The Bastardization of Christian Worship Music

Have you ever had a friend (or maybe you're that friend) that tries wayy to hard to fit in.  This friend will at times bend his or her morals just to feel accepted, just to feel in the "in-crowd?"  I know that I've been like that at times and from experience, your popularity won't last very long. Either your popularity runs out because people realize that you are a phony, or you lose the drive continuously being something you're not due to its draining effect.

That is what's happened to Christian -- "God" Music.  What first started as an experiment of blending new music and sound to reach new generations, have lost, what Charismatic People call: "anointing."

Anointing.  That indescribable feeling when you hear an artist sing or play that you can just feel; that ministers to you.  Too many of our music is now lacking this.  Too many of our mainstreams songs are being made just to grab a buck.  While money is nice, the Bible reminds us that the love of money is the root of all evil. (1 Tim. 6:10)

An artist that produces music that is intended to impact a Christian-seeking audience (and also a Christian artist that wants to reach out to secular crowds) shouldn't have the primary motive of making money.  Our primary motive, in all that we do, is to glorify God and to draw people closer to Jesus.  And while peppering Jesus' name throughout a song might satisfy your conscious for a while, you are essentially turning Jesus' temple (which is everywhere) into a "den full of thieves."  Of which Jesus drove out. (Matt 21:13)

Some people might think that the title of this blog is kinda harsh and I would be inclined to agree with them.  However, as a worship leader who dabbles in artistry (bass player) as well as spent a good portion of my life directing choirs, I'm getting sick and tired of Jesus-music being made just for the money.  Or even worse just so that the artist can become famous.  Or even worse, the artist has become famous, has a loyal following, and has allowed the love of money get to their head which puts their lovers at risk.  So yes, I am annoyed thus the harsh title.

What happened to that music where you can listen to the first verse of it and just feel the Holy Spirit moving through it?  For example, I'm sitting in my bed earlier in the year watching the Passion Conference in Atlanta.  All of a sudden this woman starts singing, of whom I'd never heard of, but you may know her as Kari Jobe.  She sang the Revelation Song (which I'd never been too fond of).  Right when she starts singing the verse, I felt an instant shutter.  By the end of the song I was BLOWN AWAY because that song had anointing.

I will be the first one to admit that I'm an overly emotional black man when it comes to worshipping and I'm not ashamed.  But if you aren't feeling something by the bridge..Then maybe I'm just insane.

A fellow blogger Dan asked me a question about Christian Bands, and how do I perceive them.  My response is that I have no problem with huge bands; from little garage bands to organs to orchestral sympathies.  If you were to look through my iTunes you would see a range of all different instrumentation; it doesn't matter.
For example: (another Kari Jobe example--you can see how much I like her)

I don't wanna take up too much space, but I can go on..and on with different musical styles.  I'll admit it, this whole anointing thing can be accused of being subjective.  Nevertheless, I believe that when the Holy Spirit is on a song, anyone that's in tune can feel it.  I'm not a big fan of Southern Country music such as the Gaithers.  I would be remissed, however, to say that their music doesn't have some anointin.

My God is not one of limits.  I'm not going to call out people of whom I feel have "sold out" to mainstream ideal of M.O.E. (Money over Everything).  I'm just a worshipper who wants some genuine new songs to worship to.

For all of my gospel loving brother and sisters, here's a gospel song that I feel when it's sang:

I would love to hear your comments.  Who knows I might need to write a Pt. 2.

This blog is written in concurrance with Michael Gungor's "On the Problem With the Christian Music Industry"

--MJA

Grace is Found Here

One of the biggest difference between Christianity and all of the other religions, belief systems, ideologies, or what ever you may or may not believe in is the fact that at the heart of it, we don't have to do anything to get closer to God.  We don't HAVE to prep ourselves.  The essential "religious" aspect of it was abolished on the cross.  Through Jesus' death and resurrection, we have an unlimited amount of grace.

The crazy thing is that all, (and I mean ALL) of are sins have been forgiven. Paul beautiful articulates it in Colossians 2:13-14.

"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.  This he set aside, nailing it to the cross." (ESV - emphasis mine)

Some translations, like the ESV, will use the word trespasses while others use the word "sin."  Irregardless, the point I want to emphasize is the past participle used in this verse.  Notice that it doesn't say that are sins are being forgiven now or in the present.  No, our sins have been forgiven.  Not only that, but ALL of our sins have been forgiven.

The word sin comes from the greek word hamartia which literally means to "miss the mark."  So anytime we sin, it plainly means that we have an end goal (whether we realize it or not) and we often miss that mark, thus we sin.  The absolute amazing thing is that the sins we commit unconsciously or even intentionally have been forgiven when Jesus was nailed to the cross.  I'm not saying that there isn't power in repenting and confessing our sins because that's for another blog, but I am saying that, Grace is found here.  No matter what you have done, knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally, has been forgiven!  WHAT!?

I'm not here to put down any other religions/beliefs but that to me, is what makes Jesus the Christ so unique.  I don't have to do anything but believe in my heart that he lived, was killed, most importantly, was raised from the dead, and is coming back.  That's it!

There is a danger point however,  it's that people abuse the "Grace Card."  But, that's for another blog.

For now, I just want you to realize the freedom you have in Jesus.  Not some, not most, not a bunch, but all of your sins have been forgiven.  You just have to believe.  That's all it takes.  All the grace in the world is found here.  There is more than enough grace to go around for everyone.

For my unbelieving readers: What are you waiting for?
For my already-belieing readers:  Isn't that notion amazing?  Sometimes I need to get a reminder of how awesome my God is and I hope it helps you out wherever you are right now.

Blessings,
--MJA

Rephrasing and Replacing. Case Study: God will never give you more than you can handle.

There is this one common Christian cliched phrase that over my life I've been guilty of reciting countless times to help people in theirs strifes.  Stop me if you've heard this one before:

"God will never give you more than you can handle."

This might sound harsh, but I vehemently disagree with the structure of the phraseology and I'll tell you why.

That phrase is the nice Christian way of telling the other people to hold on.  That they will survive and it is a perversion of the common bible verse Romans 8:28 which I quote often:  For we know that all things work together for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to his purpose.

The problem is that we, as good intentioned Christians only look at half of Romans 8:28 and turned it into something catchy.  There's no doubt in my mind that the writer of this passage Paul (inspired by the Holy Spirit) said those words to encourage people, but I would argue that the most important part of the verse is the second half and not the first.

All things work together for the good of those that (a) love the Lord and (b) are called according to his purpose.  That's the key.  Countless times throughout the Old Testament God and other people inspired by God have mentioned that the wicked will fall.  That in the end the good will succeed when the promised Messiah rules (aka Jesus).

So, for my unbelieving readers, I do believe that God will allow things to happen to you that you just can't handle because you're not supposed to handle it alone.  You're supposed to trust in Jesus; to allow Jesus to take your bearings.  Yes, you must take a lot of the pain and suffering, but your comfort comes in knowing that no matter what happens, Jesus has your back!  All he wants is for you to love him.  That's amazing for me.

To by Christian readers, I do believe that God will allow things to happen to you so that you just can't handle because you're not supposed to handle it alone.  If you've noticed, I kept the same wording here.  I don't know about you, but just because I do believe that Jesus has my back and understands my pain doesn't mean that I BELIEVE it at the time.

One of the most effective ways unfortunately for God to get to us, believers or unbelievers, is to tear. us. down.  Strip away our riches in order to strip away our pride.  That why the songwriting William Murphy continually asks God to empty him and that he wants more, more, and more of God.  It's at those moments, God has us exactly where we wants us.  Broken.  Bruised. And it's that moment where we realize more than ever:  I need Jesus.  I can't do this alone.

