Today, the National Black Church Initiative (NBCI) is kicking off an initiative to bring 10 million Black men to church.

“Starting Sunday, September 25, 2011, the National Black Church Initiative (NBCI) is officially inviting African American men back to church. NBCI is working to make sure 10 million black males return to church over the next 10 years.

NBCI’s press release noted national partnerships with major black religious leaders and denominations in response to the serious issues facing African American men, including rising levels of incarceration, drug use and unwed fatherhood.

Rev. Anthony Evans, President of NBCI says, “NBCI has no other greater mission than to re-establish God’s order – the first step being to call our men back to church. We are committed to devoting a half a million dollars and a million hours of evangelism to get black men back into our pews. There is something missing from the heart of the black church – the presence of our black brothers will heal hearts, minds and families.”

Most of  ”church” as it is widely practiced today (especially here in the West) is not substantiated by scripture. Having one man as the center of a ministry as hundreds and thousands of people look to this one man for their spiritual guidance is not Biblical. Jesus had only 12 disciples. What makes us think that one man can disciple the hundreds and thousands on his own?

This current model is the very reason why many leaders in the church have fallen to all types of sins while they are cocooned by the praises of men. Eddie Long is just one of many pastors who are engaged in a double lifestyle. Yet because of his ability to “preach da word”, he is permitted to continue the show. Men who have a natural need for true Godly brotherhood either become the unfortunate victims of this machine or are just completely turned off by what they see. Let’s take a quick look at the Bible.

“But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” (I Corinthians 11:3)

Notice that “Pastor” is not mentioned anywhere in this scripture. Notice that CHIRST is the head of every man. Most churches teach and/or demonstrate that the pastor is the head (or your covering). Let’s look at another scripture.

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-13)

Here, the role of the pastor is clearly defined: to EDIFY the saints–not the other way around. You do not need a pulpit, special parking space, armor-bearer, title, a set salary, unlimited excuse passes when sin is committed, etc. to edify the saints. Something is very wrong with that picture.

Author and speaker D.L. Foster has a blog that tracks all the reported cases of sexual abuse…just in the C.O.G.I.C denomination alone. Spend some time on his blog and you will see how the church system in many cases will shuffle these law breakers around or just turn a blind eye to this mess. And we want to bring 10 million Black men into this mess?

As I mentioned earlier, Eddie Long is one of many pastors that are living a double life. His double life involved the alleged sexual abuses of young men. If you go to his church today, he can still draw a crowd. Why would we want to infuse more men into that mess? There are many other pastors just in the city of Atlanta alone who have also trapped themselves in a cycle of secret sin while followers continue to excuse them.

What these men don’t need is a system that is going to hit them up for money when they are broke. They don’t need a system that tells them that they must treat a certain man as a leader, even though they know that man cannot lead himself. They don’t need a system that places a heavier emphasis on submission than brotherhood. They don’t need a system that is designed to appeal to the emotions of a woman rather than the needs of a man. In other words, men are designed to build, to protect and to cultivate what is around them. That means families, neighborhoods, communities should see first hand the impact of a Godly man who is living in his purpose. What the church system does is strip all of that away, place the man in a building for a couple of hours (sometimes a building whose walls are adorned in pink, purple, fuchsia [and other feminine colors] themes with flowers), take his money, tells him to sing, pray and send him back out to the world to get beat up by life for another week. Yes, men need to know the value of worship. Yes, men need to know the value of instruction. But worship, prayer and instruction must lead to action. That is exactly why most of the men who do go to church rush home to watch Sunday afternoon football.  There’s action, camaraderie, and a set goal (win the game). The true church is the only force that can provide an answer to giants like poverty, broken homes, unemployment, crime, etc.  We can’t reduce these warriors to ushers, armor bearers, choir members, organists, mime dancers and in-house ministers. Yes, all of those things have their place, but my God, can’t we do more? Are there not needs beyond the walls of the church building that our Godly men can address?  Trust me, if the church is doing what it supposed to do, the men would come. The crowds came to Jesus, not the other way around. In other words, we need to do away with the system. The salvation message is about restoring relationship to the Father through Jesus Christ. Anything beyond that and we are setting ourselves up for more disappointment. And disappointment is the last thing these men need.

In this video, prophete$$ Cindy Trimm tells the people that because the people have “given”, she is going to decree and declare that the windows of heaven are open up.

Why would God–the creator of all of heaven and earth need that $20 in your wallet? Think about that for a minute.

