Category Archives: God & Technology

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Tasha Cobbs Leonard Opens Up About Weight Loss Surgery + Kirk Franklin Discusses Past Pornography Addiction on TV One Easter Sunday!

Hello World,

After you have celebrated the triumphant resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday and spent time with family and friends, check out TV One’s episodes of  “UNSUNG” featuring TASHA COBBS LEONARD and “UNCENSORED” featuring KIRK FRANKLIN!

“UNSUNG: Tasha Cobbs Leonard” airs Sunday, April 21st at 9/8c, and “UNCENSORED: Kirk Franklin” airs Sunday, April 21st at 10/9c on TV One!

Tasha Cobbs Leonard broke into the music scene in 2013 with her LP “Grace.” The project laced with organic and moving tracks featured the lead single, Break Every Chain, which landed as Billboard’s #1 song for a total of 12 weeks. This anthem unleashed liberation to countless audiences nationwide each time it was heard or ministered. The album Grace landed on Billboard’s Top 10 Gospel Albums chart for a year. It was definite that the world had received not just another singer, but a rare gift. From a small town in Georgia, Tasha grew up as a vital part of her church. She delivered her trial sermon at 11 years old. As she rose to fame, of course came the critics. Tasha is here to tell Unsung about how she never feared the backlash she faced. Through first-hand accounts, interviews with family and friends, and archival footage, each episode of TV One’s signature series UNSUNG sheds much-deserved light on some of the most influential and talented R&B, soul, funk, dance hall, hip hop, disco, and gospel artists of the last 30 years.

Below is a clip of Tasha Cobbs Leonard discussing her decision to have weight loss surgery:

Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas – Kirk Franklin was raised by his aunt Gertrude after his mom and dad abandoned him. It was there that he discovered his love for music through the church, as Gertrude made it a priority for him to take piano lessons – a gift passed on from her late husband. Kirk first experienced real success with his choir that he composed and aptly named, The Family. It was when he had the opportunity to work with an up and coming group, God’s Property, that success really took off with the Jimmy Iovine inspired remix to Stomp. Always one to remain true to his testimony, he received backlash once more for vocalizing his addiction to pornography. With the faith and support of his family he remains true to his spiritual journey and to inspire faith through his music and his testimony. UNCENSORED dives deep into the lives of your favorite personalities as they reveal secrets to their success, obstacles they’ve faced, and how they manage this new world of social media that has helped but sometimes haunted their careers.

Below is a clip of Kirk Franklin & wife Tammy Franklin discussing his past addiction to pornography:

And if you have more time after church, also tune into the 34th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards which will premiere on BET Network also on Easter Sunday, April 21 at 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT. The biggest night in gospel music, which was hosted by Kirk Franklin,  was taped live at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The stand-out highlight of the evening was an emotional tribute performance by Kelly Price, Erica Campbell and Regina Belle honoring the undisputed Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. Family members of the late-legend Brenda Corbett, Jordan Franklin and Kecalf Franklin were presented with the inaugural Aretha Franklin ICON Award to give posthumous recognition of her profound impact on the Gospel music genre and unforgettable contributions.

For more information, visit TV One’s YouTube Channel and check out exclusive, behind-the-scenes content on www.tvone.tv. Viewers can also join the conversation by connecting via social media on TV One’s Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@tvonetv).

Any thoughts?

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Kanye West & Montell Jordan to lead Easter Sunday Services…

Hello World,

Two weeks from today, Christians all over the world will be celebrating the triumphant resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday! And even those Christians who may not make every single Sunday service will find themselves gathering among the saints on that special day! And there are two more options to choose from as of now!

I’ve been hearing about Kanye West’s Sunday service and recently the Kardashian sisters – Kim, Khloé  & Kourtney – described the Sunday Service, which is essentially a gospel concert for celebrities from what I can tell, in their recent interview with Jimmy Kimmel. This is what the sisters said about it:

“A healing experience,” said Kim.

“We have so many friends that maybe feel a little too judgmental when they go to church or something like that, but when they come here, they feel so free and safe is what everybody says,” Khoe said.

“It’s Christian,” said Kourtney.

And below is a video of one of Kanye’s Sunday Services.

