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The Problems With Most
Black Churches
Jan. 1, 2018
by CathyHarrisInternational.com
Don't think that I am
putting down black churches by writing this article and exposing some of the problems with black churches today.
You need to understand that I grew up attending black church services as a Methodist and I loved Baptist preaching as a child, in rural Georgia.
As a matter of fact,  it was mandatory that I went to church in my household.
However, churches worked back then by being communication and dissemination points for the upliftment of black people. But today, churches have become simply about making money or the "Almighty Dollar."
Before realizing that my business,
AngelsPress.com, an Empowerment Company, needed to target African Americans for
health and
business opportunities, I first looked at
where most black people congregate.
Where Do Black People Congregate?
Where do you find the
largest groups of black folks? Most
black people are in 1) Churches; 2) Beauty and Barber Shops (Check out our initiative)
Why People Go To Church
Many people go to church for:
- They Go for A Weekly 'Spiritual Feeding': Life is tough so many people go to church in order to get a weekly 'spiritual feeding' so that they can make it through another week. They want that camaraderie from their friends that they know will be there. And they listen closely to what the pastors are saying to them.
-
Churches Are Also A Form of Entertainment: Black people like to be entertained (or edutainment) so this is another reason they go to church. Unless you are entertaining black people, in many cases, you are not going to be able to help them. Most pastors are entertaining, along with the choir and organist. So this is what attracts many people.
 However, you can form your
own meetup.com group
($19.99 a month for up to 3) or
attend other meetup.com meetings and work on your ownself. Going to church should not be your
only option for fun and pleasure. And you certainly should not allow churches to keep you from
eating right and
exercising.
Austin, TX Black Churches
Take my area, Austin, TX. At 12st Street and 183, you have 3 to 4 miles of
nothing but black churches. There are 8 to 10 black churches with
thousands of black folks attending these churches weekly.
These people are not from Austin -- instead they are coming in from
outlining areas, where they have had to move because of
gentrification and
high taxes.
When all these churches were built, the pastors and preachers, because they
were not progressive, did not conduct research on the people who would be attending these churches.
They don't know anything about their incomes or where they are coming from. So therefore, their
only goals are to
pack these churches and
collect weekly tithes so they can
align their own pockets and
build even more churches.
Their current problems are
how to fill the churches. They are trying to keep their members because many of the people now live in other areas and because of their
economic stances at this time, they can no longer
afford to drive to where these churches are located.
So they, the pastors or preachers, are now left with
only two (2) options: 1)
Convert more people in these areas where all these churches are located into
"church-goers" and/or 2) Help these individuals in these outlining areas, with their financial situations, so they can continue to drive in -- to these churches.
Why Churches Won't Allow Others - Including Their Own Members - to Educate the Congregation or Community
Smaller Black Churches:
What you need to understand is that most pastors and preachers don't know it all. Many are just stuck on reading the bible -- and that's it! They could care less about taking care of people, especially like churches did in the 60s.
Despite the fact that
most black people are up in churches, most pastors and preachers
will not allow any type of education, especially smaller churches, to come into these churches -- simply because pastors and preachers in black communities don't want others,
including their own members, making more money than them. So they are not only
protecting their buildings...but they are protecting their
"own pockets".
 Mega Churches:
Mega churches do try to teach people, but they have so many rules, that it actually keep them from helping the people that really need it, including their own members. And this education
is not offered to the community.
 Creflo Dollar congregants would ride buses just to get to his church, then they were required to tithes a certain amount of their funds. They should have been using these funds to buy cars and better their lives. But these are the types of stipulations these mega churches put on their members.
For instance, when I went to Eddie Long mega church in Atlanta, everything they did or
every service they offered were so confusing and made me feel uncomfortable to the point, I left the church.
They even took pictures of me like I was in a police station lineup, (front and side picture) and I had to fill out an application form -- just to become a member.
They used his church also as a voting precinct or poll, but because the church did not have proper signs at the church to direct folks to the right building (there were several buildings there) that was being used as a voting precinct, many black people IN MY AREA stopped voting because of this. This is a ploy that many higher ups, especially mega pastors uses to discourage black folks from voting -- period.
Many of the
local
and
national elections
are won just because these mega church pastors, supports a
certain candidate
. This is wrong (and illegal) on so many levels. This is also why areas and states like Georgia, has remained a Republican state because of these mega pastors.
