Grid sent me a link to a Yahoo news article. Click on the image below, read the article. Then come back to this posting. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

The American “branch” of the Episcopal Church wants to make it okay for practicing homosexuals to be ordained and to perform weddings , or at least prayers of blessings , for same sex couples. However, some people within the United States, and the rest of the Episcopal Church world-wide, have told the Americans that this will not be. (more…)

Pulpit Pimps | 166 Comments »

Ladies and gentlemen, this morning, when I logged onto the Pimp, there were over three hundred Spam messages. I had to look at each one of them to make sure they weren’t comments from you, the readers. Twenty minutes later, there were another 12 spam messages. Alas, I am the victim of that which is called a “Google Bomb.” And it appears only to be getting worse.

Unless someone out there has a better idea, I have decided to implement a log-in procedure. Don’t worry, it doesn’t cost anything, and you only have to log-in if you want to make a comment. This shouldn’t affect any of you lurkers at all, and should only require the more lugubrious of readers to actually type your name (it doesn’t have to be your real name) once. YOur browser should take care of the log-in after that.

Any ideas?

Pulpit Pimps | 19 Comments »

I love YouTube.com. How else would I be able to get a hold of stuff like this? To the readers who pay attention and send in the links: Thanks!

Would any of you care to tell me just what the Bishop said that is going to help me to actually LIVE the Christian life? Truth be told, it’s bozos like this who, over the years, made it possible for the pimps to come in and scoop up all the sheeple.

After hearing this “sermon” what, exactly, does the believer have to fend off the wolves?

I’d hate to be the armor bearer who had to clean the microphone off after the sermon. (more…)

Pulpit Pimps | 97 Comments »

Who would have believed that there are tornadoes in Uganda? I, for one, thought tornadoes only occurred in the mostly northern and southern temperate zones, generally not much further south than, say, Georgia. But apparently I’m wrong. Several months ago, a tornado hit Uganda, near Kampala, the country’s capitol.

One touched down there. Really!

Okay, I can sense that you don’t believe me. (more…)

Jamal-Harrison Bryant | 126 Comments »

Okay ladies and gentlemen, here’s how it’s going to go. This posting is dedicated to the question of Tithing. Any one who wants to comment, even repeat comments they made earlier on a different posting, can comment here.

But here are the rules for the comments:

1. You must read the essay I wrote and have posted under the essays link. Click here to download the essay.

2. In your comment you must either tell us why something in the essay is wrong, misinterpreted, or biased or present something not previously discussed in the essay. Quoting Jesus and saying that this proves that the New Testament says we have to tithes is not doing so. I discuss the New Testament in the essay. Instead, try to tell me why my position on Jesus’ words and the assertion that they were under the Old Testament and the Law is wrong - from Scripture.

3. Provide Scripture in you response. Do not use such phrases as “anyone can see…”, “it’s obvious that…” or other comments and statements that assume there is support from Scripture. Provide the support. And make sure I haven’t already addressed it in the essay. (more…)

Christian Living | 112 Comments »

Miranda is the man who would be God. He’s not unlike Copeland, Cref, and Price, simply more extreme in what he does.

You know Miranda. He’s the one in Florida who says he is Jesus Christ. Now he also says he is God. Take a look here.
Tweet found the article for me. Of course Miranda says he’s the anti-Christ and his followers are tatooing themselves with the number “666″. This bozo is almost as confused as Cref, Kenny, and that linguistically challenged, Copeland lap dog, Leroy “Money Comin’” Thompson. At least Miranda and his people know that Creciendo en Gracia (the name of the organization) are the enemy of Orthodox Christianity.

Your boys in the WoF organizations are partially to thank for this fellow and his ability to prosper. I say partially because clearly Satan, as the author of lies, is giving the bloke a leg up as well.

But back to the WoFfers. They have done such a complete job of smearing any connection between what the Bible says and what it means, that the average nominal Christian is too stupid to be able to say “Thus says the Lord,” about much of anything. And the rest are to mamby-pamby and greedy to be willing to say anything less than positive about the pimps and pimpettes they insist on throwing money at. (more…)

Pulpit Pimps | 20 Comments »

While you’re reading this, I want you to remember that this is the man after whom John K. Jenkins has chosen to pattern himself. Oh, and Independent Conservative provides a more in-depth analysis of T. Dexter’s shameless promotion of his book and shameful half-stepping in defense of Jesus Christ.

