Posted on Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Pastor Le’Andria Johnson Isn’t the Only Reason I’m Watching ‘Preachers of Atlanta’ Tonight, But She is the No. 1 Reason…My Interview With Her & More

Hello World,

I’m a PK (preacher’s or pastor’s kid) and I rep the A as my hometown so it’s a no brainer that I’m tuning into Preachers of Atlanta on GP alone…That being said, there are 7 specific reasons, I’m tuning into the Preachers of Atlanta tonight at 10 PM ET/PT on Oxygen!

1.Pastor Le’Andria Johnson

Should She Be a Pastor?

When I wrote the blog post “Was It Wrong for ‘Sunday Best’ Winner Le’Andria Johnson to be Drunk Allegedly on Periscope?” back in September, I had no idea she was a pastor of a church or that she would featured on the Preachers of Atlanta which premieres TONIGHT! I thought the name of her church I.P.C. (Imperfect People Changing) Ministries was simply the name of her ministry organization. Now that I know she is a pastor, I still think her being allegedly drunk on Periscope was bad judgment as I noted in my original post and now that I know she is a pastor, I feel even more strongly about this because James 3:1 is true. That being said, I appreciate her “keeping it real” attitude, but as we all know, keeping it real can go wrong real fast…

I asked Pastor Le’Andria Johnson about her decision to become a pastor particularly because there is additional scrutiny. Below is her answer.

Well, I didn’t decide to become a pastor, you know, I just answered the call. You know, not to be so deep, but that’s exactly how it happened. Because I didn’t want to be a pastor you know so. Accepting the call was easy because of my life growing up, you know, and I’ve seen things that I shouldn’t have seen, you know, and I wanted to be different. If I was going to accept the call, I wanted to be different…In doing that, this has been a tedious journey and the scrutiny of becoming a pastor, of course, the light is brighter now. I’m attracting more buzz. It’s something to definitely be prepared for, but it’s going good thus far so. The scrutiny is going to come with or without being a pastor. You get what I’m saying? So it’s rainy some days, you know, and then the sun is out, but I’m good. We good. We making it girl.

I also asked her about the Periscope broadcast incident and would she have changed anything about it looking back.

Well, at the end of the day, you know, I was in my house, this is exactly how I feel about it, and I exposed myself, you know. I was just letting the world, my fans, my supporters, you know, see that I have fun. This was Labor Day, you know, and I was just inviting them into my home letting them know I was chilling. This was a space and a time for me to chill with my family, but I shared it with my followers and my fans. And looking back on it, I don’t think that I would change anything about it. I don’t think I would. It’s the truth, and you know, you can’t change the truth. So it is what it is. It happened, you know. Will I ever do it again? You never know.

Condoms & Cigarettes?

During the first episode, Pastor Le’Andria also passes out condoms and cigarettes to homeless people that she encounters as she is inviting them to her church. I don’t necessarily disagree with her “ministry tools,” but I know these unconventional “ministry tools” will have people talking so I asked her about it.

Well I, again, I didn’t decide to do it, you know. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. We were going on the streets to minister, and I said to myself, ‘Well, how are we gonna approach, you know, these men and women that are on the streets because you know, you don’t want to walk up to somebody and look at them because they look different from you and expect that they don’t know God.’ So I was like I needed something else so I was like, cigarettes. I heard this voice like, ‘Go get some cigarettes. You know meet them where they are.’ And I was like, ‘Cigarettes?!’And I did it so I took cigarettes and I took one of them when I was walking up and down the sidewalks. I heard, ‘Hey man, can I get a cigarette? Can I get a cig?’ I said, ‘Of course, the only way you’ll get this is if you talk to me about God.’ And that’s exactly why I did it. It wasn’t deep. It wasn’t no 45-minute message or nothing of that nature. It was just passing out cigarettes and talking about God…20 cigarettes passed out, and 20 people came to church the next day. It was a Saturday night. They came on Sunday, and they’re still coming to the church.

And you know, condoms, hey, who don’t practice safe sex? The world practices safe sex so why the church can’t practice safe sex? I’m not, you know, endorsing, you know, sex before marriage, but you know, it’s just what it is. Rather be safe than sorry. The prostitutes were out there. I was passing them out to the prostitutes so just doing the right thing.

Baby Mama Drama!

Also during that first episode, Pastor Le’Andria has some baby mama drama with her husband Forrest Walker, who is being accused of fathering a child before they got married. Now, the baby mama wants Forrest to claim the child although he is unsure of the paternity. Pastor Le’Andria wants him to get a paternity test and settle the issue and they argue about that during the episode. I asked her was she hesitant to reveal all of that on the show. Below is what she had to say about it.

