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New York Times Best-Selling Author Kimberla Lawson Roby Is Heading to Atlanta Tomorrow (INTERVIEW)!!!

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RobyFinalAuthorPhoto2012

Hello World,

Rev. Curtis Black is back in The Ultimate Betrayal (A Reverend Curtis Black Novel)!

It’s been four years since 28-year-old Alicia Black, daughter of Reverend Curtis Black, divorced her second husband, the most womanizing and corrupt man she has ever known. Since then, Alicia has been dating her first husband, Phillip Sullivan, a wonderfully kind and true man of God whom she’d hurt terribly by cheating on him. Alicia has worked hard to prove herself worthy of his trust once more, and when he asks her to marry him again, she couldn’t be happier.

But Levi Cunningham, the drug dealer Alicia had an extramarital affair with, has just been released from prison, and he has completely turned his life around for the better. Still head-over-heels in love with Alicia, he will do whatever is necessary to win her back. Remarrying Phillip is the one thing Alicia has wanted for years, but she can’t get Levi out of her mind…

You have to read the book to know the rest of the story…

Kimberla Lawson Roby will be signing The Ultimate Betrayal at Barnes & Noble, 1217 Caroline Street, Atlanta, GA 30307 on Thursday (tomorrow), June 18, 2015 at 7 p.m.  THE_ULTIMATE_BETRAYAL_-_Hi-Res

Check out my interview with Kimberla below:

1. What inspired you to write the 12th installment of the Reverend Curtis Black series, The Ultimate Betrayal?

I wanted to write this particular installment, partly because readers have been asking to hear more about Alicia’s life from her point of view and partly because I’ve been wanting to tell more of her story for a while. She is definitely her father’s daughter in more ways than one.

2. Alicia, the Reverend Curtis Black’s daughter, has the opportunity to be reconciled with her first husband Phillip Sullivan, a kind and true man of God. And yet she is still attracted to the drug dealer Levi Cunningham, the man with whom she had an extramarital affair. Why?

While Phillip is the ideal man in everyone’s eyesight (and rightfully so), Alicia is very much in love with Levi—even though she tries to deny it. She loves Phillip, too, but not in the same manner. She has a certain passion and connection with Levi that she’s never shared with any man…not even Phillip.

3. One of the other characters, Melanie, in this book, may be struggling with anorexia. Why did you create a character who could be struggling with this eating disorder, and how did you research anorexia?

I wanted to create Melanie’s character because so many times we believe anorexia can only occur with young people, specifically with teenagers. However, anorexia can take place at any age and for many different reasons. I did lots of research based on multiple real-life people who have suffered with this condition for years.

4. What can your readers expect from the Reverend Curtis Black in this installment?

A good while ago, Reverend Curtis Black turned his life around for the better. He is a true man of God, he’s faithful to his wife, and he works hard to do the right thing in general. So, when he begins to suspect that his daughter, Alicia, is up to her old tricks, he calls her on it and warns her to stop whatever it is she’s doing. He reminds her of all the tragedy that came about when he made similar mistakes.

5. Of all of the characters you have created in your 20-year career, which character in which book are you the most like and how?

In my fourth novel, It’s a Thin Line, I based the Sydney character on myself and the Delores character on my mom, who really did have a benign, yet aggressive brain tumor. Watching my mom deteriorate and ultimately losing the woman who meant everything in the world to me was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to endure. This is the reason some of the dialogue between Sydney and Delores is almost identical to some of what my mom and I said to each other.

6. How do you get inspired to write your novels?

I am completely inspired by my love of writing fiction as well as by my amazing readers who continually give me such kind words of encouragement and support. If it weren’t for my readers, I couldn’t and wouldn’t do what I do as a writer, year after year. I certainly thank God for each and every one of them.

7. Some may classify your novels as Christian fiction, and Christian fiction has experienced significant upheaval recently. To what do you attribute your longevity in the publishing industry (other than God), and what advice do you give to Christian fiction authors who are just starting out and who also want to be successful over the long term?

My longevity in the publishing business is indeed a result of God’s blessings and His calling on my life, and I also believe that writing about real-life social issues has made a huge difference. With every book, I try to write stories that readers can relate to or they know a family member or friend who can relate. I also write about topics that are important (and sometimes controversial), but they aren’t discussed as much as they should be.

Kimberla Lawson Roby is the author of the best-selling works A Christmas Prayer, The Prodigal Son, A House Divided, The Perfect Marriage, The Reverend’s Wife, Secret Obsession (novella), Love, Honor, and Betray, Be Careful What You Pray For, A Deep Dark Secret (novella), The Best of Everything, Sin No More, One in a Million (novella), Love and Lies, Changing Faces, The Best-Kept Secret, Too Much of a Good Thing, A Taste of Reality, It’s a Thin Line, Casting the First Stone, Here and Now and Behind Closed Doors. She lives with her husband in Illinois.  For more information, go to kimroby.com.

Any thoughts?

 

The post New York Times Best-Selling Author Kimberla Lawson Roby Is Heading to Atlanta Tomorrow (INTERVIEW)!!! appeared first on After the Altar Call.


Brown Girls Publishing Founders Release Similar-Themed Novels Without Intending To Do So…

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writing twins

Hello World,

Victoria Christopher Murray & ReShonda Tate Billingsley, who refer to themselves as “writing twins,” have written several novels together such Sinners & Saints,  Friends & Foes and Fortune & Fame: A Novel, and the two also co-founded Brown Girls Publishing in 2014. However, apart from their joint ventures, ReShonda Tate Billingsley & Victoria Christopher Murray maintain separate careers as novelists. Still, without intending to do so, Victoria Christopher Murray’s latest novel Stand Your Ground: A Novel which debuts TODAY, and ReShonda Tate Billingley’s latest novel Mama’s Boy, which debuts a week from today on July 7, explore topics that dominate today’s headlines. Read the descriptions of each book below as well as my interview with the “writing twins” and Brown Girls Publishing founders.

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From the #1 Essence bestselling and award-winning author Victoria Christopher Murray comes Stand Your Ground, a new novel about two women who are faced with the same tragedy.

A black teenage boy is dead. A white man shot him. Was he standing his ground or was it murder?

Janice Johnson is living every black mother’s nightmare. Her seventeen-year-old son was murdered and the shooter has not been arrested. Can the D.A. and the police be trusted to investigate and do the right thing? Should Janice take advantage of the public outcry and join her husband alongside the angry protestors who are out for revenge?

Meredith Spencer is married to the man accused of the killing and she sees her husband and the situation with far more clarity than anyone realizes. What she knows could blow the case wide open, but what will that mean for her life and that of her son? Will she have the courage to come forward in time so that justice can be done?

#1 national bestselling and award-winning author Victoria Christopher Murray’s Stand Your Ground is a pulse-pounding meditation on race, motherhood, marriage, and vigilante justice that will have readers spellbound until its shocking end.

mama's boy

When her son is in trouble, a heartbroken mother finds the courage and faith to save him, in ReShonda Tate Billingsley’s powerful family drama—a novel as timely as today’s headlines.

The breaking TV news rocks Jasper, Texas, to the core: a white police officer is fatally shot in a scuffle with three black youths—and a cellphone video captures Jamal Jones, the sixteen-year-old son of esteemed Reverend Elton Jones, escalating the tragic encounter. Now, as the national spotlight shines on a town already rife with racial tension, Jamal is a murder suspect on the run. And all of Jasper—even the Reverend’s congregation—rushes to judge the boy they thought they knew.

But Gloria Jones knows her son best, and she races to find Jamal before the law does—to the outrage of her workaholic husband. Once she finds him, she has to decide whether to turn him in or help him run. With ruthless prosecutor and Houston mayoral candidate Kay Christensen hungering to put another young thug behind bars, Gloria will face her biggest battle yet. And when long-hidden secrets and shocking lies come to light, throwing Jamal’s case and his destiny into a tailspin, all Gloria can do is pray that the truth—and a mother’s unconditional love—will be enough to redeem the mistakes of the past and ultimately, save her son.

INTERVIEW

1. I’m sure that the deaths of several black males such as Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and more at the hands of police officers and or self-imposed authority figures inspired you to write your respective novels “Stand Your Ground” and “Mama’s Boy,” but please share what specific case(s) or news story(ies) inspired you to pen your novels?

Victoria: I was actually watching the Michael Dunn trial, the first one, and when the verdict came back and it was announced that it was a mistrial — the jurors couldn’t decide on guilt or innocence — my social media timelines blew up. But people didn’t understand the law, and I saw this as an opportunity to entertain and teach.

ReShonda: There was no case in particular. As a longtime member of the media, we would get the ‘you can’t film us’ from law enforcement. And we knew our rights. The rise in people recording just got me to thinking of how many people don’t know their rights. So that was the nugget that started this story brewing. From there, I threw in the dynamic of ‘what would you do if your son had committed a crime’ and doing the right thing meant turning him over to a racist police department.

2. How long did it take you to write these novels, and what emotions did you experience as you wrote your novels?

Victoria: It took me a year, and as any writer experiences, you go through the same emotions as the characters.

Reshonda: It took me about five months to REWRITE my novel. I say rewrite because I firmly believe good novels aren’t written, they’re rewritten. It was an emotional roller coaster because I’d like to think I would always do the right thing, but as a mother, and under extenuating circumstances, I found myself seriously questioning that.

3. What do you hope readers will learn and or experience through reading these novels?

Victoria: I really hope readers will come to understand not only the SYG law, but how dangerous this legal license to kill is for our community. Stand Your Ground only seems to work when our boys are the ones on the ground. We must fight against this.

ReShonda: I want readers to think about how they would react. I also hope to educate people while entertaining them.

4.Victoria and ReShonda, the both of you refer to each other as writing twins! In fact, you have written three novels together such as “Sinners & Saints,” “Friends & Foes,” “Fortune & Fame” and the upcoming “A Blessing and a Curse” to be released in 2016. When did you discover that the both of you had written separate novels about similar themes, and what did you think about that?

Victoria: We read each other’s books so, we knew we wrote about issues in the church. I didn’t think anything about that fact — lots of authors write about similar themes.

ReShonda: It’s amazing. We talk about everything, but we had no idea how similar our stories were in terms of dealing with topical issues, until we began reading each other’s completed manuscripts. Honestly, I even asked my editor about waiting on my book, but it was already done and in the production process. But I realized that while we both deal with serious issues, we use our own unique storytelling styles, so that makes the books uniquely different.

5. Brown Girls Publishing has been in existence for just over a year now. What accomplishment has your company achieved that you are most proud of to date?

Victoria: The fact that we are still standing is an accomplishment to me. It is much more difficult than we anticipated. I am proud of the fact that we’ve given new authors who would’ve never been published a chance for exposure.

ReShonda: Wow, there are so many things I’m proud of, so it’s hard to narrow it down to one thing. I’m thrilled with our author roster, the new imprints, and especially the Brown Girls Kids/Brown Girls Teens division because that is giving us the opportunity to begin building the voices of tomorrow.

6. Why did you start two new imprints, Brown Girls Faith and Jacquelin Thomas Presents, and what do you hope to do accomplish with these imprints?

Victoria: The imprints give us an opportunity to publish more authors and give better attention with Jacquelin Thomas and Rhonda McKnight joining our team.

ReShonda: We had to close down our submissions process because of the sheer volume of submissions, and there were so many good manuscripts that we weren’t getting to. Jacquelin Thomas and Rhonda McKnight are two consummate professionals who we thought we be good additions to our tear. Our hope is to further expand the Brown Girls brand and bring readers a wider array of quality books.

7. Victoria, I know that you are a political junkie. Now that our sorority sister, the newly elected Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the first black woman to be Attorney General of the United States, is in place, what do hope you she will accomplish during her tenure? Congratulations ReShonda! I’ve learned that TV One recently announced that it will adapt two of your novels “The Devil Is A Lie” and “The Secret She Kept” into original movies to be released in 2016! How did this happen? 

Victoria: Wow. I don’t know how to answer that. I don’t know what she has in her plate. She’s not a policy maker in the Obama Administration, so there aren’t any policy issues. I just hope she continues the work of Eric Holder with voter rights and police brutality cases. And I wish her the best.

ReShonda: Well, my movie, Let the Church Say Amen (which will air on BET on Aug. 30), based on my sophomore novel, has been in the works a long time. And I’m blessed to have been on Hollywood’s radar. So TV One actually reached out to me because they are serious about revving up their original programming. I am honored that they chose two of my titles.

Thank you ReShonda & Victoria for your time!

Any thoughts?

 

 

The post Brown Girls Publishing Founders Release Similar-Themed Novels Without Intending To Do So… appeared first on After the Altar Call.

‘The Neophyte Author’ Nigeria Lockley to Release Second Novel ‘Seasoned With Grace’ (MY INTERVIEW)

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nigeria

Hello World,

I’m always happy to help promote my fellow authors especially those of us who are beginning our author journey…Please check out my interview with Nigeria Lockley, whose novel Seasoned With Grace (Urban Books) will be released on July 28! Below is a synopsis of “Seasoned With Grace” followed by the interview…

SEASONED-WITH-GRACE Sentenced to probation, 30-year-old, supermodel Grace King must put her plans of transitioning into acting to extend the longevity of her career on hold. Desperate to keep a close eye on Grace and his job, Grace’s ambitious lawyer, Ethan Summerville has her complete community service in the last place Grace wants to be. His church.
 
Instead of God, Grace finds a “chocolate drop” of a man–Brother Horace Brown. However, Horace isn’t looking for a supermodel. He wants his woman saved and sanctified, but Grace has never met a man who has been able to resist her. Will Horace compromise his faith for a taste of fortune, fame, and Grace?While Grace focuses on the pursuit of passion Ethan finds one director willing to take a risk and cast Grace in his debut film, but this role fits Grace all too well. Will this film revive Grace’s relationship with God and her career or bring her closer to destruction?

1. What inspired you to write “Seasoned With Grace?”

I cannot say there was any one thing that inspired me to write this story. I just saw Grace King in my head on probation and cutting up. I simply wrote the story as it came to me.

2. Why did you choose a supermodel as the main character of your story?

I didn’t make that choice. I don’t impose my will on my characters. It may be about skill or just being organic, but I take them as they are and let them run wild.

3. How did you research the supermodeling industry?

On the low, I’m a fashion insider. I read Vogue, InStyle, visit various fashion blogs, and of course you know I’ve seen one too many episodes of “America’s Next Top Model.” Therefore, I didn’t have to do much research and bless the Lord for Google.

