10 minutes with … Julie Lyons

(UNDATED) As a crime reporter working in a rough stretch of South Dallas in the early 1990s, nothing shocked Julie Lyons. Prostitutes wandering the streets, addicts getting high on the corner, gunshots ringing through the air — it was all the norm. There was something, though, about a tiny church that got her attention. In […]

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(UNDATED) As a crime reporter working in a rough stretch of South Dallas in the early 1990s, nothing shocked Julie Lyons. Prostitutes wandering the streets, addicts getting high on the corner, gunshots ringing through the air — it was all the norm.

There was something, though, about a tiny church that got her attention.


In her book, “Holy Roller,” Lyons, 46, writes about how she “got a news tip from God” that lead her to a preacher and his small black Pentecostal church that was changing lives.

After writing about The Body of Christ Assembly for her alternative newspaper, Lyons, a middle-class white woman, went back and became a member. Since then, she said, she’s witnessed miracles and saw herself evolve into a “black Pentecostal Christian in all ways but one.”

Some answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Q. This is an all black church. When you started to attend, what was the congregation’s reaction?

A. I was embraced the moment I walked in the door. I’ll never forget how some members came up to me and gave me a hug and told me they loved me. I’ve never experienced such a welcome at any church I’ve been to. Members of my church haven’t had the same experience when visiting a predominantly white church. It doesn’t necessarily go both ways.

Q. You say that you consider yourself a black Pentecostal Christian in all ways but one. What do you mean?

A. Obviously I’m not black, but I’m a black Pentecostal in the way I approach my faith. I’m at home in the black Pentecostal church. I’ve gotten used to the loudness. Some things are done publicly that in other churches are done privately, like casting out demons.

I’ve embraced the simplicity of the black Pentecostal spirituality. There are people in my church who can barely read, but they will latch onto a piece of the Word of God and not let go. And in a small church like mine, you can’t hide. There’s a level of accountability I never saw before, a real sense that I’m here to pull you out of the detrimental spiritual conditions you’re in.


Q. Is your involvement with The Body of Christ Assembly a step toward bridging the racial divide in America?

A. The way you bridge the gap is through intimate relationships, not through gestures. You cannot attend for six months and build bridges. You have to face your biases and prejudices. The way you overcome that is by repenting of your prejudices and letting God taking you on a process. You have to look at people how he looks at people, and that’s done through intimate relationships with people different than you. Those relationships take time. I think Christians need to try a lot harder.

Q. You mention witnessing miracles in your book. How would you define a miracle?

A. It’s a result that couldn’t be obtained through natural means. It comes about through a divine touch from God. A person addicted to crack can lose sight of what’s right and wrong. When a person is instantly and permanently delivered from their addiction through prayer — that, to me, is a miracle.

When a person is falling down drunk and receives prayer and more than 20 years later they’ve never taken a drink, that’s a miracle to me.

A miracle transformed my life; I was very selfish, bratty and flaky person who was borderline bipolar, and God made me into a stable, loving person, a good wife, a good mother, and a good employee. It’s not as spectacular, but it’s still a result that I believe was only brought about by God.

Q. You mention drug addiction in your book several times. Do you think evil spirits cause such addictions?


A. Not always. I wouldn’t even say a spirit causes it, but I think there are spirits attached to addiction and to certain drugs. I’ve heard addicts talk about their drug as though it was person or entity. The drug would talk to them, entice them, that they could feel its presence at times. So I’d say there’s a spirit attached to some things, and for those who are willing, that sprit can partake in their life and mess them up.

Q. In the past 20 years, how have you seen South Dallas change spiritually? What role did the Body of Christ Assembly play in that?

A. When I came here as a reporter, I thought the world was going to end, there so much violence here. People were freaked out by the violence. Now, I walk around here all the time — not that I recommend people do that — and it’s much more peaceful. I believe it truly is an effect of the ministry.

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