Heard In The Black Church Parking Lot: Attendance Is Down Saints. Way Down!!!

Novelist Anne Rice's surprise post last week on Facebook — she announced she had quit Christianity "in the name of Christ" because she'd seen too much hypocrisy — brought cheers and smug smiles from critics of institutional faith, and criticism and soul-searching among believers.

But there's something more at play here than one of America's most famous Catholics — Rice re-embraced the faith of her youth in 1998 and published a memoir just two years ago, "Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession" — walking away from the church.

Spiritual? Yes, Absolutely! Religious? Wait, Not So Fast!

Rice is merely one of millions of Americans who have opted out of organized religion in recent years, making the unaffiliated category of faith the fastest-growing "religion" in America, according to a 2008 study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

The Pew report found that 1 in 6 American adults were not affiliated with any particular faith. That number jumped to 25% for people ages 18 to 29. Moreover, most mainline Protestant denominations have for years experienced a net loss in members, and about 25% of cradle Catholics have left their childhood faith, the study showed.

And in a 2008 study by Trinity College researchers, 27% of Americans said they do not expect a religious funeral.

Black Churches Are Also Facing Declining Relevance And Influence In African American Communities. This Blog Post Explains Why.

American Christianity is not well, and there's evidence to indicate that its condition is more critical than most realize — or at least want to admit. Dr. Eddie Glaude found out the hard way when he declared that "The Black Church is Dead!"

Pollsters — most notably evangelical George Barna — have reported repeatedly that they can find little measurable difference between the moral behavior of churchgoers and the rest of American society. Barna has found that born-again Christians are more likely to divorce (an act strongly condemned by Jesus) than atheists and agnostics, and are more likely to be racist than other Americans.

And while evangelical adolescents overwhelmingly say they believe in abstaining from premarital sex, they are more likely to be sexually active — and at an earlier age — than peers who are mainline Protestants, Mormons or Jews, according to University of Texas researcher Mark Regnerus.

On the bright side, Barna's surveys show evangelicals (defined by Barna as a subset of born-again Christians, which he sees as a broader group with more flexible beliefs) do pledge far more money to charity, though 76% of them fail to give 10% of their income to the church as prescribed by their faith. Various studies show American Christians as a whole give away a miserly 3% or so of their income to the church or charity.

"Every day, the church is becoming more like the world it allegedly seeks to change," Barna has said.

Why Black Churches Remain Invaluable To African Americans

Barna isn't the only worried evangelical. Christian activist Ronald J. Sider writes in his book, "The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience": "By their daily activity, most 'Christians' regularly commit treason. With their mouths they claim that Jesus is their Lord, but with their actions they demonstrate their allegiance to money, sex, and personal self-fulfillment."

How to explain the Grand Canyon-sized gap between principles outlined in the Gospels and the behavior of believers? Christians typically, and rather lamely, respond that shortcomings of the followers of Jesus are simply evidence of man's inherent sinfulness.

But if one adheres to the principle of Occam's razor — that the simplest explanation is the most likely — there is another, more unsettling conclusion: that many people who call themselves Christian don't really believe, deep down, in the tenets of their faith. In other words, their actions reveal their true beliefs.

The Black Church Is Dead
by Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr.

That might explain why Roman Catholic bishops leave predator priests in ministry to prey on more unsuspecting children. Or why churches on Sunday mornings are said to be the most segregated places in America. It also would explain why most Catholic women use birth control even though the practice is considered a mortal sin.

Culturally, America is still a Christian nation. The majority of us still attend church at least occasionally, celebrate Christmas and Easter, and pepper our conversations with "God bless you" and "I'll be praying for you."

But judging by the behavior of most Christians, they've become secularists. And the sea of hypocrisy between Christian beliefs and actions is driving Americans away from the institutional church in record numbers. In the African American community, the denial is both disturbing and eye-opening.

Some, such as Anne Rice, are continuing their spiritual journey on their own, unable to reconcile the Gospel message with religious institutions covered with man's dirty fingerprints. Others have stopped believing in God. Those with awareness who remain Christians are scrambling to find ways, like St. Francis of Assisi, to rebuild God's church.