4. What do you hope readers will learn or understand by reading this story?

I hope that readers will learn that despite the hardships in life God has not forgotten them and you cannot go so far over the edge that you cannot be redeemed. Those are just two big lessons in the book, but one subtle lesson that I learned as I was writing “Seasoned with Grace” is to be thankful for your friends.

5. I read that you wrote most of “Seasoned With Grace” on your cell phone. Is that true? Why? How long did it take? Please explain.

I did write the majority of “Seasoned with Grace” on my cell phone. I started that way because the first time I saw the story in my head I was in the subway and the only thing I had on me was my cell phone. It was slightly more convenient than pulling out my laptop during rush hour, and once I realized I spend an hour a day on the train commuting to work I decided to capitalize on that. It only took me a few months to finish “Seasoned with Grace.”

6. I understand that you have started your own publishing company Inheritance Books. Why did you decide to start your own publishing company? When will the first book from your new company debut,and what is the title? (if you have that information)

Starting Inheritance Books was one of those move when the Spirit says move decisions. Last year, I started working on a novella that I planned to release independent of my publisher at the time, Urban Christian. I only had a two- book deal and my plan was to test the indie waters before attempting to renew my contract. Now fast forward to the last week of February 2015—I get selected for jury duty and while everyone is griping about having to be there I’ve got the name for the company, the tagline, and plans for developing authors floating through my head. For a moment I thought I was having delusions of grandeur, but something inside of me was telling me to form this publishing company. I applied for the LLC, got my logo done, and started taking coaching classes on publishing. When I showed my logo to my sister to get her opinion, she said, “It’s nice, but what is this for?” I replied, “For my publishing company. There’s a hole and I want to fill it.”

The very next day I found out that the Urban Christian line of Urban Books had been dissolved. So, it wasn’t a decision; it was more like an unction. The first release will be my novella, “Tempted to Touch.” I’d like to follow that up with an inspirational anthology, and by the grace of God start accepting manuscripts by the winter of 2015.

7. You refer to yourself as the “Neophyte Author.” How many books will have you have to write before you consider yourself a “seasoned” rather than “neophyte” author? What is the most important thing you have learned on your “neophyte author” journey so far?

There will always be something for me to learn and I will always be a new author to some reader regardless of how prolific I am, so I’m not sure when I’ll attain that seasoned status. The most important thing I’ve learned as a neophyte author is that you have to tell your story and live your story. You cannot allow other people’s idea of what works stifle your productivity and creativity. As you travel along the road to your goal, you’ll receive lots of advice, but you have to live your life and work in a fashion that works best for you and not anyone else.

I’ve always loved the game “20 Questions” so below are Nigeria’s answers to 20 of my random questions in no particular order :)

20 questions

Nigeria Lockley possesses two master’s degrees, one in English Secondary Education, which she utilizes as an educator with the New York City Department of Education. Her second master’s degree is in Creative Writing. “Born at Dawn” is Nigeria’s first published novel. Nigeria serves as the vice president of Bridges Family Services, a not-for-profit organization that assists student parents interested in pursuing a degree in higher education. She is also the deaconess and clerk for her spiritual home King of Kings and Lord of Lords Church of God. Nigeria is a New York native who resides in Harlem with her husband and two daughters. Visit her online at www.NigeriaLockley.com

Any thoughts?

 

 

The post ‘The Neophyte Author’ Nigeria Lockley to Release Second Novel ‘Seasoned With Grace’ (MY INTERVIEW) appeared first on After the Altar Call.

The Making of the BET Movie & ReShonda Tate Billingsley’s “Let The Church Say Amen!”

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Hello World,

say amenTomorrow night at 8 p.m./7 C, best-selling author ReShonda Tate Billingsley will realize a dream come true – the network premiere of her movie “Let The Church Say Amen,” based on her book of the same name. But it has been a long road to her dream….Read about her journey below and by all means, watch the movie tomorrow night!!!

From a previous post…

Bishop T.D. Jakes’ MegaFest 2013 in Dallas is making headlines from Tyler Perry laying hands on the bishop AND donating $1 million to help build a youth center to mega artists Jennifer Hudson, Erica Campbell, Joe and more performing at the Women of Purpose concert!

Aside from these fantastic events, it was also the premiere of “Let the Church Say Amen,” a movie based on the best-selling novel by ReShonda Tate Billingsley, which was featured as a part of the First Annual International Faith & Family Film Festival at MegaFest 2013 ! As a fellow author, I am truly inspired by ReShonda’s success, and I wanted to highlight her achievement here. Below is a summary of the movie.”

Twenty-one-year-old Rachel Jackson (Naturi Naughton) is a wayward preacher’s kid who is struggling to pull her life together. With a six-year-old son out of wedlock and a high school diploma, Rachel’s mission in life is to marry her son’s father in order to forge a traditional and respectable family and regain her father’s respect.

LET THE CHURCH SAY AMEN is a powerful journey through one family’s trials and tribulations and a remarkable story of reconciliation and love. This two-hour movie of the week will be a BET Premiere Cinema event starring Steve Harris, Naturi Naughton, Lela Rochon, Hosea Sanchez and Collins Curtis Pennie. The film is Executive produced by Reina King and co-produced by Queen Latifah, Shakim Compere, Shelby Stone, Roger Bobb and Regina King who is also making her directorial debut. LET THE CHURCH SAY AMEN is a BET Networks, Royal Ties and Flavor Unit Production.

Below is my interview with ReShonda! Check it out!

ReShonda Tate Billingsley, Regina King, Hosea Sanchez & Brely Evans

ReShonda Tate Billingsley, Regina King, Hosea Sanchez & Brely Evans

1. As a fellow author, when you wrote your book “Let the Church Say Amen,” did you ever dream that it could be made into a movie? When I first start writing, I don’t do it with a movie in mind, but of course, like many authors, I dream for all of them to be on the big screen. It just doesn’t play a role in my writing process.

2. And for my fellow authors and dreamers out there, how did this movie come to be? By being nice. I know that sounds like a cliché but I bought a book for a woman who didn’t have enough money for a book. She gave it to her sister who worked for an airport bookstore. One day, Juanita Bynum was in that store and the sister convinced Rev. Bynum to buy my book. Long story short, she did, loved it and got in touch with me to ask my permission to take it to Hollywood. The journey to where I am today was a long one, as we’ve had several delays over the years, funding issues, and normal “movie delays.” But Regina King, who was set to direct the movie and her sister/business partner Reina King, believed in the project and kept fighting for it. Eventually, they partnered with Queen Latifah’s Flava Unit and got a deal with BET, who was getting into original programming. They bought four of my other novels, including “Everybody Say Amen,” “Say Amen, Again,”and “I Know I’ve Been Changed.”

3. How is the movie different from your book or did the movie match what happened in your book? As with all novels that are made into movies, you will see a condensed version of my novel. Many people don’t know this, but they take a 300-400 page novel and shrink it to about 90 pages, so a lot of things have to go. Although there are a few key changes, they definitely captured the essence of the book.

4. What has been the most surprising experience you’ve had as you watched your words being turned into a movie? The most surprising experience I would have to say is that they let me be a part of it from beginning to end. When production companies buy your novel, you sign the contract and receive your check, which is normally where the communications stop. It is rare that they let an author be involved, so I am extremely blessed to be involved behind the scenes, and on camera. Yes, I also have a small part in the movie…yes, a speaking part. But perhaps the best feeling was watching the crowd reaction at the recent screening of the movie. I had seen the movie, but watching it with a crowd, that loved it, made me feel …. Full.

5. I know you probably can’t pick favorites, but what actor in the movie is your favorite and why? And if you don’t want to answer that, how have the actors brought your story to life in a way that you haven’t thought about before? What was it like to work with Regina King? Oh, my God, I can’t. For real, because they were all phenomenal. I couldn’t have asked for a better cast! Each actor brings their own flavor to make their character come to life. And to see the passion and commitment they brought to the roles meant the world. It’s like each person chosen was meant for that role. Casting director Robbie Reed did an AMAZING job. And Regina, I simply love her. Both her and her sister. They made sure that I was not only included, but happy with the direction of the story and the characters. I was a fan of Regina before. But just based on her on-screen work. Now, it’s how she is off-screen that has made me a fan for life.

6. How was your film chosen to be screened at MegaFest, and is this the first time the film has been shown to an audience? What did you think? What did the audience think? It was chosen to be screened at MegaFest because of T.D. Jake’s relationship with BET. BET believes in this project and worked with him to make it the official television entry at the festival. This was the first time it was shown to an audience. Seeing it for the first time on the big screen was priceless. I’ve never been so excited and proud. (I only wished my mom could have been sitting in the audience watching.) The audience, which was a seating capacity of 800 people, was full and we had to turn away hundreds of people. They loved it. They laughed, cried and gave a standing ovation when it was over. It was the highlight of my literary career. (That, and winning the NAACP Image Award in 2012)

7. What’s next for the movie? And also, besides this current movie, which book would you like to see made into a movie next and why? I don’t have an actual release date yet. They’re still working out the details because there is the possibility that it could go to the big screen (say a prayer, y’all). Once I know, I’ll make sure all my readers know as well. As I said earlier, I would love to see all my books made into a movie. But honestly, if I had to pick, my top three would be “The Secret She Kept,” “Holy Rollers,” and “I Know I’ve Been Changed.”

live tweetAlso, I will be live tweeting “Let The Church Say Amen!” Use the hashtag #ChurchSayAmenBET!

Any thoughts?

The post The Making of the BET Movie & ReShonda Tate Billingsley’s “Let The Church Say Amen!” appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Sherri Shepherd Stars In New Movie “Woodlawn,” the 2015 Dove Awards Comedy Show & More…

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Sherri Shepherd 2

Hello World,

If you’re a fan of my favorite Christian celeb Sherri Shepherd, you have plenty of opportunities to check out  “The View” Contributor  Sherri Shepherd this month! Next Friday, October 16,  her latest movie Woodlawn will be released. Below is the a description of the movie in which Sherri portrays Mama Nathan.

Woodlawn, an exhilarating high school football story about revival and reconciliation, offers hope for overcoming the racial crises facing America today.

The movie, an Erwin Brothers film produced by Kevin Downes, tells the true-life story of Tony Nathan (newcomer Caleb Castille), who lands in a powder keg of anger and violence when he joins fellow African-American students at Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, Ala., after its government-mandated desegregation in 1973. The Woodlawn Colonels football team is a microcosm of the problems at the school and in the city, which erupts in cross burnings and riots, and Coach Tandy Geralds (Nic Bishop) is at a loss to solve these unprecedented challenges with his disciplinarian ways.

It’s only when Hank (Sean Astin), an outsider who has been radically affected by the message of hope and love he experienced at a Christian revival meeting, convinces Coach Geralds to let him speak to the team that something truly remarkable begins to happen. More than 40 players, nearly the entire team, black and white, give their lives over to the “better way” Hank tells them is possible through following Jesus, and the change is so profound in them it affects their coach, their school and their community in ways no one could have imagined.

The Colonels make a run at the state playoffs led by Nathan, who achieves superstar status in Birmingham and attracts the attention of legendary University of Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant (Jon Voight). It’s the miracle, Hank says, of what happens when God shows up.

“It is the story about the redemption of a cynic through a reluctant hero with the influence of an unabashed optimist,” Director Andy Erwin says. “And these three men mixed together in the midst of this spiritual awakening that really hit America in the early ’70s called the Jesus Movement. Something special happened, and a city healed.”

A book has been released in conjunction with the film: Woodlawn: Touchdown Tony: Running with a Purpose, Tony Nathan’s autobiography, is available as of Sept. 15 from Howard Books.

Below is an interview with Sherri Shepherd about the film.

Featurette – Sherri Shepherd for Woodlawn on TrailerAddict.

Sherri is also headlining the FREE 2015 Dove Awards Comedy Show, hosted by Bone Hampton, to be held Monday, October 12 at Shamblin Theatre at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN. The doors open at 6:30p.m., and the show will begin at 7:00p.m.

Dove Comedy Show

Finally, Sherri is taking part in “Chonda Pierce: Laughing in the Dark,” a one-night cinema event that is coming to select U.S. theaters on October 27. This unique event gives an intimate look at the life of well-known comedian Chonda Pierce and how she has overcome many of life’s obstacles through faith and humor. In addition to the docu-comedy, there will be a post-event show, “Finding Light in the Darkness,” where audience members will join celebrities including Roma Downey, Kevin Sorbo, Sherri Shepherd, Monica Crowley, Corbin Bernsen and Duck Dynasty’s Miss Kay Robertson as they discuss what inspired them from Chonda’s story.

Tickets for “Chonda Pierce: Laughing in the Dark” can be purchased online by visiting www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. Fans throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy the event in nearly 480 movie theaters through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network. For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events.

Any thoughts?

 

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Tina Campbell is in Atlanta Tonight as a part of her ‘An Evening With Tina Campbell Tour!’

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 an evening tina campbell

Hello World,

If you’re a Tina Campbell fan like I am and live in A, tonight is your night! Tina Campbell will be at Greater Travelers Rest, 4650 Flat Shoals Pkwy, Decatur, Georgia 30034 as a part of her “An Evening With Tina Campbell” Tour!!! The event starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25, and can be purchased at eventbrite.com. No refunds are available.

Below is the official description…

Experience an Evening with Famed Gospel Singer, Reality Star and Author, Tina Campbell featuring her husband Teddy Campbell
 
  • Experience the infusion of both the music and the book during her dramatic exploration of how the most dreadful test of her life became the most beautiful testimony
And more!
Below is a preview of what you can expect tonight!!!

 

But if you don’t live in the A, don’t despair! Tina Campbell is likely coming to a city near you. Please see the flyer above, and go to her IAmTinaCampbell.com for more information.

Finally, if you haven’t had the chance to check out my interview with Tina Campbell earlier this year, check out the link below…

Mitchell Solarek is NOT Tina Campbell’s Manager & More: My Interview With Mary Mary’s Tina Campbell

Any thoughts?

The post Tina Campbell is in Atlanta Tonight as a part of her ‘An Evening With Tina Campbell Tour!’ appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Online Book Promotion Expert LaShaunda Hoffman Pens Promotion Guide for Authors!