And when we get out of it, we thank God for the allowance of the trials and tribulations we have in our life because we see what it did for us.  So actually, I want to thank God for allowing me to take more than I can handle [on my own].

So I am proposing a rephrasing and replacing of the common cliche.  Now this new phraseology probably isn't going to become very popular because it takes the owness off of me and my selfish desires and puts it on God and his sovereignty.  Plus, it's a kind of depressing phrase.  But if you ever feel inclined to whip out a Christian phrase, how about you try this one:

Often, God will allow us to have more than we can handle on our own so that we learn to be fully dependent on him.

How does that sound?  I don't think I'll be using that as a pick-me-up anytime soon.  But it's the truth ya'll.

The biggest damage that the common cliche can do is when that former phrase is used by well intentioned Christians to comfort those in pain.  However, most people, do not want to hear little Sunday School phrases when they are struggling.  If I was a parent and I just lost my newborn kid, that's the LAST thing I would want someone to say to me.  God will NEVER give me more than I can handle?  Is that so? Well I can't handle this!  What justice is there in killing a newborn child?

There are countless situations that this common phrase, along with others, can do irreparable damage.  The reason why we, well intentioned Christians, turn to it, is because we don't know what else to say.  I mean what do you really say to the parents of the deceased?  I'll tell you.  Nothing.  Sit there are say nothing.  Sit there are show your support.  Hug them and let them know that they are loved. Even if you aren't one to empathize, all people in strife want is to know that they are cared for.

If you agree with me, great! Let's change our mindsets together.  If you don't, that's ok too.  I am not the authority on all things so you can let me know your thoughts below.  I would love to hear them.

Above all else:

LoveGod.LovePeople.

--MJA

Represent The Love

Today is my parents 36th Wedding Anniversary!

Ok now that that is out the way let me get to the real point.  If you know anything about my parents and their relationship, you would know that it is a weird one.  My mom says that her greatest mistake was ever marrying my dad.  With that being said, lets talk about that four letter word that can strike fear in even the toughest man's psyche: L-O-V-E.

Despite the issues that they have had, despite the fact that my dad is a curmudgeon at all times, my mom still loves it.  At the same note, my mom probably doesn't communicate the way that my dad would like her to and the fact that she doesn't spend as much time home as he wishes at times, they still love each other.

It's hilarious to see what 36 years of marriage will do to a couple.  They know each other idiosyncrasies to a T but despite that, they both try to do things they aren't supposed to do.  No, I'm not talking about illegal measures, but little things such as pushing their bodies to limits it can't handle and then they yell at each other (my dad calls these, discussions).

Still despite getting on each others nervess (my mom's nerves more than my dad's) they still love each other.  It's crazy.  It's incomprehensible to me.  It's ridiculous that two people can be in so much love but rarely say it to each other.  A conversation that happens in the household is as follows:
Dad: I love you.
Mom: You Better.

Hil-a-rious.  I'm not going to lie, at times in my life I wasn't sure whether my mom really loved my dad but after recent events, I'm reminded that their mutual love runs deeper than I even imagined.

My dad has recently had his 3rd back surgery in 5 or 6 years.  Ever since the surgery my mom has been the general of the house.  She's making sure my dad doesn't do anything detrimental to his health.  She's protecting him, caring for him, and it's amazing to watch especially for me because I NEVER see that type of affection between my parental units.

The day my dad was released from the hospital he received shaking news.  For the purposes of confidentiality, I'm not going to disclose the news.  However, I will say that I've only seen my dad tear up once before that moment.  I didn't know what to do, but then I saw my mother provide the first ounce of wifely affection I've seen in my life.  She grabbed his hand immediately and talked to him.  That BLEW MY MIND.

That single moment has been running through my head on replay as a reminder that there was a reason they were married.  They were both my age at one time. They both probably had their doubts about relationships and life in general, but they made a commitment to spend their lives together and they are upholding it.  I'm blessed you guys.  I am an black male in an urban setting with both of my parents still upholding their matrimonial vows that they took over three and a half decades ago.

My mom might not be the perfect Proverbs 31 woman.  And my dad might not be the perfect 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 man.  But praise the Lord they are trying!

They truly, in their own quirky way, represent the love.  I can only hope and pray that one day I may have a relationship as fruitful, but maybe not as weird, as theirs.  They have successfully modeled to me the idea of commitment.  The idea of a lifelong commitment.  If I do end up getting married to a beautiful soul, I will remember their relationship (at least I hope I do).

This isn't a fix-it blog.  Rather this is an encouragement blog.  To let my readers out there know that there is hope.  Let everyone know that vows and commitments are a real thing.  To prosper through the tough and weird times with you future or current spouses because you never know who's watching and looking to emulate.

With that being said, lets play a real lovin song!

I Don't Have An Answer.

Today I spent church in HBIC which was my church home for half of my college life and today I was reminded why I love that place. Pastor Woody is a crazy crazy man who has a lot of stuff to say and when he really wants to penetrate with his words, he can. And today he did that exact thing to me.

He preached out of Matthew 10:16-39 which is the end of the Jesus' Sermon on the Mount which is the greatest sermon that was ever written to my estimation. At the end of this "sermon" Jesus talks about persecution and brings the parallel that since he was persecuted and eventually killed, we as Christ followers should expect the same. It's the reason why Paul says in Romans that "to die is gain."

Pastor Woody dug even deeper on soo many levels but one point he hit was that the reasoning Christians should readily accept death is because we, as Christ followers, are already dead. Jesus commanded us to take up our cross, which was the ultimate instrument of death, and to follow him.

Wow. That got me to think if I was really willing to die. I know that I've said it before but is it actual reality? Furthermore, it got me thinking on Worship and worship songs.  It made me think about how many songs I sing as a worship leader and if I was to put myself on the psychologist's couch, I honestly don't mean. Let me give examples of what I'm talking about.

From the Old Gospel Tradition: I Surrender All

I surrender all,

I surrender all;

All to Thee, my blessed Savior,

I surrender all. 

Do I really want to surrender everything to Jesus? No, I wanna hold on to my selfish tendencies, I wanna live my life My Way as the Frank Sinatra song says.

Urban Gospel: I Give Myself Away

Take my heart,

Take my life,

As a living sacrifice;

All [of] my dreams,

All [of] my plans,

Lord I place them in your hands.

Sure, it's nice to say that I'll give my entire life to Christ. That Jesus can have all of me but do I mean it to the extent of the lyrics? Probably not.

Contemporary Christian: From the Inside Out

In my heart, in my soul,

I give you control,

Consume me from the inside out.

Once again the selfish tendencies take over. I don't want to live entire as Christ. I don't always want to love my enemies. That's stupid. It's difficult. Meh.

Let me take it a step further. This sermon got me to think about the extent of what I believe. No, I'm not claiming any loss of faith on my end.  But this has brought out a questioning side of me like none other. In some way or another I enjoy having some type of answer to any question theological or practical. But on my subconscious side, there are just some questions that I can't fathom no matter how much I BS it.  Questions that I come to God as ask why? For the first time in my life, I'm completely humbled to the fact that I don't have the answers to some questions.

Let me give examples of said questions:

Why is there sin in the world? I mean fundamentally, God reigns over everything but decided to give us choice and one choice is sin. Why even give us the choice?  That just made life more difficult and overly annoying.

Why do the most righteous people I know suffer? I understand that the world is going to persecute Christ followers but why would God allow us to suffer from diseases such as cancer. I already surrendered [most of] my life to Christ so why do I need to still suffer physically?  It doesn't make any sense.

Why isn't the Bible completely historically accurate? If bible readers were to be honest, they would say that some weird stuff go on in the Bible. What's up with that!?  The academic side of me is puzzled by it.

I can keep going and going. 

It's ok. It's ok that I don't have the answers. That's what faith is for. Faith is believing and knowing that there is a reason to all the pain and the seemingly discrepancy tendencies of life.