Again, most people are followers so they don't want to think on their own. So whatever these mega pastors say --  they do.
I remember many times Eddie Long would make the statement before an offering "To all the dollar givers out there. You are not going to be blessed if you are only giving a dollar."
So he was making all this money and
molesting black boys
in the background.
So you need to understand that most black churches, especially today, are full of hypocrites, unless they are truly taking care of people, so why waste your time there when you could be exercising and eating right and creating the type of life that you can truly love.
Black Women -- "The True Gatekeepers" in Churches
Many of these pastors and preachers have too many faults and don't deserve to be on the pulpits in the first place. I am not going to blame everything on the pastors and preachers because I know for a fact that the black women (aka "The Real Gatekeepers in these black churches) -- who monitors who can visit the pastors, are also at fault.
Many
will not allow
you to see these pastors or preachers because they think you want to date thes
e men, especially if you are a fairly good looking woman.
When I was in Atlanta and blew the whistle on my job,
"The Cathy Harris Story,"
I went to
fifty (50) black churches
in order to gain justice for my plight.
Only 1 church
reached out to me in my time of need.
My only goal was to stop black women international travelers from having to strip their clothes off in U.S. Customs search rooms all over the country. All I wanted was to give these black women travelers some type of dignity back.
But only one (1) church in Atlanta, GA (the so-called "Black Mecca") helped me move forward and gain justice and I joined her church -- Dr. Barbara King -- a beautiful sister with a beautiful spirit.
When I was in Dallas in 2016 for 8 months, I tried to get an appointment with a local pretty, popular pastor, to highlight free classes and workshops my company, AngelsPress.com was offering.
I especially wanted to educate this group on GMOs, especially since there were only a HANDFUL of black GMO educators in this country. But the ladies upfront in this church told me he could not see me for two (2) months.
Now I knew he had to have assistant pastors, but they never even allowed me to see these men either. And again, this is what goes on all over the country in black churches today.
These women have nothing else to do in their lives but be "gatekeepers" at these churches. And they are not doing anything but "BLOCKING THEIR OWN BLESSINGS."
Progressive Assistant Pastors
Pastors and preachers that are not progressive, only care about
collecting weekly tithes
-- so that they can build even more churches. Some of the assistant pastors or preachers are progressive and are giving classes in churches to teach people how to live, but these are only a very small portion of black churches allowing these teachings.
When these assistant pastors do this -- progressive teachings, other pastors become
jealous of them
or
become "haters"
-- simply because they are
waking people up!
Eventually, because of the jealousy amongst the assistant pastors, the
progressive assistant pastors leave and find another church home, and all his
progressive teachings goes with him. These scenarios are repeated all the time in black churches in communities all over the country.
Churches Are Full of Experts
Most pastors and preachers have
"blocked their members' blessings" in their churches by keeping all these experts
sitting in these churches (and there are plenty of them) away from their members, who actually need them.
You have all these experts
sitting in these churches, who could not only do good things with the members, but also their communities.
- You have financial experts who can form credit unions or grocery stores.
- You have holistic healers and nurses who can teach about health, especially for seniors.
- You have teachers that can teach young people to read.
- You have counselors that can mentor young people.
- You have politicians, who can allocate funds to help black families in the area.
So you have
all these experts that can teach the black family how to take care of themselves, but churches
never utilize these resources. Why--because it's all about the
"Almighty Dollar."
Preparing for the Afterlife
Instead of teaching their members about health, wealth and happiness, some churches even have ministries that deal with
"Preparing for the Afterlife."
So some black churches instead of showing their congregation
how to live
and
survive from day to day
, they are simply
preparing them for the afterlife
-
preparing them to DIE!
So you got people in churches all over the country in black communities
"praying to go to heaven" and
"living in hell on earth" -- how backward is that?
The Highest Paid Professions In the Country
Morticians are slowly becoming one of the
highest
paid businesses out here today, especially in black communities. Black families are attending up to 4 funerals (or more) a month, but many haven't
made a connection
to what
they are eating
(GMOs/Processed Foods) and the a
larming rates of deaths
, especially since churches are  the main c
ulprits
for keeping black people in these destructive types of lifestyles, from the lack of education, where
"Diabetes"
, is the largest killer of black folks today.
