The 2011 Image Awards aired recently honoring the best achievements by people of color in TV, music, literature and film.  Tyler Perry’s “For Colored Girls” dominated last night’s NAACP Image Awards; winning the best picture, director and supporting-actress prizes.

Halle Berry won the outstanding actress prize “Frankie & Alice,” and also shared a heartfelt acceptance speech about achieving her childhood dream.

Aired on FOX, The Friday event was held at the Shrine Auditorium and hosted by Wayne Brady and Holly Robinson Peete. Sade, who got the most nominations in music with four nods, unfortunately won none.

This year, the prize-giving event comes under fire for celebrating Jay-Z, Minaj, P. Diddy, Kanye and other artists who often use offensive lyrics and derogatory images. “It is unconscionable that the NAACP would sully its brand, squander its legacy, and take such a stand contrary to the aspirations and dreams of the mainstream of the African-American community,” said Reverend Delman Coates, senior pastor of the Mt. Ennon Baptist Church.

“While artists are free to produce their own art, it is not acceptable for public corporations and established civil right organizations to sanction the kinds of lyrics promoted by some of these artists,” he continued. “These are the wrong images for a civil rights organization to nominate and endorse.”

In response to the criticisms, the Pasadena branch of the NAACP promised to review the complaints to see if they are valid. “I think the national office is going to review the policy of the nominees and the participants,” said NACCP President Joe Brown. “Hopefully this will eliminate inviting those whose lyrics are considered disdainful.”

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What will come out in the decades after Oprah’s reign on network television? I’m hesitant to speculate, but I don’t think it’s a positive thing for the people of God to welcome her as a good source for spiritual growth.

In the past Oprah made headlines by announcing on her show that she didn’t feel Christ was the only way to salvation.  She later said she had a problem hearing church scriptures that referenced God as a jealous God.  None of her beliefs have seemed to hurt her career, but if we really new the secrets about Oprah would that change?

It’s coming out that Oprah’s cousin Jo Baldwin was fired for speaking about Jesus all the time. Baldwin reveals that Oprah has threatened her cousin and other family members about revealing certain secrets about her. Says Baldwin, “I admit I was afraid of Oprah for 20 years. Absolutely terrified. She’s powerful and dangerous. She told me if I ever opened my mouth [about what I know] she’d sue my pants off.” Does Oprah have something to hide, or is this a routine process when it comes to hiring family that may be looking to make a buck off her?  Jo Baldwin speaks to Kitty Kelly, author of the book “Oprah: A Biography.” The conversation gives us insight into Oprah’s beliefs and family.

“When I received my PhD in 1985 from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Oprah asked me where I was going to work,” said Jo Baldwin in the summer of 2010. “I said I would be applying for a position at Ebony magazine as a copy editor. Oprah said she did not like Linda Johnson Rice [owner of Ebony] and I should come to work for her instead. So I did.”  “I was to work for her for three years, but she fired me without notice after two years… I heard from someone later that she got rid of me because she got tired of me talking about Jesus all the time… Oprah preferred the teachings of Shirley MacLaine’s books, such as Dancing in the Light and Out on a Limb, which Oprah made me read but I didn’t think much of.”

Jo Baldwin, a tenured professor at Mississippi Valley State, is also an ordained minister who preaches at two churches every Sunday. Deeply religious, the Reverend Jo, as her parishioners call her, feels her famous cousin has lost her way and is mired in godless New Age mumbo jumbo.

Baldwin’s feelings, like many in Oprah’s family, stem from resentment over the way she has been treated.

The power of Oprah’s vast wealth makes most of her relatives quake. They want to be part of the luxurious life that she offers on occasion (her lavish Christmas presents, her birthday checks, even her hand-me-downs) but they chafe at the way she has dismissed them since becoming famous and they know that she does not cherish them as family. She prefers instead her celebrity friends. Oprah holds Maya Angelou as the mother she should’ve had; she sees Sidney Poitier as her father, Quincy Jones as her uncle, and Gayle King as her beloved sister.

Jo Baldwin became estranged from her famous relative who continues to put distance between herself and her blood relations. Oprah will not give her mother, Vernita Lee, her personal phone number. If her mother needs to call Oprah, she must call the studio and talk to Oprah’s producers.

Jo Bladwin tells Kitty Kelly that the main reason she is not close to Oprah is because of the differences in their religious convictions.

