COGIC Social Justice Ministry

02/28/2026

02/19/2026

02/18/2026

Join us at the Leadership Conference

02/09/2026

We are grateful to Revolt News for honoring Bishop Talbert W. Swan II during Black History Month and recognizing his faith-rooted leadership in the ongoing struggle for justice. This acknowledgment reflects his collective work committed to truth, accountability, and liberation. We thank Revolt for lifting up leadership that turns faith into action and honors the legacy of those who paved the way.

This , Revolt News is honoring the culture shapers and history makers defining our present and protecting our future.

Today, we celebrate Bishop Talbert W. Swan II, one of the most influential and nationally recognized faith leaders in the modern civil rights movement.

As the longest-serving president of the Greater Springfield NAACP, Bishop Swan’s leadership has driven victories in police accountability, voting rights protection, and economic justice initiatives. His work has been honored with induction into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College and the National Action Network Civil Rights Advocacy Award, affirming his impact as both a moral and civic leader.

Within the Church of God in Christ, Bishop Swan serves as Assistant General Secretary, Clerk of the General Board, and National Director of Social Justice, guiding one of the nation’s largest Black denominations toward community engagement and advocacy. A scholar shaped by Harvard Divinity School, Gordon-Conwell, and Hartford Seminary, he amplifies grassroots concerns on national platforms, including CNN, MSNBC, and the New York Times.

stands as a true Culture Shaker, transforming accolades into action and faith into measurable community change.

02/08/2026

The Presiding Bishop’s Official Statement on President Trump's Recent Truth Social Post.

01/17/2026

I’m truly honored to be recognized with the Faith-Based Activism Award at the 2nd Annual Ben Crump Human Rights Honors.

I don’t do justice work for applause or public recognition. I speak truth to power, organize, and stand with the people because it is a calling, a commitment, and a mandate. Still, it is always humbling when the work is seen and affirmed.

To be acknowledged by someone of the stature, courage, and unwavering commitment to justice as Ben Crump makes this moment especially meaningful. His work has set a standard for what it looks like to use one’s platform, voice, and vocation to fight for the marginalized and the oppressed.

Grateful for the recognition, inspired by the mission, and committed to continuing the work. Justice is not an event—it’s a lifelong assignment.

Join my email list for periodic updates
http://bit.ly/tswanemail

Get ‘The Gospel According to Justice’ trilogy:
📕 The Gospel According to Justice - http://bit.ly/accordingtojustice
🔥 Prophetic Fire = http://bit.ly/ppropheticfire2
🎤 Holy Bars for a Hurting People - http://bit.ly/holybars

Talbert Swan

01/02/2026

To the preachers attacking social justice and liberation theology in COGIC:

Before you open your mouths to castigate liberation theology, you might want to actually study the man whose shoulders we’re standing on.

Bishop Charles H. Mason was preaching and practicing liberation theology long before it was labeled as such.

Mason was the son of formerly enslaved people. His theology wasn’t abstract, sanitized, or detached from Black suffering. It was forged in the fire of Jim Crow terror, racial apartheid, and economic exclusion. He understood—intuitively and prophetically—that salvation divorced from freedom is a lie.

Holiness, sanctification, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost were never meant to make Black people passive, silent, or compliant. They were instruments of dignity, power, self-determination, and resistance.

Bishop Mason:

Built independent Black institutions to free us from white religious control

Promoted education, cooperative economics, and communal uplift

Challenged the hypocrisy of America demanding Black blood for democracy abroad while denying Black humanity at home

Created a “holy space” where despised Black people could understand themselves as God’s chosen generation

That is liberation theology — whether you like the term or not.

What you’re actually defending isn’t “the old paths.” You’re defending a whitenized evangelical framework that Mason rejected by his very existence. You rage against liberation theology while saying absolutely nothing about white Christian nationalism. You foam at the mouth when Black theologians name oppression, yet you go mute while a racist, authoritarian movement wraps white supremacy in a cross and calls it Christianity. You call liberation theology “political,” but you don’t blink when Jesus is conscripted to defend voter suppression, mass incarceration, book bans, the erasure of Black history, and the worship of power.

That silence isn’t holiness—it’s submission. If your theology only has smoke for Black people speaking truth and none for white power abusing the gospel, then you’re not guarding the faith. You’re protecting whiteness. Your theology sounds less like Mason and more like MAGA pulpits, Christian nationalism, and white evangelical grievance politics. You’ve traded Pentecostal fire for Fox News talking points. You shout “holiness” while aligning with movements that mock the poor, criminalize Blackness, erase Black history, and baptize white supremacy in Jesus’ name.

