The author of “See You At the Top”, Ziglar was a Southerner and a Southern Baptist. He even served one term as 1st Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention. Ziglar, a longtime member of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, died in Dallas.

The Dallas Morning News has more details .

Ziglar’s web site is here.

Saddleback Church Kicks Off Effort to Eradicate Orphans in Rwanda on World AIDS Day 2012

I got this press release in my e-mail today. The cause is fantastic. The headline? Not so much…

Saddleback Church Kicks Off Effort to Eradicate
Orphans in Rwanda on World AIDS Day 2012:
Challenges Local Churches to Join UNAIDS in “Getting to Zero” by 2015

LAKE FOREST, Calif., Nov. 27, 2012 – In honor of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, Saddleback Church is setting its own goal of reaching zero orphans throughout Rwanda by 2015. The target is supplemental to UNAIDS’ three-year strategy of “Getting to Zero,” including zero babies born of HIV, zero AIDS-related deaths, zero new HIV infections and zero stigma and discrimination.

“This is a very audacious goal – to help a country be the first to empty their orphanages, helping 3,000 children become part of permanent families, but we know with God all things are possible,” said Kay Warren, founder of Saddleback Church’s HIV&AIDS Initiative. “The Church has the largest participation, widest distribution, simplest administration, fastest proliferation, longest continuation, strongest authorization and highest motivation to help with this health crises. For that reason, the local church is key to getting to zero.”

Believing the worldwide Church can be a solution to the HIV&AIDS pandemic, Saddleback is hosting Compassion Weekend Dec. 1 and 2 to bring awareness to the need for the Church to respond by caring for those infected and affected, including orphans, around the globe.

Warren will speak a message of encouragement and challenge during each of Saddleback’s weekend services and will be joined by 13-year-old Cynthia Styffe, a former orphan from Kigali, Rwanda, who was adopted four years ago by a member family of Saddleback; Timothy Brown, the first individual cured of HIV; and a discordant couple that decided to not let the strain of an HIV diagnosis tear their family apart. Each service will be available to watch live online via Saddleback’s Internet Campus at http://www.saddleback.com.

In 2002, Warren became, in her words, “seriously disturbed” by the suffering of the millions infected with or affected by HIV&AIDS. She was instrumental in presenting Saddleback Church’s first HIV&AIDS conference in 2005 and launching the HIV&AIDS AIDS Initiative (http://www.hivaidsinitiative.com), which is designed to equip pastors and church leaders to begin or strengthen existing HIV&AIDS ministries in their church and to encourage those living with HIV&AIDS with practical information from a spiritual point of view. The church has since also founded the Saddleback Orphan Care ministry (http://www.orphansandthechurch.com).

“The HIV&AIDS Initiative at Saddleback was born out of the conviction that God cares about sick people – he loves people who are living with HIV,” explains Warren. “A study of Scripture reveals a God who is passionate about the sick. If we link arms together, united in vision and purpose, we can bring healing and hope to millions of people living with HIV&AIDS as well as their families and friends. In fact, we can do even more than that: we can end AIDS.”

For additional information about ways local churches can assist in “Getting to Zero” by 2015, http://hivaidsinitiative.com/gettingtozero.

Saddleback Church, founded by Warren and her husband Rick in 1980, is located in Southern California. The main campus is in Lake Forest, Calif., and nine additional campuses in the cities of Anaheim, Corona, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Woods, Orange, San Clemente and Rancho Capistrano. With an average weekly attendance of more than 22,000 across the 10 campuses, it is among the 10 largest churches in America. For additional information about the Saddleback and its ministries, visit http://www.saddleback.com.

- 30 -

“There are 47 percent who are with [President Obama], who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it…My job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”

Ronald Reagan on the have-nots (and the rest of us):

“I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph. And there’s purpose and worth to each and every life.”

But this wasn’t a prayer meeting and they didn’t treat the place like Holy Ground. Instead, they burst out the bubbly. Drunkenness followed. And at least one Republican congressman got naked and jumped into the sea where Jesus once walked on water.

The FBI got involved. The scandal was hushed up — for a year. But they couldn’t hide their misconduct forever. And now Politico has the details.

Question of the day: Does the typical U.S. politician in 2012 behave more like Solomon or Belshazzar?

Do we as Americans run the risk that one day, in the midst of our eating and drinking and self-congratulations, a hand will appear on the wall and write:

Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin

But for some Christians, the adulation heaped on Jang by his followers sounds disturbingly familiar to the worship heaped on “True Parent” Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church.

