Tag Archives: Gizelle Bryant

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Why New Birth Pastor Dr. Jamal Bryant Was Right to Respond to ‘Real Housewife’ Monique Samuels & Say He Won’t Appear on the Show Again…

Watch Episode 2 of the RHOP Reunion TONIGHT!

Hello World,

“I loves a messy pastor. God knows I do,” I decree and declare this Sunday morning in my Sofia from The Color Purple voice. Maybe that’s not right, but if you can’t tell the truth on a Sunday morning, when can you tell it, pray tell, Saints? Even before Pastor Jamal Bryant set foot in Atlanta to preach his first sermon at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church just two years ago on Dec. 9, he shook up the scene, and chile, for good reasons and not-so-good reasons, he continues to shake things up in the A and beyond.

And now Pastor Bryant has delivered a clap back to rival all clap backs. It was equal parts righteous, revealing and ratchet. But before we get into the specifics of the clap back, let me catch you up on the backstory. So apparently last Sunday, on the first episode of the reunion of The Real Housewives of Potomac, which I haven’t watched before but I will on tonight, Monique Samuels brought in a binder with tabs and everything to organize all of her receipts of misdeeds and mistruths regarding her castmates and used the binder to castigate them. (Aside: we have to thank Mitt Romney for bringing the “binder” to the culture. Remember his “binders full of women?” LOL) So Monique apparently had a tab dedicated to castmate Gizelle Bryant in which she accused Gizelle’s man, which is her former hubby Pastor Bryant, of cheating on her, referring to him as “Pastor Holy Whore.” That was the biggest allegation made, but there were other things she said, as Pastor Bryant addressed in his clap back.

Here’s a snippet of the reunion show.

So let’s get into this clap back, Saints. First let’s set the scene of this epic clap back. I imagine Pastor Bryant recorded this in his home as he is in front of a painted portrait of himself. Additionally, there are painted portraits of Nelson Mandela and Bob Marley. There are other striking painted portraits of black figures on the walls as well. Additionally,  Pastor Bryant is donning a black hoodie with the words “I’m an African Angel.” written in white words. Shout out to Paula White and her silly self! SMH! So just from the setting alone, we see that Pastor Bryant is coming from a righteous place. He’s not cowering somewhere. He is coming correct…

So next, Pastor Bryant pulls out his binder! Now, that is ratchet but reasonable. If Monique can pull out a binder, why can’t the pastor? Then he goes into why it took a bit to respond, he says he was working in the campaign to help his Morehouse brother Ebenezer Baptist Church Pastor Dr. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossof get elected to the senate. That’s right, pastor. First things first.  Elections before entertainment. Then he explains he was also working with my Soror Pinky Cole and her restaurant Slutty Vegan for a community food drive. And lastly but certainly not least of all, he was honoring “the wishes of Gizelle who asked me not to respond, not to say anything.” He goes on to say, “So to those of you who were overwhelmingly concerned that I hadn’t said anything and had not given any defense because I was honoring what it is that Gizelle desired. Because of mounting moments that have happened in social media, I thought it prudent that I not remain silent so that my silence will not be confused with consent.”

Then he explains that his response is not an apology nor is he asking for forgiveness for anything. It is the right thing to say straight out of the gate. If you’ve done nothing wrong, there is no need to apologize nor ask for forgiveness. This is simply his response. He also says for that five seasons that his ex-wife has been on The Real Housewives of Potomac, he has never mentioned the show in a sermon nor on his social media nor in any of the 50-odd interviews he does a year. In other words, why is Monique talkin’ about him when he has never talked about her?  Additionally, he puts it out there that he has “not been an advocate for many reality television shows because I don’t think it represents the best of who we are, nor does it advance our progress, our maturity or our brilliance.” His statement juxtaposed with the backdrop is a powerful statement. Y’all pray for me though because I still love me some ratchet reality television shows 🙁

And he says that Gizelle’s participation in RHOP has been a “bone of contention” for years between the reunited couple. So with all of that background, the pastor, who is a human first, had to respond. He doesn’t even like reality television in the first place and then he becomes the hot topic on a reality show! Again, to reemphasize this point, he was right to respond! He also reveals that while they were in the “baby steps” of their reconciliation, he agreed to be on the show “against my better judgment, against my wisdom and even against my convictions. I wholeheartedly regret participating, and I want you to know that I will never be on The Housewives of Potomac or anything in that franchise ever again.” That is a revelation for anyone wondering if the pastor will use the show to expand his platform. Nope. Not happening. He says the show has been a “gross misrepresentation of my character, my ministry and my humanhood.”