2 Timothy 4:1-4 reads “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at[a] His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

Let’s face it, the main reason why most people go to church is so that they can be entertained. The only thing a parishioner has to do is to show up and pay their money. All the action (the preaching, singing, etc.) is all done on the stage. Now tell me how is that different from a Broadway play?

Please understand, I am not suggesting that all of Christianity is wrong along with what it stands for. Instead, I am challenging many of the traditions that are straight up unbiblical. It is because of these traditions that many people are driven away from church as usual.

Listen to this guy as he breaks down how many of these individuals like Trimm who use hypnosis and other tricks to move the crowd.

There are way too many elements about the church I can address that will not fit one post. So I will try to address some of them once a week.

“First, the sermon makes the preacher the virtuoso performer of the regular church gathering. As a result, congregational participation is hampered at best and precluded at worst. The sermon turns the church into a preaching station. The congregation degenerates into a group of muted spectators who watch a performance. There is no room for interrupting or questioning the preacher while he is delivering his discourse. The sermon freezes and imprisons the functioning of the body of Christ. It fosters a docile priesthood by allowing pulpiteers to dominate the church gathering week after week.’” (Frank Viola & George Barna from the book “Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices”

Preaching alone was never meant to be the centerpiece of the church. If anything, it was a tool that was used to exclusively bring in the unbeliever.

Today we ultimately measure a church based on the preaching. A pastor can live a complete double life known to all members. But if he can “preach”, he will always have followers who are willing to freely finance his weekly skill. This is no different than someone who pays to see their favorite team play every Sunday. Preaching as we know it today did not originate from the early church. Instead, it finds it’s roots in the Greco-Roman culture of performance public speaking.

There is more from this book worth quoting.

“… the sermon preserves the unbiblical clergy mentality. It creates an excessive and pathological dependence on the clergy. The sermon makes the preacher the religious specialist—the only one having anything worthy to say. Everyone else is treated as a second-class Christian—a silent pew warmer. (While this is not usually voiced, it is the unspoken reality)”
How can the pastor learn from the other members of the body of Christ when they are muted? How can the church learn from the pas- tor when its members cannot ask him questions during his oration?” How can the brothers and sisters learn from one another if they are prevented from speaking in the meetings?”

I have long said that the same mess regarding physical and sexual abuse in the Catholic church can also been seen in many Protestant churches. Just heard of yet another “pastor” who had numerous sexual relationships. His congregation has done a great job keeping that bit of news under wraps…for now.

Bishop Charles Blake of the COGIC (Church of God in Christ) denomination apparently has no qualms with promoting [Superintendent] Joseph E. Hogan, Sr. as a bishop here in the Georgia area.

The problem is that Hogan apparently impregnated the wife of his assistant pastor. Not only that, he was sued and arrested for not paying child support. D.L. Foster has more on this story.

D.L. has an entire blog that tracks the bad behavior of ministers within the COGIC denominaton. It is called COGIC Abuse Watch.

Here is part 2 of that post:“Bishop’s “victory speech” video removed from Youtube“

“Here’s the church and here’s the steeple”

Ever wondered about the origins of the church steeple? If you are like most people, probably not. But believe it or not, steeples do have a history.

A simple search in Google will reveal that the steeple originated from pagan religions. “Christians” just threw a cross on top to make it…Christian.

“These structures long preceded Christianity, dating back to fertility ceremonies of ancient pagan religions. Pagan priests used an upright stone, pillar, obelisk, or slender tower to represent the male sex organ. Even today, a stylized union of male and female genitals is found in many cultures.” (more…)

Here’s another link: “OBELISKS..STEEPLES..PHALLIC”

Preachers in the pulpit

This section is going to be a little lengthy. But it is necessary.

One of the things that the book of Acts emphasizes is the fact that the early Christians had “everything in common”. You do not hear of apostles running around with large sums of money while fellow believers toiled in poverty. Although the giftings of prophet, teacher, apostle, etc. were fully acknowledged, there were no special tiers when they were together. Acts 1:15 states that Peter stood up “…in the midst of the disciples.” Notice how this implies that he was on the same level as the rest who gathered in that room. Nothing about him being on a stage, or platform.

Acts 2:44-45 states “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

Again, they had ALL things in common when they were together. I believe that included where they sat. You will see why in a little bit.

Okay, I’m about to go out there a little further. But we are heading back to the pulpit. Just hang on.

