 I had a convo this week with a young american artist in which he assured me
he wasn’t a christian rapper, instead he was just a believer and a rapper… he felt that by saying he was a christian rapper it made a divide and that as ‘believers’ we need to be more open and not cause divides. This isn’t a new thing of course, as much as this young artist would like to think that he’s making a statement with this, he’s not, as many a christian artist goes through the same thought pattern. Its a long running conversation amongst the die-hard artists, the ones who have been in the game long enough to know the importance of being relevant amongst their cultural peers. In another convo with a UK grime rapper it was said “there has been a lot of hurt in the underground christian scene”, what was being referred to is the artists out there who gave up their rights as a christian and turned away from their faith due to them having countless years fighting for a place in mainstream music, trying to be heard. That being a christian and a musician doesn’t or shouldn’t mean that you’re categorized or put in a box much like any major award ceremony where there is a ‘gospel section’. Its great that the gospel scene has its own scene and can be allowed alongside the mainstream awards but at the same time its a double edged sword because as we’re placed in the gospel category we are almost certain to never come out of that box. And why is that an issue you may ask (before believers start saying ‘well thats being unashamed of the gospel isn’t it…), it’s an issue because as a music artist you should be given the same respect as any other no matter what belief system you have and a wider point of view would be to say that you can reach far greater people inside the secular scene. You still might be saying ‘Well that’s great though because I’m unashamed of the gospel so I don’t mind being subjected to cultural categorizing’. However, most artists who represent Jesus realize they need to hit the mainstream in order to make the biggest impact and to follow Jesus’ calling ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel’ Mark 16:15. It was Andy Mineo who said it best when he said “you wouldn’t say that’s a christian police man and that’s a regular policeman or that’s a plumber and that other one is a christian plumber’. So why do it with musicians? DJ 70x7 supports artists by bringing awareness to their talent and creativity. The HopeJamz Radio Show plays upbeat music from worldwide artists with New releases, Artist Introductions and Exclusive content!! Listen to The HopeJamz radio show: https://www.mixcloud.com/70x7Music/ 70x7 Music channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/70x7MusicHopeJamzradio 70x7 Music - http://www.70x7music.com/ HopeJamz Radio is also a part of the Tentmaker Music Podcast network. You can subscribe and download shows here - https://linktr.ee/tentmakermusic   Do you remember the days when we used to sit in front of the radio waiting for our favorite songs to come on so that we can add them to a custom mixtape that we were making for our friends? Maybe I'm dating myself with this one but that's some of the best years of my life. I really miss those days. It was something communal about music and the way that we shared it with each other. there was something special in personal about creating a mixtape for a friend or having a friend make a mixtape for you.
The reason I'm going down memory lane is because I'm trying to figure out where I got mixed up. I feel like somewhere in this custom playlist digital streaming world that we live in, things have gotten sterile. When I really think about it, I think I can trace it back to the iPod. At that point it all became about me and what I was listening to. I was able to block out the rest of the world. I no longer shared music I enjoyed with other people, but I used it as a way to block them out. I want to get back to those days where we used to share. the good old days where we all gathered around the radio to wait for our favorite songs, while sitting in chat rooms meeting new people on the internet. Back when the internet was fun and young, and before social media. Am I the only one that remembers these days? The reason I'm bringing all this up is because a few weeks ago I tried to do a live stream. My goal was to review some new music that was coming out, and to give my thoughts in real time. Just as a few friends started to gather into the chat room oh, and I was giving my thoughts, one of my buddies alerted me that Facebook have muted all of the music I was playing. Suddenly I realized I was talking to myself because no one knew what I was talking about. They couldn't HEAR the music. That community experience was gone. They were left out of the bubble and I was the only one listening to the songs. I told you guys that night that I would figure something out because I wasn't going to let this bad experience stop me. But to tell you the truth, this is the new standard on social media. You're not allowed to post other people's songs or to have them in your live stream anymore. In some cases you can't even share videos. It seems like every week we get an email with updated terms of service, lining out the new restrictions. Closing the doors on what we want to do and how we interact with each other is not my idea of a good time. I think we've given a little too much access to people we don't know.if given all the power to companies and organizations who don't have our best interests in mind, and that's okay as