Category Archives: Pop Culture

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Former Gathering Oasis Pastor Cornelius Lindsey Names Mase as the New Pastor of the Church

Hello World,

Since this blog is about pop culture and faith, I guess I have to write something about former Gathering Oasis Church pastor Cornelius Lindsey naming Mase Betha as the new pastor of the church. But I swear if you start attending that church because of Mase, you pretty much deserve what you get. Below is the video of the announcement.

In the year following the emergence of a global pandemic that still isn’t over, the last thing anyone needs is an unstable leader. Mase is a rapper one year, a pastor the next year and a rapper following year. I really can’t keep up nor do I care too anymore. Not saying that you can’t be a rapper and pastor at the same time because I think that’s possible. But see an excerpt of the last post I wrote about him, and know that I feel the exact same way years later….

Y’all betta be glad I’m not God. I woulda banished some of y’all below just because you looked like you were judging me. And that’s what I’m trying to remember this morning as I type this blog post. I’m not God and just because I interpret something as being a certain way, that may not be the truth. Only God knows the condition of the hearts of men and women. So here’s the deal. Ya man Mase, or Pastor Mase as he was known in 2014, left his church that he founded as he got caught up in the rapture of rap it seems. I was so befuddled by his departure that I wrote an open letter on UrbanFaith.com. See an excerpt below:

Dear Mason Betha aka Murder Ma$e aka S.A.N.E. Minister Mason Betha aka Pastor Betha of El Elyon International Church,

I’m trying so hard not to judge you right now, but what is you doin’ man? (I’m sayin’ this Atlanta style since that is where you have lived since 1999.) I just read on TMZ that you, the pastor of El Elyon International Church, up and dipped on your congregation and returned to the “rap game full time.” Where they do that at? I knew something was up when, while flipping through television channels last week, I saw you rappin’ on some video and cheesin’ it up with your infectious smile like you did before you left Bad Boy for the ministry back in the day. And I wasn’t the only one that was confused. In a recent interview with The Breakfast Club, rapper Ja Rule—who seems to be finding his own way to faith–was asked about your return to the rap industry. According to a Madame Noire post of that interview he said, “I’m very confused by what Mase is doing. I don’t know if that’s cool or not. I wouldn’t play with the Lord like that.” Say that! Too read the full letter, to urbanfaith.com.

And then as recently as November 2017, Fader reported Mase is still beefin’ with rapper Cam’ron.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Cam’ron and Mase stoked the flames of an old beef, trading diss tracks back and forth. On Friday, Mase shared “The Oracle” and promptly took to Genius to annotate it. Cam’ron responded on Saturday night with “Dinner Time,” in which he alleges that Mase retired from rap to run a Ponzi scheme and calling into question his roots in Harlem. See the full article at thefader.com.

Dude released a diss track in which he was cussin’ and what not. Now, I don’t believe that if a cuss word escapes your lips, you’re headed to hell, but I just don’t think that God is pleased by this particular demonstration. But hey, I could be wrong. And furthermore, it seems downright silly to be spending time on a diss track at 40 years old. The only diss I’m worried about this age is “diss”ease. I hope this “beef” was all for show because Christian or not, we too old for that…Go cut some grass or something…That’s what men do at this age…See the rest HERE.

Sooo that’s all I have to say about that…But I have more on another related topic. Last year, I wrote about Heather Lindsey and from the looks of things, my blog was among the first in various commentaries about the ministry of Heather Lindsey and her husband. I admitted in the blog post that I really didn’t know a lot about her or them so I was fascinated when all of these videos were released from various people who had a lot of negative things to say about their interactions with the Lindseys. So when Cornelius recently resigned from his position as pastor of the church, I was not particularly surprised but I still didn’t have a personal assessment of the matter because I wasn’t all that familiar with them from jump. However, I must say that if Cornelius chose Mase as his successor then I have to say the whole thing appears to be flaw. Talkin’ ’bout a gathering oasis…when it should be a gathering no basis for leadership. Maybe that was lame, but I ‘on hardly care. Spiritual discernment is essential, Saints..

