| LeRoy Bailey Jr. | |
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 Archbishop LeRoy Bailey |
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| Born | April 25, 1946 Memphis, Tennessee USA |
| Occupation | Author Pastor |
| Spouse(s) | Reverend "Mother" Reathie Brown Bailey |
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Influenced
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Archbishop LeRoy Bailey Jr. is a pastor, author and Memphis, Tennessee native. He serves as the senior pastor of The First Cathedral, a megachurch in Bloomfield, Connecticut. His accomplishments have led him to being adopted as a paternal figure for several pastors and bishops.
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LeRoy Bailey Jr.’s was born April 25 1946, the second of three children from the union of LeRoy Bailey Sr and Mrs. Vernada Breathett-Bailey. LeRoy Bailey Sr. was a steel technician and often traveled. Mrs. Bailey served as a secretary and organist at the Golden Leaf Missionary Baptist Church in Memphis Tennessee.[1] After the birth of their second daughter, around LeRoy's 4th Birthday, the marital union dissolved. Despite this turmoil, LeRoy, Jr. received Jesus Christ at the age of seven.
Reverend Leander A. Hamblin, the pastor of Golden Leaf Baptist Church having heard of LeRoy's mother's struggle after the divorce, arranged for live with him on weekends in his household. The rest of the week LeRoy Lived with his mother and grandmother [2] L. A Hamblin and his wife, having no biological children of their own, acted as parental figures for the remainder of his childhood and into his young adulthood.
Hamblin is considered by Bailey to be one of the few men who influenced his ministry. Bailey feels that as a result of Hamblin's kindness in adopting him as his son, he can adopt other men and women to become his children.
It was during the period of Hamblin' tutorship and mentorship that LeRoy grew spiritually. As he grew, LeRoy felt urged by The Holy Spirit to become a minister. He recognized this calling as a message from God. In early 1956, began to observe services from the pulpit of the church with L.A. Hamblin, He often given the responsibility to recite The 23rd Psalm or The Lord's Prayer during the service. His growth spiritual growth was made public in preaching, specifically preaching at Hamblins' Church. His first sermon was delivered June 18 1956, at the age of ten, His text was Luke 23:34
34Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."[a] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
After delivering this sermon his fame within the City of Memphis grew tremendously. Every preacher in Memphis asked him to preach at their church[3] One of the sermons delivered at a Memphis church was entitled "Going into all the world" it was based on the The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20)[4]:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
His spiritual growth and popularity earned him the right to tour with L.A. Hamblin, traveling across the United States preaching and teaching at several conferences. One of these events included the opportunity to preach to more than 5,000 people in Oakland, California as part of a youth rally and at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan at the time pastored by the late Clarence LaVaughn Franklin, a Civil Rights Activist in the city.
When LeRoy was not traveling, become a veteran of the evangelical circuit, he attended Melrose High School in Memphis Tennessee. He was also promoted to assistant pastor. [5]
In 1971, [6] Leroy Bailey was called to be the second pastor of the 1st Baptist Church, which at the time was located in Hartford, Connecticut. At the time of his arrival there were approxiamately 60 members.
LeRoys' arrival brought new revolutionary teaching to the members of 1st Baptist Church . In fact, his first sermon preached was entitled "What in the world are you waiting for?", It was a sermon that began his push for growth in the church.
LeRoy established in his primary years at the church, his goals and objectives through sermons. One of these sermons, preached in 1974, was entitled "Going First Class", which was centered on the biblical passage Jeremiah 29:11:
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"
- Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)
LeRoy shared with the people in this sermon that was more to life then what they had experienced in the past and that he was determined to lead them into that lifestyle. The ministry grew tremendously. In 1970, LeRoy led the church into a larger facility.
In 1989, LeRoy led the church, now known as The First Baptist Church of Hartford, into a series of stewardship campaigns based on sermons with the themes of faith, equality, obedience and the hope for the future. For example, The third campaign entitled "Rise Up and Build" which raised funds for the construction of the The First Cathedral Edifice was based on; Joshua 22:26-27:
"That is why we said, 'Let us get ready and build an altar—but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.' On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the LORD at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, 'You have no share in the LORD.'
