Dr. T. La'trell Penny: "I Am Vintage"
PreachingWoman.com garnered the prestigious opportunity to enjoy an exclusive interview with Dr. T. La'trell Penny, Sr. Pastor of Shubach Deliverance World Cathedral, Inc. (Shubach) headquartered in Sumter, SC, and of The Power Center Church, in Charlotte, NC. She graciously accepted our invitation to be featured and celebrated on PreachingWoman.com to discuss her journey and passion to preach the gospel, restore the integrity of the salvation experience back to mankind, and wholeheartedly living the seemingly "vintage" lifestyle of holiness and righteousness. If perhaps you've not heard or experienced the ministry of Dr. T. La'trell Penny (Dr. Penny), it is our honor to share this amazing gift of God with you.
Having overcome a life of homelessness and deprivation, Dr. Penny is living proof of God's uncanny ability to radically transform one's life and ministry from one of deprivation to a conclusion of supernatural abundance. Seeming to arise out of nowhere into prominence upon the national ministry stage, Dr. Penny has quickly emerged as one of the nation's most highly sought after Generals of the Gospel. Renowned for her supernatural prowess and acute precision in delivering the word of God, Dr. Penny is highly respected as a powerfully anointed theological story teller gifted with prolific proficiency to reach the hearts of laity and leadership throughout the country.
Abounding in great love for God, His Word, and His people, Dr. Penny has a great passion to see lives changed through the teaching and preaching of the unadulterated Word of God. Through relevant contemporary titled messages such as "The Autopsy is Over, Now Bury It," "Deadly Distractions," and "Samuel is Coming," just to name a few, the life changing power of God's Word, confirmed by signs and wonders, is eminently evident upon her life and ministry. In fact, a taste of her ministry broadcast, Power Shift, can be experienced online at www.Radio1000.org, Monday - Friday 9:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Brimming with grace, kindness, and humility, Dr. Penny is one of the nicest women of God one could ever meet. PreachingWoman.com's founder, Nichelle Early (NE), experienced confirmation of this fact when she met and embraced the opportunity to speak one on one with Dr. TL Penny (TP). So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the discussion, it's a great one!
NE: Dr. Penny, thank you so very much for accepting this interview. I am so honored to speak with you today!
TP: Evangelist, the pleasure is all mine! I am honored to have been selected to be upon such a great platform.
NE: Thank you so much Dr. Penny! Well, let's talk!
Dr. Penny, God has graced you with such a potent and dynamic ministry. Please share with us the mandate that you believe He has given you in this hour.
TP: I believe that God has given me an assignment or mandate to restore the integrity of salvation back into the hearts of mankind. To put in context what I'm saying, I believe my assignment is to re-establish the fear or reverence of God, reignite the respect for holy living, and to impute the integrity of the foundational truths of salvation back into the hearts of the laity, leadership, and mankind, blindsiding them to what they have recently seen in human behavior. People are hurting, their hearts are broken, and they are constantly being influenced by what they see or partake of. To be honest ministry, in some cases, has become tainted. So, it is my heart's desire that God uses me to be a beacon of light to direct the hearts of man back to God towards good works and holy living, and to let everyone know that they have a purpose, place, and assignment in the Kingdom of God regardless of their position or lack thereof, race, creed, color or denomination. Divine destiny awaits people, and I believe that God has orchestrated and structured my life and ministry to complete this mandate for the people of God.
NE: Dr. Penny you are so right, many people have truly lost respect for or faith in the tenants of our salvation. So, truly your ministry mandate is so vital in this hour.
Now, God has given you a prolific gifting to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ with precision, depth, and passion. When did you learn you were called to preach and what drives your passion to do so?
TP: I think I knew when I was around five or six years old that I was called to preach. When I would go to church, I had such an excitement about the Word of God. While most kids were playing in church, I was drawn to the Word of God.
I can remember coming home after church with my Grandmother and I would get her to find the scripture that the preacher preached and I would re-preach the message I heard that day. I can remember the anointing would come upon me so strongly that my hands would burn...
