Carlton Pearson is a controversial church minister who has been declared a heretic by the Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops.United Church of Christ: Ten minutes with UCC's Carlton Pearson He is also an author and songwriter.

In 2003, Pearson attracted displeasure from Pentecostal churches—including his own—by introducing a Gospel of Inclusion, which states that God accepts everyone, including gays and lesbians and people of non-Christian faiths.ReligionNewsBlog.com: "The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson" (March 3, 2006)

1. March 19, 1953: Born
2. 1997: Ordained a bishop
3. 2000: Campaigned for George W. Bush
4. February 2002: Lost bid for mayorship of Tulsa
5. March 2004: Deemed a hereticBeliefNet: Group Says Pentecostal Bishop Pearson a `Heretic' for `Inclusionism' Views
6. August 13, 2006: Profile on Pearson aired on Dateline NBC
7. June 24, 2007: Subject of a story on CNN

• The Gospel of Inclusion: Reaching Beyond Religious Fundamentalism to the True Love of God (2007)