Category Archives: Culture

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Reflections on being a Preacher’s Daughter Without the Reality Show…

Hello World,

My family...

My family…

So last night I didn’t watch the debut of Lifetime’s new reality show “Preachers’ Daughters” because I have lived that reality every day of my 39 years…

Growing up with a devout preacher of God, my father, and a daughter of a preacher, my mother, was wonderful and challenging at the same time…First of all, my brothers and I always felt loved and cherished by our parents. They encouraged each of us to become kind and empathetic people. They encouraged each of us to pursue our dreams. They encouraged each of us to have personal relationships with God…

Eighteen-year-old Taylor with her father Pastor Ken Coleman of City of Refuge Pentecostal Church

Eighteen-year-old Taylor with her father Pastor Ken Coleman of City of Refuge Pentecostal Church

But, they had a ton of rules…And sometimes I found creative (read: I lied) ways to get around these rules….

My father made it clear once I got into high school that I could not go to dances even though all of my friends went to dances…I felt like Ariel, the preacher’s daughter in the original “Footloose.” Remember dancing and rock music were forbidden by the city council in their small town Bomont? So when I was in the tenth grade (if I am remembering correctly), I devised a scheme to go to my high school’s homecoming dance. As I was on the drill team and often got back from football games very late, I decided to tell my father that he didn’t have to pick me up from school until very late after a football game. I figured by the time he picked me up, I would have had at least an hour or so at the dance in the gym.

Imagine my surprise when as I was sitting with my all-time favorite crush on the

Kolby, 16, Nikita, a former professional wrestler-turned traveling evangelist.

Kolby, 16, Nikita Koloff, a former professional wrestler-turned traveling evangelist.

bleachers, the gym doors suddenly opened and a figure, illuminated by the light in the hallway, stood and surveyed the room. I felt like I was in a movie then because everything seemed to slow down. The figure wore a trench coat and his pajamas showed underneath. At once, I realized it was my father and he walked right up to me as if he had been magically bestowed with infrared vision. I was caught. If I could have passed out I would have as I became nearly mute with embarassment. I hated being a preacher’s daughter that night…

Olivia, an 18-year-old teen mom, and her father Mark, pastor of Everyday Church.

Olivia, an 18-year-old teen mom, and her father Mark Perry, pastor of Everyday Church.

I found ways to date without my parents knowing as well. Although I was allowed to date when I was 16 years old, I didn’t always want my parents to know about every single date. So I claimed I joined a club at high school and we met on Wednesdays evenings after school. I figured that since my parents went to Bible Study at church on Wednesday evenings, they wouldn’t pay as much attention to what was going with this new club I joined, and I was right. So after school on Wednesdays, one guy in particular would pick me up from school and we would hang out. Those were the days…I now know what the verse “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come…” (Ecclesiastes 2:1)  means…Back then, in spite of the high school drama I occasionally experienced, every day felt like a new adventure…

Aside from the rules, I often found myself in situations that have to be unique to preachers’ kids….

I had my first kiss in front of the church during Vacation Bible School the summer before eighth grade…The boy I kissed lived across the street from the church. After we kissed that summer night, of course we became boyfriend and girlfriend…LOL…So after church on Sundays, when everyone was socializing in the parking lot, I would slip away to cross the street to visit my new boyfriend’s house…I figured no one knew what was going on with me because they were all talking…But one Sunday, as I was getting ready to cross the street to come back to the church grounds, I saw my father waiting on the corner…to this day, I don’t know who could have told him where I was..The was the last time I went across the street after church to visit my boyfriend…

When I was even younger, I was always getting into fights – usually because of my mouth. Instead of taking my side in these fights, my father invited the people that I fought with over to our home. He would then give a mini-sermon about being a peace maker…It was worst than being beat up…You know I got joined (talked about) in the neighborhood…

I could go on and on…

And now that I’m an adult, I’m still experiencing the ramifications of being a preacher’s daughter….Somehow, I have to figure out how to invite the whole church to my wedding later this year…Wouldn’t want to offend anybody…Yikes…Pray for me and send a check to to help pay for my reception…I’m just kidding…

In spite of it all, I wouldn’t change a thing…

Any thoughts?

 

 

 

 

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Church Scandals…from Bishop Eddie Long to Kandi Burruss…

Hello World,

As I was perusing the March issue of EBONY magazine which is dedicated to all things scandalous with Kerry Washington, star of the hit television show “Scandal,” appropriately on the cover, I began thinking of all of the scandalous things that have happened in churches throughout the country…And then I wondered how are we to deal with all of this drama…

In EBONY, Senior Writer Margena A. Christian breaks down the background leading to the mysterious death of Megachurch Pastor Zachery Tims. By the time I finished reading her informative and insightful story, I realized that fame and fortune, while alluring to most anyone, can truly become a prison of isolation if you are unprepared and or just not equipped to handle all that comes along with them. I also realized that all people, particularly those in positions of power, need to be accountable to someone. And I realized that everyone that claims they are of God are not truly of God which is stated in the Matthew 7:21.

So below are a few of the headlines I recently came across that are truly scandals…

1. Jesse Jackson Jr. Accused of Misusing Campaign Funds from The Washington Post…As the daughter of a reverend myself, this story really saddens me…

2. Bishop Eddie Long Accuser Centino Kemp To Release Tell-All Book from NewsOne…Ever since the original scandal with Bishop Eddie Long and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church broke in 2010, there has been a seemingly endless stream of new scandals surrounding Bishop Eddie Long and the church…

3. Former New Birth members Sue Bishop Eddie Long from The Atlanta-Journal Constitution…Yes, more Bishop Eddie Long news…

4. RHOA Kandi Burruss Releases Gospel Song “Stay Prayed Up” with Marvin Sapp from the Kandi Burruss Facebook Fan Page…Apparently, Marvin Sapp will be on tonight’s episode of the Real Housewives of Atlanta…Is it right for a purveyor of sex toys to sing gospel songs?