And the irony is rich. You condemn liberation theology while enjoying the fruits of Mason’s liberation work. You preach from pulpits he built while attacking the very theology that made COGIC possible.

COGIC was never neutral.
COGIC was never silent.
COGIC was never aligned with empire.

If your gospel requires Black people to accept oppression quietly, avoid naming injustice, and cozy up to racist power structures — that gospel did not come from Bishop Mason.

It came from whitened Christianity, dressed up in Pentecostal language and sold to the highest political bidder.

So miss me with the ahistorical nonsense. Miss me with the attacks. Miss me with the cowardly shots that won’t say my name.

I will stand 10 toes down preaching the gospel according to Jesus’ liberation mandate and the legacy of Bishop Mason — whether the c**n pulpit likes it or not.

So instead of tap dancing to the offbeat rhythm of colonized Christianity and condemning liberation theology, do your homework. Learn COGIC history. Study the life, ministry, and convictions of Bishop Charles H. Mason. Sit with the reality that our church was born in resistance, not respectability. Read, listen, and unlearn the whitenized evangelical talking points you’ve borrowed and baptized. Until you understand where we came from—and why—we don’t need your condemnation. We need you to catch up.

Because COGIC’s roots are Black. Its theology was born in struggle. And its future will not be dictated by MAGA-aligned impostors who forgot where they came from.

Join my email list for periodic updates
http://bit.ly/tswanemail

Get ‘The Gospel According to Justice’ trilogy:
📕 The Gospel According to Justice - http://bit.ly/accordingtojustice
🔥 Prophetic Fire = http://bit.ly/ppropheticfire2
🎤 Holy Bars for a Hurting People - http://bit.ly/holybars

Talbert Swan

01/02/2026

01/02/2026

There’s something deeply broken in the thinking of any Black man who condemns James Cone, a theologian who centered Black dignity, liberation, and the Jesus of the oppressed, yet turns around and praises Charlie Kirk, a mouthpiece for white grievance politics that regularly trafficked in anti-Black, anti-truth rhetoric.

That’s not discernment
That’s not theology
That’s not intellect

That’s Stockholm syndrome with a Bible. That’s trading Black liberation for white validation. That’s rejecting a faith that frees in order to applaud an ideology that erases

If you denounce Cone but exalt Kirk, the issue isn’t doctrine. It’s identity. It’s proximity to power. And it’s a willingness to sell your own people out for a pat on the head from whiteness.

Talbert Swan

11/15/2025

A Message from the Presiding Bishop

A Special Message from Presiding Bishop J. Drew Sheard:

"Dear Saints,

Grace and peace be unto you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The 117th Holy Convocation has come to a close, and my heart is filled with gratitude for every delegate, attendee, and supporter who helped make this sacred gathering a resounding success. From Morning Manna to the O.T. Jones Memorial Training Institute, Women’s Day Service, and Queen Vessels For the King; from every midday and evening worship service to the inspiring COGIC Charities “We Care” Banquet; from the Presiding Bishop’s Forum to our powerful Lord’s Day Service; and every departmental event in between—your presence, prayers, and participation made the difference.

Each moment reflected the power of unity, worship, and faith. Together, we experienced the spirit of excellence, purpose, and divine vision that defines who we are as the Church Of God In Christ. Your dedication and commitment to ministry continue to move this wonderful church forward—from Beyond the Vision: From Unfinished to Finished Business.

As we move forward, we look with great anticipation to our return to St. Louis, Missouri for the 118th Holy Convocation, taking place November 3–8, 2026. We can’t wait to gather again and experience an even greater outpour of God’s glory.

Thank you for being a vital part of this historic 117th Holy Convocation. May God bless you abundantly for your service, sacrifice, and steadfast love for this great church.

With heartfelt appreciation,

Bishop John Drew Sheard
Presiding Bishop and Chief Apostle
Church Of God In Christ, Inc.
The Eighth in Succession"

11/13/2025

When the faith community goes silent, injustice gets a microphone. Silence has never saved a life, stopped a lynching, protected a voter, or fed a family.

During our Holy Convocation forums, we confronted the dangerous myth of neutrality and reminded the Church that quiet pulpits create loud suffering.

In a season when racism is resurgent, rights are being reversed, and the vulnerable are under attack, silence is not spiritual — it’s surrender.

This is the moment for a courageous, conviction-filled Church that refuses to sit down, shut up, or bow down.

11/07/2025