[Update: We're unwilling to keep up with the changes on this one, folks... As of Friday evening, attotneys for Vanessa Long indicated that the divorce is back on.]

[note: the info below is now out-of-date]

Didn’t see this one coming, but I’m super glad it did…

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Vanessa Long has withdrawn her divorce filing against her husband, Bishop Eddie Long, just hours after announcing it had been done.

Her words:

“Upon prayerful reflection, I have reconsidered and plan to withdraw my petition for divorce from my husband, Bishop Eddie L. Long. I love my husband. I believe in him and admire his strength and courage.”

She cited “years of attacks in the media” as the cause for her initial decision to file.

Back to your regularly scheduled weekends…

[UPDATE: Vanessa Long has since WITHDRAWN her divorce filing. Read here.]

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that Vanessa Long has filed for divorce from her husband, Bishop Eddie Long.

She issued the following statement:

“After a great deal of deliberation and prayer, I have decided to terminate my marriage to Bishop Eddie L. Long. Accordingly, I authorized my attorneys to file for divorce on December 1, 2011… It is my sincere hope that this matter can be resolved expeditiously, harmoniously, and fairly. I ask that you respect my privacy and that of my family, as my attorneys and I have agreed that we will not try this case in the media, and I do not intend to make any further statements concerning this matter.”

The two wed in 1990 and are the parents of four children.

This will be all we say about this ’round these parts (and comments are disabled)–

Let’s pray for the kids, especially, as well as for Bishop Long and Vanessa Long.

God keeps blowin’ my mind during this whole bloggin’ journey!

I was blessed to be interviewed by the popular Christian women’s magazine, EEW Magazine, and featured in its latest issue highlighting “10 Men Leading The Way.”

I’m in pretty good company, too– also featured are Bishop Eddie Long, Israel Houghton, Dr. Myles Munroe, Tye Tribbett and more!

Click the link below to check out the full article.  I think it came out pretty well and you might learning something new about me.

http://eewmagazine.com/EJ-GAINES-GOSPEL-PUNDIT-IN-EEW-MAGAZINE.html

Lemme know what you think!

Bishop T.D. Jakes’ annual men’s conference, ManPower, is set to take place next weekend, June 25th-27th, at The Potter’s House in Dallas, TX.  The conference, now in its 15th year, is titled Visions and Dreams, and will feature Bishop Jakes, Bishop Eddie Long, Dr. Myles Munroe and Bishop Lester Love as guest speakers.  Musical guests will include Marvin Sapp and Jesse Campbell.

Registration is free (rare these days!).  Visit the official ManPower website for more details: http://thepottershouse.org/manpower/

Anyone been to a ManPower conference before?  Anyone planning to go to this one?  Why or why not?

Folks thought I was crazy for saying that THIS week’s chart would give a more accurate depiction of nationwide sales of Bishop Eddie Long’s project, The Kingdom Vol. 1., than last week’s figures.  Click here to read that post.

Actually, someone even called me a HATER, for which I’ll accept an apology in the form of ground coffee from a foreign nation– I’m a collector…

If you recall, Bishop Long’s project debuted at #2 on Billboard’s gospel chart last week.  This week, it did not chart within the top 25 gospel albums in the marketplace.  Now, that’s no slight against him, his calling or his ministry– it’s simply how I’ve seen it happen historically, which was my only point last week.

In any case, debuting at #2 in its place is Identity Crisis, the sophomore album from Tedashii.  He’s a holy hip-hop artist and founding member of the 116 Clique, a group out of Dallas, TX.  If you haven’t heard his first album, you may have heard him on projects with Lecrae, FLAME or Trip Lee.

I surely haven’t seen much promo for him leading up to this release, but he must’ve spread the word sufficiently to outsell Donnie McClurkin, Israel Houghton and the WOW Gospel compilation this past week.  That’s not easy for an artist of any genre, especially the often-disparaged holy hip-movement.  So, congrats to you, dude!

And what do we think about the charts, folks?

Well, would you look at that?!

The Billboard widget down on the sidebar (>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>) shows that Bishop Eddie Long’s latest project, The Kingdom Vol. 1, has debuted at #2 on the gospel chart.

Congrats to ya!

I’m a little surprised, but then not surprised at all.  Historically, when the pastor of a megachurch “presents” a project, the project hits #1 or #2 its first week out, then experiences a significant decline in sales and falls out of the top 5.  Do the math– if a sanctuary seats 10,000+, and there are 2 to 3 services each Sunday, how many committed  members would it take to top the charts?

Don’t get me wrong– I’m not saying that this is necessarily the case HERE, but next week’s numbers should give a better read on nationwide sales.

STILL, like I said, CONGRATS!!!  A sale is a sale and a chart-topper is a chart-topper!

Anyone already bought the album???

Bishop Eddie Long returns to the gospel music arena with a new release tomorrow, only this time, he’s not presenting the New Birth Total Praise Choir.  This project, The Kingdom Vol. 1 Featuring GW’s, is coming from Bishop Eddie Long & Friends.

If you were hoping to add another churchy project to your collection, you may want to amend your expectations a bit– nearly all of these tracks are laced with hip-hop beats without a choir or ensemble in earshot, though, I don’t think you’ll notice their absence.

The Kingdom features some heavy-hitting guest artists to capture your attention, including Mary Mary on the easily danceable ”Give God Something”, Tye Tribbett on “Down With The King,” an old-school-flavored joint that is slightly reminiscent of his hit, ”Good In The Hood,” and Dorinda Clark-Cole on the classic R&B-influenced “Wrapped Up In You,” which reminds me a lot of DeBarge’s “All This Love,” a soul music favorite.

The rest of the project bounces from rap to more soulful ballads, at all times featuring artists with a clear passion for using their gifts to glorify God.  Executive Producer James E. Jones, a former Def Jam executive, says he wanted to “make a difference in the gospel music world” with this 11-track project.  You’re definitely going to wanna check it out.

Again, it’s in stores tomorrow, but you can listen to some sample tracks NOW at the official website by clicking here.

Make sure you come back here and lemme know what you think!