long as we get some free software to work with. But that experience come with limitations and it's not working out very well is it? I've got a lot of successful friends and music who can feel this restricting pressure coming down on musicians. It's like we're not even allowed to be musicians anymore. We have to be marketers and promoters and models for Instagram. I don't know about you but I never signed up for that crap. About a month ago I decided that I was going to take action into my own hands and try to figure out a way to do live broadcasts and to share music with people outside of social media and I decided that it was probably a good time to turn back the clock and look at some older technologies in order to do so. so what we ended up doing was investing in an internet radio station. I know that there's a million other stations out there, but there's also a million other websites, and a million other albums, and a million other songwriters. Just because there's a million others doesn't mean that ours can't be different. We want to make this our own and we want you to be a part of it. In the next few weeks I'm going to be rolling out different playlists and shows two are on our new internet radio station: ”Tentmaker Music: LIVE”! TENTMAKER MUSIC: LIVE IS ALREADY UP AND STREAMING. In its current form, it's a lot like other stations accept it has music that has been featured on our website. We also have HopeJamz Radio with DJ 70x7 from the UK, and The Xero Hour (my culture wars talkshow). I'm hoping to make our radio station into something worth experiencing. I want you to be able to get up in the morning and hear some interesting ideas on your way to work.I want you to hear some great music while you're on lunch. I want you to be able to chill before you go to bed. I want you to be able to look forward to hearing your favorite songs and playlists, and to anticipate the times that they're going to arrive. I know that I have a lot of work ahead of me but I think it's going to be worth it if I have you guys to back me up. Right now you can go to tentmakermusic.com/live and listen to music right now. You can also jump into the chat room and leave a goofy message for me. It'll definitely brighten up my day and it will be a welcome change from all of this coronavirus panic. I hope that we can find community doing the things that we love and I think that Tentmaker Music: LIVE can be a great vehicle for that. If you want to get more information on this project you can always contact me via email or social media. And I'll be looking forward to doing my next live stream show this Wednesday at 7 (just like I was going to do originally). I hope you'll join me.  We’re in the age of self-promotion and self-management with most musicians learning how to handle their own business, from do it yourself learning videos on Youtube to advice guides and gurus adding their knowledge.
The days when many artists were just dreaming of signing that mega deal with a record company seem to be ageing out as most musicians prefer to go the indie way. Kings Dream Entertainment artist Ruslan is someone who has been posting videos on artist awareness, promotion and the teaching of business skills, along with there being other music moguls and aged veterans sharing their top tips too. Personally I think it’s great that independent artists are realizing they can sell records and even make a living from their craft. Look at the likes of Zuby (UK based emcee) managing to sell over 22,000 albums whilst never signing a record deal, on top of that he has managed to find other ways to sell and promote his craft by having one of the first popup shops across the UK with his Blue & Purple store. The awareness for artists to be able to manage themselves is a great thing, especially for new artists coming up, but where does this leave personal managers and record labels, is their assistance no longer needed? Here’s the thing, whilst it’s great for musicians to learn how to do things themselves, it is also great to have management that can be your representation in the business side of music, because as you get more well known in the industry and your work load becomes bigger you’re going to need a hand. You’ll need someone on team who can point you in the right direction, plan your next move, push your promotion into the right lanes. You will want a person or a team which is there for your every need so you can just focus on doing what you love… making music. So if you’re just starting out in the music industry in whichever genre, I would urge you to learn the basics yourself, there’s some good self management do-it-yourself videos online. When you do start growing you may need to find some good management to help pave your way, look for management companies which have a few artists on their books already and offer short contractual time periods so if you don’t partner well with them you’re not locked in and can easily exit! Don’t give up! The indie road can be a tough one but at the same time very rewarding not just because of the amount of knowledge you gain but also because it gives you the freedom to create and showcase your art the way you want it whilst being able to pursue whatever you want. DJ 70x7 supports artists by bringing awareness to their talent and creativity. The HopeJamz Radio Show plays upbeat music from worldwide artists with New releases, Artist Introductions and Exclusive content!! Listen to The HopeJamz radio show: https://www.mixcloud.com/70x7Music/ 70x7 Music channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/70x7MusicHopeJamzradio 70x7 Music - http://www.70x7music.com/ HopeJamz Radio is also a part of the Tentmaker Music Podcast network. You can subscribe and download shows here - https://linktr.ee/tentmakermusic  Master Sound Engineer and Producer, B-Coe flexes in the worst (best) way by creating and entire beat out of just one single cough that he recorded in his microphone, proving that greatness comes from the man, not the tools. B-Coe has been producing music for over 10 years on FL Studio. Watch in amazement as he goes to work on this mini-tutorial.  "That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day." 2 Cor. 4:16 There are many moments in a persons life when they pause, reflect, and re-adjust. For Dexter (also known as Original Soul Invented), God has been pressing on his heart causing Dexter to re-think some things and truly examine his life. Dexter, like so many of us, has a colored past and didn't find himself submitting to Christ until about 4 or 5 years ago. Being gifted in the area of rap/hip-hop he quickly found himself in the CHH scene and making music for God. Dexter joined the Tentmaker Music family back in March of 2019 and he brought so much to the table as a Creative Director and Artist. It wasn't always great though, there were many challenges that we faced as a team and for Dexter this is where God began a work. After releasing "Verbal Judo" in June Dexter began feeling a heavy conviction and found himself in an internal wrestling match that would ultimately lead to where he is today. Dexter began to question his motives concerning music. I (Joe) have been blessed to be able to walk with Dexter during this time. I have been able to hear his heart, his concerns and see his desire to love and follow Jesus with all of his being. We have had some amazing conversations that have ranged from holes and gaps we see in the Christian Hip-Hop scene desperately needing filled to what it means to follow Jesus and walk in what He has called you to. From a Pastoral perspective, Dexter is the cat you want in your congregation. Following Jesus is no joke, and it can be hard at times to sort out your calling. God is fantastic at getting our attention and working His purpose in and through our lives. I praise God that He "...who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." Phil.1:6 and that "though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed daily." 2 Cor 4:16 By God's grace and His grace alone, Dexter has been taking off the masks and seeking diligently after the things of God. One of the conversations we had was concerning the moniker "Original Soul Invented". The conversation went something like this... "Joe, I think I just want to be Dexter. I am not who I once was, OSI still has elements of the old me that I don't like and God has convicted me concerning this." When you read that it may sound funny. You may thinking, isn't OSI, Dexter? "Yes" and "No" at the same time. Sometimes our artist name becomes who we are, it's how people know us, it's what we promote, it's what we want people to see. The big thing in all of this is that Dexter has been convicted by the fact that it is OSI that is promoted more than God. Sometimes, if we are honest, as artists we are more concerned with our brand than we are the things of God. Our music videos are just us rapping or performing and if we are being super honest we can come to a place where we see and realize just how "me centered" we can be. For Dexter, this all became clear, and he has been about righting the ship so to speak. Dexter was chasing success as an artist rather than seeking Jesus and getting about His business fully. It has been clear to Dexter that he is to focus on his marriage and to bring his wife along on this ministry journey. As all of this has been going on Dexter's life his wife Vicktoria has also been feeling a call into ministry. The two of them are getting set to embark on a new journey as they focus on Jesus and their marriage and seek to help others do the same. In January we will be partnering with Dexter and Vicktoria to launch their new ministry Marriage Is Dope . This is an exciting venture for the two of them as they seek to model and discuss what a Christ-centered marriage looks like. We will be providing more information as we get closer to the launch date. As for OSI, well, OSI will soon be put to rest and Dexter will be making music for God, and not trying to make it in the industry. The song below will be the last single released by OSI and anything you hear from this point will simply be from Dexter. I can imagine if you are reading this that you have questions, you might even be confused. I want to assure you that, that is okay. I encourage you to reach out to Dexter and ask him what has been going on. From my perspective, it is hard to encapsulate all that is happening in an article, this is just the beginning of the conversation. All I can say is that we have a brother in Dexter that desperately longs to honor Jesus with his life and do all things for God's glory. By God's grace, Dexter is being honest with himself and examining his motives in all of this... It is my exhortation and admonishment that we all find ourselves in this place and we get about what God is calling us to do.  