gospel - Blog - The Oracle Mag2024-03-29T00:02:43Zhttps://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/gospelKierra Sheard talks faith, sports, and family with Richaun Holmes of the Sacramento Kingshttps://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/3153366-BlogPost-2476182020-05-28T20:56:01.000Z2020-05-28T20:56:01.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="fx analysisFeedbackPromptHolder"><a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iCj16gRli0U/maxresdefault.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iCj16gRli0U/maxresdefault.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center" alt="maxresdefault.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></div>
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<div>Kierra Sheard interview with upcoming NBA Superstar Richaun Holmes of the Sacramento Kings about being a PK, her interest in sports, 'Kierra" the album and more. For more follow: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/rich_holmes22/">https://www.instagram.com/rich_holmes22/</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kierrasheard/">https://www.instagram.com/kierrasheard/</a> Stream the album "Kierra" featuring Missy Elliot, Le'Andria Johnson, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, and more: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/2twow9qKoLnhZO8FDjw82a">https://open.spotify.com/album/2twow9qKoLnhZO8FDjw82a</a> #KierraSheard #RichaunHolmes #LivingWitnessTV</div>
<div>From:<span> </span><a href="https://youtube.com/channel/UCPkfFsYiwWvwDOM0gyXXBAA" target="_blank">Living Witness TV</a></div>
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<div class="fb-comments"></div></div>Kanye West Brings Sunday Service to Howard University’s Homecoming. Peep The Video And Share Your Thoughtshttps://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/kanye-west-brings-sunday-service-to-howard-university-s-homecomin2019-10-13T03:00:00.000Z2019-10-13T03:00:00.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="td-post-header"><h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/resizer/RtEnY-ldWC8Kzc_VUWCWYT6nrUw=/1484x0/d1i4t8bqe7zgj6.cloudfront.net/thumbnails/5da226d846e0fb000978f49c/2019-10-12T190921Z_1_OVB0SRLCV_RTRMADC_0_USA-HOWARD-UNIVERSITY-KANYE-ROUGH-CUT.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.washingtonpost.com/resizer/RtEnY-ldWC8Kzc_VUWCWYT6nrUw=/1484x0/d1i4t8bqe7zgj6.cloudfront.net/thumbnails/5da226d846e0fb000978f49c/2019-10-12T190921Z_1_OVB0SRLCV_RTRMADC_0_USA-HOWARD-UNIVERSITY-KANYE-ROUGH-CUT.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center" alt="2019-10-12T190921Z_1_OVB0SRLCV_RTRMADC_0_USA-HOWARD-UNIVERSITY-KANYE-ROUGH-CUT.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></h1>
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<div class="td-post-content"><p class="paragraph">Kanye West made a surprise appearance at Howard University’s homecoming on Saturday morning.</p>
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<p class="paragraph">The megastar rapper brought his Sunday Service show right to D.C. for a crowd that gathered at 8 a.m. on the Howard quad for a performance that’s sure to become legend.</p>
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<p class="paragraph">Kanye took the stage in a tan coat, performing new verses and raising his hands to the sky for the worship-style show. Grammy-award winning R&B singer Tony Williams presided over the service, conducting a mass of artists including choir singers, drummers and a brass band.</p>
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<p class="paragraph">True to its intended church-like vibes, Sunday Service wasn’t all music. Momolu Stewart and Halim Flowers, two D.C. men who were convicted in murder cases when they were teens, took the stage to tell their stories. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/dc-judge-orders-immediate-release-for-man-who-spent-22-years-in-prison-for-murder-when-he-was-16-and-who-now-has-the-support-of-kim-kardashian-west/2019/10/04/3c8c78aa-e6f1-11e9-a6e8-8759c5c7f608_story.html" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> reports that Kim Kardashian West wrote a letter on behalf of Stewart’s petition to be released from prison after more than 20 years.</p>
<p class="paragraph">Howard University kept their homecoming Yardfest lineup quiet this year, promising artists would be announced as they took the stage. On Friday, huge crowds showed up to see DaBaby, Terrance J and Mack Wilds.</p>
<p class="paragraph">Kanye has been bringing a worship-style concert to cities around the country in anticipation of “Jesus Is King: A Kanye West Experience,” a documentary-album hybrid.</p>
<p class="paragraph">Kanye’s appearance at the historically black college in the nation’s capital evoked some criticism.</p>
<p class="paragraph">“If @kanyewest is indeed at #HowardU this morning, send him to the third floor of the Founder’s Library after he’s done. I have some books for him,” Greg Carr, the chair of the Howard University Department of Afro-American Studies, said on Twitter.</p>
<p class="paragraph">Kanye’s D.C. service was a family affair. Kim Kardashian West tweeted a photo of two of the couple’s kids, Saint, 3, and North, 5, headed to Sunday Service. Kanye could be seen holding his kids on his shoulders during the performance.</p>
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<div class="SandboxRoot env-bp-350"><div class="EmbeddedTweet EmbeddedTweet--cta js-clickToOpenTarget" id="twitter-widget-0" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="EmbeddedTweet-tweetContainer"><div class="EmbeddedTweet-tweet"><blockquote class="Tweet h-entry js-tweetIdInfo subject expanded" cite="https://twitter.com/KimKardashian/status/1182991481356705792"><div class="Tweet-header"><a class="TweetAuthor-avatar Identity-avatar u-linkBlend" href="https://twitter.com/KimKardashian"><img class="Avatar" alt="" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1145812709960667136/YF4VoP3e_bigger.jpg" /></a><div class="TweetAuthor js-inViewportScribingTarget"><div class="TweetAuthor-nameScreenNameContainer"><span class="TweetAuthor-decoratedName"><span class="TweetAuthor-name Identity-name customisable-highlight" title="Kim Kardashian West">Kim Kardashian West</span></span><div class="Icon Icon--verified" title="Verified Account"></div>
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<p class="Tweet-text e-entry-title" lang="en" dir="ltr" xml:lang="en">DC Howard University ready <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SundayService?src=hash" class="PrettyLink hashtag customisable" dir="ltr"><span class="PrettyLink-prefix">#</span><span class="PrettyLink-value">SundayService</span></a></p>
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<div class="TweetInfo-timeGeo"><a class="u-linkBlend u-url customisable-highlight long-permalink" href="https://twitter.com/KimKardashian/status/1182991481356705792">5:08 AM - Oct 12, 2019</a></div>
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<p class="paragraph">The Howard show wont be the District’s only chance to get a taste of Kanye West’s new material: George Washington University also announced a surprise “Kanye West Experience” centered around the album-documentary for Saturday afternoon.</p>
<p class="paragraph">Tickets to that show, announced overnight, sold out by 8 a.m.</p>
<p><em>SOURCE: NBC Washington, Sophia Barnes</em></p>
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<div class="fb-comments"></div></div>Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Black Woman and the Black Church That Birthed Rock Musichttps://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/3153366-BlogPost-784772016-08-01T10:45:10.000Z2016-08-01T10:45:10.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="post-inner"><div class="post-content"><p><a href="http://blackchristiannews.com/go/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/mgid-ao-image-mtv-550x309.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://blackchristiannews.com/go/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/mgid-ao-image-mtv-550x309.jpg?width=550" width="550" class="align-center" alt="mgid-ao-image-mtv-550x309.jpg?width=550" /></a></p>
<p><em>“The Sanctified Church is a protest against the high-brow tendency in Negro Protestant congregations as the Negroes gain more education and wealth.” –Zora Neale Hurston,</em>The Sanctified Church<span id="more-99142"></span></p>