“Mainly, Oprah wanted to shame me for being a follower of Jesus as if to say, ‘What is He doing for you that’s so great?’ Oprah inflicts emotional wounds that could lead to physical illness, if they aren’t healed. My faith has kept me from getting sick [over her].”

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Also Read: All 4 Accusers Confront Bishop Eddie Long in Face to Face Mediation Talks

Are you ready for the Stellar Awards?  The 26th annual Stellar Awards will air Saturday, March 5th on GMC (Gospel Music Channel).  Hosted by Donnie McClurkin the show is something you don’t want to miss. 

A select few cities have already aired the broadcast but if you haven’t seen it yet, you’ll definitely want to be in place Saturday to catch the national debut on GMC.  Check your local listings for your local GMC channel and let us know what you think about the awards.  In the mean time, check out what you can expect in the video below. 

According to a report on Fox 5, the court ordered mediation has begun in the Eddie Long sex scandal. Details have been kept top secret until now.

The Fox news team is reporting that the talks between Long and his accusers have been emotional and explosive.

Three weeks ago Wednesday, in the early morning hours a black Lincoln Town car with the engine running, sat in front of Bishop Eddie Long’s house.

Not long after, Bishop Long arrived at a top secret location for the first of back-to-back mediation talks.

Those talks turned to an angry face-to-face confrontation.

Deitrick Haddon’s latest project “Church on the Moon” holds steady at the number two spot on the Billboard Sales Chart this week.  

Deitrick Haddon has had an incredible year making unique music, quality movies, and now a long-form music video that is taking people back to the days of Michael Jackson’s Thriller video.

Part 1 of the Church on the Moon music video trilogy is available by clicking here.  The other 2 parts will be out shortly and the Gospel community can’t wait to see what else Haddon has in store.  The long-form music video is a first for Gospel music.

PATH caught up with Deitrick as he explains his album title, and what to expect from him in 2011 along-side his lovely wife Damita Haddon.

Some heavy hitters in the Gospel industry are set to release new CD’s in the month of March.  You’re definitely going to want to save up a few dollars as practically each week another high profile release will hit the stores.  Here’s a list of what you can expect in the next few weeks.

March 8, 2011

– Andrae Crouch – The Journey – Universal Music – EMICMG

March 15, 2011

-Al Green – The Best of the Gospel Sessions – New Haven Records – Provident

– Donald Lawrence – YRM Your Righteous Mind – Verity Records – Provident

– Richard Smallwood – Promises – Verity Records – Provident

March 22, 2011

– Smokie Norful – How I Got Over…Songs That Carried Us – EMI Gospel – EMICMG

March 29, 2011

– Mary Mary – Something Big – Integrity Music – Provident

– Kirk Franklin – Hello Fear – Fo Yo Soul Entertainment – Provident

Bishop Eddie Long’s New Birth Church is laying off workers. This after previously announcing a 10% pay cut to all employees until further notice. The Church has been loosing money ever since Bishop Eddie Long’s sex scandal involving 4 young men rocked the Christian industry.

In an exclusive report by My FOX Atlanta, The network learned that New Birth Missionary Baptist Church collected nearly $20 million last year with more than a million dedicated specifically for Bishop Long.

That million dollar plus collected in appreciation for Bishop Long is called a love offering.

New Birth says the losses are in fact do to a downturn in the economy, but sources say the membership at New Birth has dipped in recent months. Watch the video below and read the exclusive report on My Fox Atlanta by CLICKING HERE.

Pastor Ed Young preached next to a Ferrari on stage at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas on last Sunday.

Megachurch Pastor Ed Young hit the pulpit this past weekend in a Ferrari.

After causing a stir on Twitter for tweeting “Someone just gave me a brand new FERRAI!!!! (sic),” the Fellowship Church pastor literally drove one onto the church stage on Sunday.

But that wasn’t his car, according to his blog (a call to the church was not immediately returned). He was using it as part of a sermon illustration for his latest series titled “RPM: Relationships. Passion. Marriage.”

“God gave me a Ferrari because I am a Ferrari. You’re a Ferrari too. God has given you a Ferrari,” he said.

Weeks earlier, he was behind the wheel of a Rolls-Royce – which also was used as a prop – as he emerged on stage for his sermon.

The luxury car, considered a dream car among many, was also used as a way of telling the congregation that they are a Rolls-Royce because they are made in the image of God.

For the past several weeks, Young has been trying to relay the message that though God has given everyone a Rolls-Royce or a Ferrari (one’s body), many are not using it the way it’s supposed to be used.