Churches Are Falling Apart, Literally!

But remember, St. Francis offered a radical example during a time when the institutional church had grown corrupt and flabby. He was a wealthy young man who took a vow of poverty and devoted himself to the poor. His motto: "Preach the Gospel at all times — and when necessary use words."

A well-informed hunch says American Christians aren't ready for the kind of reformation that will realign their actions with biblical mandates. And in the meantime, the exodus from the church will continue.

William Lobdell is the author of "Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America - and Found Unexpected Peace."

Source

Reverend Jeremiah Wright Speaks For Himself Outside A Quick Youtube Clip

You Know If These Were Some Black Women, This Thing Would Have Been On & Poppin A Long Time Ago!

Surprise-Surprise, Chaotic Hearing in Polygamist Case Begins

SAN ANGELO, Tex. — Sistahs, accustomed to handling their business while their men are missing in action, are collectively shaking their weaves right about now.

A hearing on the fate of 416 White children birthed by 6 cowardly White men (okay, we're exaggerating... a little) taken in a raid on a polygamist compound descended into chaos on Thursday. That's not surprising, consider police allegedly found papers at the prison, er... compound suggesting one man had 22 wives. The youngest is believed to be 16.

Before the proceedings were recessed after about 45 minutes of wrangling, a lawyer for the state’s Department of Child Protective Services said it would seek psychiatric examinations for the children, as well as genetic testing of both the children and the adults, and would try to have the children relocated to other parts of the state, away from this town in west Texas. Then defense lawyers in the second location started entering a flurry of objections as the state tried to press on with its case.

The request for genetic testing appeared to be a way for officials to establish the family relationships between the children, many of whom appear to be half-brothers and half-sisters, and the adults involved.

"It is a huge logistical problem today," said Tom Vick, a lawyer from Weatherford, Tex., and member of the Access to Justice Commission created by the Texas Supreme Court who helped secure volunteer lawyers to represent the 416 children.

Thursday’s hearing was the first time the state has attempted to present evidence since it persuaded Judge Barbara Walther of Tom Green County to sign an emergency order two weeks ago giving the state custody of the children on the basis of a telephone call from a girl who said that she was a 16-year-old and that she had been raped and beaten by her 50-year-old spiritual husband.

The girl said that she had already had a child with the man and that she might be pregnant again. Under Texas law, children under 16 cannot get married.

After the raid, during which the Department of Child Protective Services took away all the children from the 1,700-acre Yearning for Zion Ranch, authorities searched the buildings on the property, taking documents and computer hard drives as possible evidence.

Since then, the two sides have engaged in what has amounted to a propaganda war.
Members of the polygamous group, calling itself the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, denied that any abuse took place and said the state is prosecuting them because of their faith. They said the remote ranch, with its log cabin-style houses and white temple, is simply a refuge from a hostile and sinful world.

A lawyer representing some of the families questioned whether the girl who reportedly made the original complaint even exists. "Not only have they not found her, but no one around here seems to know who she is, or where it came from or what it’s about,” said the lawyer, Jim Bradshaw of Salt Lake City. “It appears to be created out of thin air."

Janet, a woman at the raided compound in Eldorado, Tex., who declined to give her last name, asserted, “We don’t know who she is."

Because many of the children have similar names and were reluctant to talk to state authorities, family relationships were difficult to sort out. Officials first confiscated all the cellphones held by the children and mothers who went with them to shelter to prevent communication with outsiders. Later, they separated the mothers from children older than 6 in hopes of getting them to talk without a parent in attendance.

Because more than 350 lawyers are involved in the case, many on a voluntary basis, the county courthouse was too small to accommodate them and the members of the church who wanted to attend the hearing. That is why the live video feed was set up at the nearby city hall.

