Category Archives: Church

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Trailer Released for ‘Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul,’ A Satirical Comedy Starring Sterling K. Brown of ‘This Is Us’ and Regina Hall of ‘Girls Trip’…

Hello World,

I don’t know how to feel about this, but it does seem funny…sadly…See what I’m talkin’ ’bout below…

Focus Features, Peacock, and Monkeypaw Productions announce Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul., from Daniel Kaluuya’s 59% Productions, will open in theaters and stream on Peacock on Labor Day weekend Friday, September 2nd, 2022.

ABOUT HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL.

In Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul., proud first lady of a Southern Baptist megachurch, Trinitie Childs (Regina Hall) carries immense responsibility on her shoulders. After a scandal involving her husband, Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown), the church is forced to close temporarily, leaving Trinitie struggling to manage the aftermath. Now Trinitie and Lee-Curtis must rebuild their congregation and reconcile their faith by all means necessary to make the biggest comeback that commodified religion has ever seen.

Hot off its exciting Sundance Film Festival premiere, filmmaking sibling duo the Ebo twins, writer-director Adamma Ebo and producer Adanne Ebo, make their feature film debut with production company Pinky Promise in this adaptation of their previous short film of the same name. This comedy features stellar performances from Regina Hall (Support the Girls, Girls Trip) and Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”, “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson”). It is produced by Academy Award® winner Daniel Kaluuya through his production company 59% with Amandla Crichlow; alongside Adamma Ebo, Adanne Ebo; Pinky Promise’s Jessamine Burgum and Matthew Cooper; Rowan Riley; Kara Durrett; and Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown. Monkeypaw’s Jordan Peele executive produced.

See the hilarious trailer below…And is it just me, but doesn’t it seem like Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul. was filmed at the same church where OWN’s “Greenleaf” was filmed?

With twins, I don’t have time to watch everything, but I will make time for this…particularly since I’m missing “This is Us” and OWN’s “Greenleaf”…

Any thoughts?

 

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Pastor Creflo Dollar of World Changers Megachurch in Metro Atlanta Says He Was Not Correct About Tithing in Sermon ‘The Great Misunderstanding’

Hello World,

I never thought I would see the day that World Changers Church International Pastor, Creflo Dollar, would have a different philosophy about tithing…See, World Changers is located in College Park, and College Park is where I spent most of my childhood. I remember when World Changers was not there. In fact, I remember when the church campus was simply a shopping center on Old Nat L, College Park residents’ beloved nickname for Old National Highway, a main thoroughfare in the city. So to have seen a simple shopping center become an internationally known megachurch was something to behold, and I imagine all of us CPK or Collipark (two more nicknames) residents were stunned by the spectacle. And I imagine we were all curious about the black man who built the empire. All I knew was that I went to high school with one of Pastor Dollar’s cousins, and her last name was Dollar too. So if you’re wondering if he changed his last name to Dollar, unless his cousins changed their last name too, that’s highly unlikely. But it was kind of funny to witness a man whose last name was Dollar build a megachurch that must have cost millions of dollars.

I imagine that out of curiosity that almost every College Park resident has visited World Changers at least once. I have. Years ago, I dated a member of the church, and I attended with him at least once. And then some years after that, I attended a Yolanda Adams concert there. But back to the lone service I attended, I remember there was a heavy emphasis on tithing, and it made me uncomfortable. I cannot lie about that. At my church where my father was the senior pastor for many years, while he preached on tithing and believes in it, it is not emphasized in every service. Tithing is encouraged; however, tithing is just one of many biblical principles that were preached about over the course of time. And while I have tithed since I was a teenager due to my father’s encouragement, I never felt pressure to do so. But during that one service, I got the feeling that compulsory tithing was a core tenet of World Changers.

That being said, as I was never a member, I wasn’t familiar with his other teachings. I would imagine that members of Pastor Dollar’s church have learned many principles from him that have nothing to do with money. Despite whatever else he taught, however, it seemed that nearly every story I’ve heard about him and World Changers over the years had to do with money. The jet story comes to mind. People have speculated that he has amassed wealth due to his teaching about compulsory tithing which I cannot confirm or deny. All of this to say, I wonder after all of these years, what was the impetus for his change of heart around tithing. In his recent sermon “The Great Misunderstanding,” Pastor Dollar begins his sermon saying, “I want to start off by saying to you that I’m still growing, and that the teachings that I have shared in times past on the subject of tithing were not correct. And today I stand in humility to correct some things that I’ve taught over the years and believed for years but could not understand fully because I was not yet confronted with the gospel of grace which has made the difference. I won’t apologize because if it was not for me going down that route,  I would have never ended up where I am right now. But I will say that I have no shame at all at saying, throw away every book, every tape and every video I ever did on the subject of tithing unless it lines up with this.” Whoa, right?!!! That’s a beyond bold statement to make all of these years in…Me being who I am, I would have been like before I throw away everything, can I get a refund? Even if I only got back a fraction of what I spent, something is better than nothing has been said…LOL…But I digress…

There were many interesting points throughout the sermon that was preached in two parts on two different Sundays starting on June 26. Firstly, he establishes that his former approach to tithing was based on the Old Testament (in which tithing was mandated) and not the New Testament (in which tithing or giving was encouraged but not mandated) and that it was based on fear and guilt.

