Kim Burrell Doesn't Regret Sermon Condemning Homosexuality, Saying Position Is Biblical
Months after she was vilified in the national media and axed from an appearance on "Ellen" for condemning a "perverted homosexual spirit" being used to embarrass the church, popular gospel singer Kim Burrell says she has "no regrets" preaching against the lifestyle because her position is in line with the Word of God.
"You know, I don't regret. Some people may ask, 'do you have any regrets?' Absolutely not. 'Are you regretful that the tape got out?' Absolutely not, because I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation and it is the map, it is the constitution of the believer," Burrell said in a recent interview with Jerri P. Beasley on "The Keep the Morning Moving Morning Show."
Burrell came under fire from LGBT advocates after a video clip from a message she preached at her church last December showed her unapologetically calling out late megachurch Pastor Eddie Long and internet personality Andrew Caldwell for embarrassing the church with a "perverted homosexual spirit."
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Caldwell became an internet sensation after a video of him declaring "I'm not gay no more" went viral. Long was senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia. For years he lived under a cloud of allegations stemming from lawsuits filed by multiple men who say he engaged them in sexual acts.
Last September, Long revealed he was battling an unidentified "health challenge" which caused significant weight loss. Many publicly speculated he was suffering from AIDS while his church refused to comment on his illness until last month when his church announced his death from an aggressive form of cancer.
"I've never seen anything as heartbreaking as watching Bishop Eddie Long go down to nothing. It is an embarrassment to the Church. 'Cause nobody would be making that you have AIDS unless a homosexual man didn't come out and reveal what you did behind closed doors ... they have yet to deny it," Burrell, pastor of Love & Liberty Fellowship Pentecostal Church in Houston, Texas, said during the controversial sermon.
The sermon sparked widespread backlash for Burrell who was promoting her song "I See Victory" from the soundtrack of the new movie "Hidden Figures" at the time. Ellen Degeneres, one of show businesses' most high profile lesbians and host of the popular talk show "Ellen," would go on to axe an appearance Burrell was slated to make with Pharrell Williams.
As that controversy unfolded, Burrell explained that her older brother Kevin Jordan suffered a massive stroke and died on Feb. 6. She explained that despite everything that happened, her commitment remains with God's Word.
"Just as we have Bill of Rights ... the Bible is my constitution and it is something I will never go back on. 'But so many people lost their way,'" she said recalling some of the criticism leveled at her for her comments.
"No, nobody lost their way. Everybody gave their opinion about how they felt about what the Word of God says and does. That's why so many churches are empty. Somebody is preaching the Word of God for real and some people don't wanna hear it," she said.
"The Bible says that in the last days men will be more lovers of themselves than lovers of God. So I am so not appalled. I'm not thrown off. I'm not hurt and running into a corner to hide. I'm absolutely not belligerent and arrogant as if I created the Bible. I am humbled to the mere fact that God would give me grace to breathe His air and see His creation. I love everything and everybody that God ever created but I stick with that Bible and thank God for the Word because it's what changed me," she continued.
"I was a mean, haughty, quick-tempered, get out of my car, guns pulled don't ask questions kind of person. I'm glad a lot of people don't know that side of me. And I used to have that person on life-support until I realized God couldn't use her so I had to kill that person within myself. So trust me, everybody has their own battles to fight, their own crosses to bear."
Burrell said her brother's death, combined with the controversy over her sermon, has made her a stronger believer.
"What's going on in my life right now is such a God-ordained journey. And I'm learning every single day how to adjust to the plan of God on my life. You know if, Jeremiah 29:11 did not exist, I'd be scratching my head quite a bit. You know, for He knows the plans I have towards you says the Lord," she said. "Thoughts that are good and not evil, to bring you to a good end. And that's where I am right now. Just grateful to the Lord that He has given me something to do."
