Zera Today With Pastor Lorenzo Neal

The black preaching tradition is all about the call and response. Black preachers want to hear their audience talk back to them. With thousands in attendance at World Changers Church's watch night service, someone dared interrupt the sacred moment of Pastor Creflo Dollar's sermon. Pastor Dollar takes several minutes to handle a new year's heckler for ringing in the year with a shout while he was preaching. It was enough for him to express his displeasure. Was Pastor Dollar wrong for addressing the disruption or was the disruption wrong? What is meant by "grace to correct?" How far should preachers go to express their displeasure from the pulpit? Join Pastor Neal for this and other topics of interest

Welcome in 2016! For many believers, it was brought in with a watch night service filled with the same old recitations of new year blessings, prosperity, and the like, For many in the church, 2015 brought about an unveiling of some dark secrets, patterns, and behaviors that may have rolled over into the new year. There is an uncovering taking place and there is a remnant of believers who are speaking truth to power in and out of the church. Will 2016 bring more uncovering or a renouncing of the hidden things? Will more clergy be exposed or will more people become disciples of Christ? Join Pastor Neal for this and other topics on Zera Today

Prophet David E. Taylor made headlines when he prophesied who would win the 2014 Super Bowl. Even though that prophecy did not come to pass, he has taken on an even bigger scam. Taylor now claims that Jesus is sharing the stage with him at his healing crusades. Apostle Taylor claims to be a face to face friend of the Lord Jesus and over the last several months has hoaxed people into believing that Jesus was literally on the stage with him. One person released a picture of a glowing figure on the stage that she claims is the glorified Jesus. Taylor's ministry released a video including scriptures to justify it. You can see the video here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIYgvb-1tZE. For his year end event, Taylor is imploring those hungry for the supernatural and metaphysical to join him for his One Night with the King Conference in which he is again stating that Jesus will make an appearance. When will Christians stop falling for the hoaxes of some preachers and be content in living a spirit-filled life based

There are some who are saying the black church could do a better job in the black community but instead they are part of the problem. With black churches on just about every corner in some cities, some are wondering why their communities are still suffering economically, educationally, legally, and politically. Recently protesters gathered in front of a local church in Detroit to address the church's seemingly neglect to serve and impact the community around them. Is the black church failing in black communities and if so who is to blame- the pastor or members? What can be done to reestablish a sense of hope and assurance in the role of the church in the black community? Join Pastor Neal for this and other topics on Zera Today

The Holiday season usually brings out the best in people. To some Christians, it has signaled a war on Christmas with Starbucks as the main aggressor. There are Christians protesting the lack of "Christmas" designs on Starbucks' holiday cups is another way the secular world is attacking Christianity. Starbucks' vice president of design stated that the cups are "designed to represent the simplicity and quietness of the season." Is this protest contrary to the freedoms some of these Christians espouse? Are they creating unnecessary conflict over false symbols? Join Pastor Neal for this and other lively topics!

Church fads come and go, but one fad has seemingly gotten more popular and uncontrollable as of late. That is the giving of titles such as Apostle/Apostle Designate, Bishop/Elect/Designate, or anything else to preachers. If one pays attention, it appears that it is much easier to create fully autonomous Christian fellowships whereby individuals can then ordain and consecrete others into episcopal or apostolic church leadership. Perhaps the greatest problem to this is that many novices are doing so and creating havoc in the process. What constitutes true biblical leadership and who has authority in maintaining said leadership? Join Pastor Neal for this and other lively topics on Zera Today

Singapore's Harvest City Church recently made international news as it's leadership team including the pastor was found guilty of corruption. This is a result of the ambition of Pastor Kong Hee's wife musical aspirations. It took the loss of nearly 50 million dollars between 2007-2008 to help her become the next Asian pop star. Every church gets special exemptions to carry out the gospel message, however many of their leadership take advantage of this by purchasing homes, cars, and other extravangant things. What should be done when churches overstep the boundaries of their gospel mission and tax exemption status. Should more accountablility be demanded from members regarding how church funds are appropiated? Join Pastor Neal for this and other lively topics on Zera Today.

There are times one's religious experience when one experiences moments of doubt or even unbelief. For some some those moments lead to a deeper and more meaningful religious experience and life. For others, it leads to declarations of total renunciation of their faith. For author Cheryl Abram, it was a life changing experience that helped her discover her humanity and fire her God fallacy. In her book, "Firing God" Cheryl discusses how life became the fuse that lead to her spiritual awakening without the guise of religion she had grown up in. Join Pastor Neal and Cheryl for a great discussion on her journey.