I broke down. My life was shattered. I was humbled. I'm ready to be restored by Christ.  

Last thing I'm going to say is that answers to the aforementioned questions are in my noggin but the doubt doesn't fully go away. So I don't want people to think that I can't answer those questions.

Blessings, 

MJA

It's Your Life

I once heard this quote from a very influential man of whose name I can't remember for the life of me.  It goes as follows:

"No one has as much grace for your life as you."- Unknown Preacher-Man

Ever since I heard it, it has been stuck in my head forever.  I use it when I talk to anyone and everyone that will listen because of the validity it portrays.  If I was honest, it took me a while to process the full meaning of this line and have come to the conclusion that at the heart of it, it's stating that no one can live your life.  No one has the ability to live your life.  No one has enough patience to live your life.  In simple words:  It's Your Life.

One of the worst Worst WORST things that I believe any Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jew, Atheist, Agnostic, or human in general can do is start off a sentence with these six words: "If I were you I would..."  Here's the thing...You aren't me!  You absolutely do not live my life.  There is no way you can fully feel what I feel.  You don't deal with the intricacies of the daily seconds of my life.

Regardless of how much empathy you think you possess, there is no way empathy can enable you to live my life.  Empathy only allows you to feel what I feel for that moment (s) in life.

Let me be clear, this is not a response to what anyone has said or done to me; it's just a thought that's come over me my brothers and sisters.  The most well intentioned person can do irreparable damage just by uttering that phrase or like-minded phrases.

Whenever you are facing any decision in your life where the two roads seem equally muddy and none look like the less traveled one, the best thing I can give you is an over-flowing fountain of prayer.  I can give you advice in the form of the examples of what I've done in my life enduring a similar situation but I can not equate your life with mine.  You have to live your life and I have to live mine.

What you can do for yourself is ask God for help.  The book of Proverbs talks about Wisdom and gives wisdom of feminine personification.  Wisdom and discernment is attainable in any situation when you ask for it.  The Psalms remind us that God will give us the pleasures of our hearts. (Psalm 37:4)  If it's something that our heart earnestly yearns for and if it is to give God glory, God will give it to us.

For those of us that are dealing with tough decisions, I "advise" you to take it to God in prayer.  For those of us that are in the business of having to constantly give advice, I beseech you to refrain from uttering those consecutive words.  If you really want to help that person, pray for them, listen to them, be present for them, and above all else, love them.

Remember It's Your Life.  I can walk with you side-by-side but I can't live it for you or else I might have to pull out my hair..

Be safe out there.

--MJA

Losing My Promised Land

Ya know, I was interacting with my Bible earlier tonight as part of my normal routine and on the agenda was to read Exodus 3-4.  In my head (sorry God), I was thinking: greatttt I get to read the story of Moses again...yayyy.  I thought that I knew the story from head to toe, but once again the Lord opened my eyes to a small but rather important detail that I've always skimmed over.

Chapter 3 is when Moses is "called" to saved the Israelites from Pharaoh's captivity and as God was knighting my man Mo, he kept brining up excuses and excuses on why God must've picked the wrong person.  The largest excuse was that he couldn't lead because he had some sort of speech impediment ("slow in tongue").  Some biblical scholars suggest he had a stuttering problem.  But that's besides the point.

Here is Mo' telling God all the reasons that he, being God, selected the wrong person to lead Israel out of captivity.  Let me say this again with added embellishes.  Here is Mo' tellin GOD all the reasons he being the [all-knowing] GOD, selected the wrong person to lead Israel out of captivity.

Pause.

This sounds wayyyy to familiar to me...

UnPause.

Moses' fear of leadership stopped him from receiving one of the biggest blessings.  He let his fear of public speaking (which happens to be the greatest fear in American adults) stop him from doing his task.  Not only that, God essentially told him that everything was going to be alright; God promised to have his back!  WHAT!?  And Moses was still afraid.

Eventually God gave up.  He was tired of Moses' bickering and doubt so he told him that Aaron, Moses' brother, would be the speaker with Moses being the mouthpiece for God.  So, God spoke, Moses spoke to Aaron, and then Aaron spoke to the people.  All that nonsense all because Moses was afraid to speak in front of people.

That tidbit of information really got me thinking about how many great opportunities have passed my grips because I was afraid.  Or that I didn't trust that my God is greater that my minor disabilities of sorts.

Yes, Israel was saved and historically more people remember Moses than Aaron.  It did indeed work out.  But, how much different, maybe even better, would it have been if Moses didn't let his fear consume him.  Maybe he would've lived to see the Promised Land instead of dying right before it happened.  I don't know about you, but I don't want to let my fears, doubts, and lack of trust prevent me from seeing the promised land.

If I am to be honest, I'm still going to have fears.  And at times my fears will seemingly drive me away and I may lose a bit of my Promised Land.  But, I'm glad God revealed to me this tidbit of information because it has vastly changed the narrative for me.

Thanks for reading you guys/gals!  I hope this encourages you not to let all your fears conquer you and that you don't lose a slice of your Promised Land!

--MJA

It's A Beautiful Day in The Neighborhood

If you are around the age that I am (20s - 30s) you would remember growing up to a very familiar theme song:

Would You Be Mine;

Could You Be Mine;

Won't you be My Neighbor

Ok. Ok. Let me admit part of me really just wanted to post this video for childhood flashbacks, but there's a serious reason for this song.  It's surrounded by the element of a being a neighbor.  In Luke 10: 25-37 Jesus introduces us to the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

This is a very familiar passage and if you haven't read it before, I advise you to.  But to give a brief synopsis:

A lawyer approached Jesus asking him the requirements for eternal life.  Jesus cleverly asked the lawyer what does the law state (the Old Testament).  The lawyer responded from a passage found in Deuteronomy 6:5 & Leviticus 19:18 which said: "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength  and with all your might, and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  Then the lawyer asked Jesus who his neighbor was, to which Jesus told him the parable:

A man was walking along a road and was robbed by thieves who robbed him, stripped him, and left him half dead.  As he was laying half dead, a priest saw him but walked on the other side of the road, another religious man  saw him, looked at him, and then passed on the other side, but, a Samaritan (whom Jewish people hated) saw him and had compassion on him.  So, the Samaritan fixed up his wounds and took him to an inn.  The next day, the same (hated) Samaritan payed the innkeeper to supply housing for the man.

At the end of this parable Jesus asked the lawyer who was the victim's neighbor to which the lawyer would've reluctantly replied, the Samaratain.

Wow, that was a longer synopsis than I expected, but what really stood out to me was what my Study Bible called: A Collection of Attitudes.  This looked at the the 5 characters of the parable and how they reacted to the situation.

To the lawyer, the wounded man was a subject to discuss.  This is was just a parable to discover the definition of a real neighbor, the lawyer wasn't there, it was just a topic.

To the thieves, the wounded man was someone to use and exploit.

To the religious men, the wounded man was a problem to be avoided.  They didn't want anything to do with the man, they just walked on the other side.

To the innkeeper, the wounded man was a customer to serve for a fee.

To the Samaritan, the wounded man was a human being worth being cared for and loved.

To Jesus, all of them and all of us were worth dying for.

Wow.  What a collection of attitudes gleaned from this parable.  I'm not here to lecture anyone of the negatively depicted attitudes and neither was Jesus.  The who point of this discuss can be found in verse 37 where Jesus tells the man, "Go and do likewise."

Who's our neighbor?  Anyone & everyone but especially those that are going through hard times be it finically, emotionally, mentally  and any other -lly you can think of.  We as believers should be drawn to those that are hurting, not run away from them or just casually walking on the other side.  We are called to go.  So we should go!

So, Would You Be My; Could You Be My; Won't You By My Neighbor!

