I Met Pastor Kenneth Haney Today!

Tonight while conducting a flight from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Little Rock, AR I met Pastor (Brother) Kenneth Haney. WOW SAINTS! Apostolic Royalty on my flight. As soon as he boarded the plan I looked him in the eye and said “Praise the Lord Pastor” To his surprise (since flight attendants never greet passengers with Praise the Lord) his eyes lit up and said “Oh, well Praise The Lord”! I then began to share with him that Bishop W.L. Bonner was my pastor. He immediately told me that he knew Bishop Bonner and that they were good friends. The flight went well and I just thank and praise God for meeting someone of like faith. UPCI, cherish your leader. Pray for your leader. Hold him up when you pray as he is on a great mission to spread the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostolic Doctrine. P.S. For those of you who do not know Pastor Haney, he is the general superintendent of the United Pentecostal Church International (basically our version of the Chief Apostle).

Greetings From San Diego, CA

 Today I have the opportunity to spend a day in San Diego, CA and my oh my is this a beautiful place. I walked out of my hotel room thanking and Praising God for the blessing he has bestowed upon me. The images that I am seeings all over this beautiful city makes me so appreciative of the “good things” Life In Jesus has to offer! I’ll be leaving San Diego tomorrow to go back to Dallas, but I just had to take a picture and show you how beautiful it is out here. I’ve heard that it is very expensive to live out here but you know what, I don’t care, I’d give my entire pay check away (for real) to wake up to beautiful sunshine every day.

There will be a major announcement that the Pope of Pentecost will be making come April 28th 2008 (If the Lord should say the same). Be on the look out for it in Jesus Name as it is sure to knock your socks off yet again.

Greetings From Los Angeles, CA

I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Greetings from the sunny and beautiful city of Los Angeles, California. I thank and I Praise God for His traveling mercies all though the airways. It is with Jesus Joy that I announce to all of my readers that I have completed yet another Flight Academy and am now flying again this time with American Airlines. All glory goes to God who giveth me the victory. Now that the world is physically at my fingertips again, you too (through me) will be able to live a life full of travel to exotic destinations as only the Lord would see fit. It is with this in mind I have a few things to share with you.

How many of you out there are so tired of this Hillary and Obama foolishness? Someone needs to hurry up and drop out of the race (hint hint Hillary) and let the best man TRULY win!

And uh, what is the deal with these “polygamist” people doing things all in the Name of Jesus? Uh, you clearly don’t serve the same God that I serve. Stop the madness and get delivered! (however yall sure do look like the UPC Church with those long skirts and uncut hair thats “pleasing to Jesus” so they say.

Star Jones? Who told you to get married to that man and then divorce him after 3 years of marriage. Makes no sense to me at all. Oh well. Another marriage gone bad!

Finally, what is up with the “church age” that we are now living in? So much for holiness being preached over the pulpit anymore. Saints we better pray.

Those are my random thoughts for today. I am on Pacific time right now and am getting sleeping even though its just 6:53pm, ya know the Pope of Pentecost is getting old (ha ha ha). I will keep you posted on all the latest things that are happening in my life.

VIVA IL PAPA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blacks And Pentecostals Greet Pope Benedict XVI

Hmmm, all jokes aside (since my alter ego’s name is The Pope Of Pentecost) I am not too sure if I am down with Blacks such as “Elder” Bernice King (whatever) and Pentecostals such as Bishop James D. Leggett (who is the leader of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church) meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the inter-religious prayer service which was held today at 6:00pm in NYC. Uh, doesnt the bible clearly say in 2 Corithians 6:17 “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” Dont you think this scripture could also apply to us who claim to know the “truth” to forsake assembling ourself with organizations such as the Roman Catholic Church who clearly teaches a mixture of falsehoods and truths???? Romans 1:21-25 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.  24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Hmmm, Just An Observation. You be the judge!

