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Thanks for the comments about the new show. Jawn Murray is one of the panelist and added a great deal of information and personal insight into the topic. "Should Secular Artist Sing Gospel Music", you must see the interaction with Jawn and Dottie Peoples. It was great television.

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I've attaended Let's Talk Church tapings before and it is always interesting to me to hear views from the different gospel artist, preachers, pastors industry executives etc. THANK YOU DR. JONES for providint this platform for us! Continue to do what you do it is appreciated!

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"Let's Talk Church" is destined to be a HIT on BETJ. Congratulations Ambassador!

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Hello All. I attended the Artist Retreat in Las Vegas and was privileged to be a part of one of the,"Lets Talk Church Panels". I am so glad to see the show return. Every topic was so captivating and wonderfully put together. God Bless Dr Jones for his vision and BetJ for Hosting the shows. I think the viewers will be excited about its return.
Jawn Murray your articles are the best! Be blessed!

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I remember the tapings from the fore-running "Let's Talk Church" shows and all were great topics but this year at the retreat, Dr Ambassador Jones outdid himself with the topics which generated much excitement and participation among the studio audience. It was awesome! Kudos Dr Jones. The telecast can't begin soon enough for me. Taping those segments were really a highpoint of my participation this year. I am already looking forward to our May gathering! BET J, you will be pleased with these shows. Trust me!

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Dr. Jones is the man, he is to Black Gospel and BET what Dick Clark was to pop culture and ABC with American Bandstand (yes I'm that old).

I attended the Retreat and was blown away with the substance of the panels, the interaction with the audience and the excellence of the performing talent.

The Dottie People -Jawn Murray dialogue was hilarious, but truthful and I enjoyed hearing the younger artists discuss the Contemporary vs. Traditional gospel dialogue.

Jlw

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I caught a taping of a 2008 show, the topic being should woman be in the pulpit. It is amazing how people think thatit is alright to interpret the Bible. The Bible stands alone in its harmony and agreement. People have problems with the Bible, not because of inconsistencies, but because of private interpretation. The Apostle warned, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:20-21).
In reference to "should woman be in the pulpit" I would say the Bible spells it out very clearly. Some people look at a couple of verses in the New Testament about a woman's place in the worship service and wonder if she is capable of understanding things on the same level as a man. Ladies, if you think that, then not only are you misinformed about what God reveals about your spiritual capacity, you could be in grave danger spiritually.
Women, do you wonder, if your lot in life is "simply" (often not simple) to feed the family, bear children and maintain the home, why you need to apply yourself spiritually? Does God put you, simply because of your gender, at an intellectual or even spiritual disadvantage?
1 Corinthians 14:33-35,40 relates what the spiritual admonitions of the woman's place in Church government is: "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church...Let all things be done decently and in order."
"Under obedience" means it is "a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden."
That does not reflect on a woman's intellectual or spiritual capacity. The context is things being done orderly in the Church, that women are not to be preaching in the Church. This is simply how God decided that our spiritual warfare must be organized.
"Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence" (1 Timothy 2:11-12). Again, she is not to teach in the Church, but she is to learn!
Women have just as much need to develop spiritually as men do. As verses 9 and 10 illustrate, their spiritual understanding and godly character are the most significant part of what makes them beautiful.
1 Peter 3:3-5 describe a woman's spirituality as her "immortal beauty".
Solomon wrote: As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion [understanding, reason]" Proverbs 11:22.
God intended for women to have a tremendous spiritual impact on men. This is a fundamental reason why God created women: to help men build spiritual character. Proverbs 12:4 says, "A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband..." 1 Peter 3:1-2 show that a wife can have a significant impact on an unconverted husband by her actions.
Consider God's ititial purpose in creating woman: "And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man be alone; I will make him an help meet for him" (Genesis 2:18). So the first and primary purpose of marriage is to make man and woman complete. Each is incomlete without the other. Man alone was not able to fulfill the purpose for which God created him, was not able to learn the lessons of character which God intended, and so God created the woman as a help to the man.
Though men were assigned the role of preaching in the Church and aiding the character development of the members in this manner, the woman was created to aid directly the spiritual character of the man. What's more, as Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:15, "she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety". Though not preaching, she is bearing children, and has the responsibility to teach them to continue in faith, love and holiness. She is contributing to their character development. That is a God-Ordained role!
Modern women might bristle at the words wife, mother and homemaker, thinking them menial and unimportant, God designed that role to be one of the most spiritually influential positions a human being could be in. (Look at what Hannah saw, she knew she had the greatest career God had to offer...Look at the influence two women, Lois & Eunice, had on Timothy...Through Hannah, God reared a prophet...Mary birthed and raised the Word of God in the flesh. These responsibilites could not have been given to reckless women! Women who couldn't think deeply about God's Word, women who didn't know how to mentally stimulate a child!
Women in God's Church don't "preach," but they have the capacity and spiritual means to contribute to the preaching that their husbands, sons or grandsons do as organized by God's government.
A woman, as God created her, is an asset, a help, a co-worker, a companion, and an intellectual giant is she realizes her God-given role and develops those abilities.
Something to think about: What if women like Hannah, Mary, Deborah, Eunice, Lois and Bathsheba had this attitude: I'm "just" a wife..."just" a mother. I don't need to know these deep spiritual things. I'll just bear children, knit blankets and I won't worry about how strong my mind is or how strong my spiritual life is.
These women changed the course of history because they were spiritual and intellectual giants. Some of their instructions, prayers an even prophecies are in print. They moved the greatest men of the Bible, and their spiritual beauty will be immortalized forever!