Our Motivation

I have a question to ask: why do you do what you do?  I mean seriously, why do you do what you do? Why do you help out your family member?  Why do you help out your friend?  What's your motivation?

Recently I've had to do some serious gut-checking to realize why I do what I do.  In the 14th Chapter of Luke, Jesus is once again blowing the Pharisee's minds (aka the religious-know-it-alls) and he hit them with a challenge: "When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid." (12)

Lets be honest, who would you rather invite to a nice lunch with you?  People that you know that have your back?  Or people that you don't know?  Now you might stop me right there and say that the logical response is to have the meal with someone you know and I would wholeheartedly agree with your response.  But if I was to come back with the infamous one worded rebuttal of "why?" what would you say?

Overall better conversation? Ok, that's a fair response.
Overall better enjoyment? I would even accept that response.

But a response that most people would not readily admit because it may be in your subconcious is a great motivation to dine with people we are cool with is because we know that they have our backs.  Say you "forgot" your wallet and your with your girlies, I'm sure you have that one or two friends that would take care of you citing you to pay them back but you never get around to it.  I mean that's what friends do right?

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with one friend taking care of another.  In fact, as the song says, "that's what friends are for."

Let me ask you a question, when was the last time you did something for someone that you knew didn't have the means to pay you back?  This person not only didn't have the means to pay you back, but probably won't ever pay you back.  For some of the readers I know that you may not have to think too far back in your memory deposits, however for others, you may have to think too far.

Forget dinners, lunches, or meals.  This little statement that Jesus makes has huge ramifications.  The loudest yelling one being: WE SHOULD NOT GO THROUGH LIFE DOING THINGS JUST TO HARVEST A BUNCH OF KARMA CHIPS.  Sorry about the whole "caps lock" thing, but I need to get this point across [mostly to myself].  In the 13th verse Jesus tells us that when we have a gathering, to invite those peeps that can't pay us back.  Why?  The reason is simple, it's a blessing to be a blessing.

Now I'm not telling you to go out and invite every blind person you know that's not named Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder and take them out to Outback.  I am reminding you however, that we need a constant reshaping on how we treat others.  We are all living this rough path of life together and we all fall down.

So who are you going to help in this next month?

Be blessed ya'll!
--MJA

Watch Your Back

A fact that has been brought to my attention while reading the Word is that Jesus had 12 disciples and he chose these 12 disciples. Some of you might be looking at me incredibly weird right now saying "duh" but think about it.  Jesus had 12 disciples.  He had plenty of followers.  But there were only 12 that he called disciples.  If you're like me, sometimes you forget that he had a host of "friends" following him, but he chose 12 men to be his real friends.

Take a moment for that to sink it.

He had hundreds of followers.  Hundreds of people that "adored" him.  Hundreds of people that tried to watch him perform miracles and wanting to touch the hem of his garment.  And hundreds of people 3 years later shouted at the top of their lungs "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"

Wait...so what you are telling me is that those people that followed him.  That was always around him, supporting him during the good times were essentially the same people that turned their backs on him when times became rough?  Does that sound familiar to your life (well maybe not the hundreds but you get the point)?

Once again Jesus is the perfect model to teach us that we really need to choose our friends carefully.  We need to watch who has our ears.  We have to guard our hearts.  We need people that will uplift us, not bring us down even if they don't fully explain what we are going through (as was the case with the disciples).  I'm not necessarily making the argument that you need exactly 12 friends, but I'm going to blunt with ya'll here: not everyone is your friend. As a matter of fact, not everyone is meant to be your friend.  It's up to you to discern those that are really your friend and those that are just your followers (or as I like to call them, acquaintances).

Lets be honest, out of those 12 friends Jesus chose one of them, Judas Iscariot, ended up stabbing him in the back.  Which, if we were to translate to our lives, we need to realize that those people that seem to have our backs might have some hidden agenda that will eventually come out and hurt us.  We need to be aware that we all have these sinful desires lurking inside of us and every once ina while it comes out.  But don't let your Judas ruin all your friendships forever.

Jesus didn't stop with the 12 disciples.  He narrowed the 12 down to 3. What I would argue were his "best friends," James, John, & Peter.  These were the three he took up with him to the mountain where the infamous "Transfiguration" happened.  None of the other friends saw him at the peak of his glory because quite frankly, they probably couldn't have handled it.

Even his best friends gave up on him for a time.  They weren't very confident when he was he was being crucified   So what does this tell us?  It tells us that people will let us down.  It's not wise to put all of our eggs into the basket.  But when it came down to it, the 12 disciples became the 12 Apostles and the 3 best friends all have major publication in the bible.  Peter's crazy self if found all around Acts as well as 1 & 2 Peter (where Paul sent a letter to him).  John is the author of the Gospel of John (not 1 & 2 John).  You guessed it, James is the author of James.

If you didn't feel like reading this entire thing and just want the bottom line here it is:

• We need to watch who has our ears; we need people around us that will uplift us.
• Not everyone that's around you is your friend.
• Even within your circle of friends, we should develop the inner circle

In essence: we just need to watch our backs and guard our hearts.

--MJA

Real Leadership

Who's the greatest?  Throughout the Gospel of Luke, Jesus' disciples had a quarrel about that question at least twice.  (Obviously Jesus was the greatest, but amongst the disciples was the question) In both situations, what is Jesus' response? "...for the least among all of you is the greatest." (9:48b)  Huh?  That's an interesting paradox.  But it fits into the upside down kingdom that Christ is establishing.  But still, that's a very ominous statement...

The second time this question arises, Jesus, since they didn't understand the first example, gives them a second analogy.  He says, "For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at table?"  This seems like the logical stopping point right? Well not for Jesus, he answers his rhetorical question, "But I am among you as one who serves." (22:27)

Jesus knows that the best way to make a point is to lead by example.  Jesus didn't come onto this earth with a mighty vengeance   No, he came through the lowliest of lowly people, times, and predicament   He didn't have a lot of money.  He never asked for anything from anyone.  He just served.  He just gave.  Gave with his life.

Jesus is the head.  But acted as the tail.  He is above.  But came from beneath.

One thing I'm slowly learning is that the things that this world cherishes, the Lord tells us to stay away from.  Money. Power. Greed. Influence.  That's not what being a disciple of Jesus is all about.

We are all leaders of something whether we recognize it or not.  The best leaders however, are the ones that put their constituents greater interests before their wants.  I urge everyone to reconsider how you lead.  Not only that, but to reconsider the motivation for said leadership.  Do you lead because it makes you feel important?  Or do you lead so that others may be drawn to the love of Christ through your actions.

I've said it before, and I am going to say is again, Jesus is the greatest man I know.  He set the bar extremely high for those of us that strive to be like him.

I like to think that I am a good leader.  But, my motivation isn't always in the right spots.  It's about the welfare of the whole, not the captain.

Another topsy-turvy Jesus example courtesy of the Luke!

Stay Blessed Everyone & Thanks For Reading!
--MJA

For Colored Girls

There is a reason that at the moment in my life that I'm reading a book to become a better man (Kingdom Man by Tony Evans), at a time where I'm struggling to find out who I am in relation to woman, I just happen to fall across a movie that places me into a vortex of thoughts and emotions.

That movie is For Colored Girls which is directed by Tyler Perry featuring an all African American cast.  The movie centers around nine separatred but yet intertwined black woman who all share their own struggles (albeit some worse than others).  I can't as a black man directly relate to their experiences per se, but I can feel it.  I can feel the hurt.  I can feel the shame.  I can feel the pain.  I can feel the disappointment.  I can feel the...the emotions.

What the heck is going on men? That's a question that is continuously echoing in my head.  I know we aren't perfect, but seriously bros.  We can do better.

Yes, there was a silver lining in the movie: aka 1 good black man in the ENTIRE movie (which I don't believe to be completely true).  However the point still stands.  Why are all the Adam's out there leaving the Eve's on their own.  Why are we constantly hurting them?  Is there something about our DNA.  I really don't know.

