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By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices
Holy toledo!!!
Scandal has rocked another prominent member of the black gospel industry.
Revered televangelist Juanita Bynum nearly came thisclose to meeting her maker after suffering a near fatal attack at the hands of her estranged husband yesterday.
Authorities said that the nationally renowned clergywoman was assaulted by her preacher husband in the parking lot of an Atlanta hotel early Wednesday.
According to published reports, Thomas W. Weeks III, who is the founder of Global Destiny churches, met with Bynum at Renaissance Concourse Hotel near Atlanta's airport to try to reconcile, police said.
About 4 a.m., they broke out in fisticuffs in the parking lot until a hotel bellman pulled Weeks off, Officer Ronald Campbell told the Associated Press.
"She was bruised up and battered," Campbell said. "She had purple bruising around her neck and upper torso."
No charges had been filed by Wednesday night against Weeks, who left the scene according to police.
"I am currently recovering from my injuries and resting well," Bynum is believed to have written on her "official" MySpace page today. "There are so many great things happening for me in my future, and so much to look forward to concerning my destiny, this too shall pass. The bible says in Proverbs 4:25 'let your eyes look right on with fixed purpose and let your gaze be straight before you.'"
Hallowed be thy name.
Bynum, a Pentecostal preacher who was born in Chicago and lives in Hempstead, N.Y., has administrative offices in Waycross, Georgia.
The former homemaker, welfare recipient, drug offender, hairdresser, anorexic and flight attendant got a big break when Bishop T.D. Jakes invited her to speak at one of his conferences several years ago.
After the two reportedly had a falling out, Bynum's ministry blossomed further after her 'No More Sheets' sermon -- on breaking free of sexual promiscuity -- at a singles event.
The message became an anthem for female empowerment, galvanizing the already divorced diva into the stratosphere of the black celebrity clergy elite with best-selling books, inspirational CDs, DVDs and sold out speaking engagements.
She has used terms as "Prophetess," "Minister" and "Dr." as a prefix to her name.
Bynum, 48, recently shared the national stage with Yolanda Adams, Pastor Shirley Caesar, Fantasia, Smokie Norful, Fred Hammond, Coko, The Caravans and Dr. Bobby Jones on 'BET's Celebration of Gospel.'
Bynum and Weeks, 54, were married in 2002 in a lavish, televised wedding that would make black rich bridezillas blush.
The enterprising evangelist is expected to make her acting debut in the forthcoming big screen adaptation of 'Mama I Want to Sing' -- starring Ciara, Hill Harper, Patti LaBelle, Lynn Whitfield, Billy Zane and Kim Porter.
MORE ON BYNUM:
WHAT IN GOD'S NAME?: Check Out Juanita Bynum's Bruises
UPDATE: According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper, Weeks surrendered to Atlanta police Friday.
Bond was set at $30,000 on a charge of aggravated assault and $10,000 on a charge of terroristic threats, and a magistrate ordered Weeks to have no contact with Bynum or her sister, Tina Culpepper.
Comments: (1514)
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By: uneobia on 8/23/2007 9:36PM
My heart bleed for Juanita,she was so happy at her wedding,She had been through so much,and now this.Any male that put his hand on a woman in a harmful way is lower than a DOG.
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By: ReadtheWordForYourself on 8/23/2007 9:22AM
It's time to pull the mega preachers off the pedestals and get back to rediscovering the POWER in God's Word for OURSELVES. When you go to a restaraunt, a waiter will bring you food, but he or she will not pick up the fork and feed you. That's your job. Such is the case with the Word of God. We (especially in the Black community) have depended TOO HEAVILY on "celebrity preachers" to feed us the Gospel. We need to pick up the proverbial fork and spoon and begin feeding ourselves. In doing this, we must PRAY for EVERY minister of the Gospel...not just the celebrities. One thing that I think our people forget sometimes is that God is NO RESPECTOR OF PERSONS! He doesn't pour out more anointing, blessing and favor on people who are rich and famous than He does on the rest of us. And be wary of the riches...all riches, prosperity and popularity are not God-given, nor Holy Ghost-enduced. We need a return to the fundamentals of Christianity...loving our neighbor, honoring God in morality, teaching our children about a Christ who saves and blesses but who also shuns evil and punishes sin. We need a return to preaching more about our eternal riches in glory, rather than temporary earthly treasures and material possessions...things that are subject to destruction by the same earthly means that produce them. Christian ministers (including myself), stop chasing popular preacher pipe dreams! Just preach the unadulterated Word of God. Preach it powerfully, accurately and unapologetically. Preach it whether it makes you popular or whether it gets you put out. Preach it so that souls can be saved, not to make pockets fat. Preach to help lives be transformed by God's grace, not by humanity's greed. Children of God, study God's Word for YOURSELVES. Listen to, enjoy and seek after the wisdom of other pastors and preachers, but be like the Christians in the ancient, biblically historic city of Berea. Acts 17:11 says: "And these (in Berea) were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with readiness of mind, AND SEARCHED THE SCRIPTURES DAILY TO SEE WHETHER THOSE THINGS (which they heard preachers preach) WERE SO!" I'm not saying that Prophetess Bynum, Pastor Weeks or anyone else is a fraud, fake or phony. I will say that they are human and subject to the same mess ups, evil, sin, mistakes and blemishes that you, I or anyone else are...no matter how well they preach, sing or pray. Every worker in God's vineyard needs our sincere prayers and every member of God's kingdom needs a return to the basics of the truth of God's Gospel and His love.