I also recall (again, I was around the age of six years old,) I had an aunt who suffered with terrible migraine headaches. So, at six years old, I laid hands upon her in prayer, and she said God healed her immediately. Until this day, my aunt says she has never suffered with migraines again...and to date, that has been over 35 years ago. So I believe that because of the purity of my desire then, later on in my life when I began to serve in ministry, I was better able to realize what drives my passion to preach the Gospel, which is seeing lives healed and changed by the teaching and preaching of the Word of God.
You see, I believe that in some cases the Body of Christ is under served, because we either have a lot of hype, but lack of knowledge, or vice versa. So, I said to myself, what if I can take some of the hype and couple it with the teaching, and bring them both together. Almost like making a cake, if you will; taking the ingredients of teaching and preaching and mixing them together to come up with one exciting, relevant, ministry message that when consumed, it changes people's lives. And, that is what drives me, teaching first and then preaching the Word of God and seeing lives changed. What drives my passion the most is when people remember a message, the title, and its content and when they see me again they say, "That message you preached changed my life!" That's what drives me; knowing that the through the power of God's Word people are not just excited, but they are changed. The Word of God makes all of the difference and that's truly where my passion comes from!
NE: Yes! I totally understand, and it is truly evident when you minister. In fact, I feel the same way! I love it when you can see how the taught and preached Word of God changes someone's life. That is just so rewarding!
In fact, one of your most well-known messages is "The Autopsy is Over, Now Bury It." Please share with us the core message behind the sermon.
TP: Evangelist Nichelle, I feel that one of the most prevalent issues that keep people stifled, in both the Kingdom and in their personal lives, is their inability to let go of things. There are some things that God has shown us that we need to let go. We've found ourselves broken down, spiritually drained, going through the same hindrances and cycles over and over again all because we won't let things go...
When we look at Genesis 13, Abraham called Lot and essentially said {paraphrasing}, "We've been together a long time, we're not getting along, and I am in a different place. It's time for us to go in different directions." One thing I always say to people is this, "If you've got a 'Lot,' you can't have very much. You've got to let a "Lot" go, or you won't have very much."
You see, we try to take people where we are going, but everybody can't go. Often times, I see people whose loved ones have died, and they knew were going to pass away, and trust me I understand the pain, but when the funeral is over, they still often times refuse to move forward with life, painful as it may be. We have to learn to accept things at face value; that is the only way we are going to get resolve and not be stuck in one state of being. Therefore, you've been in that situation, you've examined it in every way, "The Autopsy is Over, Now Bury It!" ...Some people are in your life to make a deposit, or for you to make a deposit in theirs. Once the deposit is made, and you both see that perhaps that was the purpose, you must keep it moving.
NE: Wow! That is so true! And for what God wants to do in our lives, we cannot afford to stay attached to dead things!
Now, Dr. Penny, your ministry is marked by the potency of the prophetic anointing upon it. Please share your perspective regarding the importance and necessity of the prophetic voice in the church.
TP: Accuracy and decorum-these are the key words. In many cases, we are no longer seeing the accuracy and decorum of the prophetic gift in the church and many people are being abused, hurt, or discouraged by this.
The voice of God is never unclear or unsure. It is clear and accurate. When it is the voice or Word of God speaking to you, there is no second guessing or trying to figure out if it is true or not. The prophetic Word should automatically confirm in your spirit what you already know God is saying, or it should provide instruction or direction concerning something God has already said to you...Some try to operate in the tone or mannerisms of the prophetic, but they lack the true gift or office. They try to guess or use intuition. Intuition, which means to acquire knowledge, to look inside, or contemplate it, has no place in the work of God. It is not prophetic. Watching people or using social media to find out information about them before you minister to them is not prophetic. People doing these types of actions are not hearing from God...That is one of the other mandates that I believe God has given me is to restore the integrity of the prophetic voice of God without artificial preservatives...To restore decorum-sometimes, it's not what you say, it is how you say it.
