McDonald’s ICGT & RCAI Name Winner in Atlanta Weekend Featuring Donald Lawrence, Kierra Sheard, Sir the Baptist and More (PHOTOS)!

Tour host and media personality Lonnie Hunter engages grand prize winner Aarion Rhodes (L-R)on stage prior to her showstopping audition at the first-ever Golden Voice Talent Showcase. The showcase is offered in select markets of the 13th Annual McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour and is in partnership with RCA Inspiration.

Hello World,

This past weekend, McDonald’s USA brought the first-ever Golden Voice Talent Showcase and in-depth Master Class to Atlanta as part of the 13th Annual McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour.

This is the first time the Golden Arches has offered a two-day empowering and educational experience as part of its free nationwide tour. The tour is an extension of McDonald’s Black & Positively Golden campaign, an initiative that shines a brilliant light on Black excellence through the areas of empowerment, education and entrepreneurship. The Golden Voice Talent Showcase and Master Class were produced in partnership with RCA Inspiration.

GOLDEN VOICE TALENT SHOWCASE: The power-packed experience kicked off with the Golden Voice Talent Showcase Friday night at the Riverside Epicenter. Twenty-four hopefuls from as near as metro Atlanta to as far as Rochester, NY, auditioned before a crowd of gospel music fans and judges, including musical powerhouses Donald Lawrence, Kierra Sheard and Sir the Baptist. RCA Inspiration Vice President of Marketing Damon Williams joined the judging panel, giving aspiring singers feedback on their performances. In the end, Atlanta-native Aarion Rhodes, blew away the judges and onlookers with a traditional gospel hymn. She took home the grand prize, which included opening for the McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour concert the following day in her hometown.

MASTER CLASS: The following morning, the showcase judges joined tour host Lonnie Hunter for an in-depth Master Class, held at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. The panelists gave an intimate crowd an inside look into the music business.

CONCERT:The exciting weekend culminated with a much-anticipated, explosive concert featuring performances by Donald Lawrence, Kierra Sheard, Sir the Baptist, Tye Tribbett, Keke Wyatt and DJ Standout. The event was hosted by Lonnie Hunter and drew approximately 6,000 attendees to New Birth.

Atlanta-native Aarion Rhodes took home the grand prize at the first-ever Golden Voice Talent Showcase. As part of the prize, Rhodes got to open the Atlanta concert of the 13th Annual McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour on June 22. The showcase is offered in select tour markets and is in partnership with RCA Inspiration.

DJ Standout, Kierra Sheard, Donald Lawrence and Sir the Baptist (L-R) join grand prize winner Aarion Rhodes (Center) on stage after the first-ever Golden Voice Talent Showcase. The showcase is offered in select markets of the 13th Annual McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour and is in partnership with RCA Inspiration.

Twenty-four contestants eagerly await the announcement of the night’s top performers at the first-ever Golden Voice Talent Showcase. The showcase is offered in select markets of the 13th Annual McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour and is in partnership with RCA Inspiration.

DJ Standout spins during the 13th Annual McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour pre-show in Atlanta. The tour is an extension of McDonald’s Black & Positively Golden campaign, which celebrates Black excellence through education, empowerment and entrepreneurship.

Hip-hop gospel artist Sir the Baptist performs during the 13th Annual McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour concert in Atlanta. The tour is an extension of McDonald’s Black & Positively Golden campaign, which celebrates Black excellence through education, empowerment and entrepreneurship.

Famed gospel vocalist Kierra Sheard performs during the 13th Annual McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour concert in Atlanta. The tour is an extension of McDonald’s Black & Positively Golden campaign, which celebrates Black excellence through education, empowerment and entrepreneurship.

Vocal powerhouse Keke Wyatt performs during the 13th Annual McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour concert in Atlanta. The tour is an extension of McDonald’s Black & Positively Golden campaign, which celebrates Black excellence through education, empowerment and entrepreneurship.

Legendary music director and producer Donald Lawrence performs during the 13th Annual McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour concert in Atlanta. The tour is an extension of McDonald’s Black & Positively Golden campaign, which celebrates Black excellence through education, empowerment and entrepreneurship.

Gospel music vocalist Tye Tribbett performs during the 13th Annual McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour concert in Atlanta. The tour is an extension of McDonald’s Black & Positively Golden campaign, which celebrates Black excellence through education, empowerment and entrepreneurship.

Atlanta-area McDonald’s Owner/Operator John Hurt delivers remarks during the 13th Annual McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour concert in Atlanta. The tour is an extension of McDonald’s Black & Positively Golden campaign, which celebrates Black excellence through education, empowerment and entrepreneurship.

Any thoughts?

Pastor Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, T.I. & Scrapp Deleon Bail Out 23 Non-Violent Offenders From Jail in Time for Easter Sunday!

Hello World,

How was your Easter Sunday?! Mine was lovely. After a wonderful Easter service at my church, my husband and I were blessed to spend time with family and friends. Since my parents live pretty close to my in-laws, it was easy to see a good number of people that I don’t get to see every day in one day. In addition to having a soul-saving relationship with God through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus, I’m so thankful that God has blessed me to have a close-knit family and great friends.

Apparently, I was not the only one who was able to reunite with family and friends on Easter Sunday. Through New Birth Missionary Baptist Church’s Bail Out Program, $120,000 was raised with the help of rapper T.I. and VH1’s “Love and Hip Hop” personality Scrapp Deleon to bail out 23 non-violent offenders from metro Atlanta jails (DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Rockdale County Jails) on Saturday, April 20 in time to celebrate Easter Sunday with family and friends, according to Fox 5.

