Mr. Jackson paid a surprise visit to FAME Church in LA on yesterday. I hope Parson Harper got an autograph :-) The lesson from II Timothy 2:1-15 addressed critical issues like purpose, goals and discipline in our quest to grow in grace. I pray the King of Pop was listening carefully. On a related note I was "ticked off" with a flippant comment made by radio personality Tom Joyner this morning who questioned why would MJ attend FAME's Church School instead of going to the normal 11:00AM service. Mr. Joyner opined that "adults don't attend Sunday School, only children". As a Church School Superintendent I take issue with this form of mass media tomfoolery. Church School provides students (young and old) to actively participate in theological discourse. The key verse on yesterday was II Timothy 2:15. I have never attended a morning service where the preacher complimented his sermon with a "Q&A" session at the end. Perhaps if Mr. Joyner would devote more quality time to understanding the Holy Writ he would not succumb to the degree of buffonery often associated with his programming content. QED

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2004

Answers

The sad fact is Tom Joyner doesn't have his facts straight.

MJ came to the 10:00 Worship Service (which shows how many times TJ has visited FAME), and then went to the Cecil Murray Education Center (CMEC), which isn't SUNDAY School; it is a K-8 School.

I smell a fresh batch of Hate-orade brewing.

Tom, if you are reading this, I have something for you:

Call before you speak. Better yet, come to visit us and see what's going on before you make up things.p> You owe MJ and FAME an apology.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2004

Perhaps, a letter to Tom Joyner from First AME is in order. I become very angry at irresponsible journalism. Mr. Joyner indeed needs to get his facts straight. An apology is in order to First AME.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2004

I did not hear Mr. Joyner's remarks, but I did hear one of the network reporters state that Michael had attended an adult Sunday School class, so that may have been his source.

But I agree with Bro. Bill that adults DO attend Church School. I'm presently filling in for the teacher of one of the three adult classes we have. yes, it's a small class, but we do have three adult classes. Ours focus on books of the Bible rather than the traditional International lessons that the other two adult classes (both of which are larger) use.

Perhaps Tom should try attending Church School; he just may learn something.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2004

I do understand that we all would like to see and hear factual information from our media, however they make mistakes also. I did not hear this comment from TJ, but listen to him often and know that he and the other hosts make comments for entertainment and comical purposes. I do hope TJ knows that adults do attend church school.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2004