You may best remember T. Dexter Jakes as the man who said “The word AIDS is not in the Bible.” Or you may just remember him as saying “The word Trinity is not in the Bible.” Well, get ready, get ready, get ready! It could be that the next thing the Potentate of Pomposity is going to discover is that “Jesus is the Only Way” is not in the Bible. (Yeah, it may say there is no other name, etc, etc, et. But it doesn’t say Jesus is the only way.) (more…)

T. Dexter Jakes | 146 Comments »

Sure, they use “God”, “Bible”, and other religious words. And thankfully, there is no booty shaking.

Anyone care to comment?

Dr. Creflo Dollar, Pulpit Pimps | 211 Comments »

Ladies and gentlemen, a couple of months ago a writer was looking for people who have been involved with Empowerment Temple and would be willing to talk about their experience with the organization. Several of you were most gracious in coming forward, both to “defend” Mister Twister and to present the other side.

It seems this site is becoming something of a resource, both for information and for those seeking to research the site’s subjects. An author (no, it’s not me) is looking for people who have been involved with Word of Faith (WoF) churches and their evil twins, the mega-churches. Specifically, according to the correspondence we have exchanged, the author’s purpose is to

“…raise public awareness on the corruptions that are now in place, to identify why these corruptions are occurring, and to explore ways that the church can be revitalized. One of the author’s main points will be that the new prosperity preachers have no real, practical solutions to the spiritual, economic and social problems faced by the African-American community.”

As I said, the writer is looking for people who have been affected by the corruption. But the author is also looking for those who may have been sexually abused by some of the pimps, whether they are over a megachurch or a storefront. I do understand that for some of you, coming forward will be very difficult. But the writer will take every effort to respect your wishes for privacy and to approach your experience with sensitivity and care.

They are also interested in

“…people who used to actively champion one of these churches, but who later discovered the dark underbelly of how these churches are run.”

The author needs those of you who are interested in discussing your experience (women are the focus, but the interest is not in any way limited to women) to send an e-mail to Blackchurchwomen@aol.com.

This may be an opportunity for your voice to be heard on a much larger scale than this penny ante website. You’ll also be helping others escape the clutches of the pimps and pimpettes or even avoid their clutches altogether.

I suggest you contact the author. If you don’t wish to continue, there will be no pressure to do so.

The author will protect your identity.

Pray about it and see what God would have you do. I will likely re-post this article several times over the next couple of months.

Pulpit Pimps | 7 Comments »

Sometimes it’s so easy to pick apart John K. Jenkins’ sermons it’s almost unfair. It seems as if I am picking on a child who simply doesn’t know any better and can’t defend himself. Sometime though, the picking isn’t because of any grand error. SOmetimes, like today, it’s to make a general observation about the techniques some of the pimps use.

John, like Copeland and a host of others, tend to decide what they want to say and then insert into the Scripture the meaning they want it to have. That, of course, then controls the applications they can promote (usually things like taking care of the man of God, supporting the vision of the man of God, and bringing your money to the house of the man of God). It doesn’t matter that the meaning isn’t in there. They will, by various manipulations make it say what they want it to say. Creflo, for instance, uses the Amplified Bible, picking out the “amplifications” that support his heresies and his desires.

Some of them, like Jamal “Mister Twister” Bryant, make up stuff out of whole cloth, engaging in socio-relational flights of fancy, daring the audience to object to the twisting.

John, on the other hand, often picks out the words and definitions of the words that let him say what he wants to say. Sometimes they’re good things and sometimes not. But the common thread between Cref, Jamal, and John is their willingness to put their thoughts INTO Scripture rather than seeking to get God’s thoughts out of it. The fact that they feel comfortable doing this shows what I believe to be their contempt for the very people they are there to feed.

I was listening to one of John’s sermons this morning (Sunday on cable) as he preached on Martha and Mary. He had a lot of fluff in it, but one thing that caught my attention was a statement he made. He was telling us the story of Martha and Mary and the fact that Martha complained about Mary sitting around while Martha worked her tail off.