No, I wasn’t hesitant to reveal all that on the show because maybe she’ll watch the show and she’ll be able to hear from my heart and understand what we need her to do as an adult, you know, so I wasn’t hesitant at all. It was another vehicle of communication other than the phone so not at all. My husband, on the other hand, was, you know, probably a little uncomfortable, but you know, he’ll be alright. He’ll be alright. We’re gonna work through this thing together, and we’re gonna make it work.

Below is the interview in its entirety if you would like to listen.

2. Pastor Canton Jones

No Drama?

I’m a fan of the music of Canton Jones and I’ve listened to his show The Canton Jones Countdown Show on Praise 102.5 here in the A so I’m curious to know more about him. In comparison to Pastor Le’Andria, Pastor Canton’s life seems drama-free although in this first episode, he and his wife face high-risk pregnancy issues. I asked him about being a “drama-free” preacher on Preachers of Atlanta. Below is his answer.

I don’t know. I’m just me. A lot of people call life drama. And if that’s the case then everybody has drama, you know. So, ‘Oh my God, we forgot the baby in the daycare!’ Drama! You know what I’m saying? You can make drama out of anything, you know, and everybody can make drama. But I feel like we’re showing our life. Throughout this episode, we’re gonna show that we had a high-risk pregnancy. The doctor told us that we couldn’t have another baby, but we did. And so going against what they said, I don’t know if you call that drama, but we had a life on the line. It’s a lot that’s going to be on there so like I said, there may be some drama on there I don’t know, but my life is just so different I didn’t need any drama. We pastor church on a Thursday with a deejay in the dark so that is odd enough. So that’s what you’re gon see.

Music Ministry

As I noted earlier, I’ve been a fan of Pastor Canton’s music for a while, and one of the songs on the episode “I Can’t Help It” which features his protégé rapper Antonio is fire! (Is that cool to say? I’m not a millennial so…) Pastor Canton says, “Hip Hop music is just as relevant in church as hymns” in this first episode and I agree.

3. #BlackLivesMatter vs. #BlueLivesMatter

Pastor Corey Hambrick, who is a cast member of Preachers of Atlanta, is the pastor of the Life Church Christian Center AND a sergeant detective at the City of Conyers Police Department. His tagline is “I save souls, and I save lives,” but he rubs Antonio, who was in jail from the time he was 18 to 25, the wrong way. He even asks him how many people has he killed. He also asks him, ‘Why do you go so hard on us instead of using justice for good?’ I asked Pastor Canton what “had happened” after that their heated argument. Below is what Pastor Canton had to say about Antonio’s conflict with Pastor Corey.

You’ve got to watch and see that. But Antonio spoke for millions of African-American men in this country that feel picked on by the legal system so he just spoke out based off of his experiences. And Pastor Corey was trying to give a new perspective to Antonio based on him being in law enforcement. So that dynamic was really good. It’s going to be good for the country to see that. How it pans out? You’ve got to watch and see. Those guys really, really, really got into it. And it was up to me to kind of just really bring balance to the situation. And so that is what we tried to do.

4. A Cameo Appearance by Pastor Edward Long Jr.

During this first episode, Pastor Canton invites his friend Pastor Edward Long Jr. to a listening party. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you of the scandals involving his father New Birth Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Eddie Long, but I wouldn’t be a true to journalism if I didn’t ask if those scandals were addressed in Preachers of Atlanta. (I wonder if they asked Pastor Edward Long Jr. to be on the show…) So I asked Pastor Canton about why was he on the show and did he speak about his father.

I just brought him to the listening party to kind of just um…We’ve been doing music together for years on compilations, and I’ve been to their church to sing and perform a couple of times so I just wanted to hear his perspective on the music that day. And he ended up being in the conversation. But he was primarily just there to hear the music we were working on.

Does he at all speak on anything with his father or anything that has happened at his father’s church?

I’m not sure of that. You would have to ask the powers that be because I don’t know. Because everybody kind of… You don’t see all perspectives. I haven’t seen it yet so I’m not sure. I can’t answer that question.

5. A Cameo Appearance by Kyle Norman of Jagged Edge and his wife Marrika

I’m a big fan of Jagged Edge being from the A, and my husband and I go back and forth about which group is better – Jagged Edge or 112. I went to high school at Banneker High in College Park with Richard Wingo of Jagged Edge so I gotta say Jagged Edge. All that to say, I was shocked when I heard that Kyle Norman reportedly assaulted his then fianceé by shoving the wedding ring he bought her down her throat last year. Since then, they have obviously reconciled as they are married and even appeared on the Steve Harvey show together. Apparently, they also discussed their relationship with Pastor Kimberly Jones-Pothier, who is a Preachers of Atlanta cast member and known as “Real Talk Kim.” Pastor Kim has been married twice and says she has a passion for abused women. I didn’t see the Normans in the first episode, but I saw them in a trailer at the Preachers of Atlanta premiere party so I’m curious about what happens in their discussion with Real Talk Kim.

