Category Archives: Church

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Bishop T.D. Jakes & The Potter’s House Present Easter Service to Air on BET, Sun. April 12th

 

Hello World,

BET announces the BET Presents: The Light, An Easter Production, a special broadcast of Easter Service in partnership with the world-renowned worship center, The Potter’s House. Premiering Sunday, April 12, at 10 AM ET/PT commercial-free on BET, the two-hour special will bring families an uplifting Easter celebration.

The Potter’s House Arts and Music Ministry, a Grammy Award-winning group, along with a special guest appearance by Tony Award-winning Broadway veteran Quentin Darrington (Once on This Island, Cats, and Memphis), will tell the story of Jesus Christ from the book of John’s perspective centered around how the light of Christ came into the world to dispel darkness. From hip-hop to presentations by children’s dance companies, to poetry and sometimes comical recitations, the Easter production, aims to bring hope and strength to a world navigating challenging times.

While Easter in quarantine may feel alienating, global spiritual leader Bishop T.D. Jakes advocates that physical distancing requirements are not just a test in how connected we are to one another, but how deeply connected we are to God. Jakes reminds us that Easter, in its beginning, did not start with a crowd, and attendance numbers should not affect the value of the moment.

“The first Easter service wasn’t crowded, and it didn’t lose its significance for the lack of a crowd. There were few people around the tomb,” said Bishop T.D. Jakes. “Celebrating Easter in our homes with our families, you can still have a memorable time together with your family around you and have a spiritual moment that’s intimate between you and the people you love.”

“Many of us around the world are leaning on our spirituality for a sense of calmness, during these times of uncertainty. As many churches are being forced to shutter their doors in response to calls for social distancing, we want to provide a way for families to still observe the valued tradition of coming together for Easter services. As an organization whose roots are anchored in the African American experience, and whose original programming has always highlighted many aspects of gospel music and the religious experience, we are delighted to bring this unique program to our viewers around the world,” said Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET.

For further details on BET Presents, The Light, An Easter Production, as well as resources available around BET’s COVID-19 relief efforts,  please visit BET.com.

Any thoughts?

 

 

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Is Pastor Joel Osteen’s Star-Studded Easter Service (i.e. Kanye West, Mariah Carey & Tyler Perry) Appropriate This Easter?

Hello World,

By now, you may have have heard that Pastor Joel Osteeen, leader of one of the largest megachurches in the country Lakewood Church, has a lineup on Easter that is sure to bring the masses. Stars such as Kanye West and his Sunday Service Choir (how they gon social distance?), the Mariah Carey and hometown hero and media mogul Tyler Perry (Y’all heard how he blessed senior citizens with free groceries here in the A & Nola, right?) will be in the house for the online service! While I love all three of these celebrities (well, at this point, my opinion of Kanye is fluid…), I wonder if the celebrity approach is the move on THIS Easter…

I don’t know about you, but this will be the first time that I know about that I haven’t darkened the threshold of a church building on Easter Sunday. Although this will be the fourth Sunday I think I haven’t been in church since the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to quarantine at home, I’m still struggling with it. And this Easter Sunday, I don’t just want to do Bedside Baptist as what is becoming normal. I need a way to celebrate the resurrection of my Lord and Savior that feels befitting of the occasion. I need a WORD from some pastors who know the Lord in special way that can give me some divine strength to continue walking by faith during this strange season. God bless celebrities, but their star power isn’t the power that I need…But at the same time, I recognize that stars may be seeking strength as well and whatever shine they may get from this appearance may be secondary to their need of the Son to shine…

One of my Facebook friends pointed out that the names of the stars are larger than than the word Easter and that Jesus is not mentioned at all on the flyer. She is calling the service “Eastertainment.”

What say you? Will you be tuning on Sunday? How you will celebrate Easter at home?

Any thoughts?

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Pastor Jamal Bryant & New Birth Missionary Baptist Church Postpones COVID-19 Testing Event Previously Scheduled for Today…

Hello World,

In this Coronavirus Crisis, we are learning to be flexible, if anything, particularly when it comes to previously scheduled events. According to the AJC, “the Stonecrest megachurch said New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and Texas-based RoweDocs  planned to provide drive-thru coronavirus testing for 1,000 people this weekend on the church’s Stonecrest campus. The testing was planned to be split evenly over Saturday and Sunday and those tested should know the results in about 24 hours.”

Additionally, according to the AJC, “established in 2014, RoweDocs is African-American owned telemedicine company. Bryant  said there are so many people of color  living on the margins without adequate access to health services or little or no health issues, that this was the right thing to do.”

However, if you live in Georgia, you know that Gov. Brian Kemp recently issued an executive order for the state to shelter in place and so Pastor Jamal Bryant and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church have had a change of plans, according to its Facebook page. See the announcement below.

I applaud the church’s effort though. Y’all, we gotta keep praying that this Coronavirus Crisis will come to an end and soon…Have mercy on us Lord…

Any thought?