- Joshua 22:26-27
LeRoy allowed the people to contribute to his vision, by hold what he called " dream nights". An opportunity for members to communicate their hopes and aspirations in relation to the future of the ministry
Under LeRoy's Leadership, the church's membership has grown tremendously. As of 2005, the membership numbered over 11,000 [6] makking the cathedral the largest church in the New England Region.
As Pastor, LeRoy established programs within the local community, relationships with other missions and missions internationally and transcontinentally.
Local Programs
Ministerial Relationships
Missions
In 2001 after celebrating 30 years of pastoring The Rev. Dr. LeRoy Bailey Jr. was consecrated into the Bishopric, becoming known as Bishop LeRoy Bailey Jr.
In 2003, he authored the book A Solid Foundation: Building Your Life from the Ground Up.
In the year 2006, Bishop LeRoy Bailey was appointed Archbishop after the suggestion of Archbishop Ranier Laufers, the chief consecrator at his 2001 elevation. Bucking the general trend of individuals in his position as an Archbishop, Bailey continues to actively pastor The First Cathedral.
In 1970, Dr. LeRoy Bailey married the former Reathie Brown. He is the father of three children Reva Nelva Bailey, LeRoy Bailey III, and Michael David Bailey. As of January 13 2008 all members of Baileys' family were ordained as ministers.
Membership Positions Held:
Leadership Positions Held:
Archbishop LeRoy Bailey Jr. (born 25 April 1946) is a pastor and author. He serves as the Senior pastor of The First Cathedral, a megachurch in Bloomfield, Connecticut.
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Why do I stretch my hand to him? Because their weak hands,their weak hands, and their feeble hands, I know What I'm talking about, children. My hands are weak, My hands are feeble; But His hands are strong, His hands are secure, His hands are stable.
Father I stretch My hand to thee,
No other Help I know
I can't do enough for myself. I can't do enough for my children. I can't do enough for you. And You can't do enough for the people around you, You can't do enough for your family, You can do all you can do BUT STILL YOU NEED GOD!
If you withdraw thyself from me
where there shall I go?
What did Thine only Son endure
Before I drew my breath?
What pain, what labor, to secure
My soul from endless death!.
I need GOD in the morning!
I need Him in the noonday!
I need Him late at night!
I need Him in my going in and in my coming out!
I need Him in rising and in my falling!"
- From a sermon entitled: We Need GOD
- From a sermon entitled: We Need GOD
One More thing I need to tell you about him, David said "When my mother and my father forsake me than the Lord will pick me up"! He's been a mother!,He's been a Father, He's been a Sister and Brother,! My Soul, My Soul, My Soul doth magnify the Lord, Thank You, Lord!" - From a sermon entitled: We Need GOD
Listen to this “ the hand is the spirit and the spirit is the hand” and the hand of the Lord is full of power, You need to know this now, Man, God can put his hand on you, Woman, God can put his hands on you , right now and direct you into all the issues and processes of Life. I’m telling you God can put his hands on you, and everything about you will change will change for the better. The Hand of the Lord is creative Distinctively different for any other hand. The hand of the Lord is full of power. From a sermon entitled: Abundant Overflowing Word
“I what you do, I don’t care where you are, church work business work, being an entrepreneur, I don t care what you do singing shouting dancing ushering deaconing and all the other “ings”. You need the hand of the Lord on You.” From a sermon entitled: Abundant Overflowing Word
"
And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Matthew 3:17 (New International Version)
Wow, man I'm tellin' you everyday of your life, are you listening to me ladies and gentleman, are you listening, children? Are you listening my brothers and sisters? Every day of your life God is saying 'This is my beloved son','This my beloved daughter'. Awe ya'll make me sick, this is true, He says,'This is my beloved son', 'This my beloved daughter'! Every day God is saying it about you, Everyday God is speaking a word of blessing over your life, But the Devil wants to steal the joy."-From a sermon entitled: Abundant Overflowing Thought
Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits."- First Corinthians 15:33 (KJV)
"Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."- First Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)
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Some of the worst mistakes I've ever made have being around the wrong people and listening to the wrong people. Some of you a married to people you have no business being married to because you listened. Some of you had sex before you were ready to have sex, because you listened, you lost your virginity and not only did you lose your virginity but you lost your integrity, because you listened." -From a sermon entitled: Abundant Overflowing Thought
10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan!
