And for those of you who missed the 20/20 article last week, one of my sets of eyes out there pointed me in the right direction on YouTube (gosh I’m gonna hate it when the lawyers shut that place down). As another blogger said, notice that the pimps’ people are defending them even while the pimps flaunt their riches.
There is also a transcript - click here.
By the way folks, I have to apologize. I have been enjoying the fruits of the labor of a regular commenter here at Pulpit-pimps.org and have not told you about his work.
Indpendent Conservative runs a politico-religious blog over at (this is a stretch now) IndependentConservative.
At first I was hesitant to link to him because he is mainly political. But given that our view of godliness should have a profound effect on our understanding of the news, politics, social issues, etc, it seems more and more appropriate to push you over to his site if you haven’t been there already.
Remember, IC is the site where we first saw the “God Wants Me Rich” CD.
Please give him a visit and let him know what you think. I mean, gosh, why should you liberals out there just be upset with me and my insistence on adherence to the Word? Go over there and get insulted by a guy who has no appreciation for Jesse “She’s Having My Baby” Jackson or the rest of the poverty pimps.
And again, to you religious liberals out there: Try not to over use such phrases as “lap dog”, “sellout” or any of the other, even more distasteful phrases used by the vicious left.
Men’s night out. It’s a phrase which, in many circles, often means escaping the responsibilities of marriage and fatherhood, and being able to be men - beer drinking, female ogling, lewd joke telling men. Somehow, the world is of the opinion that all men, if left to themselves in a group will automatically sink to lewd behavior. The bachelors’ night before the wedding is, apparently, supposed to be a last-time bacchanalian descent into riotous living before getting attached to your ball and chain. (more…)
It’s actually a very recent phenomenon that education has been disdained by the church. There was a time when one would not sit under the teaching of the unlearned.There was a time when the church was known for its great learning. Not so any longer. We revel in ignorance. (more…)
Here is a reposting my alarm appeal.
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.
(MN: I’m always amazed that it’s the seemingly trivial comments of mine that sometimes generate the most heated (and this is a good thing) of responses. Ms. Mav is a frequent visitor and commenter, though usually her comments are fairly short. This thing about seminary apparently hit a button with her and with several others. She decided to grace us with a rather long comment. I have, as is my right as dictator, decided to make it a post for your enjoyment and potential edification. Thanks Mav.
Mr. Samuels also dared to disagree with me. I tacked his comment on at the end of the post. )
Hi Melvin,
You said;
Ideally, seminary only polishes my ability to teach the word and to edify the saints. It doesn’t make me a pastor or a teacher. It simply equips, in a bit of a more thorough way, the teacher to teach, or the pastor to past.
I teach. I have never been to seminary and sometimes it shows (as I said, there are holes in my education)
In what way would seminary “training” polish you or equip you to be a more thorough teacher? As for the holes in your education, what do you mean by that? I take you are saying education to mean learning and if that is so then I think the reasons why there are holes in all of our learning is to show us how little we do know, how much more there is to learn, and to show us how graciously God has uncovered our blind spots and revealed our ignorance to us. It’s a great thing that you are not where you were 30 years ago, and all the glory belongs to Jesus, the Bishop of your soul. (more…)
I got an e-mail the other night that proves my belief that no one is stuck in a pimp’s church. All you need to get out of the church is the willingness to stand up for the truth once you hear it or read it in the Bible. Yes, you will face ridicule. Yes, you will have to walk away from friends. And yes, you will sometimes have to be willing to stand alone, completely alone, depending on Jesus Christ for comfort and encouragement to get you through the onslaught.
In other words, Christian males have to be willing to be MEN, not just church going ninnies trying to experience their he-motions or hoping to keep their wives happy.
Here’s a letter from a reader, Mr. Woods, in Lewisville, Texas, recounting his most impressive travel from Apostolic Legalist to what sounds like a Reformed thinker. All of you who are beginning to realize you are not really following the God of the Bible, take note. Mr. Woods walked away. You can too. Just be ready to pay the price.
Mr. Jones,
I wanted to thank you for your site.
I don’t know if I am right sometimes, but I get into so many discussion with my wife, other family, and friends about many of the “teachers” you expose on your site.
I am an African American Male who was saved (or at least I think) in an Apostolic church in Benton Harbor, MI. I did have one of those rough backgrounds which most people in my city have (nothing out of the norm for the area). I hit a road block when I was praying in the field (I was in the Army for 6.5 years) training. For some reason I was getting more frustrated with things my church was teaching. I was in an Apostolic Church which also had characteristics of Seventh Day Adventism when it came to the dietary laws and the Sabbath.