Fatherless homes?  Babies making babies? Abuse? Neglect? Sin?

In Kingdom Man, Dr. Tony Evans made a statement that I couldn't register until now.  He basically said that if you don't love being a man, then there is something wrong with you.  And after watching this movie, and all the hell my counterparts go through, I absolutely know that God knew what he was doing in making me a man. A Man of Color.  Because Lord knows, what I would end up doing if I was in the position that some of my sisters were in.

I do understand that this is a movie and al ot of it is dramatized, but the principle sticks in.  Black Women have it rough.  You have the media telling you to straighten your hair, you have the magazines telling you that being dark is out, you have your dads telling you that ain't good enough (if they are even in the picture).  You have your hearts continuously being stomped on and trashed and for what?  So a dude like me can have you for a moment and when he gets tired of you he just goes on to something better.

No, that just isn't right!

I know I've said this before, but now I feel it with much much more conviction: Women Are A Gift From God.  We need to start treating you like it.  Until I feel mature enough to handle my insecurities, whom I am, I don't deserve as a man, as an aspiring Kingdom Man to be part of this continual rinse cycle that's degraded, dehumanizing, and just debilitating these Black Queens.

I'm only speaking for myself here.  Me, Michael Adams, young African American Man.  You have the absolute right to hold me to these words; they aren't going anywhere.  I pray that Jesus continues to transform my heart so that I can be like David (a man after God's Heart--Acts 13:22).

This is just ridiculous.

--MJA

The Challenge of Being Still

On my iTunes account I have a specific playlist of which I affectionately called: Spirit Worship.  This playlist is the array of songs I elect to go to when I'm down in the dumps (because we already know about the Sacrifice of Worship) but also, I use it when I in the need to be still.

I know that it has been a while since I've blogged (as a matter of fact this is probably the longest I've gone without blogging...yikes!), but the lack of blogging is because I'm at this phase, this crossroad in my life where I am desperately trying to discover myself.  Now I know the overarching principle that I am a child of the Most High God, but who is the blogger/man Michael Adams is a struggle for me sometimes especially in this busy busy American Life.

As a result, a focus of mine has been this phase of Being Still.  There is an ever popular and overused phrase in the Bible that says in Psalm 46:10: "be still, and know that I am God."  Yes, that's a great theoretical concept, but do we actually follow that concept?

I am under the firm belief that we learn more about ourselves, about God, about our environment when we are consciously practicing the art of Being Still.  Being Still is you telling the world, telling your mind that you've had enough of the multitasking; that you are going to focus on one thing and one thing only.  This is a practice that our ancestors were much more proficient at it than we, but it's not a lost cause.

My aforementioned Spirit Playlist consists of 30 songs which is composed of different genres: Gospel, Contemporary Christian, Christian Hip Hop, & yes, even Christian Rock.  At fact value these songs seemingly have very little in common, but for me, they all have that ability to give me goosebumps no matter how many times I listen to them.

With that being said, I'm going to open you up to two of my songs.  One will be Gospel and the other will be Contemporary.  Here's a free peak into my head, don't take this too lightly!

There is one thing I ask however.  That right now, you become still.  That at this time you will Be Still. You can listen to one song, both songs, or even choose your own song (I won't be offended).  But when you do, stop what you are doing, and listen/watch the videos.  I would even suggest putting your best pair of headphones in and embracing the moment.

After the moment, if you are inclined, comment below on how you feel, what your experience is.  If it's a private feeling write it down & talk it over with a loved one and/or God.  Don't take this challenge lightly.  You'd be surprised what you hear when you are intentionally still.

The Gospel song I chose is: My Life, My Love, My All by Kirk Franklin.  This songs literally plays with my emotions every time!  You'll see what I mean.

The Contemporary song I chose is: Still by Hillsong United.  Once the peak of this song hits, I am GONE!

--MJA

"Telephone" Gone Wrong

If you have ever played telephone with 10 people or more (or even 5), we can pass down a message from one person to the other with the hope that the last person in line repeated what the first person wanted to say. During this process, we think we might have heard something so we pass on the message to the next person who then thinks they heard what you said and starts to paraphrase or even completely mess up with you wanted to convey. You get "I actually do not own a pair of toms" to "I am not an astronaut that eats Tums" (Okay, maybe that was a horrible example...give me credit.)

We in a sense tell God that he can write the story of our life. The moment God is ready to press His pen onto paper, we in a way push his hand out of the way and assure God something like "I was actually kidding, did you actually think I could live with someone dictating my life without editing the final version? You, instead, can narrate my story." How does this differ?

I'm in the sciences and what we look for mostly consists of cold hard facts on paper, not what someone said. For instance, we would rather believe in Newton and his physics principles that has been written on paper instead of what your local mailman can tell you about when it comes to science.  If you didn't know of their credentials, how on Earth is hearing facts from people reliable? Scientific facts does not become official unless there is research on paper with fancy numbers and data.

What am I getting at? Without asking for discernment, we would rather let God "narrate" our story so that way we could easily switch His words to things we think  He might have said. I'm not saying God is unable to speak to us, but I am saying that it would be best if we just let God write our story. We don't know what's best so why do we try to twist God's plan? I'd rather bank on having a cold, hard truth written by God instead of how I feel a certain day and how I plan to twist on God's word intentionally or by mistake.

- Moises -

Lets Raise Up A Standard!

I'm going to open this up by saying this simple statement: There aren't too many things worse than a half-hearted christian.  A christian that knows Jesus, a christian that believes in Jesus, but for some reason or another doesn't want to follow Jesus.  This christian is forgetting about the '-ian' which literally means "follower."  So if you are a Christ-ian you literally are making the commitment to follow Christ.  Denotations aside, differences aside, the Holy Spirit is Jesus interacting with us.  And when a Christ-follower purposely decides not to continually listen to the Spirit, then there is a huge problem.

The great thing about God's grace is that he is indeed a God of a second, third, fourth, fifth...infinite chances.  That's one of the reasons I'm completely in love with God.  But with those chances do come consequences because the Bible reminds us that the wages of sin is death.  So every time we miss the mark, we are literally killing ourselves even if we don't know it.

Now, if an unbeliever continuously misses the mark, that's one thing because they don't really believe in the mark to begin with.  However, when a professed believer "misses the mark" DESPITE the warning signs that the Holy Ghost gives us, that...that's a WHOLE 'nother issue.

It is clear in the Bible that God treats ignorance and complete disobedience on two separate levels.  On the one hand those that are ignorant of God will indeed suffer his wrath if they never confess Jesus Christ as Lord.  BUT, those that know what they know and DESPITE that still disobey, that's a huge issue.

An example from the Bible is taken from Jeremiah 3:11 where God speaking through the prohpet Jeremiah says: "Faithless Israel has shown herself less guilty than false Judah." (emphasis mine)  Now lets give a little background information.  Israel and Judah used to be one nation (God's chosen people).  However, Israel continuously disobeyed God thus propelling God to weed out his "true" peeps = Judah. So, from that point on Judah was considered God's chosen people.

One of the reasons that God allowed Israel to drift apart (because God could've kept Israel around because..well, he's God) was to show Judah what he was capable of.  God used Israel as an example in hopes that Judah would not falter and if they did, repent.  So time elapsed and Judah started to follow her sister, Israel, down the same path.  By the time this verse in Jeremiah comes along, God is pretty much disgusted with both nations.

But let's point out that God emphasizes that the now ignorant Israel is held to a lower standard than the kept Judah!  What does that tells us, that those who have the Gospel, those who know the Gospel are held to much more esteem.  And with that esteem comes a responsibility   And when that responsibility to taken advantage of, consequences will happen.

