Whats church?

Walkin’ the Talk

What’s the good word family? Carlos is back with another edition of “Walkin’ the Talk”. Last month we shined the spotlight on a young brother who was making his mark in music for the Kingdom. This month we’re going to take a different route and talk about something that is well overdue for what I’d like to call, a ‘State of the Church Address’. I went against the norm and reached out to some brothers and sisters to get their insight on “church”. So here it is.

I asked a simple question to a random selection of folks. That question was, “Do you go to church?” Depending on their answer, the follow-up was either “why or why not?” Out of my random selection of 10 people, here’s what they had to say:

Anonymous 1: I’m spiritual and believe in god but I have strong disagreements with organized religion in general.

Carlos: What’s organization religion in your opinion?

A 1: It’s too structured. It doesn’t feel like church or family it’s like a job but instead of getting paid, you pay it.

Anonymous 2: No I don’t go to church because I’m not religious.

A 3: It’s just pure laziness on my part. I go on special occasions.

Carlos: What are the special occasions?

A 3: Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter sometimes if I got something to new to wear.

Anonymous 4: I attend church very infrequently. I have a major distrust of unfortunately, predominately black churches due to emphasis they tend to put on monetary collections.

Carlos: You mean like a building fund and pastor offering and so forth?

A 4: Yeah exactly. They just always ask for money and then you never see this new building they always talk about.

Anonymous 5: I don’t go because it’s very hard for me to see a preacher or leader of the church looking rich & extra dapper.

Carlos: So you think that the preacher gets rich off of your dime and say it’s for the church when it really isn’t?

A 5: yup.

Anonymous 6: I feel that church is & has never been my main connection to God & my spirituality. I make sure that I embody positivity & goodness regardless of my attendance or lack there of; inside a church.

Carlos: So for you as long as your living a positive lifestyle, all is good.

A 6: Yes. I’m not out there drinking and smoking and carrying on so I’m good.

Anonymous 7: Church ain’t for me. As long as I believe in God that’s good enough.

Carlos: So basically no need to go as long as you believe in Him? The whole fellowship piece isn’t important?

A 7: For some it may be but not for me. Me and God are here (does a hand motion pointing to the sky and self)

Anonymous 8: I don’t attend church because the people in church don’t accept people who have faults. They talk behind your back and act like they are better than everyone else and that’s not what church is suppose to feel like regardless of what my faults are.

Carlos: Have someone hurt you in church before?

A 8: Yeah. That’s exactly why I feel the way I do because church people are backstabbers. Can’t trust them.

Anonymous 9: I’m too young for that. I might go when I’m older.

Carlos: There’s an age for church?

A 9: I mean I’m young and this is my time to have fun and experience life. I know who God is bur I don’t have to sit in church for that. God wants us to enjoy life anyway.

Anonymous 10: I don’t go because I don’t believe in god. I believe there are many gods but not just one god.

At this point, you’re probably saying, “wow”, or you’re shaking your head in disbelief and discomfort, or perhaps you’ve heard some of this before. However, these are some very deep responses; and they came straight from the mouths and hearts of our very own people. I myself became very heavy-hearted hearing these responses because from my perspective, I just don’t understand. It’s not that I don’t understand the person who gave the response; it’s that I don’t understand where we as Christians went wrong to be the rooted cause of these direct responses in some fashion. We are to be a light to the world but according to some of these responses, we have turned off that light and left people in the dark with the expectancy for them to still see the God in us and find their own way to Him.

The real question is this: What can you do to help? This isn’t an opportunity to single these people out and exile them or look down on their feelings. This is the opportunity to minister, evangelize, teach, educate, lead, mentor, and change! As you look over these responses, they show that they all spell one thing, deceived. The word says that ignorance will be the fall of God’s people. These are just 10 people who don’t know. Yeah, they may know the basics or perhaps they just don’t care to know at all, but again, what are we as Christians doing to change that? What are we doing outside the walls of the church that make people feel like we are hypocrites and look down upon those with faults? How do we break the irony that a building fund is not meant to build the pastors mansion in the county and put 26’s on his Escalade? How can we break the barrier of being referred to as organized religion? Yes the kingdom is about decency and order but is there to be so much order and organization that it’s no longer a church home where you can feel at home and worship God with family but rather a church business? The questions could go on and on but you have the answers to them. We have to make the change and get outside of the church walls and snatch these people up. How do you think the enemy gets to them? Not by just sitting in Hades waiting for them to come his way. The enemy is on a prowl like a door-to-door salesman and people are buying his mess!