6. Pastor Judah Swilley

I don’t know much about Pastor Judah Swilley, but I enjoyed him rapping at the Preachers of Atlanta premiere party. From the Beastie Boys to Eminem, I appreciate the white approach to rap and hip hop so it’s going to be interesting to see how this Preachers of Atlanta cast member’s story line .

7. An Unconventional Way to Spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Now that I’ve gotten all of the juice out of the way, the most important reason I’m tuning into the Preachers of Atlanta is to see the gospel of Jesus Christ being spread to even more people. Now, after you’ve read all of that, you may wonder if Jesus will be highlighted at all, but I think anything can be used for good – even reality shows. This is what Pastor Canton had to say about it.

We are definitely bringing a different perspective on this show, and that is what we wanted to do. We wanted to show hip hop being used in the church and us pastoring a really out there millennial generation and how to reach those people from our perspective, what God has given us, so it was fun. It was a great process, and we would do it again in a heart beat. We loved the experience. And we pray that people get the heart behind what we were doing. But even if they don’t, I feel like there is going to be a set bunch of people or number of people that we were supposed to target that is going to get the message. It’s all about the message of Jesus Christ. It’s all about the kingdom. But the way we brought it is kind of different than what you would normally see…

Let the church say, “Amen!”

Y’all gon watch tonight?

Any thoughts?

Posted on Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Leonard Pitts’ Novel ‘Grant Park’ Provides a Framework to Say Goodbye to President Obama

A Book Review...

Hello World,

Earlier this month, I delivered a speech as a part of my church’s annual Racial Reconciliation Service. I was asked to speak on the theme “Things We Have in Common” based on Ephesians 4:1-6. About the time that I was asked to be the featured speaker in October, I was aware that a creeping sadness was starting to make itself known in my consciousness. Maybe it’s just me, but ever since President Obama was elected in November 2008, the air has felt different, like a new optimistic oxygen had been injected into the atmosphere overnight from the moment Senator Obama was named the victor in the presidential election to the morning we woke up living in a country where a black man was named president-elect. This new air had me feeling high like I was a party balloon floating and preening…

So as the days ticked by last October while a new crop of presidential candidates began vying for our votes (when I finally started paying attention to them anyway), it occurred to me that we were on the cusp of President Obama’s last full year in office. And since I had that realization, I feel like I’m breathing a little less of that new oxygen, like I’m a party balloon just past its prime hovering closer to the ground each day…

So what does all of this have to do with Grant Park, the latest novel from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Leonard Pitts, Jr.? Like the youth pastor of my church is fond of saying in his sermons, I’m so glad you asked that question. Below is the official description of the book…

Grant Park is a page-turning and provocative look at black and white relations in contemporary America, blending the absurd and the poignant in a powerfully well-crafted narrative that showcases Pitts’s gift for telling emotionally wrenching stories.

Grant Park begins in 1968, with Martin Luther King’s final days in Memphis. The story then moves to the eve of the 2008 election, and cuts between the two eras. Disillusioned columnist Malcolm Toussaint, fueled by yet another report of unarmed black men killed by police, hacks into his newspaper’s server to post an incendiary column that had been rejected by his editors. Toussaint then disappears, and his longtime editor, Bob Carson, is summarily fired within hours of the column’s publication.

While a furious Carson tries to find Toussaint—while simultaneously dealing with the reappearance of a lost love from his days as a 60s activist—Toussaint is abducted by two white supremacists plotting to explode a bomb at Barack Obama’s planned rally in Chicago’s Grant Park. Toussaint and Carson are forced to remember the choices they made as young men, when both their lives were changed profoundly by their work in the civil rights movement.

Racial Reconciliation…

As I began to prepare my speech, I realized that the two-term presidency of President Obama has been the proverbial “best of times” and “worst of times.” Below are the exact words from my speech…

In reflecting on President Obama’s historic presidency, the anniversaries of so many pivotal historic events have coincided with his two terms in the White House. Last year, we recognized the 50^th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the 50^th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama. In 2013, we recognized the 50^th anniversary of the 16^th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. And less than 50 years after his death, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in D.C. debuted in 2011. All of these pivotal events happened during the Civil Rights Movement when there were seemingly two Americas – one for White America and one for Black America.

And yet during this time, over the last eight years, the nation has grappled with the deaths of black boys from Trayvon Martin to Tamir Race, the Confederate flag debate and the shooting massacre at Emanuel AME Church and more.

Time seems to be moving forward and standing still.

