Free, formerly host of BET's 106 & Park, will co-host the new Gospel Music Channel television network original series, "Bobby Jones Next Generation," along side Bobby Jones.

For more on "Bobby Jones Next Generation," log onto www.gospelmusicchannel/bobbyjones.

 
Known for their multi-cultural approach to worship music, Israel (Houghton) and New Breed are going deeper internationally to spread his ministry this year.

The tour will stop in Japan, Indonesia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Israel, The Netherlands and Barbados.

In February Israel went to New Zealand before going to Japan for eight performances in four days. In addition, Israel also made time to visit Japan’s Soul Bird Gospel Music School, which uses the group's music as part of its curriculum.

This month, the group returned to South Africa, the place where they recorded their Gold-Certified “Alive in South Africa.” That recording garnered them a Grammy, Dove and Stellar Awards. While in South African, Israel and New Breed stops in East London, Pretoria, Durban, Centurion, Johannesburg and Cape Town.

For more info on Israel and New Breed's international tour log onto www.newbreedmusic.com.

Not only did Bishop Thomas Weeks plead guilty Tuesday to attacking his estranged wife, Juanita Bynum, but he also offered her an apology in open court.

"I want to apologize to my wife for all actions you had to go through," Weeks said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper. "I know it has been difficult. I appreciate you and I thank you."

In copping to aggravated assault, Weeks admitted that he grabbed Bynum, threw her to the ground and kicked her during an Aug. 21 altercation in the parking of the Renaissance Concourse Hotel, the paper reports.

Fulton County Superior Court judge T. Jackson Bedford sentenced Weeks to non-church related community service and anger management classes. Once he completes both conditions, the aggravated assault conviction will be expunged from his record.

Bedford shared her personal thoughts with the ministers before court was adjourned.

"I understand if not hundreds of thousands, millions of people look to you for leadership, both moral and spiritual," Bedford said to both Bynum and Weeks. "Going forward I would be mindful in your conduct in the future. Going through a divorce is a very difficult time. I know what it does to people.

"I'm very pleased this was able to be worked out. Neither of you needed to be exposed to what would have happened in the courtroom. I wish you the very best," Bedford said.

Weeks and Bynum faced reporters together outside the courthouse. Bynum said seeing her husband on Monday at a divorce deposition brought back old memories, which led her to ask the court for leniency in its treatment of the bishop.

"When I saw him it reminded me of the first time we got married," she said. "No one tells you what to do with all of the love you feel for the person."

Weeks would not say whether he and Bynum were getting back together, explaining "God is in control of all things." But he did have advice to men facing similar conflicts with their spouses, stating they should "walk away, just walk away."

Five prominent African American pastors convened in New York City on Thursday (March 6) for a "Day of Dialogue" with NBC Nightly News Anchor and Managing Editor Brian Williams to draw the network's attention to key issues affecting the black community.

       Bishops Charles Blake, Sedgwick Daniels and T.D. Jakes, along with pastors A.R. Bernard and John Borders III, provided an enlightening look at the church's role in addressing the problems faced by African Americans nationwide.      

       "It was a wonderful thing to have the NBC News editorial staff meet with five of the most influential African-American pastors in this country," said Williams. "These are men on the front lines in their communities. Given the importance of faith in our national conversation, the conversation we had can only make our work better."       

       Williams, along with several NBC News producers and executives, including President Steve Capus, listened as the renowned pastors discussed the importance of saving the black male, providing housing and education, addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis, and healing inner cities from the wounds created by the influx of crime and drugs.       

       "This session was the first time that NBC News has brought together such a distinguished group of pastors representing the African American community of faith," said Capus. "We understand that the church is more than a place of worship, it is a tremendous resource for the African American community. We were pleased to have such a unique opportunity to create an open pipeline of information with them."       

       "As the epicenter of many inner cities, the church has the responsibility to go into the communities and show our brothers and sisters how to survive and thrive," said Bishop Jakes, senior pastor of The Potter's House of Dallas. "We need to find a way to work with the media in a concerted effort to increase awareness of the resources offered by Black churches to communities all over the country."

       The "Day of Dialogue" opened the door for future discourse between the black church and NBC News' editorial board.

 
The IRS is investigating the United Church of Christ over a speech Sen. Barack Obama gave at its national meeting last year after he became a candidate for president, the denomination said Tuesday.

Obama, an Illinois Democrat, belongs to the 1.2 million-member Protestant group through his Chicago congregation.

In a letter the denomination received Monday, the IRS said "reasonable belief exists" that the circumstances surrounding the speech violated restrictions on political activity for tax-exempt organizations. The denomination has denied any wrongdoing.

Obama, a member of Trinity United Church of Christ, spoke about faith and public life at the denomination's June 2007 General Synod in Hartford, Conn.

The IRS said in the letter that it was concerned about articles posted on the church's Web site and on other sites stating that Obama had addressed nearly 10,000 people at the event. The agency also said Obama volunteers had staffed campaign tables "outside the center to promote his campaign."

The Rev. J. Bennett Guess, a spokesman for the Cleveland-based denomination, said a group of Obama volunteers was outside the Hartford Civic Center, where the event took place, but that they were told they could not enter the meeting.