  • at 15:33, Pastor Dollars references 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” He goes on to say that Malachi 3:10 caused him to feel fear and pressure regarding tithing. He recounts in the early days of his marriage, he was 26 cents short on his tithe and could not give it. Shortly afterward, a brick was thrown through his car window, and he wondered if the incident occurred because he was short on his tithe.
  • at 23:54, he discusses the self-righteous Pharisee in Luke 18 who boasted about being a tither.
  • at 23:09, he encourages his congregation to read 2 Corinthians 9 to learn about Paul’s approach to giving…

And there were many other interesting points that he made… If you’re interested in seeing the totality of “The Great Misunderstanding,” the videos are below…

I wonder if there was a Q&A session at any point after these sermons because I have so many questions now…Three of them are below…

  1. The verses that he mentioned have been in the Bible the whole time he has been preaching, I wonder why he didn’t take them into account before now?
  2. Is there any concern that the ministries of the church will not be supported in the same way if tithing is no longer compulsory?
  3. Will there be some sort of refund in place? Before, when I referenced a refund, I was joking. However, even Uncle Sam gives refunds so why shouldn’t church members be given refunds when they have given based on incorrect teaching…I don’t know how that would be handled, but the idea is not incomprehensible…Even $25 a member would be a nice gesture going forward…

What say you?

Finally, I do applaud Pastor Dollar for being audacious in his admitting his mistake…

Any thoughts?

 

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The Top 10 Blog Posts and or Magazine Articles for Black Christian Women in June 2022…

Hello World,

I’m back with my monthly roundup of blog posts and or magazine articles for black Christian women! Below is my Top 10 monthly roundup of blog posts and or magazine/newspaper articles for black Christian women for June, but you don’t have be a black Christian woman to to check them out. As usual, let me know if you like my list! Enjoy and share!

1.”Theologian Candice Marie Benbow on creating her own relationship with God”

Excerpt: Organized religion plays an important role in many Americans lives. But the Christian church isn’t always a welcoming place. This week, one woman’s journey of connecting with God in and outside the confines of organized religion. And how she’s on a mission to make faith more accessible to everyone. See more at: ctpublic.org.

2.”‘Blessing of Elders’ lauds 7 Black Christian luminaries at Museum of the Bible gala” by Adelle M. Banks

Excerpt: Bishop Vashti McKenzie, an honoree and the first woman prelate in the more than 200-year-old African Methodist Episcopal Church, said she accepted her award “on behalf of women who have been pushed to the margins of church culture, yet their gifts continue to make room for them.” As McKenzie stood between her daughter and granddaughter, whom she asked to join her on stage, she urged others to adhere to the biblical admonition to “stand firm.” See more at: religionnews.com.

3. “Our Daily Bread Releases ‘Juneteenth: Faith and Freedom’ Film” by Ross Cluver

Excerpt: “As we began our research, we learned more about the depth of faith stories and biblical convictions included in the first celebration of the day and the many subsequent celebrations. We want to make sure that the Christian faith roots and worldview of the men and women who began celebrating this day are not lost in celebrations of the holiday. In our research, we also learned an interesting fact: Ms. Opal Lee, who urged Congress to recognize Juneteenth, is a faithful follower of Jesus and reader of Our Daily Bread,” says Dr. Matt Lucas, CEO and president of Our Daily Bread Ministries. In Juneteenth: Faith and Freedom, Our Daily Bread Ministries’ Rasool Berry brings viewers on a journey of discovery as he explores how Juneteenth unfolded in Galveston, Texas, where the celebration originated. Berry visits historical sites and talks to scholars, advocates, direct descendants of formerly enslaved people, as well as the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” Ms. Opal Lee. They uncover what actually happened on June 19, 1865 and discuss the community response, the aftermath of events, and what happens next. See more at: ccmmagazine.com.