If you do an in-depth study of the early church, you will discover how Christians were persecuted en masse for their faith. Rome would throw thousands of them in the colosseum to be butchered by gladiators or eaten by wild animals for entertainment. After a long string of bloody emperors in Rome rose one by the name of Constantine. He put an end to the persecution of Christians. But what is not widely discussed is his influence with the rebuilding of a new structure in the true Christian church. Where for years Christians met in homes, caves…wherever they could be safe, Christians were now permitted to worship openly (enter church buildings–we’ll talk about that later). Pagan practices slowly began to make it’s way into the church. One of these practices was the elevation of the minister.

At this point, I turn your attention to the book “Pagan Christianity Exploring The Roots Of Our Church Practices” by Frank Viola and George Barna.

“From AD 313 to 325, Christianity was no longer a struggling religion trying to survive the Roman government. It was basking in the sun of imperialism, loaded with money and status.” To be a Christian under Constantine’s reign was no longer a handicap. It was an advantage. It was fashionable to become a part of the emperor’s religion. And to be among the clergy was to receive the greatest of advantages.”
Clergymen received the same honors as the highest officials of the Roman Empire and even the emperor himself.” In fact, Constantine gave the bishops of Rome more power than he gave Roman governors.” He also ordered that the clergy receive fixed annual allowances (ministerial pay)!
In AD 313, he exempted the Christian clergy from paying taxes—something that pagan priests had traditionally enjoyed.” He also made them exempt from mandatory public office and other civic duties.” They were freed from being tried by secular courts and from serving in the army.’ (Bishops could be tried only by a bishop’s court, not by ordinary law courts.)’
In all these things the clergy was given special class status. Constantine was the first to use the words clerical and clerics to depict a higher social class.’ He also felt that the Christian clergy deserved the same privileges as governmental officials. So bishops sat in judgment like secular judges.”
The net result was alarming: The clergy had the prestige of church office bearers, the privileges of a favored class, and the power of a wealthy elite. They had become an isolated class with a separate civil status and way of life. (This included clergy celibacy.)”
They even dressed and groomed differently from the common people.” Bishops and priests shaved their heads. This practice, known as the tonsure, comes from the old Roman ceremony of adoption. All those who had shaved heads were known as clerks or clergy.” They also began wearing the clothes of Roman officials (see chapter 6).
It should come as no surprise that so many people in Constantine’s day experienced a sudden “call to the ministry.” To their minds, being a church officer had become more of a career than a calling.”

My goodness! There is a whole lot I can pull from this passage.

The pulpit/sacred desk/ambo is not something we hear about in the early church. Do you really think that people who were constantly on the run had time to set up a pulpit? This was something that was pulled from pagan temples to help formulate a more Roman-friendly version of Christianity: Catholicism.

Next week I will address some more traditions many in the church have adopted that are anti-biblical or dare I say “anti-Christ”.

Unfortunately, I am going to have to continue this post over the weekend. But I do want to ask a question. [UPDATED--The artist I was talking about in this post responded to me. ]

When a Christian artist says that they want to take the “cross” over into secular music, why then do they remove all references to the one who was nailed to the cross?

The basic problem that I have with Christian artists who claim that they are taking the “cross” over into the secular music genre is that they (the Christian artist) are the ones that end up doing most of the changing. At the same time, the people they say they are called to reach either remain the same or get worse.
I have a few friends who are Christian and are in the music industry. I honestly have to tell you that they are more enamored with meeting “X” than actually giving them the full gospel message. So it is quite natural to think that some of these secular artists ask themselves “Why do I want to serve the God you serve when you want to be like me?”

I recently came across a Christian artist who announced that she is leaving her genre for secular music. You can read her post here. I attempted to make contact with her on her post, so hopefully she will respond. In the meantime, this was my initial response to her.

If you cannot handle the criticisms coming from church folks, then how are you going to handle criticism from the “world”? Jesus said that the world HATED Him before it hated us.
The music industry IN GENERAL has built in criticism–they are called “Music Critics”. Some are even paid to do it. Your PR people are going to be motivated by what those critics say and you (if you want to sell more albums) are going to either have to make changes to your music or get out of the game.
If you want to show the church that it is okay to sing about romance, why run to the secular music genre to sing about the book of Song of Solomon? Why not just drop the Bible altogether and just sing about love in general?

If your song is being played in the club, will it cause people to stop and think about where they will spend eternity? Or will they simply keep dancing and complement you for sounding just like “X”?

