NAIMA LETT – BLOG – HOLLYWOOD CHRISTIAN
His Royal Baby Highness
© NaimaLett.com/blog

His Royal Baby Highness

“What about the baby?” our grocery store clerk in the Hills asked the British-accented diva in front of me.

“There’s a lot of fuss,” Diva confirmed.

Neither dame knows the royal baby personally, but His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge seems to be the top conversation.

Royal Baby, No Blues

Prince George Alexander Louis, son of Prince William and Duchess Kate, made his royal debut into the world this week and folks all over the world are celebrating. There’s no time for the blues. There are celebrations and gift-giving and sales. Indeed, there’s a whole lot of fuss!

Why?

Well, it’s not every day that a future king is born.

True, the monarchy isn’t as powerful as it used to be, and Prince George is 3rd in line, after his father, Prince William, and his grandfather, Prince Charles. But it’s still historic. And if he ever does become king, he’d fill big shoes as Britain’s 7th King George.

Why not?

Hey, why not celebrate?

Birth is a big deal! It’s arguably one of THE MOST important days of a person’s life. And it’s something that we cannot do, in and of ourselves. The creation of life is a GOD thing, and bringing life into the world is a bona fide miracle. Each and every one of our births is a reason to roll out a red carpet and do cartwheels and back flips up and down Sunset Boulevard.

I know we’re slightly cynical in the LaLa and nothing really rocks our world (besides earthquakes), but honestly, I don’t mind the hoopla.

His Royal Baby Messiah

Do we remember the all out spectacle that occurred when Jesus, our Messiah, was born? A multitude of heavenly hosts split open the sky and threw a praise party, Luke 2:8-15. When angels show up praising God at your birth, that’s a BIG deal.

When the King of Kings took on human form and was born in the earth, heaven showed out. It’s only natural for us to follow suit with our natural kings.

Our Children

Let’s be happy for the royal baby in the same way that we celebrate all our babies. Children are precious and can bring great joy.

“I’m a good father, and I’m an EXCELLENT grandfather,” laughed one of the pastors in our University of Southern California Faith Leaders Institute cohort this week as he answered the question, “What are you good at?” His eyes beamed and you could see images of his grandchildren dancing through his smile. What a tender moment!

It’s the same joy I see as my own father takes in a room full of his 4 children, our spouses and 11 grandchildren. I’m currently at LAX, headed for our bi-annual family soiree of 20 folks in a couple of townhomes, sun, water and fun… a gathering my father worked really hard to make happen.

Proverbs 17:6 says it best, “Grandchildren are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.”

This week, thousands of crowns were born around the world. One of them might be King of England some day. But all of them can be royal to their own grandparents and parents.

Lots of love from the LaLa,
Naima

Rev. Naima Lett, D.MIN, ABD
The Hollywood Christian®
Author of coming release Confessions of a Hollywood Christian®

RESPOND ON BLOG
Comment below, or
Facebook or
Twitter – @naimalettRev. Naima Lett, D.MIN, ABD

NAIMA LETT – BLOG – HOLLYWOOD CHRISTIAN
Why Trayvon Martin’s Story May Not Make It To Film
© NaimaLett.com/blog

For 3 weeks…
George Zimmerman’s trial ran non-stop on television, with news anchors promising a verdict “any minute” every few minutes all day Saturday.

For over a year…
A father, mother and nation grieved the senseless gunning down of a 17-year old, unarmed African American teenager on a Skittles run, by the neighborhood watch captain of Retreat at Twin Lakes gated community in Sanford, Florida during a confrontation because, according to 911 transcript, Zimmerman assumes Trayvon is a burglar because he’s teen who “looks real suspicious, looks like he’s up to no good or he’s on drugs. It’s raining and he’s just walking around.”

I mean, what black child in a hoodie in a gated community just walks around in the rain on a blue-tooth? Or runs when you start following him? Or fights you for his life when you have a gun and haven’t announced that you’re law enforcement, because you’re not?

For 16 months…
more than a million protesters signed petitions, donned “Justice for Trayvon” shirts and hoodies in solidarity, and marched in most major cities from Manhattan to LaLa Land, where about 200 protesters shut down the I-10 Freeway in Crenshaw Sunday after Zimmerman’s acquittal.

Side note: I wonder who was the first person to step out in front of the SUVs and trucks going over 80 mph on that Los Angeles freeway, for the sake of Trayvon, believing that LA drivers would actually stop. We don’t have the best driving records out here and lots of folks don’t stop for anybody, not even the police. You’ve seen our celebrity car chases. It took some extra kind of faith, or something, for those Angelenos to jump out there with their protest signs. Special shout out to my friend, who before her birthday, was out there marching and could’ve been dodging L.A. police in riot gear and rubber bullets. I hear you, Diva. I’m not making light of the situation, I’m just saying.