http://gso.iphc.org/papalvisit.html Other religious leaders invited to attend include: NCC President Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, General Secretary Dr. Michael Kinnamon and Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, NCC senior program director for Faith and Order and Interfaith Relations, will join the pope in an ecumenical prayer service April 18 at St. Joseph’s Church in the Yorkville area of Manhattan. Also included among the 250 national and local Protestant and Orthodox leaders are heads of NCC member communions. A preliminary list of church leaders participating in the prayer service includes: Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America. Archbishop Demetrios of America, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America and Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Bishop C. Christopher Epting, representing Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of The Episcopal Church. Rev. Dr. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, General Secretary of the Reformed Church in America. Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Rev. Dr. Donald McCoid, representing Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Bishop Jeremiah J. Park, Bishop of the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Rev. Dr. William J. Shaw, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. Bishop James Leggett, General Superintendent of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. Dr. Leith Anderson, President of the National Association of Evangelicals. Leaders from the New York area who will greet the pope include Elder Bernice A. King, the youngest child of Dr, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Coretta Scott King; the Rev. Jimmy Seong G. Lim, executive director of the Council of Churches of the City of New York; and the Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.

Apostolic Church Spotlight Of The Week: The Potters House Dallas, TX

The Potters House

Bishop T.D. Jakes, Senior Pastor

6777 W Kiest Blvd
Dallas, TX 75236
(214) 331-0954

www.thepottershouse.org

1 Day before my birthday while on business here in Dallas, TX my co-worker and I decided that this would be the Sunday that we would visit the Potters House where Bishop T.D. Jakes is the Senior Pastor. I must say that my experience at the Potters House was 100% positive and I highly recommend that any time you are in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area that you visit the Potters House for a mighty move of God.

My day started out at 4:30am. My co-worker and I had decided we were going to go to the 8:00am morning worship so that we could come back to our hotel and study for our test for this upcoming week in training. I had no clue if Bishop Jakes was going to be in town (and neither did I care as I am not star struck). Just to give you a back drop, my company is kinda cheap and so they pair male-male, female-female up in hotel rooms during training (in essence you will have a roommate). Well, my roommate had rented a car for the weekend. He was coming back to the hotel early this morning from the club (that’s his business, I just try to be a light in the midst of darkness). He noticed that I was getting dressed for church and asked me “Where are you going?” I told him church and that I was going to take a public bus. He then gave me the keys to his car and told me that I was more than welcome to take his car rental to church as he did not want me on the bus so early in the morning (ROOMMATE ARE YOU DRUNK because I don’t want to take the car and you wake up and think the car is gone lol). He said “Yes, I’m drunk but its ok, take the car anyway, I know how important church is for you, just please pray for me”. Well saints, I tucked my drunk roommate into bed and snatched those car keys and went DRIVING to the Potters House with another co-worker (thank ya Jesus!)

An African American trainer of mine was very biased about the Potters House and claimed that Bishop Jakes had preferred parking for those who paid more tithe and preferred seating for those who were stars. THIS IS NOT TRUE! When we got off of the exit we noticed that indeed the parking lot was already filling up and that indeed there were little trolleys that were taking people from the parking lot to the front entrance of the church. BIG DEAL!

I walked in speaking in tongues and crying as I could immediately feel the power of God all about this massive mega ministry. Praise and Worship was second to none! We cried and cried and spoke in tongues some more and guess what saints, I got to sit on the floor in row 17 YES LORD! By 9:00am the entire church was slammed packed out the doors. It was amazing!

Quiet as it is kept, The Potters House is Apostolic and Oneness in doctrine (however you will find them listed in the non-denominational section of your yellow pages) but don’t be fooled, we had APOSTOLIC CHURCH TODAY! Bishop Jakes was in the House! Ohhhh, and Ce Ce Winnans was there as well and sang her new song “Waging War” (LOVED IT! She is so beautiful in person and up close especially those pretty white teeth of hers). Today “The Bishops Choir” sang which seemingly was a 45+ choir and they killed. Get this, the churches welcome song is “This Is The Lords Church, And Jesus is Lord” Uhhh, you cant get any more Apostolic than that (oh yeah and they were baptising today in Jesus Name at the 11:30am service. If you don’t believe that they baptise in Jesus Name, just call 214-331-0954 ext 1495 and they will tell you. YES, I did do my research!

