First off this weekend was awesome. Last night with the Toy-drive I presented "Am I" in a poetic setting, the ministry was great.
Part 1, the bar.
Tonight I ministered at Fubar in St Louis, there was a Hip-Hop showcase and I was one of the artists. (the venue smelled like cigarettes and bad lyrics) It's been a while since I performed at a bar or a club... That's too bad. A lot (not all but a lot) of the other music was predictable: Glam-Rap, club-style, "my Swag will kill your grandma" type stuff. All of the other rappers there brought folks to hype so, obviously when I go up I anticipate a little less attention. A little A.D.D. action, right? Nope. Did my best for God and from the stage I could see folks locking eyes with me... listening to lyrics that were obviously God-centered. Some folks left. Others came up from the back of the room. I ended one of my songs saying "I'm Following Christ" and folks cheered. When I was done, some of the people who didn't look like they were into the music were talking to me about how deep my stuff was... They responded to what I had to say. I praise GOD that His principals can penetrate the hardest of hearts. People came and bought CDs that hopefully minister to them however necessary. It's interesting to me how I can go up, one man on stage, speaking of Christ and a God-centered lifestyle and get more attention/feedback (at the time) than songs that are obviously "What they want to hear" focused on self. I guess that's what happens when your music isn't focused on anything taxable or dishonest.
PART 2 "The After-Party"
I had two of my closest brothers with me helping me with merch and video... (Shout out to MOG and Purpose) we chopped it up a little bit in the Word from what God did with Joshua after Moses died, to Paul's evangelism techniques and how ministry happens OUTSIDE of the physical church and "perfect" situation. (Those conversations were all in the bar, by the way) After the show we hopped over to a Coffee Shop addressing the state of the church and how we should be moved by the force of our faith rather than the emotion and theatrics of a moment. See, what's so important is that we had discussion and dialogue about God regardless of the atmosphere... to be honest we talked about God from the moment I picked them up to when I dropped 'em off at the end of the night. We ministered to each other during and after the event and God used those opportunities to make us stronger in Him. I could probably go on about this stuff into "PART 3" and "PART 4" but all I'm trying to say is relationship trumps religion any day. Tonight, relationship said "God I could do things in your name all day but if you're not IN IT, it's a waste of my time and yours. Be with me and let's do this together." Relationship said "Send me, Lord, I'll go share your Word with the world" What would religion have done? Glad you asked. Religion would have said "Son, next time someone calls you to do an event outside of a safe and God-Loving atmosphere wait until everyone there is saved and sanctified... that's the only crowd we minister to. They are the ones who deserve to hear the Gospel."
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