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hoffman (2)

Hello World,

If you’re an author, want to be an author or know someone who is an author or wants to be an author,  today’s online book promotion post is for YOU! Today, I have the pleasure of spotlighting LaShaunda Hoffman, founder of the popular SORMAG (Shades of Romance magazine), an online literary magazine for multicultural readers and writers. LaShaunda, who has helped to launch and sustain the career of many authors, recently penned her FIRST BOOK – Building Online Relationships: One Reader At A Time! Below is a synopsis of “Building Online Relationships – One Reader At A Time” followed by my interview with her…

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000035_00017]Readers buy from writers they know and trust. This means, dear author, you have to find ways for new readers to get to know you and to want to create a relationship with you.  Building Online Relationships – One Reader At A Time is your one-stop online promotion guide. Award-winning publisher of Shades of Romance Magazine, LaShaunda C. Hoffman, has consolidated over 14 years of expertise in online promotion into this how-to guide. By reading, and applying what you learn in this book, you will promote like a pro and build trust with your readers so they become loyal buyers. Every chapter includes an action plan you can implement immediately to learn:

What promotion is all about in this digital age.

A proven goal setting strategy for getting your book in the hands of the reader who is looking for it.

Step-by step actions you can take to get in front of new readers every day.

How you can begin creating relationships with new readers TODAY.

1. What inspired you to write your book “Building Online Relationships – One Reader At A Time?”

I was at a conference talking to Sylvia Hubbard, Pat Simmons and Renee Daniel Flager, and they told me I should write a book about online promotion. I let it simmer inside for a while, and then I realized I’d had part of my book when I did two online series, one on creating your web presence and creating your online promotion plan. I took that information and added more to it and finished the book.

2. What is the most common problem for writers who are promoting their books, and how can your book help?

The biggest problem for writers is knowing how to promote. Most don’t have a clue about what to do or where to start. This book shares how to get started and what to do. It helps you create a plan so you not running around with your head cut off.

3. What is the most powerful chapter in the book and why?

For me, the most powerful chapter is the database/email list because if you are doing all this promotion and have no way to capture the readers you are meeting you working for nothing. Many writers start their mailing list after they have 3 or 4 books under the belt. I say start creating your mailing list as soon as the idea for the book comes to mind. You want readers to be interested in your upcoming book and when it releases you want readers to which you can promote. It’s hard to sell books to people who don’t have a clue who you are. When you have a mailing list, they know who you are, and they are waiting for your book to release so they can support you.

4. What has been the response to your book thus far?

The book has been well received. I received my first fan letter which blew me away. I’ve been asked to speak to a writers group, and I’ve met a few of the readers who purchased copies because I offer a 30-minute Virtual Tea session (personalized online training program for authors) if you purchase a copy. It has been amazing to see the book help writers with their promotion.

5. As a former member of the Navy and as someone who still works for the U.S. government, how did you learn about promotion?

I actually started learning about promotion when I created my online magazine – Shades Of Romance – SORMAG. I didn’t have a clue and there weren’t many books about online promotion back then because the Internet was so new. Everything I learned about promoting the magazine are the steps I share in the book. I had to get out there in front of readers daily.

6. You are probably best known for creating Shades of Romance Magazine, an online magazine promoting authors and books that attracted 18,000 visitors and was named in Writer’s Digest’s “101 Best Writing Sites” just after it launched in 2000. How did you come up with this name, and did you expect your magazine to generate as much buzz as it did and still does today? Do you anticipate writing a romance one day?

To be honest, I never dreamed I would still be publishing the magazine. It started as a hobby. I’m an avid reader, and I loved romance books. When they started publishing African-American romances, I was in heaven. I wanted to help readers find out about these amazing books and help the authors promote the books. The name came from me thinking romance comes in many shades. I wish I’d named it Shades Of Reading because over the years we’ve evolved and no longer just focus on romance books. I tried to change the name, but the readers weren’t having it.

I think the reason it generated buzz was because we didn’t have a magazine like this that catered to the multicultural community. We were looking for our books and couldn’t find them. One of the reasons I continue to publish the magazine is because the need is still there.

When I started SORMAG I was an aspiring romance writer. I still write romance but with an inspirational slant to them. I’m currently working on a historical.

7. You have interviewed many, many authors over the years. What has been your favorite interview, and what is your dream interview that you have yet to do and why?

That’s a hard question to answer. I enjoy all the interviews and don’t have a favorite. If I had to choose it wouldn’t be one, it would be the debut author interviews. I love introducing a new author to the community. I know how hard it is to get your book in front of readers, so I enjoy introducing new writers.

Right now my dream interview would be with Shonda Rhimes, only I would want it to be in person instead of an email interview. I want to sit at her feet and ask a million questions.

I’ve always loved the game “20 Questions” so below are LaShaunda’s answers to 20 of my random questions in no particular order:).

20 questions

For reading today, LaShaunda is offering a freebie for writers – 31 Promotion Tips. You can receive a different tip for 31 days or download the ebook that features all 31 tips – lashaundahoffman.com/digital-goodies/   You’re welcome :)

LaShaunda C. Hoffman took her love for books and turned it into an award-winning online magazine, Shades of Romance Magazine. Her mission in life is to introduce as many books as she can to readers. She’s happily married mother of three who believes in dreams and working hard to achieve them. She started a coaching program – Virtual Tea With LaShaunda to train writers on promoting their books online. Contact her at lchwriter@gmail.com or check her out at sormag.blogspot.com, lashaundahoffman.com , Facebook or on Twitter @lashaundaH.

Any thoughts?

 

The post Online Book Promotion Expert LaShaunda Hoffman Pens Promotion Guide for Authors! appeared first on After the Altar Call.

The Top 10 Blog Posts and or Articles for Black Christian Women in October 2015

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Pastor Virzola Law, Pastor Shonda Reynolds Christian and Robert Edwards, missionary

Pastor Virzola Law, Pastor Shonda Reynolds Christian and Roberta Edwards, missionary

Hello World,

I’m back with another list of  interesting blog posts and or articles for black Christian women that intrigued me as a black Christian woman ( but you don’t have be a black Christian woman to to check them out:) ! ) Let me know if you like my list! Enjoy…

1. “1st Sermon for Lindenwood Christian Church’s First Black, Female Pastor” by WMCActionNews5.com Staff

Excerpt: Pastor Virzola Law had been a guest speaker at Lindenwood on several occasions before she was voted in as pastor in June of 2015. In her first sermon, Pastor Law focused on unity. “I’m just amazed you called somebody as tanned and beautiful as I am to be your pastor,” Law said. See more at: wmcactionnews5.com.

2. “Tenn. Assoc. Disfellowships Church With Female Pastor” by David Roach

Excerpt: After Greater Tabernacle called Shonda Reynolds Christian as pastor in June, “we asked them to reconsider,” Lawrence Association director of missions Mike Kemper told BP. “They took two weeks, and they called us back and said, ‘We have decided to keep our woman pastor.’ So really, they made their own decision about that, knowing the consequences and knowing what would come.” See more at: bpnews.net.

3.“For Brown Girls Who Considered Leaving the Church When the Sexism Was Too Much” by The Churched Feminist

Excerpt: Let’s break that down even further: single Black women are a large percentage of black church membership. But I have not encountered many single Black female Christians who were happy and content with the so-called “singles’ ministries” of the churches they attend. The lack of attention to this large segment of the church renders them invisible. Add to that the erasing effect stereotypes have upon Black female humanity and I think becomes clear why some brown girls have considered leaving the church when the sexism got to be too much. See more at: thechurchedfeminist.com.

4. ”Roberta’s Mission: Decatur Men Carrying on Work of American Missionary Killed in Haiti” by Catherine Godbey

Excerpt: JoJo is one of the tens of thousands of women and children Edwards reached through her 19 years of mission work in Haiti. While her children’s home housed 20 orphans, the 55-year-old Tennessee woman ran a nutrition center that fed 160 children twice a day, oversaw a sewing program for women, managed the chicken coop and distributed food to three orphanages.In a country with an illiteracy rate of 52 percent, Edwards demanded the children at SonLight learn how to read. Encouraged by Edwards’ efforts, a girl, who at one time lived on the streets, received admission into Freed-Hardeman University. Held accountable by the woman he called “mom,” a boy attended and graduated from medical school. See more at: decaturdaily.com.

5. “Pentecostal Minister Rev. Leah Daughtry Is 2016 Democratic National Convention CEO” by Faithfully Magazine Staff

Excerpt: Daughtry, 52, grew up in Brooklyn steeped in political and civil-rights activism. She’s the eldest child of the Rev. Herbert Daughtry, pastor of the House of the Lord Church, whose ministry mixes the all-in fervor of Pentecostal Christianity with doses of black liberation theology. Leah Daughtry followed in the family tradition. She is an ordained Pentecostal minister with a small congregation in Southwest Washington, a member of the fifth generation of pastors in her family. See more at: faithfullymagazine.com.

6. “Susanna Wesley, Joan of Arc, Rosa Parks and Other Ordinary-Extraordinary Women God Used to Change the World” by Nicola Menzie

Excerpt: In Seven Women, author Eric Metaxas offers up little-known details about the inspiring lives of seven women, including Susanna Wesley, mother of vastly influential Christian ministers John and Charles Wesley; Joan of Arc, the teen martyr who changed the course of a war with claims of being guided by “voices;” and Rosa Parks, whose decision to say “no” led to her becoming the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement.” See more at: christianpost.com.

7. What Leaders Can Learn From Black Churches About Keeping Team Members Engaged” by Tara-Nicholle Nelson

Excerpt: Black churches have their own issues, to be sure. But one thing many of them do well is foster a culture of conversation. Here’s an anthropological experiment for you: If you’ve never attended a black church, take two hours this Sunday and do so. You’ll learn, quickly, that a black church service is not a spectator sport. Black pastors are notorious for engaging their audiences in a two-way conversation. They look for, expect and sometimes flat out demand audience participation from the first note of the first song to the closing benediction. It’s not for nothing that the saying “Can I get an amen?” has penetrated the larger lexicon. See more at: entrepreneur.com.

salt

8. “‘Salt’: New Talk Show For Black Christian Millennials Hits YouTube” by Hello Beautiful Staff

Excerpt: Hosted by Michelle Jenkins, Yeira De Leon, J. Jones, and L.A. Bonds, Salt will engage in no-holds-barred conversations ranging from news of the day to beauty, fashion and colorism in the Black community. The four outspoken women will also keep it real about their own personal relationships. Whether married, single or somewhere in between (think Netflix and Chill), Salt wants to add its flavor to your Sundays. With a focus on faith and Christianity, Salt’s goal is not just to entertain. According to a statement released exclusively to Newsone, the women also want to “win back the lost.” See more at: hellobeautiful.com.

9.”Joy105.com CEO Crystal Smith on the Black church and Min. Farrakhan” by Mo Barnes

Excerpt: Is there room for his message in the Black church? This is a decision that lies on every pastor individually. I have known of Minister Farrakhan speaking in churches and I have heard leaders state they would never have him in their church. I often shake at the phrase “black church.” I am a firm believer in the Holy Bible and it speaks in Eph. 5:27 of a “glorious church” that God is coming back for. I didn’t see a color associated with it; therefore, I choose to be a part of the one He is coming back for. Minister Farrakhan is a voice to the Black community, like him or not. See more at: rollingout.com.

10. ”Empire’ Takes Spiritual Warfare Of Good Versus Evil To New Level by Oretha Winston

Excerpt: Andre chose to be baptized and invited his father. Luscious showed up, but was repulsed by the scene as it forced him to recall ugly memories. This is a classic case of  evil co-opting a good experience and tainting it. Luscious could not see the beauty of his son’s redemption because it was ruined by the memory of abuse.  He is one of the-nonbelievers in our spaces who can drag spiritual baggage into your presence. Many who  are dragging spiritual baggage are left in bondage. Luscious is left chained. The writers chose to dive deeply into the theological realm of walking demons. You saw  the spirit of sensuality, seduction, selfishness and arrogance all make an appearance. Romans 12:21 Paul tells us to defeat evil with good.  It is the fulfilling of  ‘You reap that which you sow.’ See more at: elev8.hellobeautiful.com.

These pieces didn’t make my “Top 10” list, but I enjoyed them nonetheless.

Honorable Mentions:

“Black-ish Recap: Say Yes to the Blessed” by Nichole Perkins

Excerpt: Although Bow and Dre decide that neither church is the one for them, they both agree they like attending some kind of service, and decide to look for something that suits them and their family. Bow reveals she likes being connected to something bigger than herself. There are jokes about the length of service and about how many people end up on the “sick and shut-in” list, but there is also recognition of the significance of black churches in America. Dre points out how instrumental black churches have been as places of community and solidarity, from slavery through the civil-rights movement and beyond. See more at: vulture.com.

“York churches celebrate merger 50 years later” by Caitlin Kerfin

Excerpt: Fifty years ago this December, Faith Presbyterian and First Presbyterian churches in York merged. It was one of a few such religious mergings of its kind in the country, with a white and black church coming together, congregation member Virginia Hunter said. She was born and raised in the Faith Presbyterian Church. John Noble, Hunter’s great-grandfather, was one of the founders of Faith Presbyterian in the 1890s. In the 1960s, the congregation was predominately African-American with less than 100 members. Their building was small and in need of some repairs, but the church wasn’t in a very good financial situation. They weren’t able to support a full-time minister. See more at: ydr.com.

So how did you like my best articles and blog posts for black Christian women October roundup? Did I miss anything?

Any thoughts?

 

The post The Top 10 Blog Posts and or Articles for Black Christian Women in October 2015 appeared first on After the Altar Call.


Resilience & the Bible: How to Use Scriptures to Bounce Back From – Losing Your Home

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A Thanksgiving Post...

Hello World,

Kimberly Atkins headshot 1Today’ s post is the second installment of my 7-month interview series entitled “Resilience & the Bible” which is about how Scriptures can be used to bounce back from the trials we all have to go through from time to time. Once a month, I feature someone who has used Bible verses to bounce back! If you know of someone who has bounced back using Scriptures and would like to be featured on my blog, please e-mail me at jacqueline@afterthealtarcall.com.

How to bounce back from losing your home is the focus of this month’s “Resilience & the Bible” blog post. I don’t know about you, but at this time of the year, the Thanksgiving season, I am especially thankful for my home, and I couldn’t imagine if I had no home, but that is what Kimberly Atkins faced in August 2005 as she, her husband and three children lived in New Orleans. Ten years ago in August was the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Kimberly credits three Bible verses with helping her to survive this storm, both literally and figuratively, in her life.