Some lawyers said they expect all sides to make group arguments, rather then individual ones. Nevertheless, some predicted that it would be another day before Judge Walther would decide whether to keep the children in state custody or allow them to return to their homes. [NY Times]

Tamar Manasseh Is Poised To Be One Of The First Black Female Rabbis In The Nation

"As if African-American women don't have enough challenges already, why would you want to go ahead and do something like this?" Tamar Manasseh says, asking the question that others have posed. "You don't make the decision to do it. It kind of comes to you."

The Chicago-born mother of two has four years to go in the five-year rabbinic master's program at the African-American-founded Israelite Academy. Raised by her mother in the Jewish faith since youth, Manasseh, 30, is a lifelong member of Beth Shalom B'Nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation.

The congregation, which is largely black, was founded in 1915 and moved to its current location -- the former Lawn Manor Hebrew Congregation on South Kedzie in Marquette Park -- in 2004, from the Southeast Side.

But she faces challenges, Funnye says. Among them: critics in the black Jewish community. Funnye says many of his colleagues are against women being ordained. Manasseh and her family say she has been dealing with naysayers her whole life.

"She did face some challenges," says her mother, Everloyce McCullough, who "reverted" from Catholicism to Judaism before Manasseh was born. "I don't think that she ever said, 'I don't want to do this.' But it was difficult for her, and we talked through it, and she managed to do some introspection. And she realized that this is who she is, and this is where she belongs."

'Fought to defend who I was'

Still, especially as a teenager, it was hard to blend in as a black Jew.

"At some point, every kid feels like they're a freak," Manasseh says, "but it makes so much sense to me now.

"I couldn't wear my star of David because it was too gang-related," she says, noting that the religious symbol was also the sign of the Gangster Disciples gang. "I've never understood that. Sometimes, people will still kind of look at me funny."

Continued with the Sun Times piece...

White Mainstream Media Gets It Wrong About The Black Church, And Don't Even Get Me Started About Rev. Jeremiah Wright

Not So Fast On Making Brotherman The Bogeyman

With the continued hand-wringing over the "explosive, controversy" remarks Jeremiah Wright made on the pulpit to a chorus of "Amens" and "Preach Pastor," a backlash of humongous proportions is beginning to surface.

The sermons courtesy of Youtube by Senator Barack Obama's former pastor have critics charging that the US mainstream media have distorted Wright's comments, failed to understand the African American church, and sought to punish the Democratic Party presidential hopeful through "guilt by association" while ignoring equally incendiary remarks made by white clergy on the religious right.

At the center of the storm that engulfed Barack Obama's presidential campaign is his spiritual mentor, the reverend who once presided over Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago's south side. Someone who married Barack and Michelle Obama and who baptized his two little girls.

Wright's comments prompted Obama to give a groundbreaking speech on race in the United States - the first time in decades that this issue has been addressed by a candidate for the presidential nomination. In the speech, Obama said he rejected Wright's more inflammatory statements, but refused to disown his longtime spiritual advisor.

Among the former US Marine's remarks: The government gives them [African Americans] the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike [felony] law and then wants us to sing "God Bless America". No, no, no, Goddamn America, that's in the Bible for killing innocent people. Goddamn America for treating our citizens as less than human. Goddamn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme.

We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans and now [post 9/11] we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back into our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost.

Both have other pastors been given a free pass? Dr George Hunsinger of Princeton University, an ordained white Presbyterian minister, believes the mainstream US media has distorted Wright's remarks.

"I think we are looking at some basic questions of fairness," he told Inter Press Service. "Is it really fair to take a minister's remarks, no matter how provocative or ill-advised, out of context and to broadcast them incessantly, as if they were the only thing that minister ever said or believed? What purposes are served by this sort of propaganda?"

Another prominent theologian, Reverend Martin Marty of the University of Chicago Divinity School, said he "does not excuse some of the indefensible comments of Wright that have now been bludgeoned into our consciousness to the exclusion of all else.

But he says, "The four s's charged against Wright - segregation, separatism, sectarianism and superiority - don't stand up." He said Trinity "has made strenuous efforts to help black Christians overcome the shame they had so long been conditioned to experience. People do not leave Trinity ready to beat up on white people; they are charged to make peace."