That’s it for me. Until next month, I leave you with this: If you’re not winning souls, you’re losing.

Peace and Blessings

Christian hip-hop artist A. Charlie interview

To all my beautiful people! Welcome to “Walkin’ the Talk” with me, Carlos Avent. In this edition, I took a moment or 2 or 3 to sit with a brother who’s fire for the Lord is runnin’ rapid
like a California forest fire. Baltimore native, local Gospel Artist
Aaron Cook a.k.a. A. Charlie, who has a message that the Lord has put
on his heart to get out to the masses. Aaron is on a mission to
fulfillment. Here’s what he had to say about where he’s going in the
Lord.

Carlos: What made you break into the industry with your music of
ministry?

Aaron: I don’t consider what I do for the Lord industry…on the
contrary…I’m actually against the gospel music industry because
that’s exactly what it has become. It’s all industry and no longer a
ministry. As far as me and why exactly I started, you know I’ve always
had a love for music but after I gave up the secular music and then
later received the filling of The Holy Spirit, he revealed to me that
communicating God’s heart through music was what I was saved to do.
And as I continue to grow in the Lord, He continues to mature His gift
in me.

Carlos: Powerful! It’s all an industry now. Do you think it’s possible
for secular hip-hop and the Christian Rap ministry to come together?

Aaron: No it’s not possible for the simple fact that the secular hip
hop or should I say music industry in general, is driven by money and
the real gospel music industry should be totally committed to God and
His word, His worship, His praise and His love. The bible tells us
that “in the last days that men would be lovers of themselves,” and
you can clearly see or should I say hear man’s love for self, money,
lust and pleasure in today’s music. There’s a complete disregard to
God, His ways and even mockery of his church as of late.

Carlos: Amen to that. So what motivated your debut album “My Life”?

Aaron: After receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I literally
would write endlessly, spilling everything that the Spirit would give
me. I’d also written about so much of what was going on in my life at
that point in time, hence the title “My Life” the living epistle to be
read by all men.

Carlos: I see. And I’ve heard it many times myself so thank you again
for my personalized copy. But tell me what sets your album apart from
other artist of the gospel?

Aaron: I don’t know exactly what’s on the heart of other artists or
what really motivates them so I can’t really say where my music
differs. However, I do know that the music that God allows and uses me
to make is totally and completely inspired by His spirit. It’s the
uncompromised word of God and I think that’s the most important thing.

Carlos: That’s the truth. Spirit guided always produces glory unto
God. You know there are a lot of others out there like you trying to
bring forth God’s greatness in the facet of Christian Rap. What’s some
encouraging advice you could give to the up and coming artist?

Aaron: As I am still an up and coming artist myself, I’d tell them
from one to another to continue to pray for humility. Pray that God
leads in all things even in their writing and or playing and lastly to
be sure that it’s all God inspired and that it’s what He wants you to
do. I say that because just like life, it’s never always easy.
Sometimes you gotta grind it out, but if you know that’s what God
called you to do, you won’t fail and the prosperity in your calling
has no choice but to blossom and prosper.

Carlos: Knowing your purpose in God is essential to our lives here as
His children. I feel you on that man so, here comes the big one,
what’s your goal with this move of ministry?

Aaron: Aside from speaking, rapping, singing or playing what the Lord
places on my heart, I just want to allow Him to make dope music for
the listener and to do it as good if not better than the secular
industry. My goal is to show the world aside from believers that
Christian artists are blessed and that we make great music for our
Father and Kingdom. With the help of the Lord, I want to completely
crush that whole “Christian hip hop or Christian music is corny”
statement. Though some of it is a bit overbearing, I believe that we
have to give people something great to listen to in the place of the
garbage that we as Christians or anybody else for that matter
shouldn’t be listening to that the radio and BET continues to play.
It’s the enemy’s largest brainwashing tool and sad to say that he is
succeeding greatly. So I feel like I have to fight back for the Lord.
It is definitely warfare. It’s so not just music for me.

