Ebony Magazine celebrates their 65th anniversary by recreating 12 of their most legendary covers with modern day singers and entertainers. To recreate their cover featuring Mahalia Jackson, Ebony turned to modern day gospel vocalist Yolanda Adams. You can see the recreation and previous cover picture below.

What if there were a special television channel that carried the most popular church services and ministry programs featuring America’s favorite Christian leaders — 24 hours every day of the week?

That was the question Dr. Paul Crouch, founder of the religious broadcasting giant Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), began asking himself several years ago as he and the team at TBN looked for ways to expand the influence of faith-and-family TV to new audiences.

“We were seeing an increase in the number of specialty — or niche — networks on cable and satellite television, channels that were geared for a particular group of viewers,” Crouch recalled. “At the same time our research was showing that churches services were among the most watched religious programs on television.”

In addition, Crouch noted, cultural shifts were beginning to dramatically impact the worship habits of millions of Americans — a shift that continues to this day. Researcher George Barna, one of the leading authorities on the changing face of religion in America, has noted that while a majority of Americans retain a strong belief in God and many express a desire to maintain a connection to church and organized worship, fully one-third of Americans do not attend church on a regular basis. In fact, over the past few years the number of “unchurched” Americans has grown by nearly a million individuals annually.

“But Barna’s research was telling us that these millions of folks who weren’t going to church were still looking for spiritual input in their lives,” said Crouch, “and many were relying on Christian media as that spiritual touchpoint.”

Excitement abounded for Crouch and others at TBN as a picture emerged of a crucial viewer niche in need of a network. “Here was a whole segment of viewers who wanted to be a part of an active faith community, but for a variety of reasons weren’t necessarily connecting with a local church body,” explained Paul Crouch Jr., son of TBN’s founder and now the network’s chief of staff. “We began to see the tremendous potential for a specialized network that would connect these viewers with the many dynamic churches and ministries that were producing top quality television programs.”

In 2002 TBN launched the Church Channel, the only network dedicated to broadcasting church services and ministry programs 24 hours a day. Since its beginnings the Church Channel has drawn some of the most influential and popular Christian leaders in the nation, from a broad range of denominations and traditions. “Because there are so many different worship styles that people embrace for their own personal lives, we’ve made it a priority to include as many of those styles as we can fit into a 24-hour broadcast day,” explained Paul Crouch Jr.

He emphasized that the one absolute requirement is that every program must be focused almost exclusively on ministry content. “Because so many viewers rely on the Church Channel for spiritual input, we limit to just three minutes per half-hour program the time ministries can spend on fund-raising,” he explained. “That means the network schedule is truly devoted to what we created it for — giving viewers 24-hour access to church and ministry services.”

Bob Higley, TBN’s vice president for cable and satellite relations, noted that the Church Channel stands out among the scores of niche networks vying for attention in the world of cable and satellite. “Among current cable subscribers, we found that a healthy 31 percent were interested in receiving the Church Channel,” he said.

“That interest goes to the heart of our philosophy behind all of TBN’s networks,” he said. “From the very beginning our focus has been to respond to that need every individual has to be uplifted and inspired in their daily life. We think the Church Channel, like all our networks, does that pretty well.”

Also Read: Steve Harvey Shares Heart On TBN

A teenager has been arrested and charged with breaking and entering into Tyler Perry’s home. Chloe Ware, 18, was caught within moments after breaking into the actor and playwright’s mansion on Paces Ferry in Atlanta according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.  Perry’s bodyguard caught Ware around 4 a.m. last Thursday, but two others escaped, police said. The break-in also was captured on surveillance video.

Perry recently offered to rebuild the home of an elderly woman who lost all her belongings in a fire over the holidays.

Also Read: Tyler Perry’s Movie “For Colored Girls” Opens with 20.1 Million in Sales

Teena Marie, a celebrated R&B singer-songwriter, was found dead Sunday at her California home, her manager said.

Born Mary Christine Brockert in Santa Monica, California, the 54-year-old artist famously paired with late funk legend Rick James and was nominated four times for a Grammy Award, according to her official website.

Marie was found dead by her daughter after apparently dying in her sleep, manager Mike Gardner said.

“Teena was a black voice trapped in a white body,” said Cathy Hughes, founder of Radio One, a broadcasting company that targets African-American and urban listeners. “I would always tell her that she was one of the greatest vocalists of our time.”

Among her songs were “Lovergirl,” “Portuguese Love,” “Ooo La La La,” and “I’m a Sucker for Your Love.”

While no cause of death has been released, the singer’s publicist Lynn Jeter said that Marie suffered a grand mal seizure — a neurological event, marked by loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions, according to the Mayo Clinic — a month ago.

“Luckily, someone was there,” Jeter said of that seizure. “The ambulance took her to the hospital, and on the way she had another seizure.”