I'm here to challenge those of us who profess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  Will we rise up and set a standard that says that we will not be moved!  Sure, we will fail every once in a while because we are humans, but in the long run, we need to be committed to following Christ's teaching to the best of our abilities.  Lets raise up a standard!

We don't have too much wiggle room because the world already looks at us with suspicious.  Like hungry hyenas, waiting for us to stumble so they can pounce on our mistakes and boast at our failures.  I say, we like the Apostle Paul boast at out own failures.  Acknowledge that we have all screwed up but it's only by the grace of God we are now becoming a new creation!  If we take our standard, our calling seriously, the devil, the prince of the air, will have no way to criticize us.  The Bible reminds us that Satan will flee from us if we attack him with the Full Armor of God!

There aren't too many worse things that a "christian" that is only half in.  When it comes down to it, if you aren't for Jesus; you are against him (Matt 12:30).  When will we take our burden, our responsibility serious enough and go out and be the salt & the light to the world (Matt 5:13-16)

Lets Raise Up & Follow Our Standard!

-MJA

How To Love

I am currently reading a book by Bishop TD Jakes (whom I designate as one of the wisest men alive) called Let It God: Forgive so that you can be forgiven.  This reading focuses on the many aspects of our day-to-day lives and how the unforgiving heart can stunt our growth in every conceivable way.  I absolutely had to read this book since my first sermon was on forgiveness.  So let me preface this blog by saying that the main idea came from Bishop Jakes.
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I am one emotional man.  I will be the first to admit it.  Sometimes during movies I can feel a tear coming during those impactful scenes (but for the record, I don't cry!).  It's easy for me to admit that my emotions made me who I am today.  Although most of the times I shade them and hide them until I can't control them anymore (which can be good and bad), I am no longer ashamed to admit that I am just an emotional man.

One of issues that really has an impact on my heart is self-love.  Maybe it's because I grew up with 3 older women or maybe it's another reason, but my heart goes out to people who don't love themselves and just beat themselves up on a daily.  I just want to wrap them in a love that tells them that they are worth more; tell them that they are loved...

I am privileged to have grown up in a stable home with both parents fully present.  I'm not just privileged to have that, I'm blessed.  The older I get the more I realize that my nuclear family is becoming the exception rather the rule especially in the urban context that I grew up in.  I've never had to question my parents support for me even when I do something that was to their disproval.  So that no matter what, I felt loved.  Even before I fully comprehended my Christian faith, I felt the love of Christ on my life.

Growing up with that blessing, I've come to realize that many people don't have that.  Some people grow up with their mom and/or dad talking down on them.  Making them believe that they will fail.  Or even worse patronizing them for their errors over and over again.  And if one of you are reading this, I am, from the pit of my heart, very sorry.

I'm not hear however for a pity party.  I'm hear to just say that regardless of the past, you can move forward.  For every time someone tells you that you can't, God tells you that you can thrice that!  Sometimes it's hard to believe to understand without feeling the love or support growing up that you can't do it.  As a result you take it out on your self with self-mutilation, depression, anxiety.

Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves, but if we don't love ourselves, how can we learn to love our neighbors.  A lot of people I know that have the issue of self-disdain treat others around them like kings and queens and then as a result get trampled on by people like yours truly   When that happens the cycle continues. Over. And Over. Again.  I can't tell you how to love yourselves.  I can only pray for you.  I can only pray from our generation.  I can only pray that you feel the unconditional love that I receive from my father. No, not my earthly father, but my heavenly father.

I can support you.  I can love on you like a brother or a sister.  I can tell you that you were made in the image of God and that God didn't make a mistake when he made you.  I can affirm you and remind you that because of God's love for you that he sent Jesus to die on the cross for your sins.  I can and will do what I can to help the hurting.

One of, if not my, favorite gospel artists is Kirk Franklin.  Kirk Franklin has an interesting story of a kid who grew up without a father, and he overheard his mother say that he was a mistake.  As a result he became a constant people pleaser, always looking for affirmation in the wrong places.  What makes him amazing is that he allows his emotions, his past, to bleed through the lyrics of some of his songs.  One song that it's evident in is called Imagine Me.  The song reminds me that no matter what your past has done to you it's gone.  Your past is literally your past.  Imagine you breaking free from the chains of bondage yesterday put you in to live today like theres no tomorrow!

Like I said, I don't have the blueprint for teaching people how to love themselves.  All I can do is point, point to the Bible, point to the cross, and point to my Father in heaven.

My heart goes out to all those that are hurting.  I pray that you discover that unconditional love and accompanied by peace.  A peace that passes all understanding.

--MJA

Imagine Me

Sometimes You Just Don't Know

I was doing my nightly bible study and I cam across this verse, Isaiah 55:8-9

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

    neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the Lord.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are my ways higher than your ways

    and my thoughts than your thoughts."

This is one of those verses that is quoted on a daily basis and I'm not really going to say anything radical but I'm going to emphasis the fact that: sometimes you just don't know.  I don't know why God does what he does.  But I do know that it is going to be for my good.

For me, that not knowing thing is a huuuge issue because I'm the type of person that likes to be kept in the loop; I'm a planner.  Realizing the validity of Isaiah is an extremely hard thing but at the same time it's refreshing.  Knowing that I don't have to do everything, knowing that I don't have to plan everything is a releasing thing.  I don't have to be perfect.

So when I don't understand, I just trust.  When trouble comes I keep going, I persevere.  It drives me absolutely nuts because I really don't know what my future holds but there is one thing I know for sure: as long as I am continually praying to God, and reading his Word, I can't fail!  The closer I get to my calling in my life, the harder it's going to become.  But when you persevere and endure, the fruit is your character. And after you're character is formed, you find hope.

Without hope, we, as Christians are nothing.  We have hope that everything is alright.  We have hope that God's ways are greater than our ways!  Just gotta keep on believin and hopin when things are bleak!  We can do this! We can endure!  We can trust God!  It's true that sometimes you just don't know why God does what he does.  But I'm here to tell you that that's alright!  That's how it should be. Keep on Trusting God.

--MJA

Oh and by the way, Check out Romans 5:3-5

Part of My Thoughts on Relationships

I wanted to repost this blog I wrote a while back:

Relationships 101

I personally love talking to people about what I learned about romantic relationships. I mean who doesn’t love talking about love and what not? I know that during high school years and my time at Messiah College, whenever there was a discussion group or chapel about love and sex, those places were normally packed! God made us interested to be love and to love, and even to learn about anything that has the word “sex” in it. Point blank, they are just God-given desires!
I want to dedicate my first blog about what I’ve recently have been talking about with a friend of mine. Along with some input thoughts from my girlfriend, I wanted to write something short and brief.
For all my fellow guys (and ladies if you’re taking a sneak peak of this blog) here are my thoughts to make you think:

1) Dating for a long-comittment:

Two things: Why are you pursuing a relationship? Are you doing it because your friends are in a relationship and your obligated to be in one? Or do you cherish her and you can see yourself with her for possibly your entire life? I know it’s too early to think about that if you haven’t gotten to know that girl well enough. So why not start with pursuing a friendship before you’re thinking of her as future wifey?

2) “All guys are jerks!”

Does this quote sound anyway familiar? Yes, we do have our flaws, but what has happened to our role to make the female population have this thought? My point is as guys, what are we doing to make many girls say this? How are we treating them?

This might be a little weird, but pretend that there’s a random guy who has a bad reputation hitting on your little sister. I don’t know about you, but I would do anything in my power to protect my little sister from having some kind of disrespectful guy to even touch her. Not take that thought and think about that girl you’re pursuing or wanting to pursue. Are your motives to be with her pure? What are you trying to get out of this potential relationship? That girl is somebody’s daughter, sister, granddaughter. She deserves to be respected to the utmost and protected.