A. Charlie’s debut album, “My Life” can be found right in the palm of
Aaron’s hands. Aaron is also a co-founder of the recording label, One
Life Productions. For a copy or more information, call 443-824-6852.

That concludes this edition. Stay tuned for
the next edition of “Walk the Talk”. Be blessed and remember, in all
you do, give God the glory.

Why just one?

WORSHIP

Michael Jackson had, and still has, fans all across the world. He has been billed as an international superstar and an icon both in his natural life and even in his death which came to pass on June 26, 2009. Between June 26, 2009 and June 27, 2009, 12 people committed suicide over the death of Michael Jackson.

Let me just keep it right there for a second. 12 people ended their life because the King of Pop, the International Superstar’s life had come to a tragic end. What do you think went through their minds? Perhaps that they didn’t want to live any longer if their life couldn’t be shared on earth with Michael Jackson. Or perhaps they just wanted to go wherever he went. Surely I hope he went to be with our King; as I’m a fan as well, but no one knows where his relationship was with our King but MJ and GOD. Perhaps they were thinking that their god was gone and they had no reason to live any further (notice I said “their” god and that “god” was in all lowercase). But truth is, their act was a form of worship. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an avid fan as many are in the world, but my life is only to be a living sacrifice and a living testimony unto the one and true living GOD. Keyword here, LIVING.

I have a friend, (No really it’s a friend, I’m not saying “friend” to conspicuously speak of myself), a friend who absolutely loves Jay-Z and loves everything about him. Everything ranges from his clothing line, his albums, his cologne, everything. I was in a conversation with him one day challenging him, (why did I do that), that LL Cool J in his prime, would rip Jay-Z in a lyrical battle. Throughout the course of this discussion, we got to the infamous lyrics of Jay-Z’s song “Empire State of Mind”, which are: “And Jesus can’t save you, Life starts when the church ends.” Here is how the rest of that conversation went:

Carlos: Jesus and the word can’t do NOT go together and the audacity of Jay-Z a.k.a. Jay-Hovah, using such in his song is sickening and appalling period.

Carlos’ Friend: Los, Jesus can’t save everybody. Some people have to be sacrificed so Jay is right. He’s the god MC.

Carlos: Dude! He calls himself Jay-Hovah! You don’t think that’s blasphemy? The word says that many will come acting as He. C’mon man who does Jay think he is?

Carlos’ Friend: Is their really a GOD? Who to say Jay is mimicking anything he’s a god in his own right.

I couldn’t believe that I was even having such a conversation.

Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to Worship. For years and millenniums, people have subjected themselves to worshipping the very thing they love most, but neglect to worship or offer little to the one who loves them the most. We spend big dollars to go to football games, basketball games, or what have you, and cheer on our favorite team, wear their colors and name, and buy their merchandise so people know who we support. But we struggle to put a little offering in the basket at a church service, we give a mediocre clap at the mention of the name of the True Champion, and call it robbery to buy a t-shirt that gives off some sort of representation of showing that we support GOD. So glad am I that He has sufficient grace.

GOD designed worship to be for Him and Him only. So the next time you find yourself giving your all for your favorite idol, remember He who gave his all for you to live.

It’s a simple concept. Worship is the act of feeling a profound love and admiration. It is also noted as showing devotion unto someone or something as ones deity. In the two scenarios described prior, worship is heading in the wrong direction and it is meant to be reserved as explained to us in Exodus 20:3 as it reads:

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (KJV)

No other gods, only me. (The Message)

You must not have any other god but me. (NIV)

Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. (Darby)

No tendrás dioses ajenos delante de mí. (Spanish)

No matter how you say it or what translation you get it from, it says the same thing…God is the one and only, hands down. Exodus 3:20 spells it out for us and ironically, it was the first commandment that GOD gave Moses to give to the people. For all my parents, I know you can relate to this; when you have a list of things that you want your child to do, the first thing you mention, is most of the time the most important one. GOD works the exact same way with this as His 1st commandment. So listen to daddy, No other gods please; for your own sake…literally.

GOD designed worship to be for Him and Him only. So the next time you find yourself giving your all for your favorite idol, remember He who gave his all too, but for you to live. One thing my mother used to say about people who are seriously into an idol being is that, “They don’t have a Heaven to Hell to put you in! Well, she was right. Carlos is signing off now. Remember, if you’re not winning souls, you’re losing them.