Etiquette regarding the prophetic is so important. If a word from God is given it can build up, but if not given properly it can also destroy. A lot of people are being destroyed by what God made available through the prophetic to bless the Body of Christ. The presence of the prophet should not make people leery or afraid to receive a word. People should be excited to know that God is going to speak and provide confirmation, instruction, direction, and at times warning. However, the prophetic has become highly disregarded in some circles because of some who have not used decorum, but instead embraced the playground of spiritual decadence.
NE: Amen! And, on account of so many people merchandising off of the prophetic, or by functioning in moral decay as you've indicated, you are absolutely right; many people have become leery of the prophetic anointing.
Dr. Penny, please provide three principles that you would advise for those receiving or understanding a prophetic word.
TP: I would encourage the following:
- Record It - When you receive a prophetic word from the Lord you should record it, or chronicle it;
- Review It - You have the responsibility and the right to watch over the word that has been spoken over your life. Review it; clarify it; ask questions if necessary; and most importantly, judge it against the Word of God. Also, you need to listen very carefully for any further instruction God may give you regarding the word;
- Rectify It - If a person is telling you something that is not confirmation to you or you do not believe God is telling you, and you stand there and receive it or nod your head in agreement, you are giving them permission to destroy the Kingdom of God within you and in others for that matter. You must stop them from speaking something over your life that God did not say. In other words, it is your responsibility to make it right, or correct it. So, as a Kingdom citizen you have the responsibility to correct it.
NE: Dr. Penny, God also uses you mightily in confirming His Word with signs and wonders. What do you believe is necessary for others to experience signs and wonders in their ministry?
TP: I believe that it is so important for people to be yielded as vessels to God, His Word, and, at times, their personal experiences. In other words, if you want God to use you in a certain area, sometimes you have to be willing to be the "laboratory rat" so to speak.
For example: Fifteen years ago, I experienced a terrible heart condition. I had to wear a heart monitor and after a time, God healed me. I have always desired the ministry of healing, so when asking God for that type of ministry, there are certain things that we may have to endure. Most people that have been used in the manner of healing have suffered a season of affliction for this type of anointing. So if God allows us to suffer affliction, we must be willing to experience this so that we can stand as proof that God is a healer. Also, we must have faith. We must believe that God can use us. Often times, people don't believe that they are qualified to be used by God to confirm His Word by signs and wonders, and they lack confidence in the anointing of God upon their lives, and they never experience it upon their ministry...
So in reference to the heart condition I experienced, at one point I ended up getting really sick, I was taken to the hospital. As I laid there, I heard God say, "I'm going to use you for such a time as this..." After I came out of the hospital, the anointing on my life for signs and wonders went to a new level. I believe this happened because I yielded myself to God and the experience He allowed. I believe that "whatever you are going to be vested with, you have to make some type of investment in."
NE: Wow! That is powerful: "whatever you are going to be vested with, you have to make some type of investment in."
Now at one point, Dr. Penny, you were homeless. Now, God has blessed you with His amazing abundance. Please share your testimony of how God delivered you from homelessness to where you are now.
TP: Let me go back a little as to how I became homeless: I got married right out of high school to someone I thought loved me, but instead was very abusive. I decided right then, that I would not remain in that situation. Well, I came from a background in which divorce was not an option, so I couldn't turn to family because of their "religious" views about divorce. Therefore, I did not have anywhere to go under the circumstances of getting a divorce. So, living in New York at the time, I began sleeping in corridors and hallways of apartment buildings. Now to complicate the matter even more, when I left the abusive relationship, I was pregnant with my oldest daughter...I would go into stores (bodegas) and at times, the store manager would give me free food. Sometimes it was enough, other times it wasn't, so I would find myself regurgitating my food and ingesting it again to feel as though I had eaten, because being hungry while pregnant is hunger on a whole different level, I assure you! ...Eventually, an elderly woman that knew my grandmother that lived in one of the apartment buildings I slept in let me come into her apartment and fix my food; nothing big, just some noodles, soup, ravioli, and such, and she let me stay with her.