And for reals this time, that’s all I have to say about that…

Any thoughts?

 

 

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The Top 10 Blog Posts and or Magazine Articles for Black Christian Women in December 2020…

Hello World,

Well, if you’re reading this, we’ve crossed over into 2021! Happy New Year! But indulge me just a little bit because  I’m back with my monthly roundup of blog posts and or magazine articles for black Christian women. Pandemic or no pandemic, black women still did the doggone thang! Below is my Top 10 monthly roundup of blog posts and or magazine/newspaper articles for black Christian women for December, 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. “Black Americans Donate a Higher Share of Their Wealth than Whites” by Michelle Singletary

Excerpt: So one day, I took a handful of the anti-inflammatory pills prescribed for my arthritis, stood at the sink in the bathroom and contemplated suicide. It was at this low point that I recalled Psalm 23, from one of the many sermons at the small church I attended with my grandmother in Baltimore: “For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” I let the drugs drop down the drain. It was a moment that never repeated, because of the many ways the church sustained me. At church, I found a community of people who cared about me and checked up on me. At church, premarital counseling helped me work through trust issues that might otherwise have troubled my now-29-year marriage. At church, a women’s group taught me how to forgive my parents. See more at: washingtonpost.com.

2. “Kizzmekia Corbett, an African American woman, is Praised as Key Scientist Behind COVID-19 Vaccine” by Laura RomeroSony SalzmanKaitlyn Folmer

Excerpt: Even before Corbett took on one of the most challenging tasks of her professional career, she was a force to be reckoned with. As a student,she was selected to participate in Project SEED, a program for gifted minority students that allowed her to study chemistry in labs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and eventually landed a full ride to the University of Maryland Baltimore County, according to The Washington Post. Corbett spent her summers at laboratories and earned a summer internship at the NIH, the very place where she would be instrumental in developing a vaccine for the coronavirus. See more at: abcnews.go.com

3. “Clayton County School Names New School for Former First Lady Michelle Obama” by WSBTV.com News Staff

Excerpt: The school, formerly known as Eddie White Elementary School, has been renamed the Michelle Obama STEM Elementary Academy. The name-change process began in May when the county was in the process of building the new STEM school that be based on the Eddie White campus. “We are so excited that the former First lady accepted our request to have her name associated with our school,” said Ms. Marcia Payton-Edwards. “We noted in our request that it was fitting that our school be represented by the name Michelle Obama due to the ancestral connection of her great, great, great grandmother, Melvinia Shields McGruder, who was enslaved on a family farm in the Clayton County community of Rex.” See more at: wsbtv.com.

4. “Statue Of Civil Rights Icon Barbara Rose Johns to Replace Robert E. Lee in US Capitol” by Charise Frazier

Excerpt: However, due to the rage over a young Black girl’s insistence on rejecting substandard conditions, her safety was compromised. She was sent to live with family in Montgomery, Alabama, after members of the Ku Klux Klan burned a cross in her yard. After high school where she attended Spelman College and finished her education at  Drexel University in Philadelphia. Johns married Rev. William Powell, and raised five children while working as a librarian in the Philadelphia Public School system. She died in 1991. The removal of Lee’s statue follows a string of actions directed toward Confederate imagery and symbols, signaling a time in America where separate was not equal, but the law. And the wages of activating against the status quo, could result in death. See more at: newsone.com.

5. “Bermuda Swears in Its First Female, Black Governor” by Associated Press

Excerpt: Rena Lalgie has been sworn in as Bermuda’s governor, marking the first time that the British territory in the Atlantic has a Black woman as its leader. The event occurred on Monday, a day after Lalgie arrived in Bermuda, a wealthy financial haven and popular tourist destination. The appointment was announced in June by Queen Elizabeth II. Lalgie previously served as director of the United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanction Implementation. See more at: usnews.com.

