Mercy & Truth Have Met Together In The Cross Of Jesus Christ
Join us for a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and hear a message of hope and reconciliation that will change your view of God forever.
Easter Sunday April 12, 2009 10:15am & 4:15pm
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Earl Paulk, the founder of an Atlanta-area megachurch whose leadership was marked by sex scandals, died Sunday at Atlanta Medical Center.
Paulk, who was in his 80s, had been in bad health for the past couple of years after a battle with cancer. The hospital could not release a cause of death.
Paulk built a huge, racially integrated congregation at the Cathedral at Chapel Hill in South Dekalb County with his passionate evangelism, but many members left because of his sexual indiscretions.
Several women alleged they had affairs with Paulk and it was revealed in 2007 that Paulk was the biological father of his nephew, the Rev. D.E. Paulk, who is now leader of the church.
On Sunday morning, a church member remembered the positive side of Paulk.
Joy Weathersby, 21, of Lithonia said she has been attending the church since she was christened there as a child.
“I think he was a very nice person,” she said. “I know the stuff that was going on, but his messages really taught me a lot of things about life.”
She said Paulk is “in a better place” and she won’t miss him because she has all of his audio tapes.
Paulk co-founded the Cathedral at Chapel Hill and helped grow it to a peak membership of about 10,000 in the early 1990s. He enlarged his influence with televised church services and books. President George Bush named Paulk’s public housing ministry one of his thousand points of light.
A lawsuit by a former female employee sparked a chain of events that ended in Paulk pleading guilty in January 2008 to lying under oath by denying affairs with other women. A judge fined Paulk $1,000 and put him on probation for 10 years.
Mona Brewer, who filed the lawsuit, alleged that Paul coerced her into a 14-year affair. Brewer said Sunday morning that her suit against the church will “absolutely” continue.
“I’m still kind of sorting out how I feel,” Brewer said. “It’s a tough one. It’s sort of like (being) in a train wreck right now.”
Paulk has been plagued by allegations of sexual misconduct for much of his lengthy career.
In the early 1990s, his former ghostwriter and biographer accused him of manipulating her into a sexual relationship.
He denied that, but in the midst of the scandal he admitted to having had an adulterous relationship in 1960 when he was pastor of what was then known as Hemphill Church of God, now Mount Paran. He left the Church of God denomination then and formed what is now Chapel Hill Harvester.
In 2001, Jessica Battle, a former liturgical dancer at the church, sued Paulk, claiming he molested her when she was a child and a teenager. Paulk denied the allegations and the suit was settled out of court.
Paulk’s granddaughter, who was Battle’s childhood friend, also alleged Paulk had molested her as a child.
— The Associated Press and the AJC news research department contributed to this story.
UPDATE:
Archbishop Earl Paulk, a metro Atlanta pastor whose fame and megachurch ministry crumbled under accusations of sexual improprieties, will be buried Saturday.
The funeral will be at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit at 4650 Flat Shoals Parkway in Decatur beginning at 1 p.m.
Visitation will be from noon until 9 p.m. Friday in the $25 million church where 10,000 members once came to hear Paulk preach. The family will be there beginning at 6 p.m.
The 81-year-old minister died Sunday from cancer.
Paulk and his brother Donnie Paulk built the church into a charismatic congregation known for being in the forefront of social movements, such as racial integration, helping drug abusers and ordaining women.
Paulk became so well known that he was invited to a White House prayer breakfast under President Ronald Reagan.
His reputation began disintegrating in the early 1990s, when a series of women accused him and others at the church of manipulating them into sexual relationships. He denied the accusations.
Mona Brewer, a singer, sued him in 2005 for sexual misconduct, saying he coerced her into an affair. The suit is unresolved, but a DNA test ordered showed he fathered a son with his brother’s wife.
Paulk had sworn in an affidavit he’d never had sex with anyone but his wife, which lead to him pleading guilty to a felony charge of lying under oath.
He was sentenced to 10 years’ probation and a $1,000 fine.
Paulk spent the last two years in ill health, though he made occasional short appearances at the church, now up for sale and pastored by his son, D.E. Paulk.
