Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul is a “mockumentary” directed by Adamma Ebo, and follows Lee Curtis Childs, a disgraced megachurch pastor, and his wife, Trinitee Childs, as they attempt a comeback after falling from grace due to Lee Curtis’s scandalous behavior.

It is not difficult to discern that this movie is based on the scandal of one of the most prominent leaders of a megachurch in the Black community. I lurked around on majority Black forums, and everyone figured the movie was based on the very public scandal of this megachurch leader. The truth is, this movie could be based on other ministries as well.

The movie gives some insight into the question many ask when these church scandals break:  Why on earth do these women stay with these men even after they embarrass and humiliate them in public with their indiscretions?

I was curious about the reactions of Black churchgoers to this movie because many pledge blind allegiance to their pastors and their churches. On one of the forums I visited, a poster mentioned that when she saw the film in the theater, four older Black people walked out once they saw what the movie was about. One of my family members (who was an avid churchgoer) was offended by some of the scenes in the film and thought the movie was “awful,” suggesting that it should not have been made.

I wasn’t surprised by those anecdotal reactions from avid churchgoers, given the difficulty of confronting the ugliness that can occur in church. Scandals have rocked churches of all sizes, whether it is financial embezzlement or sex scandals. It’s long past time for us to have some honest conversations about the role of the prosperity gospel in the Black community.

A more relevant conversation is that as Black women, we need to stop enabling this foolishness that happens in church and focus on our own self-preservation.

The Prosperity Gospel

The prosperity gospel says that if we have faith in God, he will give us wealth, material items, and health, and we will be prosperous. It is said that God is even more generous if we sow seeds with our tithes and offerings to the church. Since this isn’t a post about theology, all I can say is that this is false teaching and a false “gospel” because it is only good news for corrupt church leaders. It’s bad news for the church members because we live in a fallen world, and even the most devout people will have tragedy and suffering.  Everything will not always work out the way we want it to, no matter how much money and time we give to the church, or how loudly we pray.

The prosperity gospel has a chokehold on many American Christians, both Black and White. There are plenty of popular sermons about how God has a great life for you if you serve at the church, or that those problems you’re suffering with will go away if you tithe your income.

The prosperity gospel is what gave birth to corporatized megachurches in Black communities. The late YouTuber Kevin Samuels pointed out that there weren’t megachurches in the Black community in the 1970s because many Black churches were strict and followed conservative theology. There was a lot of hellfire and brimstone teaching, but there wasn’t much teaching about living your best life.  Samuels observed that when the prosperity teaching became popular, we saw a proliferation of churches with tens of thousands of members. He also observed that the prosperity gospel was more attractive to women because it affirmed them, which may not have been happening in their actual lives. While I am not particularly a Kevin Samuels fan, he wasn’t wrong in his observations about prosperity teachings, megachurches, and their appeal to women.

In my experience, one of the reasons that prosperity teaching became popular is that many younger churchgoers had grown tired of hearing the fire-and-brimstone teachings.  It was refreshing to listen to this teaching, which claimed that God wanted to give us a great life and that God had more in store for us, a concept that many churchgoers equated with wealth and material possessions. Churchgoers were accustomed to hearing from preachers that God was ready to send us to the Lake of Fire for even the most minor infraction.  At megachurches, the sermons were more positive and entertaining; the services had taken on a more concert-like vibe, with less emphasis on boring hymns and traditional gospel music.  At the end of the day, I believe the prosperity gospel gained traction because people were seeking a formula or script to navigate life and guarantee success.

Marriage and the Prosperity Gospel

I must be cautious when discussing this next point, as I am a single woman. What I say about this topic may be perceived as bitterness, but I want to be honest and help other single women who may be questioning themselves. In churches that teach the prosperity gospel, marriage is often viewed as a sign of God’s blessing and prosperity – even if the individuals are living a lie.

Observing Lee Curtis and Trinitee’s marriage in Honk For Jesus, they come across more as co-workers than a married couple.  They are there to play their parts, collect their checks, and receive adulation from the congregation. There is zero intimacy between Lee Curtis and Trinitee because Lee Curtis is a closeted gay man who preys on young men, which is how they lost their ministry and megachurch. Trinitee knows all of this, but she looks the other way, even though it is costing the couple a ton of money, their reputation, and Trinitee’s self-worth. How many pastors’ wives have we seen humiliated and giving interviews after scandals and indiscretions? I remember one disgraced pastor claiming that his wife had to “birth” him like she did their children, and that he knew he caused her much pain, but it was like the birthing process. The wife sat alongside him and nodded.

Sadly, Lee Curtis and Trinitee’s situation isn’t too far off from what happens in many churches.  The “church script” says that women are valuable only after they get married. It doesn’t matter how much single women serve or how capable they are; they are not taken seriously until they get married. I have watched young women in ministry take Bible study classes, faithfully lead ministries, and teach and preach, but they are not given a platform. Yet another young woman who has done nothing and has never shown any ability to teach and preach is suddenly qualified for the platform and given the microphone simply because she got married. What an awful message to send to young women. This may be where the bitterness comes out, but I believe churches look at single women solely as free and always available labor.  Leaders recognize this as a significant pain point for many single young women, as they continue to hold out the possibility of meeting their spouse if they remain faithful in their service. I become disheartened every time I hear single young women say they are going to continue to serve and work in the ministry with the hopes of God giving them a spouse. Most churches do not even have enough men to make this happen, and just because a man attends church doesn’t mean he is husband material.  He may not even possess strong moral character and values.

