When Kandi Burruss released her track “Stay Prayed Up” featuring Marvin Sapp recently, while it did great on the iTunes charts, it received some mixed reviews from everyday folks. Some loved the track for its honesty and pushing the message that prayer changes things, while others were a bit more distracted by the fact that sex toy selling Burruss was the messenger. It’s always something, right? But Kandi wasn’t the only one catching heat, as famed gospel singer and pastor Marvin Sapp almost got told off by fans on his Facebook page. One particular individual questioned his motivations for doing the song, and asked him if he was teaching a “watered down version of the word” in his church. All of that didn’t sit too well with Pastor Sapp, so he decided to get his bible study on with this person and let her know that with all the judgment people are trying to put on Kandi and him, they’re missing the important message of persuading people to talk to God, which was the true motivation behind their collaboration. Check out the exchange below:

“Mr Sapp, I was a big fan of yours however as a Christian I’m a bit confused about your motivation to record the record prayed up. I intentionally watched you on the HOA and was taken back by your conversation with Kandi at the studio. You continued to tell her not to try to explain herself, and that she didn’t have to apologize etc. I’m just wondering is this the watered down version of the word you are teaching in your church? The bible says “my people perish because of a lack of knowledge.” It also says “GOD would rather that we be hot or cold.” Not trying to come off as judgmental but this is the type of thing that makes the church look no different than the world. So fed up with this new concept of stooping to the worlds standards to reach souls Jesus hung out in places with sinners to reach them but HE never comprised GIS standards nor GOD’s word. Kandi is motivated by money just wondering what’s your motivation?”

And here’s Pastor Sapp’s thoughts on this individual’s concerns:

“Usually I don’t respond to people about things like this however I must this time. The problem with many in the church is 1.) that we major in minors and 2.) ignorant (not well studied) of scripture. Lets deal with the first, This woman who was an ex R&B singer that sells sex toys and live with her man decided on a show that reaches 10 million viewers per showing (believers and unbelievers) to sing about,,,, Not sex toys, drugs or living with a man but PRAYER!!!!!! and the saints are upset. The lyric says, “I stay prayed up, that gets me by, that how I made it through my darkest time, see I’m a sinner and thats no lie, but thank God my prayers are heard because he knows I try” Wow!!!!! nothing elicit or comprising about the lyric…. So lets look at how Jesus dealt with the sinner….. From my study of scripture the only people he checked was the church (religious people of that day) however the sinner he consistently showed COMPASSION!!!!!!! Examples…… Woman caught in the ACT of adultery Also the Woman at the well……. Never exposed them publicly, dealt with them privately. We as believer major in minors…… So caught up in the messenger that we are missing the message “Staying Prayed UP”. Now I close with this…Everyone that God used in scripture was flawed and or had struggles…. Let me call the roll….. Moses was a murderer, Rahab was a harlet (Slore), David was a murder/adulter and still considered a man after Gods own heart, Peter was a cutting cusser however was in the inner circle of Jesus, Paul was a murderer and made many blaspheme against God however wrote 2/3 of the NT, He spoke through a Donkey and if we decide to be quite rocks will cry out… We say we are christians which means being Christ-like but question peoples motives that model his behavior….The bible speaks about witnessing and that you need to be wise to win souls and Paul says I became all things to all men that I might win some…. Compromise was never done here nor do I condone her life style or life choices and keeping 100 you don’t know the off camera conversation we had. Again big picture 10 million people at 1 time were challenged to PRAY in difficult times WOW!!!! Thats Awesome and Ministy….. PS Didn’t spell check because I’m late to a meeting…. Be Blessed”

Good points. What do you think of his response?

You know who shouldn’t have Facebook accounts? Born-again fundamentalist Christians.

I say this in jest, but sometimes, reading what overtly-religious people post online, I think to myself, disconnecting their Internet might not be such a bad idea. I mean, you can call me a Prayer Hater but why does everybody have to be forced to listen to or be dragged into your personal prayer time with the man upstairs?

I like to call these folks the virtual church lady. Generally speaking, some of them are friends, some are our great-aunts and heck, truth be told, some of you are the virtual church lady.  At 9 a.m. in the morning, she has updated her status or tweeted that she is reading the Bible. At 10:42 a.m., she has updated several more times about how she is now reading and reflecting on Matthew 6:5-8. At 3 p.m. she has pulled a Juanita Bynum and has unleashed several status updates written in tongues. And by 6 p.m., she has drafted a lengthy prayer passage about how much she worships at the throne of Jesus and how the rest of us will burn in hell if we don’t love him too.

