Carlton D'Metrius Pearson, DD (born March 19, 1953 in San Diego, California) is an American singer and a minister in the United Church of Christ. [1]
Early career
Pearson attended Oral Roberts University and was mentored by Oral Roberts. He was licensed and ordained in the Church of God in Christ.[2] Pearson formed his own church, Higher Dimensions, which became one of the largest in the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. During the 1990s it grew to an attendance of over 5,000 and in 1997 Pearson was ordained a bishop. In 2000 he campaigned for George W. Bush and was later invited to the White House. Pearson had one of the most watched television programs on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. He also hosted the AZUSA Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Pearson was a traveling evangelist, holding two-day revivals across the nation.
Controversies
| “ |
A person who spends every day getting drunk, will ruin their health, marriage, family and career; they will make their lives a living Hell. But that still falls far short of the chronic alcoholic being condemned by a just God to literally burn in Hell forever and ever.
For others it may very well be that the punishment merited by their sins is greater than what they receive in this life. For those people perhaps there will be some kind of punishment after death, but we believe that it will be remedial and corrective rather than just punishment for punishment's sake. Exactly what that will be and how long it will last we don't know. Will Hell for some people last 10 minutes or 10 million years... we don't know. But this we do know; Hell will not last for eternity; it will not be endless... Don't sin. Be reunited with God now, rather than after you have put yourself (and those you love) through Hell.
|
” |
|
—Bishop Pearson's belief in hell as stated on his website [3]
|
After watching a television program about the wretched conditions of people dying in Rwanda, and considering the teaching of his church that non-Christians were going to hell, Pearson believed he had received an epiphany from God and said he doubted the existence of hell as a place of eternal torment. In February 2002 he lost a primary bid for the mayorship of Tulsa.[4] By then Pearson had begun to call his doctrine—a variation on universal reconciliation—the Gospel of Inclusion and many in his congregation began to leave.
In March 2004, after hearing Pearson's argument for inclusion, the Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops concluded that such teaching was heresy.[1] Declared a heretic by his peers, Pearson rapidly began to lose his influence.[5] Membership at Higher Dimensions fell to under 1,000, and the church lost its building to foreclosure in January 2006. The church began meeting in nearby Trinity Episcopal Church as New Dimensions Church.[6]
New Dimensions Church[7]
In November 2006, Pearson was accepted as a United Church of Christ minister.
In June 2008, New Dimensions Church moved to All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa.
On September 7, 2008, New Dimensions Church held its final worship service and merged with All Souls Unitarian Church.
Media coverage
Pearson's story was the subject of "Heretics," an episode of Chicago Public Radio's This American Life that aired on December 16, 2005,[8] and a profile on Dateline NBC on August 13, 2006.[9]
Pearson was the subject of a CNN story on June 24, 2007, which covered the changes in his teachings (including acceptance of LGBT people into his church) and the backlash.[10]
In March 2009, Pearson appeared on Nightline FaceOff with Deepak Chopra, Mark Driscoll, and Annie Lobert to address the question "Does Satan Exist?"[11]
Musical career
Pearson is also a gospel vocalist who has won two Stellar Awards and was nominated for a Dove Award. [12]
Books
- The Gospel of Inclusion: Reaching Beyond Religious Fundamentalism to the True Love of God, 2007. Azusa Press/ Council Oak Books, ISBN 0979168902.[13]
References
External links