Black women must leave the church of self-imposed suffering.

It was hard for me to feel sorry for Trinitee because she is the one enabling Lee Curtis to prey on and abuse these young men. She also loves the stage and feels she deserves the prestige for putting up with Lee Curtis for all these years. She followed the script and did what she was supposed to do in her marriage: she prayed, knelt at the altar, and cried. Most importantly, she stayed with Lee Curtis and did not quit their marriage.

While watching the scene with Trinitee and her mother discussing the possibility of Trinity leaving the marriage, I had a visceral response of disgust. Trinitee’s mother basically tells her that there is no joy for married women until they bury their husbands. This is a sad commentary on how Black women are conditioned to believe that they must languish in suffering for the entirety of their lives. I feel like Black women are conditioned to join the church of self-imposed suffering and then told to hang on until heaven.

It does not have to be this way.

Black women who love the Lord do not have to choose to become members of the church of suffering and settle for a life of misery. We can liberate ourselves from these scripts of what life is supposed to look like and our limiting beliefs. We can focus on getting our minds right so that we do not fall into traps, thinking we have to settle for lives of self-imposed suffering.

I am working through this process of liberation in my life. I was looking for a script to follow and a formula for success in my life. Growing up, church was the center of our lives, and when I became an adult, I thought that was where I was supposed to find my community because that is what I knew. As an adult, I became involved in charismatic Christianity, which has a clear prosperity gospel basis. I am a rule-follower by nature, and I thought that if I did all the things, like giving to the church and serving in the church, and followed the script, my life would turn out to be a success. It did not happen, and I am thrilled that it did not.

Now I shudder to think how limiting and confining my life would have been if I had decided to stick to the church script. I questioned myself about what was wrong with me because I was following the formula, and it wasn’t working. I realized that my values and worldview differed from the script and formula I was given to follow. I do not believe in the prosperity gospel. I believe God is sovereign, and that our relationship with Him is not a transactional one. I do not have to do x, y, z to be blessed. I should be doing things because generosity is one of my core values, and because I am called to do them, not because I am trying to get something in return.

Even when it comes to dating and relationships, I have observed over the course of my lifetime that I don’t click with men at church. I like men who are compelling, ever-evolving, deep thinkers with strong values that they live out, and take care of themselves. Yeah, y’all, I am shallow, but so are a lot of churchgoers, which is why a lot of the most popular megachurch pastors are extremely charismatic.

Enjoy the Show

Lee Curtis, portrayed by the magnificent Sterling K Brown, is both charismatic and handsome, which adds to his appeal. He understands the importance of putting on a show and notes that he was the one who popularized laser light shows in megachurches. He preaches prosperity with fervor to his congregants, with his own material possessions as proof that he is God’s favorite. His fiery sermons against homosexuality are a real crowd pleaser, all the while he is looking for young boys to prey on.

As they shoot the documentary at one of the services with the five members who stayed after the scandal, Lee Curtis begins to launch into fine form as he puts on a show. Sidenote: Thank you to the directors for getting Sterling K Brown to take off his clothes and provide viewers with a reason to shout. Anyway, as Lee Curtis launches into the church theatrics with pastors and members playing their parts, the one child, Aria, delivers a line that hits at the very core of what is wrong with prosperity theology and megachurches.

“I love the theater.”

Love Jesus and leave the Church of self-imposed suffering.

I am still a Christian, and I still love Jesus, but I am done with the Church of Self-Imposed Suffering. Jesus said that we must suffer in this world because we are his followers.  He didn’t say we are supposed to impose suffering on ourselves because of man-made scripts and formulas.

I try not to delve too deeply when writing about this subject outside of the faith-based space. This current iteration of American Christianity is not sustainable and will soon crumble. Corporations and Family Businesses masquerading as churches are not going to last. In recent years, numerous church leaders and ministries have been exposed for shutting down due to scandals. The charismatic movement, which I was once a part of, has been severely impacted.  I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the prosperity (false) gospel is a cornerstone theology in the charismatic movement.

I feel compelled to share my story and observations with others so that they can avoid the mistakes I made.. Jesus said in Scripture that we would have many troubles in this world, but we can take heart as His followers because He has overcome the world. There is no script or man-made formula that will ensure your success in this life.

The other observation I will make is to be careful of what you pray for.  Marrying someone because they attend church or aspire to leadership and ministry is no guarantee that the person is authentic. In fact, I would be even more cautious and pray for discernment when dealing with that type of person, because they may be inauthentic and playing a part, or they may be seeking to get onstage.  Pray for wisdom and discernment. Many ministry couples, like Lee Curtis and Trinitee, know how to put on a show for the audience but often lack intimacy and may not even genuinely like one another. Yet their marriage as a ministry is their identity, and they are sticking to it.

We can love Jesus and leave the church of self-imposed suffering.

Honk for Jesus overall fell flat in many ways as a film, but it did open up the door for some meaningful conversations for Black churchgoers and Black women.