Posted on

DeVon Franklin & Meagan Good and other celebrity couples celebrate black love with Wal-Mart…

Hello World, walmartblkluv3

As you know if you’ve read even a few of my posts, I’m always writing about single women and the search for love…Well, in honor of Black History Month, Wal-Mart hosts “Black Love and Relationships” tonight at Morehouse College from 6:30 p.m. to 8 pm. This forum, moderated by Dr. Alduan Tartt, psychologist and CNN on-air personality, features celebrity couples DeVon Franklin & Meagan Good, Anthony & Tarsha Hamilton & Bishop Paul S. Morton and Dr. Debra B. Morton. It seems that three unique perspectives of marriage will be offered from the newlywed perspective to the seasoned perspective. Also, as at least two of the panelists are ministers, a Christian perspective of black love and relationships will be offered as well.

To RSVP for this FREE event, go to hthatl.eventbrite.com. However, while the event is free and open to the public, seating is offered on a first come, first served basis. The forum will be held in the Bank of America Auditorium, Shirley A. Massey Executive Conference Center, 830 Westview Drive, SW Atlanta 30314. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. However, if you are unable to come, the forum will be broadcast LIVE via www.walmart.com/historyteachinghistory.If you have a question for the panelists, tweet them at #hthalt.

And since this is the month of love in addition to Black History Month, I have to post my favorite new love song…”You & I” by Avant featuring KeKe Wyatt…I love their duets! I think they have a vocal chemistry similar to Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell….What do you think?

Any thoughts?

Posted on

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?

Posted on

Reflections: After the Altar Call a year later…

Hello World,

My Delta line sisters with copies of my book at the release party…

A year ago today, a long cherished dream came true…My first book, while officially released on Feb. 14, 2012, was presented to friends, family members and supporters on Feb. 10, 2012 at my book release party…It was the visual culmination of a lot of behind-the-scenes hard work…I worked hard to get a book deal…It took me 7 years…I worked hard to secure interviews with one of my favorite Christian celebrities Sherri Shepherd and Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, the first female bishop of the A.M.E. church and the granddaughter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated founder Vashti Turley Murphy. I worked hard to get women from all walks of life to share intimate details of their lives and about their personal relationships with God so that other women would be encouraged. I labored in prayer to God because I wanted the book to blessed by the Holy Spirit. I planned out my marketing and promotion time line six months in advance of the book release to make sure I could get as much publicity as possible. If you want to know more, read this “I’m Bout It Bout It aka Marketing & Promotion Month 7 (And It.Don’t.Stop.).” I.WAS.DRIVEN. And I could go on and on…And I have had some good results regarding best seller lists, various accolades, etc.

But a year later, while the best seller lists, various accolades have meant a lot to me, what matters most is this…And I haven’t shared this story before…On the night of my book release party, I was a little perturbed that the venue where my party was held wasn’t entirely shut down for my party…I guess that’s neither here nor there a year later…But anywho, needless to say, there ended up being a few guests at my party that were not expressly invited…LOL…Remember that happened in the family reunion cookout scene in the movie “Poetic Justice?” Anyway, as I was trying to make sure that all of the various elements of the book release party were coming together from the door prizes, to the food, to the entertainment, etc., a woman came up to me and asked me if could she speak with me. I realized that I hadn’t invited her so I wandered what she had to say so I replied, “Yes.” Apparently, she had gotten a copy of my book and wanted to speak with me about it. She told me that she had just prayed that morning about knowing more about God because of some things she was going through, and she felt that my book was the answer to her prayer…I.WAS.DONE.

I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t thought about that woman in a while, but it came back to me this week as I was reflecting on my first year as a published author…I’m human…I love praise and accolades and there is no doubt that I want to sell lots of books and all of that…but I’m also a Christian…If this book has only helped one person develop a personal relationship with God, then it was worth all of my hard work…Of course, I want to reach more than just one person…but each and every one of us are precious to God…Read the Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Parable of the Lost Coin if you don’t believe me…

So I have a request today, if my book has helped you to develop a personal relationship with God, e-mail me at jacqueline@afterthealtarcall.com and let me know…

Any thoughts?