3) God works with you if you allow him to

I kid you not. God works with us if we include Him in our day-to-day decisions, even romantic relationships. I used to think that God doesn’t really care about that part of my life until I realized that most of my past relationships were no good because God was nowhere to be found. My girlfriend, before I asked her out, told me something that changed my perspective about God’s will. God’s will is made known if you’re intentionally putting God first over everything. Looking for God because you want a girlfriend is not going to make the cut. If you truly look for the Creator of Love, God will grant you the most amazing, unique love story that will be so particular for you!

A true man will man up to making sure God is the main priority.
These are just some of the things I had in mind as I continue to hear complaints from our fellow sistas. Overtime I would love to discuss more about this topic. Fellas, continue to seek God and His righteousness and God will respond to your needs. Lets change this generation by reflecting God’s character daily.

-Moises

When Ushers Become Bouncers

Recently my heart has been stricken with the realization that things just aren't the way they should be.  I'm not necessarily talking about the world we live in, but I'm talking about how we, Christians 1. Treat each other and 2. Treat others.  To increase the scope of this discussion even further, I'm talking more about the church.

A little less than a week ago one of my brothers in Christ posted a blog talking about Grace in the Church (which I encourage all of the readers to read; its very short).  The church is supposed to be one of the greatest proprietors of grace and ironically, at times it feels like it's the most against it.

When I think about what church, the first absolute first thing should come to mind is Grace followed by Mercy.  When you come to church you are acknowledging that you have fallen.  You are hurting.  You need to be surrounded by other people like you.  You need to go to the hospital and see Dr. Jesus in the ER.  Jesus reminds us in Mark 2:17 that healthy people aren't the ones that need the doctor; rather its the sick.  Not just the sick, but the professed sick.

When you become a Christian, when you decide to be in the fellowship of other believers, you are acknowledging that you need help.  That living this life in isolation is desolate.  That you absolutely need Jesus.  That you absolutely need to be Taken the The King!

I pray that this isn't taken by deaf ears and I will be as respectful as I can possibly be, but, with that premise, why are we turning people away from the building?  A free clinic will not turn away people regardless of their insurance policy but the church, the ultimate free clinic will turn away someone because they haven't been "churchified" yet.  It is one of the most disheartening things to me, when I hear stories of church ushers that should be defined more as bouncers.  We shouldn't be turning away people that sin differently than us, we should be embracing them.  We should have our church doors open to those that think differently than us, dress differently than us, think differently than us.  That's what the beauty of Christendom is.

If you see a young person with their pants hanging half way on their waist, hat on backwards, walking up to your church building you have every right to tell them respectfully that it's not proper etiquette to wear the hat in the building.  I have absolutely no problem with that.  But when you, as the "church goer" gets to the point where you talk down to them and say that same phrase snarlingly.  That, I have a problem with.  With the former situation, you are talking out of love.  You are not asking for a huge commitment and you are respectful.  With the latter, you are just talking out of plain disrespect and animosity to people different from you.

Jesus didn't make people change in order to be in his presence (and this man was the Son of God!).  No, he came to the level where the most hurting where at.  He took a lot of criticism for it. But he went after their heart, not their outward expression.  He let the people be changed through constant interaction not forceable interjection.

Now let me be clear.  I again have no problem if a church has specific policies for leaders.  For example if both men and women can't wear clothes that reveal too much while they are on stage because when it comes down to it, leadership is a privilege   But when church-folk try to super-impose a second form of salvation; that you have to be just like us or you can't be taken to the King, we have a HUGE HUGE HUGE problem!

No wonder Christians have this bad reputation of being judgmental   No one, I repeat NO ONE should have to feel like they have to "get right" in order to go to church.  I pray that this doesn't fall on deaf ears because it's something that we need to take into serious consideration or I'm afraid that insituation that we know as the church may crumble to pieces (especially in the Western Hemisphere).  We need to extend that Grace & Mercy that Christ has given us because if we are completely honest, we are just as consistently broken and torn down as some of these people that get turned away.

--MJA

Making Sure That My Worship is For Real! (Worship At It's Best Part 2)

I'm beyond ecstatic that my brotha Moises posted a blog about Worship earlier today (Worship At It's Best) because ever since the article (posted at the bottom of his blog) went viral there have been many thoughts swirling through my head.

If the readers out there don't really know who I am, I was a Gospel Director for 2 choirs for the past 3 years.  I've been known as being a bit eccentric  crazy, wild, and just about any likewise definition you could think of.  There's only one way I can really portray how I am when I direct and that's to show you.  So here's a video of my Alma Mater, Messiah College doing Kirk Franklin's Song Hosanna.  Now I'm not directing the song but I want you to guess which one I am...

Sometimes when I watch this video I cringe at how crazy I become when I'm praising my God.  But if I'm honest, I wasn't always like that.  Long story short, I didn't become like that until I freed myself.  I'm naturally an introvert, but when I worship the Lord, I don't care who's watching and what I do.  My God is great and is greatly to be praised!

However, I will be the first to admit that there have been times as a worship leader where I haven't felt like worshipping.  Where I didn't want to be up there directing because I was having personal issues with God.  When that happened 1 of 2 things occurred   

The first time it happened I forced myself to be the man that everyone expected to see.  It's like I had my head on wrong.  When I first came out of my introvert shell and just danced like David danced I surprised myself.  I didn't know that that much Jesus love was in me.  After a while though, you hit that point where you start to get a little burned-out as a worship leader/choir director.  When that point reached, I was putting on a show.  I was trying wayy too hard.  I was like the worship leader in the aforementioned article.  I staged and planned everything.  The worst (actually, probably the best) part about it was that people could tell.  I was trying wayyyy to hard to put on a show and when I was approached by a couple of friends in my church, I denied it.  I didn't see it, I thought my mask was secure.  But it wasn't.  After that point I talked with Pastor Woody about it and he reminded me to just be myself.  Stop trying to hard.  You see we as worship leaders get into trouble when we try to impress others with our style.  When we try to impress the crowd with what we do.  That's a dangerous problem  to have.

The second time I caught myself in a rut however went a little bit differently.  I was leading the school choir before chapel and I guess I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.  I wasn't gonna really hide how I felt too much; I wasn't really into the directing thing but I couldn't just stop because I was the Student Director.  So I just chugged through the service.  BUT GOD had other plans for me.  As we sang our last song (which to be honest wasn't one of my favorites), God worked on my heart ya'll.  The hook went "Lord Have Your Way in This Place."  And just kept getting repeated.  All of a sudden I felt something on my heart.  By the end of the song I was about to be into tears because of how great God is.  For the first time in my life, I was about to weep for Jesus.  Mannnnn that was one of the best moments of my life even though I still don't like the song very much!

What am I trying to say?  We, as worship leaders, choir directors, music ministerials need to make sure we have our hearts in the right place at all times!  There are going to be those days where you just ain't gonna feel like goin up there.  But we have a job to do, we have a responsibility to be respective leaders in our churches.  So when you go up there just be yourself.  Don't put on a show.  I'd rather a leader go up in front of a church and admit that he or she is struggling than for someone to put on their Sunday's Best and act like they are lollygagging through the flowers.  Church is about real people with real issues so let's start being real with each other.  Life sucks sometimes and that's ok.  Let you brothers and sisters in Christ come around you and support you.  That's what they are here for! :)

One of my favorite moments as a choir director was a couple of years ago when UVP (Messiah's Gospel Choir) did Byron Cage's rendition of the Praise & Worship song Breathe.  I'll be the first to admit that the first part of the song was rehearsed but that was just the primer.  But when you move out of the introduction and allow the Holy Spirit to enter into the sanctuary, things happened.  I can't explain it ya'll. But to this day, I relive that moment in my head over and over again.  Be a vessel for God. Since you are up there leading other people you HAVE to make sure your head is right.  Don't put up a front.  Just...Let Em UZE Ya! Cuz when the Praises go up!  The Blessing come down! (Psalm 67)

--MJA

Worship at its Best

Hey all,

It feels like many years since I've blogged about anything. If you haven't already checked out Mike's recent post, you probably should because it really does hit home.