In his March 18 speech, Obama called on the country to begin a national conversation on race and ethnicity. Most polling data suggest that the Wright controversy has not damaged Obama's presidential bid.

But Harold Ickes, a senior advisor to Senator Hillary Clinton, his competitor for the Democratic Party nomination, is quoted as saying that the Clinton campaign would use it as a way of persuading party insiders - known as superdelegates - that Obama is not electable. And this is why Hillary is losing and has completely lost any hope of connecting with African American voters.

Meanwhile, theologians in Texas expressed support for Wright at a symposium last weekend on the "State of the Black Church". Dr Stacey Floyd-Thomas, associate professor of ethics and director of black church studies at the Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, said, "What is eminently clear is the degree to which the black church is still largely misunderstood and routinely caricatured in US popular culture."

In contrast to the Wright-Obama furor, criticism of right-wing clergy has been muted or nonexistent. For example, Mike Huckabee, a former candidate for the Republican nomination for president and an ordained Baptist minister, has said, "I got into politics because I knew government didn't have the real answers, that the real answers lie in accepting Jesus Christ into our lives ..."

Also attracting little attention in the US mainstream press are endorsements by prominent conservative clergy of the presumptive Republican nominee for president, Senator John McCain of Arizona. One of them, Reverend John Hagee, has said Roman Catholicism is "A Godless theology of hate that no one dared try to stop for a thousand years." He said that the Catholic religion has "produced a harvest of hate". Hagee has confirmed that McCain sought his endorsement. McCain has said he was proud to have Hagee's support.

Another prominent McCain supporter, Reverend Rod Parsley, has said, "America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion [Islam] destroyed, and I believe September 11, 2001, was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore." (Inter Press Service)

Jesus Take The Wheel: Pastor Creflo's Got Some Esplaining To Do!

Creflo Dollar Fails to Meet Tax Inquiry Deadline

Obama Wins Backing of 9/11 Commission Co-Chairman
Obama Casts Race Between Him, McCain Officially Wins Texas
Technology And The Miseducation of The Black Church
Lou Dobbs on Condoleezza Rice: Cotton... What?
Landmine Victims Star in Angola Pageant

Zimbabwe President Mugabe's Exit Now Less Likely

CNN's 'Black in America' Opens with a Look Backward
Black South Africans Optimistic About Future
Jamaican Charged with Trying to Board Plane with Bomb Parts
Diddy Signs Singer Janelle Monae to Bad Boy

40 Years Post King, Is This The Promise Land?

Are Religious Folks Riding Dirty, Or Is God Really In The Pulpit?

Praise The Lord... Just Not At Church!

Another year, another Easter.My, my, my, how I've spiritually evolved. After three years of not attending church -getting over the stuff I had come to know as church drama - I had had enough!

I chose to boycott church.

In those three years, I considered myself to be on a spiritual sabbatical. I took out the middle man I knew to be church. I went to church maybe 4 times in three years. I especially made it a point not to go on Easter and Christmas. I didn't want to be another hypocrite. However, there was a method to my madness.

Don't stop, keep going with MY BOYCOTT OF CHURCH AND MY EASTER BONNET

WHAT???? WILL SMITH AND JADA PINKETT, THE NEW FACE OF SCIENTOLOGY!

Are Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Kimora Lee Simmons the new celebrity faces of Scientology? The case is certainly made in “Scientology Under Siege,” Radar magazine’s April cover story.

In the piece, the magazine said, “The Church has also set its sights on African Americans, opening up a center in Harlem in 2003 and making a strong play for Hollywood supercouple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett.”

