 | msamu on CHARISMATICS, TAKE NOTE…… |
| msamu on Article of the Week: The POWER… |
 | Gabriel (G²) on CONNECT (i.e. CONTACT INF… |
| Gabriel (G²) on REVERSE THE CURSE: Articles on… |
 | Larry Steele on REVERSE THE CURSE: Articles on… |
 | rosamaria (Osita) on CONNECT (i.e. CONTACT INF… |
| rosamaria (Osita) on CONNECT (i.e. CONTACT INF… |
| rosamaria (Osita) on CONNECT (i.e. CONTACT INF… |
 | Ken Hamrick on CONNECT (i.e. CONTACT INF… |
 | Paul A. Kaiser on What is the GOSPEL??? Answers … |
| Emissary/ Easy G (G… on CONNECT (i.e. CONTACT INF… |
| rosamaria (Osita) on CONNECT (i.e. CONTACT INF… |
 | STRONGHOLDS: My thou… on STILL FACING THE WORST….… |
| Bibles and Airports … on UNITED FOR THE GOSPEL: HUMBLE … |
| STRONGHOLDS: My thou… on REVERSE THE CURSE: Articles on… |
Posted by Gabriel (G²) on May 5, 2008
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by Gabriel (G²) on May 5, 2008
(
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by Gabriel (G²) on May 1, 2008
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posted by Gabriel (G²) on April 30, 2008
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=K+%26+K+Mime&sitesearch=
Karl & Keith, better known as K&K Mime, have drawn inspiration and ideas from a lost art first made popular in the ancient Greco-Roman Empires, and have retooled this graceful expression, known as pantomime, to kindle a fire in the hearts of men and women
K&K Mime are widely known as the Godfathers of Gospel Mime, an artistic, choreographed, liturgical performance that reinterprets the lyrical content and powerful crescendos found in Gospel music. The result is an emotional outpouring and spiritual climax from the audience that’s generated by lovely movements, controlled and timely gesticulations. K&K Mime are by far the masters in this ministry. Their ministry has drawn admiration and support from the likes of Dr. Bobby Jones, Pastor Donnie McClurkin and Kirk Franklin. And their appeal has spawned a new generation of mime artists across the country in many churches.
it was really cool seeing them do powerful perfomance on popular songs like “STAND”, “OH WHAT LOVE”, “NOW BEHOLD THE LAMB”, “God Is Here”, and “WE FALL DOWN”. Truly some of the most powerful stuff I’ve seen in awhile (as it sometimes had me emotional to the point of tears)….and prior to seeing them, would’ve never thought someone could portray the Gosepel/message of Christianity or Worship of God in such a manner..
Psalm 35:10
My whole being will exclaim, “Who is like you, O LORD ? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.”
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posted by Gabriel (G²) on April 30, 2008
</B>
If wondering why the railroad pics are in there, it’s part of an analogy we learned in class the other day. When one considers how one part of town is divided by another part of town by means of a railroad, it truly is amazing to see how both sides will have bad images of one another. The individuals who live on the upscale side of the tracks will often tell their children “Stay on this side of the tracks and don’t go on further—they’re dangerous.” This may be due to things such as high crime rates, drug dealers/prostitution, fatherless homes, poverty/run down neighborhoods, and also a myriad of generalities—whether true or false. But even more interestingly, when one goes to the run down part of town, he or she may hear similar things such “Stay on this side of the street–they’re dangerous!!”. For those in poverty, their saying such statements may be due to things such as racial profiling, racism, people starring/labeling, harassment, and any other issues one can think of that are common plagues of middle-class/rich communities. Again, it’s highly interesting that both sides distrust the other and often for wrong reasons. And of course, expounding on the railroad analogy, there are those people who are actually ON THE TRACKS—-in-between people on differing sides of the tracks are those individuals actually on the tracks, moving from location to another and who no one can really assume anything about but who are nonetheless labeled wrongly due to each side’s respective views of each other. If one were to compare this concept to something else, it would be akin to what is seen in “Romeo and Juliet” scenarios involving families of differing cultures making it difficult for those desiring reconciliation between the two. This is something which I’ve witnessed many times, as there have been many intimately involved in differing cultures—whether middle class or lower-class—and understand what poverty feels like. However, these in-between