After itermittent dancing, running and foaming at the mouth the way us Pentecostals love to do, Bishop Jakes preached from Daniel 1:1-7 and entitled the sermon “I Know Who I Am!” and the man killed us with the story of the 3 Hebrew boys the 2008 version. No longer today are we just concerned about thieves with mask. The FBI says that the fastest growing crime is identity theft. 27.3 million people in America have had their identity stolen. Ahhh, but we have an enemy today that comes to kill, steal and destroy! The enemy wants to steal your name so that you dont know who you are anymore (hence the reason why the 3 Hebrew boys names were changes to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego which names were extremly demeaning to the Jewish nation). But I have a GOD that knows WHO I AM both past, present and future. No longer do I have to live by wordly principles and act like an individual that is not of God. I now must live according to my God given Name!

When I tell you, we danced right then in the middle of the sermon. Worship and Praise is second to none in this edifice and I know without a shadow of a doubt GOD is doing something great for the inhabitants of Dallas, TX by having T.D. Jakes Pastor people here. In closing (after a good nap from dancing and shouting and taking notes in church this morning) I give the Potters House of Dallas TX and all 20,000 members who showed me and my co-worker so much love a 2 thumbs up and I will be there again next Sunday to see what God has in store for His people.

Kudos To The Potters House from the Pope Of Pentecost!

 

POPE OF PENTECOST TURNS 30!

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY TO THE

 POPE OF PENTECOST !

APRIL 14, 2008

 

Thousands mourn a beloved bishop

TIM FUNK

Gray-headed men buried their crying eyes in handkerchiefs.A lone trombone player tapped out a mournful sigh.

And a preacher, searching for words to express the grief of the congregation, spoke tenderly, then emotionally, about their longtime bishop, now lying in an open casket before them.

“He was not a weak man, but he was a meek man,” Apostle C.D. Baptist told a swaying crowd that numbered in the thousands. “I speak of precious, precious, precious `Daddy’ Madison! Clap your hands and give God the glory!”

At that, what had started as a somber goodbye to Bishop S.C. “Precious Daddy” Madison by members of Charlotte’s United House of Prayer for All People kicked into a joyous, night-long celebration of his 17 years as their spiritual leader and father-figure.

Madison, who was born in Greenville, S.C., lived in Charlotte as a teenager and pastored one of his first churches in Salisbury, died Saturday at 86. Since his election in 1991, he had led the predominantly African American denomination that has about 1.5 million members in 25 states.

Charlotte’s ornate 57,000-square-foot Mother House, its entrance draped in black curtains and ribbons, was the second stop in a cross-country procession that started Wednesday in Augusta, Ga., and moves tonight to Newport News, Va.

On Saturday, mourners in New York City will line up across from the fabled Apollo Theater to view Madison’s body at the Mother House at 125th Street and Eighth Avenue — known to United House of Prayer members as “Honey Harlem Heaven.”

The Monday funeral will be at God’s White House, the denomination’s church in Washington.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police estimated that more than 5,000 mourners were on hand Thursday night to file past the casket and get their last glimpse of Madison at the church on Beatties Ford Road.

Most squeezed into the huge sanctuary, standing nearly shoulder to shoulder, as the brassy “shout” bands played and choirs sang. Others gathered in an overflow chapel one floor below, watching the service on closed-circuit TV. Still others lined up outside to wait their turn to see Madison, dressed in gray bishop’s garb, his bearded face and the gold crucifix around his neck visible under the glass atop the casket.

United House of Prayer officials asked reporters not to interview mourners, but Lonnie Harry, 61, wearing white gloves and a fez identifying him as an usher, looked like he wanted to talk about his loss.

“An awesome man … one of the people you should meet in life,” said Harry, a truck driver who’s been attending the United House of Prayer all his life. “When I heard he passed, it was a hurting thing. Like losing a mother or a father.”