When your husband goes to talkin' crazy and actin' a fool and When your wife goes to talkin' crazy and actin' a fool When your child goes to talkin' crazy and actin' a fool tell'em 'Get Away from me Satan' Get Back! I know your scared but tomorrow morning when your boss goes to talkin' crazy and acting foolish and trying to get you to do thing that you have no business doing Tell'em get away from me Satan'. Let'em write you up but I'll tell you one thing he won't come back to you like that no more.
For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.
Some of ya'll scared, that why you can't move, you're held in your seat, You scared but you better get some strength in your character, and in heart, and in your mind, and ijn your thought life, and in your voice, you8 better tell'em 'Get Back, I'm God's Property'-From a sermon entitled: Abundant Overflowing Thought
us to be all things to all People"
Why because the Devil sows seeds of Destruction all the time. And Listen to how he sows them, He Sows them through our mothers, and through our Fathers, and through our sisters, and brothers and our friends, and our associates, he plants and he plots to demoralize us and disenfranchise God from the throne of a person's dignity; and whenever he will destroy and defraud you of your dignity; then if he can destroy and defraud you of your dignity, he can take away your destiny!
- From a sermon entitled: We Need GOD
I don’t care what kind of knee it is, King, Queen, Presidents,
Potentates, Monarchs.
I don’t care what color, white, black, red yellow, blue,
polka-dot.
I don’t care who you are, from the white house to the
poorhouse.
I don’t care from the cradle to the grave- it makes any difference
what social status you have.
You may have no degree you may have a B.A. you may have a PhD. you
may have gradated Magna cum lade, cum lade or thank ya
Lordy,-
It doesn’t makes any difference, Every knee shall bow, every
tongue shall confess Jesus is Lord to the praise of God the
father!"
- From a sermon entitled: What to do When You Have Nothing Left"
Preaching is a message of Life-From a sermon entitled: An Abundant Overflowing Word
-"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved -John 3:16-17
(Question):"Saved from what?"
(Answer) "Distress, Depression, Isolation,
Withdrawal, Fragility, Insensitivity, Somebry, Melancholy. Anything
that steals your life, that steals your joy ,anything that takes
away your joy anything that takes away your hope anything that
takes away your self esteem .God Sent Jesus!, to delver you and to
deliver me."
- From a sermon entitled: What to do when you have nothing
Left"
To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue.- Proverbs 16:1
"What I m trying to say to you is you get what you say and what you say come by way of what you think." -From a sermon entitled: Abundant Overflowing Thought
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' " 4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Genesis 3:1-7 (New International Version)
"Look at it, Look at it, Look at the power of suggestion, the power of seeding a thought, Adam and Eve entire environment was changed because of receiving a suggestion that improper, that was unfounded, that was unprofitable, that was ignoble, that was unreliable, that was unobtainable. Had Eve not given the devil the keys to her thought life, there would not be a hell on earth or an eternal hell for people or for the angels (demons).The devil is a Liar."-From a sermon entitled: Abundant Overflowing Thought
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.- Matthew 4:1-3" NIV
Wow, I like that, see thats the way the devil does it, every time you make an error, every time you make a mistake and I mean it's nothing but a mistake. The first thing he says is 'if you are what you say you are', 'If you are a preacher',' If you were a Christian' that's the devil, every time you here it from somebody, Did you here what I said?, Every time you hear somebody make a suggestion like that, remember that's not them, that's the devil! And I don't want to go too much further without tellin you this;' Before the devil even opens his mouth you should already know who you are', I won't shake you it won't bother you, if you already know who you are!"