<p>When Sister Rosetta Tharpe was born on March 20, 1915, black America was in the midst of a populist religious awakening. A decade earlier, in 1906, <a href="https://www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/pentecostalism-seymour/" target="_blank">the Azusa Street Revival</a> birthed the Pentecostal church movement in Los Angeles, setting off sparks around the nation. This was the foundation of a global Pentecostal movement, a spiritual reinvigoration of conviction that’s still continuing to this day. The <em>Los Angeles Times</em> greeted this development with perplexed racist diatribes, labeling it a fanatical sect engaging in a “<a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2006/jan/08/magazine/tm-nupentecostal" target="_blank">Weird Babel of Tongues</a>.” These particular churchgoers were calling themselves “saved and sanctified” while refusing to be associated with the oppressive confines of the denominations they had abandoned for the Pentecostal church. The musical styles that were birthed out of what many have come to know as the Sanctified church or Holiness church would later be adapted and appropriated to create blues, jazz, and rock – the very bedrock of American music.</p>
<p>Sister Rosetta Tharpe embodied the explosion that was black music at the turn of the last century. A stunning black woman of 23 years of age, just beginning her career with a rich voice, she sang gospel music while accompanying herself on electric guitar. Tharpe, in her time, was a vital presence in American music, her playing as crucial and influential as T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters. The difference was that she was mostly playing in churches, to the devoted critical ears of the black sanctuary.</p>
<p>Not much is known about Tharpe’s father, who was said to be a talented singer. Her mother was a learned musician who greatly influenced Rosetta – but the greater influencer of both Rosetta and her mother was the Holiness Church of God in Christ (COGIC), for which Rosetta’s mother was an evangelist. The city of Cotton Plant, Arkansas, where Rosetta was born, is only an hour from the musical mecca of Memphis, where the COGIC was based. This area of the South, along with the Mississippi Delta, forms a Bermuda Triangle of black music where heads may get lost in the rapture. Tharpe’s upbringing here is crucial in context to the sound she perfected and brought to her secular audience.</p>
<p>As a child, Rosetta played various instruments at church and in her travels, accompanying her mother. Multi-instrumentalists are common in the Holiness church, which fully embraces music as a part of its doctrine. My own father, who is an elder in the church, regularly quotes the 150th Psalm’s third verse: “Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!” Services offer praise to the heavens with guitar, drums, and outcrying, boisterous vocals that are recognized the world over – a sound whose excited dynamics clearly informed Tharpe’s development as an artist.</p>
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<p><strong>Click <a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/2794983/sister-rosetta-tharpe-black-woman-rock-music/">here</a> to read more.</strong></p>
<p><em>SOURCE: MTV</em><br /><em>William C. Anderson</em></p>
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</div></div>Erica Campbell’s “I Luh God” Music Video Surpasses 1 Million Views on YouTubehttps://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/3153366-BlogPost-706782015-08-20T18:31:27.000Z2015-08-20T18:31:27.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="post-title"><h1 class="entry-title"></h1>
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<p>Erica Campbell’s song, “I Luh God,” dubbed “trap gospel” by critics and fans, has gotten equal parts criticism and support.</p>
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<p>However anyone feels about it, one things for sure: the urban video is hugely popular, surpassing 1 million views on YouTube.</p>
<p>The 43-year-old MyBlock/eOne recording artist shared the news on Twitter, writing, “Yay!!!!” and encouraging her followers to “go see the video if you haven’t already.”</p>
<p>The light-hearted, trendy video features Campbell in several fun outfit changes, against colorful backdrops, along with lots of dancing to the bass-heavy beat.</p>
<p>Though the message is spiritual, focusing on Campbell’s love and need for God, some are turned off by the “worldly-sounding” beat and cadence she uses in the song.</p>
<p><span class="text">“Everybody don’t like it,” Campbell acknowledged in an April interview with the Tom Joyner Morning Show.</span></p>
<p><span class="text">The GRAMMY® Award winner continued, “Some people are upset about it, but they’ll be alright. God don’t live in a box. Why should I?”</span></p>
<p><strong>Click <a href="http://buzz.eewmagazine.com/eew-magazine-buzz-blog/2015/8/20/milestone-erica-campbells-i-luh-god-video-gets-over-1000000.html">here</a> for more.</strong></p>
<p><em>SOURCE: EEW Magazine</em></p>
</div></div>Kierra Sheard Has Launched Her Eleven60 Clothing Line For BBW's. But It's Not Cheap!https://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/kierra-sheard-has-launched-her-eleven60-clothing-line-for-bbw-s-b2015-06-23T02:00:00.000Z2015-06-23T02:00:00.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="post-title"></div>
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<div class="post_content entry-content"><p><a href="http://i0.wp.com/blackchristiannews.com/go/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/K-Class.jpg?resize=500%2C250" target="_blank"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/blackchristiannews.com/go/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/K-Class.jpg?resize=500%2C250&width=500" width="500" class="align-center" alt="K-Class.jpg?resize=500%2C250&width=500" /></a></p>
<p>Gospel singer turned fashion designer Kierra Sheard officially launched her MyEleven60.com this past weekend, revealing select pieces from her plus-size clothing line, Eleven60.</p>
<p></p>
<p>The new brand caters to fashion-forward, full-figured women, who also have, ahem, fuller purses.</p>
<p>It ain’t cheap, darling.</p>
<p><a href="http://buzz.eewmagazine.com/storage/kierra-sheard-curvy-con-eleven60.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1434991503282" target="_blank"><img src="http://buzz.eewmagazine.com/storage/kierra-sheard-curvy-con-eleven60.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1434991503282" class="align-center" alt="kierra-sheard-curvy-con-eleven60.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1434991503282" /></a></p>
<p>The lowest cost item on the site is a $185 pair of jeans ($135 on sale). The most expensive item is a $425 trench coat ($395 on sale).</p>
<p>The tagline is “High-end Meets The Curvy Woman,” after all.</p>
<p>So if you enjoy what you see, but don’t have extra money to spare, it’s safe to say you’ll be doing some “window shopping” on the Internet. Instead of walking out, however, you’ll be x-ing out.</p>
<p>Affordable or not, plenty of people have headed over to MyEleven60.com to, at the very least, browse.</p>
<p><a href="http://buzz.eewmagazine.com/storage/ELEVEN60-3.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1434987130326" target="_blank"><img src="http://buzz.eewmagazine.com/storage/ELEVEN60-3.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1434987130326" class="align-center" alt="ELEVEN60-3.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1434987130326" /></a></p>
<p>On its first day of being published, Sheard said, “We had over 180,000 hits to the site!”</p>
<p>She added, “Love y’all thanks so much!!</p>
<p><strong>Click <a href="http://buzz.eewmagazine.com/eew-magazine-buzz-blog/2015/6/22/eew-magazine-fashion-editors-top-5-favorite-looks-from-kierr.html">here</a> for more.</strong></p>
<p><em>SOURCE: EEW Magazine</em></p>
</div></div>“Get on Up!” Movie Shows the Gospel Roots of ‘Godfather of Soul’ James Brownhttps://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/3153366-BlogPost-654842014-08-02T18:34:18.000Z2014-08-02T18:34:18.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="post-title"><h1 class="entry-title"></h1>
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<div class="post_content entry-content"><p><a href="http://i0.wp.com/www.blackchristiannews.com/go/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Get-On-Up.jpg?resize=500%2C250" target="_blank"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/www.blackchristiannews.com/go/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Get-On-Up.jpg?resize=500%2C250" class="align-center" alt="Get-On-Up.jpg?resize=500%2C250" /></a></p>
<p>Known as the “Godfather of Soul,” James Brown’s work still influences the music industry more than six years after his death.</p>
<p></p>
<p>A feature film about his life hits theaters Friday, and you might be surprised to learn that the church played a big influence in his life and legacy.</p>
<p>Brown’s story is a real life tale of rags-to-riches, with a few bumps on the journey.</p>