people continually deal with the backlash of those either in middle class and disbelieving of the ideas they have to offer on the realities of poverty or those who’re impoverished and despise them due to how others from the middle class have often discriminated against them and have spoken presumptuously on their situations. They may decide to take the time to learn the language/customs of the culture and try to respect them as much as possible, as some have even donated entire houses to be used as shelters for those who were poor/abused and can be considered philanthropists. Yet many people on the streets will often try to harm/harass them as if they caused their situation…..or say that because they’re not in their shoes, they don’t have any right to try and help. And that even for those who individuals there can much harassment, as seen in statements said by others such as “you’re middle class, so what do you know?” This is something many blacks experience when they may’ve been impoverished and then moved into the middle class—and many blacks not as fortunate seemed to act as if the middle class blacks had no right to speak out on issues of poverty because of their social status. And seeing this caused me to realize more than before just how powerful and destructive the issue of cultural stereotypes can be.. My question, however, was what to make of Jesus—who didn’t fit ANYONE’S PROFILE? He wasn’t dirt poor nor filthy rich, but he was able to reach out to people of both groups since BOTH NEEDED SALVATION ( Psalm 49). Both have things which are beneficial/awesome to see……& both have dark sides that neither wish to acknowledge. Probably one of the best websites on the issue is this: http://www.generousgiving.com/search.asp http://www.generousgiving.org/page.asp?sec=28&page= Quote:
|
Proverbs 22:2 Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all |
Jesus didn’t discriminate which group he went to in order to reach for the sake of the Gospel (like the rich young ruler, Zacheus the Tax Collector and Matthew the Tax Collector too…..and the Pharisee who invited Jesus to come to His house, Luke 7:36-50………though the Word’s clear that those in poverty and who’re poor are on His TOP Priority list, James 1:26-27, Matthew 25, ON “When I was naked, you clothed me……”)
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posted by Gabriel (G²) on March 25, 2008
Just writing this to let everyone know of a powerful ministry in the Lord entitled Reach Records and how they’ve taken the challenge of taking the Gospel of Christ to the STREETS……AND TO DO SO IN EXCELLENCE!!!!! For one investigating them, he or she will notice that hey have started a website calle Before You Die (which is the the gospel tract pictured above). For a description of the tract and why it was created:
“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” -Act 4:12 Have you ever wanted a resource to help share the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is relevant to today’s culture?
“Before You Die” is written and designed to speak into the hearts of the urban and hip hop culture who are not followers of Christ. One of the challenges of sharing the gospel with others is presenting it in a culturally relevant way to the listener. This tract was designed to do just that.
By taking the reader through a graphic representation of the gospel with clearly written text, we pray that the Lord will be pleased to use this resource in a way that brings others to Christ and glorifies His name.
Also, a CD is attached in the back of each booklet with a collection of evangelistic songs and testimonies to share with the listener. Each song provides a great foundation to share further the good news of the gospel. Be sure to check out www.readthisbeforeyoudie.com. You can view the whole thing online!
CD Track Listing:
1. Before You Die Intro - Lecrae
2. Cash or Christ - Trip Lee
3. Death Story - Lecrae
4. Good News Intro - Trip Lee
5. Good News - Trip Lee
6. Take Me As I Am Intro - Lecrae
7. Take Me As I Am - Lecrae
8. Grace - JSon
9. The Gospel - Sho Baraka
10. Evolution - Sho Baraka
Again, if ya’ll get the chance, please consider hitting them up sometime and checking them out. Also, if interested, please consider checking out these kats—-
http://www.hazakim.com/index2.html
They seem to be pretty on point…..even had one of the kats from Way of the MASTER give them a shout-out for the way their lyrics were biblically based/meaniful.
like the Word says, Paul was obviously grieved by that culture because…….but did he dismiss EVERYTHING within the culture as WRONG……rather, DID HE NOT FIND COMMON GROUND?
