Gospel Round Up: Oct. 19, 2022

The nominees were recently announced for the 50^th Annual American Music Awards in recognition of the most popular artists and albums in all genres from Sept. 24, 2021, through Sept. 22, 2022. This year’s Favorite Gospel Artist category includes DOE, Maverick City Music, Tamela Mann, E. Dewey Smith, and CeCe Winans. Also nominated are those up for the Favorite Inspirational Artist award, including Anne Wilson, for KING & COUNTRY, Katy Nichole, Matthew West, and Phil Wickham. Fan voting is now open via VoteAMAs.com and on Twitter. This year’s ceremony will be held at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022, and televised live on ABC.

St. Andrew United Methodist Church of Plano, Texas, with nearly 6,500 members, is the second largest congregation of the North Texas conference and in an unprecedented moment for the church body. They made the decision to leave The United Methodist Church amidst the ongoing shakeup and disputes about appointing LGBTQ+ clergy, gay marriage, and other divisive issues. According to the United Methodist Book of Discipline, which governs all UMC churches, individual churches desiring to disaffiliate must follow through with a two-thirds congregational vote. But in this instance, the decision was made squarely by St. Andrew’s executive committee, a move that caused further acrimony.

Chart-topping, Dove Award-winning Christian rapper Kevin Burgess, better known by his stage name “KB”, has kicked off “Glory Nights,” the fall tour he announced earlier this year. The tour, which will continue throughout the end of this month, features fellow artists Trip Lee, Flame, Passion, nobigdyl, Evan Craft, and Sam Rivera. The remaining tour stops include Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, and Atlanta.

Next up for the Tampa native is the release of his new book “Dangerous Jesus,” which tackles some of the most challenging societal issues today. The book will be released through Tyndale Momentum in March 2023.

Bishop Tony Caldwell, a well-respected community leader, went viral recently for his claims against local police in Kansas City, MO, who allegedly ignored his repeated requests for an investigation into the possibility that someone targeting Black women who were turning up missing in alarming numbers.

It was not until a 22-year-old captive escaped from a basement half-dressed in a metal collar and described her ordeal of being kept in bondage and tortured for nearly a month by a man, later identified as Timothy Haslett, Jr., that an arrest was made.

The woman told authorities that Haslett, Jr. had killed two of her friends who were with her on the night they were abducted. He has since been taken into custody and is being investigated in connection to the kidnapping, rape, and murder of multiple women. Bishop Caldwell, who is the founder of the Eternal Life Family Life Center, spoke about the experience on YouTube where he said he was told by officers prior to Haslett Jr.’s arrest that “there were no women missing from Prospect.

The Grio Awards, produced by TV producer and founder of Allen Media Group, Byron Allen, will be hosting a star-studded black-tie event on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, celebrating African American icons, leaders, and legends at the Beverly Hilton.

Comedienne Sheryl Underwood and actor Taye Diggs will be co-hosting the inaugural event that will later be televised on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, on the Grio Television Network and broadcast on television stations worldwide. This year’s honorees include Tyler Perry, Queen Latifah, Dave Chappelle, and Ben Crump to name a few, and will also feature special performances by Yolanda Adams, Patti LaBelle (honoree), Tyrese, Fantasia, and others.