<p>“He had to fend for himself, so he became a hustler,” Gospel music historian Bill Carpenter said.</p>
<p>Carpenter listened to Brown as a child, later covered him as a journalist, and wrote about him in his book, Un-cloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia.</p>
<p>“He grew up in the Great Depression. Born in 1933 in South Carolina, ‘poorer than poor,’ those are his words. He said poor people looked down on him, he was so poor. And he came from a very dysfunctional family, where his parents were not at home. He was raised by his Aunt Honey, who sort of ran a boarding house,” Carpenter said.</p>
<p>And at age 16, long before becoming the “Godfather of Soul,” Brown went from Aunt Honey’s boarding house to a Georgia jail house for armed robbery. It was there that he realized his love for music. It’s a story he shared with CBN, more than 30 years ago.</p>
<p>“They turned me loose to sing Gospel one morning and we went out about five prisoners to sing Gospel and the warden realized that he had turned all of us loose,” Brown told CBN’s Scott Ross.</p>
<p>Carpenter explained, “While he was in prison, he met someone named Bobby Byrd, who went on to become an integral part of his band, and Bobby’s family was deeply in the church. They helped him get out of prison. And when he came out of prison he and Bobby started a Gospel group called The Star Lighters.”</p>
<p><strong>Click <a href="http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2014/August/Film-Get-on-Up-Reveals-James-Browns-Gospel-Roots/">here</a> to read more.</strong></p>
<p><em>SOURCE: CBN News</em><br /><em>Efrem Graham</em></p>
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</div></div>Has the Gospel Rap Movement Finally Arrived? Rapzilla Co-founder, Chad Horton, and Syntax Creative CEO, Timothy Trudeau Respondhttps://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/3153366-BlogPost-649322014-07-08T20:32:19.000Z2014-07-08T20:32:19.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="post-title"><h1 class="entry-title"><a href="http://i1.wp.com/www.blackchristiannews.com/go/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Lecrae.jpg?resize=500%2C250" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1.wp.com/www.blackchristiannews.com/go/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Lecrae.jpg?resize=500%2C250" class="align-center" alt="Lecrae.jpg?resize=500%2C250" /></a></h1>
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<div class="post_content entry-content"><div id="attachment_42387" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><p class="wp-caption-text" style="text-align:center;">Lecrae</p>
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<p>Christian hip-hop has made some notable inroads in the last few years, especially in the mainstream market. Popular rapper Lecrae has won Grammy, Stellar, and Dove awards, and he, along with other Christian artists, appear regularly on networks like BET and MTV. Does this mean the movement that emerged in the early ’80s as Gospel rap has finally arrived?</p>
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<p>The question might be especially relevant after it was reported that recording artists Flame, Lecrae, and others filed a lawsuit against pop singer Katy Perry and Capitol Records for allegedly stealing and “irreparably tarnishing” a 2008 song of theirs titled “Joyful Noise.” The rappers claim Perry’s “Dark Horse” single released in 2013, infringes on the copyright of their “Christian gospel song,” and therefore are demanding an “injunction, damages and the defendants’ profits gained from the unauthorized use of “Joyful Noise.’”</p>
<p>Lecrae is arguably the most popular Christian rapper in recent years who has managed to garner cross-over appeal among a mainstream audience. He and his Reach Records label have been credited with opening the doors and providing exposure and a platform for many other artists in the Christian music industry. Andy Mineo, a New York City rapper who is also on Reach Records, has been following in Lecrae’s footsteps, with outlets like BET and MTV making much of his latest album and EP releases, Heroes for Sale and Never Land, respectively.</p>
<p>However, Chad Horton, co-founder of the leading online Christian rap portal Rapzilla, asserts that much of Lecrae’s crossover success remains tied to his Christian fanbase, some of whom have been following the evolution of his career for more than a decade. According to Horton, the mainstream was forced to notice Lecrae once his albums started charting top sales.</p>
<p>But while Lecrae, 34, and his Reach Record labelmates have been pressing into the mainstream, and catching flack for it (read here and here), some artists who are native to that scene and happen to be Christians, are headed the other way. The rapper No Malice, formerly Malice of the celebrated twin duo “The Clipse,” is a recent example.</p>
<p>According to Timothy Trudeau, CEO of Syntax Creative, an independent digital distributor that works with various recording artists, there should not even be a debate about where an artist who identifies as a Christian “belongs.” As he sees it, it is unwise, if not unbiblical, for Christians to impose a sacred-secular divide, especially when it comes to the arts.</p>
<p>Horton and Trudeau shared in a recent discussion with The Christian Post their views on the current state of hip-hop, how they go about rejecting well-meaning but not-so-talented artists, and how the Church’s openness to rap has given rise to a viable, and over-saturated market.</p>
<p><strong>CP: So, has Christian hip hop finally arrived?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Trudeau:</strong> That’s an interesting question. I would say anyone that gets comfortable with anything, someone else is gonna come and get higher than them. So for me, I don’t want to say that we’ve arrived yet. I would like to keep going and see what else we can do.</p>
<p><strong>CP: What are your thoughts on that [Horton], especially if you want to compare where we are now to maybe five years ago, 10 years ago?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Horton:</strong> I don’t know if I would say that it has arrived, but it is definitely at a point where it’s impacting on a higher level, the mainstream hip hop audience a lot more and the Christian audience as well. The Church historically hasn’t been accepting to Christian hip-hop, they haven’t allowed hip-hop into the Church so I think that’s also happening simultaneously.</p>
<p><strong>Click <a href="http://www.christianpost.com/news/has-christian-hip-hop-finally-arrived-122204/">here</a> to read more.</strong></p>
<p><em>SOURCE: The Christian Post</em><br /><em>Nicola Menzie</em></p>
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</div></div>Michelle Williams Using Her Fame to Encourage People and Serve God Through Musichttps://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/michelle-williams-using-her-fame-to-encourage-people-and-serve-go2014-06-21T21:36:41.000Z2014-06-21T21:36:41.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="entryHeader"></div>
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<p>Destiny’s Child, the R&B women’s group from the early 2000s, disbanded in 2005, but not before leaving behind a legion of peppy dance tunes and many songs that made their way to the top of the charts. Even though they were greatly recognized by secular listeners, in some cases, such as their single “Survivor,” the ladies even affirmed their Christian beliefs in the lyrics.</p>
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<p>Upon their dissolution, the three ladies that made up the group went their separate ways and pursued their independent careers. The most successful to date has been Beyoncé Knowles who has forged a path in her own right earning many popular accolades for her anthems like “Single Ladies” and for love songs like “Halo.”</p>
<p>In more recent years, though, Knowles has taken a less wholesome turn with songs that center around seduction and infidelity (“Naughty Girl” and “The Last Great Seduction”).</p>
<p>Beyoncé is not the only case of a young performing artist whose fame has changed their values (Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus are two other notable examples). The trend seems to be that entering into the fame and fortune of “Pop-star-ism” can and will likely foreshadow an immanent demise in wholesome values.</p>
<p>Thankfully, though, this isn’t always the case!</p>
<p>Michelle Williams is another member of the Destiny’s Child trio. Since the group disbanded years ago, she has made a career in the realm of gospel music.</p>
<p>Williams says that she has been called to encourage people and to tell them to look for God’s plan in their lives. Even since the Destiny’s Child days, Williams has known that her vocational calling is to serve God through her music.</p>
