AFLEWO 2012 - PRAISING WITH PURPOSE

There has never been a better time to worship God and celebrate his gift of life and salvation as this Friday night 23rd November 2012 at CLA (Christian life Assembly). This is not a denominational gathering. It is a inter-denominational Christian gathering, where all Christians regardless of their personal ecclesiastical doctrine preferences are invited to share the brotherly and divine love through singing and dancing in the presence of the Lord. People are coming from different countries to join us in this Night of Worship. 

IF YOU MISS IT - YOU'LL MISS OUT!

What are you going to miss? More than mere songs and dances. Singing and dancing are mere expressions of a deeper spiritual truth. It is more than what meets the eyes. What happen when we praise is abundantly more powerful than most of our little plans of victories over the prince of darkness.

“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?” Matthew 21:16 - NIV

"Through the praise of children and infants, you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger." Psalm 8:2 - NIV

God's strategy is to bring praises out of His children mouth - because those praises are what defeats the enemies (foe and avenger). Thus, do not miss out of this great night of victory for YOUR LIFE!!!

P.S: Don't forget to check out my book - Help Me Understand Jesus. Check My Book by clicking here or more here.

Cultural War: Learning from Secular Musicians

 For those who have been reading me since 2007 on ArchButare you probably remember i wrote a post on two DvDs i watched about Beyoncé 2006 Birthday concert and J-Lo (Jennifer lopez) concert tour in Latin America. Well in that post i was commenting on my admiration on how serious non-religious or non- Christian artists put much hard work in what they do, reminding me the word of Jesus saying that the sons of this age are more prudent than the sons of light.

"the sons of this age are shrewder and more prudent and wiser in [relation to] their own generation [to their own age and kind] than are the sons of light." Luke 16:8 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Somewhere in 2010 and in 2011, i was comparing the contents (Lyrics) and rhythms between American love songs and old french love songs (i.e. Nana Mouskouri) and it was quite stunning what seemed to emerge through my countless hours of listening to them. Americans are very optimist about love. They kind of think that it is a healer. French looked at it as a mysterious thing that do hurt people more than make them happy. I wondered why such diverging view and approach of this issue. On one side there is an overwhelming optimism and on the other side some form of pessimism.

So since mid last year up to this month, i've went through quite a lot of Secular American 'hit' songs about love. Today, i was sharing with one of my young brother how i was surprised that even within the American culture the attitudes of female singers about love have been evolving to the point of being even opposite.

Here are just two examples.

In Whitney Houston's love songs or even Celine Dion (and others before the year 2000), they elevated the love feeling as some sort of an overcomer of hardship. Women were exhorted in a sense to accept the suffering of love or to look at their 'lover' with an undying love even at the face of a break-up/ loss.

However, in Beyoncé's songs -- the woman mentality has evolved, the emancipation is no longer crawling but fully developed and running.

Let first grant the similarity: She (Beyonce) doesn't either encourage her ladies fan club to feel satisfied without 'their' men. Not even her song 'Single ladies' encourage that. Actually, 'Single ladies' calls ladies to war against men's lack of commitments. It is not an invitation to enjoy singleness or a single life.

Now the dissimilarity: But what really emerge in almost all her (beyonce) songs is more the opposite of what emerged before the year 2000 in love songs. She literally reflect her generation saying that there is no reason to suffer in silence. If a 'lover' makes you uncomfortable or worst make you suffer, just show him the way to the door or as she had eloquently said it once, 'to the left'. No more should a woman be the only one to feel martyred in the name of love. And one more thing, love is more and more becoming synonymous to sexuality or provocative sensuality. Interesting contrast with the old love songs that were readily equating love with feelings of moral duties (such as deed of service, friendship, commitment through hardship, etc.)

 The more i hear and i compare different songs, things i have been doing since 2007, I am really more and more convinced that there is a real revolution going on in our global culture. It doesn't matter where you live. Those new leaders of our cultural change are heard from the East to the West. Their singles hit often
the number one spot on foreign countries. If i had not the confidence on the Gospel's power to change people's mind and values -- i would have grown despair against the new form of mind control and value re-education on our young generation through all these songs. Actually, if there is someone that i find quite dangerous or uncomfortably disturbing, it would be the famous lady Gaga and Rihana. But i have yet to examine thoroughly their songs but the few that i have had the opportunity to hear and watch .. well let say that they don't inspire in me more confidence on their moral benefit. They seem to have the potential to seriously injure the moral organ of their faithful young fans and followers.

Today, Christians will have to make sure that in their counter-action against heathenism, hedonism and secularism that they don't forget to influence the media, the sport arena, the arts, the entertainment industry as well as the intellectual platform. In case you may think that i may have overestimated this issues, why don't you just discuss with a young Christian ladies (not even a non-christian lady, just try a young christian lady) and ask her about her values about romantic relationships and their modus operandi of it. I bet you might find her understanding and ideals to be a more faithful representation of the modern songs views (of emancipation, sensuality, sexuality, hook-up and break-up, etc.) than the biblical one of charity, reconciliation, commitment through tough time and hardship, etc. You see our young christian girls or ladies don't even have to hear those songs to embrace its values. Only a sufficient exposure to its content via friends suffice to remake their worldview and shape their ideals. Just like many people have used Marxist and atheistic ideologies without even having read Karl Marx or Frederick Nietzsche. Certain views penetrates culture through uncontrolled outlets (e.g. conversations between friends, random parties here and there, etc).