With the visit of Pope Francis and the last blood moon of the year, there were many who were proclaiming the rapture would happen and that Jesus' return was imminent. These people have been proven wrong, but most will not retract their false prophecies and many will never face rebuke or correction. How can the church guard against those proclaiming false end time prophecies and how should the church be positively expecting the return of the Lord for His beloved bride? Join Pastor Neal for this and other topics of the day

Pope Francis makes his first visit to the US and presents an interesting perspective on the global church's role in the social progress of the world. , Iyanla Vanzant's "Fix My Life" featured two pastors who chose to use her assistance to help come out of the closet to their families and churches. The show aired five years after Bishop Eddie Long had several young men accuse him of sexually molesting them. The church is at a fork in the road regarding sexual immorality issues. How should the black church deal with this new facet of church life when the clergy are living double sexual lives. Join Pastor Neal as he discusses this and other topics.

With the news about Carlton and Gina Pearson's divorce and Josh Duggar's secret affairs, is it time for Christian leaders to be more transparent and if so, how should they go about doing it? I've always wondered why lay persons are more tolerant of someone's fall from grace after it happens instead of allowing leaders to show their own fallibilities How transparent should Christian leaders be to those they serve? Let's talk about this and more with Pastor Lorenzo Neal

American Christianity has a lot that needs to be addressed. Recently two things have gone viral. The first is a video of a young man attempting to get a popular AMEZion pastor removed because of his alleged homosexuality. The second is the response from some popular Christians regarding the Honorable Louis Farrakhan's appearance with Pastor Jamal Bryant on The Word Network. What do these two events mean for American Christianity if anything at all. Join Pastor Neal for discussion on this and other topics on Zera Today.

In his 1903 book "The Souls of Black Folk", W.E.B. Dubois introduced the concept of double conciousness. It's the idea that blacks find it difficult to find identity in a majority white world. This refrain is revisited in the Black Lives Matter movement today. This is even more apparent in black churches where theologies are conflicting with praxis on contemporary issues. How can the black clergy and leadership address this double conciousness while empowering believers to be "one body with many members?" Join Pastor Neal for this and other topics of the day.

With its hooping preachers, rocking choirs, and extravagant shouting, the black church has always been one of the most imitated and mocked group in American culture. The reality is that many black churches provide much comic relief without even trying. This includes some black clergy making some of the most outrageous claims, acts, and incidents known in American Christianity. A recent church's member's assessment delinquency letter and a well known televangelist's words regarding the Mother Emanuel AME massacre have proven to be some of those moments. Join Pastor Neal for a discussion on these and other topics of interest on Zera Today

America is becoming a more secularlized diverse minded country that is proving difficult for many churches to adapt to. With the recent US Supreme Court decision on same sex marriage, many in the christian church of America are promoting the idea of a full scale war on Christianity. There are some promoting the fear that churches will be subject to lawsuits and much worse because of this legal decision. Is there an upcoming religious and/or race war impending in America? What can the universal church in America do to address the real concerns of those who believe this will happen? Join Pastor Neal to discuss this and other topics of the day.

The massacre at Mother Emanuel AME has brought to light the reality of racism in America. Amidst the narratives are discussions of the confederate flag, the use of the N word by President Obama and the rich history of African Methodism. What is missing is the narrative of faith that carries both the heart and soul of Black Americans and the strong division of racism. Join Pastor Neal for this discussion

Join Pastor Neal for discussions on some of the day's trending topics in religion, education, and politic

This decade has been the decade of reality minsitry. Shows like Preacher's Daughters, Preacher's Ex's, Preachers of LA and Detroit, and others have been ratings boosters and attention grabbers for secular networks. The newest show, Lifetime's "PREACH" shows the interactions between women prophetesses and the women they mentor as proteges. Is this show and others like it tainting the image of women in ministry and creating a greater gap for gender equality in a patriarchial church? Tune in for this and other great topics with Pastor Neal

If you've been in church long enough, you've probably heard of end time prophecy warning about the mark of the beast, and the anti-christ. There is much debate about end time things, but one thing is sure: there is nothing new under the sun. With all the news of global despair and social issues contrary to traditional Christian faith tenets, are we living in the age of anti-Christ? Games like Charlie Charlie, the rise of the LGBT movements in the church, and the decline of church attendance in the US are all signs that something is changing and it is not for the better of the church. Is the life of the church being threatened by secularism to the point of destruction? Join Pastor Neal to discuss this and other news of the day.

When does questioning your belief system lead you to do something totally different from the spiritual traditions you were brought up with? Magus Richard Bullard, M.Th has an answer to that. Magus Bullard is a former pastor and author who began studying the ancient Christian gnostic science and has been raised as to the level of Magus. Magus Bullard shares some insighte into the ancient Christian sciences of gnosticism and how one can ascend to deeper more meaningful spiritual existence. To learn more about Magus Richard Bullard visit his website at www.gnosismatters.com. You can also learn more about receiving spiritual consultations with Magus. Tune in for this and other great topics with Pastor Lorenzo Neal