Despite a fervent denial from Smith’s rep—“I can tell you with 100 percent certainty this is not true”—sources close to Smith earlier told this column that the actor definitely is becoming a member of the religion. “He’s been getting more and more involved (in Scientology),” said one source. “And it isn’t just him, it’s definitely Jada, too.”
“It’s not so much that anyone is upset that Will is becoming a Scientologist,” the source added after seeing a copy of the nine-page Radar piece. “It’s that as he becomes more involved, you’d think he’d sort of help fly the flag with Tom (Cruise), who seems to only get a bad rap for it, while Will does this and comes through just fine.”
As for Kimora Lee Simmons, the Radar piece makes the case for including her among the ranks of celebrity Scientologists. The magazine points to a 2006 gathering where Scientology leader David Miscavige “spoke glowingly of Kimora Lee Simmons’ efforts to distribute a personalized edition of Hubbard’s “The Way to Happiness,” featuring her image on the cover, to school kids in New Jersey.” Simmons’ rep said that the designer/model is not a Scientologist.

Total Credit for this story and for more of the story: By Courtney Hazlett
The Scoop.

HAVING MARITAL PROBLEMS? JUANITA BYNUM HAS ALL THE ANSWERS... JUST NOT FOR HERSELF!

Bishop Thomas Weeks Needs Jesus To Take The Wheel... NOW!!!

I am absolutely convinced that Bishop Thomas Weeks is determined to run his entire empire into the ground. Weeks, who allegedly beat his wife, televangelist Juanita Bynum, last summer in an Atlanta hotel parking lot, has written a book, "What Love Taught Me," about his prophetess. How stupid can this man of God Be???

Last Monday, Weeks appeared on the Tom Joyner show to announce the book; however, 48 hours later Weeks decided not to distribute it until "many years from now." Why would anyone attend worship services where Weeks was providing spiritual guidance??? Thank goodness he came to his senses, and apologized for writing the book and other things in an online video. Check out the video at http://whatlovetaughtme.com/.

Searching On The Internet For A Vision From God About Your Life? Look No Further!

By Cousin Kim

Some people spent this past summer vacationing to tropical locales. Some worked straight through the summer and are working through fall just holding on until Christmas vacation.I spent the summer taking a course called Visioning.

No it's not what you think. I did not sit around for five weeks imagining all the material things I wanted. Instead, I spent five weeks learning to allow God to reveal to me His vision for my life.

So much was revealed to me, that I enrolled in the course for an additional eight weeks this fall.So what is the difference between visualization and visioning? Visualization is about putting your imprint or ideas of what you want into the Universe. Visioning is about allowing the Universe/God to put Its imprint on you. Visioning is an inspired process. It is much like being an overhead projector for God. You do not control the images or ideas that are placed in you, you simply receive them and then choose to live the vision.How do we open up and allow God to use us like an overhead projector? First, you must become still. Center yourself in God recognizing your oneness with Her. Next...

Continue reading Visualization Versus Visioning>>>

Outraged Black Sudanese Crowds Go Ape Over A Teddy Bear Being Named Muhammad By White British Teacher

These Folks Want The Woman's Head... Literally!

Thousands of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and knives, protested Friday outside the presidential palace in Khartoum, demanding the execution of a British teacher convicted of insulting Islam for allowing her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

In response to the demonstration, teacher Gillian Gibbons was moved from the women’s prison near Khartoum to a secret location for her safety, her lawyer said.

The protesters streamed out of mosques after Friday sermons, as pick-up trucks with loudspeakers blared messages against Gillian Gibbons, the teacher who was sentenced Thursday to 15 days in a women’s prison where the regime is extremely harsh by Western standards. Gibbons, 54, escaped a sentence of 40 lashes after apologizing to the court for any offense she had caused.

MSNBC has the details, including video

Heard In The Church Parking Lot: Black Pastors Are Not The Only Ones Suffering

Hey Pastor, Where's Your Bentley?

1500 pastors leave the ministry each month. 4,000 churches begin each year. But 7,000 close each year.That's a deficit of 3,000 churches each year! 50% of all pastors marriages end in divorce. 70% of all pastors constantly fight depression. 80% of pastors feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastor.

50% of pastors are so discouraged by their role as pastor that they would leave the ministry today if the could. 70% of pastors do not have a close friend, a confidant, or a mentor. 80% of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry in the first five years. 90% of pastors say that their seminary of Bible school training did only a fair to poor job in preparing them for the ministry. 85% of pastors said that their greatest problem is that they are sick and tired of dealing with problem people such as: disgruntled elders, deacons, worship leaders, worship teams, board members, and associate pastors.

