St. Stephen Church Temple Choir Debuts CD, God Is Able

Rev. Angela Lee Price

As a radio personality who has played a lot of music in the Louisville, Kentucky market over 25 years, from contemporary R&B to classic R&B to jazz to blues to gospel, I know good music when I hear it. That is why I am so pleased and blessed to introduce to you the debut CD, God Is Able by the St. Stephen Church Temple Choir under the direction of Joe Leavell.

The long-awaited, much-anticipated debut gospel CD by the St. Stephen Church Temple Choir entitled, God Is Able is scheduled to be released later this month. I have listened to the entire CD. Simply said, I love it! It is anointed, beautifully arranged, and awe-inspiring! It is mature in variety, pace, and arrangement, and should appeal to gospel music lovers of all ages.

God Is Able offers something for every gospel music lover's taste, from traditional to contemporary. The Temple Choir's harmony is superb. This choir is one of the most talented choirs I have heard. A few of my personal favorites include, Let's Praise Him, Use Me, and God Is Able. I love the slow songs as well. There isn't a bad song on the CD really. The CD features nationally-known vocalists and song writers Joe Pace, Patrick Lundy, Darius Brooks, Lecresia Campbell, Justin Savage, Issac Williams, Oscar Williams, Rick Robinson, and others.

Talented local vocalists Joe Leavell, Sherman Bush, Minister Ton'ya Triplett, Sharron Sales, and Jason Clayborn bring a wealth of experience and vocal ability to this debut Temple Choir project. Exhortationists St. Stephen Church Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Kevin Cosby, and St. Stephen Church Sanctuary Choir Director Minister Ton'ya Triplett testify of God's ability to save, deliver, and set free. This CD should have you shoutin' and rejoicing in Jesus Christ, because truly, God is able!

God Is Able, the first single from the CD, debuts on 1350 WLOU and around the country next week. Listen for it and consider adding this anointed new CD to your gospel music collection this holiday season.

Effective January 9, 2008, the CD will be available for purchase as follows:

• 1/9/2008 Immediately following Wednesday Night Bible Study on the St. Stephen Church Louisville Campus (a reception & cd signing will follow the service)
• 1/9/2008 Better Days West Records in Lyles Mall @ 26th & Broadway
• 1/9/2008 online at: http://www.ssctemplechoir.org/ all orders will ship within 48 hours
• 1/16/2008 Immediately following Wednesday Night Bible Study on the Indiana Campus (a reception & cd signing will follow the service)

To listen to sample selections of God Is Able, go to the Temple Choir website at http://www.ssctemplechoir.org/.

Remember, it is not Mohammad, Buddha, Confucius, nor New Age that saves. Jesus saves!

The Reconciliation of Liberation

By: Rev. Angela Lee Price

An esteemed theologian and preeminent scholar, Rev. Dr. J. Deotis Roberts is best known as a founder of Black Theology or the Black Liberation Movement. Black Theology and Black Liberation reached its peak in America at the height of the Black Power Movement in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Its proponents sought to present Jesus Christ and Christian theology through the lenses of black culture and the black religious experience as a means to overcome the effects of slavery and institutional racism in order to liberate the minds and change the dire circumstances of oppressed people of color. Roberts, more so than James Cone, who is known as the father of Black Liberation Theology, offered a more biblical approach to black liberation by including reconciliation, a Biblical mandate, as a necessary component of liberation.

I conducted a brief radio interview with Dr. Roberts on 1350 WLOU the morning of May 17, 2007 wherein Roberts elaborated on the impact his travels abroad in the early 1960’s had on shaping his theological perspective on the reconciliation of liberation:

Angela: ...So, as you began to experience the diversities within cultures and the peoples that you came in contact with, that helped to shape and mold how you perceived theology…?

Dr. Roberts: Yes,…in the middle 1960’s I had a world tour of the religions in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. So, I knew about cultures other than my own long before the black theology movement emerged. For example, I was moved by my time in Japan. I spent two months in India in the middle ‘60’s and I saw the poverty and need there before I began to address the situation in the U.S.