Many religious organizations, Christian Denominations and the like claim to be “The Truth!” How does one know that they are really apart of The Truth and are serving the One True God? I’ll tell you this much, the truth is NOT found in your denominational title nor your religious organizations view. The Truth is found in the Word of God which is the Bible.
True, I could list a slew of organizational names that are all false. But there is no reason to do that. What I will tell you is this. If your church or religious organization is not following the Bible’s plan of Salvation of being born of the Water (water baptism in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ) and being born of the Spirit (receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues) your church/organization is 100% false. If your church teaches that God’s Name is anything but The Lord Jesus Christ then YOU my dear friend are in error and the truth is not in that teaching. If your church/organization teaches plural God’s (i.e. Father, Son, Holy Ghost and these 3 are co-equal and co-eternal) than your in complete error.
You see dear friend, God (who’s Name is Lord Jesus Christ 100% human and 100% God) wants you to be apart of The Truth so that you can go to heaven when He returns (not paradise or some other place that “good people” go to). Lets first go to the Word of God and find out how YOU can be apart of the truth.
God is not God’s name. That’s right. The God of the universe has a name, but “God” isn’t it. “God” is what God is. “Human being” is not your name. Lets look at what scriptures say God’s name is.
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace.
Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated “God with us.”
Matthew 1:21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew 12:21 And in His name Gentiles will trust.”
Colossians 2:9 For in him (Jesus) dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
John 1:1 & 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth.
Colossians 1:15 -18 He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
Philippians 2:9-11 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in Heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
It is clear that the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, the Mighty God is the Lord Jesus Christ (not Jehovah put simply the original form of the word Jehovah was roughly translated as Yah-Weh meaning ‘I am’ – the name that was given to Moses when he spoke with God at the burning bush. When asked his name God replied “I am who I am”….. “tell the Jews that ‘I am’ sent you”)
Heaven is not a place just for 144,000 people, but heaven is a place for all who obey Acts 2:38 (Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.)
I beg you today to harden not your heart and join the TRUTH today! If you have not experienced true biblical salvation, why not start today by reading the Bible. Join me today as 2 Timothy 2:15 commands us to Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Praise Him Saints, sorry I have not been writing, I am moving into a brand new apartment this week (tell the Lord Thank ya). I’ll be back online as soon as I can. In the meantime keep checking.
God Is Sho Nuff Good!
At Stevens Creek Church, there was one problem with the church’s collection plates. They didn’t accept plastic. So with fewer people carrying cash or checks, Dr. Marty Baker, Lead Pastor at Stevens Creek Church, realized it was going to take a little creativity to make sure the church could respond to the needs of the congregation and the community.
“I made calls and searched the internet,” said Dr. Baker, “but there was nothing out there to process electronic donations while a parishioner was at church.” That is, until now.
Dr. Baker decided to create a new way to give, and now his giving kiosks have been talked about all over the world. Today Stevens Creek Church takes in almost half a million dollars a year electronically. And with their commitment to staying current, Stevens Creek has seen double-digit increases in giving, while most charitable organizations are cutting corners.
Dr. Baker says it’s the church’s traditional theology of setting aside the tithe, coupled with the new technology allowing bank card donations. In fact, the pastor and his wife, Patty, started a company called SecureGive (www.securegive.com) so that other churches and organizations could experience the same convenience, and keep the cash flowing during a difficult economy.
WOW Gospel 2009, the latest installment in the WOW Gospel series moves to its sixth consecutive week atop Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums charts. In addition, the album sits at #3 on the Top Christian & Gospel Charts and #74 on the Top 200 Albums Charts. The Sound from Mary Mary takes the #2 position, while Heather Headley’s Audience of One retains the #3 position. Donald Lawrence & Company’s The Law of Confession, Pt. 1 takes the #4 position for the week, with Thirsty from Marvin Sapp rounding out the week’s top five albums. Other notable chart movements include Crystal Aikin’s self-titled project jumping four places to #7, And There Was Christmas moves 29 places to #11, and Shari Addison’s self-titled debut moving 8 slots to #13.
In the world of radio, Hezekiah Walker & LFC now sit atop the world of Gospel Radio with “Souled Out”. This marks the first time in Walker’s lengthy career that he has posted a #1 single at Gospel radio. “I Trust You” from James Fortune & FIYA moves to the #2 position, with “Peace and Favor Rest On Us” from Kurt Carr & The Kurt Carr Singers jumping to the #3 spot. “Back II Eden” from Donald Lawrence & Co. takes the #4 slot, while Mary Mary’s “Get Up” rounds out the week’s top 5 songs.