######

Shei responded to my comment.

“thks for your comment….I couldn’t handle the criticism 3 years ago but I can handle it now. I didn’t change because I couldn’t handle the criticism, I changed because R&B is where I should be marketed with my style of music. A ‘genre’ doesn’t change my mission and purpose or define who I am. Even though I was known as a gospel artist, all my music wasn’t gospel. I don’t just sing about love in general. I deal with life issues in my music such as marriage, heartbreak, forgiveness, romance, hurt, pain, abuse etc. I was hurt bc ppl wouldn’t accept it as gospel when it wasn’t all gospel.lol When I first started, I didn’t have wisdom on how to market myself. I didn’t know then what I know now. This letter is just clarifying to my fans how I came to my decision. I am touching lives and I was just letting my sisters/brothers in Christ know that just bc I changed a ‘genre’, I’m still a part of the body of Christ and to keep me in their prayers.. and doesn’t mean I won’t make gospel songs. But clarity of my purpose had to be made known. Hope this helps. Love u in Christ.”

And of course, I had to respond to her one last time.

“Thank you for taking the time to respond. What then would you say is your mission as a Christian who sings secular music? I’m asking because there are many artists who do not consider themselves “Christian” and will also tell you that they “touch lives”. You have communicated how some church folks have misjudged you as a person. But I wonder, given that the world actually hated Christ, how are you being mistreated in an industry/market for the cause of Christ? At some point, there is going to be (or has to be) a conflict of interest and either you or the industry is going to have to compromise.
People need life, and I pray that the Christ that lives in you is not subjected to sales or marketing. I would say the same exact thing if you were a straight gospel singer. I pray that you will give Christ first and not just a hit. People are dying to hear that message.
Thank you again for your time. Please take care ”

She never responded after that. But I was very glad that she at least took the time to respond to my first comment. As for my other comment, I just hope and pray that she read it and has given it some serious thought.

When I was living out in California, I cannot begin to tell you the amount of Christians I would run into who would tell me that they were “called to Hollywood” only to find out they got turned out years later. That is not to say that there are no real Christians in the industry (because they are there). But the Christians I know are at a constant risk of losing employment because of their decision to walk out their beliefs.

I’m going to delve more into this topic in the days ahead. Add you 2 cents if you like.

If you have not seen it by now, here is the full interview of two of the young men who alleged sexual contact from Bishop Eddie Long.

Thug in Church
Enablers of Hip Hop in the church by G. Craige Lewis

Most churches use Christian music as a vehicle to reach youth. I do not have a problem with churches that incorporate rap music (for example) in their youth ministries. What I do see as a problem is when the music does nothing more than entertain them.

There is not a such thing as a “Christian” thug. Yet if you want any real respect in the rap game, you have to bow your knee to that culture to some degree. When I see youth pastors adopting this culture in an attempt to reach kids, little do they realize that in the end it does not work.

Some years ago, a young man I was mentoring really had the desire to learn more about the Christian music industry. He started off working sound for the church and wanted to go further with his gift. So he wrote a few Christian artists to see if he could tour with them during one of his summer breaks. Eventually he heard back from one who invited him to work as a “gopher” (go for this, go for that) for the band. The boy was just elated and I was happy for him.

Long story short, he came back very disappointed about his whole experience. He told me that what he saw behind the scenes broke his spirit. He saw these nationally-recognized Christian artists having keg parties, using foul language and other things. Today, the lead singer of that Christian group has declared herself a “lesbian” and this young man I am talking about is heavily into goth and satanism.

I know of other stories where churches know full well that “praise and worship” leaders are not even trying to live the life. Worship leaders turning up pregnant or getting someone pregnant, infected with HIV—this does not reflect Christ. But because they can sing, leaders and those in the congregation will look the other way.

These kids see right through this hypocrisy and ultimately are not provoked to strive for holiness. Yet, we feel that by entertaining them we are “reaching them”.

Please take the time to look at the videos above.

Where are the watchmen who see this mess and have the boldness to call this stuff out?

From hushmoney.org

“Although Johnson proffered this as a ‘favor’ to churches, the favor also came with strings attached (more like shackles). One need not look far to see the devastating effects 501c3 acceptance has had to the church, and the consequent restrictions placed upon any 501c3 church. 501c3 churches are prohibited from addressing, in any tangible way, the vital issues of the day.