“I’ve been submitting to you that a lot of defective dating is going on in our world today,” he said. “Half of all marriages end up as relational wreckage … We’re not doing something right prior to marriage. That’s why we’re doing this series.”

Rather than letting Jesus drive or going down God’s track, many people are off-roading, he said.

“I want to drive the car the way I want to,” he said, describing off-road drivers.

But ultimately, that messes the car up, he noted.

The Grapevine, Texas, pastor described some of the defective dating habits or beliefs people have, including concerns over a ticking biological clock.

“In desperation, a lot of women will get married,” he recognized. “We think marriage will solve all of our problems .. [and] bring in contentment.”

Pointing to a passage in Scripture, he asserted, “Marriage will not simplify your life. It will complicate your life.”

Marriage is not the “dream” that people think it is either.

Young explained simply: “You’re a self-centered sinner, you marry a self-centered sinner,” you have kids who are also “self-centered sinners” and you end up with a “colossal collection of self-centered sinning.”

“It’s complex.”

Many also make the mistake of placing pressure on the spouse to heal one’s brokenness or meet every need.

But all a spouse can do is love and point to the Great Physician – God.

“If Jesus is not number one, if Jesus is not driving the Ferrari, we’ll put divine pressure on human beings. God has to meet the deepest needs,” he stressed.

Young went further to address the issues of fornication, sexual immorality, and adultery

The Bible states five times directly and 23 times indirectly not to have sex before marriage, he said.

In a bit more detail, again using the car illustration, he urged singles to stop at “first gear” – cuddling – when dating someone, though they may want to go into second and third gear.

“The Bible says keep sex sexy. Sex is beautiful when it’s used in the context that God has given us – marriage,” he underscored.

“Don’t play house. Wait until you get married and then God will take you to another level.”

Also expressing his unbelief at the prevalence of adultery, Young explained one possible reason for it.

“[It’s] because people have been so unfaithful prior to marriage,” he said. “You’re unfaithful to God’s directive, you flip God’s directives off, you shake your

puny fist in his face, you go off-roading, you hop in the … sack with all these people.

“You? Get married? You think now, you’re going to be faithful?”

For those whose “virginity is in the past,” Young made clear that God offers forgiveness and transformation.

“Give Him the keys,” he urged, as he preached on anchoring oneself in God’s Word. “Go where God wants you to go. … He’s given us the Ferrari. I even put a tweet out … You put one out to – ‘I got a brand new Ferrari.’

“It’s time for a sexual revolution. It’s time to understand we’re Ferraris. It’s time to drive down God’s track.

Young is no stranger to talking about sex openly from the pulpit. He made headlines in 2008 for issuing a seven-day sex challenge for married couples in his church and then again in 2009 for debating the founder of AshleyMadison.com, a website for those looking for an affair.

He told parents in the congregation who are worried about their kids hearing about sex that they’re already hearing about it from other sources. And church is the second best place to hear about sex, he said.

New York, NY — After almost a year of making headlines, the lawsuit filed against Habakkuk Music, Inc ended when New York District Judge, George B. Daniels dismissed the suit. The lawsuit which was filed by Isaiah D. Thomas and Global Gospel Music against Habakkuk Music, Inc. and April Washington-Essex last March was dismissed on December 6, 2010 for “lack of personal and subject matter jurisdiction.”

Habakkuk Music, Inc. has worked out an agreement with Global Gospel Music Group, LLC and Isaiah D. Thomas to release him from his recording obligations and to grant Global Gospel the rights to record and distribute his music.

Habakkuk Music, Inc., CEO, April Washington-Essex, said “I’m thankful for the excellent council of my attorney, Mark Frey and the legal team of Serling, Rooks, Ferrara, LLC. As a growing company it is important for us to protect the integrity and credibility of Habakkuk Music. I wish the best for Isaiah Thomas and Global Gospel Music.”

About Habakkuk Music

Habakkuk Music, Inc., an independent gospel music recording label, which launched in September 2008, has a formidable distribution agreement with Universal Music/Fontana Distribution, which includes retail distribution in the United States, Canada and digital worldwide. Other artists on the label include 2009 Stellar Award Winner Jessica Greene, Rev. Stefanie R. Minatee & Jubilation, Lisa Page-Brooks, James Grear & Company, Kevin Levar & One Sound, Papa San, Debra Ashley, Gail Holmes and more announcements coming soon!

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