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  Psalm 91: 1-2

And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. 1 Samuel 1:11

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2

Please describe what happened when you and your family faced losing your home in Hurricane Katrina.

The storm hit Aug. 29. That was early Monday morning. My cousin who is a pastor in Cincinnati visited us about a week before Hurricane Katrina hit, and she saw a vision. She saw men who were boarding up the house, and she woke up the next day and said, ‘When did those men leave?’ Also in her vision, she saw, I guess they were angels pushing water away from the house. And when she shared that with us, of course, it was before the hurricane, we thought, ‘Maybe she’s going a little wacko.’ But we didn’t say anything because I respect her as a woman of God.

Two days before the hurricane, I had an eerie experience. I had a feeling something was going to happen, but I had no idea what it was. I had no idea there was going to be a hurricane that was a category 4 storm. I had an agitation in my spirit. I thought it could be the group of kids that my son was hanging around. I couldn’t sit still. I was on edge. And I saw my neighbors plowing down the street with loads of plywood. I thought, ‘Well, what is that for?’ I’m from the Midwest, but apparently, they were from the area and knew what to do when there was a warning of a hurricane.

It was also really interesting because my niece was scheduled to have a wedding in Cincinnati during Labor Day weekend which would have been the weekend after Hurricane Katrina, but we had to evacuate because the mayor of New Orleans said to evacuate. We evacuated on Aug. 28th early Sunday morning. And so as we were preparing, I felt compelled to get my garments for the wedding in Cincinnati because I was in the wedding and take them with us. My husband said, ‘You don’t have to take those. We will be back.’ I said, ‘No, I just sensed that I needed to grab them.’ My girls were in the wedding too so I got their dresses, shoes and jewelry. I just felt like we wouldn’t be back. Sure enough, about 5:30 a.m. that morning the 29th, the storm hit, and by then we are at my mother-in-law’s home in Birmingham, Alabama. And we were watching the storm, and we didn’t know what to think. Probably a week later, I had tons and tons of friends who were calling me because they were worried. Cell phones weren’t like they are now, and people couldn’t get through to me. The path of the storm mirrored the path of our evacuation so once we got to Birmingham, we saw trees that had been uprooted. I mean huge trees. And my father was calling my sister saying, ‘They haven’t gone far enough. They need to go to at least Tennessee.’ And if you go back and look at some of the news records during that time, you’ll see there was some devastation even in Alabama and in Georgia.

What did you think about your home and everything else as you watched the news coverage?

As I watched the coverage, I was pleading the blood of Jesus over our home. Actually before we left, I remember going outside in our driveway and just like Jesus, I spoke to those winds. I rebuked the winds. I believe we have power in the name of Jesus. I invited God to sit on our window sills, our roof and to protect our home.

And as I watched CNN, I was amazed. I was thinking about my church members. I was thinking about the kids that my children went to school with. I thought about my friends and where we had just gone to dinner a week or two before. And I knew they were closer to the storm because they were in the central part of New Orleans. And I just wandered would everything be okay. It was so devastating to see people holding the signs and looking for helicopter rides to safety. I was totally numb because I was thinking about the people. I couldn’t believe it. It was literally unbelievable. We were glued to the TV.

How did these Scriptures help you to cope?

In Psalm 91, these scriptures help center me on that space in my home that I basically created as an altar where I can go before the Lord and spend time with Him and become intimate with Him. And when I am in that secret place, I have oneness with God, I am encouraged and I am built up. That is a Scripture that I take with me. I share it with my children. It was a scary time. I mean there was an opportunity to be fearful.

And in 1 Samuel 1, it is Hannah saying, ‘Lord help.’ She went to the Lord, and she laid out on the table, ‘here’s my affliction. I need You to remember me. Don’t forget me.’ And I remember having a conversation with God before the hurricane hit. I went into my bedroom closet, and I said, ‘Lord, please, if everything else is destroyed, please spare my photos because those photos can’t be replaced.’ We have three kids so we had a lot of boxes. And I remember having that conversation with God. I guess it was just an act of faith in itself to leave them, and I trusted that He would protect them. Looking back, I guess I could have just grabbed them and thrown them in a big garbage bag. It was a unique and different experience, and I just didn’t know what to do. That’s why I was just encouraged by this verse to go to God and say, ‘Help me, help me in my affliction.’ Also, during that time, I had been diagnosed with a medical condition for which there is no cure. It was a trying time – a perfect storm. No pun intended.

Psalm 121:1-2 are my mom’s favorite verses. I was really clear on where my help comes from because at that point, I really couldn’t even describe what I was feeling so Scripture really helped me get through it. Despite the circumstances, my help is in God.

What happened after the storm ended?

Once we understood the extent of the devastation, we knew we needed a more permanent solution than to stay at my mother-in-law’s home for a week. So we moved back to Cincinnati back into my parents’ home. The kids slept with grandparents. The two younger kids. And my son and I slept on my couches. I mean we just kind of made do. I wasn’t working at the time so my husband came to Cincinnati and just stayed with us a couple of weeks. Then, he had to go back to Louisiana. He worked at a Folgers plant in New Orleans, and he had to help get the plant up and running again. And that was an ordeal in itself. When my husband went back to our town, he said it looked like it was war torn. He said he had never seen anything like it. Power lines were down. Everything was flooded. Our church was flooded. Our first lady of our church. Her Porsche was floating in water. Our children’s schools were flooded. All of the infrastructure was gone. There were no grocery stores. There were no ATM machines. There were no banks.

How were your children affected?

Our son was more resilient than the girls. I remember taking the kids to a school in Cincinnati for the first time, and one of our daughters was just screaming. It was just the new surroundings and not understanding why we couldn’t just go back home. The school system gave us donations because we just had the bare essentials. We had to start all over with new school supplies, not having birth certificates, all of the critical things we needed were in Louisiana. We had a wonderful woman named Pam Abrams who adopted us. I remember the first dinner that she served us. I mean the love and the reception from the community was just awesome.

When did you find out what happened to your home?

About couple of weeks later, we found out our home had been spared. I mean we had some damage in the back and maybe a couple of shingles were gone, but that was it. I remember my husband telling me that when he went to our house, he saw a water mark on the house that was about seven feet in height. Our yard was flooded. Debris was everywhere so you could tell that water had surrounded the house, but it wasn’t damaged inside. We thought about the vision my cousin had about the men boarding up the house and the angels. It was just a miracle that we give God all of the praise and glory for!

You and your family moved back to New Orleans in 2006 but then permanently relocated to Cincinnati in 2007. Why?

It was very slow in the whole rebuilding process in New Orleans, and I had tried to get on at the Folgers’s plant in New Orleans but I didn’t get the job. So I felt like it was God saying to move back home. Also, I know my mother was praying for me to come back too because she wasn’t comfortable with her daughter living on the Gulf Coast anymore.

As it is the Thanksgiving season, how do you feel now every Thankgiving knowing that you have been through this ordeal?

I am very grateful, and now I see Thanksgiving as just not an opportunity to stuff myself with carbs, but I actually see Thanksgiving as a time to bless others. I have a friend who has a son with an illness, and I called her a couple of days ago. I said, ‘Let me know how I can help you.’ And she said, ‘You know if you could make a couple of sides for me and bring them over, I would really appreciate that.’ That’s just an example of something I do to not focus on my problems and focus on the needs of others because someone did that for me 10 years ago. And I want to make sure I give back.

Kimberly Williams Atkins is an author, Bible teacher, and inspirational speaker. Her articles have appeared in Applause! Magazine and The Albany Journal. A survivor of a debilitating disease with no medical cure, Kimberly boldly proclaims God’s healing power, love, and glory. For over 20 years, she has served as director of women’s ministries for her church and passionately ministers to many women who are rejected and abused.

In her recently released first book Empowering Women To Walk In God’s Glory: A Practical Guide for Real Life Situations,  Kimberly helps women find the path for 9781512708868_COVER.inddwalking in God’s glory. Thanksgiving is a great time, Kimberly says, to consider and learn about God’s glory, because when we understand His tremendous power that works on our behalf, we cannot help but be thankful as we ask for His help. To enter a random drawing to win a free copy of her book, click HERE to subscribe to my blog and receive an email whenever I post AND leave a comment on this post! I will choose the winner next Wednesday!

Kimberly is a senior manager for a Fortune 100 company. She and her husband, Brian, have three children and live in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information about Kimberly, go to kimberlyatkins.net.

For more Bible scriptures online, go to BibleGateway.com.

Any thoughts?

 

The post Resilience & the Bible: How to Use Scriptures to Bounce Back From – Losing Your Home appeared first on After the Altar Call.

The Top 10 Blog Posts and or Articles for Black Christian Women in November 2015

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book coverHello World,

It goes without saying that I am saddened by the tragic attack in San Bernardino. Maybe I’m just a simpleton, but as I’ve said before, I just don’t get man’s inhumanity to man. I’ve been praying that terrorism will be thwarted wherever it manifests and yet these tragedies continue to occur. Still, I will keep praying and I hope you do too. Also, tonight at 8 p.m., President Obama will speak to us from the Oval Office regarding what the government is doing to keep all of us safe. One of the first things I think the government should do is create stricter gun control laws. If you haven’t done so before, please read my interview with Lucy McBath, whose son was senselessly gunned down at a gas station because his music was allegedly too loud.

Now onto the focus of this post…I’m back with another list of  interesting blog posts and or articles for black Christian women from November that intrigued me as a black Christian woman ( but you don’t have be a black Christian woman to to check them out:) ! ) Let me know if you like my list! Enjoy…

1. “Written by 14 Female Veterans, New Book Highlights Struggle, Successes of Black Women in Uniform” by JC Jones

Excerpt:  A group of local women have joined with others from across the country to share their stories in an upcoming book, “Camouflaged Sisters,” which releases Saturday. Composed by 14 authors, the stories reflect a broad spectrum of experiences from current active-duty soldiers to retired veterans. Though their stories are unique, the women collaborated with a united goal — to share the perspective of the African American female service member. See more at: kdhnews.com.

2.”Bus Boycott took planning, smarts” by Josh Moon

Excerpt: School textbooks often describe Parks as simply a tired seamstress trying to make her way home from work one December afternoon. While it’s true enough that Parks earned a living as a seamstress, she was far from simple. At the time of her arrest in 1955, Parks was serving as the secretary of the NAACP’s state and Montgomery chapters and had been a civil rights activist for years. Her husband had been a protestor at the Scottsboro Boys’ trial in the 1930s. See more at: montgomeryadvertiser.com

3.”Pharrell Williams to Bullied Girl at Charleston, SC, AME Church Event: ‘You’re Beautiful and You’re Black’” by Yesha Callahan

Excerpt: A touching moment occurred when a 12-year-old girl named Sarah asked Williams for advice when it comes to dealing with racist bullies. Sarah attends a predominantly white school and complained that people make racist jokes about fried chicken and watermelon because she’s black. Initially, Williams joked about the food stereotype, telling the girl, “I love chicken!” before adding, “I’m not worried about what anyone in here thinks,” after the congregation started to laugh. At that point, the little girl was crying, and he explained to her that she is surrounded by love. See more at: theroot.com.

4.”When Did Black Folks Stop Loving Our Children?” by Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts

Excerpt: Ben Fields must be held accountable for his actions—even above and beyond his firing. But what haunts me is the image of the Black male teacher watching as his young student is tossed out of her chair by Fields, and thrown violently onto the floor like a rag. Was that level of brutality so commonplace in the school that he never considered intervening on her behalf? Or on behalf of the children—because yes, even Black 16-year-olds are still kids—who were obviously frightened and devastated by what they were seeing in his classroom? See more at: damemagazine.com.

5.”Church Leaders To Meet To Discuss Domestic Abuse Solutions”

Excerpt: Key figures from Britain’s black Christian community have been invited to a specially convened meeting which will look at how African and African Caribbean churches can respond more effectively when cases of domestic violence and abuse arise in their congregations. See more at: voice-online.co.uk.

 

downtowndemure

 

6.”Layered Up for Fall” by Liz Roy

Excerpt: Guys, guess what! It’s FINALLY fall in Los Angeles! Sadly, fall in LA merely means dipping into the 60s, but I’m grateful for the climate change nonetheless. I love layering and fall is the perfect time to experiment. In fact, fall was my favorite season when I lived in New York because the scenery was beautiful (God is really good at colors, isn’t He?!) and the weather was perfect for creative fall layering. – See more at: downtowndemure.com.

7.”Quilters’ Club Features Diversity of Skills, Techniques and Colors” by Heather Norris

Excerpt: It was founded in 1989 by three Baltimore women looking to form a guild that would serve as a space for black women to freely express their creativity with quilting. It has since evolved into a diverse group in just about every way except for a shared interest in quilting and community, where members regularly reach out to young people to introduce them to sewing and quilting. See more at: baltimoresun.com.

 8.”#TBT Remembering R&B/Hip-Hop Church Music” by Nina Ruff

Excerpt: Music is a huge factor in how we validate a culture. It is often the pulse for entire societies and ways of life. So when hip-hop began to dominate as a genre, there was an entire group of young Christians left looking for their place in the church. The artists that stepped out of the Black church box not only kept true to themselves, but they paved a way for a younger generation of churchgoers determined to evolve their beliefs & practices in order to keep the culture relevant. In blazing their own trails, they fought against a lot of what keeps young people from being involved in churches today. See more at: hivesociety.com.

9.”Shepherding Women: What Boundaries Must Be Maintained?” by Isaac Adams

Excerpt: A church’s most important decision is who they call to be their leaders because pastors have room for great exploitation, particularly of women, or great effectiveness. In this sense, the church’s greatest need is a holy pastor. What are appropriate boundaries to be maintained between pastors and women in the church? How should a church view a pastor who is having an illicit sexual relationship? What are signals of a pastor grooming a sister for abuse? C’mon up and join the conversation. See more at: thefrontporch.org.

10.”There Are No Black Angels in Heaven” by

Excerpt: As she showed me all five black ornaments in a store dedicated to ornaments, tears filled my eyes and began to spill over. We are not wanted in this world. We are erased — from the public through police brutality and mass incarceration. And we are even erased from popular conceptions of Christmas and heaven. There are no black angels there. See more at: washingtonpost.com.

