Black Church In America II – Church or World Who Knows

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”
― George Orwell, Animal Farm 

“They looked from church to world, and from world to church, and from church to world again, but already it was impossible to say which was which.”- GBH 2013

Historically the black church has been on the forefront of social justice and fighting for whats right in society.  Increasingly however, no one can tell anymore what the mission of the church is. From the time African slaves were brought to the Americas and exposed to Christianity the church has aided people moving forward. Fast forward to 2013 and the black church has morphed into something totally different. Churches can now be recognized only by the names of their mega-Pastors who possess a cult like following. Case in point a new reality show featuring Pastors from Los Angeles will be premiering on the Oxygen Channel on Wednesday October 8, 2012. This reality show is supposed to give us a glimpse into the lives of several mega-Pastors. While it is not fair to label every church under one umbrella it is fair to say that these modern churches have managed to shift the church.

Even before the premiere of this show there are already strong emotions regarding this program which is sure to bring in high ratings of both defenders and critics of these men. Critics of these men assert that they do not operate in the normal christian manner as prescribed by the holy teachings of the Bible by which Christians derive their faith and teachings from.

Not to be outdone is popular mega-church preacher T.D. Jakes who will be launching his talk show in BET titled ‘Mind, Body and Soul’. According to BET, the talk show will cover topics including, “health and wellness, finance and relationships, as Bishop Jakes unearths deeper conversations on the topics that matter to Black America”. Some of the guests to appear on the weekly talk show include celebrities like LL Cool J, Devon Franklin, Marvin Sapp, and Steve Harvey.

Bishop T.D. Jakes says, “It’s not just faith-based. We will talk about faith, but we’re gonna talk about economics. We’re gonna to talk about weight loss. We’re going to talk about families—a lot about families and relationships. As you look into my ministry, you’ll see there’s a great emphasis put on relationships,”

 

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”
― George Orwell, Animal Farm 

“They looked from church to world, and from world to church, and from church to world again, but already it was impossible to say which was which.”- GBH 2013

By Ana Mosi-oa-Tunya 2013