The church in America today is, by and large, not speaking to the vital issues of the day. The church has been effectively silenced. There has been a chilling effect upon the church’s freedom of speech for fear of IRS retribution should the church get out of line. The inevitable result is a moral downward spiral in the culture as the church stands mute.”

Again, this addresses churches or organizations that accept the 501c3 status.

While some churches do in fact go against much of what is being mentioned above, they are typically allowed to do so because their messages have a benefit to either a politician or government policy. For example, abortion. The Bible is very clear when it comes to murder. But if a group of pastors decide defend the right for a woman to choose life or death for her unborn child, IRS rules are typically relaxed. On the other hand, I have seen many ministries over the years think long and hard about the consequences of preaching the word of God AS-IS. As a result, they either will water down their message or forgo the message altogether.

The Zachery Tims situation has really awakened something in me. I typically have kept church drama in general about an arms length from me, but I think it has been long enough. So I think I am going to spend the remaining part of this week really delving in this stuff.

I have to say that I have never heard of G. Craige Lewis or his ministry. But after listing to a ton of his podcasts and watching many of his YouTube videos just yesterday, I will be checking him out more.

The videos below may suggest that they are exclusively about the Eddie Long drama, these two bruthas address a whole lot more. The second video made me so angry, I had to walk away for a bit.

So if you have been hurt like the bruthas they described in this video or you know someone who has, please speak up and share. I’m listening.

EX Ministries Video EX-Cast Eddie Long
EX Ministries Video EX-Cast Eddie Long pt2
EX Ministries Video EX-Cast Eddie Long pt3

“In his eulogy for Pastor Zachery Tims on Saturday, mega-church evangelist T.D. Jakes compared the preacher to the biblical Jacob, a man with many problems and defects who was renamed Israel.

“The names represented two different sides of the same person, Jakes said, just as “Dr. Tims” was different from “Zach.”

Jakes, who pastors a 30,000-member congregation in Dallas, said he knew both Dr. Tims — the charismatic, compassionate spiritual leader who ministered to imperfect people — and Zach, who was an imperfect person himself.

“I thought I was the only one who know how unhappy Zach was, how broken he was, how afraid he was if anybody was to see any flaw in him. He tried hard to heal himself, to fix himself,” said Jakes, chief pastor of The Potter’s House.”

[...]

“I don’t know what happened in that room in New York, but I can only hope that as Zach was dying, Dr. Tims stood up,” Jakes said.”

===================

RAW FOOLISHNESS!!!

If Jakes knew that Tims was having problems, what exactly did he do to address them when he was alive? That may not be his church, but did he talk to the leadership of Tims’ church about these issues? Or did he just look away until now?

As a Christian, while I have not lost my faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, I have tuned out most megachurch pastors and televangelists. But the stories I hear from people who do follow these guys really do make me angry.

Long story short on Zachery Tims- Back in 2007, a Judy Nguyen (a stipper in Paris) posted details online of a year-long affair she had with the pastor. Some sources suggest that there could have been numerous affairs–I don’t know. A year later, his wife Riva Tims filed for divorce and started her own church. People in the know more than me said that the marriage split wasn’t exactly as clean cut as some folks are trying to portray. Zachery was going to sit down for a specified time, but decided that he was going to come back early. The following is an account from someone claiming to be a former member of his church. This was posted back in 2007.

“I am a mbr of NDCC, and all the rumors are TRUE.. My pastor has sat himself down, however he just last week said that after a 21 day fast that he is calling he will return to the pulpit. I was sickened by this news. First, why after his repentance is he calling a corporate church fast? I feel that his calling of a 12 hour day (6a-6p) fast, this will remove the dark cloud around his sexual sins in his marriage. I have been a member since 1999, and this came as such a shock. I feel lost, I have over the years heard so many people tell me, your pastor is a fake, he is only concerned about money.. And like any child how beliefs in their parents, I defended him. And for him to stand before me and say what he said, I was floored. My question is how do i recovery? I am praying for God to restore my faith in the church. Over the last years, as a single woman, I have listened to my pastor preach about women in the church remaining holy.. I have been saved, single and kept. I looked to him and Pastor Riva as a picture of the marriage and family that I was believing God for.. And now this. The enemy began to play on my mind and tell me, “see, you been listening to that man, and he is not even practicing what he preaches”. Today is Sundays and I cant bring myself to go to NDCC, although, I am listening to our on-line broadcast and he has brought in a Bishop Owens to preach today.. Please PRAY FOR ME, please pray that I can regain my footing, and find my way. Whether it be back to NDCC, or somewhere else, I don’t want to go back to my sinful ways and use Sunday as day to do chores.. I need to be in church and I cant allow this scandal to cause me to change what I know is right. God is Good all the time and he is the real joy, I just need to get back on track. My my strength in the Lord!”