Article by Joe Bragg Nothing compares to God's love. We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), and oh how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! When we reflect on God's love, when we meditate on the gospel, and when realize just how much God has done in our lives, we can't help but fall on our face. God's love drives us to our knees. When we fully understand our need for Jesus every second of every day things begin to change in our life. Jesus stated in John 14:15 that "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." 1 John 4:19 states that "We love because He first loved us." When we reflect on God's love it is going to begin to drive us to deeper dependence and obedience to Him, which is going to drive a deeper love for our Lord. As our love for God grows our life is inevitably going to change, we are going to begin to look more like Jesus. As our minds are renewed and transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the reading, and dwelling on God's word, we are going to fall more in love with Jesus. To quote Original Soul Invented "God's love is everything." This is no small statement, and it need not be missed, as God's love truly is everything. It was through love that God sent His only Son, and it was love that drove Jesus to the cross (a love first for the Father and His will), and that love is further expressed through those whom believe and follow Jesus. God's love is everything, in fact, God is love (1 John 4:8). God's love should drive us, it should flow from us as believers. I often share this when speaking on evangelism "God's love for us fuels our love for God, and our love for God fuels our love for others." There is so much to unpack here as it relates to God's love but if you have taken the time to read this, first, thank you, and second, take a minute to reflect on the love of God. Meditate on what God has done for you, and allow that to motivate you, to drive you deeper into His word and seek to be more like Christ daily. I was moved by Original Soul Invented's song "God's Love", give it a listen, pay attention to the lyrics and enjoy! God bless!  An Article by Joe Bragg "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory." Colossians 3:1-4 It is so easy for us to get wrapped up in the things of this world. We are constantly being bombarded with countless temptations and worldly desires that want nothing more than to feed our flesh. Sadly, we tend to give into these desires more often than we care to admit. I think people have this idea that when you come to Christ your life is going to be rainbows and butterflies and everything is going to be peachy. This couldn't be further from the truth. Life seems to get harder at times. We find ourselves in the midst of a battle we new nothing of before our lives were transformed by Jesus. There are so many scriptures that speak to putting our old selves to death and walking in the newness of life only found in Christ. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:17 "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" We are to hold this in tension with the fact that we are in process and as Paul stated "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day." 2 Corinthians 4:16 The more I grow in Jesus the more I learn that so much of this boils down to what we are focused on. If we are focused on Jesus, if we are focused on God's word and we are focused on doing what God has called us to do, things change. I can know in my mind that I am a new creation in Christ but am I working out my salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12)? Do I have a Kingdom mindset? Do I hunger and thirst after the things of God? Do I long to see people redeemed and come to know the Savior? Do I seek to flee from sin? Am I praising God for His grace and the advocate that I have in Jesus (1 John 2:1-2)? Do I learn from grace that which I would learn from discipline? Do I long to know God more? Am I fully dependent on Him or do I seek to control everything? Do I trust God with my life? These are important questions for us to meditate on and for us to answer. It is a prayer for myself but also for all of us as followers of Jesus that we take Him seriously and we take Him at His word. It is my desire to have a Kingdom mindset, and to be fully devoted to Jesus. The good news is that the more I pray this and the more I seek Him in and through His word, the more I see this change in my life and the more I get about His business. How about you? Where's your focus at? Where do you need to grow? Are you Kingdom Minded? This article was inspired by a song written by Old Man Xero. The song challenges us to really think about what it means to follow after Jesus and to take Him seriously. Our lives will reflect what we truly believe and our faith in Jesus should be permeating our entire lives. You really should give it a listen and pray that God do a mighty work in your heart as well as your brothers and sisters across the globe. Let's Go! Have something to add? Leave a comment below, lets chat! As always, God bless!!  A Blog By Mia Langford