 

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Finance Expert Terrell Dinkins Hopes to Bridge Gender Wealth Gap Through New Book “One Bucket at a Time”

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Join Dinkins at Her Book Launch Party at The Commerce Club THIS Thursday!

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Hello World,

‘Tis the season to spend! But if you’re careful, you can still have some money to spare after Christmas!

Ever since I worked with a financial coach back in 2009, I’m all about staying on top of my finances! That’s why I’m excited about introducing you to financial advisor and wealth empowerment speaker Terrell Dinkins, MBA, who has written a new book to help empower women when it comes to their finances.  “One Bucket at a Time: A Woman’s Guide to Creating Wealth” which costs $15.99, will be available starting Thursday, December 17, 2015, when the public has an opportunity to meet and have books signed by the author during a book launch party just in time for the holiday season. The event takes place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at The Commerce Club at 191 Peachtree Street NE, 49th floor, in Atlanta. The first 50 attendees to buy a book will receive a special gift! To register for this free event, go to eventbrite.com.

Below is my interview with Terrell Dinkins.

1.How did you come up with the name of your book “One Bucket at a Time?” What does it mean?one bucket

The buckets represent the multiple streams of income we should create or fill throughout our lifetime to carry us throughout retirement and beyond. There is order in when we should fill our buckets. I explain the importance of this order in my book. Each bucket of money we create will be used at different intervals throughout our lifetime. There is also meaning to my book cover.  The rain represents saving and being prepared for the storms we might encounter in life.

2. What inspired you to write your book? Tell us about the process of writing your book. How long did it take? How did you conduct your research? 

A business colleague encouraged me to write the book sooner rather than later. Writing this book was on my bucket list (no pun intended).  I just had not planned on doing it so soon.  When my business colleague heard the message that I gave to my clients (my bucket approach system to wealth building) she said, “You need to write a book. The message should not be reserved just for your clients.” It took me about six months to write the book and conduct my research.  The statistical data I included came from various sources, to include other authors and articles I have found. I reference all of my sources in the book. I also include my personal story and other encounters and experiences I have had with clients to teach lessons to others.

3. What do you hope women will take away from the book?

I hope women will realize that they must act now to prepare for the future. So much of the financial household weight will have to be carried alone due to divorce, widowhood or being single. Be smart about your financial choices and learn how to create balance between lifestyle and saving for a rainy day.

4. How did you get interested in building wealth and financial empowerment? What personal experiences fueled your interest in these topics?

Ever since I can remember, I have always been intrigued about wealth building.  As a child, I daydreamed like any other child about what it would feel like to not have to worry about money and, of course, live in a big house (typical childlike thoughts).  I always did a pretty good job handling my money. I’ve always been a saver (yes, even in kindergarten).  My mother always told me to make sure I put something to the side just in case there was an emergency. I listened. No particular personal experiences fueled my interest. The interest has always been a part of me.

5. What happens during your “Women and Wealth” workshops? How often and where do you host them? What is the cost?

I come up with different financial topics that I think might interest women and talk about them over wine and hors d’oeuvres. As an example, one of my presentation topics was called “Don’t Leave it All at The Mall.” I presented this topic during the holiday shopping season as a reminder to women of the importance of keeping a budget for holiday spending.  When I started my practice, I thought having a free workshop would help me reach more women and it did.  I was told by a few male colleagues that I was wasting my time. I never felt like I was wasting my time. I found a few women who wanted to change their financial situation and that was what mattered the most. The workshops were held once a quarter at my office. I did have to cut back on the workshops because my practice did grow and I no longer have the extra time that I used to have because of the growth of my practice. The workshops also led to my speaking and sitting on panels for other organizations. Speaking to other groups still allows me to get my message out without having to host the events on my own. Because they were free, you did have the occasional person who showed up at every event because they were free. Not many, but a few.

6. What is the No. 1 habit or behavior that women can do right now to get them on the path to building wealth and financial empowerment?

Create a budget.  If you do have a budget, review it every month when you pay your bills. Make revisions to the budget and don’t set it in January and forget it for the rest of the year.

7. Since it is the Christmas season, what is one tip that can be used to save at Christmas time?

Set a dollar amount that you plan on spending for all of your holiday gifts.  Once you come up with this amount, determine who will get what percentage of the pie.

Terrell Dinkins is a financial rep with Peachtree Planning Corporation in Atlanta. She graduated from Georgia Southern College with a BBA in finance (minor: banking), and earned an MBA from Mercer University Stetson School of Business and Economics in Atlanta. An Atlanta native, Terrell completed the Executive Financial Planning Program from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business in Atlanta.

Terrell is an active member in civic and community organizations to include the Lake Spivey Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (Tau Epsilon Omega Chapter), and The Twenty Pearls Foundation.

For more information about Terrell, go to terrelldinkins.com.

Any thoughts?

 

The post Finance Expert Terrell Dinkins Hopes to Bridge Gender Wealth Gap Through New Book “One Bucket at a Time” appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Retrospect: 2015 in Posts…

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Hello World,

In just one measly day (although a lot can happen in a day), 2015 will be a part of our past, and 2016 will be our present and future! I don’t know about you, but it is only when I truly contemplate all the days of the year from January through December that I realize that so much has been packed into 365 days! This year has been a momentous one for my humble corner of the World Wide Web that I affectionately refer to as After the Altar Call. If you please, let’s take a retrospective look at what God has done here!

January 2015 – I always bring in the New Year in church because it is where I get guidance for the year! During this year’s Watch Night Service, the pastor focused on Hebrews 13: 5-6. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. I wasn’t sure what these verses meant for me which you can read about in “Two Signs Your New Year May Not Be Off to the Best Start…”But now that the year is nearly over, I do understand what God is saying to me through those verses. Here are some of my insights for me: 1. Don’t be jealous of other people and what they have going on because the Lord controls your destiny as He does for everyone else. He has placed you where you are supposed to be and rejoice for that! 2. So much emphasis is placed on networking and building the right relationships. While those skills are important, the most powerful relationship you can have is the one you have with Jesus because He can open doors that no one can shut!

February 2015 – I’ve always wanted to attend a celebrity awards show so this year I decided to do just that. Although I attended the 23rd Annual Trumpet Awards Ceremony in January, I didn’t write my post “My Red Carpet Coverage of the 2015 Trumpet Awards/Watch It on TV One THIS Saturday…”until February when the show aired on TV One. And not only did I attend, I decided to be red carpet ready as well! There I am on the red carpet!red carpet

March 2015 – I was blessed to interview Atlanta’s First Black Lady Ms. Bunnie Jackson-Ransom, president and CEO of firstClass, Inc., a full-service public relations and marketing firm, about her book Getting The Word Out: How To Market Your Ministry: Communication Tools & Tactics You Need For Evangelism in  “Atlanta’s First Black First Lady Pens New Church for Churches…”

April 2015 – I started recapping Mary Mary’s reality show in March, but I did the majority of my recaps in April. Here is one of my favorite recaps of the show -“Is Tina Testifying Too Much? : Mary Mary Season 4, Episode 5 Recap…”

tina blackMay 2015 – When I began recapping  Mary Mary’s reality show in March, I had no idea that I would be able to interview Tina Campbell, and what an interview it was! Check out “Mitchell Solarek is NOT Tina Campbell’s Manager & More: My Interview With Mary Mary’s Tina Campbell!”

June 2015 – This month was HUGE for this blog as I relaunched it as I decided to mainly focus on “blogging the cross section of faith, relationships and pop culture!” (Yes, that is my new tagline :) See above!) I took head shots for the blog, rewrote my bio and updated my theme ! I’ve always wanted to be a celebrity/lifestyle journalist (from a faith perspective which came later) so I hired myself :) ) My first post once I relaunched my blog was “Tamela Mann Shares About ‘The Gospel Tradition: In Performance At The White House’ & More: MY INTERVIEW…”

July 2015 – So when I was in college, I used to bump (that means play) certain artists and groups on Boombox and my Walkman (Wow, that was back in the day) in my door room and out and about over and over again. One of those groups was SWV (Sisters With Voices)! That is why I was so excited to interview Coko of SWV in the blog post “SWV’s Coko Talks About Her New Radio Show, Girl Group & How She & Her Hubby Maintain Their Weight Loss.”

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August 2015 – It is always encouraging to see other authors do well because being a writer in today’s times can be very discouraging! This month best-selling author ReShonda Tate Billingsley realized a dream come true as her book “Let The Church Say Amen” became a BET movie, which I live tweeted! Check out my interview with her about how her book became a movie in The Making of the BET Movie & ReShonda Tate Billingsley’s “Let The Church Say Amen!”

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September 2015 – As I said, I love my celebrities, but I have special love for Christian celebrities! It was definitely one of the highlights of the year to be able to interview David Oyelowo about his movie “Captive.” Check out the interview in “Actor David Oyelowo Captures Brian Nichols in Hostage Crisis Movie ‘Captive’: My Interview (With Audio).” His repertoire is very impressive as he has been in “Selma” as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “The Butler” and “The Help!”

October 2015 – My new interview series “Resilience & the Bible” was launched this month. In this interview series, I hope to demonstrate how Scriptures can be used to bounce back from the trials we all have to go through from time to time. My first interview as “Resilience & the Bible: How to Use Scriptures to Bounce Back From – Rebellious Teenagers.” bonita 2 resized

November 2015 – My favorite post of this month was “How Do You Deal With Beggars on the Street Asking for Money?” Honestly, I’m still dealing with this issue. Pray for me…

December 2015 – It was a blessing to write this post “Interdenominational Theological Center Triumphant After Accreditation Scare, Honors Civil Rights Icons at Global Transformers Gala (PHOTOS included).”

Other highlights of 2015: Being featured on The Atlanta Journal Constitution website – ajc.com and becoming a blogger for BibleGateway!

God has truly blessed this blog! May 2016 be a blessing to you! God bless you…

Any thoughts?

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How To Achieve Your Goals, Dreams & Resolutions in One Year…

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Hello World,

It’s been a while since I’ve gotten really personal on this space but since it is a New Year, the time of the year that many of us reserve to reassess our personal and professional goals, dreams, resolutions, etc., I have decided to let you into my head…

I have LOTS of dreams, but two are most important to me….one is personal and one is professional and only God and my husband know all about them right now and they will remain that way for now…

However, back in 2008, I also had LOTS of dreams and similarly to what is going on in my life now, two of them – (one was personal and one was professional) surpassed the rest…As I shared in a previous post in 2013, but did not share then, “I wanted to meet and get married to the man God kept for me, and I wanted to be a published author.” In 2008, it seemed nothing I did got me any closer to my dreams, but as I look back, God was leading me to the realization of my dreams…I just couldn’t see it then…

So let me take you back to 2007-2008…I was 34 years old and had gotten reacquainted with a man I dated in college. We had a lot a fun when we dated in college but we just didn’t work out as a couple. However, we had kept in touch here and there over the years, and we decided to give it a try again. Being the storyteller that I am, it seemed like the perfect ending to a long and winding story. College fun turns into lasting love…But that is not what happened…For all of the things we had in common and all of the fun we still had, he was not a churchgoing Christian man and that was a deal breaker for me…He was not an atheist, but he just didn’t think it was necessary to go to church…Nothing I did, said or prayed changed that so we broke up, and I was heartbroken…

So I did what made sense for me to do right then…I turned my pain into profit and pitched an article to UPSCALE magazine about why black men don’t go to church…An editor liked and approved the idea, and I happily tracked down sources for the article…One of those sources was Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu, the author of book “Adam! Where Are You?: Why Most Black Men Don’t Go to Church” Now, here is where the story gets kinda spooky or super spiritual depending on how you look at it. I read his book before I interviewed him, and I was shocked to read one of the illustrations in his book about someone who was looking for a black man in church. This illustration featured a woman named Jackie who was 34 years old and had made all of the “right moves” but was still unable to meet the right churchgoing man…Hello, my name was (is) Jackie, I was 34 and I had felt I had made all of the “right moves” and still hadn’t met the churchgoing man of my dreams…I knew then that the interview was one of those pebbles that God throws down on your path to let you know that you are moving in the right direction…After I interviewed Dr. Kunjufu, I told him I was a lot like the “Jackie” in his book and even he was surprised that we shared some of the exact same qualities…In fact, he later e-mailed these words to me – “I enjoyed our interview, and I believe God has your husband waiting for you!” By the way, my article was published in the August 2008 issue of UPSCALE magazine…

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Meanwhile, I also felt stalled in my professional life…I mean I had some wonderful things going on…I had secured freelance writing opportunities that made it possible for me not to have the traditional 9 to 5 gig and I was profoundly grateful, but I had wanted to be a published book author since I was a little girl…And it seemed that every door I tried to walk through to make it happen was eventually slammed in my face…In 2007, I had gone to a writers conference in Philadelphia and had attracted the attention of the senior acquisitions editor of my DREAM publishing company…He enthusiastically took my book proposal and promised he would be in touch soon…He kept his promise and within a couple of weeks, he e-mailed me…I thought it had to be good news because only good news comes that fast…but it wasn’t…He e-mailed these words to me – “I read over your book proposal, My Journey, but my marketing department tells me that this is a hard kind of book for them to sell nationally, and so I have to reject it. Sorry.” I bet he wasn’t as sorry as I was…I was salty about that…

But I also realized that if I had gotten the attention of the senior acquisitions editor, I had something to offer even if it wasn’t quite right yet…At that same conference, I had pitched my book “My Journey” (which is what the book was called then…What a boring title!) to someone else in the publishing industry, and I had used the words “after the altar call” in the pitch…She told me I should rename my book “After the Altar Call.” Also, at that same conference, I learned about having a “platform” and why every nonfiction author had to have one…By the following year, I decided I was going to be the next blogger who turned it into a book…After the Altar Call was born in September 2008…

It would take TWO MORE YEARS before these two dreams would come into fruition… By 2010, I had dated more men but those relationships hadn’t worked out either…But there was a guy at my church who I knew I had a crush on me, but he wasn’t my usual type so I never took him seriously…by then, I thought well, I will give him a chance…That guy revealed himself to be my husband in 2010…Also, after two years of blogging, it occurred to me that if my story and platform weren’t enough by themselves maybe I should include the stories and platforms of other women in a new book proposal for After the Altar Call: The Sisters’ Guide to Developing a Personal Relationship With God…That was the key that unlocked a door that had been previously slammed in my face…I secured a book deal that year…

So how do you achieve your goals, dreams & resolutions in one year?