Evidence Gospel recording artists J.J. Hairston & Youthful Praise are slated to record their next effort on March 15, 2009. Due to the overwhelming response, the new venue for the recording is the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, 729 Union Avenue, in Bridgeport, CT. Special guests for this session include Dorinda Clark-Cole, Wililam Murphy III, Angela Spivey, and Lorraine Stancil. This recording marks the fifth project for the choir that produced such hits as “Deliver”, “Awesome God”, and “Incredible God, Incredible Praise”. The choir’s most recent effort Exalted: Live in Baltimore garnered the aggregation 2009 Stellar award nominations for Group/Duo of the Year and Contemporary Choir of the Year.
It Is My Apostolic Duty To Invite You To Our Easter Celebration This Year At Atlanta West Pentecostal Church. We have two services for you to attend one at 10:15 and the other at 4:15. Don’t get it twisted, EVERY Sunday is Easter at Atlanta West as we always celebrate the resurrected King each time we gather for worship.
BE THERE!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, March 13, 2009
Gospel music star BeBe Winans has been accused of assaulting his ex-wife on Valentine’s Day weekend, a Nashville TV station is reporting.
According to the NBC affiliate WSMV, Debra Winans said her former husband pushed her to the ground in front of their children. The two were married for 16 years before divorcing in 2003.
“The alleged assault happened when BeBe Winans showed up at his ex-wife’s Nashville home and the two began arguing about custody issues. Debra and BeBe Winans have a 13-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son,” a story on the station web site said.
The story says there was a “verbal altercation” that “turned into assault when Debra Winans was pushed to the ground.”
Later, the Grammy-winning Gospel recording artist was arrested.
“When you’re married to someone known all over the world, it has serious challenges,” Debra Winans is quoted saying.
Debra Winans said people of faith are held to an even higher standard, and many Christians suffer through abuse rather than reaching out for help.
“Until you realize something’s not changing, you pray all day long. The power of God is real, but one thing he’s not going to do is go against someone’s will. We make choices,” Debra Winans also reportedly said.
She said she is not afraid of her former husband and hopes by speaking out she will help others.
Editor’s note: Clark Howard, the Atlanta, Georgia-based host of a nationally syndicated radio show, is host of a television show designed to help viewers save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off during these tough economic times. The show airs at noon and 4 p.m. ET Saturdays and Sundays on HLN.
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — Many years ago, I had the opportunity to start an Atlanta-based civic program called Career Action. The program’s goal was to provide free resources to help the jobless and underemployed find steady work.
That was 1979. Today, it’s 2009 and the need for job assistance is greater than ever as unemployment continues to rise.
The conventional wisdom about education and employment — that as your level of education rises, the less likely you are to be impacted by layoffs — has been completely flipped on its head. This recession knows no boundaries in terms of education, skill level, training or years on the job.
So, what do you do if you’re laid off or have your hours cut at work? First, don’t panic! You’re going to need to apply for unemployment insurance.
I’m hearing a lot of people badmouthing unemployment compensation. There’s nothing shameful about it. Employers pay premiums over time during the good years to provide for those who get laid off in lean times. It’s not beneath you to accept this insurance money.
Next, you need to triage your finances so you know which debts to prioritize and which to neglect if your money runs out. Paying your car note is central to finding employment for most people. It’s practically higher than paying your mortgage or rent. In fact, you may need to live with friends or relatives until you can get back on your feet.
What shouldn’t you prioritize paying? Your credit cards. People say, “But that will hurt my credit…” Look, if you’re in a situation where there’s no money coming in and you have to decide between paying the mortgage and putting food on the table, chances are your credit is already damaged.
Once you get organized financially, it’s time to job hunt. Looking for work is a full-time job and you need an action plan. Start by reviewing your list of contacts, but understand that people don’t like to be called and asked if there’s a job. But they do love to give advice that may lead to a job opportunity. Visit in person with your contacts if possible.
I’m also a big believer in networking groups and unemployment support groups. Networking for jobs has become something of a lost art in our country because people think the Internet replaces everything else. It doesn’t.