But her Facebook prophesying doesn’t stop there. Outside of her own statuses, the virtual church lady likes to tag you in pictures of photo shopped Jesus petting lambs and playing ring around the rosary beads with small children. She also likes to share her love for the Lord on your own statuses, even when you’re not talking about religion at all. Even when you’re talking about something random like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. You’ll write something mundane like, “I hate when you make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and then realize that you are out of jelly.” She will be the first to comment, “WHO NEEDS JELLY WHEN YOU HAVE OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST HALLELUJAH JESUS IS THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA PRAISE HIM…JESUS IS THE ONLY JAM I NEED.” Oh, did I mention that the church lady loves the caps lock key an0d thinks that punctuation is the work of the devil?  

Most times the church lady is harmless enough – as harmless as you updating the world about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. However, sometimes she crosses the line and can be closed minded and hypocritical, if not downright vicious. She thinks gay people are an abomination and will openly pray that God will besmirch them. She thinks that single women (especially single mothers) are manipulative immorality whores, even though she too is single. She feels that anyone who refuses to see the light as they, in particular, have portrayed it is deserving of widespread damnation. And if you try to calmly remind the virtual church lady that God also said to Love Thy Neighbors as Thyself, she will get utterly belligerent, using a lot of exclamation points and sometimes using some very unsanctified language – and then publicly ask the Lord for forgiveness as this heathen is trying to “separate” her from her “righteous” path.

Source: repentgospelartists.blogspot.com

Yesterday, I caught up on one of the few reality tv shows I can still stand, Mary Mary. Some folks were very skeptical of the show because the sisters,  the stars of the show, Erica and Tina, are gospel singers. I guess people didn’t want to see these two acting a fool on tv. I was skeptical too, but only because I thought it was going to be boring. But that’s not the case. The show, though it lacks the drama we see on Basketball Wives and The Real Housewives of Atlanta, is still very entertaining. Kind of like the Braxtons but with a lot less foolishness and infidelity.

In one of the more recent episodes Erica and Tina decided they were going to have a girls getaway with their other sisters and sisters-in-law. (They come from a large family.) Erica, the more mild-mannered sister, who was also pregnant at the time, suggested that while they were away in Palm Springs,  they take a pole dancing class. Well, Tina, who is kind of hot-headed and feisty, was not having it. Despite Erica trying to convince her that it was just a workout with she and her sisters, Tina couldn’t get past the sexual connotation and even more importantly, she didn’t want to deal with the fact that the Christian community would throw major shade.

I remember watching the show and thinking well “gospel singer” is another career I can cross off my “occupations I couldn’t do” list. Really, the list is full of all types of jobs that would require me to be too much in the public eye because people, and for some ironic reason specifically church people, can be too mean spirited and judgmental.

When I was younger, I got to see the good and the bad when it came to church. I went to one where the message wasn’t fulfilling, the people were unwelcoming, petty and insanely judgmental and the church wasn’t meeting the needs of the community. And then when I got older I went to one that was the complete opposite. The latter church and the people in it, nurtured me and instructed me in a kind and loving environment. So I know how church should and shouldn’t be. Which is why it always saddens me when I think about the reputation “the church,” and let’s be real, “the black church” gets just because the people who rep it so hard, don’t know how to act like the Jesus they claim to worship. It breaks my heart to hear people claim that they’re done with church, although they believe in God, because the people inside the building have no act right whatsoever.

It breaks my heart because 1.) I know they’re telling the truth and 2.) because I know not all churches are like that and 3.)because God does not want his people out here dissuading others from entering his house. If any group of people are supposed to be accepting and warm, it’s supposed to be Christians; but far too often, that’s not the case. And that’s a shame.

While I could understand Tina’s reasons for not getting on the pole, it’s a shame that she, as a gospel artist, a woman who makes a living glorifying God, would even have to consider what other religious people might have to say about her working out on a metal bar. Sometimes…no a lot of times, it’s people’s own perversion that make them condemn others. If you’re the type of person who can’t look at a pole and not think about a woman taking her clothes off, then it’s not something you should be burdening other people with, that sounds like more of a personal problem.

More on Madame Noire!

• Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind the Making of “What’s Love Got to Do With It”
• Where Are They Now? The Cast of “Family Matters”
• Can We Ever Get The Black Family Sitcom Back?
• Ratch on Ratch on Ratch: 6 Questions I Need Answered About Basketball Wives’
• The Mane Balancing Act: Exercising And Your Hair
• What’s Love Got To Do With It? Things You Really Need To Make A Relationship Work
• Post-Baby Fab: Fantasia Shows Off New Curves, New Hair & New Colorful Look