Jang has a college in California and his followers have set up the Christian Post, a highly-read evangelical news web site.

Jang’s ventures include some of this nation’s best-known evangelicals. And Southern Baptists are considering turning over their massive New Mexico retreat center — virtually free of charge — to Jang’s school.

Since the story is appearing in Christianity Today, it has the backing of the nation’s most influential evangelical publication. And because it has Ted Olsen’s byline on it, it has additional credibility.

The group has close ties to the Republican Party. It’s a major voice for traditional marriage and repeal of Roe v. Wade.

It’s also been branded a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has expanded its portfolio (originally focused on fighting racism) to targeting groups that take conservative stances on homosexuality and immigration.

Today, a gunman opened fire at the Family Research Council’s Washington offices.

By ERIC TUCKER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON— A law enforcement official says a suspected gunman made a negative reference about the work of a conservative Christian lobbying group before shooting a security guard.

The reference was made in a confrontation in the lobby of the Family Research Council in Washington Wednesday morning. The official said the suspect was not specific. The official would only speak on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

After being shot in the arm, the security guard and others wrestled the suspect to the ground and he was arrested. His name has not been released publicly.
The Family Research Council strongly opposes gay marriage and abortion and says it advocates “faith, family and freedom in public policy and public opinion.” -30 —

The Family Research Council is located in downtown D.C. — in a modern building not far from a bunch of museums and the arena where the Washington Wizards play.

Its founder was Gary Bauer, a former Reagan White House adviser and 2000 Republican presidential candidate.

It’s curious that the DC police hasn’t released the name of the gunman. I’ll update this when he’s identified.

At a time when the Soviet Union was promoting Godless Communism, Ayn Rand was a standard bearer for a new brand of Godless Capitalism — a code of morality that rejected charity as weak and Christianity as evil.

She hated God and promoted a “Greed is Good” gospel.

Paul Ryan was a big Ayn Rand fan, even throwing an Aynd Rand birthday party in 2005 to mark the Centennial of Ayn Rand’s birth. He says Rand is required reading for his staff and has indicated that the morality behind his philosophy of government comes from Rand, not Rome.

Ryan is apparently backtracking from Rand now that he’s wooing the Christian Right. But look for this issue to pop up some more between now and November.

Indeed there’s already a devastating ad, created by the American Values Network (a group of Democratic insiders).

By a 7-2 vote (with Justices Potter and White dissenting), the nation’s high court tossed out the abortion laws of all 50 states.

The decision didn’t ruffle many evangelical feathers — not at first. Roman Catholics almost single-handedly led the fight to repeal the court edict.

No one worked harder than Nellie Gray, who died Monday.

Gray organized the first March for Life in 1974 and led the annual event for nearly three decades.

Gray, a Texan born in 1924, was a convert to Catholicism and an attorney.

Oddly enough, the all-time most-inspiring song of all time — according to Beliefnet — is “Over the Rainbow.”

The first ten songs, picked by Beliefnet “based on data gathered by its writers and editors” are:

“Somewhere over the Rainbow” by Judy Garland
“What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong
“Lean on Me” by Bill Withers
“Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler
“Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson
“We Are the Champions” by Queen
“Greatest Love of All” by Whitney Houston
‘Imagine” by John Lennon
“You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban
“One” by U2

Now, 9 conservative bishops who filed friend of the court briefs challenging the legal doctrines espoused by Jefferts Schori and her lawyers are facing possible disciplinary action.

More details here.

“Contrary to the North Carolina decision, civil marriage of same-gender couples will one day be seen as good for society. I look forward to the day when such marriages occur in this state so that we can live with one another in a spirit of equality and justice,” he wrote in a statement/

The rest of Bishop Benfield’s comments are available below:

Statement from the Rt. Rev. Larry R. Benfield, bishop of Arkansas, concerning the statement by the president Obama regarding the marriage of same-sex couples
May 8, 2012

“President Obama has announced that he thinks that same-sex couples should be able to get married. This announcement came on the heels of the vote in North Carolina to enshrine in that state’s constitution a prohibition on such marriages.
I agree with the president’s position. Contrary to the North Carolina decision, civil marriage of same-gender couples will one day be seen as good for society. I look forward to the day when such marriages occur in this state so that we can live with one another in a spirit of equality and justice.

