Hello World,

As a black writer who has written for UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.), I’m particularly sad to share this news…

UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.) announced today that its founder Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr., died on Saturday, February 13, at 86. Dr. Banks launched UMI in 1970 to provide African American churches and individuals with images reflecting their congregations and relatable, Christ-centered content from an urban perspective.

“Dr. Banks was a revolutionary publisher and giant for the African American church and community,” said C. Jeffrey Wright, CEO of UMI. “He was the first to create contextualized content that portrayed positive images of African Americans in the Bible. Because of his innovation, UMI has reached millions of Black churches and individuals with the Gospel.”

For the last 50 years, under Dr. Banks’ leadership, UMI has developed Christian education resources, including Bible studies, Sunday School, and Vacation Bible School curriculum, websites, magazines, books, and videos for its 40,000+ strong customer base. He wrote a number of books and devotionals and hosted a two-minute daily podcast called Daily Direction. In 1995, he brought on Mr. Wright as CEO to take on the day-to-day management of the company. Many evangelical organizations have recognized his pioneering work, including the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA), which presented him with its inaugural Kenneth N. Taylor Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.

Read the rest HERE.

My church has used UMI Sunday School and Vacation Bible School literature for years but I remember before we used this literature. I did not see images of little boys and girls who looked like me so sometimes it was difficult to connect to what the Sunday School and VBS teachers were trying to teach me. But when the church started using UMI literature, it was so empowering to see images that reminded me of me which helped to solidify the valuable lessons in my mind and heart.

Check out this wonderful video about the start of UMI.

I considered it a high honor when I began writing for UMI, specifically for its blog UrbanFaith.com. Below is an excerpt of an article The Real Preachers’ Wives of Atlanta that I wrote the website.

I’ve got to admit I do watch The Real Housewives of Atlanta just about every Sunday night. And now that True Entertainment, the company that produces the raucous reality show, is producing a new reality show about Atlanta “first ladies,” I will probably be watching that show when it debuts Tuesday, Jan. 1, at 9 p.m. ET on TLC. The Sisterhood features five preachers’ wives: Christina, DeLana, Domonique, Ivy, and Tara. From the trailer many saw of the show, these preachers’ wives are not the circumspect, stand-behind-your man type of women that many would expect preachers’ wives to be. In the trailer, Domonique is a former drug addict and shows the other preachers’ wives a home in Miami where she used to smoke crack; Tara is a fitness buff with a penchant for getting tattoos and convinces Domonique to get one too; Ivy is shown getting handcuffs as a gift from her husband Mark, pastor of Emmanuel Tabernacle Church, and proceeds to share about their relationship. In fact, the trailer is so controversial that a petition to get the show off the air was initiated on change.org.

Read the rest HERE.

Dr. Banks certainly heeded his call to, “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it” Habakkuk 2:2.

And I will close with this verse: “Then I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.'” Revelation 14:13

The post Urban Ministries, Inc. Announces the Death of Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr., Founder of the Largest Black-Owned Christian Publishing Company appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Hello World,

When will our country ever be rid of racism? Sometimes, I feel pretty hopeless about the prospect. That may never happen in the country at large, but what about in the church? Check out this letter that Rev. Dwight McKissic, Sr., founder and current senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas recently received.

Also recently, McKissic announced that he and his church were leaving the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Below is an article in which he is interviewed about his decision.

Why did you decide to leave the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention?

At their annual state convention, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention passed a resolution, essentially denouncing critical race theory. Having some limited understanding of it, I could not embrace where the SBTC was on that question so I’m no longer compatible with them and made the decision that we need to disengage from them. As a matter of fact, I got the confirmation today they received our letter. See the rest HERE.

Just pathetic…

Any thoughts?

The post Black Pastor Dwight McKissic Sr. Shares Racist Letter He Received After Leaving the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Well, this week in church news has been a doozy…and it kind of reminds me of the lyrics in Prince’s song “Controversy.” Below is an excerpt of the lyrics…

I just can’t believe All the things people say, controversy Am I black or white? Am I straight or gay? Controversy…

And Prince even references “The Lord’s Prayer” in the rest of the song…And this verse also reminds me of a few verses in Matthew 10.

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

In this verse and the verses that follow, Jesus basically says that your faith in God will cause you to be involved in some controversy and with this in mind, a run-down of the controversial church news of the week…

1. We’ve all heard about the Chick-fil-A controversy…Here is one take on it…“Eat Mor ChiKin’: Black Church Group Comes Out to Support Chick-Fil-A” (Politics365)

2. Some church controversy is happening over in Jackson, Mississippi too…“Black Couple Says White Church Banned Wedding: Crystal Springs Mayor ‘Heartbroken'” (ClarionLedger.com)

3. All is not awry in Mississippi…The state’s first black bishop in the United Methodist Church has been named..“Methodists Laud 1st Black Bishop” (ClarionLedger.com)

4. Contraception controversy…“81 Percent of Blacks and Hispanics Say They Can Hold Different Opinion on Contraception Than Church and Be Considered Good Christians” (Huffington Post)

5. More controversy on the black church and AIDS…“Maker of film on the black church and AIDS probes tension between faith and knowledge” (Washington Post)

6. In more “first black” news, some racial controversy at Duke University…Well, this is not a controversial story, but it would have been years ago as Duke University named its first black dean of its chapel…“Duke Names New Dean of Chapel” (Newsobserver.com)

7. Church Kidnapping Controversy…“Fake Church Kidnapping: Pennsylvania Pastor, Church Charged With False Imprisonment” (Huffington Post)

Yes, it was definitely a controversial church news week…Let the church say amen!

Any thoughts?

The post The “C” in Church is for Controversy…(Shout out to Prince Rogers Nelson) appeared first on After the Altar Call.