Jericho City of Praise - and the bigger picture

[sjonathan02]

It doesn't look like it was crumpled up at all, to me.

As for the name of the church, it was Jericho Baptist Church and then changed to Jericho/City of Praise. I don't think the city of Jericho was necessarily associated with Godliness, but I don't think that disqualifies it as the name of the church since there's more to the city than that. But you still have a good point. I guess... Idk. There are churches named Canaan, too. *shrug*

It does to me.  I was going to say something about it but decided against it.

[lordluvr]

It does to me as well.

[LaylaMonroe]

Let me look again... lol.

[LaylaMonroe]

Ok I just looked.

Nah, it doesn't look crumpled up. It looks like almost every single bill in my pocketbook. *shrug*

Unless you're keeping the letter in your bible or some safe place, it's gonna get wrinkled. If you put it in your bag, it's gonna get wrinkled. To me, that letter looks like someone put it in their pocketbook. It literally looks like every piece of paper in my bag as I type this...

But... it could've been crumpled. I don't really see any importance whether it was or wasn't.

[LaylaMonroe]

Point.

This kind of thing is really messed up. But I'm glad that he's able to keep on keeping on. First the Crystal Cathedral, and now this?

And even before that, there were scores of churches (maybe even hundreds, idk) that have gone through (or are going through or WILL go through) the same thing. They either have no succession plan or don't have a solid plan. That's what happened here.

If what the board members are saying is true, the Apostle told them what she wanted, but never communicated it with her son or anyone else, so he has no reason to believe they're telling the truth. Another area where she went wrong (assuming the board members' testimony is true) is that she spoke negatively about her son to her employees. It wasn't anything big or significant (just typical stuff, if you ask me), but when you have people who are devoted to their pastor like that, it's a recipe for disaster. It's like how they tell you never to complain about your spouse to your family because long after you have worked it out and moved on, the family will still hold it against the spouse, not understanding the dynamic of the relationship. I think that's exactly what happened here.

It's really sad. We had a similar situation here in Atlanta when Nathan Simmons died, but it's not a mega church, so it didn't make the news. Very similar story, though. His wife ended up having to leave the church and start another one (with a similar name) and the church was split. Many followed her, many stayed, and some went elsewhere. Police were called, lawsuits were filed, etc.

[LaylaMonroe]

Whoops, typed that out of order, it should have been:

This kind of thing is really messed up. First the Crystal Cathedral, and now this? But I guess that's the kind of thing that happens when churches have so much enterprise going on.

But I'm glad that he's able to keep on keeping on.

You hit the nail on the head.

[nessalynn77]

I can't help but appreciate the fact that the letter was crumpled up, and then uncrumpled to be scanned.

This may be irrelevant, but I have to question the wisdom of naming a church "Jericho City". Is there something about the Biblical city of Jericho that I don't know? I didn't know the city of Jericho was associated with Godliness and praise. I thought it wasn't supposed to even be rebuilt after the walls came down.

Anyway, this is really sad. Politics... smh

I SO wanted to raise the Jericho point...

[SirTJ]

Truth really is stranger than fiction.

[LaylaMonroe]

Just watched a half hour clip of the service... looks can be deceiving, so I'll just say it like this: there were an awful lot of ushers in uniform, clergy in uniform, I counted 3 keyboardists, 1 drummer, a sax player, bass player, and percussionist, and probably about 20 dancers in uniform...

There was at least one person translating in sign language, everyone had programs. There were old people, older people, adults, kids, men, women.... no standing room in the ballroom, there was an overflow room that was filled as well, and people in the hallways who couldn't fit anywhere else.

I am really just fascinated by this, and curious to see how it will end. Praying for a God outcome and as little damage as possible.

[nessalynn77]

Just watched a half hour clip of the service... looks can be deceiving, so I'll just say it like this: there were an awful lot of ushers in uniform, clergy in uniform, I counted 3 keyboardists, 1 drummer, a sax player, bass player, and percussionist, and probably about 20 dancers in uniform...

There was at least one person translating in sign language, everyone had programs. There were old people, older people, adults, kids, men, women.... no standing room in the ballroom, there was an overflow room that was filled as well, and people in the hallways who couldn't fit anywhere else.

I am really just fascinated by this, and curious to see how it will end. Praying for a God outcome and as little damage as possible.

So... what part was deceiving?  From the article description, that sounds about right.

[LaylaMonroe]

So... what part was deceiving?  From the article description, that sounds about right.

No, that's not what I meant.

