Black Like Us

You. . . are truly a blessing and the enemy is just trying to take you out but trust in know that you are coming into a fresh stronger anointing. Remain blessed and highly favored.

We release the favor of God upon your life for this very intense season of perfecting. Continue to follow God and be proactive as relates to the healing process both personally and matrimonially.
This is not the end but rather the beginning of the NEW Thing God has self-counseled to perform in your life.

I appreciate you sharing how you felt about your test. I must say that everyone has something that they may encounter but out of all of this God will get the glory and you shall be ok. You. . . are just being tested on how crazy your faith really is. I will pray for you. . .

We in South Africa are praying for you. . . , a mess becomes a message and a test becomes a testimony. In this "BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD" His Peace upon you both.

Yes ..I will be praying for u. May God show u through this test what's important in ur life. U will still be able to touch many lives. This is just a trash bag that you have to empty. Stay strong ..be bless!!

I am praying for you …. All things work together for the good to them who are called according to His purpose. I will never give up the faith in both of you. God Bless you…

About three weeks ago inspirational speaker Juanita Bynum was allegedly beaten, kicked and stomped by her estranged husband Mr. Thomas Weeks III in an Atlanta hotel parking lot. Concerning the alleged attack The Atlanta Journal Constitution wrote ‘According to an Atlanta police incident report, Bynum said her husband "choked her, pushed her down, kicked and stomped her."
She told police Weeks "continued stomping" her into the ground until a hotel bell man pulled him away. Police also said Weeks threatened Bynum's life.’

Before we go on to discuss how this affects the wider church and our witness to our society and culture I must begin by clearly condemning any form of physical spousal abuse for any reason. No man at no time and for no reason is ever in any way justified from raising his hand and striking his wife. The prophet Malachi spoke of the Lord’s hatred for wife abuse. (Mal. 2:16) We can best understand this upon considering that the marital relationship is supposed to reflect Christ’s loving relationship with the church. It is both repugnant and unconscionable to even imagine Christ abusing the church and it is likewise repugnant and heinous for a man to physically beat upon his wife. Such behavior is grounds for immediate separation and without acute, prolonged and serious intervention, divorce.
And if one who claims to be a pastor or minister is found guilty of striking his wife he must immediately be removed from the pulpit, his ministry and once more apart from serious, acute and prolonged counseling never allowed to return. Would we do any less if he were caught in adultery?

Because of their high profile positions and marriage this incident has drawn national attention and in my view demands some kind of response from the church. And at this point I’m speaking particularly of the black church whether Pentecostal, Baptist, Methodist and Reformed (small as it may be). We have to respond because Mr. Weeks and Ms. Bynum represented a large and growing (and at this time the most influential) section of the black church and we accepted that. Few ever questioned their theology, their claims, their methods or their lifestyle. It seemed to matter little to us that almost every time they took the stage they systematically violated each of the first four commandments. If that weren’t enough it appears they consistently broke the ninth command and instead of keeping the tenth actually elevated it, turned it completely upside down and declared that covetousness is the real mark, purpose and goal of salvation and life.

All the while we for the most part stood by silently. They were black after all. If they wanted to engage in the organized crime of weekly flock fleecing well who were we to judge. No, for the black church (including some within the black reformed community) theology is the white man’s distraction. An opiate that would lull us to silence in the face of the "real" problems blacks folks face in white man’s America. I hate to say it but it seems that for far too many of us ethnic strife with our white brothers and the larger white society is THE issue. It’s as almost as if we didn’t care that week after week our people (whom we claim to represent and care for so much) were being fed poison that would corrupt their souls and destroy their lives. I wonder how would we respond if a white person stood up and told black people to send them the mortgage and rent money to receive their blessing? It seems that we’re all too willing to call a spade a spade as long as that spade sports a white visage.

Do I sound angry? Good because I am. I’m angry because it appears that it’s alright for black people to be led into gross idolatry as long as the high priests and priestesses are black like us. I’m angry because if a white evangelical got up and declared that churches separated along ethnic lines was the will of God we’d jump all over him, call for his immediate removal and demand an apology and retraction. Yet over and over and over again false prophets can recast and re-imagine God in their own image to line their pockets and for the most part we utter not a mumbling word.

Finally, while I’m angry at the ‘ministry’ of Ms. Bynum I hope she recovers fully and that our Lord heals her from the emotional scars of this trauma. I also pray and hope that she will repent of her idolatry and follow the Lord according to the way of the cross.

But that’s not the reason I began this post with a list a of encouragements.
While I’m sure a great outpouring of sympathy and support have poured in for Ms. Bynum the above quotes were posted on Thomas Weeks III myspace page for his encouragement.

Grieved
Pastor Lance