I was drawn back to this country when I was studying abroad because Martin Luther King was beginning to address the civil rights problems we had, and I wanted to come back and join that movement. So, all that happened prior to the emergence of black power. That led into my position. I wanted to bring the King and Civil Rights Movement experience to the Black Power Movement. That was a dimension that I had because of my age and my involvement prior to the Black Power Movement. Both came together in my thoughts and that’s the reason why liberation and reconciliation were addressed. Cone addressed liberation, and I thought that was not sufficient because of my experience and knowledge, so I began to bring the two together. That’s the genesis of that dialogue.

Dr. J. Deotis Roberts set himself apart from black theologians by advocating reconciliation as a component of black liberation. The bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:18, “…God…has given us a ministry of reconciliation.” We are told in 2 Corinthians 5:19, “… in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.”

Roberts penned his best-known book, Liberation and Reconciliation: A Black Theology in 1971 in response to James Cone’s A Black Theology of Liberation, published in 1970. Roberts asserted that reconciliation was the “balancing” component of liberation. On the reconciliation of liberation, Roberts wrote in the preface of second edition of Liberation and Reconciliation: A Black Theology, page xiii:

"...the balance between liberation and reconciliation remains essential in our pluralistic society....Dr. King's warning, that we either learn to live together as friends or die as fools, is obvious for all thoughtful people. When reconciliation is elevated to its proper ethical level and Christian understanding, it requires serious attention to liberation from social injustices. It cannot be conceived as mere sentimentality or ‘cheap grace.’ Reconciliation requires repentance, forgiveness, and cross-bearing. Thus, I would opt for maintaining a balance between liberation and reconciliation."

Although an advocate for reconciliation, Roberts opposed integration as a goal. In chapter eight of Liberation and Reconciliation, he stated, “The slave-master, servant-boss, inferior-superior mentality underlie all integration schemes in which whites write the agenda. This is why I am against integration.” He advocated reconciliation with co-equal collaboration between races as the goal. On page 94, he wrote:

"Positively, it enables blacks to appreciate their own heritage to the extent that they consider it a worthy commodity to be shared with others. In this manner, liberation leads to reconciliation between equals. This position is productive for the psychological and sociological health of blacks. It is needed for a right perspective for better race relations. It is consistent with an understanding of God as lovingly just, the dignity of all persons, the sinfulness of all, and their reconciliation with God and with one another through Jesus Christ."

Cone, although more outspoken than Roberts, with his “by-any-means-necessary “ approach to Black Theology was a major catalyst for Black Theology’s thrust onto the world stage. He wrote on page 98 of A Black Theology of Liberation, “No black person will ever be good enough in the eyes of whites to merit equality. Therefore, if blacks are to have freedom, they must take it, by any means necessary.” However, he was less thorough and biblical in his critique in omitting the key biblical principle of reconciliation from his writings.

In summary, at the height of the Black Power Movement at a time when strong voices where needed to speak truth to power, the Lord put fire in the bones of black theologians J. Deotis Roberts, James Cone, Albert Cleage, Dwight Hopkins, Delores S. Williams, Gayraud Wilmore, Katie Cannon, Jacqueline Grant, Cornel West, and many other men and women of God. J. Deotis Roberts credits James Cone with the rediscovery of the black man’s religious genius in the late 1960’s on page 147 of his book, A Black Political Theology. And had it not been for the bold, in-your-face style of James Cone and his powerful book, A Black Theology of Liberation, I don’t know if I would have been as interested in the subject as I am. I had to admit to Dr. Roberts in my interview with him that I was not as familiar with his works as I was with those of Cone and others. However, after speaking with him and securing and perusing two of his books at length, I must say that I am blessed to have had corrected in my consciousness the oversight of his tremendous contribution to black theology and black liberation. I highly recommend adding to your library books on black liberation this Christmas season.

