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A 'new phase' for a bishop
More than 2,000 worshipers witnessed Melvin B. Jefferson's consecration into the African American College of Bishops.
By SHERRI DAY
Published February 11, 2006
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[Times photo: Chris Zuppa]
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TAMPA - Clad in the regal vestments of the church, Melvin B. Jefferson stood before a crowd of worshipers Saturday and wept.
Jefferson, 57, had just been consecrated into the African American College of Bishops. He also became leader of World Assemblies Fellowship International, a new Pentecostal Reformation.
Jefferson's words to the more than 2,000 people who gathered at the A La Carte Pavilion to witness his consecration were few.
"I'm just happy," he said. "I love you, and I won't let you down."
A native of Fairfield, Texas, Jefferson grew up in Dallas, and says his young adult years were dominated by drugs, alcohol and poverty. Then, in 1979, he claims to have had a religious conversion that led him, three years later to start what is now Deeper Life Christian Church in Tampa.
In a 1998 interview with the St. Petersburg Times, Jefferson said he came to Tampa in 1980 after he had a vision from God.
"I saw myself in Tampa," Jefferson said in the interview. "I saw all these people coming off the streets. I saw them being saved."
He made reaching out to drug addicts, the homeless and the downtrodden the hallmarks of his ministry.
But in the 1990s, the church was dogged by scandals, including charges of food stamp trafficking and dealing in stolen property. In 1999, the church and five of its members received felony convictions.
The ministry also came under scrutiny for its unorthodox fundraising practices, which included sending out teams of parishioners to collect money on street corners. At least three times, people associated with the church died in van accidents that occurred on fundraising trips.
Though Jefferson was never arrested, his image has been badly tarnished by one negative incident after another. At Saturday's ceremony Bishop Larry D. Trotter, who led the installation ceremony, said Jefferson was entering a new phase.
"I believe it's a fresh start for Bishop Jefferson," said Trotter, pastor of Sweet Holy Spirit, a 8,000-member church in Chicago, Ill. "The fact that most of us come from different reformations now gives Bishop Jefferson, not just brotherhood, but a system of accountability. For a long time he was by himself and sometimes when we're by ourselves we kind of just do what we want to do. Now he has brothers and sisters across the world who will help him."
In a private election ceremony held early Saturday, Trotter and nine members of the College of Bishops questioned Jefferson about his readiness for the new post. Satisfied with his responses, they elected him into the venerated college.
The bishops' backing comes with high expectations.
"Be very careful in what you say, in what you do, in how you do it," said Trotter, who also leads the United Pentecostal Churches of Christ International. "If you fail or fall, all of us who sanctified you, we fall. You are now not just a regular preacher, but you are a pastor of pastors."
Jefferson said he was humbled by the bishops' support.
As a newly-minted member of the college, Jefferson joins a group of more than 500 bishops, including some of the country's leading black clergy. College members include: Bishop T.D. Jakes, who leds the Potter's House, a megachurch in Dallas, and Bishop Eddie L. Long, pastor of the 25,000-member New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga., which hosted Coretta Scott King's funeral earlier this week.
In a near-three hour public ceremony Saturday, Jefferson was feted by a diverse group of supporters ranging from Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and Senator Les Miller Jr., who sent congratulatory notes, to actor Tommie "Deebo" Lister, who spoke of his reverence for the bishop. Gospel recording artist Micah Stampley sang the hymn "Great Is Thy Faithfulness."
Parishioner Sandra Akins came from San Antonio, Texas, to support Jefferson.
"It just seems like there was a glow shining around him when he appeared," she said. "It was just awesome. He's truly a shepherd from God."
-- Sherri Day can be reached at 813-226-3405 or sday@sptimes.com
[Last modified February 11, 2006, 19:28:02]
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