The publicist said that she had a “great” conversation on Saturday with Marie, who told her that she was excited about heading to Atlanta to perform this week — in what would have been her first performance since the seizure.

Marie sang under various record labels, including Motown, Epic, Stax Records and Cash Money Classics, since bursting on the scene as a 19-year-old, according to her website. Her last studio album, Congo Square, featured several collaborations.

Eddie Levert, founder of the vocal group The O’Jays, praised Marie as both a singer and mother.

“There are a lot of black people who swore by her and believed in her, as far as her music was concerned,” he said. “She was a good mom, and to me, that is saying a lot.”

Teena Marie Singing at the 2008 Celebration of Gospel

Also Read: Teena Marie’s Autopsy Comes Back Inconclusive   

Lecrae’s latest release Rehab stays atop the Billboard Top Gospel Charts for an eighth consecutive week. The album also enters at #14 on the Top Rap Albums Charts and #14 on the Independent Albums Charts. I Believe: Live, the latest from James Fortune & FIYA holds to the #2 spot. Marvin Sapp’s Here I Am enters this week at the #3 spot, while the compilation album WOW Gospel 2010 comes in at #4. William McDowell’s As We Worship: Live rounds out the week’s top five albums. In other chart news, Fred Hammond’s Love Unstoppable jumped four places to #17 while Won’t It Be Wonderful from James Hall & The Voices of Citadel re-enters at #23.

In the world of radio, “I Believe” from James Fortune & FIYA featuring Shawn McLemore and Zacardi Cortez returns to the top spot on the radio charts. “Nobody Greater” from VaShawn Mitchell enters at the #2 spot while “He Wants It All” from Forever Jones moves to the #3 position.William McDowell’s “I Give Myself Away” takes the #4 spot while “I Choose to Worship” from Wess Morgan rounds out the week’s top five songs.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our clients and subscribers!  Our annual Christmas/End of the Year Sale began Wednesday, December 22, 2010 and ends Sunday, January 2, 2011  Email us or call to pay by Pay Pal.  You can buy now and use the advertisement later.  Save over 50% off our normal E-Blast and advertising rates.  E-Blasts reach over 105,000 subscribers by email.

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Path MEGAzine is pleased to announce our Christmas Sale.  This sale is the last sale of the year, and your one chance to get Ads at our lowest rate.  The Sale begins today, Wednesday, December 22, 2010 and ends Sunday, January 2, 2011.  The sale will cover discounts on E-Blasts, Banners, and Commercial Ads that play on the Path MEGAzine.com website. 

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Award-winning and beloved Gospel duo Mary Mary will deliver a special holiday performance alongside BeBe & CeCe Winans on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  The show will air tonight December 23, 2010 on NBC starting at 11:35/10:35c.

In the spirit of the upcoming holiday and their special appearance, Mary Mary have also launched their “Tweet N’ Meet” Christmas Contest engaging fans to tune into The Tonight Show for a chance to receive an autographed Mary Mary Christmas CD and a personal telephone call from the ladies on Christmas day.  CLICK HERE to enter the contest.

Mary Mary is gearing up for their new album due in stores tentatively called “Something Big.”  The single “Walking” is available on online for purchase.  Congratulations to Mary Mary and Bebe & CeCe.  Getting put on such a big outlet is good for Gospel music. 

Related: VIDEO: BeBe & CeCe and Mary Mary on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Related: Mary Mary Chats LIVE with Fans: Says BET is Canceling Show “Sunday’s Best”

Related: Mary Mary Releases New Single “Walking”

The old expression “when it rains it pours” seems to fit Bishop Eddie Long.  Bishop Long is now facing another legal battle, the U.S. Secret Service is investigating him for being linked to a “questionable mortgage venture” that caused many church members to lose their homes.

Long is accused of using his New Birth Missionary Baptist Church to assist in a corrupt mortgage scheme. Fred Lee, the frontman for Matrix Capitol Mortgage Company held mortgage payment seminars at New Birth, promising to lower homeowners’ payments.

Each week the company would collect thousands of dollars from church members promising to lower their mortgage payments but instead many of the homeowners lost their homes in foreclosure.

A spokesperson for Long says New Birth only provided Matrix Capitol with a room to hold his meetings. This latest investigation comes on top of a lawsuit filed by four men that claim Long seduced them sexually while they were teens.

ALSO READ: Bishop Eddie Long Case Gets Trial Date: Early Mediation Set For February

Brian Courtney Wilson recently posted on his facebook page that he’s going to be preaching his first sermon this weekend at Houston’s St John’s UMC.  Before the post I text him to find out if it was true.  Brian humbly texts back that he’ll be doing “more singing than preaching.”  Brian is one of the most celebrated new artists of 2010.  His singles “Already Here” and “All I need” are still on the Top Gospel song charts a year later.

I’m sure Brian will do just fine ministering in whatever way God leads him.  I’ll be in Houston this Sunday, so we’ll see if I can sneak in my camera!