The Black Church - Where Women Pray And Men Prey
Throughout my career, I've embraced controversial topics, discussing them in a straightforward manner which often upsets those unaccustomed to an outspoken and opinionated female.  Anticipating some level of anger over my criticism of the church and my belief that there is an orchestrated movement intent determined to keep black women single for profit. I was therefore not surprised to hear controverting and even hostile responses.How could I, as an African-American woman, dare to question the goings-on of the black church? "You are just bitter and angry... you must have been hurt by someone in church" was always the inevitable conclusion. Staunchly defending their church and pastor no matter what, many (black women especially) proclaimed me to be a blasphemous child of Satan attempting to divide the black community and turn women against God.In reality, I have not been hurt by anything. I am not bitter either. I do not hate ministers or churches. I have not been hurt by a member of a church, no one in my family has been fleeced in a church, I have not been used or sexually abused by a pastor or minister or bishop.By that same token, I am not a member of a church and refuse to become one, thus I have no particular loyalty to churches or anyone associated with a church. I stand alone, reporting in a dispassionate, rational manner the behaviors and attitudes that I've witnessed for the past 30 years amongst the African-American, church-going community.The motivation behind the 2010 Black church article (The Black Church: How Black Churches Keep African American Women Single and Lonely), was to sound the alarm; to get black women to wake up and smell the stink of manipulative games and pimpery in the pulpit that kept them single and alone.  Discussions subsequent to the publication of that piece alerted me to the very real need for a book which would examine the hold black churches have on the black community, non-biblical tenets of the prosperity gospel, and the mental, sexual and emotional games played by unscrupulous black preachers on women and children.People think their churches have no problems but don't understand that these dramas are covered up by those in power. So as a mere church MEMBER you won't know about them because the board, pastor, assistant pastor, etc. hushes them up. It is a misconception to think it is just "a few" churches that have major problems, when it fact it is MOST churches. After all, every week stories hit the news of financial or sexual abuses by pastors that have been hidden from the public for years, sometimes decades.There is an entire chapter in the book "The Black Church - Where Women Pray and Men Prey" which is devoted to providing parents with information on recognizing when their child is being groomed by a pedophile sexual abuser, what to tell the child, when their child has already been abused, how to handle child sexual abuse, and how to navigate the rocky waters of the aftermath. Black women are in a great deal of denial about the widespread sexual abuse of black children that takes place in our communities (especially in churches), and are much too trusting of men around their babies.Because someone calls himself a "man of God," it really doesn't mean much. There are many fakes, frauds and evil-hearted creeps attending church every week. The most evil may be sitting right next to you in the pew, and many times they are smiling back from the pulpit...