I was troubled by the apparent demonization of same-gender couples in the very charged debate in North Carolina, especially by some members of the Christian community. The decision in North Carolina was not an endorsement of Christian values, nor the position of all Christians, but a stand, influenced by some religious leaders, that further distances many people from the church and its message of God’s unconditional love. The Episcopal Church in Arkansas and I as its bishop continue to reach out to our residents, gay or straight, single or married, with pastoral generosity. I strive to respect the dignity of every human being, and supporting civil same-gender marriage is one way that I do so.”

Larry R. Benfield
Bishop of Arkansas

The church’s statement is reprinted, in its entirety, below:

**AG OPPOSES PRESIDENT OBAMA’S STANCE ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

The Assemblies of God, in reaction to President Barack Obama’s
embracing of same-sex marriage, is voicing its dissent and
objection. According to Dr. George O. Wood, general superintendent
of the Assemblies of God, the Assemblies of God is in complete
disagreement with the president’s new position and takes exception
to the president’s taking Scripture out of context to defend his
position.

“The Bible clearly teaches that marriage should be a life-long
commitment between one man and one women,” states Dr. George O.
Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God. “There is no affirmation of homosexual behavior found anywhere in Scripture.
However, the Bible is replete with evidence that homosexual behavior is immoral and comes under the judgment of God.”

The president also referred to the Bible, claiming Christ
sacrificing himself for mankind and the golden rule as reasons for
endorsing same-sex marriage.

“Although it has become popular to quote Scripture grossly out of
context to serve a personal or political agenda, it still doesn’t
change what God’s Word clearly states,” Wood says.

Wood adds that in light of what Scripture says, Christians should
not be surprised by individuals and groups twisting Scripture,
citing, 2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”

In the Assemblies of God’s official position paper on homosexuality, it states, “We believe, in the light of biblical revelation, that the growing cultural acceptance of homosexual identity and behavior, male and female, is symptomatic of a broader spiritual disorder that threatens the family, the government, and the church.”

The paper also states, “Not only do the Scriptures condemn more
flagrant examples of homosexual violence and promiscuity, they also provide no support for the popular modern idea that loving and committed homosexual relationships between two long-term partners are morally acceptable. Homosexual activities of every kind are contrary to the moral commandments God has given us.”

Wood adds that it’s important for Christians to not underestimate
the implications of a pro-homosexual, pro-abortion president, and
what it means for the church. “In no time in our nation have we ever needed to pray more for our political leaders and this country than we need to today,” Wood says.

For more information about the Assemblies of God position on
homosexuality and other areas, see its website at http://ag.org
and click on “Beliefs.”

–AG News

The artist was kind enough to give me an interview in late 2008, and we spoke about religious art, Christianity and the role of faith in his paintings and in his life:

“I always say I’m a man of deep faith, but I’m also a bit of a universalist. I want to live life in a nonjudgmental way. I try to speak in a very inclusive way about faith issues. I try to embrace people of all different faiths. You know, God will sort out at the end of the day what’s the prerequisites and the requirements for His elect group. But I think what matters in the human condition is that we exude the kind of unconditional love that Christ exuded.”

Thomas Kinkade
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
December 13, 2008

Complete interview below…

‘Painter of Light’ Kinkade says faith illuminates work

Thomas Kinkade describes himself as “The Painter of Light,” “The Official Artist of Christmas” and a devout Christian. He prays for people who come to his art shows. While famous for painting cottages and babbling brooks, the Californian also paints churches and chapels and pictures of Christ.

Recently, he even launched a semiautobiographical straight-to-video motion picture titled Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage. It focuses on a college-age Kinkade who paints a mural and helps his small California hometown to rediscover “the true spirit of Christmas.”

The wildly popular California-based painter visited with Arkansas Democrat-Gazette religion editor Frank Lockwood about light, darkness, the new Kinkade movie and the True Meaning of Christmas.

Q. Thomas Kinkade is one of the best-selling artists in the world today. How many million paintings have you sold so far?

A. “Well gosh, you figure that each year we sell 4 [million] or 5 million calendars. People take those paintings, oftentimes, and frame them up. We’ve sold millions and millions of canvas prints and our collector plates … It’s hard to estimate how much overlap there is but we’d say between 12 [million] and 15 million homes have some form of this art in the home, so it’s a vast audience.”

