(MN: I got read the riot act by the editor at the Baltimore Sun. He told me to take the photo down since I didn’t get permission to use it. So I’m taking it down. I also asked him for permission to use it. No need to get beat up for doing something wrong. I like this picture more anyway.

Here’s the follow-on with the photograph. It will cost me $385 to use the photo. That ain’t gonna happen. Unless of course, you want to send some money to the “Keep Jamal’s Picture in the Posting Ministry. You know the address. Cash or certified checks only. )

Okay - I called this morning and put the machinery in motion. I’m going to see if I can get in to interview the Reverend Doctor Jamal-Harrison Bryant. I just left a message with his Executive Assistant, Ms. Brown.

I’m going to be interested in seeing where this goes. If he agrees to the interveiw, I’m really going to be interested in what he says.

If he agrees, I’ll post a set of questions I have for him.

Do any of you want to ask him anything? If so, send them in as comments or e-mail me (you know the address).

Jamal-Harrison Bryant | 166 Comments »

Given the average church goer’s aversion to doctrinal accuracy, I shouldn’t have been surpised by the shrieks of “No judgment!!!” from the theological flatliners when Melvin had the temerity to complain about James (Doctrine-Shmoctrine) Robison sharing the television platform with Creflo (God-said-gimme-your-last) Dollar. After all, by and large today’s church is nothing more than a sub-culture of the larger secular culture. In other words, we’re floating down the same river; we’re just riding on a different log.

Of course, we were called to be a COUNTER-culture, but examples of that have become as rare as a healing at a Benny Hinn rally. Who wants to be a part of the counter-culture when you can be a member of Club Newbirth or World Changers? What?! And give up the promise of a new BMW? Never!

So we should have realized that the religious pimps would soon be accepted into the religious mainstream just as has happened in the larger secular culture with Snoop Dogg, Heidi Fleiss, Ice-T,etc. These are all self-proclaimed pimps. But in the mainstream media they are being interviewed, given awards, rewarded with large sums of cash (or “Bling” as it says in my “White Man’s Guide To Street Cred”) as well as, incredibly enough, respectability. If Snoop Dogg can gain respectability, why WOULDN’T Creflo be able to? The church is just reflecting the total lack of discrimination shown by the world.

So, given the facts above, the question now is: Since Churchianity is floating down the same river as the world and paddling furiously in an effort to catch up with that culture, what’s next on the compromise horizon?

Personally, I can face nearly anything except a “Churchy” Paris Hilton.

Pulpit Pimps | 7 Comments »

I’m in the wrong business. One fellow pointed out that the way to make a fortune is by starting your own religion. L. Ron Hubbard died a gazillionaire as the head of Scientology. Jim Jones, uncontested bishop of the church of Guyana, dragged 900 souls and what little fortune they had, off the face of the earth with him. Even now there are people who are willing to pledge their fortunes and their undying loyalty to a man who believes there is a mother ship orbiting the Earth (I won’t mention any names, but his initials are Calypso Louie (aka Louis Farrakan)).

These religious leaders may be crazy. They may even be conniving and dishonest, not believing any of the things they themselves preach. But they are anything but stupid. Rather, they count on your stupidity. And the latest Expecter of Stupidity is a man by the name of Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, a man who claims to be Jesus Christ in His second coming. Just when you think people can’t get any stupider. (more…)

Pulpit Pimps | 13 Comments »

More on the Hornbuckle story.

Apparently, twelve years ago, one of the members of the Agape fellowship chose to stand up to Hornbuckle and call him on the activities he was later convicted for in court in Arlington Texas. The lone minister was the only one brave enough to call a philanderer a philanderer to his face. Of course, this guy was also willing to cut ties with the church based on the difficulties he had with the leadership.

The minister, Demetrius Carrier, along with three other fellows, told Hornbuckle he should step down as Pastor. You should note though, that he was the only one from inside the church who would act. (more…)

Pulpit Pimps | 18 Comments »

This is actually a response from Thorn to the Bloke/Blokette who kept on saying we shouldn’t judge, at all, about anything and that we should let God sort it out on the other side. I hope Thorn’s outrage comes through clearly enough. And as you read it, try to understand why I am so hard on the pimps and pimpettes who not only take your money, but take your hope in Christ, twisting it into a tawdry and cheap little trinket to hang from the rearview mirror of their spanking new Bentely.

I wasn’t under the impression that the Christ stood next to another TEACHER (who, mind you, was teaching contrary to the messages the Christ was teaching) and give that same teacher the nod of approval and dismiss their blatant heresy with a ‘well, we disagree on a point or two, but it’s all good.’ (more…)

Pulpit Pimps | 10 Comments »

Thanks again for keeping your eyes opened for me. Obviously I can’t be everywhere and see everything. The folks who read this blog have been a huge help both in uncoveing new information and keeping the site interesting. An example follows: (more…)

Pulpit Pimps | 25 Comments »

Doctrine and being surrounded by sound believers…

The Scripture-twisting comes pretty easy once you are amidst a group of people whose doctrine is skewed.