Remember, it is not Mohammad, Buddha, Confucius, nor New Age that saves. Jesus saves!

It Don't Take All That!: Senate Investigates Six Televangelists

By: Rev. Angela Lee Price

Many Christians have said, "It don't take all that!," - the mansions, Rolls Royces, and jet setting to save souls, and so on Tuesday, November 6th the senate launched an investigation to look into allegations of financial wrongdoing against prosperity preachers Eddie Long, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Paula and Randy White, and Joyce Meyer, Televangelists Under Investigation.

watch video

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is following up on complaints from the public and news reports. He said the allgegations involve governing boards that aren't independent and allow generous salaries, housing allowances, and amenities such as private jets and Rolls Royces, according to an Associated Press story on WSBTV.com. Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar, and Kenneth Copeland are all members of the Oral Roberts University Board of Regents.

Oral Roberts, his son Richard, and the Roberts family are being investigated, too, according to the November 9th Louisville, Kentucky Courier Journal Newspaper article, Many saw televangelists' spending. Oral Roberts University is debt-ridden, insiders claim, because the Roberts used university endowments for personal spending. The allegations of improper spending come on the heels of an Octover 2nd lawsuit filed by three ex-professors according to the article.

Pictured above Eddie Long, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, and Kenneth Copeland.

Remember, it is not Mohammad, Buddha, Confucius, nor New Age that saves. Jesus saves!

Allow Me to Re-Introduce Christ!

Someone sent this to me and I just had to share it with you. It is the spoken word spoken so well. After you watch this seven-minute video, you will find yourself saying, "Amen!," and "Hallelujah!" I even found myself snaping my fingers like the poets. Snap! Snap! Snap! If I could, I would hug God, this sistah, and her whole crew! What a blessing!

watch video Remember, it is not Mohammad, Buddha, Confucius, nor New Age that saves. Jesus saves!

Initial Sermon: Finders Keepers continued

By: Rev. Angela Lee Price

Luke 8:43-48 (NIV)
(v43) And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. (v44) She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. (v45) “Who touched me?,” Jesus asked. When all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” (v46) But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.’ (v47) Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. (v48) Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. God in peace.”

What Jesus did in this woman’s trying trial will help you understand that he loves and cares for you!

He healed first and asked questions later. Too many of us are shooting first, and people are dying later. After healing the woman, He asked, “Who touched me?” Then, he kept looking around to see who had touched him. Jesus doesn’t discriminate when it comes to faith. No matter how poor you are, you’re rich in Him! You have an inheritance in Jesus Christ. He won’t ask your race or age. He won’t check to see if your Gucci bag is matching your Gucci shoes. He didn’t know if the woman was male or female. She approached him from behind. He healed first and asked questions later.

Secondly, He provided what she needed. Okay, here it is! Have you ever gone out to the restaurant to get some food, and you decided to use the drive-thru because you realized you didn’t have time to go inside the restaurant? When you looked around for the window, you discovered the drive-thru window was in the back. Well, girlfriend received a drive-thru blessing that day, back-door style. And Jesus biggie-sized her drink! In your insulting storms, your degrading, denigrating devastations, the blood of Jesus shed on Calvary’s cross is all the “Red Cross” you will ever need! What can wash away my sins? What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! He provided what she needed. He healed first and asked questions later.

Finally, Jesus affirmed her faith. Jesus said, “Daughter, your faith has healed you….” He didn’t call her “looter.” He didn’t call her out of her name. He called her “daughter.” In other words, he told her, I’m your daddy!