Q. You call yourself “The Painter of Light.” What does that mean?

A. “I think people have identified in layman’s terms the fact that I paint light as an effect. … There’s also a spiritual dimension that I’m sure most people would identify. Light is the opposite of darkness. It’s hope in the midst of despair, it’s love in the midst of frenzy and hatred and violence, so that’s what I think people find true about the paintings.

“They become a welcome relief in the midst of the chaos of our culture. The daily news is not always happy, and yet people feel like, when they step into the world of my paintings, they step into a world that is tranquil.”

Q. Why did you want to make a Christmas movie?

A. “I’m known as ‘The Official Artist of Christmas.’ That’s just sort of a term people toss around sometimes. You know: ‘It’s a Kinkade Christmas,’ people will say. Because a lot of times people associate my work with gift giving. We do a lot of Christmas products every year. I paint the imagery that I think has fueled the popular imagination of what Christmas should be. You know, the light spilling out from the windows onto the snow and the snowman in the yard and the sun setting just perfectly, glowing and soft-edged. …

“So when we were approached to do our first movie, we thought it would be a natural to do a Christmas story. If you think about it, there’s been a lot of Christmas movies made over the past decade, but most of the ones made have been in the category of slapstick, zany comedies. You know: sarcastic and humorous treatments about the holidays, about how busy it is, how crazy it is, how horrible it is to have your family visiting, etc., etc.

“We wanted to make a movie that hearkens back to the homespun Christmas stories of the past, movies like It’s a Wonderful Life which are timeless because they’re about the most fundamental part of the holiday season, which is the act of giving, the love of community, the self-sacrifice that happens in families.

“Our movie is about sacrificial giving. It’s a movie about new life amidst winter, hope emerging out of death, joy emerging out of sorrow and out of pain. Those are themes that don’t grow old.”

Q. What role does faith play in your life?

A. “Oh, it’s the center. I always say I’m a man of deep faith, but I’m also a bit of a universalist. I want to live life in a nonjudgmental way. I try to speak in a very inclusive way about faith issues. I try to embrace people of all different faiths. You know, God will sort out at the end of the day what’s the prerequisites and the requirements for His elect group. But I think what matters in the human condition is that we exude the kind of unconditional love that Christ exuded.

“So I try to love the unlovable and never judge someone for where they’re at.

I am a Christian, but I’m also a Christian with a sense of humor. There’s nothing profoundly pious about my life.

I have a beautiful old restored Harley-Davidson that I like to ride around, I have a taste for cheap cigars and a lot of the things I do in my life may not fit the mold of what some people think of as the Christian experience, but you know, I’m just who I am. I’m an individualist and I ask people not to judge me and I won’t judge them.”

Q. If you were going to pick the most powerful religious work of art in the world, what would it be?

A. “Oh, no question, it’s the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. … I was given the opportunity to have a private showing at the Sistine Chapel through the good graces of our friends in the Vatican and believe me, there’s nothing more powerful than standing in front of those paintings.

They’re as fresh today as they were when they were created. … The hand of God touching Adam and imbuing him with light and life is one of the most powerful images ever created.”

“The fundamental right to privacy implicit in our law protects all private, consensual, noncommercial acts of sexual intimacy between adults,” the court said, quoting from an earlier Arkansas case.

Preventing a teacher from having sex with a willing 18 year old student “infringes on [the teacher's] fundamental right to privacy,” the court ruled.

The opinion is posted on the Supreme Court’s website.

(Once you’re there, click on Paschal v. State).

This decision was written by Chief Justice Jim Hannah. Justices Paul E. Danielson, Donald L. Corbin and Courtney Hudson Goodson also voted to throw out Arkansas’ ban on high school teacher-student sex.

Upholding the statute were Justices Robert L. Brown, Jim Gunter and Karen Baker.

In his dissent, Brown described the majority’s analysis as “wrong…preposterous…”

The idea that high school teachers have a “constitutionally protected fundamental privacy right to have sexual contact with an 18-year-old student at the school where he teaches is absurd,” Justice Baker wrote.

The church’s announcement is below:

United Methodist social justice agency issues clarion call to faith community about ‘senseless killing’

General Board of Church & Society says ‘Stand Your Ground’ legislation underscores ‘profound failures’ of U.S. justice system.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United Methodist General Board of Church & Society is gravely concerned following the senseless killing of teen-ager Trayvon Martin and what his death reveals about the profound failures of our justice system. More than a month has passed since the unarmed youth was shot and killed, but the admitted killer has not been arrested or charged with any crime related to the shooting.