5. Sentencing Set in Church Vandalism Case from KATC.com…A black man pleaded guilty to setting two black churches on fire to frame his ex-girlfriend who is white…

6. Catholic Church To Elect 1st Black Pope? from WorldNetDaily.com…I’m not Catholic, but I imagine this could be scandalous news for many…

7. White Supremacist Repents, Joins African-American church from WSMV.com…This is actually a very good story, but I’m guessing this caused a scandal in the church…

So how should the church handle scandals? What do you think of these scandals I mentioned? What church scandals are currently brewing now?

Any thoughts?

Check out Kandi’s single below! Do you like it?

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Passion 4 Christ Movement aka P4CM presents “RHETORIC 2013,” a spoken word and poetry event…

Hello World,

Circa 1997 when “Love Jones” debuted, I became obsessed with spoken word and poetry for a while, traveling to all of the hidden spoken word and poetry joints in the A, dating a man who knew how to spit fire and even crafting a poem or two myself…(I even gave one of my poems to the poetry goddess Nikki Giovanni, and she wrote me back…Read about in “He Just Was Not That Into Me…aka Nikki Giovanni likes me…so there…”) This was all in my early ’20s…While I don’t fancy myself a poet anymore, I still love the art form, and I love to discover new poets whose words and delivery can take you there…

I first discovered Janette McGhee, who is better known as “MissTerious Janette…ikz” (pronounced mysterious genetics), a dynamic Christian spoken word artist and poet who wrote and performed “I Will Wait For You” in 2011. In this poem, she beautifully captured the absolute angst a Christian woman feels as she attempts to wait for the man God will send her rather than just trying to make any ole man the one…She performed this poem in the P4CM (Passion for Christ Movement) Lyricist Lounge…Read about in “Living Single – The Panel Discussion, The Poem & The Show.”

And below is an awesome poem entitled “Ready or Not” by Janette…ikz and Ezekiel performed at a PC4M event. This is the official description of the poem  – “Christ is coming back for a bride without spot wrinkle or blemish. This poem by Ezekiel and Janette…ikz asks you if you’ll be Ready or Not. All to often though, we try to do the cleaning and the planning when we Christ should take the lead. We say let him lead and the wedding day will be just as it should be… all for His glory.”

Well, PC4M is preparing for RHETORIC 2013, the ministry’s latest spoken word and poetry event, and are looking for submissions…Below are the details for submitting an audition video if you are interested…

RHETORIC Objective and Guidelines

The objective of P4CM’s RHETORIC (formerly Lyricist Lounge) is to glorify God in and with our craft of spoken word; edify and challenge believers to grow in bearing the image of Jesus in our thinking, our attitudes, our emotions, our speech, and our action; and minister to the lost the hopelessness and consequences of sin and their utter need for Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It is these objectives–the supremacy of God’s glory, bearing Christ’s image, the Gospel, and the excellence in our craft–that have made our event the largest Christian spoken word event in the world.

RHETORIC Guidelines

  1. All poems are to be in agreement with P4CM’s Faith Statement and not emphasizing controversial doctrines (e.g. predestination) or non-essentials (e.g. spiritual gifts).
  2. All poems are to be free of offensive and obscene language. If approved, you can use normally offensive language that may be purposed in the context of the poem (e.g. Jackie Hill’s poem on being a stud; the use of “nigga” in debunking it’s cultural coolness and showing it’s racially degrading nature; “rape” and its affects; etc). The use of this approved language is never to be promoted, but understood in light of the poem’s context. If an approved offensive term can be changed without affecting the purpose of the poem, then changing it to something non-offensive will be encouraged.
  3. Every poet (open mic and featured) will take a year off in-between RHETORIC performances (e.g. on 2011, off 2012, on 2013, off 2014, etc). If we ever have RHETORIC more than once a year, it would be at least one RHETORIC off (unless otherwise noted).
  4. Poem lengths are as follows: Open mic artists must have poems lasting 5 minutes or less.  Featured poets poems are to be between 5 and 10 minutes.
  5. Every poet who performs will need a pastoral reference. This only applies to those poets selected to perform. A pastoral reference is not needed for an audition submission, but be prepared to provide one in case you are selected. This way we have a referral from your pastor (or two or more of their local church leaders instead) saying that your life matches what you are ministering, that you’re active and involved in the life of your church, and under someone’s leadership/authority and accountable.

Creativity

As long as each poet agrees to and are within these guidelines, you have the artistic freedom for selecting and writing a poem to be performed.

Enter Your Audition Video

If you’d like to audition to be an open mic poet or you have a suggestion for a featured poet, email a link to a YouTube or Vimeo video to rhetoric@p4cm.com.  We will not open attachments or links to video only on Facebook.  Please send us the poem you’d like to perform.  We prefer video not audio because it helps us see your potential stage presence so send us your best performance with the best recording with good audio.  Do not send an edited video.  Please just send a live performance.  We plan to finalize our poets by early April and we’re constantly ranking and evaluating them so please submit your poems as soon as you can for consideration.  We’ll get back with you after we’ve looked at all of the submissions and go from there.

Any thoughts?