Most churches got
 land but they won't even give up the land to grow good, clean, organic foods for their church members or communities.
What we have to do is make a connection to
churches
and
funeral homes
.
Both of these entities are closely associated with each other and they both profit from the death of black folks.
If churches had done right by their members and communities, most black people wouldn't even end up in
funeral homes in the first place.
Also don't forget about
oversized caskets
today, which are also becoming part of the 'new norm' because of the 'obesity epidemic', especially in black communities.
The casket manufacturers, who are making all these oversized caskets, are making a killing...literally.
Again, if churches had done right by their members and communities, all of these black people, especially young folks, would not have ended up dying in the first place. All of these improprieties are taking place simply because of  the ALMIGHTY  DOLLARS that churches want to collect instead of taking care of people.
In 2018, everyone needs to
WAKE UP and
TAKE ACTION
and find new church homes that will start taking care of them, their family and their communities. So join our
www.MobileLearningClubs.com and set these up in your city
.
Like our ancestors use to say
"There is more than one way to skin a cat."
The bottomline is -- if churches won't take care of the black family, then we need to do it ourselves so join us today in our new movement.
New 2018 Movement
"Mobile Learning Clubs"
Press Release
For Immediate Release
Jan. 1, 2018
CONTACT:
Angels Press
Attn: Cathy Harris, CEO and President
P.O. Box 19282
Austin, TX 78760
(512) 909-7365
Cathy Harris Launches 3
rd Movement Within One Year
"Mobile Learning Clubs" for 2018
Cathy will be working with black families to turn their homes and businesses into "learning clubs". She will volunteer to come in and show families how to set up these empowerment events right there in their own homes and businesses by using the meetup.com social media platform or she will be giving consultations by phone.
When Cathy holds "in-home" seminars, workshops, consultations/coaching sessions, she will be offering 40% of her book sales to homeowners and businesses, and others should do the same with their products and services. It's a WIN-WIN for everyone!
She will continue to come up with weekly or bi-weekly action plans for the entire family through monthly Masterminds, Think Tanks and Classrooms, Virtual Summits, Roundtables, Panel Discussions, Symposiums, Town Hall Meetings, Brainstorming Sessions, and other serious meetings and conferences, as she provide communities with the following:
- Goal Setting/Dream Mapping/Vision Boards Workshops
- Personal Development Workshops (Self-Esteem, Etiquette, Grooming/Personal Hygiene, Financial Literacy, Home Buying, Relationship, etc.)
- Parenting Workshops (School Monitors and Tutoring Programs, Home Learning Centers, Neighborhood Bookclubs, Sistahood/Village Neighborhood Watch Programs, Police Interactions 101, etc.)
- Natural and Holistic Health Training (Home, Community and School Gardening Projects, Food Co-ops and Food Coalitions)
- Business Workshops for Youth and Adults
- Blogging, Articles and Non-fiction Book Writing Workshops
- Workplace and Whistleblower Training
- Train the Trainer Workshops
The main focus of this new movement will be health and business opportunities. The goal is to become "100% self-sufficient" in our dealings with each other as we grow and build "legitimate" businesses. We will especially focus on matching up "Baby Boomers" with "Generation X's," "Millennials" and "Generation Z's" for mentorship programs.
Cathy Harris is an Empowerment and Motivational Speaker, Non-GMO Health and Wellness Expert, Advice Columnist at DearCathy.com, Self-Publishing and Business Coach. She is also the author of 25 non-fiction books including 5 health books and 2 business books, and she provides seminars, workshops, webinars and consultations through her speaking and training platforms at
http://www.cathyharrisinternational.com
and can be reach through her empowerment company, Angels Press, CEO, President, Publisher, P.O. Box
19282, Austin, TX 78760, (512) 909-7365, Phone: (512) 909-7365, Website: http://www.AngelsPress.com, Email: [email protected].
Meetup.com Events for
"Mobile Learning Clubs, Austin, TX
FREE Vision Board Party
Jan. 7, 2018, Sunday,
2:00-4:00 p.m. (CST)
Austin, TX
FREE Health Workshop
Jan. 14, 2018, Sunday,
2:00-4:00 p.m (CST)
to those you know in these areas.