Police say Florida’s “stand your ground” deadly force law prohibits them from making an arrest. The law allows the use of deadly force anywhere a person feels a reasonable fear of death or serious injury. The law has been cited as justification in a rising number of questionable homicide cases in Florida.

In this instance, on Feb. 26 George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin, who was unarmed and walking back to the home of his father’s girlfriend in Sanford, Fla. Martin was carrying a bag of Skittles and a bottle of iced tea.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Trayvon Martin and all those who have been touched by this entirely preventable tragedy. The death of Trayvon is a clarion call to the faith community and to all society to act to ensure that such killings be stopped.

‘Stand Your Ground’

According to police, Zimmerman followed and confronted 17-year-old Trayvon despite their instructions to stay away from the youth. Zimmerman has not faced prosecution as a result of Florida’s “Stand Your Ground,” law which takes a shooter’s self-defense claim at face value.

Florida law enforcement officials say they are investigating the killing, and federal authorities say they will open an investigation into the death, most likely under hate crime statutes.

To help bring about an end to such violence, we call for the full repeal of all “Stand Your Ground” legislation. The bill passed the Florida legislature in 2005, and versions exist in more than 20 states due to heavy lobbying by the National Rifle Assn. (NRA). Reports of “justifiable homicides” under this statute have tripled in the state of Florida alone since the law went into effect, threatening the lives of our families and the safety of our communities.

Prevent such tragedies

While people of faith must be agents for healing once these tragedies occur, we can and must also work to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the first place. We call on our legislators to pass policies that protect our children and make the use of firearms a truly rare occurrence. Responsible gun ownership and public safety are not mutually exclusive, but tragically, both were ignored by the Florida state legislature under enormous financial and political pressure from the NRA.

The killing of Trayvon Martin and the handling of the case reveal the profound inability of our current system to bring about justice, particularly for communities of color. The history of Sanford, Fla., includes repeated instances of failure to prosecute when the victim is African-American, and the Sanford police department has a history of not holding perpetrators accountable for violent acts against African-American victims.

We are concerned that youths of color are routinely assumed to be violent criminals, and thus face the constant threat of random acts of violence committed against them.

As people of faith, we call for a racially just legal system where people of color are not profiled, but are given adequate access to justice. We call on all communities of faith to commit to building neighborhoods in which children of all ethnicities and identities grow up in an environment of possibility, free from the menacing threat of the assumption of criminality and an end to the constant threat of violence.

Statement from the General Board of Church & Society of The United Methodist Church (March 27, 2012)

—Jim Winkler, General Secretary
—Bill Mefford, Director, Civil & Human Rights
—Laura Markle Downton, National Coordinator for Restorative Justice\

The General Board of Church & Society is one of four international general program boards of The United Methodist Church. Prime responsibility of the board is to seek implementation of the Social Principles and other policy statements on Christian social concerns of the General Conference, the denomination’s highest policy-making body. The board’s primary areas of ministry are Advocacy, Education & Leadership Formation, United Nations & International Affairs, and resourcing these areas for the denomination. It has offices on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and at the Church Center for the United Nations in New York City.

So they’re looking for volunteers with non-Bostonian accents to make phone calls this weekend.

“Folks in TN, NC, GA, and VA” — in particular — are being recruited to dial up Alabama, Politico reports.

With superior financial resources and organization, Romney is working hard to make a break-through in Dixie, USA Today reports.

“I am learning to say y’all, and I like grits and things,” he told a Mississippi audience Thursday. “Strange things are happening to me.”

]]> http://biblebeltblogger.com/index.php/religion/wanted-romney-supporters-with-southern-accents/feed 2 http://biblebeltblogger.com/index.php/religion/pentecostal-church-turns-100-gives-100000-to-community http://biblebeltblogger.com/index.php/religion/pentecostal-church-turns-100-gives-100000-to-community#comments Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:29:41 +0000 flockwood http://biblebeltblogger.com/?p=2668 By Frank Lockwood
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
March 5, 2012

NORTH LITTLE ROCK — A North Little Rock church celebrated its 100th birthday by giving away $100,000 Sunday to central Arkansas schools and charities. Then it collected $160,000 in offerings to build Assemblies of God churches across communist Vietnam.

“We chose to celebrate God’s faithfulness to us by sharing God’s love with others,” pastor Rod Loy said, explaining what motivated people at First Assembly of God North Little Rock to give away so much money.

When a church is 100 years old, Loy said, “What you expect is a church living in the past, stuck in its traditions, increasingly irrelevant. That’s what you expect. That’s not what we’re experiencing.”