Furthermore, he addresses allegations that he has been an absent father regarding his relationship with his daughters. Apparently, there was some photo shoot with his daughters that he was not able to participate in, which was addressed on the show. But Pastor Bryant explains that he was coming from South Africa to be a part of the photo shoot but got delayed in Germany. He says the producers and network knew this but these details were left on the proverbial cutting room floor I guess. And he also reveals that the reunion was recorded in 2019, and that his daughters were upset with him as well because for the first time in their lives, he was not present to take them nor pick them up from school. Also, there was an adjustment period for the whole family as he had recently moved to Atlanta. But he concludes that his teenager daughters are “absolutely daddy’s girls.” I’m not a parent, but when I reflect on my relationship with my parents as a teenager, there were times when they got on my nerves. All of this is relatable, wouldn’t you say?

Additionally, and centrally, he addressed Monique’s cheating allegations and calling him a “holy whore” I guess for a previous relationship he has had since his divorce from Gizelle. “I’ve been divorced for 11 years and single people date. When you date, sometimes it works, and sometimes it didn’t. In this instance, it didn’t. Nothing immoral, illegal or unethical took place. It did not work out. There is some clarity that needs to happen. I’m not married, I’m not engaged, so some of you have a strange relationship with language. You can’t have a mistress while you’re single. I’ve never had any mistress. She has never been to visit me in Atlanta, she has never been to New Birth, never been to my home, I’ve never been in her home.” He also revealed that he is still working out the kinks in his relationship with his former father-in-law, who is his Kappa Alpha Psi brother, as his marriage with Gizelle ended in part due to his previous infidelity. And he has owned up to his infidelity in his previous marriage.

CORRECTION: Apparently, Pastor Bryant was not referring to Monique. He was referring to the woman in New York he supposedly dated…And most revealingly about Monique, he revealed that while she is steady calling him out, she has been calling him, trying to get a come up! “If we’re gonna show text messages, let’s show all the text messages. Let’s show the text messages of the young lady asking to fly to Atlanta for my installation. Show the text message where I said ‘Nah, that’s not a good idea.’ If you’re gonna show the text messages show all of the text messages, where you asked to come down for Memorial Day. I said ‘No. You can’t come here.’ If you’re gonna show the text messages, show the text messages where you complained because I didn’t open a door for you to speak on the Word network. If you’re gonna show text messages, show all of them. How it is you wanted me to hire you to be on staff. I told you you weren’t qualified.” She even asked him to review her dissertation on the empowerment of black women (say whut?), which he says didn’t have “enough depth, enough nuance and there is no creativity.” As a writer, that statement hurt the most! When you can’t say, “Amen,” say “Ouch,” Saints!

And then the clincher of the clap back is Pastor’s Bryant’s critique of Monique’s husband Chris Samuels, who he says has CTE!

“You live in a house with a man who has anger issues, who doesn’t mind expressing volatile behavior. Everything that I’m saying tonight is not conjecture. This is not murder, this is self-defense. On Sunday, for the first time in five years, I’m inviting my audience to watch the reunion of the ‘Housewives of Potomac’, you’ll see Monique’s husband try to attack my ex-wife. Security had to be called, he had to secured. I’m very concerned.”

See the clap back for yourself below!

Call his clap back righteous, revealing or ratchet, but don’t call me tonight because I’m watching RHOP for the first time on tonight at 9 p.m. on Bravo! LOL.

If you would like to keep up with pop culture from a Christian perspective, please click on this link to subscribe to my blog 🙂!

Any thoughts?

 

 

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New Birth Missionary Baptist Church Offers Free COVID-19 Testing on Mother’s Day, Pastor Jamal Bryant Refutes Bloggers’ Paternity Claims…

Hello World,

I’m shaking my head as I write this because I’ve got so much to communicate so bear with me as I go through what I’m feeling as I write all of this. The good news first: Last month, New Birth Missionary Baptist canceled its COVID-19 testing event as just before it was scheduled to happen, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp ordered the state to shelter in place. At that time, the COVID-19 testing was offered at a cost of $125, but now the testing is being offered for FREE! See the flyer above for details.

Okay, now that the good news has been taken care of, let me get into this bad news. Yesterday, I came across this blog post that I will not link to here, but I imagine you can search for it and find it for the time being (more on that later). This blogger referenced an Instagram post in which the author of the IG post wrote that congratulations are in order because a “secret lady,” whom the blogger wrote was a New Birth Missionary Baptist Church parishioner, allegedly and recently gave birth to Pastor Bryant’s child. Pastor Bryant’s ex-wife Gizelle, with whom he has reconciled although they are not remarried as of now, is even mentioned in the IG post.