<p><strong>Click <a href="http://www.charismanews.com/culture/44380-christian-pop-star-chooses-evangelistic-message-over-immoral-music" target="_blank">here</a> to read more.</strong></p>
<p><em>SOURCE: Charisma News / Movieguide</em></p>
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</div></div>WATCH: Destiny’s Child Gets Back Together… to Sing and Dance About Jesushttps://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/watch-destiny-s-child-gets-back-together-to-sing-and-dance-about-2014-06-19T06:32:56.000Z2014-06-19T06:32:56.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><table border="0" cellspacing="0">
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<p>You can shut down your computer after you read this article. Turn on your away message, go home, and get into bed, because nothing else you do today can possibly top the news that, for one video only, the women of Destiny’s Child are BACK TOGETHER.</p>
<p>In the <a target="_blank" href="http://time.com/2894240/destinys-child-reunited-for-michelle-williams-new-music-video/">video</a> for her new single “Say Yes,” Williams dances exuberantly down side streets and in front of a tree, singing about how “when Jesus say yes, nobody can say no.” After the first chorus, Beyoncé shows up in front of the tree; then Kelly Rowland takes the bridge. If you’re not singing along on your feet at that point, maybe make sure you have a soul?</p>
<p>The song is a dance remix of a popular Nigerian gospel song–you can see the Soweto Gospel Choir <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY-dKY0LQ0w">performing</a> the song last year at a New York Church–and makes a case for trusting God even when you’re worried. Sample lyrics:</p>
<p>Where you lead me, Lord I will go<br />I have no fear cause I know who’s in control<br />There’s no limit to what you can do<br />Cause it all belongs to you, yes it all belongs to you<br />You’re almighty and all powerful<br />And it all belongs to you, yes it all belongs to you</p>
<p><a href="http://lauraturner.religionnews.com/2014/06/18/destinys-child-reunion-say-gods-name/" target="_blank"><strong>Click here to continue reading…</strong></a></p>
<p><em>SOURCE: Laura Turner </em><br /><em>Religion News Service</em></p>
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</table></div>2014 Gospel Nominations for BET Awards Announcedhttps://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/3153366-BlogPost-643302014-05-16T07:47:33.000Z2014-05-16T07:47:33.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="entryHeader"></div>
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<p>The 2014 gospel nominations have been announced for the annual BET Awards, and with such a great year for gospel music, choosing a winner will be a tough call.</p>
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<p>Whoever walks away with the statue, it will be a collective victory for the genre in light of reports that BET has chosen to axe its annual “Celebration of Gospel,” further limiting the exposure of the niche genre.</p>
<p>This year, despite the downside of losing one of the flagship faith-based programs on one of the few networks representing the African-American community, gospel fans are excited and all abuzz over this year’s nominees in the “Best Gospel Artist” category.</p>
<p>Donnie McClurkin, Erica Campbell, Hezekiah Walker, Tamela Mann and Tye Tribbett have all received nods.</p>
<p>“This year’s nominees represent the best of the culture,” says Stephen Hill, BET’s President of Music Programming and Specials via a press release.</p>
<p>“It’s great to see our talented new artist’s right alongside our more beloved ones with long careers. We appreciate our BET Awards nomination committee, over 300 strong, for their efforts and congratulate all the nominees.”</p>
<p>The host for the BET Awards is comedian and actor Chris Rock. The award show will air live from Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Sunday, June 29 at 8pm EST.</p>
<p><strong>Click <a href="http://buzz.eewmagazine.com/eew-magazine-buzz-blog/2014/5/15/bet-awards-2014-best-gospel-artist-nominations-revealed.html" target="_blank">here</a> to read more.</strong></p>
<p><em>SOURCE: EEW Magzine Entertainment News</em><br /><em>Rebecca Johnson</em></p>
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</div></div>WATCH LIVE: Taraji P. Henson Hosts BET’s 2014 Celebration Of Gospel Because “You Don’t Say No to God”https://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/watch-live-taraji-p-henson-hosts-bet-s-2014-celebration-of-gospel2014-04-07T08:55:55.000Z2014-04-07T08:55:55.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="post-title"><h1 class="entry-title"><a href="http://i2.wp.com/www.blackchristiannews.com/go/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Taraji-P.-Henson-.jpg?resize=500%2C250" target="_blank"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/www.blackchristiannews.com/go/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Taraji-P.-Henson-.jpg?resize=500%2C250" class="align-center" alt="Taraji-P.-Henson-.jpg?resize=500%2C250" /></a></h1>
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<p><span>Out with the old and in with the new! Taraji P. Henson is officially replacing comedian/actor/talk show host, Steve Harvey, as the new host of BET’s Celebration of Gospel: Forward In Faith. Harvey hosted this spirited celebration for 13 years and Taraji is set to breathe new life into the star-studded show. R&B and Gospel stars will raise the praise together as BET reimagines one of its most viewed programs. The powers that be at BET say Henson’s effervescent personality and quick wit are a few qualities that make her a perfect fit for the job.</span></p>
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<p>This isn’t Taraji’s first time hosting. She hosted BET’s Soul Train Awards in 2010 with “Hustle & Flow” co-star, Terrence Howard, so we know she’s got the chops to carry an entire show. Taraji says that anyone who knows her, knows how much she truly loves the Lord, so hosting this Celebration of Gospel was organic and an automatic yes! #TeamBeautiful recently caught up with the “Think Like A Man Too” actress and she basically went to church during our chat, enlightening us on how she continues to walk by faith and not by sight, how she stays grounded in Hollywood and how important gospel is to her life.</p>
<p><strong>HelloBeautiful: What made you want to host the gospel celebration?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Taraji P. Henson:</strong> You don’t say no to God, girl [laughs]. It’s a well-established celebration for 14 years. Steve Harvey turned it up. It already has a following. I was honored and blessed and surprised. Not surprised that they picked me, well, kinda. If you follow me on Twitter and if you know me, you know that I love the Lord, so that’s no secret. So, when I met with the producers, it just felt like the perfect marriage. It just felt like God said, “Here.”</p>
<p><strong>HB: Who are some of the performers we should be looking out for?</strong></p>
<p><strong>TPH:</strong> All of the performances are going to blow you away. I think they did an amazing job pairing the secular artists with the gospel singers, like India.Arie does an amazing duet with this up-and-coming gospel singer and he plays the guitar. I can’t remember his name; it’s just beautiful. The pairings they did was absolutely amazing. Charlie Wilson performed with Richard Smallwood. It’s just gonna blow you away. Charlie Wilson’s testimony is gonna have you shouting in your living room!</p>
<p><strong>HB: Was that your favorite moment from the show?</strong></p>
<p><strong>TPH:</strong> I guess it was because he actually goes into a testimonial. It’s something to witness. He had people dancing in the aisles [laughs]. Amazing.</p>
<p><strong>HB: Is there a particular scripture or Bible verse that has stuck with you for your life?</strong></p>
<p><strong>TPH:</strong> You know what it is, whenever I have an issue or problem in my life, I always go to the book of Psalms. There’s always something there that speaks to my issues, to my problems. The book of Psalms is where my head is all the time. I just wake up and flip through and it’s usually the one I pick, it’s like, ‘God, really?’</p>
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<p><strong>Click <a href="http://hellobeautiful.com/2014/04/02/taraji-p-henson-hosts-bets-celebration-of-gospel/">here</a> to read more.</strong></p>
<p><em>SOURCE: HelloBeautiful</em><br /><em>Danielle Young</em></p>