The UCC had invited Obama to speak a year before he announced he was running for president because of his involvement in the denomination, Guess said.

Church leaders consulted with lawyers before the event on following IRS rules. Before Obama spoke, a top church official told the crowd that the senator's talk was not a campaign-related event and that no leaflets or other signs of political support would be allowed.

Nonprofits are barred from endorsing candidates or providing support for campaigns, although groups are allowed to invite candidates to address them and many do so. Guess said no other presidential candidates were invited because Obama was the only one active in the UCC.

The Rev. John H. Thomas, president of the denomination, called the inquiry "disturbing."

"When the invitation to an elected public official to speak to the national meeting of his own church family is called into question, it has a chilling effect on every religious community," Thomas said in a statement.

Amy Brundage, an Obama spokeswoman, insisted the speech was not a campaign event. In the address, Obama spoke about his personal spiritual journey and had said that faith had been misused in the past to divide Americans, partly because of the Christian right.

The IRS has stepped up its monitoring of the political activity of nonprofit groups during the 2008 election. It is more common for individual congregations to be targeted, not entire denominations, but very large ministries have been investigated in the past.

The inquiries can take years. Punishments can range from a financial penalty to loss of tax-exempt status — an outcome that church attorneys call the "death penalty" for nonprofits.

The IRS does not comment on investigations because tax information is confidential.

J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, which defends religious groups against government interference, called the timing of the investigation "peculiar." But he said he generally has found the IRS to be nonpartisan.

"They have not gone after the left or the right or one party over another," Walker said. "Both sides have accused the service of doing that, but my impression is that they've done a pretty good job being nonpartisan."

The NFL, which found itself on the receiving end of protests and controversy after it objected to churches showing the Super Bowl on big-screen televisions, has reversed course and will now permit the viewings.

In a letter to Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league would not object to "live showings — regardless of screen size — of the Super Bowl" by religious organizations.

In response to questions from Hatch, Goodell said in the letter, dated Feb. 19, the NFL will implement the policy starting with next year's Super Bowl.

A story in The Washington Post about churches — most of them evangelical — canceling their Super Bowl parties because they were afraid of lawsuits from the NFL if they showed the game on their jumbo screens kicked up a storm of protest on Capitol Hill and among some conservative leaders.

The league has said that organizations that host public viewings of its games on television screens larger than 55 inches violate its copyright. Sports bars are exempted. Last year, the league sent letters to two churches advising them of the policy.

In response, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) proposed legislation that would allow houses of worship to show football games on big-screen televisions and raised the issue with Goodell at a meeting last week. Other congressional representatives threatened similar bills.

In its letter, the NFL said it would not object to big-screen viewings in the churches as long as the showings are free and are on premises that the church uses on a "routine and customary" basis.

Yesterday, public officials and church leaders praised the NFL's action.

In a statement, Hatch said he was grateful that the NFL was making the accommodation. "Many families want to enjoy the Super Bowl in a group atmosphere — but obviously aren't going to take their kids to a sports bar."

Steve Holley, executive pastor of Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, which canceled its big-screen Super Bowl party this year because it feared a lawsuit, said he is thrilled at the new policy.

"It's decided to set aside profit for community spirit," Holley said. "I'm encouraged by that."

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – February 14, 2008 – Gospel Music Channel, the nation’s first and only 24/7 all-gospel/Christian music television network, will become the exclusive television home for the GMA Dove Awards in a multi-year agreement announced today by John W. Styll, president/CEO of Gospel Music Association (GMA) and Charles Humbard, founder and president, Gospel Music Channel (GMC).

Tricia Whitehead
Spinhouse PR
615-599-7746
spinhouse@bellsouth.net

media@stephanieljones.com

*Reuters is reporting that a black engineer has sued Disney's American Broadcasting Co (ABC) on Monday, saying his supervisors refused to remove a black doll that dangled from a hangman's noose near his work station for more than a year.

Oswald Wilson, who worked in ABC's Broadcast and Engineering Division in Manhattan, said the doll was displayed beginning in March 2004 in response to a newspaper clip celebrating Black History Month that he posted, according to the lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court.

But an ABC spokeswoman said that there was "absolutely no tolerance for discrimination" at the company and that the doll was actually a Mardi Gras voodoo doll displayed by some employees, including Wilson, to "put a hex on a supervisor."

"What Mr. Wilson appears to be describing are Mardi Gras beads and a Mardi Gras doll that he participated in placing," ABC spokeswoman Julie Hoover said.

The lawsuit accuses American Broadcasting Co, its parent company Walt Disney Co., and six of Wilson's superiors of discrimination and allowing a hostile work environment.

Wilson said that he was also forced to endure "racially charged comments and epithets" by his immediate supervisors.

Wilson first discovered the noose — a potent symbol of racist lynchings and hatred of black Americans — in March 2004. He notified his manager, saying "such a hateful display was incredibly offensive to him as an African-American man."

Wilson was temporarily transferred to another location, but the doll was never taken down, he alleged in the complaint. According to the complaint, Wilson was told that since the noose was not "in his immediate work area" he did not have reason to complain.

The doll was taken down in October 2006, only after Wilson was transferred back to the original location and had informed his superiors that he photographed it, the complaint said.

Hoover said that the doll was removed as soon as Wilson told human resources division of its existence.