black church
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Why ‘Ultralight Beam’ Is the Official Song of Christians Who Love Jesus but Curse a Little
I’m not good at being a Christian … at least not the kind of Christian I was raised to be. At my home church, they take Romans 12:12 seriously, wherein Paul says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds … ” For them, that meant there…
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What’s Up With Oprah and Homophobic Preachers?
Warning: The following few paragraphs contain words that some may find critical of two-thirds of the most revered institutions in the black community: preachers and Oprah Winfrey. If you have ever experienced heart palpitations or have accused someone of blasphemy for daring to utter words of criticism toward the black trinity, please consult a physician…
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Do Heathens Go to Heaven?
I have a confession: Apparently, I need Jesus—or so I’ve been told. “Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior?” The grinning eyes of my cab driver inquire through the rearview mirror. I cringe. The gospel music I’d been enjoying a moment before suddenly feels invasive. I’m literally trapped in a conversation I’m…
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A Heathen’s Guide to Black Church on Easter Sunday
Easter—or, as the “woke” Christians call it, Resurrection Sunday—is one of my favorite holidays. Not because of the deep, symbolic weight of the day, but because of the fashion. Black folks are aesthetically creative on a regular day—yet, on Easter, everyone is a black dandy. There will be pastel suits, white hats and reflective sunglasses,…
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Greenleaf Returns, Self-Righteous but as Necessary as Ever
Last season, OWN premiered the church-family drama Greenleaf. I caught the previews between commercials for Tyler Perry’s soap opera, If Loving You Is Wrong, and made a mental note that it might be worth checking out, if only to see whether it veered left into Perry melodramatic land. Then I promptly forgot about it. Thankfully, Netflix’s…
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Giants: A YouTube Series That Tackles Mental Health and Masculinity in the Black Community
Issa Rae’s YouTube channel recently launched Giants, a new series written and directed by James Bland and starring Vanessa Baden, William Catlett and Bland himself. The series is about “three millennials determined to live life on their own terms, no matter the cost, [who] quickly learn that when life starts to kick your ass, you…
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Oprah Winfrey Discusses the Art of Storytelling and Greenleaf
On Jan. 1, 2011, Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network made its debut, and over the last six years, the network has been able to debut series such as Queen Sugar and Greenleaf that uniquely capture the lives and stories that may not be told elsewhere. When you look at the series on OWN, you can tell…
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Black LGBT Ministers Speak Out About Kim Burrell, Shirley Caesar
The community is still reeling after a silent churchgoer put Kim Burrell’s violently homophobic sermon on blast for the world to see. Burrell’s tirade—which featured vulgar remarks about gay and lesbian sex and a warning that they would “die in 2017”—led Ellen DeGeneres to cancel the scheduled talk show performance of the gospel singer’s song…
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From the Pulpit to the People: Kim Burrell, Homosexuality and the Black Church
Well, damn, tell us how you really feel, Kim Burrell. On Friday night, social media became ablaze when one of preacher-singer Kim Burrell’s sermons went viral. In the video, Burrell shared a hate-filled message about what she believes 2017 will look like for LGBTQ people if they fail to repent. Burrell had been slated to…
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Miss. Black Church Burned, Vandalized With Words ‘Vote Trump’
A Greenville, Miss., black church was burned and vandalized Tuesday night, Mississippi News Now reports. According to the report, authorities responded to a call about a church burning after 11 p.m. The Hopewell M.B. Church was found burned and also vandalized, with the words “Vote Trump” spray-painted in white on the outside of the building.…