I was a Catholic……..rejected that nonsense by beginning to read the Bible for myself and had (by 8 or 9 years old) seen through it by the grace of God.

Went about my life growing in God, rejecting Hagin, Hinn, Bakker and the whole lot. THEN……..met some folks whom I would become close to over the next several years. Became “one of the gang”, and a part of their larger community of friends. Oh…….they were all WOF, BTW. (more…)

Pulpit Pimps | 5 Comments »

Let’s hope he means it.

Christian Living | 48 Comments »

Oh…my…gosh! I flipped my phone open this morning and what did I see but a text message straight from the hand of the Right Reverend Jamal-Harrison Bryant himself!

So does this guy know Anthony Robbins? ‘Cause the message didn’t sound a whole lot different than something Mr. Motivational Speaker would have said.

Maybe I’m being overly critical. Maybe I expect too much from a man whose followers claim he got a PhD over the internet. Maybe I’m silly to expect a pastor to somehow address something more significant than:

The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.
Pastor Jamal

That’s it. Nothing else.

Oh. Here’s a screen shot so you won’t think I’m lying.

Couldn’t he have said something like “The best way to live is by dying to self”, or something at least kind of spirtual minded?

I told one of my sons about this and I can still hear him gnashing his teeth because he didn’t think of it.

I might, or might not bother to post the new one tomorrow. Oh, and somebody out there remind me to cancel my subscription before I get billed $4.99 for this. I could do better spending the money at Dover Downs rather than on this bogus “ministry.” I at least have a chance of winning at the track. And I’d keep the jockeys employed.

Jamal-Harrison Bryant | 42 Comments »

By the way, here is the ad for the “Text-a-Pastor” program over at the Temple. Click on the thumbnail and see the full ad. It’s an opportunity to get a daily quote from “The Pastor.”

Click on the image to see the full-sized come-on. And remember, you have to pay for this service.

I’m still waiting for my power from Jamal this morning. So far I’ve got bupkis

Pulpit Pimps | 2 Comments »

I’m beginning to think the Right Reverend Jamal-Harrison Bryant is losing his touch with reality. Either that or he wants to make sure he is the center of his congregation’s world. Neither of those options bodes too well for the people at the Empowerment Temple of Doom.

The Right Reverend now has a new campaign - get a daily text message from him. I guess I’m really kind of confused. What kind of power do I get when I text Jamal to 50555? While I can surely applaud the use of technology to stay in touch, this appears to be more of a case of using technology to keep people tied to you. Not quite the same concept.

What’s wrong with the low-tech option of encouraging people to read and study their Bible every day so they can get a word from - here’s a novelty - God.

Instead, we can stand by each day for some inane pablum from the Right Reverend.

In a fit of foolishness, I signed up for the service. Let’s see what comes up.

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

Oh wait! I just got a response from the Temple. The message reads:

Reply with YES to confirm your 7 day free trial of Got Power? Up to 1 message/day. U will b billed 4.99/mo after ur trial. Optout anytime w/STOP.

Is it just me, or is the Right Reverend saying that it is going to cost me 4.99 a month to get power?

Okay - I sent the YES response. And I got back the following:

Thanks 4 joining Got Power? by Jamal Bryant. Enjoy the next 7 days of power as you experience Supernatural success. Expect the unexpected. 2 optout rply STOP.

He’s charging these people to get messages from him! You have to wonder how much of a cut he is getting from each of the text messages.

Here are a couple of screen shots of my very first message from the Right Reverend.

This man, though lacking the polish and pure smoothosity of T. Dexter, is a brilliant marketer. He is to be admired. Seeing something well done is always a pleasure.Of course, I wouldn’t want to be standing near him when the earth opens up and swallows him.

I give you a photo of my power message when I get one tomorrow.

Jamal-Harrison Bryant | 5 Comments »

Al (a reader out there) is an evil man who doesn’t have enough sense to not touch God’s Anointed. He had the nerve to suggest I show this video about Marjoe, a preacher from the late fifties and sixties. (I just thought I’d put that in in case someone out there wanted AGAIN to tell me that I should not touch God’s anointed)

But I do want to warn you. If you are into people like Juanita Bynum, Creflo, Eddie Long, and my main man Robert Tilton, you shouldn’t watch this video. If you watch it, you will not have much of an excuse to continue to defend the pimps and pimpettes who continue to live off of your desire to be obedient to God. In fact, you will begin to see (if you haven’t already) that the pimps operating today are doing nothing more than copying the use of a “Jesus Veneer” to take your money and have you thank them for taking it. Listen to Marjoe and see if you hear familiar patterns in his presentation. Listen to what he himself said he did and see if you recognize the mechanics of the presentation of any of the current crop of pimps and hucksters.