And now Kanye will be taking his Sunday Service to Coachella on Easter Sunday, April 21! It will happen at sunrise! I’ve always felt that Kanye had a relationship with God from the time he made “Jesus Walks” and maybe as his celebrity status increased, he somehow lost that connection. But God uses everything to draw us back to Him because nothing separates from the love of God even when we walk away. Although it’s not a traditional church service, they can still praise and worship God, and God will honor their praise and worship by showing up! And many black men are burned out on traditional services. That’s the reason that Jomo Johnson founded Church for Black Men through which he encourages people to have church services at home which is what Kanye West is doing! So good for him…

But Kanye West is not the only celebrity who realizes we all need Jesus and will honor him on Easter Sunday. On the  East Coast, here in the A, Montell Jordan will deliver a sermon on Easter Sunday outside on top of Stone Mountain, the AJC is reporting. Montell used to be an R&B singer and now he is executive pastor at Victory World Church in Norcross, Georgia.

It’s funny how God works because Montell Jordan once told TMZ that Kanye needs to reconnect with God in his life after Kanye had a mental breakdown back in 2016…

Do you think that Kanye somehow saw this interview and heeded Montell’s advice? Maybe so…

Wherever you find yourself two weeks from today, whether in a home service or a traditional service or on top of a mountain, I hope you will praise God for the resurrection of His son Jesus!

Any thoughts?

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Hope Carpenter, former First Lady of Pastor John Gray’s Relentless Church, Threatens Greenville News With a Knife, Saying ‘I Cut People!’

Hello World,

Pastor Hope Carpenter aine no Beyoncé or Hillary Clinton for matter. There is no hot sauce in her bag. On Sunday, the former First Lady and co-founder (along her with her husband Pastor Ron Carpenter) of Redemption World Outreach Center in Greenville, South Carolina, returned to her church renamed Relentless Church under Pastor John Gray and told the congregation, “I cut people. I got a knife right there in that pocketbook. Greenville News, come on.”  That’s right Greenville News, pull up on the pastor if you want to…(I can only imagine the discussions taking place in the newsroom about this…)

If you don’t believe me, see for yourselves…Go to about :35…

Her sharp (LOL) words were part of an overall public show of support for Pastor John and his wife Aventer Gray, who took over the church after the Carpenters left. As you probably know, the Grays have been really going through some thangs in terms of the all of the media coverage they have garnered. She told the Grays, “I love you, Pastor John and Pastor Aventer. I believe in you. I’m praying for you. I’m rooting for you.”

As far as The Greenville News is concerned, the media outlet recently ran this story: John Gray asks Relentless Church members to give $250K to help pay for church roof. Daniel J. Gross reported that, “Redemption had accrued substantial debt that Relentless has had to assume responsibility for when Gray took over. ‘(Ron Carpenter) handed us keys. The keys were not to a paid off building, the keys were to an opportunity, an opportunity to continue the work,’ Gray said. “Nothing you see is paid off. It wasn’t paid off when we got here.'”

The article ended with this paragraph: “Gray and Relentless Church came back into the spotlight in January when The Greenville News reported that Gray was living in a $1.8 million home in Simpsonville that was funded by the church. Church leaders said the particular parsonage is what was needed to entice a pastor of Gray’s ‘caliber’ to Greenville.

As a journalist with a journalism degree and over 20 years of experience, I will say this: journalists don’t make the news, they simply report it. Sometimes, people will like how they are covered by the media and many times, they will not. (Thus the term “fake news.” Anything that you don’t like is fake…SMH…) That is price of being in the public eye. What you do will be reported and as a result, you will be praised and or criticized. That being said, there are many people (notice I didn’t say journalists) “reporting” on the news and various issues who seem to not want to present facts or even fairly presented opinions, they seem to want to tear people down. As a Christian first and as a journalist second, I will not do that. Yes, my critiques (and I have critiqued many on this blog) may not always be liked but no one can claim that I called them everything but a child of God or that I tried to send them to hell with my words.

As THE Word says, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21) While this verse applies to spoken words, I think it can be applied to written words as well.

As far as Pastor Hope Carpenter’s words are concerned, a Relentless Church spokesman Holly Baird told this to The Greenville News the following day:

“While we believe Pastor Hope was joking, we completely understand how her comments could be received in today’s climate,” said spokeswoman Holly Baird, in a written statement. “Neither our pastors or anyone in our leadership would agree with any type of communication that would encourage or incite violence against another individual or entity.”

Ultimately, I believe Pastor Hope Carpenter was joking as well, but with the way the media is being attacked right now, this needed to be said…

So what do you think about Pastor Hope Carpenter at Relentless Church this past Sunday?

Any thoughts?