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</div></div>"Preachers of L.A." Premieres: Reignites Debate Over Prosperity Gospel In the Churchhttps://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/preachers-of-l-a-premieres-reignites-debate-over-prosperity-gospe2013-10-11T10:31:15.000Z2013-10-11T10:31:15.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="entryHeader"><a href="http://urbanchristiannews.com/ucn/2013/10/preachers-of-la-premieres-reignites-debate-over-prosperity-gospel-in-the-church.html" class="entryTitle title read" target="_blank"> </a></div>
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<div>Money. Women. Fame. Church.</div>
<div>That's a day in the life of "<a href="http://global.oup.com/academic/product/blessed-9780199827695?cc=us&lang=en&" target="_blank">The Preachers of L.A.</a>," a new reality show centered on the lives of megachurch pastors of the so-called "prosperity gospel."</div>
<div>The show, which premiers Wednesday night on the Oxygen Network, is a chaotic mix of prayer, "house porn," and neatly orchestrated dust-ups between senior pastors and their "first ladies."</div>
<div>In some ways, the combination of the prosperity gospel with the "Real Housewives" format is a match made in Oprah-produced heaven.</div>
<div>Men of the cloth cruise Southern California in lavish cars weighed down by their gold watches and tiny dogs.</div>
<div>As Ron Gibson, a bishop in the largest Pentecostal denomination in the country, explains: "P. Diddy, Jay Z. They're not the only ones who should be driving Ferraris and living in nice houses."</div>
<div>Clarence McClendon, said to be so good-looking that he must take out restraining orders on women in his church, concurs: "The Bible says that I wish above all things that you would prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers."</div>
<div>He grins. "I believe that."</div>
<div>To critics, "The Preachers of L.A." represents the distilled toxicity of Christianity combined with a money-obsessed generation of American preachers.</div>
<div>Even to sympathizers, the show seems to reaffirm all the negative stereotypes about greedy prosperity preachers more interested in bling than the BIble.</div>
<div>So why would six well-established prosperity preachers put so much on the line, with so much to lose?</div>
<div>I have spent the last decade studying the prosperity gospel and trying to convince readers that, underneath all the hype about the lifestyle of its preachers, there is serious theology at work.</div>
<div>The prosperity gospel is an offshoot of Pentecostalism that centers on a new understanding of faith. Faith, rather than simple trust, is re-imagined as a spiritual power released by positive thoughts and words.</div>
<div>This faith formula was a blend of early 20th-century American theologies of self-help, popular psychology, metaphysical philosophy and can-do attitudes about the power of the mind.</div>
<div>During the economic boom of the 1950s, tent-toting Pentecostal healers like Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagin and A. A. Allen began to expand on what this newfound spiritual power could do.</div>
<div>By their teaching and their example, they showed a generation of believers how they could use their faith to change their circumstances. Faith could heal bodies, multiply finances, restore families and bring a taste of heaven down to Earth.</div>
<div>The prosperity gospel is predicated on the belief that your life--your body, wallet, family, career and full head of hair--is a witness to whether your faith is effective.</div>
<div>Having traveled the country to visit these churches, I have seen preachers make this point in a thousand ways: from boasting about their perfect health ("I've never been sick!"), giving tours of their airplane fleet, even handing out cash in the Sunday service.</div>
<div>In "Preachers of L.A.," when Bishop Noel Jones of the 20,000-member City of Refuge rolls out of his Sunday service with his entourage in a gleaming town car, fawning women pressed up against the glass, his celebrity status is confirmed.</div>
<div>But this is not just show-and-tell bragging. It's meant to be a spiritual witness, concrete proof that God is present. Look at what God can do!</div>
<div>What's most dangerous for a cast of prosperity preachers, though, are the unwritten rules of all reality shows: The rich and the mighty must prove that they, too, are plagued with "real-life" problems. They might be in a Lear jet, but they are suffering in a Lear jet.</div>
<div>"Being a pastor is very dangerous, because you have to be perfect at all times," says one L.A. pastor.</div>
<div>"People put you up on a pedestal that you can't live on," complains another.</div>
<div>Or as Pastor Deitrick Haddon bemoans behind designer sunglasses: "I'm a pastor, but at the end of the day, I'm a MAN."</div>
<div>The problem is these ministers gave up being "just a man" when they became prosperity preachers. The movement places a great weight on the spiritual power of leaders as living proof of what the prosperity gospel can do.</div>
<div>You will find a theological justification for this every time a journalist asks a prosperity pastor a few pointed questions about why he or she needs a plane or a vintage muscle car collection or a personal rare bird sanctuary.</div>
<div>The answer is always the same: What I have, I use for the ministry. If the prosperity gospel worked for me, it can work for anyone. I'm commissioned by God with special gifts for special purposes.</div>
<div>These pastors' Midas touch provides endless sermon illustrations designed to tantalize audiences: If only you believe what I believe, you can have what I have, too.</div>
<div><b>Click <a href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/09/believing-in-bling-meet-the-prosperity-preachers-of-l-a/" target="_blank">here</a> to read more.</b></div>
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<div><i>SOURCE: <a href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/" target="_blank">CNN Belief Blog</a></i></div>
<div><i>Kate Bowler</i></div>
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</div></div>Former Lesbian Calls Kirk Franklin's Response to Homosexuality Question a 'Missed Opportunity'https://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/former-lesbian-calls-kirk-franklin-s-response-to-homosexuality-qu2013-06-06T20:00:00.000Z2013-06-06T20:00:00.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="entryHeader"><a href="http://urbanchristiannews.com/ucn/2013/06/former-lesbian-calls-kirk-franklins-response-to-homosexuality-question-a-missed-opportunity.html" id="d0495cb064b26f57_entry_title" class="title read" target="_blank" name="d0495cb064b26f57_entry_title"> </a></div>
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<div>As homosexuality has become more common, Christians have struggled with how they should respond. Some have taken to the streets in protest; others have openly embraced homosexuality, allowing gays and lesbians into the pulpit and leadership positions in the church. And, overwhelmingly, most Christians are simply trying to ignore homosexuality, hoping they can wait out the issue until it goes away because they don't want to deal with conflict or sin.</div>
<div>As someone who is on the front lines and has risked it all to help--not condemn--those who are struggling with homosexuality, I must say I am very disappointed in the way Kirk Franklin handled answering a question on homosexuality in his interview on Sway Calloway's "Sway in the Morning" satellite radio show. </div>
<div>It seemed as though Franklin was afraid to say what the Word of God is very clear about: that homosexuality is a sin. Instead, he took the time to elaborate on how the church is acting like the police in this cultural issue. </div>
<div>This is very sad to me, especially because, as a godly man, Franklin chose to bad-mouth the church rather than stand up for righteousness. </div>
<div>Yes, there will always be religious people who say ridiculous and un-Christlike comments about this, like those coming from those at Westboro Baptist Church, but those of us who believe marriage should be between a man and a woman and those of us who believe in the sanctity of marriage aren't acting like the police. We are simply stating what God's Word says while lending a hand to those who want freedom from that lifestyle--the keyword being "want." </div>
<div>While some feel we are out to attack people who are struggling with homosexuality or those who have chosen that lifestyle, this is not the truth. I have compassion for those who struggle with this because I have been there. I walked that life for 14 years, so I am very much aware of all that comes with that way of life.</div>
<div><b>Click <a href="http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/39764-kirk-franklin-s-response-to-homosexuality-a-missed-opportunity" target="_blank">here</a> to read more.</b></div>
