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BE: I think we have gotten to the place where
we have actually allowed our blessings to
curse us, because some of us really can't
handle the blessings of God and still maintain
our relationship in proper alignment with God.
Sometimes, when God has really shown
himself large in our lives and we begin
enjoying the benefits of it, we move away
from Him and we get caught up in the
benefits. One of God's greatest priorities, I
we have actually allowed our blessings to
curse us, because some of us really can't
handle the blessings of God and still maintain
our relationship in proper alignment with God.
Sometimes, when God has really shown
himself large in our lives and we begin
enjoying the benefits of it, we move away
from Him and we get caught up in the
benefits. One of God's greatest priorities, I
On the day of our interview, Bishop Ellis was
relaxed, enjoying clear skies and 85 degree
weather in the capital city, where he resides on
a beautiful, sprawling estate.
"Next time, I'm interviewing you in New York,
on my home turf, in sub-zero temperatures, in
the middle of a snow storm," I teased.
"Well, I will not be there," he replied with a
chuckle in his thick Bahamian accent.
"It had gotten a little colder the other night
though," the Bishop added.
"What is cold to you?" I asked skeptically.
"Oh, it got down to about 65 degrees and I
needed a warm blanket."
I involuntarily let out a guffaw, since, where
I'm from, Bishop Ellis's description of a drop
in temperature would be considered a virtual
heat wave around this time of year.
Well, after he and I moved away from light-
hearted chatter about the weather and such,
we talked at length about the focus of his book
Pursuing the Glory.
It really serves as a clarion call for believers to
return back to a hunger for righteousness and
the pursuit of God's glory. Most importantly, it
admonished us to begin seeking God's
presence again and not his presents.
EEW: How can we get back to holiness, when
we have drifted so far into secularism?
Bishop Ellis: First of all, I think, before you
can chart your way back, you have to see
how we got off course.
What is happening Dianna with a lot of us is
that, like me and many of us now in the body
[of Christ] who have been on both sides of the
fence—we've been on both sides where there
was poverty and we really kind of lived from
day to day in many cases, [we] lived without
some of the basic necessities of life.
And then, through the process of time, God
really opened up some doors for some of us
and we were able to walk through those
doors, and we moved to the other side of the
fence.
Now, when many of us moved from the poor
side of the fence to the successful,
progressive, or prosperous side of the fence,
we dropped some things in the process.
relaxed, enjoying clear skies and 85 degree
weather in the capital city, where he resides on
a beautiful, sprawling estate.
"Next time, I'm interviewing you in New York,
on my home turf, in sub-zero temperatures, in
the middle of a snow storm," I teased.
"Well, I will not be there," he replied with a
chuckle in his thick Bahamian accent.
"It had gotten a little colder the other night
though," the Bishop added.
"What is cold to you?" I asked skeptically.
"Oh, it got down to about 65 degrees and I
needed a warm blanket."
I involuntarily let out a guffaw, since, where
I'm from, Bishop Ellis's description of a drop
in temperature would be considered a virtual
heat wave around this time of year.
Well, after he and I moved away from light-
hearted chatter about the weather and such,
we talked at length about the focus of his book
Pursuing the Glory.
It really serves as a clarion call for believers to
return back to a hunger for righteousness and
the pursuit of God's glory. Most importantly, it
admonished us to begin seeking God's
presence again and not his presents.
EEW: How can we get back to holiness, when
we have drifted so far into secularism?
Bishop Ellis: First of all, I think, before you
can chart your way back, you have to see
how we got off course.
What is happening Dianna with a lot of us is
that, like me and many of us now in the body
[of Christ] who have been on both sides of the
fence—we've been on both sides where there
was poverty and we really kind of lived from
day to day in many cases, [we] lived without
some of the basic necessities of life.
And then, through the process of time, God
really opened up some doors for some of us
and we were able to walk through those
doors, and we moved to the other side of the
fence.
Now, when many of us moved from the poor
side of the fence to the successful,
progressive, or prosperous side of the fence,
we dropped some things in the process.
We are now looking at some difficult days
When you look in the book of the Prophet
Haggai, he talks about this "shaking" and he
equates this shaking to the choking of
economies. So, this global, this worldwide
recession that we've experienced over the last
year or so has been nothing more than a
shaking of the nations, and a choking of the
economies of the nations.
So, that's causing all of us, including
prosperous church people, to look at their
budgets once again and to go into a leaner
budget and begin to re-prioritize. A lot of
people do not have as much as they used to
have a year ago or two years ago. So, what I
think is happening is, God is now forcing us to
return to what we used to know. You see? As
we return to Him, we will develop a fresh and
a greater hunger for Him.