Now, I fully and completely understand that none of us is perfect and that we all make mistakes. I get that. Many people like to just quote Romans 3 where Paul talks about how we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s grace. But then they will skip over chapter 6 were Paul tells the Romans that just because we have all sinned, we are not to continue living in sin. In other words, I can’t lie 6 days a week and on Sunday ask the Lord to forgive me only to continue lying for the next 6 days again.

Jakes said that he knew that Tims was having some “serious problems” and waited until the man was dead to go public with that knowledge. Jakes then tries to make a comparison between Jacob and Tims. Anybody familiar with the story of Jacob know full well that there is no biblical record of him committing adultery or any other sin while actively serving the Lord. In fact, the time Jacob was in sin, he was in hiding and God dealt with him.

I know that the funeral is a time to reflect on the good that a person has done while they were alive. So it is not like I was expecting someone to snatch the mic from Jakes and just tell the whole truth like a scene out of a Tyler Perry play. But what burns me up is how people like the person I quoted early are messed up for years in the aftermath of mess like this that gets buried by other church folks.

Romans 11:29 says “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” That means that when God blesses someone with the gifting of preaching or teaching his word, regardless of how they live their lives, God will not take that gifting from them. I know bruthas that can move a crowd like you would not believe. But the way they live their lives is borderline criminal. God gives all of us skills and talents to use for his glory. He gives us the choice on how to use those giftings. So there is no doubt in my mind that Zachery Tims may have helped many to come to Christ through his ministry all while he was jumping the sack. The Bible also says that “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” God will use anybody and anything to see to it that his purposes are fulfilled.

There is a ministry that I used to be part of for many years. It was led by a pastor who simply preached the word “as-is”. I saw first hand how people literally came from all over to see his ministry in action. Lives were being changed almost right before my eyes–or so it seemed. Years went by and I began to see this ministry make a dark turn to going from a church to a corporation. The gospel message was rapidly being watered down to something that was just merely popular. After many years of service, my wife and I decided to part ways.

This was a very difficult decision for us because this wasn’t just a church–this was our family. Once we made the decision to leave, we lost ALL OF OUR FRIENDS in that church. We didn’t move. We simply stopped going to the church. But you would have thought we had contracted AIDS because friends stopped calling us, folks appeared scared to talk to us if we bumped into each other in public. The pastor preached about how we were “hirelings” and to stay away from us. And there were other things I could really delve into.

Today, if you do a Google search for that pastor, Google will produce suggested search terms like “[pastor's name] scandal” or “[pastor's name] affair“. That means that there are others who know and are actively searching the net for more information. But if you listen to these same people online, you would think that nothing has happened at all. This is a man who went from preaching the solid word of God to allegedly having numerous affairs all across the city. From what I was told, his church board (if you want to call it that) asked him to sit down. But like Tims, he decided that the time could be shortened. The last I checked, he just completed a marriage seminar. Despite all of this, the faithful continue to attend while others are slowly starting to leave. From what I know, he never was straight up about the affair(s) with his staff or congregation, hiding the explanation behind a ’round the bush speech. In all seriousness, the details of this constantly unfolding story could appear in any online gossip rag at anytime. This is not just a church that gathers at the local Red Roof Inn once a week.

[Anytime you read about a pastor that has "submitted himself" to counsel, in most cases that counsel are far from impartial and may have a direct/indirect economic tie to the ministry. Again, this is something I have seen first hand along with gullible church folk who refuse to make the connection.]

I can’t begin to tell you the numbers of lives that have been both emotionally and spiritually damaged by this ministry with the help of members who consider all critics as being influenced by the devil. One person I know had to get psychological help. Marriages have been destroyed. People have gone broke–the list goes on and on. Although we have been disconnected from the ministry for years, it has taken YEARS for the Lord to work on my heart so I can forgive them.

When I look over the entire Tims saga, I am reminded about all that my family and I personally went through. I think about all the church folks who feel that they owe Tims their lives and must defend him at all costs. Again, God may have used Tims to bring them to salvation, but it was the Lord (not Tims) who GAVE them salvation in the first place.