During the service, Madison’s image was everywhere — on the hand-held fans, on ribboned buttons worn by some of the women, in the programs, and framed on walls, hanging next to the only other two bishops the Pentecostal-style Christian denomination has had.

United House of Prayer for All People was founded in 1919 in Massachusetts by Bishop C.M. “Sweet Daddy” Grace. A native of the Cape Verde Islands and former cranberry picker, Grace was a charismatic and controversial figure whose first followers were poor country blacks emigrating to the city, looking for a church home. Over time, Grace, who had shoulder-length hair, amassed coffers bulging with $25 million.

Even today, the United House of Prayer pays cash to build its many churches, including the Charlotte Mother House, estimated to have cost between $10 million and $12 million.

Before Thursday’s service, a trio of ministers speaking for the denomination said they still don’t know the cause of Madison’s death.

“He died in his sleep,” said Apostle Zane Crawford, a pastor in Detroit who attributed it to exhaustion from traveling nonstop at an advanced age.

He got sick shortly after spending Easter Sunday in Charlotte and Easter Monday in Salisbury, Crawford said.

A successor will be elected — after 30 days of official mourning — during a May general assembly in Washington.

The likeliest candidate: Apostle C.M. Bailey of Augusta, Ga. He was appointed by Madison to be the denomination’s senior minister — a title Madison himself had when he was elected to succeed Bishop W. “Sweet Daddy” McCollough.

On Thursday, the ministers wanted to talk about Madison’s accomplishments — including building more than 100 sanctuaries and offering spiritual nourishment to his flock.

Said Crawford: “This bishop and the other bishops we’ve had — our daddies — have in some incredible way made themselves available to every single member of the church.”

The United House Of Prayer For All People Foolishness (Freedom of Speech Testament)!

I am so out down right now by the comments that have flooded my blog that I just feel the need to set the record straight. I have always been known to be a very opinionated person that presented 100% facts and have to dealings with partial truth. There are 1,000,000 blogs out there on the World Wide Web and we are all protected by the First Amendment of the United States of America, which clearly states:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Members of the United House of Prayer seemingly have been so offended that I would post information concerning their organization. Well, I am offended that you have taken the name JESUS out of songs and have replaced the name “daddy” where the Name Jesus should be. Your great leader Bishop S.C. Madison was tried his best to get the organization to stop all that “Daddy Foolishness” and to put more if the focus on Jesus Christ and not him who was just a mere man. You tell me that I don’t read the King James Version of the Bible yet I find no place in scriptures to support any man coming after The Lord Jesus Christ to run God’s earthly kingdom. Furthermore, I find no evidence in scripture that can support you having any religious denomination that apparently only African Americans can participate in. Where do whites, Latinos and Chinese people fit into your organization?????? Do you even know the history of your own organization and why it exists? Do you know the lives that have been ruined and hurt by your organization until people have wanted to commit suicide because of the religious manipulation your organization has put them through. I call it the way I see it. Not what I heard but what I have experienced first hand from your own church services. You’re offended? Well I am offended too! HOW DARE YOU ATTEMPT TO REPLACE JESUS for a man that is elected by a general board of Apostles! How dare you sell your chicken dinners so you can march into your “debt free churches” and preach nothing but adoration to “another man” that you claim GOD has chosen/sent! You post to me and tell me how ignorant I am and that I need to repent and pray that God reveals the truth to me. Well my dear brother and sisters, the truth is that you must be born again of the Water and of the Spirit (not a Brass Shout Band that plays New Orleans music in a church setting).