75% of Pastors are bound by Internet pornography. 90% of pastors said that the hardest thing about ministry is dealing with uncooperative people. 90% of pastors said the ministry was completely different than they thought it would be when they entered it. 70% of pastors felt God called them in to the ministry before their ministry began, but after only 3 years of ministry now only 50% of pastors believe that God had anything to do with calling them into the ministry. 80% of pastors wives wish their husbands would choose another profession. A majority of pastors wives said the most destructive thing to ever happen to their lives was the day their husband entered the ministry.

Would you want to be the Apostle Paul's armorbearer? How about a member in his church? Or would you ask where's his blessing? Where's his favor? Where's his Bentley? Where's his mansion? Where's his book deal? Where's his church's CD music project? Where's his TBN television broadcast? Where's your annual who's who conference? Too many so called Christians would never have the Apostle Paul as their pastor, because today the so called Church sees the things that the Apostle Paul experiences as a sign of weakness!

Why? Suffering ain't chic and it certainly ain't easy. The Apostle Paul was put in jail for his ministry. He was beaten up for his ministry more times than he could count. He was at death's door time after time, because people were trying to kill him and his ministry. He was beaten five times with the thirty-nine lashes for his ministry. He was beaten by Roman rods three times and pummeled with rocks once for his ministry. He was shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day for his ministry. His ministry was a hard ministry. He had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes, he was at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those he thought were his brothers in Christ.

He knew drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, being blasted by the cold, and naked to the weather. And after all that, he had to face the daily pressures and anxieties of church folk.

This Thanksgiving be thankful for your pastors and do your best before the Lord to make their jobs easier, not harder. [Source]

Juanita Bynum's $4.5 Million Dollar Home Going, Going, Gone! Did The Prophetess See It Coming?

The New Face Of Homelessness

In the latest legal drama involving nationally known Pentecostal evangelist Juanita Bynum, making headlines after alleging she was beaten by her estranged husband, Thomas Weeks, now her $4.5M South Georgia compound is scheduled to be auctioned off next month.

Ware County tax commissioner Steve Barnard filed a lien against the 23.6-acre property owned by Juanita Bynum Ministries on June 7, citing failure to pay $32,007.56 in 2006 property tax. According to the lien, a $3,200 penalty and $2,240 in interest is also owed. Bynum's publicist, Amy Malone, said Tuesday that Bynum had no comment on the tax bill or the planned auction.

Barnard said the property, on St. Bernard Trail near Waycross, will be sold at auction on Nov. 6 on the steps of the Ware County Courthouse. The auction will be canceled if Bynum Ministries, which still has ownership, pays the full amount before that date, he said. Bynum's Waycross-based ministry bought the property for $4.5 million last year, according to Barnard.

He said there is a 7,487-square-foot house, a 6,748-square-foot house and a 1,366-square-foot house on the property. Bynum lives in one of the homes, he said.

Barnard said someone from Bynum's office called him last month, "wanting to know if they could set up a payment plan, and I told them if she sent me $25,000, I'd take it out of the [Nov. 6] sale, and she'd have 60 days to pay the balance." That partial payment was supposed to be made by Sept. 28, Barnard said.

"I never received anything, and then last week, I received a check for $5,000 and someone from her organization called and wanted to know if we got the check," Barnard said. "I said, well, we got a check for $5,000 that was supposed to have been $25,000, and they wanted to know if that would take it out of the sale and I told them, no."

This Weeks Edition Of Ghetto Rapper Gone Bad Stars The Incredibly Talented Lil Wayne

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Former Radio One Controller Alleges Payola

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Rare Abolitionist Poem Discovered

Military Sees Continued Decline in Black Enlistees

Why Are All the Models White?