I came here to tell you tonight when you act on faith in Jesus Christ, what you find, you keep! Without faith, it is impossible to please Him. The bible says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you….” “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life!” Find Jesus while He is near, and keep Him for all eternity! He will never leave you, nor forsake you! He affirmed her faith. He provided what she needed. He healed first, and asked questions later.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the Life! Remember, It is not Mohammad, Buddha, Confucius, nor New Age that saves. Jesus saves! He will pick you up, turn you around, and place your feet on solid ground! In the storms, and in the rain, His shelves are never empty. There is hope on his shelves! There is deliverance on His shelves! There is forgiveness on His shelves! There is salvation on His shelves! He is the Bread of Life! Those who come to Him shall never go hungry; Those who believe in Him shall never be thirsty. With Jesus Christ, what you find, you keep. Finders keepers!

Initial sermon excerpt preached April 27, 2007 at St. Stephen Church, Louisville, Kentucky, Rev. Dr. Kevin Cosby, Senior Pastor. To God be the glory!

Photos above: St. Stephen Church new ministers Rev. Lonnie Clinkscale, Rev. Angela Lee Price, and Rev. Mercia Frierson, and Rev. Geneva Nelson (not in photo) were presented with ministerial licenses on Sunday, September 9, 2008. Asst. Pastor Rev. Jerome Brown and Rev. Lesa Dae (not in photo) presented the licenses to the ministers before the church at the 11:30 service. All four ministers preached their initial sermons on April 27th.

Photo Left: Pastor Kevin Cosby delivered message, When God Shows Up on September 9th. He concluded 11:30 serevice with corporate prayer. Angela Lee Price in red just to right of Pastor Cosby. Pictures by photographer Allen Hill.

Remember, it is not Mohammad, Buddha, Confucius, nor New Age that saves. Jesus saves!

Initial Sermon Excerpt: Finders Keepers

Luke 8:43-48 (NIV)

It would appear African Americans cannot win for losing. Night after night on television, we see negative images of black people as thugs, pimps, gangsters, looters, as if we ain’t got good God-given sense. And now, we’re “nappy-headed hos.” What's worse, we've bought into the lies and are doing it to ourselves, promoting degrading and negative self images in videos, in hip hop music, and in the movies.

Cases in point: Don Imus’ racist and degrading remarks about the Rutgers women’s basketball team; Hurricane Katrina survivors being referred to as “looters” while white Americans were referred to as “finders” of bread, scantly-dressed women “dropping it like it’s hot” in soft porn videos; and fowl, vulgar, lyrics in hip hop music blazin’ all across this America, where hip hop lives. It would appear we cannot win for losing!

The gospel of Luke provides an account of a poor, suffering sister who desperately took the Bread of Life. Some might say that she “looted” Jesus with her nappy-headed self. Those people in New Orleans, they weren’t saints. They weren’t giving blood. They were looting blood - plasma, plasma TVs, plasma computers, and plasma Gucci purses. Jesus says in the bible, “I am the Bread of Life: he who comes to me shall never go hungry: and he that believes in me shall never be thirsty.” She secretly touched the hem of His garment.

In Luke, we can easily understand why she did it. She was wading chest-deep in misery 12 long years in Katrina-like circumstances, bleeding, and rescuers were nowhere in sight. So, she stopped waiting for others to save her. She waded through murky waters and found Jesus. How many of you have found Jesus in your storms? Shout back, “Finders keepers!”

In chapter 8, Jesus has just arrived in Galilee and is on his way to Jairus’ dying daughter when this sister with the issue of blood comes on the scene. Let us look at this unnamed woman who secretly pressed her way through the crowd and, as some would say, “looted” the Bread of Life. What do we know about this sister who supposedly took from the bottom shelf of the storehouse of Jesus Christ? In addition to suffering the issue of blood 12 long years, she suffered with other issues.

First, she suffered from discrimination and the gender issue. Luke 8:43 reads, “And a woman….” The women of Jesus’ day were considered second-class citizens. Her suffering was prolonged due to the Katrina-like attitudes of the First Century church and male society. She was not welcomed in the synagogues, not at First Baptist, Last Baptist, nor at Any Baptist in between. She was considered ceremonially unclean. She risked being stoned or put to death for so much as touching a priest. She wasn’t welcomed in their colleges either, not even at that historic HBCU, Simeon College of Galilee.