I’d like to take the time to post a personal testimony from someone who emailed me concerning her experience with the United House of Prayer and I will quote as these are not my words but hers: “I can from experience, to any who may question whether or not what you say about the house of preyer yes…I spelled it right. I can say from experience that all you say is true. Before I was born my natural father use to preach the true “Gospel of Jesus Christ” until he met this person known then as sweet daddy (have no intention on capitalizing his name. The first one who they are still waiting to rise. So by the time I was born my natural father was pretty much into this cult. (This is in no way an indictment against my father or to shame him just want to share my experience0 My precious MOM was a born again Christian use to have to allow me to sneak out of the house to go to sunrise service at a Baptist Church. I had to be back before my father woke up to make me go to the daddy grace church. I received visitations as a child and heard The Voice of The True and Living God at a very early age. realizing I had a call from GOD, on my life I could not continue to go with my father to
that place where such as you said they pretty much go into a trance and they all shout alike and roll their eyes in the back of their head and spit up demonic substances. You could be on the toilet and they would stick a basket under the door saying house of preyer offering (yep spelled it right again) they would get teams to see who could raise the most money on any given night. His feet never touched the ground ever, he always walked on a red carpet from the limo to the place they call church. They remove the name of Jesus and attempt to replace it with the self-proclaimed god sweet daddy’s whom they claim ressurrects on Easter yeah right. I would always use the name of Jesus. It was suppose to be an honor to go to his home on Logan Circle in D.C.(by whose assessment?) I didn’t want to be there, but my father made me go, this man had a table set for 12 with so much food it was a shame but you were not allowed to eat it was suppose to be an honor to watch him eat yeah right. I saw him
throw a Ritz cracker on the floor and, he and my father looked at me, and my father said he wants you to pick it up an eat it. I was a very obedient child until that point I said I will not, my father threatened to tan my hide when we got home, I said I’ll take the beating. That was4o years ago the first supposed sd finally I had no more protection against my being made to go to the 6th and M street place, because my Mom passed so my father put me out. My response I’d rather serve God and be homeless before I serve that man, and you’ll serve My God before I serve yours. Well I went to the street as promised looking for shelter. I prayed Lord Jesus please before my father leaves this earth please allow me to lead him to you, and if he can’t talk let him be able to squeeze my hand for yes. Well several years later he took ill and just as I prayed it happened he accepted The Lord Jesus into his heart. What a mighty God whom I serve. My prayer now is that my sisters and the rest involved
would run for their lives while they have the chance, My desire is such as that of Jesus Christ, THAT NO MAN SHALL PERISH FOR WITHOUT GOD AS OUR FATHER AND JESUS CHRIST AS OUR LORD WE ARE MOST MISERABLE DECEIVED AND DOOMED. BUT WITH JESUS WE ARE MOST SAVED
FROM THIS SIN LIFE AND WILL BE WITH THE LORD COMPLETELY AWAY FROM SIN. Now no doubt my family will be angry because I have written this but you know. The “WORD” of God says He/ She who leaves mother father sister brother houses land, you know the “WORD so it matters not for I will ever stand for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for I am not ashamed of the Gospel. SO I WILL CONTINUE TO GO- SPELL IT FOR HIM AND CONTNUE THE CALL ON MY LIFE TO PREACH AND TEACH THE GOSPEL. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE PEOPLE IN FACT RUN TO YOUR LIFE WHICH CAN ONLY BE FOUND IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WHO IS LORD. SEEK HIM WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND CAUSE HE WAS BORN DIED ON THE CROSS FOR YOUR SINS AND GUESS WHAT PEOPLE HE…JESUS DID RISE AGAIN AND SITS AT THE RIGHT HAND OF FATHER GOD WAITING FOR YOU TO MAKE A DECSION HEAVEN OR HELL. WHAT’S YOUR CHOICE.”

I will not stop posting on my blog concerning any of my experiences! I repeat, I will not stop posting on my blog! I will continue to share to the world (rather those who choose to read it) any and everything that I have experienced in the religious World. Send the death threats if you want! Mock me if you will! Let the record clearly show according to the very word that you profess to read and I will quote: Exodus 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Deuteronomy 6:14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you. Deuteronomy 11:16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them. Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

In other words, if you find yourself worshiping or praying to or revering or exalting any other God except The Lord Jesus Christ you will find yourself “FREE TO GO STRAIGHT TO HELL”!