The only difference I can see between Marjoe and Hinn is the fact that Hinn is a much better dresser.

Good work for mentioning this video again Al.

Pulpit Pimps | 61 Comments »

Here’s a quick reference to an interesting story out of Dallas - yeah, the city of T. Dexter and a couple of other hustlers. It’s about Bishop Terry Lee Hornbuckle of the Agape Christian Fellowship. A tip o’ the hat to Duke for the info on the article.

The bishop is in a bit of trouble with the law. He’s on trial for assaulting a couple of women, sexually assaulting them. Normally I wouldn’t cover this story. He might be found innocent. But there is a paragraph buried down in the story that I thought was kind of interesting.

The defense lawyer, while trying to defend the good bishop said:

Mr. Hornbuckle’s defense attorneys readily concede their client is guilty of a host of venal sins: hubris, arrogance, lying, dope-smoking and serial infidelity.

None of which is a serious crime. His accusers, the attorneys say, were willing partners in consensual sex who are now trying to cash a big check with a lawsuit based on trumped-up criminal charges.

Did you catch that? They and the bishop admit that this man is guilty of lying, dope smoking, and serial infidelity. Serial infidelity , that means he has been unfaithful to his wife on many more than one occasion. Basically, his defense is “I’m not a rapist. I’m a philanderer.” I guess that’s much better. The obvious question is why is this man a pastor? The second most obvious question is why are the 500 people who stayed after he went to jail still following this clown?

Of course I guess the final question one should ask is: Why is Renee, Terry’s arm candy and co-pastor hanging with this dude? If she is the pastor, even a “co” one, shouldn’t she have told this bozo to step down and get counseling? After all, he admits to lying, dope smoking, and serial infidelities.

Does anyone think there is something wrong here? Do any of you expect to hear T. Dexter or others say anything about this couple? Do some of you out there want to try to defend this clown?

Give it a shot. I might have missed something.

Pulpit Pimps | 98 Comments »

John Coleman has been warning you about Billy Graham (yes, Billy Graham the premier evangelist who had been preaching the Gospel for over fifty years). I’m afraid I have to join him in sounding the alarm.

But before you pop a vein, I am not equating Graham to the usual subjects of this blog. Graham has not lived an opulent lifestyle. He has not been involved in scandals (sexual, financial, or otherwise), and he has not been involved with men and women who preach ridiculous God-wants-you-rich-if-you-give-me-money doctrines.

However, at what is arguably the end of a mighty career in evangelism, Mr. Graham is now in danger of following the examples of several great men of the Bible. It appears that Mr. Graham, for whatever reason, is going to leave this earthly coil, having denied the essence of the Gospel - that Jesus is the only way to God. And that is a sad thing. The full article is here (clcik here). The following is an exerpt from the last page

A unifying theme of Graham’s new thinking is humility. He is sure and certain of his faith in Jesus as the way to salvation. When asked whether he believes heaven will be closed to good Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus or secular people, though, Graham says: “Those are decisions only the Lord will make. It would be foolish for me to speculate on who will be there and who won’t … I don’t want to speculate about all that. I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his son for the whole world, and I think he loves everybody regardless of what label they have.” Such an ecumenical spirit may upset some Christian hard-liners, but in Graham’s view, only God knows who is going to be saved: “As an evangelist for more than six decades, Mr. Graham has faithfully proclaimed the Bible’s Gospel message that Jesus is the only way to Heaven,” says Graham spokesman A. Larry Ross. “However, salvation is the work of Almighty God, and only he knows what is in each human heart.”

It becomes more and more obvious that no one is immune to wandering off course. If nothing else, this development should make each of us humble ourselves before God. If the evangelistic lion can come to the conclusions he has, this close to death, what could happen to each of us?

Am I a clever fellow able to put a doctrinal argument together in a convincing manner? Sure. Is that any guarantee that I can’t somehow screw up? Not at all. In fact, seeing what has happened to Graham (and some other folks from further back) I pray everyday that He guide me and keep me from wandering down some idiotic doctrinal dead end.

I trust the rest of you (including all of you who are so sure I’m going to hell and your pimps speak for God) are doing the same thing.

Christian Living | 10 Comments »

This posting is not going to be like most of the others. I would like for you to discuss the following question:

Is Holy Hip Hop a valid expression of Christian worship and a valid tool for evangelizing?

I have heard some fairly passionate views on both sides. This is an opportunity to discuss it.

If you would, please present your argument from scripture. Don’t mindlessly repeat a verse. For instance, I’m sure someone will come out of the gate saying we are supposed to be in the world and not of the world. And another will say that we are not to be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

If you give those verses, also discuss what it means to be conformed or transformed, what it means to be in and not of. For instance, I wear clothes as a way of conforming to the world (and to keep from grossing out the general populace). I sent my kids to school as a conformation. Are these wrong?

Give an answer, not just a knee jerk reaction.

And have fun.

Christian Living | 55 Comments »