# Jamal Bryant To Head New Birth In Atl



## Laela (Nov 21, 2018)

By Shelia M. Poole, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  

Jamal H. Bryant knew it was time to leave the Northwest Baltimore church he founded 18 years ago.

Under his leadership, Empowerment Temple had grown from 47 members to 10,000.

With that came a vibrant community ministry that included education, housing, health care and voter registration programs.

Bryant broke the news to his congregation on Sunday.

He told them he was leaving, but didn’t reveal that it was because he was taking over as the new senior pastor at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia.

“The news did not go over well, at all,” Bryant said in an extensive interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday morning. “There was a great gnashing of teeth. Nobody was expecting it.”

So, why go?

He had a message from God that “this is not your church; it belongs to the people. I had a sense of ownership that had leaped into entitlement. I began to think this (Empowerment Temple) is me, but God tapped me on the shoulder and said hold on. Not so fast.

“I had no reason to leave Baltimore but for the prompting of God,” he said.

Bryant was one of 138 people vying for New Birth senior pastor, a position once held by another charismatic preacher, Bishop Eddie L. Long.

He discussed the move with his father, John Richard Bryant, a retired presiding bishop in the AME Church, who told him that when God called him to preach “he didn’t call you to a demonination, he called you to service. That meant the world to me as a third-generation AME.”

The Lithonia megachurch congregation had already been through so much. Long, an influential and controversial figure, died in 2017 after a battle with an aggressive cancer. Long’s successor, Bishop Stephen A. Davis, resigned a little more than a year after taking office. Even before then, the church had lost members after a sexual abuse scandal involving Long rocked the church in 2010.

Bryant has made no secret of his own past. He’s admitted to an extra-marital affair when he was married to his ex-wife, Gizelle Bryant, star of “Real Housewives of Potamac.”

” Yes, he made some mistakes in life, but he’s learned from them and grown to understand he has to move forward,” said Thomas W. Dortch Jr., an Atlanta businessman and chairman of New Birth’s board. “If you can’t find redemption in the church, then where do you find it?”

Bryant wants to build on New Birth’s legacy of community involvement, but first he has to earn the trust of its members.

The DeKalb County megachurch needs “healing and direction,” he said. “We’ve got to rebuild trust and bring the church collective through the greiving process that I don’t believe they have really gone through. It’s just been shock after shock. They don’t need a speaker, but a shepherd to help lead and guide.”

“I’m pleased,” said Tracy Johnson, who has been a New Birth member for more than 20 years. “I believe he’s that pastor who will reignite the fire that New Birth had for a long time.”

Dortch calls Bryant a “visionary.”

“The good thing about Pastor Bryant is he connects well with people and he’s committed,” Dortch said. ” I think with this announcement we have energized the church. He wants to take New Birth to the next level. He’s his own person. We were not looking for another Eddie Long.”

Bryant, 46, will preach his first sermon as New Birth’s senior pastor on Dec. 9. In the meantime, he is meeting with staff and hopes to soon develop a transition team. Bryant has also presented a proposal for more than 240 acres of land that the church owns. He declined to say what’s included in the proposal.

Dortch said the board had asked applicants to come up with solutions to reduce $31 million in debt. Part of that likely involves the use of the additional land.

“He didn’t come in talking off the cuff,” he said.

“This is one guy who’s an architect for religion.”

The relationship between Bryant and Long goes back many years.

Bryant’s father would sometimes preach during revivals when New Birth was located on Snapfinger Road.

And Long paid for the final two years of Bryant’s Morehouse education, he said. They are also members of the same fraternity — Kappa Alpha Psi.

“Bishop Long was larger than life to all young preachers,” said Bryant, who delivered his first sermon in Baltimore when he was 18. “I was not afraid of Bishop Long. I was an admirer and a fan.”

In fact, Bryant drew laughs Monday night at New Birth, when he talked about all the young preachers who used to try to emulate Long’s flashy style with his pumped-up biceps and tight muscle shirts and sleeveless jackets.


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## Black Ambrosia (Nov 21, 2018)

I’m surprised New Birth is still around after everything Long did. Was Bryant in a scandal of his own? My visceral response was negative but I’m not sure why.


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## momi (Nov 21, 2018)

I don't have anything nice to say so.....  

Prayerfully JHB has repented and is dedicated to rebuilding both his and New Birth's reputation.


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## Shimmie (Nov 21, 2018)

Hmmmm.  Okay.   *shrugs*

The glory should be on God, not Bryant.

Thanks @Laela for sharing this.       I was wondering why this was on the news.  Your post cleared up it for me.     