Church Spotlight: Full Gospel Holy Temple of Dallas TX

Full Gospel Holy Temple Church, Inc.
39727 LBJ Freeway
(I-20 @ Hampton Rd.)
Dallas, TX 75237
Dallas Area: 972-572-FGHT
Outside Dallas: 1-888-322-FGHT

http://www.fght.org/

I dont even know where to begin. My experience today at Full Gospel Holy Temple was 100% positive and I find no fault with them at all.  I am here on business in Dallas, TX for a while and I wanted to visit a church that was almost like my home church back in Columbia, SC. I needed a church that was going to give me straight church and preach a holiness or hell sermon as I too still need to be set free from the tricks of the enemy.

I started by day out early in the morning at 8:00am. 2 co-workers found out I was going to church today and they wanted to tag along. I advised them that I was going to a Pentecostal Holiness Church that played no games when it comes to souls and told them what to expect. They had no problem and said after our long 6 day work week they would love to come to church with me. I did not want to rent a car so we took a bus all the way from Irving TX (suburb of Dallas) to Full Gospel Holy Temple and was able to get the tail end of their Sunday School Service.

This church is warm and friendly and truly I do belive that God was in this place this morning. We met a lady on the bus with her 2 grandchildren. I knew there was soemthing different about her because she had on no make up and earrings. I knew that she had to have gone to Full Gospel Holy Temple. When I asked her she said “yes” she did go to the church. Then she began to witness to my co-workers and immediately we felt like this was the place we needed to be at.

Rev. Herman Murry preached one good ole fiery Pentecostal Sermon entitled “Divine Order” and basicaly taught a great Holiness or Hell sermon. Elder K. Brown (from my former church LFT) was in the house and he did his thang as well with Praise and Worship. Choir was excellent, music was off the chain, everyone was in complete standard and most of all JESUS was present!

Keep up the good work preaching Holiness to a nation that has gone wayward! When you are in the Dallas, TX area, this church is a must to attend.

P.S. I really wish yall were APOSTOLIC (smile).

Death Notice: Bishop S.C. “Sweet Daddy” Madison of the United House Of Prayer For All People

Bishop S.C. “Sweet Daddy” Madison of the United House Of Prayer For All People Church On The Rock of the Apostolic Faith has passed Away. I assume each city that has the largest House Of Prayer or Mother House of the City will be having the body at the church in the cities you will find below. Service information is as followed:

Wednesday April 9th, 2008 Augusta GA Viewing

Thursday April 10th, 2008 Charlotte NC Viewing

Friday April 11th, 2008 Newport News VA Viewing

Saturday April 12th, 2008 New York City Viewing

Sunday April 13th, 2008 Washington DC Viewing

Monday April 14th, 2008 Washington DC Homegoing

House of Prayer Bishop Had Deep Roots in D.C.

By Hamil R. Harris
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 7, 2008; B01

Bishop S.C. “Daddy” Madison, who for 17 years guided the United House of Prayer for All People, an affluent African American denomination based in the District, died Saturday night at his home in Northwest Washington. He was 86.

Madison became ill after Easter Sunday, the last time he attended church services, church officials said. He was the third leader of the 1.5 million-member church organization, which has 150 branches in 25 states and multimillion-dollar real estate ventures in cities across the country.

During his tenure, Madison erected and dedicated more than 100 sanctuaries throughout the country. He continued to build affordable multi-family housing, assisted living facilities and commercial retail establishments. He also created scholarships for young people and enhanced minister-education programs.

The House of Prayer has deep local roots in Washington’s Shaw neighborhood. At a time when many congregations have left downtown, the House of Prayer continues to be an economic force. It was among the first institutions to rebuild after the 1968 riots sparked by the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

“We will continue in his legacy. We will continue to do what we have been doing: that is, giving God the praise,” said Apostle H.L. Whitner, pastor of God’s White House, the D.C. headquarters of the church, at Sixth and M streets NW.

During services at the church yesterday, men, women and children cried and danced in the aisle as the Lively Stones, a brass ensemble organized by Madison, played hymns and gospel music dedicated to a leader the congregation called “Daddy.” Before becoming bishop, Madison was pastor of the D.C. church for many years.