EEW: Bishop, what should we know going
into 2010?
BE: I think in 2010 the body of Christ is
gonna take a shaking. I think God shook the
nations in 2009. I think in 2010, God is going
to shake the church. There's going to be a
resurgence of his presence.
When you look in the book of the Prophet
Haggai, he talks about this "shaking" and he
equates this shaking to the choking of
economies. So, this global, this worldwide
recession that we've experienced over the last
year or so has been nothing more than a
shaking of the nations, and a choking of the
economies of the nations.
So, that's causing all of us, including
prosperous church people, to look at their
budgets once again and to go into a leaner
budget and begin to re-prioritize. A lot of
people do not have as much as they used to
have a year ago or two years ago. So, what I
think is happening is, God is now forcing us to
return to what we used to know. You see? As
we return to Him, we will develop a fresh and
a greater hunger for Him.
EEW: Bishop, what should we know going
into 2010?
BE: I think in 2010 the body of Christ is
gonna take a shaking. I think God shook the
nations in 2009. I think in 2010, God is going
to shake the church. There's going to be a
resurgence of his presence.
EEW: You know, Bishop, to hear someone
say "We're too materialistic" who doesn't
possess material wealth is usually viewed as
griping or complaining. But, for you to say
these things has more of an impact,
particularly for those who are discouraged by
what they see with leaders who aren't living
lives consistent with what they say in the
pulpit. Where does this stem from?
BE: Something happens to [some of] us
somehow, when we come out of abject
poverty and move into a period of prosperity.
We now want to have a better, clearer, or
closer identification with the people of the
world. We want to build our social networks
and our social statuses, instead of continuing
to build that relationship that helped to get us
where we are. And so, all of a sudden now,
our spiritual things do not have the same value
in our lives as they used to when we were
broke.
Now that we're able to get a little something,
we feel like we can compete with this group
here and we can do what they do. [We feel
like] we can be a part of the clubs that they
are a part of. Now all of a sudden, we can
identify with them. The problem is, to be able
to identify with them, in a lot of cases, we
have to drop some of our standards. That's
what's gotten us off course.
That is very, very prevalent in the church,
starting with the pulpit. A lot of "successful"
pastor's friends are no longer other pastors.
It's other people now we meet at the social
club. It's other people now that we play golf
with. It's other people that we go fishing with.
And all of a sudden we find ourselves
conforming when the truth is that, God blesses
us so we can be lights to those in darkness.
But, instead of having people conform to our
way of life, it's the opposite. We gravitate
toward their way of life and that's how we get
off course.
say "We're too materialistic" who doesn't
possess material wealth is usually viewed as
griping or complaining. But, for you to say
these things has more of an impact,
particularly for those who are discouraged by
what they see with leaders who aren't living
lives consistent with what they say in the
pulpit. Where does this stem from?
BE: Something happens to [some of] us
somehow, when we come out of abject
poverty and move into a period of prosperity.
We now want to have a better, clearer, or
closer identification with the people of the
world. We want to build our social networks
and our social statuses, instead of continuing
to build that relationship that helped to get us
where we are. And so, all of a sudden now,
our spiritual things do not have the same value
in our lives as they used to when we were
broke.
Now that we're able to get a little something,
we feel like we can compete with this group
here and we can do what they do. [We feel
like] we can be a part of the clubs that they
are a part of. Now all of a sudden, we can
identify with them. The problem is, to be able
to identify with them, in a lot of cases, we
have to drop some of our standards. That's
what's gotten us off course.
That is very, very prevalent in the church,
starting with the pulpit. A lot of "successful"
pastor's friends are no longer other pastors.
It's other people now we meet at the social
club. It's other people now that we play golf
with. It's other people that we go fishing with.
And all of a sudden we find ourselves
conforming when the truth is that, God blesses
us so we can be lights to those in darkness.
But, instead of having people conform to our
way of life, it's the opposite. We gravitate
toward their way of life and that's how we get
off course.
During the course of our interview, Bishop
Ellis shared his own modern parable, that
perfectly captures the core of the message for
each of us to adhere to in 2010.
He said:
In 2010, let us be consumed with the pursuit
of God's manifested presence, rather than
waiting for Him to manifest His presents.
To learn more about Bishop Neil Ellis, visit him
online at www.neilellisministries.com
Ellis shared his own modern parable, that
perfectly captures the core of the message for
each of us to adhere to in 2010.
