Jamal Harrison Bryant
Encyclopedia
Dr. Jamal-Harrison Bryant. (born May 21, 1971, in Baltimore, Maryland) is an African-American preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...

 and pastor of the Empowerment Temple AME Church in his hometown of Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

. He is the son of Bishop John Richard Bryant
John Richard Bryant
Bishop John Richard Bryant, born on June 8, 1943, is the Senior Bishop and Presiding Prelate of the Fourth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.-Biography:Bryant is the son of the late Bishop Harrison James and Edith Holland 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

Dr. Bryant was born to Bishop John Richard Bryant and Rev. Cecilia Williams-Bryant in Baltimore, Maryland while Bishop Bryant (at the time Rev. John Bryant) was the pastor at Bethel AME Church. While growing up, Dr. 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 thereafter for their first assignment. The time spent in Africa help change, and prepare Dr. Bryant for his call to the ministry in the church.

Dr. Bryant, dropped out of high school after the 11th grade, but later obtained a GED certificate go on to further his education.  He holds a BA degree in Political Science and International Studies from Morehouse College
Morehouse College
Morehouse College is a private, all-male, liberal arts, historically black college located in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Wabash College, Morehouse is one of three remaining traditional men's colleges in the United States....

 in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, and earned a MA of Divinity degree from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...

 in Durham, North Carolina. In 2005 he received his Doctorate of Ministry Degree from the Graduate Theological Foundation. In 1988, Bryant spent a year in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

 in what he calls his "Damascus Road experience."

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 such other places abroad such as South Africa, Belgium, England, and India.

Empowerment Temple

Dr. 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 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 Dr. 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 Dr. Bryant’s brilliant illumination of the Word of God and dynamic delivery.

Over the years, Dr. 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
Trinity Broadcasting Network
The Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...

, and also on BET's Morning Worship segment on weekday mornings. Excerpts of his sermons can also be seen online at his online website.

The messages delivered by Dr. 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)

SUNDAY
Time: 10:30 PM
Location: National
Station: Word Network

MONDAY
Time: 7:30am
Location: Jackson, MS
Station: TV 23

Other television appearances

In addition to his own program, Bryant has appeared on BET’s Meet the Faith, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

, C-Span
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...

, and Politically Incorrect
Politically Incorrect
Politically Incorrect is a late-night, half-hour political talk show hosted by Bill Maher that ran from 1993 to 2002. It premiered on Comedy Central from 1993 to 1997, and later on ABC in 1997, which cancelled it in 2002....

. 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
Tavis Smiley
Tavis Smiley is a talk show host, author, liberal political commentator, entrepreneur, advocate and philanthropist. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi and grew up in Kokomo, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to Tom Bradley, the mayor of...

. According to Ebony Magazine, Bryant was labeled as one of America’s future leaders. He is currently serving as spiritual advisor to Omarosa on the reality show The Ultimate Merger
The Ultimate Merger
Donald J. Trump Presents The Ultimate Merger is an American reality television dating game show. A spin-off of The Apprentice, the series premiered on TV One on June 17, 2010. Notably, The Ultimate Merger is the first reality dating series to feature contestants who are almost entirely from the...

. He also served as Spiritual advisor to Ki-ci and Jo-jo reality show which also aired on the TV One network.

Family

Bryant has four daughters Topaz, Grace, and twins Angel and Adore. They reside in Baltimore. He is also the brother of Thema Simone Bryant Davis.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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