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By: Shawnta on 8/23/2007 9:23AM
I don't understand, why everyone is so behind them getting back together...Abuse is abuse, I don't care who it is, it's wrong...We don't know how long this has been going on, and I'm quite sure that this was not the first time that it happened, it's just so happened that others were around when this took place...Remember, there's always two sides to every story and eventually EVERYTHING is going to come out...I don't understand how you can say we need to pray for them, what happened to praying in general...That's where all you so called "Chrisitans" get it twisted, PRAY, regardless to what any situation is, good or bad...
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By: mzgordn on 8/23/2007 9:24AM
God sits high and looks low. In the end, His opinion is the only one that matters. We should be praying both for Juanita AND her husband.
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By: Rev. Heath on 8/23/2007 9:50PM
I have read some of the comments listed and I must say that some are good and some are just plain derogatory. One thing we have to remember, and this incident shows clearly, that we still are all human no matter what your status in life is. Satan has a way to attack each and every one of you when you are least expected. Read your bible people. Some of the Prophets, Ministers, Apostles, etc. went through things that people would expect a Christian not to do. This is just reality that Satan is on the attack going through the world, up and down in it seeking whom he can devour.
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By: Sherry on 8/23/2007 9:33AM
I'm sorry to hear about what happened. He has no excuse for beating her down like that. I'm not God, but I do not see reconciliation as an option. If he beat her like that in public, imagine what he may have done in private. As a "Man of God", he should have just walked away. He is supposed to protect her, not harm her. This is a huge violation of trust. I know that God will heal both of them, but Juanita don't be no fool.
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By: unity on 8/23/2007 12:34PM
Anytime a man hits a woman, saved or not, he needs to be delt with. I am not going to sit up here a be religous and pray that their marriage works out. No! God is going to deal with him tremendously. As for Miss. Bynum, I pray that she recovers and leave his tail; because that was uncaused for. And don't sit up and say that the devil had something to with it. We make the choice to listen to the devil or not; and Mr. Weeks made his.
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By: Cornell on 8/23/2007 9:30AM
Well all i can say is that God is know longer Playing and we need to wake up, we need to wake up God is trying to show us that we need to look to God for all things and not Man for we have looked up to all the Great Man and the Woman of God but they are yet in the Flesh and Fleash will get in the way the Fame gets them and they change, alot of great ones will fall in this season look what has been going on Look, when will we wake up and say God it's all about you and not what Man say go to God for yourself we make Monsters by going on ther ever word heads get big when money comes in to play so we need to seek God like never before and God is going to raise up the ones who will be all ABOUT KINGDOM WORK AND NOT FAME!!!!!!!!! and Money why pay to hear a Word when you can get in the Bible yourself and your Pastor can give you the same word and it's free not thousands let's Pray people of God..... i fill for them both because so many look up to them and this can cause them to fall away and never come to Church again that's why i never look to Man only God know him for yourself God that is
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By: Geneva on 8/23/2007 1:19PM
The devil is a liar and very busy! The devil knows who and whose both Prophetess and Bishop are. He is just using one more of his weak tactics to attempt to tear down the Kingdom of God! He is trying to start at the head since they are the ones preaching and teaching God's word! We as true saints and believers have GOT to put our war garments on and pray and fight this thing on their behalf. Too many times they have stood in the gap for us unknowingly, it is now time for us to do it for them! Put on your robes of righteousness and war garments and pray like true soldiers and rebuke this thing!
Prophetess and Bishop, my family and I love you very much and will not let the devil defeat what God has put together! If it be His will not satan's than this TOO shall pass and will be another testimony of God's power to overcome the enemy's attack! You are on my altar uplifted to God Almighty...
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By: sickandtired on 8/23/2007 9:40AM
May God continue to bless this couple. My heart is saddened by this news. I hope Bishop Weeks do the right thing and turn himself in to police today so that the entire christian population can begin the healing process. This event has touched the lives of every compassionate christian in America. We view Ms Bynum as a member of our family, and we only want what God has ordained for her best interest.
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