John quotes Jesus as saying “Martha you are careful and troubled about many things.” (Luke 10:41)

John then explained to us that he looked up that word “careful”. It turns out, according to him, that the word means to have an agenda. In other words, Martha had an agenda, a selfish, self-promoting agenda. John then went on to use that verse to fuss at people for having ulterior motives for doing things. You sing in the choir not because you want to praise God but because your agenda is to “get discovered.” You do good things for the wrong reasons. You do good things so you can get something. You have an agenda.

I know John, and I know how he likes to make things up. We won’t even talk about what he and the rest of the pimps did with the word “shabach.” And ask me to tell you someday about his method of identifying Godly music.

Anyway, after he made the statement about the meaning of the word “careful”, I went to my concordance and looked up the word “careful” for myself. Here’s what it said:

From Strong’s Greek Lexicon:

3309 μεÏ?ιμνάω [merimnao /mer·im·nah·o/] v. From 3308; TDNT 4:589; TDNTA 584; GK 3534; 19 occurrences; AV translates as “take thought” 11 times, “care” five times, “be careful” twice, and “have care” once. 1 to be anxious. 1A to be troubled with cares. 2 to care for, look out for (a thing). 2A to seek to promote one’s interests. 2B caring or providing for.

Notice that it does say, way down at the bottom of the list of uses, that the word can have the meaning of “…seeking or promoting one’s interest”. This is something that could be taken as “having an agenda.”

Let me say up front that John’s reproof was certainly valid. People should work for the Lord from a pure motive, not with the idea of growing a business, or moving up in the pecking order in the church structure, or making a name for themselves. The trouble is, his method for supporting a good thing did two things.

First, it did violence to the passage. He made the verse say what he wanted it to say. There is not much worse that a teacher or preacher can do while plying his trade. Once the teacher does that, he is no longer proclaiming the oracles of God, he is proclaiming his own oracles. He is no longer accurately presenting the pure milk of the word. Instead he is presenting rotten meat.

Second, he “helps” the congregation become that much more accustomed to accepting whatever he says as truth.

If any of you can, please show me from the surrounding text where you can get the idea that Martha had an agenda she was trying to implement. Is there any indication that Martha was trying to impress people with her culinary and housekeeping skills?

Jesus does tell Martha that she needs to listen to what He had to say. But try as I might, I can’t see in that section that Jesus was fussing at her for having her own agenda.

John made this and other statements, reading his meanings into the Scripture. The silly goose congregation simply followed along, not bothering to see if what he was saying was in fact so.

A word of advice: Any time a teacher tells you “in the Greek/Hebrew/Aramaic this word means…” take note and when you get home, look it up. If what he says isn’t supported by the tool, call him on it. It’s possible he made a mistake and you would be doing him a favor with the feedback. Remember, it’s not that hard to get this stuff right. And if the teacher/preacher is not willing to do even the easiest part of study and sermon/lesson preparation, it’s likely the person will eventually lead you astray. John Jenkins is an example of exactly that.

Of course, it’s also possible he was doing it on purpose, in which case you will be doing yourself a favor once you discover he is willing to make the Scripture say whatever he wants it to say.

Either way, you benefit. And either way, you develop a pimp-proof shell to help you safely navigate the currents of life and the parade of pimps.

John K. Jenkins, Sr., Pulpit Pimps | 79 Comments »

I’m thinking about getting one of those digital voice recorders so I can record the words “These people don’t care about you. You are just a market to them.” Then I can loop the recording so that it will repeat itself over and over again. Then I won’t have to begin a posting with those words ever again. But since I don’t have that digital recorder…

These people don’t care anything about you. You are just a market to them. A reader posted this comment last night.

Dear Boardmanudobi & Gridiron:

After reading both of your posts about the pimps preaching only from the Old Testament, I thought I would add a comment or two here as I also believe that there is some serious implications to this point.

My daughter moved to Charlotte, North Carolina back in December due to her Job moving her there. She visited a church there named “University Park Baptist Church”, known as “The Park” to the Charlotte Community.

My wife, daughter and little Grand-Son actually visited that church a couple of weeks ago and while they enjoyed the worship atmosphere tremendously, they noticed that the pastor spoke from the Old Testament.

Well, it just happens that I have several friends in that area due to the fact that I use to live in Columbia, South Carolina prior to moving to SouthernCalifornia. I’ve discovered that the Rev. Claude Alexander, the Senior Pastor at The Park primarily preaches from the Old Testament Books.