Instead, the congregation is “enjoying the greatest days in our 100 year history … We’re the opposite of worn-out and tired. We have a fresh vision, we have a new energy. We have a sense that God has greater things in store.”

First Assembly was originally an independent Pentecostal church and is two years older than the Assemblies of God, which was founded in 1914, in Hot Springs.

One of the largest, fastest-growing Assemblies of God congregations in the country, with average weekly attendance of about 3,000, the North Little Rock church has given millions of dollars to world missions in recent years…

The rest of the story is available for Arkansas Democrat-Gazette subscribers at arkansasonline.com

]]> http://biblebeltblogger.com/index.php/religion/pentecostal-church-turns-100-gives-100000-to-community/feed 1 http://biblebeltblogger.com/index.php/religion/ap-eats-crow-after-sparrow-flub http://biblebeltblogger.com/index.php/religion/ap-eats-crow-after-sparrow-flub#comments Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:10:54 +0000 flockwood http://biblebeltblogger.com/?p=2665

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — In stories on the death of Whitney Houston sent Feb. 12 and 13, The Associated Press incorrectly reported the name of a song she sang in an upcoming movie. The title of the song is “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” not “Her Eyes on the Sparrow.”

“His Eye is on the Sparrow” is a familiar song for those who love the gospel music genre.

The lyrics are by Civilla Durfee Martin and the music is by Charles H. Gabriel. Growing up, my Assemblies of God hymnal featured many of Gabriel’s pieces, including “Send the Light”, “I Stand Amazed in the Presence” and “Since Jesus Came Into My Heart.”

But “His Eye is on the Sparrow” is the song that left a real imprint on history. The great Ethel Waters sang this song in her 1952 movie “The Member of the Wedding” and at Billy Graham crusades from coast to coast. She borrowed the song’s title and used it for the name of her autobiography.

Mahalia Jackson sang it.

Here’s a great version by Gladys Knight.

Or there’s Lauryn Hill and Tanya Blount, singing it on the soundtrack to Sister Act 2.

Now, we’ll have Whitney Houston singing “His Eye is on the Sparrow” as her musical valedictory on the soundtrack to “Sparkle.” And I have no doubt that she’ll give a performance worthy of Mahalia, Ethel and Gladys.

AP has more details here.

I saw Whitney Houston sing in Boston in probably September of October of 1985 at the Berklee Performing Arts Center. I was on the sixth row and it was my very first real secular concert (A weekend at Jesus Northwest doesn’t exactly qualify…)

She had such a glorious voice, and she hadn’t yet become a Superstar when I saw her. I think “You Give Good Love”, her debut single, had peaked at #3 and “Saving All My Love for You” had just been released. That song went on to hit #1, the first of something like 7 straight #1 singles.

Her debut album, “Whitney Houston” spawned 3 #1 songs in all, including “How Will I Know.”

Her sophomore effort, “Whitney”, included 4 #1 songs.

Yes, she had a glorious voice. And she was beautiful. Her biggest hit came on “The Bodyguard” soundtrack, a re-recording of a Dolly Parton song — “I Will Always Love You.” But she also hit the Top 40 simply by singing the National Anthem. She was that good.

After her marriage to Bobby Brown, her life seemingly spiraled out of control. I think she had a concert on HBO in the fall of 1997 and it was a disaster, and gospel great Shirley Caesar was there singing with her, looking chagrined and embarrassed and concerned. That’s my memory of it anyhow.

She starred in “The Bishop’s Wife” with Denzel Washington and produced a soundtrack that was half good and half great. The half-great part was the gospel part. She recorded “Joy, joy” with the Georgia Mass Choir and that’ll always be my favorite Whitney Houston gospel song. But she sounded awfully good singing Dottie Rambo’s “I Go to the Rock” and “I Love the Lord, He Heard My Cry.”

I always hoped that she’d put together an album that was 100 percent gospel. I would’ve played it til the disc wore out.

Back in 2009, Houston had her first new album in ages. Her voice was no longer perfect. The years and life had taken their toll. But she had a single, “I Look to You” that was truly a gospel anthem. The song wasn’t slick and shiny. It had grit and gumption, mixed with what sounded to me like pain and unconquered faith. And it looked possible, at that moment, that her life might be headed for a happy ending.

Now, it’s hard to see any happy endings at the end of this story. Whitney Houston was just 48.