"Man, It's just some folks say, "All truth is relative, it just depends on what you believe." You know, "hey man, ain't no way to know for sure who God is or what's really true." But that means you believe your own statement; that there's no way to know what's really true. You're saying that that statement is true. You're killing yourself. If what's true for you is true for you and what's true for me is true for me, what if my truth says your's is a lie? Is it still true? Come on man!" Lecrae Moore.

For countless years, popular culture has injected Christianity into discussions of morality, and placed it on a big stage for the world to see.  But now you find these moments easily accessible on television, online, or all over the media. From Tyra Banks interviewing "exorcism victims", to "there is no God" on MTV's The Real World...the list goes on. By the end of the segment, the general jist is that God's 'ideas' are important, but "we've decided that there IS no right or wrong." More and more, there's this leftover inkling of a feeling that SOMEBODY is dissin' our Creator and His Son.  Not giving them their due props.  Once again, someone is making a mockery of His people. Once again, someone is confusing the masses on what the Word of God truly says and how necessary it is for our lives.  The message is "do what's most comfortable for you, BUT we don't recommend that Jesus thing. No freedom there." WHAT??

As Christians, how do we respond (through word & deed) to the influence of a culture that (consciously AND unconsciously) seeks to make God "gray" & defame what we believe and who we believe on?  Does our stance, or lack of, contribute to the message that popular culture presents to our peers?  If we even have a stance, is it informed by the Word of God, by religion, or even by pop culture? Do we let confusion or untruths rule the convo (or our lifestyles), or Christ the main focus, end of discussion?  Let's realign, folks.

"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden...." Jesus Christ.

FIF.

Presenting The City...

In the six months that Firstfruits Creative has been on Twitter, I have been blessed to develop some awesome relationships with people from all over the world, just like me -- young, ambitious and ready to put in work for the Creator.  But connecting with this group of students from the University of Houston... they are SO passionate about spreading the Gospel in whatever ways possible--on the street, on campus or on the Web.  Driven by the Great Commission, through their church's youth ministry, they are taking their "City" to the world, and I'm so happy that FFC can expose them to our audience.  Also, it was even more of a blessing to design their site's header and as God expands them (which I'm sure He will), FFC hopes to collab with The City @ Good Hope even more!

Wanna check out The City? Visit them at www.thecitygoodhope.wordpress.com or @thecitygoodhope on Twitter.

These choirs could be singing the same song.

Based on your life experiences, one of these images resonates with you greater than the other.

Perhaps you may think one choir is more "anointed" than the other.

Whose church would you attend first?

How much is our worship (and response to worship) affected by our racial culture?

Does racial culture culture imply religion or imply God? Is there a better racial culture by which to worship Him?

Both musical drabness and flamboyance rarely translate into authentic worship, and vice versa.  But maybe there is a middle ground. 

These are the thoughts that floated around in my head as I attended "How Sweet The Sound".  A national celebration of the uniquely African-American gospel music culture, HSTS's night in St. Louis saw three (out of eight) choirs perform that were obviously White and still very knowledgeable of gospel music.

In fact (surprise!), the overall winner from St. Louis was Faith Baptist Church Mass Choir, a group with all White members.  Within seconds, the audience reacted to the choir's vocal discpline, authenticity, and style.  Instantly a crowd winner.  Check out a little footage (and prepare yourself for a little shaky video, my mother's singing and my yelling. Lol.):

And that was only half of their time.  They were authentically sharing the Gospel, not outfitted in a Black or White, dry or flashy box.  They sung a modern hymn by a Black man who just happens to be one of the greatest Christian songwriters of all time (if you don't know "Soon & Very Soon", go "iTune" the record NOW).  But you couldn't put a label on their worship because Christ shined through.  And the mostly Black audience couldn't do anything but get with it.  Still, our minds were BOGGLED....WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

We try so hard to use race and racial culture as a label within the Church--in music, doctrine, lifestyle, etc.  It seems like the easy way out, when it only complicates the relationships and the spiritual unity we have across ethnic & color lines.  It is only when we are STRIPPED down of our culture, our stereotypes, and our fears, that positive imagery will permeate Christian culture and we will be able to see the Body of Christ the way our Father sees us.

What are YOUR thoughts on racial culture within the Church and the imagery that it creates? Remember, COMMENT, SUBSCRIBE and SHARE!

All over the US, there are thousands of churches that have faces just like this.
And they're called "storefront" churches.

They don't have a website or a twitter page.  You can't download any of their pastor's sermons via podcast. And chances are, if you love the "praise & worship" musical genre, you won't recognize any of the songs they sing inside of a storefront.  And yes, storefront churches are in urban areas so most of the people who attend ARE African-Americans.  No racial or socioeconomic diversity here.

I'll never forget storefront churches because my faith was framed in one. Before he became a pastor of his own congregation, my father was an Assistant Pastor at Willing Workers #2 Church (YES, there was a #1...lol), an old storefront in St. Louis on Dr. Martin Luther King Drive.  No more than TEN people attended this church on any given Sunday, and that's including my family of four.  And though this was nearly 20 years ago, I can still smell the dust inside this tiny sanctuary.  I see the white paint cracking off of the benches--I remember picking it off when I got bored.  And most of all, I remember this old lady named Mother Rose, who sat on the opposite side of the church, no more than 10 feet away. Every Sunday before praying, she'd sing the same song:

"He never has left me alone
He never has left me alone
By night and by day
He is with me, all the way
He never has left me alone"

And now as a woman of God...now understanding what she meant every time she sang that song---I cry like a baby every time i sing it.

I know that SO many believers have never stepped into a storefront.  Many wouldn't be caught dead in one.  I look at many of my friends, and know that they have been spoiled by the megachurch/digital-church culture, which has sometimes caused us to worship church/technology/data, more than God.  We want the lights, camera, and action, but some storefront churches struggle just to turn the lights on.  We want the mass choir and praise & worship medley, when in a storefront, all you may get is the deacon singing hymns and Dr. Watts.

And the truth is that the spirit of God is in these places no less than a 10,000-seat church in the suburbs (i've been to more anointed storefronts...).  But as pride-filled, fleshly Christians, we feel that we can only be blessed in ministries that are growing in the most obvious ways--financially, socially, musically, etc.  Why do we feel this way, when the Word says different?

As a Christian creative on Twitter, I see other Christian creatives talk about these wonderful and innovative projects they're getting into for these HUGE churches...that really don't need any more help.  God is there, leadership is content, the big screens are working...what else is there?  I mean, I will never knock creative people who are about advancing the Kingdom of God.  NEVER.  Maybe it troubles me because as a child, I sat in a storefront and experienced God. As an adult, I see these churches still struggling to keep up because they don't have the money/resources to reach their own level of greatness.  This burdensome feeling is in part why Firstfruits Creative was birthed.  To promote Christ everywhere...there's so much work to be done.

So YOU, yes YOU. Do you know any churches, urban or otherwise, with an average Sunday attendance under 50??  If so, send me their information or send them mine.  I would be privileged to work with them (at a low-cost rate) and consult them on taking their ministry to a new level.  

We could go on, about how the fragility of a storefront church is a metaphor for a lot of things spiritually. :) But that would take waaay too long. Tell the FIF about your storefront experience.