the black church
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Trailer Roundup: Auntie Is Wearing Her Red, White and Blue Hat at The Black Church This Thanksgiving Weekend
By the time you read this blog, you are probably overcoming the ‘itis—but it’s cool because we don’t have anywhere to go anyway! Sink back, lean into that ‘itis and enjoy your leftovers (they taste better because the seasonings had time to marinate, you know?) Want something to watch while you eat? I got you……
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The Coronavirus Crisis Forces Pastors to Examine the State of the Black Church
As social distancing to end the spread of COVID-19 continues to impact the ability of black congregations to engage in their traditional forms of interaction, conversations about the future arise. Undoubtedly, recovery from the coronavirus pandemic will create economic hardships that will impact the work many churches are doing on all fronts. Additionally, the pandemic…
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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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It’s Time to Fully Welcome LGBTQ Members Into the AME Church
A hand grasped the supplicator’s shoulder and pulled him upright in the middle of his “Our Father.” Absalom Jones, a regular parishioner at St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, along with Richard Allen, prayed at their usual space in the lower pews at St. George’s, but this particular Sunday was different. The leaders at…
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Predatory Ohio Pastor Found Guilty of Having Sex With, ‘Passing Around’ Teen Girl to Other Preachers
An Ohio minister is in jail for having sex with a girl starting when she was a 14-year-old, and encouraged two other men of the cloth to rape (as she was obviously too young to consent) her as well, federal prosecutors charge. Anthony Haynes, 40, former pastor of the Greater Life Christian Center in Toledo,…
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New Birth and Jamal Bryant: Time for the Black Church To Address Its Culture of Sexism, Misogyny and Homophobia
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted.” –Acts 3:19 Rev. Jamal Bryant, the former pastor of Empowerment Temple A.M.E. Church, has inherited the pulpit of the late Bishop Eddie Long. While the public has speculated about both Bryant’s and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church’s motivations for this move or whether Long’s son had applied for the…
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Time’s Up on Men Telling Single Women How to Be Worthy of Marriage
The straights are at it again. Over the weekend, singer Ciara caused an internet stir when she posted on Instagram a clip from a sermon by Houston’s Lakewood megachurch pastor John Gray telling single women why they’re not married. “Too many women want to be married but you’re walking in the spirit of ‘girlfriend,’” Pastor…
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The Incredible Legend of the Black Church
Today, for Black History Month, I’d like to tell you about something that has been long forgotten in the legacy of Africans in America. You may have heard these stories and dismissed them as fabulous folklore or passed-down legends that bloomed into fable over the years, but trust me, this ain’t no Paul Bunyan fairy…
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If Your Pastor Says “Racism Isn’t A Skin Problem, It’s A Sin Problem” You Need To Find Another Church
Recently I decided to visit a popular, contemporary church known for its multicultural emphasis. (Read: it tries to be neither a ‘Black church’ nor a ‘White church’ in its cultural expressions of Christian worship.) I did this because, after being conspicuously silent about race and racism after the Charleston shootings (the church did not so…