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Should secular artists sing gospel music? Well, some of the gospel artists shouldn't be singing gospel.
So, what I would like to address the question this way: What we have here is: "The conversion of the Church to the world." While we praise God for the thousands that are still coming to Christ, we can not at the same time ignore this subtle but deadly conversion of the Church to the world!
I read about a canary that sang an unusually beautiful song. During the summer, it's owner hung the cage in a nearby tree so the bird could enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. Eventually, sparrows began to frequent the tree. At first, the canary was frightened, but soon he began enjoying his new companions. Yet through the steady exposure to the sparrows, he gradually lost the sweetness of his song as he began mimicking the dull twitter of his new "friends."
I fear what happened to the canary's song is happening to the Church. Through a long series of seemingly minor compromises and constant association with the world, I believe the Church is losing its distinctive message and being slowly converted to the world!
The devil is ever working to counteract the soul-winning efforts of God by sowing tares among the wheat.
Back in the day when I was growing up a friend of mine was sent home for wearing immodest clothes. But what was unacceptable then is readily accepted in most schools today! We deceive ourselves by thinking that as long as we are holier than the world, we must be pleasing God! But, Jesus said in Luke 16:15, "For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God." As the standards of the world plummet, the standards of the Church tend to follow close behind...retaining just enough distance to maintain the illusion of holiness.
Another common strategy of the devil is to market Christianity to the world by making a few subtle compromises. For instance, some people attach Christian words to devilish music so the lost will be more attracted to the Church and feel at home. But music is not a neutral medium. Sensual music does not become holy by simply rewriting a few words. And this door swings both ways, as thousands of our Christian youth develop an appetite for worldly music they eventually lose respect for the holiness of God!
Another example of compromise is the trend of "dressing down" for Church to create a more relaxed and familiar environment. People argue that going casual makes vistors feel less pressure to change for Church. In reality, the sense of reverence and sanctity for the Lord, His sanctuary, and the occasion of Sabbath worship, is greatly diminished. It seems a little strange to me that people professing to be singing God's praises, members of the Church will dress up for their employers, but
will dress down for the Almighty.
Jesus was very clear! We are not of the world, and we should make no attempt to be like the world or make peace with the enemy. Remember Delilah had to lull Samson to sleep before she could neutralize his power. Likewise the devil is trying to sedate God's people with the pleasures of his life. James 4:4, "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."
When the Church lowers its standards to reach the world to create an illusion of salvation without self-denial, the lost will always come in droves.
When leaders can't detect anything wrong with "Christian rap and Christian rock," music...If non-Christian friends don't notice a distinct difference in the congregation's dress, or conversation...maybe this Church is being converted to the world.
James 4:7-10, "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
We need to look to the Word and away from the world!