While I was preparing my speech over the last few months, I read Leonard Pitts’ Grant Park. And while it is a work of fiction, it made me feel like I was in 1968 watching the sowing of seeds of civil unrest that came to a glorious fruition when President Obama was elected in 2008. Pitts does an excellent job of capturing a conversational President-elect Obama just hours after he wins the election. And as we know now, eight years later, racial reconciliation in this country, despite President Obama’s election, still has a ways to go. Pitts’ novel provided a framework to examine where we were in 1968, how far we came in 2008 and the journey we still have to tread post Obama…

A Love Story…

My favorite character in the book was Bob Carson. In 1967, he was an 18 year old eager to join the Civil Rights Movement so much so that he elected to attend small Christian college in Mississippi to the alarm of his white parents. He welcomed ” protest and snarling dogs and Freedom Riders and marches and injustice and voter registration and ferment…change.” After arriving on campus, he joined Students Organized in Unarmed Love (SOUL), which included black and white students, and met Janeka Lattimore at one of the organization’s meetings. They quickly begin an interracial romance which obviously was particularly challenging then. So I love a coming-of-age, against-the-odds love story. It reminded of the real-life interracial love story of novelist Alice Walker and Mel Leventhal which also began at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. (I read about it in a book about her life. ) So even while I was thinking deeply about the nuanced racial issues that were examined in the novel, I was also racing through the pages to see what happened to Bob and Janeka. When Bob first sees Janeka at a meeting, he is immediately drawn to her beauty and curvy body but then scolds himself for his lustful thoughts. “This was his sister in the body of Christ. She was his colleague in the struggle for human rights. More than that, she was a human being with a mind, and emotions and a soul and inherent, intrinsic worth. Yet, her he was cataloging her, the pieces of her, as though she were side of beef. What kind of loathsome male chauvinist pig had he suddenly become?”

I won’t tell what happens to them, but I will say this. Young Bob is an enthusiastic Christian ready to take on his pastor about racial reconciliation as it is espoused in the Bible even quoting Malachi 2:10, a Bible verse that I used in my speech. (Thanks Mr. Pitts 🙂 !) But Old Bob had evolved into “an Easter Christian, a Christmas Christian, when he bothered to be any kind of Christian at all.” I speak from experience: One of the things that will make you lose your religion is lost love…And that’s all I have to say about that…

The Future of Journalism…

As a journalist, I also appreciated the examination of the journalism industry. At the start of the book, Malcolm Toussaint is disillusioned with his career although it has been good to him, taking him “from a hovel on the south side of Memphis to this palace in Chicago, two Pulitzer Prizes, countless lesser awards lining the walls of his office.” He also writes a “twice-weekly nationally syndicated column,” and “New York Times bestsellers blurbed by Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton.” Despite Toussaint’s “storied career” in journalism, my field has been undergoing a seismic shift with the advent of the Net…It’s scary and exhilarating at the time…Sadly, newspapers and magazines continue to die, but I have hope that true storytelling will survive…somehow and some way…

So here are a few of the lines that ring true for journalism going forward. “Suddenly, it was no longer enough to be the best journalist you could be, to do the work and put it out there and let it speak for itself. Suddenly, you were supposed to keep a Facebook page and answer emails and moderate discussion on your message board.” Here is a description of a young journalist in the novel who actually wanted to work at a newspaper: “The old heads in the newsroom called people like her ‘true believers,’ meaning Gen Y kids who somehow missed the memo that a thing was not worth doing unless it was done digitally.”

While there are more elements I can highlight in this excellent book, I hope I’ve given you enough to get this book! And if you’re looking for a way to come to grips with the pending last days of President’s Obama’s presidency and be entertained at the same time, Leonard Pitts’ Grant Park is a must read…

Any thoughts?

Posted on Thursday, January 14, 2016

Hard Lessons: Before Jackie Holness Could Pledge Delta Sigma Theta She Had to Look Inside Herself

I'm on the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Website...YAY!!!

Hello World,

As some of you may know, yesterday, my beloved sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, celebrated our 103rd Founders Day! And in honor of our sorority, our local newspaper, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper is celebrating our sorority all week long! Today, my road to Delta is featured on its website…

Below is the beginning…

My introduction to black Greek collegiate culture was the same as many of us who grew up in the ‘1990s, the golden age of black pop culture.

I tuned into “A Different World” week after week as a high school student. I remember the episode when Whitley pushed too hard while pledging her roommate Kim, who was attempting to be initiated into her sorority.

Whitley’s drill sergeant attitude backfires when Kim and the rest of the pledges simultaneously stop taking orders from her. In the span of the 30-minute sitcom, they, of course, work out their differences, becoming not only sisters in friendship but sorority sisters. Read the rest of the story on myajc.com.

Any thoughts?