Barack Obama, Social Networking King

Jackson: Police Acting Like 'Gestapo' in Chicago Projects

Don King Calls for Second 'Rumble in the Jungle'

Paula White Is Handling Her Split From Her Husband And Pastor Well, But Juanita Bynum Needs A New Media Strategy

The Pastor Randy And Paula White Divorce: Lessons From The Pulpit

What sometimes seems like a case of the dueling divorcing female evangelists, last week it was Paula White's turn to appear on TBN since the announcement of her divorce. Like Prophetess Juanita Bynum - who also calls Bishop T.D. Jakes a mentor - TBN was the first stop for White after the very public announcement of her divorce from Randy White with whom she served as co-pastor of their Without Walls International Church in Tampa, Florida.

For me, if Juanita Bynum "hit it out of the park" with her appearance on TBN, Paula White "hit the game-winning home run" with hers. She was amazing!

Interviewed by contemporary Christian music artist, Carman, White sat poised and humbled as she communicated the power of her spiritual life which she credited with keeping her strong during this very challenging time for rarely is the loss of a marriage ever easy.

Upon first coming on to the program, Carman referred to her as a life coach as well as a minister of the gospel. I found the usage of this secular characterization interesting, yet powerful. I enjoy seeing people evolve in their gifts. White's powerful preaching and teaching cannot be denied.

What I also found interesting was...

This sistah has so much more to say>>>

Web Traffic About Juanita Bynum Increases As Bishop Thomas Weeks Tries To Stall Divorce Proceedings

Juanita Bynum Stories Only Second To Weather

When It Comes To Web Searches

While the mainstream media continues to pay scant attention to the explosive domestic violence allegations involving popular televangelist Juanita Bynum and her husband Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III, black bloggers and savvy Internet users can't seem to get enough of the salacious details and juicy tidbits floating around cyberspace about the high-profile ecumenical couple.

In viewing the seach patterns of one million users during the week of August 25th, the percentage of folks looking for stories about Bynum and Weeks placed second, and it was the number one story on Google Trends. Last week, the story continued to remain in the top ten.

In the latest details to emerge over the controversy, Bishop Weeks still holds out hope that he and his wife can reconcile. In a statement released today by his attorney, Weeks said,“If that is not possible, I am committed to working things out amicably and will only litigate as a very last resort,”

Weeks hired family law firm Kessler, Schwarz and Solomiany on Aug. 22, hours after police responded to a call at an Atlanta hospital, where Bynum accused him of choking her, pushing her down, then kicking and stomping her in a hotel parking lot. Although Weeks is not planning to file for divorce, he was worried that his wife might, divorce attorney Louis Tesser said.“It is his strong preference to remain married,” Tesser said.

Reports of Bynum’s intention to file for divorce have been in the media for days, but no court documents to support the claim have surfaced in Gwinnett County, where the couple lived, or in Ware County, where Bynum has a home.Tesser and divorce attorney Randall Kessler said they have not been contacted by a divorce attorney on Bynum’s behalf.

“If she has hired an attorney for a potential divorce, we invite her and her attorney to meet with us privately whenever they like,” Weeks’ statement ends.Bynum said earlier this week that she wanted to go from being a victim of domestic violence to an advocate.“I believe domestic violence will be my new mantle,” Bynum said during a news conference.

Weeks is charged with aggravated assault and making terroristic threats.As a condition of his bond, he is not allowed to have contact with Bynum, and so has not been able to attempt to reconcile with his wife.“He would if he could,” Kessler said. [AP]

IT'S OVAH! JUANITA BYNUM DIVORCES THOMAS WEEKS!!!

Move Over Shaq, Juanita Wants To See Judge Mablean In Divorce Proceedings Against Her Pastor

Saying she could marry him twice but this one is over, "The Prophetess" has poo-pooed the five year marriage to 41-year-old Thomas Weeks. Bynum told an Atlanta's Fox 5 that last month's alleged attack wasn't the first time the couple has had problems.

Bynum, 48, said she loves her husband but she is finished with what she called an abusive marriage. She confessed she thought the routine heated arguments in their marriage were normal initially.