Jakes’ attempt to equate Tims as an immortalized biblical character and the average Joe at the same time is not only biblically inaccurate, but an avoidance to tell the truth. It’s time for these pastors to stop hiding in the shadows and begin to demonstrate transparent leadership. It is also time for church folks to demand this type of leadership and stop allowing themselves to be mesmerized by these leaders. Stop fighting to carry the Bibles and briefcases of these leaders and ask the tough questions.

While I am saddened to hear about the loss of the Tims family, I am deeply concerned about the months ahead where parishioners are going to faced with some of the same doubts like the former member I quoted earlier. Will the leadership of the church deal with these questions head on or will they be too busy fighting over who gets what from the offering plate?

There are souls at stake here. I pray they choose transparency. Jakes proved that he was incapable of doing it.

“Zach had a way of acting like he was your kid,” Jakes said. “He would come into your house and go straight for the refrigerator. You couldn’t say anything, because he’d bust that big old grin on you.”

Perhaps Jakes should drop the “Bishop” from his name and stick to “Thomas” if he is too charmed into calling out a pastor that is in deep error.

Related:

Paula White sues her replacement pastor over money

Florida Megachurch Pastors End Marriage

6 Outrageously Wealthy Preachers Under Federal Investigation

What did Jakes do to address this mess? Paula and Randy White have divorced, and she considers Jakes as a “spiritual father”. She gave Jakes a convertible Bentley for his birthday. White was one of the speakers at the funeral.

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Over at AtlantaPost.com, Anthony Jerrod lists 7 areas he feels the “Black” church has not addressed. With all due respect, brutha man is off on ALL accounts.

Jerrod is a Christian writer and speaker, so he should know better than this. Like him, I have also spent many years in ministry and there are not enough pages in the world that can document the many ministries and small churches that are addressing these issues the best way they can. Many of them have no time to blog or develop a social media strategy. Many of them do not even have a website. They are too busy doing the work. The following is how I responded to him.

Some of many -

Abortion
Rev. Clenard H. Childress Jr.

Divorce
Sabrina D. Black
Abundant Life Counseling

Violence
Too many to name

Many Black churches in high crime urban areas not only have various ministries that reach out to troubled youth, but have ministries where they both visit and minister to inmates

Drugs
Again, too many to name.

There are many ministries that help people of all colors to break the habit of drug addiction. There are a number of government social agencies that work hand in hand with religious non-profits that operate out of churches.

Lack of Education
Many churches of ALL COLORS offer private education to give parents an option to failing public schools. What is worth noting here is that you have many poor parents who can’t afford and would like the opportunity to shift some of their tax money to these schools. But Obama is against that.

Health
Bishop Paul Morton
Health and Wellness Ministry

Sexual Promiscuity
One of many. Here is one
www.p4cm.com

The problem I have with this piece is that the writer didn’t even take the time to look for Black churches/ministries and just ministries in general that are addressing these issues. Now the author may be trippin’ over the political leanings of some of these organizations, but they are in fact doing the work that he is complaining about in his piece.

Those who need these services oftentimes know that there is help available and know EXACTLY where to go to get it. Those who offer these services in most cases don’t have the time to blog, send tweets, post on Facebook. Why? Because they are doing the work.

A big “AMEN” from me.
My wife made an interesting point recently. Creflo Dollar was hounding folks for not “forgiving” Long. But how can you forgive someone who has never admitted doing anything wrong? What exactly did he do wrong, Creflo???

In the meantime, has T.D. Jakes said anything about this beyond “keep him in our prayers”?

Everyone needs a reminder of the power of forgiveness.

Don’t die without it.

This is a good article that takes a closer look at the registered articles of incorporation for New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and compares it to other churches in the local area.

I need to stress that New Birth isn’t the only one that need to be checked on this. There are many churches out there that have unfortunately abandoned the true mission of the church and have become like any old business–coldness and all.

“Talk this week about whether Bishop Eddie Long might step down from New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the wake of the gay sex scandal that has dominated the airwaves, raises a single question.

If it came to that, who can make Long leave his church?

According to New Birth’s restated articles of incorporation, filed with the Georgia Secretary of State on April 14, 1997 – none of its 25,000 members.

In fact, according to those articles, New Birth, the corporation, has no members, and its purpose is “to receive and maintain real or personal property.”

None of its 11 Articles of Incorporation indicate anything about it being a church or propagating Christianity.” (more…)

Great article that I hope every church-going person takes the time to read.
No need to demand for accountability in government if your church isn’t being accountable.