For almost a week…
Frustration and agreement with Zimmerman’s acquittal has caused great angst and anxiety on both sides of the verdict. Jurors have spoken out on CNN that they could not find Zimmerman guilty based on Florida’s self-defense law. Celebrities like Stevie Wonder have promised to boycott Florida and states with “Stand Your Ground” laws. Some are calling for a federal lawsuit. Others believe there will be a civil lawsuit. It’s far from over.

All of this…
sounds like it could be potential for the making of the next Do the Right Thing or Freedom Writers, right? Shooting, riots, marches, televised trials, and play-by-play analysis on news networks. And if not a Spike Lee Joint, at least a Lifetime “controversial verdict” movie of the week!

But I don’t know, Fam. I honestly think Trayvon’s story won’t make it to film. Here’s why.
If the L.A. riots, which resulted in 53 deaths, over 2,000 injuries, and more than $1 billion in damage, could not result in a film after 20+ years… And if the riots, which occurred over a 6-day period, in the top city where movies are made and affected most of the top filmmakers in some capacity or another, could not garner enough care for filmmakers to pull together enough resources to make it to the big screen… And if public outrage over 4 Caucasian officers being acquitted of the taped beating Rodney King, could not push an entertainment industry to action… you see where I’m going?

Fruitvale Station

The only way I think it could happen would be through independent film, similar to 2013 Sundance Grand Jury Award winner, Fruitvale Station, playing now in theatres across the nation.

Produced by Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker and starring Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer and NAACP Award nominee Michael B. Jordan, Fruitvale Station is based on the true story of Oscar Grant, a 22-year old brother in the Bay area, who was shot in the back, while laying down, by a BART police officer on New Year’s Day, 2009, with several train observers filming on cell phones. The officer was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, not 2nd degree murder, with 2 years sentencing, minus time served. Almost 80 people were arrested in the subsequent riots.

The only reason this film got made is that director Ryan Coogler, alumnus of USC’s film school, thought the story important enough because he was the same age as Oscar and from the same Bay area. This marks Ryans’ first feature film and it’s already being marketed for Academy buzz.

All Lives Matter

I’m not saying that Trayvon’s story is not worth telling. “Thou shall not kill”, Exodus 20:13, is still relevant, and all of our lives are valuable. Trayvon’s life shouldn’t have been lost this young in this way. And as Reverend Everett R. Bell, Los Angeles community advocate and organizer, said this weekend, neither should we keep losing thousands of young men of color in the streets of Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, New York, etc.

Bell asked a haunting question: Are we upset that Trayvon was killed? Or are we upset that it seems Zimmerman got away with it? I think people are upset with both. But I see where Bell is going. We, especially those who are Christ followers, must be outraged when one life is lost. Let’s shut down the freeways when our youth shoot each other as well.

How are we going to get our young boys of color into adulthood alive? Not shot by the Zimmermans of the world who perceive them as burglars in the wrong neighborhood? And not shot by each other for money or a beef or hood politics?

Questions I’m wrestling with in the LaLa.
What are your thoughts?
Naima

Rev. Naima Lett, D.MIN, ABD
The Hollywood Christian®
Author of coming release Confessions of a Hollywood Christian®

RESPOND ON BLOG
Comment below, or
Facebook or
Twitter – @naimalett

NAIMA LETT | BLOG | HOLLYWOOD CHRISTIAN
New Reality Show: “Preachers of L.A.”
© NaimaLett.com/blog

© Oxygen, Cast includes 5 mega-church pastors and 1 Gospel artist

Never a dull moment in the LaLa!

If you’re going to do a new reality show about 6 preachers (pictured above), it just makes good Hollywood sense to do it in Los Angeles, right?! Wealth! Drama! Scandal! It’s all here.

Or that’s what the Oxygen Network wants us to think based on its new trailer video (below):

OXYGEN: “In the glitzy and glam city of Los Angeles live six mega-pastors, celebrated by thousands for their spiritual sermons and high-profile lifestyles. In our new candid reality series Preachers of L.A., we follow each pastor for a glimpse of their everyday lives inside and outside of the church.”

Call for Boycott?

Before the show has aired 1 episode, the Christian Post is reporting about a call for Christians to boycott the series and sign a petition to ask Oxygen to cancel the show. I don’t know if they realize it, but boycotts of television shows rarely do anything more than cause folks to want to actually see what you’re asking them not to see.

What’s the Fuss?

ABC News reports that the show follows “the son of an evangelist who was shunned by his church after a divorce; a pastor whose church is “full of celebrities”; a bishop whose weekly broadcast reaches 250 million homes worldwide; a pastor whose greatest obstacle comes from “within his own family”; a bishop who was a gang member and drug addict before turning to God; and a pastor who was a pioneer of competitive skateboarding”.