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In response to the state of the Black Church, my comment is what happen to the Church period?
Jesus Christ said: " I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades [the grave] shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). The question is, which Church did Jesus build, and what happened to it?
When we look at the story of the mainstream, professing Christian Church throughout the centuries, it appears to be a vastly different Church from the one described in the pages of the New Testament. In the book of Act we find that God's Church celebrated "Jewish" holy days (Acts 2:1, 13:14, 42, 44, 18:21. Talked about the return of Jesus Christ to judge the world (Acts3:20-21; 17:31) and believed in the literal establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth (Acts 1:3, 6; 28:23).
Yet, less than 300 years later, we find a Church claiming Apostolic origin, but observing the "venerable day of the sun" instead of the Seventh-Day Sabbath.
The history of the Christian Church between Pentecost 31AD and the council of Nicea in 325AD, almost 300 years, is truly amazing. It is the story of how yesterday's orthodoxy became today's heresy, and how old heresies came to be considered Orthodox Christian doctrine. It is the story of how Church tradition and the teachings of Bishops came to supersede the Word of God as a source of doctrine. It is a story that is stranger than fiction, yet is historically verifiable.
Hellenistic culture, which prevaded the Middle East and Mediterranean regions, was an alternative worldview...a competitor to the perspective values of the Bible. It is stressed the supremacy of reason and logic rather than divine revelation. The later Greeks, embarrassed by the Ribald antics of their ancient gods and heroes in the writings of Homer and Hesiod, sought to explain them away as profound allegories. This approach to their "inspired" writings was picked up by Hellenistic Jews, such as Philo of Alexandria, and applied to the Bible. This treatment of the Old Testament as an allegory was a handy tool for Gnostics and others who wanted to evade obedience to plain commands.
About 15 years after the baptism of Simon Magus, the Apostle Paul found it necessary to warn the Church in Thessalonica, "The mystery of lawlessness is already at work" (2 Thessalonians 2:7).
About five years later Paul warned the Corinthians that they were in danger of being corrupted by false apostles teaching "another Jesus" and "another gospel." Simon and his followers were, in reality, ministers of Satan masquerading as ministers of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3-4, 13-15).
Between the first (66-73AD) and the second (132-135AD) Jewish revolts, there were many violent anti-Jewish pogroms (an organized massacre) in places such as Alexandria and Antioch. Reflecting to this, the Jews rioted in Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt.
Frequently, Christians suffered as victims of these outbursts because they were regarded by the authorities as a Jewish sect. However, they were considered by Jewish revolutionaries to be traitors to Judaism and to Jewish political aspirations because they would not fight the Romans. During these times, hundreds of thousands of Synagogue and Church members, those who worshipped on Sabbath days and studied scriptures, perished at Roman hands or by mobs.
During this dangerous era, the Roman Church under its Bishop Sixtus (116-126AD) began holding Sunday worship services and ceased observing the annual Passover, substituting Easter Sunday and "Eusebius" in its place. This is the clear record preserved by Eusebius of Caesarea, a late third and early fourth century ad scholar who became known as the "Father of Church history."
Doesn't that seem strange? God wrote with His own hand,"The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work." Exodus 20:10. No one has ever been confused about the day God sanctified and commanded. All preachers and Churches freely admit that Saturday is the seventh day of the week. Yet most of them are transgressing the commandment of God every week by blatantly doing work on the Sabbath, which God has prohibited.
To compensate for the breaking of the Seventh-Day-Sabbath, they have substituted another day...the first day of the week in place of the one God commanded.
How do they justify such willful manipulation of the great moral law of God? The situation is astounding no matter how we view it. Many Churchs brush aside the Ten Commandments as mere ceremonial rules of Moses and teach that they were abolished at the cross! Others take position that all the Ten Commandments, except the Sabbath, were carried over into the New Testament. In either case, the Fourth Commandment containing the special sign of God's creative and redemptive power, has been rejected and desecrated.
The true will be distinguished for keeping the Commandments. According to the clear teaching of the Bible, no Church could be the remnant of the woman unless it keeps the Seventh-Day-Sabbath as well as all the other nine commandments.
THE SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTICES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY'S TRUE CHURCH:
1. Arises after 1798
2. Keeps all Ten Commandments
3. Has the spirit of prophecy
4. Preahes the message of three angels (Revelation 14) on a world-wide scale.
Suddenly, we see the vast majority of those who passed the first test failing to meet the second.
"REMEMBER THE SABBATH TO KEEP IT HOLY." The word "keep" means to preserve in the same condition.
You can't keep ice water hot, you can keep hot water hot. You can't keep an unholy day holy. The only weekly day God ever made holy is His Sabbath. No man has any power to make anything holy. These are not arguments they are facts that will judge you in God's judgement! Just like me, this is probably far from what most have been taught or believe. But if anyone wishes to argue, I suggest they save their arguments for the Judgment,and then try to argue face to face with their Savior and their Maker, Jesus Christ!
What about "Grace". Grace must not be construed as a license to sin. The Apostle Jude warned of those who preverted the meaning of "Grace" by equating it with permission to disregard God's law (Jude 4). The real purpose of "Grace" is clearly stated in 2 Corinthians 5:21: "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." In the very next verse Paul followed this explanation with an exhortation: "Pled with you not to receive the grace we then, as workers together with Him also of God in vain" (2 Corinthians 6:1). Simply put, unless God's forgiveness represents the start of a newly surrendered life of obedience to God, we have accepted the grace of God in vain!