My thoughts...  I mean...why is Bryant being made into such a 'huge' story?  So what.   Pastors move / relocate everyday as do other normal human beings.   Bryant is not my estimate of 'special'.   I just don't trust him.


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## Laela (Nov 21, 2018)

I'd posted this because I came across it in the news at the time.. @Shimmie, I agree, so what.. lol  But because I live in Georgia, it was a relevant story . pardon me.. not my intent to make this guy more than he is supposed to be and the glory indeed belongs to God.


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## Shimmie (Nov 21, 2018)

Laela said:


> I'd posted this because I came across it in the news at the time.. @Shimmie, I agree, so what.. lol  But because I live in Georgia, it was a relevant story . pardon me.. not my intent to make this guy more than he is supposed to be and the glory indeed belongs to God.


Oh... no @Laela.    I was referring to the news in general.   He's been 'the talk' of many.   One of my sisters in Christ mentioned this last night.  So that's my response was in reference to.   I'm glad you posted this.  The information is very helpful.


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## momi (Nov 21, 2018)

Laela said:


> I'd posted this because I came across it in the news at the time.. @Shimmie, I agree, so what.. lol  But because I live in Georgia, it was a relevant story . pardon me.. not my intent to make this guy more than he is supposed to be and the glory indeed belongs to God.



@Laela - I live in Atlanta and trust me the Bryan't appointment is a HUGE deal.  I considered posting the story but meant to check ET to see if it had already been posted. For months people have been speculating on who would lead New Birth once Long's replacement left.  Marvin Sapp, Neil Ellis, John Gray... so many other names had been thrown around so it was a surprise when Bryant was "selected."


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## Iwanthealthyhair67 (Nov 30, 2018)

^^I had heard about it as well, was hoping that it wouldn't be him when I heard the list of names but anyway it is what it is.


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## LivingInPeace (Nov 30, 2018)

If it is true that this man cheated on his wife and has had out of wedlock children with congregants while being a pastor, how could he get another job as the pastor of a church? Are there no standards for the job other than being a man?


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## momi (Nov 30, 2018)

Iwanthealthyhair67 said:


> ^^I had heard about it as well, was hoping that it wouldn't be him when I heard the list of names but anyway it is what it is.



I'm sorry but your post made me literally lol.


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## momi (Nov 30, 2018)

LivingInPeace said:


> If it is true that this man cheated on his wife and has had out of wedlock children with congregants while being a pastor, how could he get another job as the pastor of at a church? Are there no standards for the job other than being a man?



That's what I'd like to know. Apparently people don't read the bible because the requirements are clear.

_Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a *good reputation* with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.  1 Timothy
_
I am not saying the Lord cannot use a man after he has sinned, but there should be clear signs of repentance and turning from the behavior that led to the situation in the first place.


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## Laela (Nov 30, 2018)

Thanks to post that scriptural reminder @momi. I supposed he's still single and not engaged and what not? That's a precarious situation. Here's an article that also addresses the matter:
________________________________________

*Should Divorced Men Such as Dr. Jamal Bryant, Newly Named New Birth Missionary Baptist Church Pastor, Be Allowed in the Pulpit?*

Hello World,

Now that Season 3 of OWN’s “Greenleaf” is over until next season, I’m back to finding my religious drama and intrigue in real life! LOL.

Last week, Atlanta was abuzz with the news that Dr. Jamal Bryant, founding pastor of Empowerment Temple, an A.M.E.  megachurch of about 10,000 members in Baltimore, Maryland was leaving his church to be the new pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, which also has about 10,000 members, in Lithonia, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. He will preach is first sermon at New Birth on Sunday, Dec. 9.

The announcement has people talking for many reasons. One of those reasons is that Bryant’s tenure comes after the death of the controversial church founder Bishop Eddie L. Long, who passed away in January 2017 after battling cancer. Prior to his death, he wrote about his life in his memoir “The Untold Story – The Story of Adversity, Pain, and Resilience.”  In a previous blog post about this memoir, I wrote, “Is Bishop Long going to address what really happened with those young men who accused him of sexual misconduct as their claims were settled out of court and why he settled? That’s all people want to know at this point!” What is ironic about that post, which I wrote in 2016, is that the post was about Bishop Long AND Pastor Jamal Bryant. Here is a link to the post “Bishop Eddie Long Releases New Book ‘The Untold Story’ While Pastor Jamal Bryant Sidesteps Paternity Claim Today… What Are The Biblical Requirements for a Pastor?” I had no idea that two years later that these two men who be forever linked by last week’s announcement.

