Women, arise and shine-we're on display

By Apostle Caroll
aka Na’Me NaM’e

When I originally was asked to write these truths about what we in Fort Wayne “believe” to be “church,” I was amazed. I simply spoke a truth that a lot of people wouldn’t. I was in the print shop talking about these articles when a customer said, “They just want to continue to live as the churches and go along, even though it’s wrong.” People, if you’re not, you should be tired of all this fake and phony Christianity and leadership that is not about Christ at all.

On July 25, I preached in Lima, Ohio for a most “Godly inspired” program called Sista To Sister, sponsored by Fort Wayne’s own Sister Joanne Howard. The women speakers arose, shined and were on display for God. The truth was told about how we women sometimes are lied upon and blackballed within the church body. I myself have had bad occasions to be lied on in my own church body. I’ve been asked why I wear gloves and a hat; I’ve been accused of wanting someone’s husband (and he’s the one who told the lie); mistreated, alienated and so on. And as I said in a previous article, a certain “Bishop Wrong” told me, “Shut your trap” because he had a new version of what the Bible says—the Bible according to Bishop Wrong.

He proceeded to ask me for my birth date and for those of my children— how old the oldest was and how young the youngest was—and asked if I had “been in an accident.” Wow! How do you connect this with God? All this happened on the same day I met him. When I told him, yes, I’d been in an accident and expected a certain settlement, he then replied, “Me and my wife would sure like to get some of that money.”

Now let me rewind the tape. This is the same bishop who said, “There’s no apostles,” “Women can’t be apostles” and “shut your trap! If you keep running your mouth…” Yet, here he was asking me for a “tithe” to him—a man who needs to be taught himself to speak God’s absolutes and not his own.

“Well, I guess I couldn’t send you any money because I’d have to make the check out as ‘Apostle Caroll’ and you don’t believe in women apostles, remember,” I replied. He said he didn’t care whose name was on the check that I’d give him—as long as he could cash it! Boy, “Slick Willie Jones” is alive and breathing in the church body.

The love of money will make you compromise your beliefs— just like a lot of these pastors in Fort Wayne. (We’ll talk more on that in a future article, but for the moment, I’m talking especially about those pastors who hire people for their talents, using God’s money to promote “good ol’ times” for the sake of having music. That’s another tradition that needs to be destroyed in the church body.)

Back to Bishop Wrong and his self-made “wisdomatic” doctrines based on him… When he spoke so eloquently like Satan in the Garden of Eden to Eve, I had to laugh. He wanted me to believe that God told him that we can’t be saved without speaking in tongues and wouldn’t get to heaven if we don’t speak in tongues. (Refer back to last week’s article on Bishop Wrong’s absolute.) Please someone in the reading audience, find in the Bible that quote he tried to pass off as the Word of God and e-mail it to us! Remember, I’m just a women in his eyesight.

Now don’t get me wrong. Bishop Wrong did tell some truth—or let the cat out of the bag. While he’s trying to “help” our church body,” he himself has had not one, but three, breakups, breakdowns, start overs or collapses of his own churches, as he said it. With his own misconceptions of the Word, I’m not surprised at all. I refer you back to an old issue of the blind leading the blind—and here’s an example.

Yet, he did give me a compliment on my attire and wanted to know where I got it. His wife was so sweet and dressed beautifully in gold, too. I offered to shop for her to get that look for less, as I do. But, I found one of his “Color Purple” attitudes on women. God let me know she doesn’t wear hats, so I asked her, “Ma’am, you don’t wear hats. Am I correct?” She said, “No, I don’t like to wear them but he wants me to!” “Oh, Archie,” says Edith Bunker whenever he so “masculinely” shoves his stern and firm ideas down her throat as if she had no mind of her own. Now, ladies, I’m not feminist or women’s libber, but if I don’t wear hats, you’re not shoving one on my head. Isn’t this 2009? Le me check my calendar. “Mister ‘Off-Color Purple’ done ‘comed’ back! Yes sir!” Bishop Wrong, like many other pastors and you know who you are—you’re just plain wrong!”

People, let’s pray for a change and right mind among these leaders of the church body. Lord, let them be redeemed or removed for the Kingdom’s sake. (Job 34:24- 27) And, destroy that “old boys club” mentality to cover up wrong. Be blessed, fruitful and about God’s business.

This is part of the August 5, 2009 online edition of Frost Illustrated.

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