If nobody else is asking about stuff like this in your church, then you be the one.

A quick morning thought.

Ever since the Eddie Long scandal hit the airwaves, the media has been in a non-stop mode to really challenge the church at large on its stance regarding homosexuality and same-sex marriage. How the whole same-sex marriage thing is coming up in a case that possibly involves child molestation, I don’t know.

What I do know is that the Bible has always been very clear on issues such as homosexuality and fornication in general. Here at Blackinformant.com, I have always used both the Bible and science to craft all of my opinion pieces on the matter.

(instead of me listing all my opinion pieces here, just click this link and it will take you to just about everything I have written on the subject)

As a Christian, I wholeheartedly believe what Jesus said in Matthew 24:35: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” In other words, a million child molesting preachers cannot erase the biblical stance on sin. This is what I believe. If Eddie Long did commit those acts and does not repent, he will burn in hell. Likewise, any “Christian” who engages in any sinful activity and instead of repenting, uses the likes of Eddie Long to justify their spiritual two-step–they will burn in hell as well. I know that is not Facebook-friendly talk, but this is not Facebook.

On the other hand, we have Muslims all around the world who call for the complete annihilation of Israel, engage in genocide, support and engage in terrorism, issue death threats to those who oppose Islam, murder their own children for becoming too western. But after I point all of that out, PC demands me to follow up with “But that does not reflect all Muslims as Islam is a religion of peace.” Why is that? And where is the same boldness we use to question biblical doctrine in the public square to challenge Islam? What about Buddhism? Hinduism?

The truth of the matter is that that the gospel music industry and the Black church is FULL of gay people. I have been simply amazed at what we will look over if a brutha has talent.

We live in a time now where people everywhere are simply too afraid to tell the truth. Why? Because it’s too expensive. “I might lose friends”, “I might lose friends on Facebook”, “I might lose fans”, “It will hurt me economically”, etc. have all become reasons why many folks these days simply do not tell the truth. Take this brutha for example. He is a gospel singer who is too afraid to say straight up how he feels about same-sex marriage.

What really saddens me is to see the very institution that is supposed to reflect the truth of God’s word (the Church) become so afraid to simply tell the truth just as Jesus did. Speaking before large crowds, taking care of the sick, having people greet you in song, confronting the establishment were all cool things. But Jesus knew that there was a cross he had to endure. This is where most people flake out. Very few embrace the pain that comes with telling the truth. So most people bypass calvary and settle for cross pin. Why? Because you can easily take it off when those you do not want to offend are around. In the meantime, Christ still has the nail prints in his hands and the bruise on his side.

Over the years I have come privy to information on both local and national church leaders that if it were to become public, it would certainly destroy their ministries. Instead of blabbing all of their business online, my prayer for them has been simply to come clean. Come clean before the God you preach about every Sunday and before the people in your ministry. But most of all, come clean before your wife and children. Because if the house ain’t right, the church oftentimes will follow.

If there is anything I know, God will always give folks every opportunity in the world to come clean before Him. If we refuse, then eventually it will become the business of everyone around you.

New Birth Missionary Baptist Church was there for me and my family years ago when we needed to hear solid teaching after leaving an unfortunate church experience. But I also realize that people are people and if we are not too careful, we can easily become like those we are trying to save.

So while people all over the net have already concluded that the allegations against Eddie Long are true, my prayer is that both he and the rest of the church would come completely clean on this issue. If the allegations are true, please don’t delay the inevitable. Don’t waste money (and I hope they are not using church money) and time defending what will eventually come to light. No out of court settlements–just tell the truth! If the allegations are false, then may justice prevail on his accusers.

Regular readers of this site know that I have written quite extensively on the subject of homosexuality, AIDS and the church. Here are some of those links.

Quick! Let’s blanket them with more ‘education’
Calling Amanda Hess of the Washington City Paper
Amanda responds. So do I.
Homosexuality and the black church
From the Mailbag

The church does not need to have a conversation about AIDS. Instead, the church needs to repent for remaining mum on topics like sexual abuse, homosexuality, adultery and gross mismanagement of church funds. We gotta come correct or God will do it for us.

I posted a lot of their music over at the Ol’ Skool Gospel Music page this morning. This was a duo that I really enjoyed back in the day because beyond their natural talent for singing, they did not flinch when it came to telling people the truth.

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