to have failed to sway his critics; he's now being accused of using the Bible to justify a policy that contradicts basic Christian values of decency and compassion toward others. To make matters worse, the passage in question has quite a thorny history – Romans 13 was famously cited by defenders of the South to justify the practice of slavery. Despite the stron

T arget officials have apologized for offering greeting cards with the phrase “baby daddy” ahead of Father’s Day and are working to pull them from store shelves. Some say that this is an insult to Black Wives and their children. Not every Black woman chooses to have children out of wedlock. There are some of us who still have traditional values and are proud of that. Even if they did put other ethnicities on the cover of this card, it would still be an insult. The card, which shows a black couple kissing, sparked backlash on social media after customers like TaKeisha Saunders shared their outrage: "It was the only card that featured a black couple," she said. "My husband is not my baby daddy." The card company, American Greetings, says it communicated "unintentional meaning that we are strongly against perpetuating" and has pulled it from all retailers.

I'm reading this article and all I can say is WOW first off he's supposed to be there to help encourage those inmates.   A deputy with the Richmond City Sheriff's Office has been arrested and charged with sex crimes. Crime Insider sources confirmed 29-year-old Matthew Eli Mellerson is a deputy and also the chaplain at the Richmond Justice Center. ( You Can Read It Here ) A grand jury on last Thursday indicted Mellerson on six counts of carnal knowledge of an inmate and two counts of sexually abusing an inmate. The alleged incidents happened between Sunday, Sept. 17 and Saturday, Sept. 23 of 2017, court documents revealed. All of the inmates were males, according to Crime Insider sources. Officials said Mellerson is on leave pending the outcome of the allegations.

L ord have mercy, Southern Baptists continue to make news- a church is now expelled. (I mention this months ago in this space you can read it here) .  So this is what happened, Raleigh White Baptist scheduled its homecoming event at the church during New Seasons’ worship time, according to the Christian Index. Unaware of the time change, black visitors showed up at New Season’s for worship at the regular time. They were told to wait in their vehicles and one visitor’s daughter was told to use the convenience store bathroom down the road. “It was because of the color of their skin that they were turned away at the door,” Wunch said. “That was kind of the final straw.” During an April 3 special meeting, the executive committee of the association voted unanimously to remove the church as a member and return Raleigh White Baptist’s 2018 financial donations to the association. “We kept trying to say, ‘No, this isn’t racism. This is something else,'” Wunch said. “We desperate