www.clgpgt.org
Why stay anywhere else? Our home away from home. Hot Breakfast, Outdoor Pool, Pet Friendly
2401 Brick Church Pike, Nashville, TN, 37207, US
The Leader Dr. Meharry Hubbard Lewis, Chief Overseer and Author
Meet
The Men and Women Bishops
Our Rich History in the City
Penned: Written Works For The Legacy of the Church
Mary Lena Lewis Tate: Let Us Never Forget
New Living Way Publishing July 2016 New Living Way Publishing| 3808 Clarksville Pike | Nashville, Tennessee 37207 | www.clgpgt.org
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Be Ye Steadfast and Unmovable
2 What We Believe 3 Her-Story: Mary Lena Lewis Tate 4 The Leader: Dr. Meharry H. Lewis 5 Penned: Written Works for the Legacy of the Church 6 Meet Them: The Men and Women Bishops 7 Nashville: Our Rich History in the City
What We Believe We believe and do firmly teach: 1. That our church name is divinely inspired and was revealed (Genesis 28: 16-22; I Timothy 3:15).
Nashville: Our Rich History In the City
2. That God is no respecter of persons and that He calls women into the preaching ministry and other leadership positions in the church just as He does men (Acts 10:34; Galatians 3:28). 3. That water (not wine or grape juice) is the true symbol of the new testament in Christ's blood (Luke 22:20; St. John 7:37-38; 19:34).
Visit With Us Often Stay current with what is going on in the church. Please visit our website often at www.clgpgt.org
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Bishop Tate chose Nashville for her denominational headquarters, and in 1923, with her approval, the denomination purchased eleven 50 x 140 city lots for $5,000, including a large brick building with five rooms. The publishing house opened in the building after it was renovated and equipped with printing presses, paper cutters, print type and type-setting equipment. Part-time workers hired from several African American schools in the area staffed the publishing house. For two decades from this location, the New and Living Way Publishing Company printed Sunday School literature, music, and several periodicals. Originally established in 1923, the first church headquarters was located at 1915 Heiman Street in Nashville, TN. Later, the church acquired land at 4520 Ashland Highway, Nashville, TN. The church still owns that beautiful piece of land that overlooks one of the highest elevations in Nashville. In 2011, through faith and hard work, the Lord blessed the church to acquire--debt free--a splendid, nearly 6-acre headquarters campus located at 3808 Clarksville Pike, in the city of Nashville that is the new General Headquarters. (Background picture is the publishing house, the New and Living Way Publishing Company and the inset pictures are the current national headquarters building)
MEET THEM The Men and Women Bishops Of 2016
The qualifications to carry the title of a bishop are not for the faint of heart. For many are called, but few are chosen. “This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.” 1 Timothy 3:1-7 (KJV) From top left to bottom right: Bishop Luke D. Lewis, Bishop Gloria Lockhart, Bishop Josiephine Smith, Bishop Early Mae Hardwick, Bishop Milton Byrd, Bishop Toni Jones, Bishop J.K. Rivers, Bishop Mary Bankston, Bishop Marguerite Redding, Bishop George Lockhart. 6
Her Story
Mary Lena Lewis Tate: Let Us Never Forget
Her-story Fact Mary Lena Lewis Tate was the first woman known to organize an internationally recognized church and be elevated to the ecclesiastical rank of bishop.
Imagine a strong, black woman, whose parents had been slaves, but freed during the Emancipation Proclamation of 1865. Ponder the restrictions of a child, one of nine children, who was given the opportunity to learn to read and write, during a time when intellectual curiosity was, in most cases, forbidden. Yet, with the favor of God on her life, her mother encouraging skills like reading and writing and both parents pushing their children to understand and be aware of religion, politics and social skills, the Street parenting dynamics remarkably set their children apart from the rest of the world. One in particular, Mary Lena Lewis Tate, who, in adulthood, was a formidable presence, went on to make a historical mark, movement and impact in the world. Mary Lena Street was born January 5, 1871 in the engulfing aftermath of American slavery with the entirety of its attendant bruises and scars. She spent most of her early life in the rural South with little opportunity to obtain a formal education. These influences upon her background and development were not unique, for she shared these critical influences with many of her black peers and sisters who overcame and rose to prominence in myriad fields of endeavor. Unique is the fact that this black woman would be endowed with an unquenchable determination to fulfill her destiny, not just in the work of the ministry, but as a fully capable and qualified preacher of God's Word! The unique combination of factors--a woman, black, untrained, the ministry, and the period (early 1900s) even by today's comparatively liberal standards would strongly mitigate any powerful hope of realizing such an unlikely goal. Her vision was not just for the approval of men through recognized ordination, but to demonstrate the approval of Jesus Christ as evidenced through her works! This commission to do the work of a fully approved emissary of Christ would demonstrate itself, not only through the undeniable ability of this woman to articulately and authoritatively preach the Word of God with Power!, but also to heal, convert and baptize. She sought the fullness of God's commission to her as evidenced through the works she would be able to perform. And yet, her will-tospiritual power was not a personally selfish goal. Like many of the Apostles before her, she would strive only to present herself a living sacrifice wholly acceptable unto God (Romans 12:1); beyond that, God would demonstrate and reveal His will in her life.
Mary Lena Lewis Tate was an intellectual, an advocate for women’s rights, an organizer, an apostle for Christ, a business woman, an original proponent for “clean-living”, a healer, an entrepreneur, a pioneer, a unite, a historical first and a woman after God’s own heart. Let us never forget her and the trail she blazed. 3
Walking in his destiny and carrying the torch ignited by his grandmother, Mary Lena Lewis Tate, in 1903, Dr. Meharry Hubbard Lewis currently holds the post of Chief Overseer of the Church of the Living God, the Pillar and Ground of the Truth, Inc. He is also a diocese bishop currently with responsibilities in the State of Alabama.
For years, Dr. Lewis has been using his education for the church. When given the opportunity to further his career past his esteemed positions at Tuskegee, Dr. Lewis chose to give his gifts to the church. He has passionately sought to document the work of his grandmother and the church that she founded to ensure it has a resting place in the pages of America’s history.
He has an extensive knowledge of the history of the Founder, Bishop M.L. Tate, and the founding of the Church (Vision!). He is a graduate of Tennessee State University, Nashville (B.S. and M.S.); and Indiana University, Bloomington, where he received the doctor of philosophy degree.
Dr. Lewis has two children, Karen Lewis Smith and Arlan David Lewis. He resides in Tuskegee, Alabama.
Dr. Meharry H. Lewis Meharry H. Lewis, retired professor of education and assistant dean (Tuskegee University) and school counselor, has completed, compiled and co-authored many books documenting the history, development, faith and doctrine of the international religious organization, the Church of the Living God, the Pillar and Ground of the Truth, Inc., founded by Mary Lena Lewis Tate in 1903. Bishop Mary Lena Tate (1871-1930) is the Founder and First Chief Overseer of the organization and is recognized as the first Afro-American and perhaps the second female to head such an organization in the United States. Bishop Meharry H. Lewis has significantly contributed to ensuring the church’s written legacy continues. The New and Living Publishing Company, founded in 1923 by Bishop Mary Lena Lewis Tate, is the first Pentecostal publishing company in the United States. Because of the work and efforts of Dr. Lewis, the company is still publishing great works and penning the history of this great church organization.
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