“He led us for more than 30 years, and his loss will not be just for the House of Prayer but for the entire community,” said Whitner, adding that Madison enjoyed the festive service and music of the House of Prayer. “Music gives us an opportunity to express ourselves, to release our emotions. The Word said, ‘The joy of the Lord is our strength.’ “

The House of Prayer was founded by Bishop Charles Manuel Grace, who was born in Cape Verde. Sweet Daddy Grace, as he was called, built the first United House of Prayer in West Wareham, Mass., and incorporated the United House of Prayer for All People in Washington in 1927.

When Grace died in 1960, Bishop Walter “Sweet Daddy” McCollough took over as head of the denomination. He served for 31 years until his death in 1991. Madison succeeded McCullough after winning a close election against McCollough’s son, the Rev. Leon McCollough.

A few months after the election, McCollough and his supporters filed suit in U.S. District Court, charging that the election was a fraud. In 1992, Clara McCollough, the bishop’s wife, was embroiled in a battle to be buried next to her husband of 53 years in the church’s burial site at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Church officials said yesterday that all differences have been reconciled.

In a tradition that dates to 1920s, the church held a mass baptismal service last summer in which hundreds of people were soaked with a fire hose on the street in front of God’s White House.

Madison, sporting shoulder-length gray hair like his predecessors, spoke to the crowd: “If you have sinned since last year, you need to get into the water and be baptized. If you have a sickness and need to be healed, you need to get into the water and be baptized.”

Madison led an organization that has its heaviest concentration of congregations along the East Coast. This week, his body will be taken to Augusta, Ga., Charlotte, N.C., Newport News, Va., and New York for viewing by congregations. On Sunday, his body will be at God’s White House, where a funeral will take place Monday.

Madison lived in a large Tudor house on North Portal Drive NW that belongs to the church. For decades during the Christmas season, members of the church have decorated the house and grounds with angels and toy soldiers and a life-size manger scene, all lighted by a dazzling array of lights. It attracts residents from throughout the area, as well as buses from House of Prayer congregations across the country.

“It’s such a good way to celebrate the birth of Jesus,” Elizabeth D. Madison, the bishop’s wife of 32 years and sole survivor, said in early 2000.

Madison was born Feb. 24, 1922, to Samuel and Rosa Lee Madison and was the eldest of four children. At 8, he joined the recently formed United House of Prayer. In his youth, he was a Boy Scout and played the drums and percussions and was a deacon in the church.

In 1940, he was ordained as a minister in the House of Prayer by Daddy Grace, the church’s founder. Shortly after becoming a minister, he received his first assignment as a pastor in Lancaster, S.C. He also served in Salisbury, N.C., Hopewell, Va., and Philadelphia.

At 23, he was appointed by Grace to the General Council of the House of Prayer, the highest ecclesiastical body of the organization. During his tenure, he served in various capacities.

In 1969, Madison became pastor of God’s White House and chairman of the D.C. and Maryland jurisdiction of the United House of Prayer.

In 1995, he received the African American male IMAGE Award from the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. He traveled to the Holy Land as a guest of the Israeli government, where he was awarded a distinguished certificate as a Jerusalem Pilgrim.

His first wife, Lucille Wynn Madison, died in 1975.

Apostle R.C. Lattisaw, pastor of the United House of Prayer in Alexandria, said that after a period of mourning the General Assembly of the United House of Prayer will convene to elect a new bishop.

Training

To all my faithful blog readers, for the month of April I’ll be in training in Dallas, TX so I wont have time to update my blog. However, here are a few things you can expect from me once I finish training:

While on my business trip I’ll be visiting 2 famous churches here in the Dallas Area. The Poters House of Dallas TX pastored by Bishop T. D. Jakes (http://www.thepottershouse.org/v2/) and Full Gospel Holy Temple pastored by Apostle Lobias and Rev. Herman Murray (http://www.fght.org/). I’ll keep you posted on how they “church” out here in Dallas.

Wish me blessings in my new career in the Airline Industry (yet again) and I’ll be in touch with you all.