6. “Miami Herald Names Monica Richardson First Black Executive Editor in Paper’s History” by David Smiley

Excerpt: Monica R. Richardson, currently the senior managing editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, will join the Miami Herald Jan. 1 as its top editor, according to a McClatchy news release. “We are thrilled to welcome Monica to Miami,” Kristin Roberts, McClatchy’s senior vice president of news, said in a statement. “She has a strong record of leadership in local journalism at one of the great metro newsrooms in the country. Now, she brings her commitment to accountability journalism and a track record of successful digital innovation that serves local audiences.”  In an interview, Richardson said she is excited to lead the Miami Herald. Richardson will be the first Black executive editor in the Herald’s 117-year history. See more at: miamiherald.com.

7. “$500K Medical Missions Award Goes to OB-GYN Nun in Uganda” by Stefani McDade

Excerpt: Dr. Priscilla Busingye has a God-given passion to improve maternal health across Uganda, particularly in rural places where women often can’t get specialized care and dignified treatment. For years, Busingye would wake up before 6 a.m. for morning devotions and mass before heading to work at the maternity ward. As a nun and a physician at a rural hospital, her work was both rewarding and rigorous. She would set alarms on her phone to remind herself to pray for strength and energy throughout the day. See more at: christianitytoday.com.

8. “In Quest to Find Birth Family, Woman Makes ‘Life-Altering’ Discovery: She’s a Princess” by Char Adams

Excerpt: Culberson didn’t know much of this history when she began searching for her biological family at 28 years old. She was raised in West Virginia after being adopted by a white family, and later learned that her biological mother died when she was 11 and her father lived in a village in Sierra Leone. Her search for her birth family culminated in a call from her uncle; he delivered the news that changed Culberson’s life forever. See more at: nbcnews.com.

9. “Meet the Self-Published Author Who Negotiated a Deal With Netflix” by Lydia T. Blanco

Excerpt: In September, Booker was the only self-published author to strike and negotiate and deal with Netflix for their original series, Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices featuring Jill Scott, Common, and Tiffany Haddish. As a part of Netflix’s collaboration with the Black Caucus American Library Association and the Association for Library Services to Children, the Hey Carter! Book Brown Boy Joy was selected by the organizations for being in alignment with the social justice framework used for the show Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices. “Netflix requested that my book Brown Boy Joy be in the project because it focuses on building self-identity for children 0-5. Without formal representation, I successfully negotiated my contract with Netflix. I didn’t know I was the only self-published author on the show until after the show was released,” said Booker. See more at: forbes.com.

10. “Red Sox Hiring Bianca Smith as First Black Female Pro Baseball Coach” by Justin Tasch

Excerpt: Bianca Smith is making baseball history. The Red Sox are hiring Smith as a minor league coach, according to the Boston Globe. MLB confirmed to the Globe that Smith will be the first black woman ever to coach baseball at the professional level. See more at: nypost.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?

 

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Retrospect: My Top 10 Posts of 2020!!!

 

Hello World,

If you’re reading this, y’all we made it…well, a few hours from now, we will have!!! This morning as I was writing in my journal, I realized that God has blessed me in ways that I hadn’t even acknowledged before today. (Please forgive me Lord!) Despite the trials of this particular year, which includes family members getting sick and or hospitalized with COVID-19, I can list and have listed the ways that God has continued to prove He’s my good shepherd and your good shepherd as well! After the Altar Call, my humble corner of the world wide web, is one of God’s blessings ever since it first launched in 2008! I’m so grateful that each year, more and more of you come here for content at the cross section of faith, relationships and pop culture! Below are the top 1o posts that brought you here in 2020!