After a time, God allowed me to meet a gentleman, who cared for me at the time, for that time... As I continued to stay with the lady, he would come by to visit and "accidently" leave money behind. I say accidently, because when you are in a position like I was in, you still have a level of dignity or pride mixed with shame that you try to uphold, and he knew that....So when I would find the money, I would try to give it back to him, but he would always say keep it. In hind sight, God knows how to send a "Raven" to your brook (laughs)! Now, don't get me wrong, I was grateful, but I didn't want to live depending on anyone. I knew I needed CHANGE and fast!
One day while riding the J-train on the subway in New York, I found a roll of money. I promise I don't know where it came from, it was just sitting there in plain view, but no one saw it but me... What a WOW! moment for me. I believe God set me up! This [money] allowed me to pay for my divorce and make an exit out of the old into something NEW! Isn't God amazing?
So, I left New York and moved to South Carolina with my grandmother and gave birth to my oldest daughter. Things began to turn around for me. I enrolled in College and ended up with a great job in the manufactured housing Industry (mobile homes) which was booming during those years, in fact I became the first black female general manager within the manufactured housing industry here. Then seven years after that SHIFT happened, in 2000 I began pastoring! Talk about a 360 degree turn around, Wow!
Now, here's the Irony of the whole story: In 2010, a woman located me on Facebook and told me she had been listening to cassette tapes/cd's for years to a Woman of God preaching by the last name of Penny. She asked me did I know her and I told her I was she. As we continued to dialogue, she asked me several other questions which eventually lead me to learn that she was a relative from my father's side of the family. Now, I had not met my father's family at the time, so I was delighted to learn of and meet them. I eventually went to visit her. Upon doing so, she desired to sow into my life and ministry because of the Word of God that she had been impacted by over the years. As a woman of great means, she enabled my ministry Shubach, in Sumter, SC, to acquire and pay in full $1.2 million for over 100,000 square feet (5 acres) of commercial property, which was a former Wal-Mart in our city, in order to bring about the vision and ministry of the gospel, especially in the areas of homelessness, HIV awareness, and educational development for the community and thousands abroad. On account of God's blessing, the ministry is doing extremely well, and in fact, we've just established another church, The Power Center Church, in Charlotte, NC, on October 16, 2011,
NE: What an amazing testimony!
Well Dr. Penny, I know your time is precious so in closing, what do you believe God is saying in this hour?
TP: Simply put, Isaiah 59 (KJV):
1Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
I believe God is saying that we have to remain pure and holy before Him. By doing so, it is then that we can become whatever we believe...Sin is what separates us from God. He says in Isaiah 59, that our iniquities have also separated us. If there is sin and iniquity, God is not in it! Isaiah 59:4 (KJV) goes on to say:
4None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
I believe God is saying, "Come back home, there is no place like home!" Come back to a place of holiness. Come back to a place of prayer (2 Chronicles 7:14). If we are not careful, we are headed back to the intertestamental period of when God stopped speaking, the period between Malachi and Matthew, commonly known as the 400 years of silence...God wants us to know Him as our Father. He wants to have a relationship with us, that's why the church was formed. It's time for us to get back home, to the very presence of God, to the foundational truths of our salvation.
NE: Dr. Penny, if there was anything that you wanted the world to know about you, what would it be?
TP: "I Am Vintage." I am from another Era. I am from a time where people believed God was God, and where holiness was right. Over time, those principles seem to have become worn down, and have lost their value and popularity in the sight of men. However, when something is vintage, no matter how overlooked it is in the beginning, over time, it becomes sought after and more valuable. It has proven that it can stand the test of time. It never loses its integrity, and it keeps its original structure or principles. Whether people know it or not, what some consider old is coming back because it is necessary and needful to the Body of Christ. Jesus said, "So the last shall be first, and the first last..." (Matthew 20:16).
You see, righteousness and integrity may seem insignificant to some, but it is vital to the Body of Christ as a whole. Long gone are the days of the 8-track tape, but if ever to come across one, which is rare, you would know you had something old, but of significant value.
I'm like that old 8-track or pin ball machine: I'm the sum total of the old church along with Grandma's prayers, songs, prayer cloths, and shut-ins, with a sprinkle of NOW! What I'm saying is that when I really think about my Life and ministry in a word "I Am Vintage!"