I realize there is not much point in continuing the back and forth with Stephen (aka Little Stevie Wonder) Smith, the nominal leader of a COGIC church in Collierville Tennessee. However, I paid his site a visit this evening (10:00 DST) to see if maybe Mr. Backbone d’Jellie had gotten up the nerve to post any of our previous comments yet. He hadn’t.
While I was there I noticed he had made a new posting. I almost fell on the floor from laughing as I read it. The irony and fabrications were just too rich. (more…)
Last week one of our discussions wandered into a question of the social responsibilities we have as Christians. So far, I have maintained that the church organization has no real business running activities that feed the hungry, or house the homeless, or find jobs for men and women who just got out of prison. And as always, some of you took issue with me. And that’s fine. No dictator in his right mind wants people to agree with him all the time. Eighty percent of the time is just fine.
God has graciously provided an example of exactly what we have been talking about in the movie “Amazing Grace.” It’s about a man who didn’t wait for the church organization to do something but went out and acted on his conscience. (more…)
Folks, I just ran across an interesting web site. It’s run by a pastor. The article that got my attention was the one that claims that the media (and he includes my blog in that term) is targeting Black Churches.
Listening to a couple of his sermons, I suspect he is accepts some of the prosperity stuff that’s out there. But I don’t know that for certain.
Take a look at the article and see what you think. You might even want to leave a comment. I’m not sure he is accustomed to having people actually making comments.
(MN: Don’t bother to look for the article though. Apparently he received enough heat in the form of meaningful question, that he took it and all of the comment it generated down. Tucked his tail between his legs and ran. Yeah, this is a giant of the faith.
You can still use the link to at least get to his site though. There you will be able to read various innane postings asking trite questions and exhibiting a great deal of bravado. However, it generally appears to be nothing more than a shrine to G. E. Patterson. Apparently, he is till making bloviative comments in repsonse to folks here.
Pray for him and the people he is misguiding. )
Here is a reposting of last week’s appeal.
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.
GaryV (aka Riki Tiki Tavi) is back and with great manliness, he has taken up the challenge to respond to Judge Not. Kick back, relax, and watch RTT at work. Welcome back GaryV.
The block quotes are Judge Not’s comments and Bible references. You’ll be able to tell which is which once you start reading.
Melvin: How does he differentiate the distorted beliefs from the accurate ones?
A very good question indeed. First of all, i need to make a statement that may surprise you, but still is true: the Bible isn’t the Word of God, it contains the Word of God. You don’t have to put yourself in God’s place to understand that.
Well, upon what do you base this belief? (more…)
Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, I am a most benevolent dictator. The site is run the way I want it run because it’s the way I want it run. That makes for a real simple set of rules and explanations.
If someone asks “Why can’t I post this comment” the answer is “Because I said so.”
If someone were to ask “Why can’t we take the site is this direction?” the very simple answer is “Because I don’t want to.”
However, there are those who constantly test both my dictatorship and my benevolence. GDub being one of them.
I am a dictator. And I like to think that I am a very good one as dictators go. However, I am not God. I lack such characteristics as omniscience (I only know 87% of everything), omnipotence (I can’t even install a wall socket without making a mess), and omnipresence (I spend most of my time in front of the television). So I am going to ask for your help.
I have put a general limit of 200 words on GDub. He insists on violating that very simple restriction…repeatedly and plentifully.
He’s not my son so obvioulsy I can’t flog him. I find most of the stuff he said to be valid but with a great deal of bloviation to get through. He’s a developing Reformed thinker. Obviously I don’t want to shut him down. Besides if I did, he might not write the article I’ve asked him to do for me.
Here’s the question: Should I leave the 200 word restriction on GDub or should I lift it. If you find his…um…verbal diarreah helpful, then I will grudgingly, very grudgingly, unleash him on you and trust God to stay his wordy little heart.
The answers are:
1. Yes. He should be able to write as much as he wants as often as he wants.
2. No. The limitation should remain. He should be limited to 200 words per comment.
I’ll keep the poll up for five days. And until then, his limit is lifted, if only so you can get something of a taste for what a lifting of the restriction will look like.
Speaking of social justice, I’m going to a movie this week-end. It’s “Amazing Grace,” a narrative about William Wilberforce and his eventually successful efforts to outlaw slavery in the British empire.
The recent post and the resulting discussions on the poor Episcopalians brought up the idea of Church organizations being active in social and political issues. Here, I believe, is an example of what the godly individual (not a mega-church) can do to impact a society.
So far, the reviews I’ve read don’t speak very favorably of the movie. But most of the reviewers pretty well demonstrated that they don’t have a clue about Christianity, Christian history, or much of anything else that deals with Christianity.
I’ll let you know how it went next week.