Poverty pressed her down. Another gospel writer, Mark says, “…she spent all she had,” and Luke says “…no one could heal her.” Doctors loved to see her coming. She went without necessities struggling to survive. And in the case of this suffering, “looting” sister, a sensitive, loving Savior took time in her Katrina-like trial to say, “Finders keepers.”

Finally, someone accused her of being a looter. She tried to take her blessing and go unnoticed. She took from Jesus in her Katrina predicament with premeditation and without permission. Matthew Chapter 9:21 said, “She said to herself….” Furthermore, in Luke 8:47, it is apparent that she wanted to hide… “Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet….”

I stopped by to tell you don’t be scared. Stop hiding! Press and touch! Don’t put your faith in horoscopes, possessions, friends, family, or finances. Don’t put your faith in Jesus! He is the author and finisher of our faith.

Jesus is close to the discriminated, the disenfranchised, the destitute and the diseased in this world. He says so in his initial sermon, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:18-19).”

To be continued...
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Initial sermon excerpt preached April 27, 2007 at St. Stephen Church, Louisville, Kentucky, Rev. Dr. Kevin Cosby, Senior Pastor. To God be the glory!

Are You Walking With Jesus This Summer?

By: Rev. Angela Lee Price

Enoch walked with God and didn’t see death. Conversely, the disciples walked with Jesus on the Emmaus road, and didn’t know it. Are you walking with Jesus this summer? The bible says in Micah that there are three things required of us, to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before God.

Louisville Branch NAACP Treasurer Dolores Beauchamp ( right) is walking with Jesus. She is one of several winners of Walking With Jesus gifts bags. Jesus Saves Ministries is giving away Walking With Jesus gifts in an effort to share the gospel and encourage Christians in their faith this summer. Gifts consists of sermons, gospel CDs, books, flip flops, caps, and various Jesus novelties.

Remember, it is not Mohammad, Buddha, Confucius, nor New Age that saves. Jesus saves!

Delta Sigma Theta Celebrates Founding As Kentucky's First Black Greek Organization

By: Rev. Angela Lee Price

On June 28th, not only did Kentucky’s oldest historically black college, Simmons College of Kentucky make history, but also Kentucky’s oldest black Greek organization, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Simmons returned home to her original campus at 7th & Kentucky Streets after, as Simmons College President Dr. Kevin Cosby put it, “77 years of exile.” Delta Sigma Theta Sorority celebrated a significant founding and 85th anniversary in that return.

Delta Sigma Theta’s Xi chapter was founded on April 15, 1922 at Simmons College of Kentucky, then Simmons University, as the first black Greek organization in the state. “I was impressed to learn of the historical significance of Simmons' involvement in the founding and lives of Deltas,” stated DST Louisville Alumnae Chapter member, Irene White. Delta’s participated in the Simmons motorcade, some stepped briefly to mark the occasion.

In 1931, the University of Louisville purchased Simmons University from the National Baptist Convention and renamed the school Louisville Municipal College. Along with the purchase, Xi chapter then became a part of the University of Louisville. Because of Jim Crowe laws, African Americans were not allowed to attend classes with UofL's Caucasian students. Therefore, UofL operated in two locations, the main, and white's only campus, at Belknap, and the black campus at Louisville Municipal College. The campuses were later combined in 1951. Today, Xi chapter initiates held and continue to hold leadership positions in the community.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. as a national organization was founded January 13, 1913 on the campus of Howard University by 22 African American women. The illustrious women envisioned an organization based on Christian principles of college-educated women pledged to serious endeavors of community service. Today, the organization has over 200,000 members and approximately 860 chapters spanning the globe. Delta Sigma Theta is a public service organization committed to the ideals of community service and scholarship. Members include such notables Dorothy Height, Nikki Giovanni, Robert Flack, Senator Carol Mosely-Braun, and Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie (photo right with Rev. Angela Lee Price).

