BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Jamal Harrison Bryant
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| Jamal Harrison Bryant | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 21, 1971 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Occupation | pastor, theologian |
| Years active | 2000-present |
| Children | 4 daughters Topaz, Grace, and twins Angel and Adore |
| Website | |
| Official Website | |
Jamal Harrison Bryant. (born May 21, 1971, in Baltimore, Maryland) is an African-American preacher and pastor of the Empowerment Temple AME Church in his hometown of Baltimore. He is the son of Bishop John Richard Bryant, Senior Bishop and Presiding Prelate of the Fourth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States of America.
Early life and education
Bryant was born to Bishop John Richard Bryant and Rev. Cecilia Williams-Bryant in Cambridge, MA while Bishop Bryant (at the time Rev. John Bryant) was the pastor at St. Paul AME Church. While growing up, Bryant saw the influence and dissected the messages his mother and father delivered each time they stepped in the pulpit. When his father was elected bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church the summer of 1988, the family spent time in Africa for their first assignment. The time spent in Africa helped change and prepare Bryant for his call to the ministry in the church.
Bryant dropped out of high school after the 11th grade but later obtained a GED to further his education. He holds a BA degree in Political Science and International Studies fromMorehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia and earned a MA of Divinity degree from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. In 2005, he received his Doctorate of Ministry degree from the unaccredited Graduate Theological Foundation. In 1988, Bryant spent a year in West Africa in what he calls his "Damascus Road experience."[1]
Ministry
Prior to his role as pastor, Bryant served as the director of the NAACP’s youth and college division. A dynamic motivational speaker, he was responsible for over 650 youth councils and college chapters representing over 68,000 young people in the United States, Germany, and Japan. Today, his ecumenical messages have been heard in places abroad such as South Africa, Belgium, England, and India.
Empowerment Temple
Jamal-Harrison Bryant has broken the stereotype of yesterday’s clergyman. He is the leader of a new breed of ministers who embrace the idea of capitalizing on the ever-increasing marketplace of the internet and technological innovations to spread the gospel. With more than 7,500 members attending weekly services at Empowerment Temple in Baltimore, Maryland and approximately 35,000 followers on Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, he believes that “God is not just in the church; He is also in technology.” His mission is to “empower people spiritually, develop them educationally, expose them culturally, activate them politically, and strengthen them economically.”
Under Bryant’s leadership, his church has expanded into the Empowerment Academy serving grades pre-K through seven and the Empowerment Family Life Center. These two institutions serve the community by offering quality education, foreclosure assistance, food and clothing, Christmas gifts, and Single Parents’ Wheels car-buying assistance program. The church has pledged thousands of dollars to get guns off the street and to lower the crime rate.
It’s this kind of real-life ministry that ignited the explosive growth of Empowerment Temple from the 43-member home Bible study group to the fastest-growing church in the AME denomination. Members are challenged to live life at the next level through Bryant’s brilliant illumination of the Word of God and dynamic delivery.
Over the years, Bryant’s ministry has also become an international effort as he has ministered in Africa, France, England, India, and Australia. He is the host of the Got Power? television broadcast which is seen in 35 cities in the U.S., and the radio broadcast is currently heard by a half million people across the continent of Africa.
“Power for Life” TV and Radio broadcasts
Bryant's “Power for Life” broadcast can be heard weekly on both internet radio and on podcasts and across the United States, the Caribbean, England and throughout the continent of Africa. His television broadcast can be seen weekly on such Christian networks such as Trinity Broadcasting Network, and also on BET's Morning Worship segment on weekday mornings. Excerpts of his sermons can also be seen online at his online website.[2]
The messages delivered by Bryant can be seen in these current network areas outside of the Baltimore, MD region.
FRIDAY Time: 7:30 PM Location: Detroit, MI Station: WLPC-TV 26 (CTN Detroit)
SUNDAY Time: 6:30 AM Location: State of Maryland Station: WMAR TV2
SUNDAY Time: 10:00 AM Location: National Station: TVOne
SUNDAY 8:30 AM & 11:15 AM (Live) National "Watch Us Live"
SUNDAY Time: 4:30 PM Location: Detroit, MI Station: WLPC-TV 26 (CTN Detroit)
SATURDAY Time: 5:00 PM Location: National Station: The Word Network
MONDAY Time: 7:30am Location: Jackson, MS Station: TV 23
TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURDSAY, and SUNDAY Time: 7:00am Location: Morehead City/Greenville/Washington, NC Station: WFXI-TV 8/WYDO-TV 14 (Fox)
SUNDAY Time: 6:30am Location: Greenville/New Bern, N.C. Station: WCTI-TV 12 (ABC)
Other television appearances
In addition to his own program, Bryant has appeared on BET’s Meet the Faith, CNN, C-SPAN, and Politically Incorrect. He has also served as a panelist on the National town hall meeting entitled, “The State of Black America”, and “The State of the Black Church”, hosted by renowned author and talk show personality Tavis Smiley.[citation needed] According toEbony Magazine, Bryant was labeled as one of America’s future leaders.[citation needed] He is currently serving as spiritual advisor to Omarosa on the reality show The Ultimate Merger. He also served as Spiritual advisor to K-Ci & JoJo reality show which also aired on the TV One network.
Family
Bryant acknowledges four daughters Topaz, Grace, Angel, Adore [3]
Bryant has daughter Topaz(1998) with an Atlanta woman named Crystal Madison.
He was married to Hampton University graduate Gizelle Bryant in 2002. They have daughters Grace(11/4/4[4]) and twins Angel/Adore(April 2006 [5]). In summer 2007 rumours exploded in the church that Jamal had gotten a 17 year old church member pregnant. Church leaders asked him to step down while they initiated an investigation and awaited paternity test results.Jamal only respsonded that it is a private matter.Months after the investigation, Jamal Bryant remains the pastor of Empowerment Temple. After Michelle Wedderburn filed for a child support increase, he finally acknowledged that he had a daughter in 2001 named Naomi with her(Michelle).[6] In January 2008 Gizelle filed for divorce, but later cancelled the filing on January 24. In 2010 Gizelle attended Empowerment Temple and was called wife and first lady by Jamal,[7] causing many to wonder if they had divorced. In 2012 Jamal Bryant was interviewed by Roland Martin concerning his affair and divorce where Bryant confirmed that they were divorced, good friends and were co-parenting their children well. He stated in the interview that had he not divorced her he knows he would have been unfaithful again.[8]
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