A generation will not have the Hope;
A generation will not have the faith;
A generation will not have the Courage;
A generation will not have the Strength;
A generation will not have the Tenacity;
A generation will not have the Boldness;
A generation will not have the Vision;
And they will fail. And they will miss reaching the potential God
has for them.
An old preacher down there in Mississippi said during one of his late night services: He said 'Chillen, we gon aim for the moon tonight but if we fall among stars we still will be on high ground'
If we don't do what we ought do, these children will never aim for the moon and if they don't aim for the moon they'll never get off the ground, That's what's at stake."-The First Cathedral- Building a Godly Heritage Campaign Video.released in 2000
Pitful our generation and our people today. Here it is 2008, and we're worse off now than we've ever been because our young people do not have the ability to (think).Think about it! How pitiful we are, here they are on drugs, on heroin, on cocaine, alcoholics. Here they are at the disposal of these kingpins and etcetera, because they can't (think).Here they are making gangs families because they can't (think)"-From a sermon entitled: Abundant Overflowing Thought
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me.-Matthew 4:1-3 NIV
He didn't know that 'The Earth is the Lord's"!, Oh I hope you're not like that, You know we like things, Come on talk to me, we like stuff Come on we like stuff, I said we like things, We like stuff, We like nice houses We like nice clothes, we like good jobs, Listen, we want money in the bank, but you just can't get it any ol' kind of way 'The Earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof!, the world and everything that belongs in it"
Money can buy you a house but can't buy you a home.
Money can buy you food to put on your table but can't by an
appetite
Money can buy you one of the most finest Mattress in the world and
a nice bed to sleep in But can't buy you sleep." -From a sermon
entitled: We Need GOD
4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
" 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
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"Every time I Look at that girl on television,I admire her not because she's a celebrity, I don't admire her celebreality, I admire her because she's a child of God and doesn't know it,.I'm talkin' 'bout Britney Spears. It breaks my heart. Anna Nicole, It broke my heart, you know I knew what she was doing, I didn't like what she was doing, But I know she's a child of God, and I see people all the time, who have so much that don't know they have, so much beauty, inner beauty and so much going for them that they don't know's goin', But the Devil will take everything from you, if you don't know who you are in Christ."-From a sermon entitled: Abundant Overflowing Thought
- From A Solid Foundation: How to Build Your Life for the Ground Up
w:The Hartford Courant Sunday September 5th, 1999
"Over 20 nationalities are represented in the church, he said, "which means our flavor has changed." Bailey now considers First Cathedral a non-denominational Christian church. "We are a church for all people; we have people who come from as far as New York and Boston.
w:The Hartford Courant March 5th, 2005
As a minister for 31 years, Bailey knows that pastors need prayer as much as anyone, and that being strong for others often leaves those leading the flock without much support of their own.
"Pastors have an awesome responsibility," Bailey said later. "We are supposed to be the prophets to the community. When they come to our congregations, they are not just looking for oratorical skill, they want God's word in a way that it will benefit them."
As First Cathedral's congregation grows, so does Bailey's sphere of influence. More than 60 preachers are in training under Bailey's guidance. Some will remain with First Cathedral while others go on to churches of their own or start ministries associated with the church.
Four years after his congregation voted to give him the title of bishop at First Cathedral, Bailey was consecrated by the International Conference of Bishops during a ceremony at the church in October.
The title means that Bailey now does formally what he has long done informally -- mentor other ministers. In addition to those in training, more than 20 ministers with their own congregations also look to Bailey for guidance and advice.
"I'm primarily a shepherd of pastors," Bailey said. "I had a spiritual father who mentored me and tutored me. Everybody needs help.
w:The Hartford Courant Jan 13, 2002
-Rev. Aaron Lewis- Senior Pastor
The Website of The First Cathedral
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