church
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As Easter Approaches, Black Pastors Cope With the Weight of Coronavirus
In a pivotal scene from the 2000 film Remember the Titans, team captain Gerry Bertier confronts new teammate Julius Campbell. Bertier, in awe of Campbell’s talent, believes he’s throwing it away with his unwillingness to be a team player and his bad attitude. After chronicling all the ways Bertier failed to step up as team…
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God Is Love: Why Finding Common Ground Is Paramount to LGBTQ Folks Feeling Welcomed In Religious Spaces
“God loves me radically. And any member of faith, any leader of faith should also love me radically.” — Alphonso David, President of the Human Rights Campaign Growing up, Alphonso David spent a lot of time at the Lord’s house. Whether he was attending his mother’s three and a half hour long Baptist services or…
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For the Love of God: Rev. Al Sharpton Urges Religious Leaders to Take Easter and Holy Week Services Offline
With churches and pastors coming under fire for defying shelter-in-place mandates for holding religious services—two pastors were arrested in the last week—civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton called on the heads of the country’s largest historically black religious institutions and other faith leaders to halt services. This is usually a busy time of year for…
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This Ain't What Jesus Died For: Megachurch Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell Pleads Guilty to Defrauding His Own Flock in Multi-Million Dollar Investment Scheme
Houston megachurch pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell’s resume is no joke. He received his Masters in Divinity in 1981, joined the Continental Airlines board of directors in 1999, and served as a spiritual advisor to Presidents George Bush and Barack Obama. He also built his 16,000-member megachurch, Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas, from the…
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Holy Shit: Beyoncé Mass at Spelman College Causes Ticket Frenzy
There are no known plans for Queen Bey to show up to the religious service in her whole-y name but the tickets are the hottest ticket in town. Beyoncé Mass will descend on Hotlanta to kick off Women’s Herstory Month at Spelman College tomorrow and demand has reached a fever pitch. According to the Atlanta…
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Chicago Pastor Charged With Stealing Almost $1 Million to Splurge on a Bentley
Prosperity gospel is a controversial religious belief in which adherents equate material wealth or an opulent lifestyle with the will of God. It’s rooted in pro-capitalist and Pentecostal thought traditions and explains why pastors like Jesse Duplantis feel comfortable begging their flocks to cough up $54 million for a fourth private jet. But while this exploitative…
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United Methodist Church is Considering A Split Over LGBTQ+ Clergy and Gay Marriage
Same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ clergy has long been a contentious point within the church. The United Methodist church is considering an unusual way to address it. CNN reports that leaders in the United Methodist Church are considering splitting into multiple denominations in an effort to resolve years of debate. The proposal comes from a group…
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New Study Reveals That the Only Thing Longer Than a Black Church Sermon Is a CVS Receipt
I believe the phrase is “life is not a sprint, it’s a marathon”—and if that’s the case, then what would you call Sunday service at a black church? A triathlon? Maybe the Tour de France? As anyone who’s had the misfortune of enduring a Sunday sermon from their friendly neighborhood black-ass pastor knows, that sanctified…
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'We Wanted to Be Together': Whitney Houston's Best Friend Robyn Crawford Shares Their Love Story for the First Time in New Memoir
It has been seven years since the tragic death of iconic singer Whitney Houston, and now her best friend, Robyn Crawford, is opening up about their much-rumored relationship in her new memoir, A Song For You: My Life With Whitney Houston. In an exclusive excerpt with People, Crawford, 58, who now lives a quiet life…