However, there are ways to use the Internet to hook up with powerful networking groups. There’s even a new organization called LaidOffCamp that is like a free day camp for the underemployed. According to the movement’s Web site, it’s “an ad-hoc gathering of unemployed and nontraditionally employed people (including freelancers, entrepreneurs and startups) who want to share ideas and learn from each other.” You never know whom you might meet.
When you are job hunting on the Internet, be sure to check out screen-scraper sites like SimplyHired and Indeed.com. They’re both “one-stop shops” that collect content from all the traditional job sites such as Monster and Yahoo! HotJobs, plus the career pages of individual company sites.
In addition, The Boston Globe recently recommended several specialty sites when you’re looking for work in a specific field. BioSpace.com is geared toward the science and biotechnology fields; Idealist.org focuses on the nonprofit charity world; and for those who are 50 years or older, there’s a site called WorkForce50.com.
In the course of your job search, you may find that you need money immediately and can’t sit around waiting for a job offer to materialize. In that case, certain skill sets — Web design, programming, marketing and videography, to name a few — lend themselves to consulting work or freelancing on a project.
The Internet also offers a variety of sites that match freelancers up with employers. A recent article in The San Francisco Chronicle suggested ELance.com, oDesk.com, Guru.com and crowdSPRING.com as starting points.
And if you can afford it after all of your necessities, it’s always a great idea to keep your mind sharp by taking classes to improve your skills or learn new ones. You can never be too smart.
The Gospel Music world is preparing for the 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards. This year’s awards will take place at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN and will be aired live on April 23, 2009 on the Gospel Music Channel. Mary Mary leads the pack with four nominations including a nod for Group of the Year. Other multiple nominees include Kirk Franklin, Deitrick Haddon, Damita Haddon, Jonathan Nelson, and Marvin Sapp, all with two nominations. Sapp is nominated for Artist of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year, while Nelson is up for New Artist of the Year honors. For the first time ever, fans will be able to cast votes for the Artist of the Year and New Artist of the Year categories at the Dove Awards website. Voting began on February 26 and will continue through April 23, 2009.
Singer and songwriter Bishop Eric McDaniel is set to record his first solo effort titled I Am Favor. McDaniel has penned songs for many artists Hezekiah Walker & LFC and Youthful Praise. Most recently, the McDaniel-penned “One More Chance” appeared on the Stellar award winning effort from Ricky Dillard & New G titled Live in Toronto: The 7th Episode. The live recording takes place on April 5, 2009 at Allen Memorial Church of God in Christ in Mount Vernon, NY. Kim Burrell will make a guest appearance at the recording. McDaniel also serves as pastor of The Lord’s Church in Bronx, NY.
Without Walls International Church recently dodged the threat of foreclosure thanks to a revised deal that converts the payments on the Tampa, Fla., church to interest-only loans, the St. Petersburg Times reported.
“I’m very, very delighted,” White told reporters last week. “It was a great victory for our church and for our people that we don’t have that pressure under us like we did have before.”
In November, the California-based Evangelical Christian Credit Union began foreclosure proceedings against Without Walls after it said the church defaulted on a $1 million loan.
White said Without Walls had never missed a loan payment in nearly eight yeas and accused the Christian credit union of wanting to sell the church property for a profit to avoid failing itself.
Credit union officials denied that claim, saying they had negotiated with Without Walls for months before taking legal action.
White said the negotiations fell through when the credit union sought control of the church’s intellectual properties, including its ministry tapes and books.
The church refused to accept the loan modifications and was soon facing foreclosure of both the Tampa site and the Lakeland, Fla., branch, which is the former Carpenter’s Home Church. Without Walls owes $13 million on its Tampa property and $12.5 million on the Lakeland site, the Times reported.
White said he was likely wrong about the credit union wanting to sell the church because it did not approach a developer who was interested in buying the Tampa property.
Under the revised loan, the Tampa church would pay about $59,000 a month, while the Lakeland property would continue to pay roughly $70,000 a month, Without Walls’ chief financial officer Debbie Pullen told the Times. Full payment on the loans on both sites will be due in July 2010.