Remember, it is not Mohammad, Buddha, Confucius, nor New Age that saves. Jesus saves!

First three pictures by photographer Allen Hill.

New Book Reveals How New Age Movement Has Invaded the Church

Most people believe the New Age has been long gone from our society, and if practiced at all now it is only by unconventional fringe types. For Many Shall Come in My Name by Ray Yungen reveals this is not the case. In fact, quite the opposite has occurred. The New Age movement (a term not normally used by its proponents) has permeated virtually all aspects of our society. This "Ancient Wisdom" spirituality can be quite readily encountered in the following fields: Business, Education, Health, Self-Help, Religion, and Arts & Entertainment. This book examines them all.

For Many Shall Come in My Name discusses the following:

1. The Age of Aquarius and its meaning in today's world
2. New Age practices like Reiki and yoga
3. Harry Potter and real witchcraft
4. The law of attraction and Oprah
5.Present day New Age prophets
6. Yoga in the public schools
7. Tantric sexuality and its spiritual risks
8. The Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism)
9. Wicca and its growing appeal
10. The occultic explanation of the Holocaust
11. Interspirituality and the coming false Messiah
12. The New Age as a force in politics
13. New Age hostility toward the church
14. The New Age in light of biblical prophecy

To read chapter 1 of this book, click here.

Lighthouse Trails Publishing's 2nd spring release, For Many Shall Come in My Name by Ray Yungen is now here.

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Remember, it is not Mohammad, Buddha, Confucius, nor New Age that saves. Jesus saves!

Delta Sigma Theta Celebrates Founding At Simmons College Celebration June 28th

By: Rev. Angela Lee Price

The oldest historically black college in the state, Simmons College of Kentucky is returning to her original campus on June 28th after 77 years of exile. It is indeed a momentous occasion not only for Simmons College of Kentucky but also for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Xi chapter, the chapter through which I pledged at the University of Louisville. (In the photo on the left, Xi chapter advisors Beth McAlpine and Wanda Carson posed with me at Louisville Alumnae Chapter's Mahogany Gala IV in 2003. )

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority is rejoicing in her heritage and blessing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for His grace and mercy in bestowing upon our sorority another history-making role as a black Greek organization in Kentucky. Deltas from Xi chapter, Louisville Alumnae Chapter, St. Stephen Church, and various chapters within the state and region will participate in the Simmons motorcade and parade and step briefly prior to the Jonathan Butler concert at 6:45 p.m. Thursday. Please celebrate with us and be sure to bring a chair! In the event of rain, the concert will be moved to St. Stephen Church.

Xi chapter sorors posed at Delta Sigma Theta Louisville Alumnae Chapter's Rainbow Brunch in 2004. That's me in the red in the back. Don't hate us because we're beautiful! Celebrate with us on June 28th!

From the Xi chapter website...

Xi Chapter is the oldest chapter of any Greek organization in the state of Kentucky. Xi Chapter was chartered on April 15, 1922, in Louisville, Kentucky at Simmons College of Kentucky. Among the charter members were:

Soror Alzada Singleton (organizer of Xi Chapter)
Soror Eunice Singleton
Soror Nannie G. Board
Soror Annie Louise Singleton Newhouse

In 1931, the University of Louisville purchased Simmons University from the National Baptist Convention and renamed the school Louisville Municipal. Along with the purchase, Xi chapter then became a part of the University of Louisville. Because of Jim Crowe laws, African Americans were not allowed to attend classes with the UofL's Caucasian students. Therefore, UofL operated in two locations, the main, and white's only campus, at Belknap, and the black campus at Louisville Municipal. The campuses were later combined in 1951. Xi chapter initiates held and continue to hold leadership positions in the community.

Xi chapter has made a commitment to uphold the tradition of excellence as set forth by the founders of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the charter members of the Mighty Xi Chapter.

Remember, it is not Mohammad, Buddha, Confucius, nor New Age that saves. Jesus saves!