So that post was obviously explosive and as some bloggers do, this blogger created a whole blog post about this IG post. As a I read the post,  I wondered if the allegations could be true. I’ve written blog posts about the fact that Pastor Bryant has not been perfect regarding his personal relationships in the past. But as I read through this blog post, it did not sit right with me that no sources were credited. As a journalist,  we do sometimes use secret sources in stories as some sources request anonymity before they are willing to be interviewed. However, these sources typically give enough information so that anyone reading the story would be able to discern the truth. Otherwise, it just comes off as conjecture and irresponsible.

That’s why I have a problem with some of these so-called bloggers who lack journalistic training. It is irresponsible and cruel to post false information about people with absolutely no credible sourcing. I’m not gonna lie. I feast on a juicy bit of gossip every now and then, but I know the difference between gossip and the gospel truth. And most importantly, I’m a Christian. I have no problem calling out people within the church, but I do it when I have enough information to support what I write.

I’m glad that Pastor Bryant saw fit to immediately refute these baseless claims. Please see his video response below. He titled the video “Congratulations Are In Order,” referencing the original IG post. But you have to watch until the video ends to see why he did so…In the words of Megan Thee Stallion, it’s “savage.” Also, I like the fact that he is wearing all white which I think is a not so subtle way to affirm that he is blameless, as it pertains to this particular accusation.

Here is a summary of Pastor Bryant’s response:

I’ve been in a tailspin over the last 24 hours because everywhere I would turn on my social media and on my phone, I was met with the words, ‘Congratulations’ and immediately, when I heard, ‘Congratulations,’ I thought, ‘Wow, that’s great. Somebody sees the work of the church.’ That in spite of the quarantine and the churches being shut down, New Birth, even with closed doors, refused to close our eyes to abject poverty or food insecurity. For the last seven weeks, we’ve been blessed to be able to feed 7,000 individuals in metropolitan Atlanta with fresh groceries. We’ve partnered with Trader Joe’s, Publix, Panera Bread, Atlanta Food Bank and donations from gracious people like you.

I thought when I read in social media, blogs, the ‘congratulations’ was that we were doing the work of Christ, feeding the hungry and taking care of those who were destitute. When I realized the congratulations were not us opening up the king’s table, I immediately thought that maybe, just maybe, that congratulations were in order because we were able to secure some 5, 7, 10,000 COVID-19 tests. I thought people were extending and issuing congratulations to us because we attempted to do it about a month ago, and was met with open rebuke because they were those who said they couldn’t afford the laboratory processing fee so we postponed it until every person could have access.

So we were able to partner with a laboratory and with a testing site, both owned and operated by black women, and so those congratulations were considering that so many black businesses are failing and finding themselves without any support even with the stimulus packages that evades minority businesses. So when it is that we open up our parking lot this coming Sunday on Mother’s Day and say that COVID testing would be free to all – uninsured, under insured, Medicaid, there would be no price and you don’t even have to register, that just show up and stay in your car and all of the African-American healthcare providers who are volunteering would come to your car and test you within three to five minutes. DeKalb is one of the most underserved communities in the state of Georgia. I thought that was the, ‘Congratulations.’

Much to my shock and my amazement, the congratulations was not about feeding 7,000 people, nor about providing free testing to some 70 to 10,000 people on Mother’s Day, but reckless and irresponsible bloggers who went on with no facts, with no evidence and might I add with no truth to make a baseless accusation that I have fathered a baby in April, May, February, January, here in Atlanta and was hiding this baby, from some mother in Atlanta or in my church, that, no. 1, is 1000 percent untrue, a 1000 percent faulty.

In days gone by, I usually don’t say anything. Michelle Obama informed us that when they go low, we go high. If it was just for me, I could just withstand it, ignored it and keep going. But I had to think about my daughters who are now of the Internet age, who have to read these falsities by cowards who would write things, with no boundaries, no compassion, no understanding, but flagrant lies.

I have to think about the church that I’m pastoring, that I’m grateful to pastor: New Birth Missionary Baptist Church here in Stonecrest, Georgia who has gone through a battery of assaults and attacks on the Internet before I ever came. I made a commitment to God and to these people that I would never take them through a storm, through hardship, through embarrassment, through anything that would bring shame to the body of Christ. And I’ve withheld on to that covenant and to that vow to God and to this church.