Well, there is good news and bad news…In my experience, some of the best goals, dreams and resolutions can be achieved in one year, but it usually takes years to get there…But the good news is if you trust in God and in His timing, you will receive God’s best for you…It goes back to my favorite verse:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Any thoughts?

The post How To Achieve Your Goals, Dreams & Resolutions in One Year… appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Resilience & the Bible: How to Use Scriptures to Bounce Back From – Racism & Prejudice

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My Interview with Women of Faith's Thelma Wells!

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Hello World,

Today’ s post is the fourth installment of my 7-month interview series entitled “Resilience & the Bible” which is about how Scriptures can be used to bounce back from the trials we all have to go through from time to time. Once a month, I feature someone who has used Bible verses to bounce back! If you know of someone who has bounced back using Scriptures and would like to be featured on my blog, please e-mail me at jacqueline@afterthealtarcall.com.

How to bounce back from racism and prejudice is the focus of this month’s “Resilience & the Bible” blog post. Since we celebrate the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday this month, I thought it would be interesting to speak with someone who has been able to bounce back from racism and prejudice as Dr. King dedicated his life to challenging racism and prejudice. Thelma Wells, who is one of the core women featured in Women of Faith, an annual conference that attracts millions of women in cities throughout the nation, faced racism and prejudice when she left her nurturing although segregated community in Dallas, Texas. However, her experiences and the guidance of her grandfather and great- grandmother, who raised her, prepared her for future opportunities which included her first job, a career in banking and her speaking ministry. Women of Faith, which began in 1996, is now conducting its farewell tour entitled “LOVED: The Farewell Tour” and will stop in Atlanta tomorrow, Jan. 22nd and Saturday, Jan. 23rd.  Also, on February 18th (with an encore presentation on Feb. 20th), Women of Faith will be hosting a limited engagement theatrical event nationwide. This part documentary, part live-event will take audiences on history journey with never-before-seen interviews, hilarious out takes, and a time of worship.

Below is my interview with Thelma Wells.

What Scriptures have you relied on as you faced racism and prejudice and how have they helped you?

All of the Psalms, but particularly Psalm 23:1. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

When I was a girl, that verse helped me. The 23rd Psalm was taught to all children. In fact, I wrote a whole soliloquy on that several years ago and what it meant that the Lord is your shepherd. I wrote that because I needed more emphasis on that because life has been good to me, but it has also been sometimes an anxiety for me when I faced hard times like when I faced abuse or when I faced prejudice or whatever.

Also, Psalm 27:1. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

and Psalm 91:2 “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”

I’m 74 years old, will be 75 pretty soon. And I have gone back to the Psalms and reading the Psalms that David wrote and others and talking about the hardship, or the prejudice or the fears and God is always our refuge and our strength. I was concerned about something several months ago, and I said, ‘Let me get back in the book of Psalms’ because David and the writers always go back to the Lord is our strength. The Lord is our comfort. God always stabilizes us in the midst of trouble, sickness or disease.

Tell me about the racism and prejudice you faced growing up in Dallas, Texas.

Well, as a child, we were segregated because we couldn’t live other places where people could live. One of the things that was so rewarding to me was that I lived in a community that really was a village. We had people in our community in Dallas, Texas that could chastise you, could love you or whatever. Now, the prejudice that I encountered was not being able to go to sporting events, or the Majestic Theatre which is in downtown Dallas. Let me tell you what my granddaddy did. Every week when I was about eight or nine years old, he would take me to the movies at Majestic Theatre, and we would have to sit in what was called the buzzard roost. The buzzard roost was where only black folk could sit. We got the stale candy. We got popcorn that was stale. We had to go in the back door and go up the back steps in order to see a movie. But my granddaddy would say to me, ‘Pooch, (that was his affectionate name for me), one of these days, you’re going to be able to walk through the front door of the Majestic Theatre and walk down front and center and sit on the front row.’ Do you know what? When desegregation started somewhere around 1964 or 1965, I walked in the front door and down front and center in that elegant Majestic Theatre. Even though my granddaddy was not there with me at the time, I kept thinking about him.

When I graduated from high school, I did not realize I could go to a regular college. So I decided to take the street car and go downtown Dallas and go to this school that was advertised as a secretarial school. So I went down there. I had on my little blue dress with high-heel blue shoes. Girl, I was so cute I couldn’t stand myself. I got off the street car, walked over to this business college, walked in the door and when I stepped in the door, my excitement went to anger and hurt. I walked through the door there and the guy sitting there in the lobby said, ‘What are you doing here nigger?’ I said, ‘I came to enroll in school.’ He said, ‘Niggers don’t go to this school.’ I kept trying to talk to him, but before I could get out my sentences, he took me and pushed me out on the streets of Dallas, Texas. I was so hurt. I cried all the way home on the street car.

So my great-grandmother Sarah Harrell, who raised me, went to the woman she worked for and told her what happened. She was a very wealthy woman, and my great-grandmother worked for her as a domestic. She said, ‘Where does she want to go to school?’ The only college, other than the black colleges, that accepted black students was North Texas State College which is now the University of North Texas. She said, ‘Okay, let’s find out how much it costs.’ She said she would pay for me to go to college as long as my grades stayed above average and I did not get married. And she kept her word, girl. She paid my tuition and bought my books. And when I got married in 1961 when I was in college, it became my husband’s responsibility. I lived in the dormitories during the week in Denton 37 miles away and came home to Dallas on the weekends to be with him.

And living in the dormitories was another racial situation. Me and four other girls integrated the dormitories my third year there. They only let five of us do it because of our high grades. The other black students had to stay in campus homes outside of the community of the school. So they had five of us in one room with cots, and we were next to the boiler room.

I graduated with a degree in secondary education.

I think because of the positivity of my great grandmother and my granddaddy and because that was the way it was, I was not bitter about racism and prejudice.

What was your first job after you graduated from college?

I taught high school for about a year, but I couldn’t stand it. I just didn’t like dealing with high schoolers. So I was told there was a job opening for a black woman that was attractive and could type and had a college education. Because that was when they were talking about the quota system. So I went to an interview at the John Deere Company in Dallas, Texas with a gentleman. So he gave me this interview. He said, ‘Hi, You’re very attractive. Can you type?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘What is your degree in?’ And I told him. He said, ‘Okay, you got the job.’ So I became the secretary to the parts manager. I was the first black person in the Southwest to get that kind of job at John Deere. They put me in the mail room, and in the mail room, there was this great big addressograph and I had to sit or stand there. That was not the job I was hired for, but I had to take the envelopes and mail around to everybody before they would give me a seat as a secretary.

Well, I was disappointed but not to the point that I didn’t know that I was going to win them over. As I was going around putting the mail on the people’s desks, I learned everybody’s name and position. The other thing I learned was that I was not dressing appropriately. I wore gingham dresses, and I discovered as I walked around that the ladies were wearing skirts and blouses. I had never heard of Girl Friday, okay? So I thought, I gotta change and get me some skirts and blouses.

Also, I also discovered that every Monday morning, the ladies would bring recipes that they had prepared over the weekend and share them. Well, I didn’t have no recipes. I would just cook, and I would taste and that was my recipe. So I joined a recipe club so I would have something to talk about on Monday mornings.

I knew I had to assimilate because they were already there. I was the only black person in the building for three or four years. I was the token.

How did you get in the banking industry?

My husband and I had been banking at this bank for years, and I decided I’m going to work at this bank, okay? And so I went to this bank and interviewed, and the man said, ‘What type of banking experience do you have?’ ‘Absolutely none.’ So he told me, ‘I don’t have anything for you, and I probably won’t have anything for you to do so you don’t have to come back.’ I said, ‘Oh yeah, I’m coming back because I’m going to work at this bank.’ He said, ‘ No I don’t think so.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I will.’ So every week, I would call him. He would say, ‘I don’t have anything for you to do.’ I called him and harassed him so much until he called me one day and said, ‘Mrs. Wells, come on up here and interview with one of our officers.’ Well, I interviewed with this lady, and I knew she had no clout. She was probably not an officer. He was just trying to get me off of his back. So one day, I went up there and waited for him, and they told me he wasn’t there. I said, ‘Is he coming back today? I will wait for him.’ They said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Okay, I have nothing to do today. I will wait for him.’ And I sat and I sat and finally he had to come out of his office. He was there the whole time. I said, ‘I’m going to work here at this bank so you may as well hire me because I’m going to harass you until you do.’

Well, he talked to a lady named Hannah Greenspan, and she was a Jewish lady. She was vice president of the bank, but she called me one day and said, ‘Would you come up here and talk to me?’ And I went and talked to her, and she said, ‘You’re hired.’ I was hired as a new accounts clerk. But guess what happened that time too? They put me in the mail room, girl! I was the only black full-time employee there.

Thelma Wells 2How did your banking position lead to public speaking?

The bank didn’t have an addressograph, but I had to walk around and give everyone their mail. And I learned the people’s names and talked to people too. I noticed something though. I learned that a lot of people didn’t know what they were doing either at the bank. In looking at the mail, I saw a lot of things coming back that were wrong, complaints, etc. So I was strategic again. I found out about the American Institute of Banking. I called a lady who was the president of the institute in Dallas, and I asked her if I could enroll in banking school and she said I could. I took every course I could take for four semesters. I started in 1972 and once I finished, I called the president and said, ‘Now that I’m finished, I want to teach banking.’ She laughed at me and said, ‘You just got out of these courses.’ But I did start teach banking.

While I was teaching, I discovered that people had low self-esteem, even the bank officers that I was associated with. They could do their jobs, but when I would announce that we were going to have test or look out for a pop quiz, they would almost have a coronary. And I noticed how they interact with other people. They could do it outside of the classroom but not inside the classroom because they didn’t want anyone to know they didn’t know anything. So I prayed. I said, ‘I said Lord, give me something that I could leave with these people on the last night of class that will give them the courage and the energy they need to love themselves.’ That was just an honest prayer, and I didn’t know how it was going to be fulfilled. A lady saw me wearing a bumblebee pin. It meant nothing to me except it was cute. She said to me, ‘Thelma Wells, every time you wear that bee, remember you can be the best of what you want to be!” That was it for me. I said, ‘Lord, thank you.’ So I created a 15-minute motivational seminar based on that, and people started asking me to come to their fraternities, sororities, churches, this, that and the other. And since 1974, I have been giving that speech although I’ve never done it the same way twice because I ask God to show me who is in this audience and tell me what you want me to say. I’ve done it all over the world. I did it last night for a Women’s Night Out retreat for 500 women.

How did you become a part of Women of Faith?  audience

I wrote a book titled Bumblebees Fly Anyway: Defying the Odds at Work and Home. A lady saw it in the window in Barnes & Noble. She said that she stood there and read the book, and they were looking for a black woman to speak for Women of Faith who had a story to tell. From reading that, she came to my office and asked me if I would be a part of Women of Faith. By this time, I was not in banking. I got out of banking in 1984. I started my own speaking company because from the bank, I had so many speaking opportunities. So I quit the bank. I became a part of Women of Faith in 1996.

How do you feel about this being the farewell tour of Women of Faith?

I have mixed feelings to be honest. Even though many of the women in Women of Faith, we are mature, we’re not ready to stop. However, the mixed bag is after 20 years, you need some changes. And the women that I know that are on the tour are absolutely phenomenal and so it’s time to pass the torch. And it’s okay with me because I’m going to do what I’ve always done. I will still continue to speak to people with God’s blessing, but I am going to miss my buds, my buddies. But we have been together on the phone and in different functions, and it will always be that way. Friends are friends forever when the Lord is the Lord of them.

If you are in the metro Atlanta area and want more information about Women in Faith in Atlanta which will be held at Philips Arena and to buy tickets, go to womenoffaith.com. Also, the Women of Faith movie “WOMEN OF FAITH: AN AMAZING JOYFUL JOURNEY” will debut on Feb. 18. With lots of laughter and storytelling, this part documentary/part live stage event features never-before-seen interviews and behind-the-scenes footage that will feature some of the most beloved and popular speakers including Patsy Clairmont, Mary Graham, Jen Hatmaker, Nicole Johnson, Marilyn Meberg, Sandi Patty, Luci Swindoll, Sheila Walsh, and Thelma Wells, as well as music and performances from Christian contemporary artists who have appeared on the tour over the two decades. The presentation will also feature fun outtakes. The encore presentation will be held on Feb. 20. To order tickets go to wofincinemas.com.

Below is the trailer for the movie:

For more Bible scriptures online, go to BibleGateway.com.

Any thoughts?

The post Resilience & the Bible: How to Use Scriptures to Bounce Back From – Racism & Prejudice appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Oprah Winfrey’s New Megachurch Drama ‘Greenleaf’ to Have a Two-Night Premiere May 24 and May 25!!!

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Will You Be Watching?

Grace Greenleaf (Merle Dandridge) and her father Bishop James Greenleaf (Keith David) Photo by Eli Ade; Courtesy of OWN

Grace Greenleaf (Merle Dandridge) and her father Bishop James Greenleaf (Keith David)
Photo by Eli Ade; Courtesy of OWN

Hello World,

The new original series “Greenleaf,” featuring Oprah Winfrey’s first recurring scripted television role in two decades, will launch with a two-night premiere on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network on Tuesday, May 24 at 10 p.m. ET/PT and Wednesday, May 25 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The megachurch drama from Emmy nominated writer/producer Craig Wright (“Lost,” “Six Feet Under”) and Lionsgate Television will regularly air on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT for the remainder of its 13-episode first season.

Greenleaf” centers on the journey of estranged daughter and disillusioned preacher Grace Greenleaf (Merle Dandridge, “The Night Shift”) who has returned home after 20 years on the occasion of the mysterious death of her sister, Faith.  As she reenters the world of Calvary Fellowship World Ministries, the Memphis megachurch run by her powerful parents Bishop James Greenleaf (Keith David, “Enlisted” and “Community”) and Lady Mae Greenleaf (Lynn Whitfield, “The Josephine Baker Story”), it becomes evident that things are not as virtuous as they seem and that the family’s outward display of faith hides sin and misdeeds.

