Written by | Ray Cornelius
Tonight is the season premiere of Oxygen’s newest reality series, Preachers of L.A.
The one-hour docu-series, which has everyone talking, spotlights six “mega-pastors” from California who give television viewers a candid and revealing look at their lives in and out of the pulpit. From their work in the community and with their parishioners to the very large and captivating lives they lead away from their beloved congregants, Preachers of L.A. hopes to give clarity on what it really means to be a man of the cloth. The six preachers include Bishop Noel Jones, Deitrick Haddon, Bishop Clarence McClendon, Pastor Wayne Chaney, Bishop Ron Gibson and Pastor Jay Haizlip.
I recently had a chance to talk with Haddon during a press luncheon in Atlanta. We discussed why he decided to create the show (Yes, he’s a silent producer) and what he and the other pastors really hope to gain from the series. Being an award winning Gospel artist, we naturally talked about music and his love for today’s hip-hop kings, like Drake and Kanye West. We also talked about why he and the producers chose Oxygen over the other networks that traditionally cater to faith-based audiences.
“I just thought it (Oxygen) was perfect for the Gospel. That’s always been my motivation to kind of take the Gospel a little bit further than what were used to…beyond the four walls of the church. So I thought it was prolific. We could have went with a couple of the other networks that we know will venture off into church stuff but to have Oxygen, which is completely not into our culture, buy into our culture and put the money behind it the way they did was amazing. It’s a great opportunity to expand faith-based television shows and faith-based films.”
Click here to listen to the entire AUDIO INTERVIEW!
RC with Deitrick Haddon, 2013
Photo Credit: RayCornelius.com