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My comment on Church folk some messed up folk!
Churches are called by all kinds of names: Episcopal, Baptist, Holiness, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Catholic, Methodist, Pentecostal and others. More importantly, the various churches of this world have different concepts of God. Some feel that God is a fierce autocrat who roasts sinners in an ever-burning hellfire. Others think of God as simply the "divine spark" that somehow started all life but that has very little to do with everyday events and does not care about mankinds "lifestyle." Yet these different churches call themselves "Christian"...they use the name of Christ.
Many say: "Oh all churches have the same basic beliefs!" Or: "No one has a monopoly on the truth. We can't really know about these things anyway, so all religions are essentially valid as long as people are sincere.
If there is not a real God, or if the Holy Bible is not truly inspired, then such reasoning might stand up. But that's not the case! Perhaps the most basic instructions of Jesus Christ are these words: "Men shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God" (Luke 4:4). Church leadership, and individual Church members, may not yet be perfect, but they must at least acknowledge that God's word is the basis for knowing the ultimate Truth their Creator intended. For without the Bible...without the inspired instruction from God Himself in His inspired word...all that remains are the billions of human opinions: "This is the way I feel!" Or: "This is how it seems to me!"
So God's true Church must acknowledge the inspired authority of the Bible, and must base its teaching solidly on that foundation. The Apostle Paul wrote: "But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15).
What is Truth? Jesus said in our Bible: "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" (John 17:17).
Jesus said He would build His Church...and the Bible describes that Church as a small, persecuted Church...one that is certainly not part of this world's society. It is a Church that does the will of God the Father. And keeps the Ten Commandments given as a basic way of life by Almighty God.
There are specific identifying signs that point unmistakably to where God's Church is today!
For the sake of brevity, I will name just five of these signs:
1. The Fear Of God: Throughout the entire Bible, God shows us that He is determined to not allow anyone into His Kingdom who is a potential adversary...a potential Satan! As God's words indicates, this fear is not "terror" or being "afraid" of something bad! Rather, it is a profound reverence, humility and willingness to obey our Creator and never repel against His laws and His righteous ways that always bring peace and joy.
2. The True Church Has God's Name: The correct "Name" is listed twelve times: (Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2; 10:32; 11:16, 22; 15:9 and 2 Corinthians begins with the same official address: "To the church of God which is at Corinth." 1 Thessalonians 2:14...The introduction of both Paul's letters to the Thessalonians refer to "the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father," for they were His churches and must be in union with Him. 1 Timothy 3:5, 15. Throughout the New Testament...in twelve distinct passages...the true Church is called "the church of God," "the churches of God."
3. Growth in Grace and Knowledge: It is a process of growing and changing; a process of becoming more and more like God in our character, our thoughts and habits. The Apostle Peter expressed it most clearly: "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18).
4. The "Sign" of God's People: Jesus said: "And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath" (Matthew 4:20). Jesus was concerned about His followers keeping the Sabbath day because it is and always has been the "test" commandment...a test to see whether each of us will just obey God because He says to do it. And therefore it is an identifying "sign" of His people. Also, it points to the true God, the Creator of heaven and earth.
5. God's Church Does the Real Work of God: One of the "signs" Jesus gave of His coming, and of the end of this age, was this: "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14). God's government is based upon His spiritual law...The Ten Commandments. So that is why God says of the true saints" "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:12).
Another vital part of the work of the true Church is to understand and proclaim the prophetic messages of the Bible. Another vital part of the prophetic commission of God's Church in these end-times is the "Ezekiel commission." This is the warning message God clearly indicated His true servants should give expecially to the twelve tribes of Israel.
God's Church does the work of proclaiming as a "witness" the message of salvation through Jesus Christ and the good news of the soon-coming Kingdom of God based on His law.

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