He said:
- Because of my continued loving
relationship with my wife, I have
something she's always wanted,
something that's really nice; something
that's costly. But, because she wants it,
the cost is not a factor.
Then, once I buy it and put it in her
hands and she begins to enjoy it, she
moves away from talking to me.
So, of course, my inclination would be
to find a way to move that from her,
because all of a sudden, what I have
blessed her with has gotten in the way
of our progressive relationship.
In 2010, let us be consumed with the pursuit
of God's manifested presence, rather than
waiting for Him to manifest His presents.
To learn more about Bishop Neil Ellis, visit him
online at www.neilellisministries.com
"baby" out with the "bathwater," refusing to
listen to what they perceive as canned
messages, delivered by professional speakers
who know all the right buttons to push to
drive the crowd crazy.
For both the strong and weak in the faith, it
can be quite challenging not to become a
skeptic, particularly with all the high profile
indiscretions (Adultery, domestic violence,
solicitation), not to mention the concentrated
focus on $50-$100 dollar lines at the end of
sermons and to top it all off, those exorbitant
fees for the best and brightest preachers to
even show up at an event.
It's understandable that many have lost faith in
men of the cloth and are convinced that only a
handful yet remain truly faithful to the very
God they so charismatically and convincingly
preach about.
Among those in this rapidly shrinking pool of
committed and faithful servants, stands a man
named Bishop Neil C. Ellis, 2nd Presiding
Bishop of the Full Gospel Baptist Church
Fellowship and also pastor of the 8,000
member Mt. Tabor Full Gospel Baptist Church
in Nassau, Bahamas on New Providence
Island.
listen to what they perceive as canned
messages, delivered by professional speakers
who know all the right buttons to push to
drive the crowd crazy.
For both the strong and weak in the faith, it
can be quite challenging not to become a
skeptic, particularly with all the high profile
indiscretions (Adultery, domestic violence,
solicitation), not to mention the concentrated
focus on $50-$100 dollar lines at the end of
sermons and to top it all off, those exorbitant
fees for the best and brightest preachers to
even show up at an event.
It's understandable that many have lost faith in
men of the cloth and are convinced that only a
handful yet remain truly faithful to the very
God they so charismatically and convincingly
preach about.
Among those in this rapidly shrinking pool of
committed and faithful servants, stands a man
named Bishop Neil C. Ellis, 2nd Presiding
Bishop of the Full Gospel Baptist Church
Fellowship and also pastor of the 8,000
member Mt. Tabor Full Gospel Baptist Church
in Nassau, Bahamas on New Providence
Island.
ften, preachers get a bad
rap. Frequently viewed as
nothing more than "hope
dealers" looking to turn a
quick buck, many Black
women (and men) have
thrown the proverbial
rap. Frequently viewed as
nothing more than "hope
dealers" looking to turn a
quick buck, many Black
women (and men) have
thrown the proverbial
EEW: Very true Bishop and as I read the
book, it was so refreshing to hear you
encourage believers to go back to holiness,
which a lot of people aren't really talking about
anymore. They also aren't seeing much of that
exhibited through the lives of our Christian
leaders. What's happening?
book, it was so refreshing to hear you
encourage believers to go back to holiness,
which a lot of people aren't really talking about
anymore. They also aren't seeing much of that
exhibited through the lives of our Christian
leaders. What's happening?
EEW: (Silent Pause) I'm quiet because, what
you're saying is so important that I almost
don't want to interrupt. I just want to take it all
in. So, tell me Bishop, how can the hunger for
God be restored?
you're saying is so important that I almost
don't want to interrupt. I just want to take it all
in. So, tell me Bishop, how can the hunger for
God be restored?
BE: I think what you are seeing right now
that's going on in the world Dianna, is a part
of the process.
that's going on in the world Dianna, is a part
of the process.
think, is to build a progressive relationship with
His people. His heart's desire is to always draw
near to His people and have His people draw near
to Him. And when we don't draw nigh, I think
we offend God, because really, He exists to have
fellowship with us. That's what He created us
for, so that, He could have somebody on this
level to have relationship with.
His people. His heart's desire is to always draw
near to His people and have His people draw near
to Him. And when we don't draw nigh, I think
we offend God, because really, He exists to have
fellowship with us. That's what He created us
for, so that, He could have somebody on this
level to have relationship with.
Dianna Hobbs is Founder & Editor In Chief of EEW
Magazine.
Magazine.
