Oxygen Announces New Reality Show ‘Pastors of LA’ With Bishop Noel Jones & Bishop Clarence McClendon

Another reality TV show for saints, sinners and in between. This week, we learned that Oxygen was launching a new reality show (or ‘docu-series’) called ‘Pastors of LA’. According to Indie Wire, the show will give a detailed look inside of the lives of well-known church leaders and pastors, with congregations in Los Angeles. So, who is rumored to be in the show? Reportedly, Bishop Noel Jones (of the ‘City of Refuge’), Deitrick Haddon (gospel singer), Bishop Clarence McClendon, Pastor Wayne Chaney, Bishop Ron Gibson and Pastor Jay Haizlip.

Holly Carter, the executive producer of the show explained:

This show documents a journey of transparency from one man to the next as they endeavor to lead others to their own truth and self-discovery. It’s a dose of reality and a pound of redemption coming from a creative team reared in the church.

Rod Aissa, Senior Vice President of Original Programming and Development, Oxygen Media, also stated:

‘Pastors of L.A.’ documents these larger than life characters who are rock stars in their communities, with a fresh, unique perspective that will resonate with our young audience. By teaming up with Lemuel and Holly who are some of the best creative minds in the business and heavily respected within this community, we can deliver this authentic series with integrity, while also staying right on brand with Oxygen.

Check out a description of the reality stars.

Bishop Noel Jones (@BishopNoelJones)

A Jamaican born into poverty, Bishop Noel Jones has made his way to the other extreme, now living on a hilltop with a view of the Pacific Ocean, Malibu at his feet, and across the street from the former home of the late L.A. Lakers owner, Jerry Buss. The pastor of a church full of celebrities, and the brother of Grace Jones, Bishop Jones is headed towards retirement and looking for a successor who he can entrust his life’s work. But finding the right man is harder than it sounds.

Deitrick Haddon (@DeitrickHaddon)

The son of a bishop and an evangelist, Deitrick was preaching at the age of eleven and conducting the church choir at thirteen. At twenty-three he married the woman he was expected to marry – the lead soprano of the church choir. However, everything didn’t continue as perfectly as the church had hoped. Deitrick and his wife got a divorce and the members of the church shunned him. Aside from the call on his life, the one thing that helped him from hitting rock bottom was his music. A dynamic personality, singer, songwriter, and preacher, Deitrick finds himself at an impasse in life. Which road will he choose?

Bishop Clarence McClendon (@BishopMcClendon)

Bishop Clarence McClendon appears throughout the world on his weekly international broadcast, which is available in 250 million homes worldwide. This charismatic and ubiquitous bishop has been noted for his contemporary and relevant approach to the Gospel. He believes the Gospel is not only for the down and out but for the up and out. His ministry spans from skid row to the estates of Bel Air. When challenged about what many have called his prosperity Gospel, Bishop replies, “there is no other kind of Gospel.”

Pastor Wayne Chaney

At the age of twenty he got the call from God and has grown to become a prominent pastor of the church his grandfather built. Fast-forward 10 years later, Antioch is the leading church in its community. With an ability to communicate complex truths in a simple way, Pastor Chaney has helped remarkably grow the church, along with the help of his secret weapon, his wife, gospel artist Myeshia Chaney. While Antioch is poised to become the next mega-church with the ability to reach millions worldwide, there’s an obstacle in the way and it comes from within Pastor Wayne’s own family.

Bishop Ron Gibson

Born in Compton, addicted to drugs before he was a teenager, a leader of the Crips by the time he was sixteen, a robber and a pimp, Bishop Ron Gibson was the least likely person to end up a preacher. He now changes the lives of 4,500 people each week at the Life Church of God in Christ, which he started with only nine people in the congregation. Through it all he’s accumulated great wealth, power and purpose. However, there’s one thing he and his wife would give it all away for – a child.

Pastor Jay Haizlip (@jayhaizlip)

One of the pioneering greats of competitive skateboarding, Pastor Jay Haizlip, originally from Gadsden, Alabama, collected big trophies, bigger paychecks and high-end sponsors, but fell deep into drugs, and into the crack houses of Huntington Beach and Long Beach, California. Back in the crack houses again, this time he’s not there for drugs – he’s helping rescue souls for the Kingdom. Serving as Senior Pastor of The Sanctuary of Huntington Beach, Pastor Jay Haizlip reaches out to troubled youth, finding them in prisons, skate parks and the same crack houses he once shot dope in.

The show is set to premiere in the fall of 2013. Photo: Indie Wire. P.S. What are your thoughts about a show following the lives of prominent church leaders? Will the show receive the same amount of criticism and backlash as TLC’s ‘The Sisterhood’? And if you’re a Christian, are you concerned about the public’s potential judgement?