His church by the way is a large church of about 8,000 members, and his focus is primarily on “encouraging the people”, and not “burdening them down”. I actually e-mailed this brother and asked him why he only preaches from the O.T. and his reply was very defensive, shallow, and pretty much dishonest.

I’m convinced that he doesn’t want the people to have to face their sin, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the consequences of not repenting. While Charlotte is in “The Bible Belt”, please believe me when I tell you that the church folks there are “loose and wild”.

And any kind of sermon that would bring about conviction to their hearts, they wouldn’t care much for the person who is bringing that kind of message! Therefore, I don’t think its an accident that the pimps are only preaching from the O.T.

Blessings!

BT

Quite a coincidence really. I had been working on a posting about University Park Baptist Church. Today is probably as good a day as any to take it out for a drive.

Take a look at this image.

According to this (and “this” is from Cashflow’s site), Mr. Dollar is going to be speaking in Charlotte, NC. Click on the image and get the full information (again from Cashflow’s own site). After you take a look at it, come back here.

That’s right, Cashflow is going to be hosted in Charlotte by none other than the Rev. Claude Alexander and University Park Baptist Church. Click here to go to the World Changers’ site itself. I wouldn’t want you to think I’m making this stuff up.

Would any of you care to explain to me why Mr. Alexander is hosting Cashflow in Charlotte?

Let me rephrase that. We already have a strong suspicion of why he’d hosting him. Money very likely plays a large part in it. The question should be “If Mr. Alexander cares so much for the people for whom he is responsible, then why would he host a pimp like Cashflow?

And remember, this is after the Mase mis-adventure.

You people who attend University Park Baptist church , ask your deacons, elders, reverends, ministers, or maybe even the ushers why your pastor is hosting anything done by Cashflow. Ask them if they believe that Jesus suffered in hell for our sins. Ask them if they believe Jesus is the first born again man. And if the answer is “no” to either of these questions, ask them why they are supporting Cashflow’s appearance.

Doesn’t the Bible say we are to have nothing to do with those who preach another gospel (Gal 1:8; 2 John 9,10)? Certainly by hosting the conference, by plastering his name and the name of the church organization all over the airwaves, Mr. Alexander is doing precisely what the Bible clearly tells him not to do.

OH. And let me remind you that John (I really want to be a Big Dog) Jenkins hob knobs with Mr. Alexander as well. He spoke at this bozo’s church last year. Click here to see the posting.

These pimps and pimpettes don’t care about you. They see you as a market, a way of living a fabulous lifestyle without having to work for it (if you listen to most of their sermons, it’s clear they don’t work). They believe you are too stupid to actually read your Bibles. They know that the sheeple are willing to come in, shut their brains down, and give them as much money as they demand. And they demand a lot.

Still, I feel a little sorry for them. When they face Jesus Christ at the Bema seat they are going to have to give an account for what they have done, what they have said, and what they have failed to say. How many people have passed into hell deceived into thinking they were just fine. How many people are like Confused (the commenter from Mister Twister) and focus on what the bloke does and not what he says?

Pay attention and make sure you aren’t going down the exact same road as these clowns by thoughtlessly defending them.

Pay attention. Study your Bible. Be obedient to God’s word. Anything less is simply playing at church and wasting your time.

By the way, apparently as a way of following the template laid down by Fast Eddie, Mr. Alexander is bringing in Cornel West and Tavis Smiley to tell the church what it needs to do to have an impact in the Black community. Click here to see it.

Claude Alexander | 164 Comments »

The Right Reverend Jamal-Harrison Bryant, who, for the sake of brevity, I shall refer to as Mister Twister, broadcast one of his sermons a couple of weeks ago. The sermon was entitled “Better Late Than Never.”

Before I go on, let me point out that Mister Twister said some things that are certainly true. He said some things that no one in their right mind would ignore. However, having said that, Mister Twister also did great violence to Scripture.

Here’s a test for you. Read some of the statements Mister Twister makes about a portion of Scripture. It’s a parable. Read the statements and see if, based on those statements, you can identify the parable. We’ll do the same thing in another posting with a hatchet job he did on a character from the Old Testament. I’ll relate some of his statements and you tell me who he’s talking about.

