Bishop, whose life inspired Netflix’s Come Sunday, dies at 70
TULSA, OKLAHOMA: Pastor Carlton Pearson, whose life inspired the Netflix movie Come Sunday, died after a battle with cancer on November 19 at the age of 70.
Pearson’s family posted an update on their Facebook page and told his followers that the founder of Oklahoma megachurch Higher Dimensions Evangelism Center died Sunday.
He was in hospice care in Tulsa until his passing.
The Facebook obituary also mentioned that he was surrounded by his loved ones before his death.
In a Facebook post, his family wrote that “one of the most popular and influential preachers in America and the world who sacrificed everything for a message of unconditional love and acceptance by God,” Pastor Pearson “passed away peacefully on a November night.” October 19, 2023, at the age of 70.”
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The cause of his death was cancer.
Who was Pastor Carlton Pearson?
After moving to Tulsa in 1971, Pearson founded his ministry, Higher Dimensions, Inc. In 1981, he founded the evangelistic center Higher Dimensions, whose first service was attended by only 75 people.
However, it quickly expanded and now has over 5,000 members.
By the mid-1980s, Pearson also launched the television program Everything’s Gonna Be Alright, which increased the pastor’s popularity astronomically.
The obituary also said the preacher “brought tens of millions of dollars into the Tulsa economy” through his annual AZUSA conference, which began in 1988.
He has also preached in several metropolitan areas throughout the United States and beyond.
“He advised several US presidents, as well as a number of international presidents, kings and other leaders who were captivated by his intelligence, charm, humor and kindness,” his family wrote in a statement.
He also became infamous after denying the existence of hell while preaching in his “Gospel of Inclusion.”
His family spoke about his change in faith and wrote: “At the height of his popularity, Bishop Pearson changed his theological beliefs and began to preach that Jesus died not only for Christians and saved them, but for all mankind. and that no one goes to hell as we know it.”
However, this shift was not so rosy for him, as the shift in beliefs “resulted in churches he once frequented closing their doors to him, shutting down his annual conference, and causing his church to decreased from thousands to tens. »
Pearson’s life and theological beliefs were also dramatized in the Netflix film Come Sunday, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, LaKeith Stanfield and others.
His family further wrote: “Carleton’s message and example of unconditional love, while earning him the nickname ‘heretic’ by some in the Christian church, ended up opening up a whole new world for him.”
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Pastor Carlton Pearson’s battle with cancer
Pearson was first diagnosed with cancer in 2001. During this time, he successfully defeated the disease.
But in a Facebook post on Oct. 30, his family told followers that the pastor’s cancer had returned.
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They wrote: “More recently the cancer has returned and become a serious problem, especially in the last 120 days.”
They continued: “Following his last post, we wanted you to be among the first to know that we, as a family, have invited comfort care into our team during this critical time. We walked this journey with him with prayer and intention, even as we all face our own mortality.”
He also did not receive visitors while battling cancer.
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