1. ‘The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel’ Executive Producers & Cast Attend Television Critics Association Panel (PHOTOS)

Excerpt: According to Deadline.com, there was some tea spilled at the TCA panel, “… one question was gotten out of the way early:  Was estranged sister Denise Clark-Bradford consulted in the making of the movie? ‘Yes, she was absolutely given the opportunity to participate in her story,’ said Executive Producer Holly Carter, who was joined on the panel by Executive Producer Queen Latifah (Mary J. Blige and Missy Elliott are also EP’s) and cast members Christina Bell, Kierra Sheard, Sheléa Frazier, Raven Goodwin and Angela Birchett.” Read the rest of the article HERE.

2. Former Follower of Pinky Promise Founder Heather Lindsey Implies She’s a ‘False Prophet’ & Says She Owes Her Money!

Excerpt: And since D. Danyelle ended her blog post with mentioning money, let’s start with that in 2020. A whole four years later after what D. Danyelle wrote, Jaleceya Tate via YouTube claimed she is owed a refund for buying Heather Lindsey’s products in addition to criticizing her in much of the same way that D. Danyelle did. Jaleceya said she became a follower of Heather Lindsey in approximately 2013 because of her “cute kids, cute husband and cute testimony.” She subsequently attended a Pinky Promise conference, bought two of Heather Lindsey’s books and even attended Heather Lindsey’s cooking class.  She revealed that perusing Heather Lindsey’s perfect Instagram page over time caused her to feel her life, in comparison, was inferior. As a result, she began to not go her page as much.

3. Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church Pastor Rev. Raphael Warnock & Wife To Divorce as He Runs for U.S. Senate…

Excerpt: Earlier today, I checked the analytics for my website and noticed that many of the posts I have written about the Warnocks have received traction in the last couple of days. I wrote about their their romantic engagement in “Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church Pastor Proposes to Girlfriend During Watch Night Service! (VIDEO)” in January 2016,  their beautiful marriage ceremony just over a month later on Valentine’s Day in “Why Wait? Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church Pastor Marries on Valentine’s Day After NYE Proposal (VIDEO)!” and even the birth of their first child in “Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church Pastor & Wife Become Parents!” later that year. I think they are a beautiful couple, and I have visited Ebenezer several times over the years. But when I Googled them today, this AJC article appeared…”Warnock, Wife Involved in Dispute” by Stephen Deere and Greg Bluestein. Rev. Warnock told the AJC that he and his wife have been separated since November and plan to divorce.

4. Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 8, Series Finale: Behold…

Excerpt: Saints, unfortunately what we feared is true, Bishop has gone on to his final reward and is with the Lamb of God in that pasture in the sky. After last week’s episode, when it appeared that Bishop had a stroke, I felt like I had lost a beloved family member rather than a character on a mere television show. And even the next morning, I felt melancholy. But that is what great television or any great work of art will do: illuminate real life so much that you have no choice except to contemplate what has been presented and incorporate the message in your real life. The reality is that we all have an expiration date and hopefully we will leave this sphere as Bishop did, having poured out everything in service to God and what He has called us to do for our fellow man…

5. OWN ‘Greenleaf’ Creator Craig Wright & Executive Producer Kriss Turner Towner Share How ‘Greenleaf’ Started, Secrets from Season 5 & the Spinoff & MORE (MY INTERVIEW)

Excerpt: I must say that I’m very much disturbed by recent events in my city of metro Atlanta, but that is why quality entertainment is more important than ever. Although I’m tempted to tune into 24-hour news stations 24 hours a day, I must detach myself periodically and de-stress somehow. Along with exercise, watching my favorite television shows is one of my easiest ways to de-stress, and as most of the readers of my blog know, OWN’s Greenleaf is at the top of my list. That’s why I feel so incredibly blessed that I was able to recently interview Craig Wright, the creator of Greenleaf AND Kriss Turner Towner, executive producer of Greenleaf AND the writer behind Something New, one of my favorite films of all time (more on that later). Yes, after four seasons of recaps (that took me about three hours to write apiece), I finally have some of the answers to some of the questions that I have asked myself and you as we got to know the Greenleafs over these last four years…

