G.E. Patterson, author and presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), died of heart failure Tuesday, the denomination announced. Patterson, who fought prostate cancer in recent years, was 67.

Patterson wrote Here Comes the Judge: Finding Freedom in the Promised Land (Whitaker House) in 2002 and Tug (Graywolf Press) in 1999. In January, he won the Traditional Male Vocalist of the Year honor for his Singing the Old Time Way Vol. 2 (Podium Records) at the 22nd annual Stellar Awards for gospel music.

Patterson was the editor and publisher of the Bountiful Blessings Magazine, with a distribution list of more than 100,000 individuals.

As chief apostle of Memphis, Tenn.-based COGIC, Patterson oversaw a global media empire that included television, radio, Internet and publishing divisions, and he was instrumental in swelling the predominantly black Protestant denomination's ranks to more than 6.5 million members in 58 countries, Memphis' The Commercial Appeal reported. Temple of Deliverance COGIC, a Memphis church that Patterson founded, has more than 13,000 members.

“He was progressive and a visionary, but at the same time he was a man who never forgot our heritage, and he knew the Church of God in Christ like the back of his hand,” First Assistant Presiding Bishop Charles Blake of West Angeles COGIC in Los Angeles told the newspaper. “He was a great preacher, a pioneer of media ministries, and he elevated our church in ways that touched millions of lives.”

Patterson is survived by his wife, Louise. Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced.

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