The world is full of incredible stories. Stories that defy imagination. Stories of beauty. Stories of tragedy. Stories of love. Our created universe is one big story, with many sub-plots. Each one of us is a character in this story, with our own part to play. Humanity has a collective purpose, and the church has a collective purpose as His people, but each of us must discover our own individual purpose as well. Jesus knew his purpose. Born to be the Savior of this created world, He knew the task would require much of him, body, mind, heart and spirit. We each have our own purpose, our own cross we must be ready for. Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24 As always, Jesus didn’t leave us without a beautiful example. Let’s look at some ways he prepared himself to fulfill his Father’s will before taking up his cross. Readiness of Body I’m utterly fascinated with the Shroud of Turin, a cloth bearing the image of a crucified man many believe to be Jesus. The Shroud is unnecessary to making a robust case for the resurrection of Jesus, but the evidence for the Shroud’s authenticity is intriguing. A University of Padua professor has even used the Shroud of Turin to create a 3D carbon copy of the man in the Shroud, allegedly revealing Christ’s true features. Other researchers have joined the professor in his conclusion: The Shroud reveals a muscular, trim man in good overall physical shape, although badly tortured before and during his death. But even without the Shroud, one need only read the description of what Jesus went through during his crucifixion to deduce that he must have been in good physical shape. He couldn’t have endured as he did otherwise. In order to even make it to the cross, Jesus had to survive the scourging that took place beforehand. Battered and bruised, dehydrated, and exhausted, Jesus endured joint-rending cramps, inability to breathe, and hours of searing, limitless pain. Christians should steward our bodies well. History is replete with stories of people who were called upon to save or defend others. There were also people blessed with beauty who used it for God’s glory, and people who glorified God with the marvel of their body’s talents and abilities. These Christians’ faithful care of their health and physical gifts allowed them to do the most good for the longest amount of time possible. Readiness of Mind Again, we don’t need the Shroud of Turin to have all the evidence we need for reasonable belief in the Christian God or the reliability of scripture. God has gifted us with enormous amounts of objective evidence to support reasonable belief in His reality and the truth of His word, and this must under-gird our personal testimony, even though our journey may start with our own personal experiences with God. We must know this evidence if we’re to go fulfill the Great Commission, Jesus’ command (Matthew 28:18-20) to make disciples of all nations. The world is filled with people craving solid reasons for the Christian faith. In fact, we are commanded to always be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope” that is in us (I Peter 3:15). Knowing then why we can trust the Bible, we must study to know what’s in it. Jesus defeated the devil during His temptation by knowing scripture. Knowing why you can trust your Bible, and installing it in your mind through study and memorization will anchor you in enduring faith. There is so much more to read and learn, finish this blog at www.growingdeeperroots.org  A Blog By Josh Trombley
There has been a lot of doubt and skepticism from “high profile” Christians. Many have felt that there hasn’t been a place for this line of thinking in the Christian movement. While there are circles where this is not encouraged, there are also a ton of circles that are exploring. I have seen a few rebuttals by bloggers and musicians that have some excellent points. Some have pointed out the holes in the arguments; others are urging us to follow God and not celebrity. As much as these points are valid what needs not to get lost in the conversation and what I want to say to those who identify with the struggle of faith that has invaded so many Christian leaders is, It is ok to struggle with God and your faith. I believe it is un-Christian to not. To not struggle in some capacity or another is to say that you have a full understanding of not just what the Scriptures say, but of God. If you believe in the God of the Scriptures, then both of those premises are absurd! Us understanding God is like a chair trying to understand it’s maker. The maker of the chair is so far beyond what the chair could ever comprehend. Luckily we have Scripture and can experience God in beautiful and rich ways. To say that Scripture should be the thing that pulls us through and anchors us into the world of certainty is to claim that we have a perfect understanding of what the Scriptures say, which we don’t. Not even close. We rely on wisdom, experience, and tradition, and we do the best we can. Often not recognizing this, we fix our faith to unhealthy paradigms. When doubts and questions appear to unfurl our sails of faith, we become crippled. Instead of pushing forward to discovering brave oceans of new realities in God, we can either give up and lose hope or bunker down in safe coves. I see neither of the later as viable options. I believe it is good to doubt and question. When I look at the Scriptures, I can’t help but see a God who wants us to wrestle with the big issues, always realizing that there is more to learn. There is a story at the beginning of Scripture that articulates this. There is a story about a man named Jacob. Jacob, like us all, has some serious baggage, much of which is self-inflicted. As Jacob begins to travel to create a new life for himself and his family, he begins to wrestle with his ideas of what his life is and who God is. The book of Genesis records the Jacob has an encounter with an angel where they wrestled, and Jacob left with a limp and a new name. In the words of Switchfoot, however, “[he] wrestled an angel for more than a name.” The Scriptures record, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” Genesis 32:28 While the name change is important, we