6. New Birth Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Jamal Bryant Takes Daughter Grace to Daddy-Daughter Dance, Some Critique Her Dress…

Excerpt: The first time I officially danced with my father was during my wedding in 2013. It was one of the most special moments in my life because the first man I had ever loved gave me away to the man I will forever love. I don’t recall any of the schools I attended when I was growing up having a Daddy-Daughter Dance, but I hear about them all of the time now. Apparently, the school where Grace Bryant attends had a Daddy-Daughter Dance on Saturday as Bravo reported that New Birth Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Jamal Bryant took his daughter Grace to one. Grace is also the daughter of Gizelle Bryant, who is on the cast of  The Real Housewives of Potomac.  Both of the Bryants, who are back together after being divorced for several years, posted about this special occasion on their Instagram pages. But Grace’s dress, which is somewhat short and tight and shiny, has received some critical feedback…

7. Seven Reasons Why Dr. Charles Stanley Stepping Down as Pastor Makes Me Sad…

Excerpt: He taught me how to “Obey God and Leave the Consequences to Him.” Of all of the sentences I’ve heard Dr. Stanley say since I’ve been following his ministry, this sentence is what I’ve heard him say the most. It’s a simple sentence but the power of this singular sentence can impact every area of your life if you let it. I remember when I decided to live up to my Christian convictions when I was in my 20s although I had been baptized as a teenager. One of the decisions I made was to stop clubbing and be in church on New Year’s Eve. Babay, although my best friends at the time grew up in church like I did, they did not understand my decision and I found myself alone a lot. And even when I was around them, I felt rejected. There were many times I sobbed because I felt so alone and rejected. I wondered why if I knew God and was getting to know Him better, my life seemed to have gotten worse, particularly my social life. But I kept obeying Him, and I realized that I had to only depend on God and not my friendships. And in time, God brought certain friendships back into my life, but by then I had learned that God moves friends in and out of your life and to not hold on to any of them too tightly. Only hold on to God…I obeyed and left the consequences to Him and eventually I learned the lesson…

8. Kierra Sheard Shares Wedding Photos on Her Instagram Page!

Excerpt: Clearly God is still in the blessing business even in 2020! Hallelujah! On the heels of her self-titled album KIERRA being a #1 on Billboard Top Gospel Album and the success of the Lifetime TV original movie The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel, Lifetime’s highest-rated movie since 2016, Kierra Sheard has married Jordan Kelly! Apparently, it was a small wedding, but a bigger celebration is planned post pandemic!

9. Bishop T.D. Jakes Says We Should Pray for President Trump as He Battles Coronavirus, But Should We?

Excerpt: Even if you’re not a fan of President Trump, we all have to admit The Apprentice reality star turned politician knows how to get headlines and change the topic of the national conversation when he sees fit. A week ago Sunday, The New York Times reported that the president only paid $750 in taxes during 2016, the year he was elected president. Of course, that revelation caused a flurry of conversation. Although some may have thought the president won the presidential debate on Tuesday, others criticized his approach to debating and his directive to the white supremacist group Proud Boys. But by Friday, he managed to trump both of those conversations by announcing in the wee hours via Twitter that he and the First Lady have been diagnosed with the scourge of 2020 – COVID-19. And just like that, there has been very little talk of his taxes, debate performance and Proud Boys directive since.

10. Kierra Sheard Reveals Grandparents’ COVID-19 Diagnosis, What it Was Like Playing Her Mother in ‘The Clark Sisters’ Movie on Good Morning America

Excerpt: This morning on Good Morning America, gospel music star Kierra Sheard, who was interviewed by Michael Strahan, revealed that her grandparents are recovering from COVID-19, how she had to audition to play her mother Karen Clark Sheard in the the movie The Clark Sisters and more.

Sooo, whoomp, there it is..2020 is a wrap, folk! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Any thoughts?