Leonardo Blair
Leonardo Blair is an award-winning investigative reporter and feature writer whose career spanned secular media in the Caribbean and New York City prior to joining The Christian Post in 2013. His early work with CP focusing on crime and Christian society quickly attracted international attention when he exposed a campaign by Creflo Dollar Ministries in 2015 to raise money from supporters to purchase a $65 million luxury jet. He continues to report extensively on church crimes, spiritual abuse, mental health, the black church and major events impacting Christian culture.
He is a 2007 alumnus of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he was an inaugural member of the Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism. He lives with his wife and two sons in New York City.
Latest
Married pastor accused of robbing 5 women, sexually assaulting 2
The wife of a longtime Illinois preacher reeled in shocked Wednesday as she learned that her husband of 11 years has been accused of robbing five women and sexually assaulting two of them.
Carlton Pearson, former megachurch pastor who says there is no Hell, brought to 'death's door' battling cancer
Bishop Carlton Pearson, an affiliate minister at All Souls Unitarian Church, who was once one of the most sought-after Pentecostal speakers in America before he lost his megachurch in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 20 years ago for declaring there is no Hell, says he was recently brought to “death’s door,” battling illnesses related to cancer.
Church faces financial ruin as court orders repayment of $500K in ill-gotten donations
A 120-year-old Illinois church could be forced to shutter and sell off their assets if they fail to raise $300,000 in the next month to pay off a $487,000 federal court judgement against them to recover “long gone” donations a businessman convicted of running a Ponzi scheme, poured into their coffers over 10 years.
Ebenezer Baptist Pastor Sen. Raphael Warnock may have violated disclosure laws, watchdog suggests
The leader of Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, might have violated federal disclosure laws or Senate ethics rules when he accepted $125,000 in deferred compensation from his church in 2022, according to conservative watchdog group the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust.
Beloved Chicago pastor found fatally battered as man she helped is charged with murder
Family and friends of beloved Chicago pastor and food pantry volunteer Marisol Berrios are struggling to cope after she was found battered to death inside her home Saturday, allegedly by a man she once helped. Berrios was 53.
NJ challenges Ocean Grove Christian group’s limit on private beach access on Sundays
Ocean Grove, a New Jersey community in Neptune Township founded by Methodist ministers in 1869 as a “Christian seaside resort” has been warned by state officials that their longstanding tradition of limiting access to their privately owned beach before noon on Sundays during the summer months to accommodate church services and maintain the character of their community is a violation of state law.
Church of Haitian pastor who led members into deadly clash with gang is shut down: gov't official
Haitian authorities have reportedly temporarily suspended the operating license of the Church of the Pool of Bethesda in Caradeux after the congregation’s pastor, Marcorel Zidor, recently led hundreds of his members into a deadly confrontation with a violent gang then blamed the deaths of at least seven of them on their lack of faith.
Pastor Mike Baker announces new church 6 months after resigning over son’s adultery scandal
Six months after resigning as senior pastor of Eastview Christian Church in Bloomington, Illinois, after his son, Caleb Baker, was fired from his job as a pastor at Central Christian Church following an extramarital affair with another church staffer, Pastor Mike Baker has launched a new church set to begin gathering this month.
‘Thank you, Jesus': Deion Sanders praises God after Colorado Buffaloes beat TCU
New University of Colorado head coach, Super Bowl winner and NFL Hall of Famer, Deion 'Coach Prime' Sanders, thanked Jesus and his supporters who believed in him Saturday after his underdog team, the Colorado Buffaloes, beat the No. 17 ranked TCU Horned Frogs 45-42 to secure an upset win in their debut game of the season.
Pastors, churches still struggling in throes of ‘uncertainty and unsettledness’ post-pandemic: study
In a time of “uncertainty and unsettledness” following the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, churches are still struggling to attract young people to the pews, address concerns about aging clergy and congregants, and commit to doing what it takes to ensure their future survival, a new study conducted by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research at Hartford International University shows.