And that blog post brings me to another reason why people are talking about Bryant being named pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. Even without all of the Bishop Long controversy, Pastor Bryant has enough controversy that he can claim on his own – from a fairly recent out-of-wedlock paternity allegation to the admission of infidelity in his previous marriage to Gizelle Bryant, one of the stars of “The Real Housewives of Potomac.” He was dating R&B singer Tweet but I guess they have broken up because I haven’t heard anything about them still being together. He referred to her as his “Last Lady” in the clip.

Below are a few comments I saw on New Birth’s Facebook page following the announcement last week:

_“New Birth still has members?”_

_“WoW I’m shocked they gave it to Jamal with all the scandals he been through…but no man is perfect and I wish him the best.”_

_“Facts: No pastor wants the debt associated with NB! It will take a name to fill the seats & ‘encourage’ people to give! We are all flawed & human! However, for the church’s sake, i pray there’s real accountability worked into his contract! Literally, he just left court on stalking charges! There’s a pattern of poor judgment! I’m just gonna pray!”_

_ “Plenty of women to choose from.”_

_“Wow, I can’t believe these are Christians on the church website with this garbage. Talking about men of God like we are talking about Love and Hip Hop! Messy!!! Truly I wish that Pastor Bryant would not even go down there in this mess. Because he is loved and wanted at Empowerment Temple and ALL over the country. Half of the people on here don’t support the church financially or spirituality. The way our world is today we better, get our lives together. We don’t know when the Lord’s going to call us home. Please stop being so quick to point out what we think is somebody else faults and get our own selves in order. NB congregation on your new appointed Pastor. Pastor Jamal, love you! I will be praying for you and supporting you the same as I did at ET. I believe in you and the God we serve.”_

_“Episode of Greenleaf Coming!!!!”_

_“So he switching denominations!?”

SOURCE: After The Altar Call_


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## momi (Nov 30, 2018)

@Laela - wow the author brought up Pastor Stanley... he is a very prominent Atlanta pastor and father of Andy Stanley.  I remember his church experienced some turmoil after he and his wife divorced. Thankfully the dust settled and Pastor Stanley was never caught up in further scandal.   That's the difference between Stanley and Jamal Bryant - with JB there has been scandal after scandal and there is a huge difference between New Birth's and First Baptist's (Stanley's church) congregations. One seems to be acquainted with public scandal... the other not so much.

Will New Birth rise above it's scandalous ashes like a Phoenix?  We shall see.


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## Iwanthealthyhair67 (Dec 3, 2018)

real life Green Leaf


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## Laela (Dec 3, 2018)

Someone online said "Same pimpin', different pulpit" I almost fell out.. 



Iwanthealthyhair67 said:


> real life Green Leaf


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## Iwanthealthyhair67 (Dec 4, 2018)

Laela said:


> Someone online said "Same pimpin', different pulpit" I almost fell out..



that IS funny ....seriously though it's unfortunate that people view some pastors in that way, it's almost like there is nothing that they can do to redeem themselves.  I think they should sit down for a season and come back or not come back at all, but they love 'being on stage' so much they wont step down, they do serious harm to the body of Christ.


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## Transformer (Dec 4, 2018)

Why did the temp minister and his white wife leave?


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## Loving (Dec 4, 2018)

momi said:


> @Laela - wow the author brought up Pastor Stanley... he is a very prominent Atlanta pastor and father of Andy Stanley.  I remember his church experienced some turmoil after he and his wife divorced. Thankfully the dust settled and Pastor Stanley was never caught up in further scandal.   That's the difference between Stanley and Jamal Bryant - with JB there has been scandal after scandal and there is a huge difference between New Birth's and First Baptist's (Stanley's church) congregations. One seems to be acquainted with public scandal... the other not so much.
> 
> Will New Birth rise above it's scandalous ashes like a Phoenix?  We shall see.


I didn't know that Charles Stanley got divorced...


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## justruth (Dec 4, 2018)

Transformer said:


> Why did the temp minister and his white wife leave?


Bishop Davis was already pastor of New Birth Birmingham and would leave right after service at New Birth Lithonia to go back to his other church.  He said it was too much for him to handle, I also think there was some tension with some of the church leadership.


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## Transformer (Dec 4, 2018)

justruth said:


> Bishop Davis was already pastor of New Birth Birmingham and would leave right after service at New Birth Lithonia to go back to his other church.  He said it was too much for him to handle, I also think there was some tension with some of the church leadership.



My sister lives in Atlanta but doesn’t attend these churches.  She stated the good Bishop has since started. Different church in Atlanta after telling everyone the commute was too much.  Also there was talk that his wife was uncomfortable with the lack of  race diversity.

I just can’t belive the good Bishop is straight.


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## justruth (Dec 4, 2018)

Bishop Davis' wife never seemed comfortable and did not seem to me that people were that fond of her either.