<div><i>SOURCE: <a href="http://www.charismanews.com/" target="_blank">Charisma News</a></i></div>
<div><i>Janet Boynes is the founder of Janet Boynes Ministries, a nondenominational outreach that ministers to individuals questioning their sexuality and those who wish to leave homosexuality. As the author of Called Out, Boynes chronicles her story of living as a lesbian for 14 years until God called her out of that lifestyle. </i></div>
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</div></div>Marvin Sapp, Kandi Burruss, and 'Perfect Christians'https://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/marvin-sapp-kandi-burruss-and-perfect-christians2013-03-01T23:59:37.000Z2013-03-01T23:59:37.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="u100Entry itemscope"><div class="entryHeader"></div>
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<div>"You're a Christian, right?" a friend asked me recently.</div>
<div>Years ago, I would have given a knee-jerk, "Of course!" However these days, I find myself offering a long explanation, one that lays out my internal conflict with claiming Christianity without sounding like Judas.</div>
<div>I believe in God, pray multiple times daily -- for myself and others, and the world at large. I read The Bible occasionally. I work out to a various selection of gospel songs, mostly classics that I was raised listening to or sang--a long time ago -- in a church choir. I actually think, "what would Jesus do?" when I debate doing something that I have no business doing. I actively try to correct negative on-goings in my head, because I honestly believe God knows my thoughts. But I intentionally don't go to church anymore and I've actively stopped referring to myself as a "Christian."</div>
<div>Somewhere along the way, it seems that to some -- certainly not all -- Christians being Christian became synonymous with being perfect. Last week, <i>Real Housewives of Atlanta</i>co-star Kandi Burruss released her <a href="http://bossip.com/729685/hi-hater-christians-attack-reality-star-kandi-burruss-for-releasing-gospel-song-because-of-her-freaky-toy-line/" target="_blank">first gospel single</a>, "Stay Prayed Up" featuring gospel great Marvin Sapp and was swiftly derided by other Christians for what they deemed her un-Christian-like ways, including a sex toy business, a racy radio show and speaking openly about having sex with her live-in fiancé. "I knew when I decided to do it that I would be criticized," Burruss wrote on Instagram. "I believe in God but I have always struggled with the rules of the church, just like a lot of people."</div>
<div>That same week, NBA player Dwight Howard, also a self-described Christian, took a few verbal jabs for declaring he wanted to "raise the name of God within the league and throughout the world." Howard is <a href="http://allchristiannews.com/christian-nba-athlete-dwight-howard-has-multiple-children-out-of-wedlock/" target="_blank">rumored</a> to have as many as five children out-of-wedlock by as many women. Tracey Edmonds, who was once accused of being a <a href="http://thejasminebrand.com/2012/03/05/pilar-sanders-says-deion-had-an-affair-with-tracey-edmonds/" target="_blank">mistress</a> of ex- NFL star Deon Saunders (an allegation she swiftly <a href="http://madamenoire.com/143216/tracey-edmonds-denies-being-deion-sanders-mistress-feels-sorry-for-pilars-children/" target="_blank">denied</a>), also raised a few eyebrows when she recently announced she would launch a <a href="http://www.christianpost.com/news/film-producer-tracey-edmonds-talks-faith-alright-tv-and-going-hard-for-god-90183/" target="_blank">TV network</a> "with Christian values."</div>
<div><b>Click <a href="http://thegrio.com/2013/02/27/is-the-pressure-to-be-perfect-christians-undermining-the-church/" target="_blank">here</a> to read more.</b></div>
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<div><i>SOURCE: <a href="http://thegrio.com/" target="_blank">The Grio</a></i></div>
<div><i><a href="https://twitter.com/abelleinbk" target="_blank">Demetria L. Lucas</a></i></div>
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</div></div>Member of Gospel Music's Winans Family Sentenced to Nearly 14 Years for Fraud Scamhttps://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/member-of-gospel-music-s-winans-family-sentenced-to-nearly-14-yea2013-02-28T19:15:06.000Z2013-02-28T19:15:06.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="entryHeader"><a href="http://urbanchristiannews.com/ucn/2013/02/member-of-gospel-musics-winans-family-sentenced-to-nearly-14-years-for-fraud-scam.html" id="ecb671d6249609b7_entry_title" class="title read" target="_blank" name="ecb671d6249609b7_entry_title"> </a></div>
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<div>A judge sentenced a member of gospel music's Winans family to nearly 14 years in prison Wednesday for an $8 million financial scam that was promoted in church pulpits.</div>
<div>Two of Michael Winans Jr.'s victims spoke in federal court, telling a judge that the scheme to sell Saudi Arabian oil bonds robbed some people of their life savings, caused divorces and fractured many families.</div>
<div>"I want to apologize to everyone. ... These were decisions that were negligent and irresponsible," said Winans, of Jessup, Md.</div>
<div>He said he had no "malicious intent" but acknowledged that he continued to collect money even after he learned that the bonds were bogus.</div>
<div>Winans attracted more than 1,000 investors in 2007 and 2008, although he didn't know them all because many were recruited by others through word of mouth. He promised 100 percent returns in two months, then used the money for personal expenses or to pay off earlier investors. About 600 people are still owed $4.7 million in total.</div>
<div>Winans, 30, is a third-generation member of one of gospel music's first families. He's the grandson of Delores "Mom" Winans and David "Pop" Winans Sr., and the son of Michael Winans Sr., a member of the Winans, a quartet of brothers. His uncle, Marvin Winans, gave the eulogy at Whitney Houston's funeral.</div>
<div>Winans has performed with his cousins as "Winans Phase II." He released his own album in 2011, "My Own Genre."</div>
<div>Winans relied on unwitting friends to round up investors, a trait of a classic Ponzi scheme. When the bonds turned out to bogus, investors angrily turned on the people who recruited them.</div>
<div>"There are lots of marriages that have been destroyed. I know family members who aren't speaking to each other," Tara Hurt told the judge. The Detroit-area resident declined further comment outside court.</div>
<div>U.S. District Judge Sean Cox read from some of the 50 letters written by victims. He said a young woman joined the Army because her family had lost money that was intended for her college education. He noted that Winans made his pitch from church pulpits.</div>
<div>"Fraud on good, decent church-going people -- that was very, very troubling to me," Cox said.</div>
<div><i>SOURCE: The Associated Press</i></div>
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</div></div>''Daggers of truth'' Mix-tape Hosted By DJ Freehttps://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/daggers-of-truth-mix-tape-hosted-by-dj-free2012-10-22T15:00:00.000Z2012-10-22T15:00:00.000Z7vnseal a.k.a Gods daggerhttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/7vnsealakaGodsdagger<div><p>Dropping late Oct. Get your free copy 1 week ahead of time before the world gets it. Head over to my site and sign up today. Don't be left out! This will be a hot and anointed Project truly the Lord is all up on this thing.</p><p></p><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7936051482,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7936051482,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="700" class="align-center" alt="7936051482?profile=original" /></a></p></div>Kirk Franklin Is Gospel Music's "Richest" Manhttps://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/kirk-franklin-is-gospel-music-s-richest-man2012-09-27T19:00:45.000Z2012-09-27T19:00:45.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><p><a href="http://urbanchristiannews.com/ucn/2012/09/kirk-franklin-is-gospel-musics-richest-man.html" class="title read" target="_blank"> </a></p>
<div class="entryBody" title=""><div class="content"><div><font>Singer Kirk Franklin performs onstage at the 43rd NAACP Image Awards held at The Shrine Auditorium on February 17, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images North America)</font></div>
When we hear about Forbes lists, citing the richest and highest paid among us, typically Christian artists, pastors, and leaders of the faith community are absent from such lists.