The first one to come up with the correct answer will get an all expense paid trip to Charm City, an over night stay at one of Baltimore’s finest hotels, and a limousine ride to the Sunday service at Empowerment Temple. We’ll even give you a $20 bill to throw on the steps of the podium while Mister Twister is preaching.

Anyway, here’s what he said:

· You have to have what I call anointed arrogance. You can understand who you are when you understand whose you are.
· The church is nothing more than an orphanage , God says “When your family gave up on you I’ll take you!”
· You have to understand that you won’t be delivered until you have faith enough to go back to the place where you almost died; until you can face the same people who left your for dead.
· The son is going back to his father’s house, the place where he ran from; the place he didn’t like; the place that caused pain. He had to go back in order to be healed.
· The dad just didn’t understand that the son just wanted his approval and affection
· The father improved while the son was gone
· When the son left, the father just threw money at him
· The son woke up in a pig’s pen and said “I deserve better than this.”
· How would the prodigal son’ story have been different if the father had affirmed him before he left?

And to this last question I ask: How would the sermon have been different if Mister Twister had actually dealt with the text and its intent?

Those of you who guessed that this was a sermon loosely based on the Prodigal Son, you are correct.

Take a minute, go read the parable of the Prodigal Son. In fact, read not only the parable of the PS, but the others that were included in the series. I have the chapter shown below. It’s in Luke 15:1-24. And it says:
Luke 15:1-24 (NASB)

1 Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. 2 Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3
So He told them this parable, saying, 4 “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
8 “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 “When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ 10 “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” 11
And He said, “A man had two sons. 12 “The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. 13 “And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. 14 “Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. 15 “So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 “And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. 17 “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! 18 ‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” ‘ 20 “So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; 23 and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

Do any of you really think any of these parables has anything to do with father/son relationships? Or do you in fact see that the son is likened to Israel and the father to God? Or at a minimum, it’s talking about the willingness of God to forgive the sinner and restore him.

You have to work real hard to pour any of what Mister Twister says into the passage.

My point here is not that men should not establish a strong relationship with their children. And certainly I would agree that we should always encourage our sons and affirm them whenever possible. But to reduce this parable to nothing more than a lesson in father-son relationships strips it of most, if not all of its real mean and application, and yes - power.

Mister Twister has the son saying “I deserve better than this (living worse than the pigs he had to feed.) The parable shows the son saying “My father’s servants eat better than me. I will go to my father and ask if I can be one of his servants” This is anything but anointed arrogance. It is the humility God demands of us and that we can’t help but show if we understand who God is and what He has graciously done for us.

When the son gets back, he doesn’t claim the privileges of his sonship. Rather, he humbles himself and offers to be his father’s servant.

If indeed the father represents God in this story, how in the world does the father have room to improve? And what, in the text of the section of scripture implies that the father simply threw money at a son he didn’t care about?

Notice what the father in the parable does , he sees the son from afar and RUNS to him. He doesn’t stand there, arms crossed, tapping his foot and scowling as the son approaches. He runs to his son and hugs him.

According to Mister Twister, the father improved. In fact, it was apparently the father’s fault that the whoremongering little twit ran away to begin with. When the boy left, all the dad did was throw money after him. He didn’t seem to care that the boy was leaving. And he left without being affirmed.

Here’s my question: If Mister Twister can’t get something as simple as the parable of the prodigal son right, why should I expect him to get anything else right? Why should I expect him to be able to counsel me, or the poor souls stuck there at ET, from Scripture?

On the other hand, if he doesn’t believe any of what he said (I truly don’t think anyone could be that ignorant), then it would seem that he really has no integrity and will say whatever HE thinks people want to hear.

This man should be given a wide berth. Unfortunately, he’s allowed to broadcast inside Jessup (a prison near Baltimore , You HLOTS people should know this).

Mister Twister really must think his audience is too stupid to read their Bibles. Oh wait , apparently they are too stupid to read their Bible.

Any of you people who attend ET, explain to me how your boy got this hog swill out of the parable. I will post what you have to say without commenting on it before it’s posted. I am really interested in how you can sit under this clown and what machinations you use to stay there.

One thing though - when you answer, don’t tell me about the truth of the need for fathers to relate to their sons. No one is arguing that. I want you to tell me how he got the stuff he preached on out of the parable.

I can’t wait to hear your responses.

Jamal-Harrison Bryant | 220 Comments »