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## momi (Dec 5, 2018)

Loving said:


> I didn't know that Charles Stanley got divorced...



It's been years... probably close to 20 years ago.  I believe that is why his relationship with Andy Stanley was strained at one point, but I believe all is well now.


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## momi (Dec 5, 2018)

justruth said:


> Bishop Davis was already pastor of New Birth Birmingham and would leave right after service at New Birth Lithonia to go back to his other church.  He said it was too much for him to handle, I also think there was some tension with some of the church leadership.



From my understanding, there was a group that wanted to see EL's son take on the role which probably led to the tension...


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## justruth (Dec 5, 2018)

momi said:


> From my understanding, there was a group that wanted to see EL's son take on the role which probably led to the tension...



I believe this is true that many wanted Edward to become the pastor of New Birth.  He centered his message on this very topic this past Sunday, the fact that he feels he was passed over for the role twice.


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## Loving (Dec 5, 2018)

momi said:


> It's been years... probably close to 20 years ago.  I believe that is why his relationship with Andy Stanley was strained at one point, but I believe all is well now.


Yeah, I remember reading about their rocky relationship at one point, but had no idea this was the source.


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## momi (Dec 5, 2018)

justruth said:


> I believe this is true that many wanted Edward to become the pastor of New Birth.  He centered his message on this very topic this past Sunday, the fact that he feels he was passed over for the role twice.



Really?  Wow that's pretty candid for a Sunday service.

What are your thoughts?  Do you feel he has a "birthright" to assume the lead pastor role?


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## justruth (Dec 5, 2018)

momi said:


> Really?  Wow that's pretty candid for a Sunday service.
> 
> What are your thoughts?  Do you feel he has a "birthright" to assume the lead pastor role?



Indeed quite candid for Sunday service, but very real!  He does not seem bitter at all and says that he supports the committee's decision, but nevertheless felt that passed over twice.  I do not feel that Edward has a "birthright" to the lead pastor role, but at the same time I believe he is quite capable of leading New Birth.  I am of a certain age and just do not believe in entitlement period.  Will remain cautiously optimistic as Pastor Bryant comes in and I hope Edward remains at New Birth.  I know he spends lots of time at the Dream Center.


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## momi (Dec 5, 2018)

justruth said:


> Indeed quite candid for Sunday service, but very real!  He does not seem bitter at all and says that he supports the committee's decision, but nevertheless felt that passed over twice.  I do not feel that Edward has a "birthright" to the lead pastor role, but at the same time I believe he is quite capable of leading New Birth.  I am of a certain age and just do not believe in entitlement period.  Will remain cautiously optimistic as Pastor Bryant comes in and I hope Edward remains at New Birth.  I know he spends lots of time at the Dream Center.



Thanks - I appreciate your perspective.


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## Iwanthealthyhair67 (Dec 13, 2018)

So his first sermon was titled 'Bite Me' , taken from the book of Acts referencing Paul's snake biting


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## Laela (Dec 13, 2018)

^^Thanks for the reminder...Bite Me?? I just went to YT to watch.. so he starts out speaking on Bram Stoker and Dracula (as a point of reference).. oookay. Help us, Lord!

I agree with that commenter:




 Helper Mann  4 days ago
Bite Me??........ That title is straight flesh

60


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## Iwanthealthyhair67 (Dec 21, 2018)

Laela said:


> ^^Thanks for the reminder...Bite Me?? I just went to YT to watch.. so he starts out speaking on Bram Stoker and Dracula (as a point of reference).. oookay. Help us, Lord!
> 
> I agree with that commenter:
> 
> ...




I read the comments too, ITA

and the crowd went wild when he announced the topic


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## momi (Dec 23, 2018)

Iwanthealthyhair67 said:


> So his first sermon was titled 'Bite Me' , taken from the book of Acts referencing Paul's snake biting



I can’t help but to think the title was a subliminal message to his critics.


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## Shimmie (Dec 23, 2018)

momi said:


> I can’t help but to think the title was a subliminal message to his critics.


Subliminal... not at all.    He said what he said and meant it to mean exactly what it says, "Bite Me".  

He needs to remember, how pride comes before a fall.   He is a prideful demon tilted on a cliff.   One swift wind and he's over.    There'll be a scandal, it's inevitable, for him.  He thinks he's invincible, untouchable, a crowned being.  I just feel badly for the Church members who have to suffer from more disgrace in leadership.


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## MzRhonda (Dec 23, 2018)

Laela said:


> Someone online said "Same pimpin', different pulpit" I almost fell out..


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## Laela (Dec 24, 2018)

ITA .. it's a message to his critics.. 


momi said:


> I can’t help but to think the title was a subliminal message to his critics.


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