So what’s the fuss? Naysayers don’t appreciate that the series seems to focus on the extravagant wealth of its 5 mega-church pastors and 1 former pastor/Grammy nominee, with “fast cars, lavish mansions and infidelity”. But doesn’t everyone already know their lifestyles? Is it worse because they’re pastors flaunting it now? But don’t they already do that?

It’s Messy

It’s messy. But aren’t all reality shows messy? (Note: reality shows aren’t really “real”. They’re produced.) Messy is what keeps viewers watching week after week. If everybody held hands and sang Kumbaya, audiences wouldn’t watch. But if you put Deitrick Haddon, Gospel superstar and former pastor who left his church, moved to LaLa Land, had a baby outside of marriage and started living with his baby-mama, now… folks might watch that. I’m not saying it’s right. I’m just stating the obvious.

Let’s adjust our expectations, Fam. From the trailer and press release, it appears that the show is not about spreading the Gospel. It’s not about Jesus being Lord. It’s not “For God so loved the world…” John 3:16 or to win souls for Christ. This is not about God’s Word and living out godly principles. It’s more like The Real Husbands of Malibu with men who happen to preach.

Bishop Noel Jones, the 63-year old brother of actress/model Grace Jones who grew City of Refuge in Gardena, CA from 1,000 to 17,000 members, confirms that the “original intention was not for this (show) to be an evangelical tool… The only reason I signed up was to help to reduce the iconoclastic proclivities that church members have about their pastors to the point where if they break any of the rules that the church members are breaking, they completely throw them away.” Jones, who’s also been in the news recently over baby-mama drama, is real clear that the show isn’t a evangelistic platform. Why don’t we just take his word for it?

Real Preachers of L.A.

As pastors in L.A., my husband and I can’t help but wonder how the rest of the world may perceive our Los Angeles ministries based on this series. Truth is most pastors do not live like these 5 mega-church pastors and singer. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research reports that 99% of all U.S. churches are NOT megachurches (2,000+ members). Average attendance is 75 – 200 members and most pastors are not wealthy. We drive normal cars and live in normal homes with normal families. But normal doesn’t make it on reality shows.

Do you want to watch us counsel folks on navigating life, relationships, depression, forgiveness? Do you want to see us visit the sick, support those in court or incarcerated, lay loved ones to rest? Do you want to watch us sometimes just sit with folks because that’s what they need? Do you want to watch us pay bills, walk dogs, fix meals, wash dishes, all the stuff that you do? Our sermons might interest you for an hour on Sunday, but what about the other 167 hours in the week? Do you want to watch us serve, pray for folks, disciple people?

Not really. That’s why Oxygen’s new show about preachers has found 6 extravagant ones to craft story-lines that justify the cost of filming. Goodbye, real! Hello, reality TV!

So, here we go.
Never a dull moment in the LaLa,
Naima

Rev. Naima Lett, D.MIN, ABD
The Hollywood Christian®
Author of coming release Confessions of a Hollywood Christian®

RESPOND ON BLOG
Comment below, or
Facebook or
Twitter – @naimalett

Happy 4th of July, Fam!

NAIMA LETT | BLOG | HOLLYWOOD CHRISTIAN © NaimaLett.com, all rights reserved

July 4, 2000.
Our 1st 4th of July together (above).
All-American, New York style.

Twin Towers dominated our skyline.
Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra blazed a free concert, Liberty Park.
And fireworks lit up the Statue of Liberty.
It was a fabulous date-day to remember two months before Kevin proposed.

It never occurred to us…
… that we’d categorize photos Pre-9/11 and Post-9/11, but that’s a reality for most of us who lived in or near The City when those Towers came tumbling down. Terrorism hit home, and it changed us. It changed America.

Thank You
Thanks a million to all our service men and women who have fought to keep our country’s independence for centuries. We are grateful to all our soldiers on the front-lines.

July 4, Today.
Let’s celebrate our freedom, Fam.
We’ve moved from Big Apple skylines to palm trees and a breeze, but we’re still all-American, just LaLa style. :=) And you are all-American, _______ style. And for all of us, let’s take a minute and thank God.

Let’s Remember!

Before becoming president, John Adams, wrote about the creation of the Declaration of Independence, that the day “will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

Let’s remember, Fam! And in the midst of our pomp and parades, fireworks, bonfires and barbecues, let’s remember this as a day of deliverance, and say thank you to God Almighty!

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe…” Psalm 107:1-2

Happy 4th of July, Fam!
How will you celebrate?
Hope you have a wonderful holiday filled with love, food and fun.

Lots of love from the LaLa,
Naima

Rev. Naima Lett, D.MIN
The Hollywood Christian®
Author of coming release Confessions of a Hollywood Christian®

RESPOND ON BLOG
Comment below, or
Facebook or
Twitter – @naimalett