The Athenians had built an idol to the unknown god for missing blessings or receiving punishment, and Paul’s opening statement to the men of Athens was about their unknown god, whom Paul WAS NOT ENDORSING but simply using the inscription as a point of entry for his witness to the one true God.
For the Athenians were super naturalists who believed in supernatural powers intervening in the course of natural laws….and they at least ACKNOWLEDGED the existence of someone beyond their comprehension who created all that exist. Had Paul not acknowledged where they were correct at, he would’ve never had the opportunity to introduce them to the Creator who could be known by them (Deuteronomy 4:35, Psalm 9:10, John 17:3).
Of course he DID NOT LEAVE HIS MESSAGE UNFINISHED, for Paul eventually moved his message to the PERSON of CHRIST centering on the resurrection (Acts 17:30-31) and the fact that only SAVING FAITH (The COMPLETION OF TOTAL TRUTH) is found in Him. He confronted his audience with not only HIS resurrection/it’s relevance to all people—-whether it is punishment or blessing. And though many Greeks were unbelieving/offended at Paul’s statements (mostly because they had no concept of Judgment, preferred worshipping other gods instead of one, and because he after understanding their reasoning EXPOSED their foolishness in thinking that God could be just an idol, as well as various other things), Paul’s refusal to hold back the truth no matter what they thought of it made the difference in many of them choosing to want more n’ eventually convert (Acts 17:32-34).
But it still must be acknowledged that Paul’s understanding of the need to appeal to the UNIVERSAL and RATIONAL knowledge of the Lord (Romans 1:18-20) and his starting from creation, which is the general revelation of God (Acts 14:15-17) was also a HUGE FACTOR in the process.
WITHOUT A PROPER UNDERSTANDING THAT NOT EVERYTHING WITHIN THE CULTURE HAD TO BE DISMISSED and that COMMON GROUND WAS NOT POSSIBLE, PAUL WOULD’VE BEEN GREATLY HINDERED IN HIS EFFORTS
Quote:
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 |
|
19Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. |
As Paul made clear, there are several important principles for ministry.
These principles are just as valid for us as they were with PAUL, FOR THAT’S APART OF KNOWING HOW TO INTERACT WITH THE CULTURE AROUND US IN WITNESSING ( http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=1343 ) ……& SEEING THAT the study of PHILISOPHY is apart of the culture we live in, be curious to see what others thoughts on regarding this, especially seeing that this is ACCURATELY what Paul practiced when he encountered the Greeks
He didn’t begin by reciting Jewish History, as he usually did, for that would’ve been meaningless to the Greeks. Rather, he began with examples they already UNDERSTOOD to begin building a case about God (Acts 17:22-23), GAINED COMMON GROUND by emphazing where they aggreed about God (Acts 17:24-29), & then moved His message to the SIMPLICITY of the RESSURECTION OF CHRIST (Acts 17:30-31)
And even for those saying that Paul was dissilusioned after his experience at MARS HILL with debating/dialouging with the Greeks on their ideas/convincing them LOGICALLY of their FALLACIES , WITH THAT’ being the basis for his words in Corinthians, it’s surprising to me to notice how he CONTINUED in the PRACTICE ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS AFTERWARD:
Quote:
Now, on the issue of REACH RECORDS TRYING TO DO THE SAME THING, of course there are many people who’ve done things in the name of Holy Hip Hop that are FLAT OUT WRONG (i.e. gang signs, bumping/grinding, bad terminlogy, etc). Went to a church, for example, where a popular “Holy Hip Hopper” Canton Jones was doing a music concert prior to G.Craig coming on the scene. The entire yyouth group ended up looking like a hard core club scene, but if anyone even said what the man was doing was wrong, many in defense of Holy Hip Hop would not even adresss it. That’s not to diss EVERYONE WITHIN THE MOVEMENT since there are MANY PEOPLE TRULY holding it down for Christ, but the actions of one doing it in EVERYONE’S name give a certain image…..and in all honesty I have not seen many people within Holy Hip Hop speaking out against foolishness done by other Holy Hip Hoppers in the name of it.