Here's my thought for today:
I am 1 of 4 guys in my household that happened to be PKs (Pastor's Kid). We grew up with a fascination for playing musical instruments that whenever we reunite, my brothers and I would always be ready to play our own instruments/ sing.
Growing up, I thought leading worship was the easiest song as long as you have an instrument and your right singing voice. God eventually taught me that a beautiful voice, fancy tricks on the drums, and admirers does not impress God if there isn't a true reverence and adoration for Him. In fact, a horribly singing person (you're probably thinking of someone at your church right now...) could sound like something beautiful to God if that person's passion and reverence for God is found in that worship.
Webster defines worship as "extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem" 
What I'm suggesting is that even if the newest mainstream worship song can move people to emotions, what is your main objective in that worship? Is it really to help others shed some tears and once the music stops, have those people leave the same way they came in? Or worship with a pure heart while inviting the Holy Spirit to do what it came to do and become just someone in the background?
It's time to worship in spirit and in truth, not in an emotional movement and intentions that hinder God from fully moving in church.
-Moises


For more on this topic, read this amazing article! I recommend this to worship leaders:
Confessions of a Former Worship Leader

Righteous Anger

I don't know about you, but I grew up thinking that I shouldn't get angry.  Implanted in my brain was the idea that getting angry actually is a sign of weakness.  Not being able to control your beast mode of sorts was irresponsible; that the bible tells us not to get angry.

Boy was I wrong!  The bible doesn't tel us not to get angry.  It just reminds us to be slow to anger. (Proverbs 14:29)  Quite Frankly, there are some things that ought to get us angry.  The injustices in the world, children being killed, women being gang raped in India (if you don't know what I'm talking about Google it).  These things should get our blooding bubbling.  Make us feel queasy at society because if you haven't noticed, society is on a highway to Hell with no turning back!

No my friends, getting angry is a natural feeling.  But let me offer some advice here: we need to watch HOW quickly we get angry and WHAT makes us angry.  If every little offense gets you whipped up ready to fight someone then you might have what we call an anger problem.

I'm going to make a premise here, that the Holy Spirit actually can convict us to get angry.  It can convict us to feel some type of way about an injustice and spring into action.  Martin Luther King Jr was angry at the injustices that was happening to black people.  All of those passionate speeches wouldn't have come if there wasn't some righteous anger.  The Holy Spirit also gives us the ability to discern the difference between righteous anger.  I'm under the full belief that if you angry because of an offense to yourself, then it's probably not righteous anger.  However, if you are angry on behalf of other people, your chances improve.  Jesus tells us in John 15:13 that, "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." (NLT)

But it goes beyond that!  The difference between righteous anger and worldly anger can be summed up to one word: reason.  When we allow the worldly hate penetrate our hearts we tend to lose reason.  See with righteous anger, you won't lose reasoning.  With righteous anger, you see the offense, and you want to do everything possible to remedy said offense.  But here's the kicker: within reason.  MLK knew that he would probably have to die in order for true freedom to be accomplished.  So it was reasonable for him to not be afraid to go into Birmingham (which was affectionately known as Bomingham), Alabama to fight for those he loved.

The second way you know whether you are righteously angry can be boiled down to a second word: hate.  1 John 4:20 is very clear when it says : "If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen." (NIV)  When you get to the point where you hate someone for what they did, you need to take a stepback.  You can dislike the sin that they are committing, but my friends, you cannot hate the person. Righteous Anger tells someone or a group of people, "I love you but what you are doing is wrong, it's hurting other people, and I can't let you do that anymore."

What better example of righteous anger than Jesus' anger.  All throughout the Synoptic Gospels the same story (in slightly different ways) is told of Jesus' Anger.  Let's take it from Mark 11: 15-17 (no particular reasoning in just choosing Mark)

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’" (NIV)

I'm going to end the blog with this.  Lets look at it this way.  Jesus went into the temple saw how various people were defacing it.  So he stopped all the activity and turned over the tables.  Why?  Because they turned the temple into something that it wasn't supposed to be.  You can't go into a house of prayer when there are marketers and livestock selling their goods.  He was righteously angry at what was going on.  But did you notice, he didn't tell the people that he hated them nor did he do anything beyond reason.  He didn't see red to steal an idea from Kevin Hart.  He did what he had to do and then moved on.  

That right there is righteous anger.  It's not the most popular thing in the world because even with righteous anger you will be scrutinized in the world.  However, you won't have any hate in your soul therefore you didn't sin.  Remember be slow to anger.  The world will always judge you.  So just remember to Do You Boo-Boo (sorry, another Kevin Hart reference. haha).  Be yourself and keep your head on your shoulders.

--MJA

All You Have to Do is Ask

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.

Where does this line come from?  If you guessed the Declaration of Independence you were absolutely correct! Ding Ding Ding!  You win a big helping of nothing but pride.

Why did I open up this blog with one of the greatest lines in American History?  Well partly because any time I get to relay my history nerdiness I will jump at it, but more importantly it's the premise for life.  It's the supposed premise for America although at the time, a large group of people would hold into contempt said proposition   Nonetheless, the fact that all men (and women) are created equal is a self-evident truth.  In other words, it speaks for itself.

What this line brings into question is the legitimacy of this theory.  I mean, does everyone have the same opportunities   Does everyone have the same gifts?  Are all gift equal?  The short answer to those questions is no.  History and just human interaction consistently reminds us the fact that we are inherently different.

However, God is not bound by our finite perceptions.  It is my complete conviction to have everyone on the earth go to heaven.  I want everyone on the earth to proclaim Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior before he comes back.  I want everyone to hold the self-evident truth that those that call on the Lord will be saved.  And once you are saved, there's no turning back.  Or as Calvinist would say: "Perseverance of the Saints."

Lets be clear, the Bible reminds us that not everyone will be saved.  Actually only those who were elected by God will be saved.  But heres the kicker, I don't know who the elect are.  All I can honestly deduce is that at least one person won't go to heaven!  As long as a person confesses with their mouth that they are a sinner and believes in their heart that Jesus rose from the dead (amongst other things), that person will be saved.  The fact that it's such a "simple" thing always perplexes me?  I mean why wouldn't someone want to be saved?  I guess people have their reasons.

All you have to do is ask.  That's it!  And this just doesn't apply to unbelievers.  No matter what you are going through, God will wrap his arms around you and protect you.  You might get a little burned but you will be saved.

This truth is consistently re-iterated throughout the Old Testament.  I mean anytime Israel did something stupid like worship an Idol and then repented and called out to God, he saved them.  I believe that God has a huge heart.  He doesn't want us to falter.  I mean the reason he created the 10 Commandments was to protect us from hurting ourselves.

The reason that only the "elect" will be saved is because only the "elect" proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord.  At least one time in everyones lives they will have the opportunity.  What they do with that opportunity is up to them.

But I don't know about you, but even though I am saved I have to consistently ask God to save me from myself.  I don't mean that I'm physically hurting myself, but sometimes I kill myself emotionally or I let other people crucify me with their words or actions.  Sometimes I just have to call out to the Lord and although I might not see any evidence of it all the time, I know...I just know that he saved me.

There is plenty of evidence about the Lord hearing the cry of his people, but an example of one is found in Psalm 106: 44-45 which says, "Nevertheless he regarded their distress when he heard their cry.  For their sake he remembered his convenant, and showed compassion according to the abundance of his love." (NRSV).

You're never to far away.  All you have to do is...ask.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." - Matthew 7:7 (NIV)

--MJA