On the bus ride home from jail, one man said, “I aine never had nobody help me or do nothin’ for me. I’ve been on my own since I was 13. Everything I’ve done, I’ve done by myself so for y’all people to just come out and bless me like this. I really feel, like, very grateful, very thankful for everything. I’m trying to be, whatever y’all need me to do, whatever y’all need me to help with, I’m there. Just say the word. I’m just very blessed. I’m very thankful.”

Also, church volunteers greeted the men and women with a Welcome Home Party. Barbers, beauticians and celebrity makeup artists  in addition to clothing were on site to get the men and women looking right before they were reunited with their families and loved ones. One man at the party said 30 minutes after he prayed about getting out of jail, he was told about the Bail Out Program at midnight! “12 o’clock at night, the guard knocked on my door and handed me the Bail Out Program. Like it was just crazy.” How many of y’all know that when no one else is up at the midnight hour, you can call up Jesus who hears and answers prayers! That reminds me of what happened with Paul and Silas when they were jail. They were freed at midnight as well!

At the party, Pastor Bryant announced that ALL of the children of the men and women who were released from jail will have college fund accounts at Citizens Trust Bank courtesy of the church. “We want to make sure that we disrupt a culture of recidivism so they do not go back into the system as in previous generations.” Additionally, mentors will work with the men and women.

See for yourselves what happened in the video below:

That is what the resurrection of Jesus Christ is all about – resurrecting new lives.

Any thoughts?

 

Why Pastor Jamal Bryant Should Get Married Following Tweet’s Announcement That She is Done With Church…

Hello World,

Back in November, shortly after Dr. Jamal Bryant was named the new pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia, I penned this post ‘Should Divorced Men Such as Dr. Jamal Bryant, Newly Named New Birth Missionary Baptist Church Pastor, Be Allowed in the Pulpit?’ Many people had varied opinions and I understand why. But after all that New Birth Missionary Baptist Church has been through, at the end of the day, I wished and do wish Dr. Bryant well as he puts his stamp on this well-known but beleaguered church. And I’m taking notice of what he has done thus far. I wrote one complete post about one of his initiatives, ‘New Birth Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Dr. Jamal Bryant & Members Give Approximately $300 Each to Members Affected By Government Shutdown…’ and I mentioned the FREE City Wide Wedding the church held in another post.

I enjoyed listening to his recent interview with Dr. Rashad Richey, a local radio show host, at Beulah Heights University!

I found him to be very transparent about himself and his ministry. (And he is too charismatic!) He mentioned that while he was a student at Morehouse College, education, in the traditional sense, wasn’t his primary goal. He said, “On paper, my major was political science, but in actuality, my major was Spelman.” Ha! He also revealed that being called to ministry does not mean you are not flawed. He said, “I’m anointed, but I hate sleeping alone.” He offered this as one example of being a flawed person in ministry. He didn’t say he was referring to himself when he made that statement, but given his past, you have to wonder. I mean this was the man who had to address a random paternity allegation just three years ago!

And now his most recent girlfriend R&B Singer Charlene Keyes known as Tweet (that we know of anyway) is saying she is done with church! Remember when he called her his last lady! And that was just in 2016…

Well, chile, in a Instagram Live video from a few days ago, Tweet and her daughter Shenice discuss their dislike for the church. Without apology, Tweet said she will speak her “truth.”

“It’s coming out in the music, it’s coming out in interviews, It’s coming out. I’m saying what I want to say. I’m not shading nobody. I’m telling my truth. And church has been the worst, I will not do church anymore. I love God like you said, and I have a relationship with God, but you won’t see me in nobody’s church house, not giving nobody my tithe, not giving 10 percent to nobody, period.”

Tweet explained that people presented themselves one way in a public setting but acted in another way in private. She said it really shocked her because her pastor that she knew while she was growing up had integrity. She also mentioned another pastor in Atlanta that she feels has integrity.

“Bishop Weeks, who was an incredible man of God, integral, Bishop Weeks, if he still had his church in Atlanta, I would drive there and go to his church. He taught me integrity.”

That statement to me was very telling. Does Tweet live in the metro Atlanta area? Her former man’s church is in the metro Atlanta and she didn’t say anything about driving out there!

You have to wonder what went down in their relationship. It’s not a good look when your former boyfriend has been named the new pastor of a church in another city and now you’re done with church and talking about it! They reportedly broke up last year! And Tweet mentioned going out to have a cocktail twice in that video! She was once a heavy drinker by her own admission and now she’s joking about going to have a cocktail after going off about church…What’s really going on?

Smh…chile….I fear that a scandal is waiting to happen at New Birth…And if it’s one thing that New Birth does not need it’s a new scandal. That church is not over the old scandal yet…

I’m not saying that Pastor Bryant should just pick the first woman that he sees, but the Word says that it’s not good for any man to be alone (“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18) and this man in particular it seems…

So if Pastor Bryant meets a nice woman who has what it takes to be a First Lady (And it kind of messed up that Pastor Bryant and Tweet didn’t make it because she would have been a saaangin First Lady too) and after thorough premarital counseling (because pastors need counseling too), he should go ahead and get that done sooner rather than later. As the Word says, “Now to the unmarried  and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” 1 Corinthians 7:8-9

He’s a man of a particular age so he should know what he wants by now. And it shouldn’t be that difficult to find her with all of the suitable woman we have in Atlanta 🙂

So what y’all think?

Any thoughts?