I’ve had to think about what this would mean to the gospel and people would, in fact, use this as a runway to believe that you can’t outlive your past. Because it is fodder for so many people who believe that if you made any mistake in the past, you’ll keep doing them in the present and relieve them in the future. God is a God who restores and transforms. We sing it often, ‘Things I used to do, I don’t do anymore. Places I used to go, I don’t go anymore.’ And as a consequence, I do not stand as somebody who has done everything right. I haven’t dotted all of my i’s. I haven’t crossed all of my t’s. But one thing that I can stand to true is the man that I am now, is not the man that I used to be. And all of it is credited to God’s saving power, His grace and His forgiveness. There’s somebody who needs to know, you can outlive your past. It doesn’t matter what people think or what people say. And in the words of William Shakespeare, ‘To thine own self be true.’

Amazingly, I read in physics, when I was still a high school student, that there was something about the force of momentum, whether it was a thing or it was a person, when you are moving with momentum, the only thing that can stop you is what is in front of you. What is behind you does not have the authority, the force or the power to do so, only what is in front of you. I’m grateful to God that the Lord is allowing and affording us the opportunity to do a great work in Atlanta, but I’m telling you that no power, principality, no hater, no envy, no jealousy, no spite, no vindictiveness will be able to stop the momentum of God that is moving in my life and in the life of New Birth church.

I’m thankful for all of you who have extended prayers and genuine deep-seated concern for me, for my mental health and even for my family. I’m grateful. Please, whatever you do, especially on this National Day of Prayer, please keep praying for me. I am not what I should be, but I thank God that I’m not what I used to be.

In the words of that great American writer, ‘Rumors of my demise have greatly ben exaggerated.’ Mark Twain said that. So to those of you who are celebrating prematurely, hoping that the enemy was going to win, and that character was going to crack, and that ethics would somehow elude me, I’m sorry. And to the bloggers who wrote this with no names, no evidence, no proof and all the more, with no truth, this blog is for you. (Pastor Bryant then pauses to hold up a blue balloon with the word ”Congrats’ and ‘Way to Go,’ written on it along with multicolored confetti dots. ) I wanted to extend to all of you, ‘Congratulations.’

And now,  I will let you hear his words out of his mouth so that you can hear the savagery for yourselves! Ha! I have to give you a few cool points for that one, Pastor.

He goes on to say that on Saturday, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church will be feeding 1,000 people who are in need of groceries. His exact words then are, ‘Somebody blog that,” and so I am. If you are in need of groceries and you live in the A, mosey on over to New Birth where the food is free and the pastor aine putting up with it with some of y’all no mo…

And furthermore, if you need a free COVID-19 test, come through on Sunday…

Pastor Bryant was named the new pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, which had suffered through years of controversy, at the end of 2018. Since then Pastor Bryant, who has also suffered through controversy (some from his own making), before he arrived, has created both good and interesting, to say the least, headlines after he arrived. But this one — good, bad or indifferent — should not be attributed to him.

So unlike other bloggers, I will not be saying, ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ to some phantom woman who has been referenced in this “story” as was instructed in the original IG post. And that’s pretty much all I have to say at this point.

Any thoughts?

 

 

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The Top 10 Blog Posts and or Magazine Articles for Black Christian Women in October 2019…

Hello World,

As of today, there is only one month left before my debut novel Destination Wedding will be released. What does that mean? I’m all over the place, but I’m trying to keep it together. I’ll admit I may not keep up with all of my regular blog features, but for today, 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 October 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. “What’s Fact and What’s Fiction in Harriet” by Rachelle Hampton

Excerpt: The fact that Harriet is the first feature-length film to tell the story of one of the most famous women in American history may sound improbable, but it’s no less improbable than many of the facts of her life. The new biopic is mostly true to what we know of the real Harriet Tubman, though writer-director Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou) and co-writer Gregory Allen Howard (Remember the Titans, Ali) take some considerable liberties with both the timeline of events and the creation of several characters. We consulted biographies, articles, primary sources, and a few contemporary historians so we could break down what’s historical record and what’s artistic license. See more at: slate.com.

2. “Botham Jean’s Brother’s Offer of Forgiveness Went Viral. His Mother’s Calls for Justice Should Too” by Dorena Williamson (Dorena was featured in my last “First Lady Friday,” which I plan to resume after my book launch.)

