Please click on the following link to read the letter sent to Pastor Joel regarding bringing a new speaker, in other words a NEW PASTOR.

Fake Board Letter

THE FOLLOWING IS THE CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE

December 2, 2011

Jericho City of Praise

8601 Jericho City Drive

Landover, Maryland 20785

Dear Gloria McGruder, Denise Killen, Clifford Boswell, Linda Pyles, Dorothy Williams & Clarence Jackson:

You have to deal with us entirely as one congregation now. Enclosed is a copy of a letter you wrote to Pastor Joel Peebles dated November 30, 2011. The bible says there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.  Amos 3:7 says “surely the Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets”. The Lord plans to have you removed no later than February 1, 2012.

Please be informed we will not be having eight o’clock services December 4, 2011 nor any other date unless the Holy Spirit decides. Acts 5:29 says “we must obey God rather than men!”  In addition, no one else except Pastor Joel is allowed to deliver the word.  There are thousands of us and six of you. Therefore, we invite you to attempt to send someone into the pulpit to deliver the word, although that course of action is not highly recommended. We will continue to abide by man and God’s law in all matters. The word says in Matthew 11:12 “from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it”.  We will exert force against you in prayer and resist your efforts to usurp the God ordained authority in the City of Praise. No one will take the pulpit to preach unless God decides. The police are not allowed by law to interfere in our house matters.  In addition, no outside entity determines who preaches sermons at the City of Praise.

We previously told you that we will not listen to any directives you issue to us or to our Pastor. We also informed you that any reprisal action against Pastor Joel would be met with severe repercussions. The Holy Spirit controls the City of Praise. You have attacked one of us so you have attacked all of us.

We require you to send us copies of all correspondence you send to Pastor Joel. In the event that we determine it is disrespectful, threatening, bullying or insulting you will have to answer to us as well as to God. Additionally, we have decided to inform lending institutions, banks, financial entities and other organizations which do business with the City of Praise that we will not tithe until the proper duly elected Board is recognized.

Previously we have sent you letters that require you to resign as well as provide information that is mandatory under the law. You have refused to comply and in addition have continued to harass our Pastor as well as violate the law.  Therefore, we as a congregation have no choice but to revert to alternative means to ensure your compliance with what has been commanded.  We intend to make it clear to you that you do not possess any power, authority or control over the spiritual matters of the City of Praise as well as the business matters.  You will shortly see and experience a full demonstration of God’s power and a unified people whom he works through to illustrate that nothing is impossible.  Genesis 11: 6 says “The Lord said, If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.”  Your stubbornness and refusal to comply with what the Lord has commanded will result in you living under a curse because Galatians 6:7-8 says “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction.” Your fate has already been sealed based on your actions.

We have been standing our love ground in an attempt to embrace you as our brothers in Christ. We have intentionally delayed taking certain actions because it truly grieves us to see you who we love in such a reprobate state. However, we no longer are treating you as our brothers and sister in Christ. Your sole justification for your actions are based on what you state Apostle Betty said.  Did Apostle Betty tell you to sue her son days after her death? Did she tell you to tear this ministry apart?  If you truly loved this ministry you would leave and let God run it his way.

Already some of you have experienced: death in your family by suicide, children committing crimes, children grown living at home with no purpose and direction, multiple affairs, divorced but still living with people as unmarried, etc. These things are a result of your reaping what you have sown. Hosea 4:6 says “my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge, because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.”

Your reliance on a letter drafted by Attorney Issac H. Marks again has placed you in a position causing you to violate God’s word.  Attorney Issac H. Marks is a fool because he does not follow God. He believes that laws from man, written by man and confirmed by man are greater that God’s word. He has continually given you advice to generate revenue and utilize our tithes to sue our Pastor. He thrives on a church dispute because it generates him income. His advice to you is based on self interest as the congregation has expressed to you continually that we do not approve of your actions. The word says in Proverbs 13:20 that a companion of fools suffers harm. We are all people filled with the Holy Spirit and God speaks to us clearly and shows us things as he is the same yesterday, today and forevermore.

We know attorney Marks drafted the enclosed letter signed by Gloria Magruder. We also know that you intended to have either Barbara Colvin, Brenda Allen, Coletta Harris Vaughn or some other renegade elder or guest speaker attempt to speak over and defile God’s people. We know that you interviewed Barbara Colvin and Linda Pyles for Pastoral positions. We know that you have disregarded our written instructions for you not to utilize our tithes to sue Pastor Joel. We know that there has been money stolen from the Church. We know that you are attempting to find grounds to fire Pastor Joel or have him viewed as being in contempt. We are acting independently of our own free will based on the leading of The Holy Spirit, however, you are attempting to target Pastor Joel.  We know that you are attempting to hold Pastor Joel responsible for our actions. We know that you are very fearful because fear comes from the enemy. God did not give us a spirit of fear but love, power and a sound mind. The fear you are experiencing is not from us because we love you in spite of your outrageous conduct against this ministry and its’ Pastor. We know you are ashamed to face us in an open forum in accordance with the word of God. The word says in 1 Corinthians 6:1&8 “if any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints?… Instead you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers.”

We know that if you could have stopped us you would have already. We know that our tithes are the collateral used in business transactions requiring financing for indicating the solubility of our church as a non-profit. We view you as a liability to the church and are not tithing because you are illegally seated as the board. Once you resign we will commence tithing. You have completely disrupted church activities on a spiritual and business level.

You have seriously underestimated our resolve. Every action taken from the congregation is of our own free will by the direction of the Holy Spirit. We will never let you take over this church. You are foolish enough to think that getting rid of Pastor Joel is your solution. There are thousands of us. We have already informed you that Pastor Joel would receive a pay increase if you attempted to fire him because we all would give him $5 a week. So he would really be getting a substantial pay increase if you attempted that action as all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are the called according to his purpose.

The Pastor does not need your prior approval to do anything as he is the final authority in the City of Praise.  The word says in Ephesians 4:11 that “it was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelist, and some to be pastors and teachers.” He has been ordained by God as the Pastor.

It is the ultimate disrespect to refer to him as an Elder serving as assistant Pastor.  The Holy Spirit determines what occurs in the City of Praise, not you, a judge, or any demonic influence. You do not comprehend that this entire matter is a spiritual matter because it involves the Kingdom of God which you do not understand. We are not obeying you because you are not our leader nor do you have any authority. The word of God says in Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”  We have decided to protect our leader by not placing him in a position where you can attack him in the court system and accuse him of violating any order. We have decided by our own volition to resist you in all ways, at all times. You will grow weary long before we do. We will not allow you to continually take our tithes and pay them to the law firm of O’Malley, Miles, Nylen, & Gilmore, P.A. We told you not to use our tithes to pay for legal fees. We will never retreat nor surrender to your demonic influenced activities. Our resolve is unbreakable. We know the law. We know our rights. We know our God. He has already spoken to us and we know no later than February 1, 2012 you will be gone.

So if you want to battle swing. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds.

Members of the City of Praise

Signatures available for review in the sanctuary in an open form with copy of the original letter