I meant that instead of giving my take on it, I'll just give the facts. Fwiw, my take was that the whole church was there with him (I mean it looked to me like the whole music and arts department was there, to be honest, not to mention all the mothers, kids, ushers, security, clergy, etc.). I just didn't want to say it that way since it may not be the case. For all I know, the "other" congregation could have 5x that many and what I saw could've only been a drop in the bucket... that's what I meant. I didn't word it right.

[nessalynn77]

Ok, I get it now.  I was confused for a sec, lol.

[Mysteryman]

Ok I just looked.

Nah, it doesn't look crumpled up. It looks like almost every single bill in my pocketbook. *shrug*

This is funny. lol Hopes someone gets it.

[LaylaMonroe]

So I was thinking about the name Jericho this morning, and can't help but wonder if this saga has anything to do with the name. Whether the saga was inevitable because of the name, or whether the name was prophetic because of the saga.... or perhaps it's just a coincidence... Idk... but anyway, I was just thinking about it. A house divided against itself cannot stand; or in other words, the walls will come tumbling down.



Anyway, today's update:

Members of a divided Jericho City of Praise attended services at two locations on Sunday, the first time members of the church worshipped formally since Joel R. Peebles, the acting pastor and son of the church’s founders, was ousted and stripped of his membership last week.

About 300 members attended two somewhat subdued services in the megachurch’s Landover sanctuary, while a crowd of more than 3,000 crammed into a New Carrollton hotel...

The 8 a.m. service at Jericho was a much quieter affair. About 200 people were scattered across a sanctuary built for 10,000.... As he walked into the 10 a.m. service, with about 100 others, Tyrone Warner, a minister, said he supported the board of trustees and also plans to stay.

So 3000 support the pastor, 300 stay behind... something is terribly wrong here.

Source

Pictures 3, 4, 9, and 10 speak for themselves.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/jericho-city-of-praise-members-split-over-joel-r-peebless-ouster/2012/04/23/gIQAbx0xbT_gallery.html#photo=1

[SirTJ]

Rue is on top of this story like Watergate. 

[blyempowered]

OMG! What a huge contrast! SMH!

[LaylaMonroe]

Rue is on top of this story like Watergate. 

I really am. I'm so fascinated by this story. I find it so hard to believe that this could happen to a 19k member church (I previously said 10k, but in the depositions, they testified that it has 19k members).

Which, btw, leads me to another fascinating detail. They testified that there are 19k members. The sanctuary seats 10k, and numbers had slightly declined since the Apostle's passing. 200 went to the 8:00a service, 100 went to the 10:00a service, and 3000 went to the hotel location. Where are the other souls???

[SirTJ]

It is fascinating, though I wish we would stop doing this to ourselves. Churches these days seem to be built around the leader. It makes me wonder what would happen to a mammoth place like The Potters House if, God forbid, something happened to Bishop Jakes. As the leader goes, so do the congregants it seems.

[blyempowered]

It is fascinating, though I wish we would stop doing this to ourselves. Churches these days seem to be built around the leader. It makes me wonder what would happen to a mammoth place like The Potters House if, God forbid, something happened to Bishop Jakes. As the leader goes, so do the congregants it seems.

Oh, The Potters House is done.....done! #thatisall

I really am. I'm so fascinated by this story. I find it so hard to believe that this could happen to a 19k member church (I previously said 10k, but in the depositions, they testified that it has 19k members).

Which, btw, leads me to another fascinating detail. They testified that there are 19k members. The sanctuary seats 10k, and numbers had slightly declined since the Apostle's passing. 200 went to the 8:00a service, 100 went to the 10:00a service, and 3000 went to the hotel location. Where are the other souls???

Hmmm....good thought.

[LaylaMonroe]

It is fascinating, though I wish we would stop doing this to ourselves. Churches these days seem to be built around the leader. It makes me wonder what would happen to a mammoth place like The Potters House if, God forbid, something happened to Bishop Jakes. As the leader goes, so do the congregants it seems.

Y'know... I wrote about that....

But yeah, today's churches are definitely built around the leader - especially unaffiliated, independent churches, and especially pentecostal-type churches. I think that's part of a much larger problem, and I don't even have the brain capacity right now to unpack that... but it starts with pride and the ego. It trickles into this title problem we have, and it trickles into manipulation, it certainly trickles into the pastor as the central attraction of the church, and it trickles into the enterprise that the church has become.

But anyway.... *sigh*

As for Bishop Jakes, I have a hard time believing that a man as wise as he, doesn't have an effective succession plan. But hey, you never know. Pride is a beast.