4. “After Roe’s fall, Black churches support some or all reproductive health options” by Adelle M. Banks

Excerpt: For Evangelist Lesley W. Monet, the week since the fall of Roe v. Wade has been a time of praise and preparation. For Dr. Miriam Burnett, it has been a time of protest and preparation. Monet, international director of the Church of God in Christ’s Family Life Campaign, recently moved to Tennessee, where the predominantly Black Pentecostal denomination plans to turn a former Catholic monastery into a facility that, among other things, will offer pre-natal and post-natal care in a state where maternal and infant mortality for Black women is high. See more at: religionnews.com.

5. “Simone Biles covers Wheaties’ 100th anniversary box” by Ebony Williams

Excerpt: With 32 Olympic and World Championship medals under her belt, Simone Biles has now achieved another sports milestone: She’ll be the face of Wheaties’ 100th anniversary cereal box. Biles’ cover will be the final design in Wheaties’ Century Series collection, which has already featured Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali. Biles’ cover captures her focus on the beam as the decorated Olympian does a split jump, and her signature graces the box. See more at: ajc.com.

6. “Mellody Hobson To Make History By Becoming Part Owner of the Denver Broncos” by Cedric ‘BIG CED’ Thornton

Excerpt: In Walton’s statement about the winning bid to purchase the franchise, he made mention of a Black woman, Mellody Hobson being part of The Walton-Penner group, who would be the new owners of the Denver Broncos. This would make Hobson the first Black woman to be part of an NFL ownership group. See more at: blackenterprise.com.

7. “Jennifer Hudson Shares Video from the Moment After She Became an EGOT: ‘I am Overwhelmed'” by BreAnna Bell

Excerpt: Jennifer Hudson is still celebrating after earning an EGOT on Sunday night at the 75th annual Tony Awards. The singer and actress clinched her first Tony this weekend when A Strange Loop, on which she serves as a producer, won best musical. On Tuesday, she shared an up-close look at her celebration after the show in a video posted to Instagram. “As I said when I won the Oscar [for Dreamgirls], look what God can do,” she said in the video, in which she holds up a champagne flute to toast some of her friends. See more at: people.com.

8. “Google Doodle Celebrates Black Opera Singer And Composer Amanda Aldridge” by Melissa Noel

Excerpt: Google is celebrating the life and career of Black British composer, teacher and opera singer Amanda Aldridge with its latest doodle. Aldridge is best known as a composer who released dozens of instrumental tracks, parlour music, and over 30 songs under the pseudonym Montague Ring, according to tech giant which often changes its classic logo to highlight a historical figure or special occasion relating to a specific date. On this day in 1911, Aldridge performed a piano recital at Queens Small Hall, London’s pre-war principal concert venue and the original home of the BBC Symphony and London Philharmonic Orchestras. See more at: essence.com. 

9. “Tabitha Brown Hosts Food Network’s First Vegan Cooking Show” by Anna Starostinetskaya

Excerpt: A vegan cooking competition show is finally hitting Food Network and its host, Tabitha Brown, is everyone’s favorite vegan foodie. Called It’s CompliPlated, the show is built around the premise that cooking should be inclusive of everyone at the table. As such, each episode will feature four chefs who will be tasked with creating plant-based dishes for celebrity chef Maneet Chauhan and rotating guest judges who have various dietary restrictions.  “It’s CompliPlated reflects what it’s actually like to make a meal the whole family will love—it’s not easy to make one dish for everyone and this series makes it fun,” Jane Latman, President, Home & Food Content and Streaming, Warner Bros. Discovery (Food Network’s parent company), said in a statement. “Tabitha Brown’s energy, sense of humor and real-life journey to becoming vegan make her the perfect host to take us on this adventure.” See more at: vegnews.com.

10. “R. Kelly Has Been Convicted of Sex Crimes Against Black Women. Why Did It Take Nearly 30 Years?” by By Candice Norwood, The 19th

Excerpt: It took nearly 30 years, dozens of alleged victims, multiple video recordings, an explosive news investigation, a social media campaign, a documentary and two criminal trials before the singer R. Kelly was convicted of sex crimes. A federal jury this week found Kelly guilty of nine criminal charges related to racketeering and sex trafficking that involved recruiting and grooming young women and girls for sex. The six-week trial marked a significant moment: It’s the first high-profile court case focusing on sexual abuse against Black women and girls since the viral #MeToo movement began. See more at: faithfullymagazine.com.

If you know of any black Christian women bloggers and or writers, please e-mail me at jacqueline@afterthealtarcall.com as I’m always interested in expanding my community of black Christian women blog, magazines and websites. As I noted before, while this is a roundup of interesting blog posts and or magazine and newspaper articles for black Christian women, you don’t have to be one to appreciate these pieces  🙂.

Any thoughts?