must not lose sight of how the ancient rabbis interpreted this verse. They believed that this set the premise for our approach to the Scriptures and a relationship with God. (more in this in Chapter 2 of my book Hidden faces). There should never be a point when we stop wrestling with God, Scripture, or hard questions. It doesn’t mean a patchwork of ideas that we throw together as though we’re filling a pothole, but there are times when we need a fresh coat of pavement. It is not that Scripture, tradition and experience don’t matter. That somehow our wrestling with the big and small questions undermine everything. It just means that sometimes we need a tweak and other times we need a new street. For me, because I have experienced God, it demands me to push to understand this life deeper. There have been times when my tradition has let me down, majorly. There have been times when no matter how much I trusted and looked at Scripture, it left me frustrated, confused, disillusioned. I had an experience that I could not deny. I knew and still know that there has to be something beyond myself and that faith isn’t built upon the straw of others nor upon the weak foundation of my limited understanding of an ancient text. My faith is built upon the fact that I have had experiences with something beyond myself. It now demands of me to wrestle. Saying this, if my faith stopped at the experience and didn’t have the structure of tradition (tried and true practices, rituals, and paradigms) and the Scriptures (God’s word that tells of the Word, Jesus) then my faith becomes a kite flying in the wind with no string. Finish reading at www.joshtrombley.com & also check out more excellent blogs from Josh. Apostasy Among Young Christian Leaders: Article Based on Facebook post by John Cooper of Skillet.8/14/2019  By Joe Bragg
Yesterday (8/13/19) a buddy of mine sent me an article written by George Brahm from Cogent Christianity and I am not going to lie I was super curious. Those who know me well, know that I am not a big Skillet fan. I can appreciate them and I certainly acknowledge all they have done in the Christian rock scene, but I personally don't dig their music much. Skillet was actually my first Christian concert after coming to Christ and I left disappointed. They put on an amazing show as far as rock concerts go but I felt that it lacked Jesus. To be fair, my expectations were high, I had never been to a Christian concert and I expected it to be Spirit filled, the gospel clearly presented and that it would be so evident that these bands were different than what I had come to know in the world. Sadly, that wasn't the case. I looked around and felt that Skillet and TFK had in some way dropped the ball (side note, Decypher Down was the opening act and they were the only band to say the name of Jesus, they made a fan of me that night). I share all of this to say, when I saw an article from John Cooper speaking about the apostasy of young Christian leaders, I knew I had to read it. As I read what John had to say, I was honestly blown away. John was transparent and real in his response to the recent falling away of Hillsong's worship leader Marty Sampson and Josh Harris author of "I Kissed Dating Goodbye". John didn't pull any punches and he said what needed to be said. I know it is a Facebook post and we can read whatever tone we want to read into it, however, it is as if you could feel John's sadness and frustration. The post is filled with edifying admonishments to the church and other believers and it is refreshing to hear someone with John's influence draw people back to the Word of God and to take Christ seriously. I felt that George of Cogent Christianity summed it up well at they end of their article when he said... "I am glad to see one of these ‘influencers’ come out in defense of the authority of Scripture and the importance of a robust faith that can outlast even the harshest of challenges." Below you will find John's Facebook post. It's a little long but it is very much worth the read. I am curious to hear your thoughts so be sure to leave a comment! As always thank you for stopping by and taking the time! God bless! “Ok I’m saying it. Because it’s too important not to. What is happening in Christianity? More and more of our outspoken leaders or influencers who were once “faces” of the faith are falling away. And at the same time they are being very vocal and bold about it. Shockingly they still want to influence others (for what purpose?)as they announce that they are leaving the faith. I’ll state my conclusion, then I’ll state some rebuttals to statements I’ve read by some of them. Firstly, I never judge people outside of my faith. Even if they hate religion or Christianity. That is not my place and I have many friends who disagree with my religion and that is 100% fine with me. However, when it comes to people within my faith, there must be a measure of loyalty and friendship and accountability to each other and the Word of God. “My conclusion for the church (all of us Christians): We must STOP making worship leaders and thought leaders or influencers or cool people or “relevant” people the most influential people in Christendom. (And yes that includes people like me!) I’ve been saying for 20 years(and seemed probably quite judgmental to some of my peers) that we are in a dangerous place when the church is looking to 20 year old worship singers as our source of truth. We now have a church culture that learns who God is from singing modern praise songs rather than from