Austin, Killeen, San Antonio, Dallas and Houston Mobile Learning Clubs
2017 Movement for
African American Women
"The Essential Women's Movement for African American Women"
2017 Food Movement
"Virtual Organic Garden Clubs" Movement
3 Phases of Food Movement
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Cathy Harris Releases
Book Number 25
Cathy Harris Military Story Released
After 40 Years
- How My Childhood Prepared Me for the Military
- My Duty Stations With Only A Sprinkling of Female Soldiers
- The Plight of Female Soldiers
- The U.S. Army's Abusive Personnel Practices
- Military vs. Federal Government - Similar Abusive Practices
- What is Happening Today with Military Recruitment
- Action Plans for All Families
PREFACE - A NOTE TO THE READER
This book has been in the making for over 40 years. As the author of 25 non-fiction books and because this book would be about pain, I kept putting other books before it. After all who in their right mind, want to be in pain.
However, after 40 years, I felt it was just time, to not just walk through the pain, but to write a book that could not just help me heal from my painful memories, but also a book that could help others that have been left BROKE and BROKEN by the military.
When I signed up to serve my country in the U.S. Army, I was on active duty from Nov. 1, 1977 - May 15, 1981. I was in the FIRST GROUP of women that ever trained alongside of men in the U.S. Army, and believe me it was a total fail -- as you will see as you continue to read this book.
So I guess you can say we we all 'guinea pigs' for the U.S. Army and Department of Defense. Despite some of the obstacles I had to face as a female and African American, I will never forget my time in the military -- my 3 and a half year TOUR OF DUTY.
First of all "I want to thank all veterans for their service." When you go on active duty in the military, no two persons will ever have the same experiences.
For some it might be fun and exciting and for others, it might be a total nightmare, especially during war times so my heart goes out to any soldiers, especially during war times.
This book is about my military story over 40 years ago -- not during war times. The war was the
'internal suffering'
that I experienced alongside of many other male and female soldiers, who served alongside of me.
The atrocities that we experienced and witnessed at the hands of
'out of control'
,
'above the law'
non-commissioned and commissioned officers, who were low and high ranking sergeants and officers, need to be exposed so that healing can finally take place.
We all were brought up with value systems and all we wanted to do was serve our country in a honorable manner, however, at every turn we were met with shame, disappointment and pain.
For many, such as myself, the pain came from the fact that I was a
female
and
African American
. It grew into such a giant force that many soldiers like myself, had no other choice but to
'go along to get along'
-- just to be able to complete our tour of duty.
Instead of looking at a career in the military, because of the unlawfulness that we faced daily, our only goals were to get back home and bring our lives back to some sense of normalcy. Enjoy reading!
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Are You Ready to Make
Your Dream Come True of
Writing A Book?
How To Write A Book: The Complete Guide
To Writing and Publishing Your Own
Paperback and E-book
Available as E-book, Paperback & Audiobook
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AUDIOBOOK
HOW TO WRITE A BOOK by CathyHarrisInternational.com
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Audiobook Available at:
Itunes.com
Available as E-book and Paperback
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Cathy Harris Audiobooks
Also available as E-books & Paperbacks
Audiobook Sample
Available at:
Itunes.com
Audiobook Sample
Available at:
Itunes.com
Audiobook Sample
Available at:
Itunes.com
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Cathy Harris List of Books
12 year olds and above...
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Available at
All e-books and paperback books 50% off until Feb. 1, 2018.
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Find Cathy Harris on Social Media
Join Cathy's Groups on Facebook.com
Join Cathy's Meetup.com Groups
All Books are Available at AngelsPress.com
Brought To You By
AngelsPress.com
Cathy Harris
Empowerment and Motivational Speaker,
Non-GMO Health and Wellness Expert, Advice Columnist at DearCathy.com, Self-Publishing and Business Coach and author of 25non-fiction books at
Cathy Harris, Speaker, Author, Coach
Angels Press, CEO, President, Publisher
P.O. Box 19282
Austin, TX 78760
(512) 909-7365
(Seminars, Workshops, Coaching)
(Empowerment & Publishing Company)
(Advice Columnist)
(The Cathy Harris Story)
"We Can Sit Back and Watch As the World Goes By
or We Can Find Opportunities To Make It Better."
....Cathy Harris
Send This E-newsletter to
Everyone You Know
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