On the flip side, there are many OUTSIDE THE MOVEMENT who’ve made many negative stereotypes that have no basis (i.e. all rap is worldly, dance/mceeing is of the devil, etc) and are more based on their own cultural preferences. As a result, they’ve run the danger of broadbrushing EVERYTHING WRONGLY:
. As we take our morals, values, and goals and purposes to Christ, they’ll inevitably set us apart for Him….and this is especially true since Christ calls us to a higher mission than to find comfort and tranquility in this life and conflict/disaggrement will arise between those who choose to follow Christ as He has revealed Himself snd those who don’t.
Don’t know how clear I can get with this, but for many of those within URBAN Culture, this has been the case. Even at the expense of DISOWNING THEIR OWN FAMILIES, many have counted the cost of preaching CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED (Luke 9:21-62, Luke 14:25-35). For many, it has been nothing short of a NARROW ROAD (i.e. having to be made fun of because they don’t listen to the same music as their old boys from the club,,,or being called “fags” and other deragotory terms for wishing to walk in purity and not go “get some”, or ignored for “wanting to get an education). My friend was highschool was literally the ONLY CHRISTIAN in her HOUSEHOLD…..and it was an EXTREME STRUGGLE for her to choose truth and yet have her own family diss her for her FAITH. Some have even seen family members MURDERED…..yet counted the cost of CHRISTIAN LOVE And chose to LOVE THEIR ENEMIES (Luke 6:27-36, Matthew 5:43-48)
Moreover, as for those with Urban/Street Culture, they’re SEEING A DIFFERENCE. Drug-Dealers are no longer wanting to do DRUGS, Prostitutes are NO LONGER WANTING TO WALK IN PROSTITUTION but honor the LORD WITH THEIR BODIES AND ARE REALIZING THAT THEY’RE PEOPLE MADE IN THE LORD’S IMAGE RATHER THAN PIECIES OF MEAT, AND CHILDREN ARE NOT STILL GROWING UP IN FATHERLESS HOMES….and in the cases of those who did (such as myself), they realize that they have a purpose in CHRIST and not forgotten by the Lord….
Someone I was dialouging with on the subject once said this:
If there is no visible difference between the worldly culture and Christianity, how can it be called Christianity? |
My response:And what defines “visible difference”? A note? A syncopation? An upbeat tune? Or what defines worship? Or what defines WHAT IT MEANS TO BE “HOLY”??? Or WORLDY (minus I John 2:15-19, which deals moreso with attitudes of the heart—-preoccupation with gratifying physical desires, craving and accumulating things, bowing to the god of materialism, and obsession with status or importance—— as the standard rather than mere externalities of the people we associate with, the places we go, the activities we enjoy_)…
Is the musis causing people to sleep around, not love the Lord or tell others of the salvation found in Him? Or is it causing people to do other crazy things often found in the world like cussing, stealing, etc>
Again, as I’ve said before, when it comes to the issue of drums or urban worship, there are PLENTY OF PEOPLE WHO’VE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THEY’RE ABLE TO SEE A DIFFERENCE—-from respected theologians such as John Piper to many others within the Hip Hop Culture itself who pay attention and listen to the CONTENT OF WHAT THE MUSICIANS/CHRISTIAN INDIVIDUALS ARE SAYING and how they’re not picking up EVERY ASPECT OF THE CULTURE….BIUT BEING RELEVANT TO THE CULTURE…
If you wish to take the standard that drums are not godly or gloryfying to the Lord (as well as things such as dance, or even other things not mentioned in the word like SPOKEN WORD/POETRY, Rap, etc), then honestly you’re going to again have a bit of trouble on the mission field. You’ve disrespected the people within those cultures where that’s part of their heritage….and regardless of anything said afterward, that’s doesn’t fly.
Perhaps here in the states, but not across the world, WHETHER IN CHURCES IN ASIA, AFRICA, the CARIBBEAN, South America, or other places…….
For example, Acts 21:20-21 IS VERY CLEAR THAT PAUL’S ACTI