Excerpt: Brandt’s offer of forgiveness and hug has been shared and praised widely across social media. But many have likely missed footage from the rest of the family, including these words from Botham’s mother, Allison Jean. “Forgiveness for us as Christians is a healing for us, but as my husband said, there are consequences. It does not mean that everything else we have suffered has to go unnoticed,” Mother Allison told the court. See more at: christianitytoday.com. 

3. “Simone Biles Becomes The Most Decorated Gymnast in World Championship History” by Laurel Wamsley

Excerpt: Simone Biles is the greatest gymnast of our time – or any time in history. She proved that Sunday at the World Championships, where she raked in her 24th and 25th world medals, both gold. Biles, 22, took home five of the six golds to be won in Stuttgart, Germany, winning the top of the podium in team competition, all-around, and vault in addition to floor and beam. (On the uneven bars, she took fifth.) See more at: npr.org.

4. “Allyson Felix Just Broke Usain Bolt’s Record at 10 Months Postpartum” by Heather Marcoux

Excerpt: File this under “empirical proof that mothers are real-life superheroes.” Olympic sprinter Allyson Felix just broke a record held by none other than Usain Bolt…and is if that weren’t enough, consider this: She did it at just 10 months postpartum. Allyson, a US national sprinter, just won her 12th gold medal at the World Championships on Sunday. As of this win, Allyson now holds the record for most gold medals at the track and field world championships, according to CNN. See more at: mother.ly.

5. “NewsHour’s Gwen Ifill memorialized with USPS Forever stamp” by Gretchen Frazee

Excerpt: The stamp, which was unveiled Tuesday, features a 2008 photo of Ifill with the words “BLACK HERITAGE” at the top and Ifill’s name at the bottom. See more at: pbs.org. 

6. “Daughters of ‘Real Housewives’ Star, New Birth Pastor Apparently Now Own a Restaurant” by  J.D. Capelouto

Excerpt: The teenage daughters of Jamal and Gizelle Bryant are the apparent new owners of Arizona’s Steakhouse in Stonecrest. Gizelle Bryant is a reality star from “The Real Housewives of Potomac,” while Rev. Jamal Bryant is the pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest. See more at: ajc.com. 

7. “Unholy: Pastor Denied Me Communion Because I Wouldn’t Apologize For Being Pregnant & Unmarried” by Veronica Wells 

Excerpt: When my parents brought up the topic of apologizing to the church, the pastor had six sons and three of them had kids out of wedlock at this point. And there were many other people in the church, male and female, who had kids and they were not married. And no one had ever been asked to come in front of the church. It was very targeted. He was in a position where he thought he could prove a point with me. He thought that I was just going to go with it. And I was like, ‘No. They’re only doing this because I am a woman and they’re only doing this because they think that they can control me.’ And I refused to do it. See more at: madamenoire.com.

8. “Georgia Board Approves Naming UGA School After First Black Graduate” by Eric Stirgus

Excerpt: The Georgia Board of Regents on Wednesday approved a request from the University of Georgia to name its College of Education after Mary Frances Early, its first African American graduate. Early arrived at UGA in the summer of 1961, a few months after Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Hamilton Holmes became the first African American students to enroll there. She became the first African American to earn a degree from the University of Georgia when she graduated on Aug. 16, 1962, with a master’s degree in music education. See more at: ajc.com.

9. “UGA’s First Black Sorority to Mark 50 Years on Campus This Weekend” by Ernie Suggs

Excerpt: When Helen Butler arrived on the campus of the University of Georgia in the winter of 1967, she had to go searching to find other black students. It was six years after Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter-Gault integrated the campus, but still fewer than 100 black students attended the school. “My first roommate was white, and I never saw anybody black in any of my classes,” said Butler, the executive director for the Georgia Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda. “So you had to go to the student center to see someone who looked like you.” See more at ajc.com. 

10. “Jessye Norman, Opera Icon, Memorialized at Hometown Funeral” by Mesfin Fekadu

Excerpt:  Laurence Fishburne, the Emmy- and Tony-winning actor who was born in Augusta, told the attendees as a struggling young actor looking for inspiration, he looked at photos of great artists, from Miles Davis to Zora Neale Hurston to Duke Ellington to Norman. “It made me feel connected to something bigger than myself,” Fishburne said, adding that his black-and-white photo of Norman revealed someone energetic, whimsical and vulnerable. “So I am here at the request of Jessye’s family to grieve with you, to say thank you to God for sharing her with us and the world, to celebrate her life, her good words, her accomplishments, and to praise her for using her talents, her gift, her compassion, her intellect to lift all of us up a little higher.” See more at: oanow.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 blogs 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?