White said the church still plans to sell the Tampa property, which like the Lakeland campus was put on the market in March 2008. But he said the revised loan agreement gives the church time to refinance or to sell some of its assets.
If the property is sold, White said the Tampa church would either merge with the Lakeland congregation or build a new facility in Tampa debt-free.
Without Walls’ attendance has dropped significantly since White and his former co-pastor, Paula White, divorced. White also lost his daughter to brain cancer last year. But White said the revised loans represent another chance for the ministry.
“It’s very exciting,” he said. “Lord knows our church has been through a lot in 18 months. … It kind of gives everybody a sigh of relief. We can now focus on what we’re called to do.”
He told Tampa Bay Online that the church rehired three of seven employees it laid off earlier this year. The seven workers represented roughly a quarter of the church’s staff.
White also said Without Walls has hired a California attorney to explore filing a lawsuit against The Tampa Tribune, which White has accused defaming him and his ex-wife in its reporting on the church and the couple’s divorce.
An Atlanta businessman plans to auction off more than 15,000 hours of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s The PTL Club TV shows, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
PTL, which stood for “Praise the Lord,” aired from 1974 to 1987 and was the flagship program of the Bakkers’ Heritage USA ministry, a 2,300-acre complex south of Charlotte, N.C., designed for vacations and Christian living.
The ministry — which included a hotel, campground and theme park — collapsed in 1987 when Jim Bakker went to prison for fraud. The Bakkers divorced in 1992, and the following year Tammy Faye Bakker married Roe Messner, a longtime family friend and contractor at Heritage USA. Tammy Faye Messner died in 2007 from colon cancer.
After the PTL ministry collapsed, the 15,069 hourlong tapes were passed to a Charlotte-area church, then a cable content provider, Gospel Properties President Ben Dyer told the AP.
Dyer, an investment banker, acquired the tapes when the cable provider defaulted on a loan from his company. He plans to auction them off in San Francisco on March 27.
A spokeswoman for Jim Bakker, who now lives in Branson, Mo., and hosts The New Jim Bakker Show with his wife, Lori, told the AP that Bakker considers the tapes part of his legacy. He said they have been appraised at around $8 million.
Dean Becker, vice chairman of Ocean Tomo, the Chicago-based bank handling the auction, said the tapes offer enough content to create a channel showing The PTL Club exclusively.
Dyer noted that the audience already knows PTL’s history. “People can watch these shows knowing how their story ended,” he said. “It makes them even more intriguing to watch.”
Dyer told the Charlotte Observer that there are several interested bidders in the tapes.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned this week that Christianity is at risk of being sidelined in England’s secularist society, the Daily Telegraph reported.
In an interview published in the Church of England newspaper, Blair said he agreed with church leaders that Christianity is in danger of being viewed as a “personal eccentricity” rather than a significant influence on the nation.
He also criticized “ludicrous” decisions that have penalized Christians for expressing their faith in public. Among recent examples are Caroline Petrie, a nurse who was suspended for two months after offering to pray for a patient, and Jennie Cain, a school receptionist who still faces firing after seeking prayer support from church friends when her 5-year-old daughter was scolded for talking about hell in the playground.
“My view is that people should be proud of their Christianity and able to express it as they wish,” Blair said, while admitting that conflict between religion and contemporary understandings of human rights are “inevitable.”
“The real test of a religion is whether in an age of aggressive secularism it has the confidence to go out and make its case by persuasion,” Blair added.
Blair, who converted to Roman Catholicism, was not outspoken about his faith while serving as prime minister, fearing he would be labeled a “nutter.”
“Sometimes I think we as Christians are more sensitive than we should be although I say that as someone who when I was in office, although I was perfectly open about my Christianity, nonetheless kept it within certain boundaries that were restricted in terms of what I said publicly,” Blair told the Church of England newspaper.
“The position of prime minister puts you in a unique category. But in general terms in British society there is a risk that people see faith as a personal eccentricity.”
In May, Blair launched the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, which has a mission to promote understanding among the major religions and increase awareness of the role of faith in the modern world, according to its Web site.
Blair’s comments came days after his wife commented in a documentary titled Christianity: A History that the religion seemed to be on a “terminal decline.”
“Everywhere you look today churches are being closed,” she said, “Christians are often being marginalized and faith is something few people like to discuss openly.”
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