Anyway, sooner or later someone will have to fight back by using the same weapons of art (superb music, fun to read books, flashy magazine, enthralling movies, fascinating paints, adventurous and educative videogame, etc.) to overcome what i seem to see as an already advanced stage of the colonization of our mind by secular values and silent worldly arguments. Beside that, what I said in 2007 is still of actuality. I am absolutely impress by what those secular artists do. They have redefined for me the meaning of commitments, professionalism and inspiration. If it weren't for our very opposite values, i would have given them a 2 thumbs up for a work well done! I am officially impressed! I pray that the Christian community roll up its sleeves and do likewise or even better.

"for the sons of this world are for their own generation wiser than the sons of the light." Luke 16:8 - American Standard Version (ASV)

P.S: Don't forget to check out my book - Help Me Understand Jesus. Check My Book by clicking here or more here  

God in Me: Mary Mary (My take on that)

Thank You A. for sharing that youtube critics of the Mary-Mary song: "The God in Me". I wasn't able to finish all the 8 youtubes. I just heard two of them and i immediately thought it will be good to hear the song for myself. And i did that. I heard more than 2 times, and i just loved it!

Now this need some explanation!

The Mary-Mary detractor is not ill-motivated. I guess his concern is legitimate. And few years ago i would have agree with him. And even better, i would have attacked the R'nB style in which it is done. Actually when he started his first 9min commentary he said he will prove that it is not a christian song. Well, since i don't believe in Christian song existence any longer, i wasn't impress already. But i guess he meant a religious song that borrows on Christian worldview. However the song is indeed a song with a strong religious message. Either it is from God or not that is the issue of the discussion but it is a religious song. Am i saying by this then that the song is based on proper theology? Not necessary. Actually, i found many of the "Christian songs" lacking too of strong renewal message. They speak about praising God but don't tell us really why!? Some of them really lacks profondeur but we put up with them and sing them anyway.

It is clear that he (the detractor) is not dissecting it with the clip imagery in mind. After i watched the clip; that's when i understood what the Mary ladies meant. They are using what is known as the "Holiness Message". Message that predate Pentecostalism. It's the message that says that if you are holy or if you live a life of devotional holiness people will see it. Even your clothes and everything you have or do will attract people attention on you or will show Christ. I know well this message for i used to preach it too. I didn't stop because i disagree with it though but because i got interested in other topics.

The difference with the new usage of this Holiness message is that people no longer attribute it to poverty only. In the past, someone could have well said, although i do no drive and i live an absolutely modest life in a very humble house, people wanders why? and they want to be in my life because of the presence of God. It is the Holiness message that conveyed the idea that if you pray alot, God can make you attractive to people as they wonder the reason of you being special even in your want or deprivation.

But that time is long gone! Since that time, people have stopped making the distinction between possessing wealth vs holiness. So now the same argumentation remained but only the example changed. Now we hear how people succeed in the same level as the unbelievers and sometime less well than them but the success of the believer(s) seem to speak more. And this is exactly what is seen in the clip. They are not talking to poor people about how good it is to have material things as the author of the youtube led me to believe at first.

No! But rather they are showing a room filled with glamorous people and the thing is, they are not even the best dressed people in that 'premier' setting, but when they pass people get their attention caught and shows it. And the singers say the reason for this is because they have a secret. Their secret they inform us is when they go home they kneel down and PRAY.  And they say, you don't know how much i sacrificed, how much i changed and so on and they end with the repetitive chorus, it's God in Me. This is typically Pentecostalism. Not traditional Pentecostalism though but "liberal"/ modern Pentecostalism.

So if the critic really wanna stop that song message, he should speak with the modern preachers. The ladies have just put in that song what almost every christian there believes. And they did that by using their own personal life 'story'. If they were students, they'll probably use that setting with appropriate example. Here they use examples of a Super Star-like life. And it seems that they are sending that message to folks of the same social status as themselves if the clip serves as a guide.

So saying there are not preaching the entire Gospel of Christ, is just too much to ask for a song of 3 min 14 sec. And i'm sure he sings also many songs that cannot raise up to the standard he puts on this Mary-Mary song. There is just so many things that he said in these 2 youtubes that i don't have time to write about. He did presuppose alot and that's where he went off-track to my observation. If he wants to take them apart, i'm sure there are more legitimate way of doing that, but this one that he raised so far i heard, is not the way. 

P.S: in case you wander, i am not a Mary Mary fan. In all their songs that i've heard, i only liked two. And i've got two of their albums. Their music style is not really my style. I just wanted to clarify that.