By Joyce Lupiani
ATLANTA (Atlanta News First) – The pastor of Atlanta’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church has gone viral once more for an intriguing idea on how to get Black men who smoke “weed” interested in his church.
Pastor Jamal Bryant proposed to “The Cool Soror Podcast w/Rashan Ali” that his church assist Black males in working “legally” in the cannabis industry.
Bryant told Ali that Black churches need to modernize, and that starting a cannabis business will help drive membership and entrepreneurship in the Black community.
“I’m conscious that I’m not after Christians; I’m after non-churchgoers,” Bryant added. “Churches simply recycle people from other churches. I’m looking for people who stink like marijuana.”
Gov. Kemp signed legislation in 2019 authorizing the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission to oversee the limited, in-state cultivation, production, manufacturing, and sale of low-THC oil, as well as dispensing to registered patients on the state’s Low-THC Oil Registry.
Pastor Bryant elaborated on his concept during an Instagram Live on Thursday night. During that live, he stated that he intends to open a clinic on the church campus within 180 days. He also touted the medical benefits of cannabis, reciting a long list of ailments and diseases that cannabis can possibly help. Bryant also explained why he said he wanted Black men who smelled like weed.
“I said I want people who smell like smoke because I believe these are the people God is looking for and too many of us have become so puffed up in our self-appointed sanctification that we fail to do outreach. In no uncertain terms, cannabis and hemp are a ploy or distraction from winning souls for Christ.”
“The call is not to bring people to church to smoke; the call is to bring people to church to catch fire,” he added. It is my hope that demonstrating to young people the benefits and impact of urban farming will make a significant difference. According to the pastor, his church has brought 2,371 souls to Christ and over 3,000 people have joined in the last year. Bryant also discussed how he took a group of young men who were addicted to drugs in Baltimore and taught them how to be global traders so they could have a meaningful life and not return to drugs.
A post shared by Pastor Jamal Bryant (@jamalhbryant)
“I believe the church’s responsibility is transformation. That the young men who used to poison our communities are now helping to heal them, and I believe hemp is one way to do so.”
Bryant acknowledged that his concept was unconventional, but that he serves “an unconventional God” and that if this idea fails, he will try something else.
Bryant is the ex-husband of Gizelle Bryant of The Real Housewives of Potomac. He attended Morehouse College and Duke University. The Graduate Theological Foundation awarded him a doctorate in ministry.