In the season premiere, directed by Clement Virgo (“Book of Negroes”), Grace and her teenage daughter Sophia (Desiree Ross, “Falling Skies”) are warmly welcomed home by Grace’s father, Bishop James Greenleaf, but tensions quickly rise soon thereafter at a family dinner in the Greenleaf mansion.  Grace’s mother is cold and hostile; her sister-in-law Kerissa (Kim Hawthorne, “Rake”) questions her about her faith; and sister Charity (Deborah Joy Winans, “Whitney”) erupts with jealousy at the suggestion that Grace might preach at Calvary.

Later, blues club owner and Grace’s aunt Mavis (Oprah Winfrey, “Selma”) discuss the circumstances of Faith’s death and Mavis reveals some shocking information about Grace’s uncle “Mac” (Gregory Alan Williams, “Terminator Genisys”). Mavis is still estranged from the Greenleaf family and it starts to become evident that she intends to use Grace to sow the seeds of its destruction.

The new original drama series “Greenleaf” from award-winning writer/producer Craig Wright (“Lost,” “Six Feet Under”) takes viewers into the unscrupulous world of the Greenleaf family and their sprawling Memphis megachurch, where scandalous secrets and lies are as numerous as the faithful.  Like so many megachurches in America, Calvary Fellowship World Ministries is more than just a house of worship. It’s a home. It’s the center of the community for the thousands of predominantly African-American members who attend services there.  But beneath its steeple lies a den of iniquity — greed, adultery, sibling rivalry and conflicting values — a multigenerational matrix of deception that involves the church’s founding family, but also extends to the congregation and prominent members of the Memphis community and beyond. Yet, amidst all of the mayhem and deception, the power of something greater persists, calling everyone to conscience for their sins.

“Greenleaf” stars Merle Dandridge (“The Night Shift”) as Grace Greenleaf; Keith David (“Community”) as Bishop James Greenleaf; Lynn Whitfield (“The Josephine Baker Story”) as Lady Mae Greenleaf; Kim Hawthorne (“Rake”) as Kerissa Greenleaf; Lamman Rucker (“Meet the Browns”) as Jacob Greenleaf; Tye White (“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”) as Kevin Satterlee; Deborah Joy Winans (“Whitney”) as Charity Greenleaf-Satterlee; Desiree Ross (“Falling Skies”) as Sophia; and Oprah Winfrey (“Selma”) in a recurring role as Mavis McCready.

“Greenleaf” is produced for OWN by Lionsgate Television.  Executive producers are Oprah Winfrey, Craig Wright and Clement Virgo.

I’ll be watching this new show, but I wonder why novelists such as ReShonda Tate Billingsley (whose movie “Let The Church Say Amen” debuted on BET last August), Victoria Christopher Murray, Kimberla Lawson Roby and Tiffany L. Warren, who have written books about similar themes, aren’t consulted for projects like these…

Any thoughts?

The post Oprah Winfrey’s New Megachurch Drama ‘Greenleaf’ to Have a Two-Night Premiere May 24 and May 25!!! appeared first on After the Altar Call.


Leonard Pitts’ Novel ‘Grant Park’ Provides a Framework to Say Goodbye to President Obama

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A Book Review...

grant park photo

Hello World,

Earlier this month, I delivered a speech as a part of my church’s annual Racial Reconciliation Service. I was asked to speak on the theme “Things We Have in Common” based on Ephesians 4:1-6. About the time that I was asked to be the featured speaker in October, I was aware that a creeping sadness was starting to make itself known in my consciousness. Maybe it’s just me, but ever since President Obama was elected in November 2008, the air has felt different, like a new optimistic oxygen had been injected into the atmosphere overnight from the moment Senator Obama was named the victor in the presidential election to the morning we woke up living in a country where a black man was named president-elect. This new air had me feeling high like I was a party balloon floating and preening…

So as the days ticked by last October while a new crop of presidential candidates began vying for our votes (when I finally started paying attention to them), it occurred to me that we were on the cusp of President Obama’s last full year in office. And since I had that realization, I feel like I’m breathing a little less of that new oxygen, like I’m a party balloon just past its prime hovering closer to the ground each day…

So what does all of this have to do with Grant Park, the latest novel from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Leonard Pitts, Jr.? Like the youth pastor of my church is fond of saying in his sermons, I’m so glad you asked that question. Below is the official description of the book…

Grant Park is a page-turning and provocative look at black and white relations in contemporary America, blending the absurd and the poignant in a powerfully well-crafted narrative that showcases Pitts’s gift for telling emotionally wrenching stories.

Grant Park begins in 1968, with Martin Luther King’s final days in Memphis. The story then moves to the eve of the 2008 election, and cuts between the two eras. Disillusioned columnist Malcolm Toussaint, fueled by yet another report of unarmed black men killed by police, hacks into his newspaper’s server to post an incendiary column that had been rejected by his editors. Toussaint then disappears, and his longtime editor, Bob Carson, is summarily fired within hours of the column’s publication.

While a furious Carson tries to find Toussaint—while simultaneously dealing with the reappearance of a lost love from his days as a 60s activist—Toussaint is abducted by two white supremacists plotting to explode a bomb at Barack Obama’s planned rally in Chicago’s Grant Park. Toussaint and Carson are forced to remember the choices they made as young men, when both their lives were changed profoundly by their work in the civil rights movement.

Racial Reconciliation…

As I began to prepare my speech, I realized that the two-term presidency of President Obama has been the proverbial “best of times” and “worst of times.” Below are the exact words from my speech…

In reflecting on President Obama’s historic presidency, the anniversaries of so many pivotal historic events have coincided with his two terms in the White House. Last year, we recognized the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama. In 2013, we recognized the 50th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. And less than 50 years after his death, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in D.C. debuted in 2011. All these pivotal events happened during the Civil Rights Movement when there were seemingly two Americas – one for White America and one for Black America.

And yet during this time, over the last eight years, the nation has grappled with the deaths of black boys from Trayvon Martin to Tamir Race, the Confederate flag debate and the shooting massacre at Emanuel AME Church and more.

Time seems to be moving forward and standing still.

While I was preparing my speech over the last few months, I read Leonard Pitts’ Grant Park. And while it is a work of fiction, it made me feel like I was in 1968 watching the sowing of seeds of civil unrest that came to a glorious fruition when President Obama was elected in 2008. Pitts does an excellent job of capturing a conversational President-elect Obama just hours after he wins the election. And as we know now, eight years later, racial reconciliation in this country, despite President Obama’s election, still has a ways to go. Pitts’ novel provided a framework to examine where we were in 1968, how far we came in 2008 and the journey we still have to tread post Obama.

A Love Story…

My favorite character in the book was Bob Carson. In 1967, he was an 18 year old eager to join the Civil Rights Movement so much so that he elected to attend small Christian college in Mississippi to the alarm of his white parents. He welcomed ” protest and snarling dogs and Freedom Riders and marches and injustice and voter registration and ferment…change.” (79) After arriving on campus, he joined Students Organized in Unarmed Love (SOUL) which included black and white students, and met Janeka Lattimore at one of the organization’s meetings. They quickly begin an interracial romance which obviously was particularly challenging then. So I love a coming-of-age, against-the-odds love story. It reminded of the real-life interracial love story of novelist Alice Walker and Mel Leventhal which also began at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. (I read about it in book about her life. ) So even while I was thinking deeply about the nuanced racial issues that were examined in the novel, I was also racing through the pages to see what happened to Bob and Janeka.  When Bob first sees Janeka at a meeting, he is immediately drawn to her beauty  and curvy body but then scolds himself for his lustful thoughts. “This was his sister in the body of Christ. She was his colleague in the struggle for human rights. More than that, she was a human being with a mind, and emotions and a soul and inherent, intrinsic worth. Yet, her he was cataloging her, the pieces of her, as though she were side of beef. What kind of loathsome male chauvinist pig had he suddenly become?”

I won’t tell what happens to them, but I will say this. Young Bob is an enthusiastic Christian ready to take on his pastor about racial reconciliation as it is espoused in the Bible even quoting Malachi 2:10, a Bible verse that I used in my speech. (Thanks Mr. Pitts :) ) But Old Bob had evolved into “an Easter Christian, a Christmas Christian, when he bothered to be any kind of Christian at all.” (78) I speak from experience: One of the things that will make you lose your religion is lost love…And that’s all I have to say about that…

The Future of Journalism…

As a journalist, I also appreciated the examination of the journalism industry. At the start of the book,  Malcolm Toussaint is disillusioned with his career although it has been good to him, taking him “from a hovel on the south side of Memphis to this palace in Chicago, two Pulitzer Prizes, countless lesser awards lining the walls in his office.” He also writes a “twice-weekly nationally syndicated column,”  and “New York Times bestsellers blurbed by Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton.” (5) Despite Toussaint’s “storied career” in journalism, my field has been undergoing a seismic shift with the advent of the Net…It’s scary and exhilarating at the time…Sadly, newspapers and magazines continue to die, but I have hope that true storytelling will survive…somehow and someway…

So here are a few of the lines that ring true for journalism going forward. “Suddenly, it was no longer enough to be the best journalist you could be, to do the work and put it out there and let it speak for itself. Suddenly, you were supposed to keep a Facebook page and answer emails and moderate discussion on your message board.” (12) Here is a description of a young journalist who actually wanted to work at a newspaper: “The old heads in the newsroom called people like her ‘true believers,’ meaning Gen Y kids who somehow missed the memo that  thing was not worth doing unless it was done digitally.” (135)

While there are more elements I can highlight in this book, I hope I’ve given you enough to get this book! So if you’re looking for a way to come to grips with the pending last days of President’s Obama’s presidency and be entertained at the same time, Leonard Pitts’ Grant Park is a must read…

Any thoughts?

 

The post Leonard Pitts’ Novel ‘Grant Park’ Provides a Framework to Say Goodbye to President Obama appeared first on After the Altar Call.

The Top 10 Blog Posts and or Articles for Black Christian Women in January 2016

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january

Hello World,

It’s hard to believe that 2016 is a month old, and I hope it’s been a great year for you so far. As I’ve done for the past few months, I’ve corralled another list of interesting blog posts and or articles for black Christian women from last month that intrigued me as a black Christian woman ( but you don’t have be a black Christian woman to to check them out:) ! ) As usual, let me know if you like my list! Enjoy and share!

1. “New Pastor Coming to Emanuel AME Seeks to Bring Hope, Unity” by Jennifer Berry Hawes

Excerpt: The Rev. Dr. Betty Deas Clark has been named pastor of Emanuel AME Church, where nine black worshipers were gunned down on June 17 by an avowed white racist. She will be the church’s first female pastor. See more at: postandcourier.com.

2. “How a Facebook Comment Turned into a Nightmare for ‘the Evangelical Harvard’” by Sarah Pulliam Bailey 

Excerpt: It’s not the first time Wheaton has wrestled with theology and identity. But the Hawkins case exploded in the thick of a national conversation about the place of Islam, and about race and privilege. Hawkins is one of Wheaton’s five black tenured professors, who make up 2 percent of the faculty, and its only full-time black woman professor. See more at: washingtonpost.com.

3. “How YWCA USA Is Evolving To Better Support Women And People Of Color” by Kathy Caprino

Excerpt: First and foremost, we’ll give the public greater clarity about who we are and what we do. Our mission is squarely focused on eliminating racism and empowering women. The 225 YWCAs around the country serving more than 2 million women and families annually work hand-in-hand with people as they take steps to improve their lives, whether through domestic violence services, housing, childcare, job training, or the many other programs available at local YWCAs. See more at: forbes.com.

4. “Why the Black Church Should Speak Out Against Sexual Predators” by Rev. Dr. Najuma Smith-Pollard

Excerpt: To be silent on Bill Cosby is a missed opportunity to speak to the real people in our pews who have been victims of sexual violence. Here are a few statistics every pastor should know. The national average suggests that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men have been sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Translation, if you have 50 Women in your church, 16 to 20 of them have had similar acts of sexual assault, rape, happen to them as have been described by the 55 women who have come forward about Bill Cosby. See more at: lasentinel.net.

5. “Awarding Purity & Preserving Patriarchy: Why I Don’t Agree With Scholarships for Virgins” by Erica Nichole

Excerpt: The mayor in Uthukela, South Africa is awarding young women enrolled in schools with scholarships, not for excelling academically, but for remaining virgins during their time in school. Yep, there are scholarships for virgins. While the road and process to being granted a scholarship is competitive in most countries, students with exceptional academics are awarded grants to further support their education. But is it right to encourage higher education to women by solely making virginity the qualifier for the grant? See more at: xonecole.com.

6. “Loving the Stranger in My Bed” by Trillia Newbell

Excerpt: As you live, you change. I’m not the same woman my husband married 12 years ago. I’d like to think in some ways I’ve matured, but even many of my interests have changed. I’ve had children, so my body has definitely changed. Even my temperament has changed as we’ve experienced more trials in our growing together. I’m still me to the core, but I’m also different. Because of the familiarity we feel in marriage, it takes intentional effort to stay close as each person changes. See more at: todayschristianwoman.com.

7. “Single Mom of Six Gets Special Gift from Church” by Jennifer Shaw

Excerpt: Pollard’s luck changed on Jan. 3 when Pastor Chris Williams read her letter aloud to the congregation of Church at Antioch, then announcing that she was the recipient of a donated 2002 burgundy Ford Taurus,also as a way of recognizing the church’s one-year anniversary. See more at: contracostatimes.com.

8. “Harlem ‘Church Ladies’ Get Their Due”

Excerpt: Church Ladies: Untold Stories of Harlem Women in the Powell Era is an oral history based on interviews with 15 black women, members of the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, N.Y. The book is a rare glimpse into the world of women’s leadership in the black church and gives voice to Harlem women and their activism during the tumultuous mid-20th century. See more at: blogs.baruch.cuny.edu.

9. “The Black Church and the Habitus of Resistence: An Ethnographic Study of Religious Practice and Social Change” by Joi R. Orr

Excerpt: In the spring of 2015, I observed a longstanding group of moderate and liberal black clergy members in Atlanta, Georgia, whose mission is to “provide leadership, advocacy and service to the homeless, helpless and hopeless in our community.” Every Monday morning, this coalition hosts a community forum to move their agenda along. With this sustained practice, the coalition prepares and situates itself to participate in direct-action campaigns and to take on issues of mass incarceration, a livable minimum wage, and voter mobilization.  See more at: theotherjournal.com.