<div>Measuring Christians' cash flow isn't exactly a regular hot topic. But <a href="http://www.eurweb.com/2012/09/kirk-franklin-is-the-richest-man-in-gospel-music/" target="_blank">EUR Web</a> reports that Kirk Franklin is gospel's "richest" man with a net worth of $8.5 million.</div>
<div>Franklin, arguably the genre's most recognizable name and face, has been in the music business since the 90s. His catalog of hits, tour de force performances in venues across the nation, high-profile television appearances, and work with other greats within the industry, have kept the pint-size ball of energy very active in ministry all these years later.</div>
<div>Though Franklin's estimated net worth released by richest.com will become water cooler chat for many, Christians know money isn't the focal point of our existence.</div>
<div>1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV) warns, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."</div>
<div><b>Click <a href="http://buzz.eewmagazine.com/eew-magazine-buzz-blog/2012/9/26/kirk-franklin-makes-gospels-richest-list-with-net-worth-of-8.html" target="_blank">here</a> to read more.</b></div>
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<div><i>SOURCE: <a href="http://buzz.eewmagazine.com/" target="_blank">EEW Magazine</a></i></div>
<div><i>Alesha Davis</i></div>
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</div></div>Best Free Christian Rap Linkshttps://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/here-free-christian-rapp2012-07-20T22:30:00.000Z2012-07-20T22:30:00.000ZJason Davishttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/JasonDavis<div><p></p><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7936050101,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7936050101,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="600" alt="7936050101?profile=original" /></a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>This is the best free Christian hip hop site that I could find <a href="http://lovemyword.blogspot.com/2012/07/free-christian-music-this-is-list-of.html">http://lovemyword.blogspot.com/2012/07/free-christian-music-this-is-list-of.html</a></p></div>Are You Ready to Stand Before God?https://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/are-you-ready-to-stand-before-god2011-10-24T06:57:17.000Z2011-10-24T06:57:17.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="asset-header"><h1 id="page-title" class="asset-name entry-title"><span style="font-weight:normal;font-size:13px;"><br /><img alt="Standing before God" src="http://blackchristiannews.com/news/images/stand-b4-God-LG.jpg" width="120" class="mt-image-left" />Dear Friend, the Bible declares that one day you will die and then stand face to face with God to be judged. Hebrews 9:27 reads, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Nothing in your entire life could be more important than being ready for that day, because it will determine whether you will spend eternity in heaven or in hell.</span></h1>
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<div>This judgment will be based on a person's righteousness, which means to be absolutely perfect and without sin. The Bible says in Acts 17:31, "He hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained..." The man spoken of in this verse is Jesus Christ. This means that your righteousness must match that of Jesus Christ. Can you make it through your entire life without committing one single sin? Jesus Christ did, and He is the one that you will be compared with at your judgment.</div>
<div>No one other than Jesus Christ could ever lead a life without one single sin. Nobody but Jesus Christ is that righteous. The Bible says in Romans 3:10, 23, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one...For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." If you claim to be righteous, you are only deceiving yourself and making God a liar. The Bible says in 1 John 1:8,10: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us...If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."</div>
<div>Without God's righteousness, you go to hell! The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:9, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?" If you're not going to heaven, that leaves one other place. Psalm 9:17 says, "The wicked shall be turned into hell..."</div>
<div>You cannot work for it! The Bible says in Titus 3:5, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us..." If you could earn the righteousness of God, then Jesus Christ would not have had to die on the cross. The Bible says in Galatians 2:21, "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." Dear Friend, you cannot earn the righteousness of God by good deeds, church membership, sacraments, baptism, or anything that you do. If you do something for it, then it is self-righteousness.</div>
<div>Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to get God's righteousness. Faith, is a complete trust or dependency upon someone. The Bible says that Jesus Christ died to pay for your sins and purchase the righteousness of God for you. You must stop trying to earn it; instead, place your complete faith in Jesus Christ to receive it. The Bible says in Romans 4:5: "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Romans 3:22 tells us, "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe..." Then you will not have to fear your judgment day, because in your heart you know that you will, according to Philippians 3:9, "be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."</div>
<div>Will you trust completely in Jesus Christ to save you? Dear Friend, Jesus Christ has already paid for eternal life. You need only to receive it as a gift by putting your faith in Him. The Bible says in Romans 6:23, "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." God cannot lie, and He has promised to give you eternal life. The Bible says in Titus 1:2, "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began."</div>
<div>Right now, will you believe God's promise? The Bible says in 1 Timothy 1:15, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners..." Will you stop trusting your righteousness, and put all your faith in Jesus Christ and receive His righteousness? If you will call on Jesus Christ and put all your faith in Him, He will save you right now. Romans 10:13 says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."</div>
<div>Eternity is real, and hell is real. Jesus states in John 12:48, "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." You have heard God's Word. Please receive Him today. Psalm 31:1 says, "In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness."</div>
<div>If you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life, please pray with me the following simple prayer: Heavenly Father, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen. </div>
<div>Remember, friend, Believe by faith. Share the faith. and Keep the faith!</div>
<div><font><i>Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in twenty-three foreign countries. He is the author of fifteen books. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry which publishes a monthly magazine called The Torch Leader. He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts, The Prayer Motivator Devotional and the Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, and the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor's degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, and a Master's degree in Religion from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica for twenty-four years. God has blessed their union with seven children. Find out more at <a href="http://danielwhyte3.com/">www.danielwhyte3.com</a>. </i></font></div>
</div></div>The Amazing Testimony of Christian Hip-Hop Artist Lecraehttps://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/the-amazing-testimony-of-christian-hip-hop-artist-lecrae2011-09-29T05:12:39.000Z2011-09-29T05:12:39.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="asset-header"><h1 id="page-title" class="asset-name entry-title"><span style="font-size:13px;font-weight:normal;"><br /><img alt="lecrae-moore.jpg" src="http://blackchristiannews.com/news/images/lecrae-moore.jpg" width="100" class="mt-image-left" /></span></h1>
<h1 class="asset-name entry-title"><span style="font-size:13px;font-weight:normal;">Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae is sending another message out to his fans: significance is found not in oneself but in God.</span></h1>
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<div class="asset-content entry-content"><div><i><font>Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae Moore is the newest individual to share his story on iamsecond.com, a website featuring video testimonies of personal struggle, transformation and hope of celebrities and everyday people.</font></i></div>
