Jamal Harrison Bryant

Last updated
The Reverend Doctor

Jamal Harrison Bryant
Church New Birth Missionary Baptist Church
Personal details
Born (1971-05-21) May 21, 1971 (age 54)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Spouse
Gizelle Bryant
​
​
(m. 2002;div. 2009)​
Dr. Karri Turner
​
(m. 2024)​
OccupationSenior Pastor
Education Morehouse College (BA)
Duke University (MDiv)
Graduate Theological Foundation (DMin)

Jamal Harrison Bryant (born May 21, 1971) is an American minister, author and former political candidate. He is the senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.

Contents

Early life and education

Jamal Harrison Bryant was born on May 21, 1971, in Boston, Massachusetts, to John Richard and Cecelia Bryant (née Williams). He has a younger sister. He was raised in the Westside neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, where, as a child, he attended his father's church Bethel A.M.E. Church. He preached his first sermon when he was a child at Bethel titled "No Pain, No Gain." [1]

Bryant attended Morehouse College where he earned an undergraduate degree in political science and international studies. He obtained a master's of divinity degree from Duke University. He received a doctorate of ministry degree from the Graduate Theological Foundation. Bryant is a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

Ministry

In April 2000, Pastor Jamal Bryant founded the Empowerment Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Maryland, and served for 18 years. [2] In December 2018, he became pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia. [3] [4]

Politics

Bryant ostensibly ran for U.S. Congress in 2015, aiming to represent Baltimore, Maryland, as a Democrat. [5] He suspended his campaign less than two weeks after announcing his run. [6]

In a February 2, 2025, service, Bryant announced a 40-day initiative to boycott the retailer Target for eliminating their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments. [7] [8] The original boycott was planned to run from March 3 to April 19, but on April 20, Easter Sunday, he announced that the initiative would now be indefinite. [9]

AME review after divorce

Officials of the A.M.E. denomination intended, as of February 2008, to enter into discussions regarding Bryant's leadership, following mutual filings for divorce by Bryant, his spouse, Hampton alumna and future Real Housewives of Potomac star Gizelle Bryant. [10] However, they said that Bryant did not face a disciplinary trial because no one came forward with a complaint against him. Church officials said that Bryant "was never charged through the church system with anything". [11] In 2019, the couple briefly dated. Many speculated this was just to give Gizelle a storyline as Jamal remained in Georgia and was seen with other ladies, including singer Tweet. [12] [13]

Controversies

In 2022, in Rashan Ali's "Cool Soror" podcast, he said he wanted to develop a "new gospel for adults" who are used to having sex (suggesting celibacy as a reasonable message for teenagers, but an off-putting one for older single adults), and further suggested that he wanted to grow marijuana on the land of the church to attract young men. [14] Bishop Patrick Wooden Sr., pastor of the Upper Room Church of God in Christ in Raleigh, North Carolina, said, "I’m holding out that this is like that Babylon Bee thing [i.e., satire]," but continued, addressing the likelihood that it was not, saying that "[m]arijuana is not... a harmless drug... Depressions are up... suicides are up. It’s a gateway..." that "in and of itself [it] is bad," even if not leading to other drugs, "ruining high school students, messing up their minds, messing up their development". [14] He continues with what he perceives to be the spiritual implication, referencing Romans 1:28-32:

we are witnessing... [t]he worst thing that God can do... to turn us over to ourselves... [f]or that means the Holy Spirit will no longer... bring any conviction". [14]

References

  1. ↑ Poole, Shelia (November 20, 2018). "9 things to know about New Birth pastor Jamal Bryant, LIFE". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  2. ↑ Mitchell, Marissa (December 8, 2018). "Pastor Jamal Bryant plans to usher in a rebirth of New Birth". Fox 5 Atlanta. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  3. ↑ Leonardo Blair, Jamal Bryant gets rock star welcome at New Birth, offered full support of county gov't, christianpost.com, USA, December 10, 2018
  4. ↑ Greene-Hayes, Ahmad (December 4, 2018). "New Birth and Jamal Bryant: Time for the Black Church To Address Its Culture of Sexism, Misogyny and Homophobia". The Root. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  5. ↑ John Fritze (Sep 14, 2015). "Baltimore pastor Jamal Bryant will run for Congress". baltimoresun.com.
  6. ↑ John Fritze (Sep 22, 2015). "Jamal Bryant to end his House campaign". baltimoresun.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023.
  7. ↑ Report, Tribune News (2025-02-03). "Rev. Jamal Bryant calls for 40-day economic boycott of Target". The Philadelphia Tribune . Retrieved 2025-04-28.
  8. ↑ Brown, Stacey M. (2025-03-24). "Rev. Dr. Jamal Bryant's Black Church Target Boycott Mobilizes 150,000 and Growing". The Birmingham Times . Retrieved 2025-04-28.
  9. ↑ "From Fast to Full Boycott: Pastor Jamal Bryant Calls for Continued Economic Pressure on Target". KTXL . April 24, 2025. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  10. ↑ Reddy, Sumathi (February 16, 2008). "Questions, concerns over pastor's divorce". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  11. ↑ Blair, Leonardo (May 12, 2016). "AME Church Says Rev. Jamal Bryant Did Not Face Trial for Affair Because No One Came Forward". The Christian Post.
  12. ↑ Rosenfeld, Laura (September 15, 2019). "Gizelle Bryant Is Back Together with Ex-Husband Jamal Bryant: "I Feel Like He's a Different Person"". The Daily Dish. Retrieved August 28, 2021.[ permanent dead link ]
  13. ↑ Campione, Katie (July 8, 2021). "RHOP's Gizelle Bryant Says She and Ex-Husband Jamal Are Still 'Best Friends' After Splitting Again". People. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 Blair, Leonardo (December 20, 2022). "Pastor Jamal Bryant Suggests New 'Gospel for Grownups' Who are 'Used to Getting Some' Sex". Christian Post . Retrieved 6 March 2025.
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