She said she gave her attorney the go-ahead for divorce proceedings last week. Bynum said she will assist prosecutors with the aggravated assault case but she could not pass judgment on whether Weeks should go to jail. She believes he still has redeeming qualities.

Source

Here's what Thomas Weeks had to say!

Juanita "Face Of Domestic Violence" Bynum Had Her Chance To Speak, Now Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III Opens Up!

I appreciate the (crazy-ass) comments shared by my wife (talking about she's the face and name of domestic violence... please) on yesterday and likewise share my forgiveness towards her and wish her all the best (after I finish giving her one last beatdown).

I also have had time to reflect on the (liens, judgments, financial problems and other...) events of the last two weeks. And I would encourage all who have already judged me to be aware that there are two sides to every story (and trust me, ya girl "The Prophetess" ain't all that!).

Because I initially believed this was a private matter (between a batterer and his victim), I refrained from making any public statements about the situation. Even during the negative (albeit truthful and accurate) press coverage and media hype that has surrounded this case, my legal counsel has recommended that I (never) reveal my side of what happened that Tuesday night only at the appropriate time.

Nevertheless, one thing I would like to make very clear to all who will listen, is to share my sincerest apologies to the every Christian, and especially to the Global Destiny Church Family, Sons, Daughters and Partners for having to endure this ordeal (as to Juanita, to hell with her).

Because of the method in which this was handled just hours following the situation, it has not only hurt me (in the wallet), but has damaged the reputation of Christians around the world.

It is for this reason, that I continue to trust in God while the storm would try to engulf me. Finally, I'm asking every Christian to pray that God's will be done (and I be convicted before redemption and healing can begin).

Bishop Thomas Weeks III

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: Juanita Bynum FILES FOR DIVORCE, plans on being in Southern California Saturday for Barack Obama fundraiser at Oprah's house!

The Web 2.0 Version Of Evangelist Juanita Bynum: "Today, Domestic Violence Has A Face And A Name"

"I came here tonight to declare that I can bear it,

I can bear it, I can bear it."

Initially left feeling weak and helpless, national Pentecostal evangelist Juanita Bynum, 48, went public with her pain Tuesday, sharing yet another chapter in her tumultuous life story.

The tough-talking pastor, who has survived a divorce, a nervous breakdown and life on welfare, broke her silence two weeks after her second husband, Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III, 41, allegedly beat, stomped and choked her in a hotel parking lot. The two co-founded the Global Destiny International Center in Duluth, Georgia in 2006 but had recently seperated.

Weeks is out of jail on a $40,000 bond for the assault. He is due back in court later this week.

Bynum appeared Tuesday as a special guest on TBN's "Praise The Lord", a Christian cable talk show. On the program, Bynum said she had no bitterness toward her man and would not speak unkindly towards him.

"Nobody could give me enough money," she said. "As long as he's my husband I won't break that covenant."

Also on the show, the self-proclaimed "Prophetess" said the church would help people by preaching more about personal experiences such as her own.

"Today, domestic violence has a face and a name and it is Juanita Bynum," said the female pastor. Bynum said she was speaking about the incident Tuesday because she didn't want her fans or colleagues to view her as a "damsel in distress."

Bynum initially had planned her news conference at TBN but changed the location to the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead. She stood poised with her hands clasped in front of her, wearing baggy jeans and a pink Daytona Beach sweatshirt. A diamond wedding band sparkled — from her right hand.

Wed in an elaborate ceremony in 2002, Bynum would not speak about the future of her marriage to Weeks. "Relationships are what they are, [they] have their difficult moments," she said. "... This has changed my life forever," Bynum stated. "First, I want to go on record and say I forgive my husband and I wish him all of the best."

That's code for I'm outta there. Divorce papers are being drawn-up as we speak -- trust us!

Born in Chicago, Juanita Bynum was reared in the charismatic Church of God in Christ, a denomination that has a history of female evangelists. She married in her early 20s but within a few years divorced. After years of moving from being a beautician to a Pan Am flight attendant to joblessness and food stamps, she came into the Pentecostal ministry.

She gained popularity nationwide more than a decade ago for...

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