the teachings of the Word. I’m not being rude to my worship leader friends (many who would agree with me) in saying that singers and musicians are good at communicating emotion and feeling. We create a moment and a vehicle for God to speak. However, singers are not always the best people to write solid bible truth and doctrine. Sometimes we are too young, too ignorant of scripture, too unaware, or too unconcerned about the purity of scripture and the holiness of the God we are singing to. Have you ever considered the disrespect of singing songs to God that are untrue of His character? “I have a few specific thoughts and rebuttals to statements made by recently disavowed church influencers…first of all, I am stunned that the seemingly most important thing for these leaders who have lost their faith is to make such a bold new stance. Basically saying, “I’ve been living and preaching boldly something for 20 years and led generations of people with my teachings and now I no longer believe it..therefore I’m going to boldly and loudly tell people it was all wrong while I boldly and loudly lead people in to my next truth.” I’m perplexed why they aren’t embarrassed? Humbled? Ashamed, fearful, confused? Why be so eager to continue leading people when you clearly don’t know where you are headed? “My second thought is, why do people act like “being real” covers a multitude of sins? As if someone is courageous simply for sharing virally every thought or dark place. That’s not courageous. It’s cavalier. Have they considered the ramifications? As if they are the harbingers of truth, saying “I used to think one way and practice it and preach it, but now I’ve learned all the new truth and will start practicing and preaching it.” So the influencers become the voice for truth in whatever stage of life and whatever evolution takes place in their thinking. “Thirdly, there is a common thread running through these leaders/influencers that basically says that “no one else is talking about the REAL stuff.” This is just flatly false. I just read today in a renown worship leader’s statement, “How could a God of love send people to hell? No one talks about it.” As if he is the first person to ask this? Brother, you are not that unique. The church has wrestled with this for 1500 years. Literally. Everybody talks about it. Children talk about it in Sunday school. There’s like a billion books written on the topic. Just because you don’t get the answer you want doesn’t mean that we are unwilling to wrestle with it. We wrestle with scripture until we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. “And lastly, and most shocking imo, as these influencers disavow their faith, they always end their statements with their “new insight/new truth” that is basically a regurgitation of Jesus’s words?! It’s truly bizarre and ironic. They’ll say “I’m disavowing my faith but remember, love people, be generous, forgive others”. Ummm, why? That is actually not human nature. No child is ever born and says “I just want to love others before loving myself. I want to turn the other cheek. I want to give my money away to others in need”. Those are bible principles taught by a prophet/Priest/king of kings who wants us to live by a higher standard which is not an earthly standard, but rather the ‘Kingdom of God’ standard. Therefore if Jesus is not the truth and if the Word of God is not absolute, then by preaching Jesus’s teachings you are endorsing the words of a madman. A lunatic who said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” He also said that he was alive before Abraham, and to see him was to see God because he was one with God. So why then would a disavowed christian leader promote that “generosity is good”? How would you know “what is good” without Jesus’s teachings? And will your ideas of what is “good” be different from year to year based on your experience, culture trends, poplular opinion etc and furthermore will you continue year by year to lead others into your idea of goodness even though it is not absolute? I’m amazed that so many Christians want the benefits of the kingdom of God, but with the caveat that they themselves will be the King. “It is time for the church to rediscover the preeminence of the Word. And to value the teaching of the Word. We need to value truth over feeling. Truth over emotion. And what we are seeing now is the result of the church raising up influencers who did not supremely value truth who have led a generation who also do not believe in the supremacy of truth. And now those disavowed leaders are proudly still leading and influencing boldly AWAY from the truth. “Is it any wonder that some of our disavowed Christian leaders are letting go of the absolute truth of the Bible and subsequently their lives are falling apart? Further and further they are sinking in the sea all the while shouting “now I’ve found the truth! Follow me!!” Brothers and sisters in the faith all around the world, pastors, teachers, worship leaders, influencers…I implore you, please please in your search for relevancy for the gospel, let us NOT find creative ways to shape Gods word into the image of our culture by stifling inconvenient truths. But rather let us hold on even tighter to the anchor of the living Word of God. For He changes NOT. “The grass withers and the flowers fade away, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8)” Here is the link to the original post bit.ly/2KPuq5o Thoughts? Start a conversation and leave us a comment. Thanks again for taking the time! God bless! |