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<div>In the latest video featured on iamsecond.com, a website devoted to sharing the powerful testimonies of lives transformed through the Gospel, Lecrae Moore tells his own story of personal struggle and hope found in Christ.</div>
<div>All his life, Lecrae Moore wanted to feel a sense of significance. Growing up in a single parent home without a father, whom he never met, and a mother who was constantly working, he wrestled to find a sense of worth whether through his rapping or other activities.</div>
<div>To him, being a "well-manicured, good, all around student and person" was not going to help him find what he was looking for. So he chose a life of criminal and gang activity, drugs, theft, and alcohol instead.</div>
<div>"The people I looked up to were gangsters," he described on the site. "I wanted to be doing criminal activity so I kept rebelling and I kept doing worse."</div>
<div>But pretty soon after he was arrested for stealing in high school and put on a gang list, he wondered, "What am I doing with my life?" He felt like he didn't fit anywhere and was just a "misfit of a person."</div>
<div><a href="http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-hip-hop-artist-lecrae-on-troubled-past-source-of-significance-56671/">Click here to read more</a></div>
<div>Source: Christian Post | Eryn Sun</div>
</div></div>Adam and Eve Controversy: Now some conservative religious scholars are saying, publicly, that they can no longer believe ithttps://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/adam-and-eve-controversy-now-some-conservative-religious-scholars2011-08-24T05:20:46.000Z2011-08-24T05:20:46.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="asset-header"><h1 id="page-title" class="asset-name entry-title"><font size="3"><span style="font-size:13px;font-weight:normal;"><font size="7"><span style="font-size:26px;"><b><br /></b></span></font></span></font></h1>
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<div class="asset-content entry-content"><div>Each generation of Christians faces its own set of theological challenges. For this generation of evangelicals, the question of beginnings is taking on a new urgency.</div>
<div>In fact, this question is now a matter of Gospel urgency. How are we to understand the Bible's story, if we can have no confidence that we know how it even begins?</div>
<div>In terms of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the most urgent question related to beginnings has to do with the questions related to the existence of Adam and Eve as the first parents to all humanity and to the reality of the Fall as the explanation for human sinfulness and all that comes with sin.</div>
<div>A report from Barbara Bradley Hagerty of National Public Radio a few weeks ago is an undeniable sign that even the secular world now recognizes this as a question central to Christianity. Hagerty, a skilled religion reporter, talked to me and several others about this subject. Her interviews were broadcast as a report on Aug. 9, with Steve Inskeep of NPR as host.</div>
<div>Inskeep got right to the point: "For many evangelicals, a historical Adam and Eve is a critical part of their theology, but now some conservative religious scholars are saying, publicly, that they can no longer believe it."</div>
<div>Hagerty asked Dennis Venema, a professor of biology at Trinity Western University, if all humans descended from Adam and Eve. "That would be against all the genomics evidence that we've assembled over the last 20 years, so not likely at all," Venema said. He explained that there is simply too much genetic diversity among human beings than would be possible with an original reproducing pair. Venema affirmed the standard evolutionary line of argument and explained that, in Hagerty's words, "modern humans emerged from other primates as a large population -- long before the Genesis time frame of a few thousand years ago."</div>
<div>Hagerty then talked to John Schneider, who taught theology at Calvin College for many years. Schneider took the argument even further. As Hagerty reported: "Schneider, who taught theology at Calvin College in Michigan until recently, says it's time to face facts: There was no Adam and Eve, no serpent, no apple, no fall that toppled man from a state of innocence."</div>
<div>Now, we face a broader assault on the Bible's main storyline. Schneider leaves no doubt about the radical nature of his proposal: "Evolution makes it pretty clear that in nature, and in the moral experience of human beings, there never was any such paradise to be lost. So Christians, I think, have a challenge, have a job on their hands to reformulate some of their tradition about human beginnings."</div>
<div>At this point, we are looking at a repudiation of the Bible's account of beginnings. We are not talking about an argument over the interpretation of a few verses or even chapters of the Bible. We are now dealing with the straightforward rejection, not only of the existence of Adam and Eve, but of both Eden and the Fall. Look carefully at Professor Schneider's words -- "there never was any such paradise to be lost."</div>
<div>Though shocking, this line of argument is not really new. The new development is the fact that growing numbers of evangelicals are apparently buying the argument.</div>
<div><b>Click <a href="http://baptistpress.com/BPnews.asp?ID=35973">here</a> to continue reading.</b></div>
<div><i>SOURCE: Baptist Press</i></div>
<div><i>R. Albert Mohler Jr.</i></div>
</div></div>Black Churches Trying Regain Impact. What are your thoughts?https://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/black-churches-trying-regain-impact-what-are-your-thoughts2011-08-22T03:28:30.000Z2011-08-22T03:28:30.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="entry-date"></div>
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<p>*The Sacramento Bee reports that there is something new – and unusual – going on at Mount Olive Baptist Church.</p>
<p>It’s called a Kingdom Partnership. It is focused on what the church needs to do to remain relevant in today’s society and its goal is to help the struggling community around it.</p>
<p>“The majority of churches that were full 20 years ago are half full or less today. Most are having church to do two things – pay the bills and pay the pastor’s salary,” said the Rev. Kenneth Paramore, pastor of Christ Centered Church. “Some pastors would rather preach to 20 people and have their names on the (church) sign rather than do real ministry. We can either come together or die a slow death.”</p>
<p>In the African-American community, the church has historically been a staple. It served as a community hub, where people could find sanctuary from a hostile world, and an arena for spurring communal action to make life better.</p>
<p>Over the years, the church’s central role in the black community has diminished.<br />Read more <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/17/3843437/partnership-to-reach-beyond-walls.html#ixzz1VS6mKjeY" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
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</div></div>NEW MUSIC: J MOSS – Brings his unique R and P flava with this new joint called – “STRONG ENOUGH”https://www.theoraclemag.com/profiles/blogs/new-music-j-moss-brings-his2011-04-19T04:00:00.000Z2011-04-19T04:00:00.000ZPrince Malachi The Firsthttps://www.theoraclemag.com/members/Malachi<div><div class="entryHeader"><br />
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<div class="content"><span><a target="_blank" href="http://westcoastfiya.com/featured/new-music-j-moss-brings-his-unique-r-and-p-flava-with-this-new-joint-called-strong-enough/"><img height="154" width="200" alt="NEW MUSIC: J MOSS – Brings his unique R and P flava with this new joint called – “STRONG ENOUGH”" src="http://westcoastfiya.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/30270_439731963083_178667368083_5579394_1387014_n-300x232.jpg" title="NEW MUSIC: J MOSS – Brings his unique R and P flava with this new joint called – “STRONG ENOUGH”" /></a></span><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://westcoastfiya.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/30270_439731963083_178667368083_5579394_1387014_n.jpg"><img height="232" width="300" src="http://westcoastfiya.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/30270_439731963083_178667368083_5579394_1387014_n-300x232.jpg" title="30270_439731963083_178667368083_5579394_1387014_n" alt="30270_439731963083_178667368083_5579394_1387014_n-300x232.jpg" /></a><div>PAJAM artist J Moss is one of todays leading contemporary gospel artist, writers and producers. Born and raised in Detroit, Mi into the legendary Moss family, J Moss began recording at age 5. He's written and produced for several mainstream artist.</div>
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