10. “7 Dead Giveaways You’re Attending A Black Church” by Dontaira Terrell

Excerpt: Leave With A Home-Cooked Meal. It’s a week of built-up anticipation, hoping to get a taste of Ms. Gladys’ mac and cheese. Your prayers have been answered the moment you hear there will be food served in the fellowship hall following the worship service.  The menu usually consists of good ol’ soul food, but if you don’t hurry, Sister Patterson’s collard greens and Ms. Gladys’ mac and cheese will definitely be gone! See more at: atlantablackstar.com.

If you know of any black Christian women bloggers and or writers, please e-mail me at jacqueline@afterthealtarcall.com as I’m always interested in expanding my community of black Christian women blogs and websites. As I noted before, while this is a roundup of interesting blog posts and or articles for black Christian women, you don’t have to be one to appreciate these pieces :).

Any thoughts?

 

The post The Top 10 Blog Posts and or Articles for Black Christian Women in January 2016 appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Veteran Author Tiffany L. Warren Releases Latest Novel –‘The Pastor’s Husband!’

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The Pastor's Husband hidef

Hello World,

tiffanywarrenWhen I heard that novelist Tiffany L. Warren had another novel entitled The Pastor’s Husband coming out, I knew I had to get the details behind this juicy title and premise! Below is a description of  The Pastor’s Husband followed by my interview with Tiffany, who has written several juicy novels including Farther than I Meant to Go, Longer than I Meant to Stay, The Bishop’s Daughter and Don’t Tell a Soul.

This is a story about how one propheLIE unravels. It’s about how one woman, Felicia, is so desperate for a breakthrough that she falls at a prophetess’ feet, begging for a word from God. It’s about how Nya, desperate for acceptance, misuses her God-given gift. And it’s about the power of the praying husband who helps Nya find her way back to her real purpose.

But not before all hell breaks loose.

1.When you think of a pastor’s spouse, most people would think of a pastor’s wife. What inspired you to write “The Pastor’s Husband?”

The main character’s story didn’t have to be a pastor. She could’ve been an evangelist. I think there is more conflict with a co-pastor couple though. Is it ever really equal, or does one spouse have the upper hand? I love conflict in a story! Do you think you will have any pushback about featuring a female pastor considering that female pastors are not accepted in every church and denomination? And what do you think about 1 Timothy 2:12 and female pastors? I honestly didn’t think of the theology on female pastors when writing this. I write a reflection of life, and there are female pastors all over the country. I don’t have an opinion on whether or not they should be. I just know they exist, and a fictional one whispered her story in my ear.

2.For those who may not know, what is propheLIEing?

When you go up for prayer and a fake prophet says your husband is coming, and you’re already married.

3.Have you had experiences with propheLIEing? Please explain.

Yes! See above :)

4.In the first chapter, Nya feels pressure to prophesy to a distressed woman and comes up with something to soothe the woman even though she did not hear from God abut the woman. Do you think many pastors, evangelists, speakers, etc. are tempted and do come up with something to soothe people who are looking from a word from God even when they haven’t heard of from God about these particular people? Why or why not?

Yes, because preaching, these days, can be big money. If you get on the right preacher circuit, it could mean millions.

5. Is “The Pastor’s Husband” the first in a series?

I never say never.

6. How long did it take to write this novel, and tell me a little bit about the writing process for this novel?

About six months. I wrote this one to my outline, because I was multitasking! I need snacks when I write, and white noise. Like reruns of The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

7. What do you hope readers will ultimately get from this story?

I think there is a huge message about having a personal relationship with God. And always there is the overarching theme of forgiveness in all of my books.

Read an excerpt here – www.tiffanylwarren.com/pastorshusbandsneakpeek.html

Tiffany L. Warren is an author, playwright, songwriter, mother and wife. Her debut novel, What a Sista Should Do, was released in June of 2005. Her second book, Farther than I Meant to Go, Longer than I Meant to Stay, was a national bestseller. She is also the author of The Bishop’s Daughter, In The Midst of It All, Don’t Tell a Soul and The Replacement Wife. In 2006, Tiffany and her husband, Brent, founded Warren Productions and released gospel musicals, What a Sista Should Do and The Replacement Wife. Tiffany is the visionary behind the Faith and Fiction Retreat. Tiffany resides in northern Texas with her husband, Brent, and their five children. Visit her online at www.TiffanyLWarren.com.

Any thoughts?

The post Veteran Author Tiffany L. Warren Releases Latest Novel – ‘The Pastor’s Husband!’ appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Now That Harriet Tubman Will Be on the $20 Bill, I Can Say Goodbye to President Obama…

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tubman

Hello World,

Remember when I noted on my About page “I typically blog on Sundays and Wednesdays (to coincide with Sunday Morning Church Service and Wednesday Night Bible Study), but sometimes I may post more or less depending on what is going on in my life… If God can be patient with me, I hope you can too?” Well, there you go… I did so much writing last month and the beginning of this month (various freelance projects), I was empty…all the water in my creative well had dried up and I was empty, chile…I felt drier than my dry dreadlocks but now, I’m feeling fuller again (plus my hair is did and moisturized as of yesterday LOL), and I feel like I can flow once again…(I tried to get started when I had a few drops of water down in me, but that proved to be too soon, but I’m back…I promise :) )

So on Wednesday, when I heard the news that Harriet Tubman, a modern-day Moses for American black people as she led many slaves out of slavery, is going to be on the front of the $20 bill, my inner child did a Holy Ghost dance…

praise

When I was a nine-year-old student at Pathway Christian School, my class dressed up as our favorite historical characters for “Character Day.” At that time in my life, I was obsessed with reading books about slaves. I think the fact that I was one of about 20 or so black kids in a school of about 200 or so white kids, I was starving for knowledge about black people.To my school’s credit, the library had a series of children’s books about slavery and important people during that time. One of the books I read was about Harriet Tubman. I was fascinated that this woman persevered after getting knocked in the head with a weight by a slave master and was willing to sacrifice so much to usher fellow slaves to freedom.

So when it came time to choose a character to be on “Character Day,” she was my choice. My parents helped me fashion my costume including a head wrap as Harriet’s head was covered in the pictures I had seen of her and a drab brown dress as I imagined that slaves did not have access to the best and most colorful of dresses. I was so excited when a local newspaper photographer took a picture of me and another student and told us we would be in the newspaper. But when I saw the photograph, I was equally disappointed. The other girl’s character in the photo was correctly identified as Betsy Ross, but I was simply and incorrectly listed as an African woman. I’ve kept that newspaper clipping since then. I’m not even sure why…But I wish I could tell that photographer that Harriet Tubman deserved to be recognized then… And now for generations to come, all Americans will recognize her whether they want to or not…

money

Not only was Harriet Tubman a hero for black people, she was a hero of the Christian faith which is why my spirit is grieved that Dr. Ben Carson, who is a devout Christian, attempted to downplay Harriet Tubman by suggesting that she should be honored on a $2 bill, which hardly one ever sees anymore?

How can a black Christian man fix his mouth to say such foolishness? But then again, after all of the foolishness that he let fly out of his mouth during and after his failed candidacy for president, I should be nan surprised…But you know what, Dr. Ben Carson, I hope when these new 20s come out, someone makes them rain on you….

rain

I’m so glad that bumbling brain surgeon (how, Lord?) Ben Carson will not be our second black president, and I’m so grateful that our current first black president Barack Obama blessed us to make this new money happen…(Y’all know he had to have something to do with this…)

We may or may not see another black president during our lifetimes, but we at least we can pull some Harriets out of our wallets any time we please…

Thank you President Obama…I feel like going on…

Any thoughts?

The post Now That Harriet Tubman Will Be on the $20 Bill, I Can Say Goodbye to President Obama… appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Becoming a Mother Over 40 & Beyond…Janet Jackson isn’t the Only One…A Mothers Day Testimony…

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celeste

Hello World,

Last month when Janet Jackson announced she was postponing her tour to focus on creating a family with her husband Wissam Al Mana, my friends and I via text (our easiest way to communicate in our busy lives) speculated on whether Ms. Jackson If You’re Nasty was indeed with child at 49 years old (now our speculation has been confirmed) and whether being 40 or older is too old to become a mother.

Below are a few of our responses.

“It is weird.”

“It’s a miracle. If that is her dream. My friend just had a baby at 48. Not planned.”

“My grandmother had my mom when she was around 40. My aunt around 44. I had my son at 41. Let her story be a leap for womankind. She has led a fabulous life and is now embarking on a new journey.”

So Janet Jackson isn’t the only one who has defied the odds. That is the testimony of C. Celeste Marshall, a college friend who struggled with infertility for 10 years before finally giving birth to her son Terry Simeon Marshall in August 2013! Celeste recently released her book “Memoirs of a Barren Women.” Below is my interview with her about her journey to motherhood and her new book!

When did you get married, and did you want to be a mother when you first got married? Tell me about your desire to be a mother.

My husband, Todd, and I got married in 2001.  We were immediately ready to start our family.  During this particular time, we had a few nieces that I was very close to and we played the parent role for them at times.  My desire to become a mother intensified as I saw them grow and several months had passed and nothing had happened for us.

How and when did you find out you were “barren” or couldn’t conceive children? How did you husband respond?

After almost a year into our marriage, with no success, my doctor at the time felt that it was time to see a specialist.  A few days following this appointment, I remember getting the call at work.  The news was devastating, and work was not the place to receive it.  I was told that I would not be able to have children.  The doctor suggested that I have several female organs removed and that my best chance would be to try in vitro.  My husband responded in a very supportive way and tried to act like it would be fine if we weren’t parents, but I knew that his desire to be a father was just as strong as my desire to be a mother.

Why did you keep believing you would be a mother one day although you were told you couldn’t have children? Did you ever have any miscarriages? What were you doing for those 10 years?! Did you consider adoption?

In 2006, while recovering from my first surgery (fibroids and endometriosis), God led me to a scripture in II Kings.  It was II Kings 4:16.  It read, “this time next year you will be holding a son.”  I anticipated the day that I would be able to say that I was pregnant because I had never had a positive test before.  I never had any miscarriages because time after time I was always told that I would not be able to even conceive a child.  I had received a prior promise from God in 2004.  So during this time of waiting on God to fulfill His promise, I fasted and prayed about my desire and His promise.  After several years passing and my “this time next year” had not happening, I mentioned adopting to my husband but he was not open to it.  I knew that it was my spirit settling and trying to rush God’s hand.

When and why did you decide to fast and pray and what was the result? Tell more about it.

I thank God that at the time of receiving this news, I was already saved and was a member of a church, Free Chapel, where fasting is literally one of the church’s foundations.  My pastor teaches it often and each year our church does an annual fast which has become a global practice for many denominations at the beginning of the year.  I had seen the results of fasting and praying in my own life and also in the lives of others in the church.  It is a powerful tool often overlooked in the Christian world.  I challenge anyone to try it for themselves.  When you abstain from food and replace it with the Word of God, there is an intimacy that comes only from fasting.  There are several types of fasting.

What was your “life-changing decision” after your fast?

My life-changing decision following a specific three-day fast in 2012 was to cancel a surgery, which would have been my 3rd during this 10-year period.  The doctor wanted me to have a full hysterectomy, but by the time the pre-op had rolled around, we had agreed on a partial hysterectomy.  It never felt right in my spirit because I knew my body had to be whole in order for God to fulfill His promise. However, my doctor deemed it necessary, but following that three-day fast, and hearing from God on 12-12-12,  I canceled the surgery completely.

How and when did you discover you were pregnant? Were you scared during your pregnancy after all that happened to you? Why or why  not?

I was back at work from Christmas break, and I knew I was “late” but really thought that it was stress related since I had spent most of the Christmas break caring for my niece who had broken her ankle.  I took an outdated pregnancy test at work of all places.  I had them everywhere because I always anticipated each month…..hoping…..praying…..waiting……When it came back positive I was elated and scared at the same time….when you read the book you will know why :)

What was it like to finally give birth to your son? When was he born? How old were you when he was born?

My pregnancy was good, but the delivery was a battle.  And when I say battle, it was a spiritual battle! He was born in August 2013.  I was 40 when I found out I was pregnant, and I delivered him when I was 41. marshall

Do you have any final words of advice for would-be mothers who are having difficulty having children or who are ready to give up? What about fathers who are married to women with these challenges and desperately want to be father too. Any advice for them?

I tell everyone not to put God on a timetable.  We have in our minds by what age we should do this, this and this.  If we are truly in line with Him, and we seek Him daily, then we have to trust Him with the desires of our hearts.  When so much time had passed for me, I started changing my prayer…for God to remove the desire and He never did.  I knew what He had promised me, specifically a son, but satan is real and while God had given a promise, satan took advantage of any weakness and tried to steal my promise from God.  However, each year, as I would fast and pray, God would always confirm His promise to me, but of course I grew weary in waiting, but I stood on His promise and His Word: specifically II Kings 4:16.  And to the husbands of barren wives, never make your wife feel “less than, inadequate, or insufficient.”  Because these are the word satan would whisper to her.  satan often tried to remind me that the one thing a woman was created to do, I could not do…I felt broken at times, but I know that God does not make mistakes.

book

Why did you decide to write “Memoirs of a Barren Woman?”

My book was truly written out of obedience.  I never desired nor imagined that I would write a book.  After I had my son, I started getting invitations to give my testimony and what I realized is that God used my household for the basis of this testimony but He did not intend for it to stay there. I believe that my testimony if for anyone believing God for anything.  We all have a “barren” area in our life, male or female.

Was it difficult to write and publish “Memoirs of a Barren Woman?” And what has been the response?

 The book was not difficult to publish so to speak because God led me to the right resource the first time I inquired.  However, I had no idea about all of the editing.  There was so much back and forth for several months, actually over a year.  I started questioning what I had started because there was just so much delay.  But even in delay, I tell you God is working…putting things together.  The number of people who have reached out to me since reading my memoir to tell me the impact that it has had on their life spiritually has been overwhelming.  Young, old, male, female, single women, even women with children have commented on how my book has impacted their life in some form.  I look forward to sharing it on any platform God gives me.

Below is a video of Celeste giving her testimony at her church Free Chapel

To find out more about C. Celeste Marshall or contact her, go her website memoirsofabarrenwoman.com or her Facebook page. Click on this link to buy her book.

Happy Mothers Day to all mothers, but particularly to mothers who are 40 years old and over!

Any thoughts?

 

 

The post Becoming a Mother Over 40 & Beyond…Janet Jackson isn’t the Only One…A Mothers Day Testimony… appeared first on After the Altar Call.

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