I just learned that the president of my glorious UDC does not want the yearly convocation program to include the BLACK NATIONAL ANTHEM or NOR does he want the program to begin or end with PRAYER!! I can't believe this. Every year they want me to perform a piece before our guest speaker. I can not be a part of the president's motion to secularize the convocation program. Why does idea of God repel some people. We allow all types of trash to go on at our universities but we don't want God's presence in our programs of higher learning .
Are our leaders afraid of being persecuted for honoring God through prayer. They are becoming irreverent and unspiritual.
     This is just as bad as when President Obama spoke at Georgtown Univ. and the powers that be asked GU to cover up the crucifix in the background as to not to give any religious preference. Now why would GU agree to this? To please the political powers that be?oF we don't have reverence for God the Creator, what kind of human beings are we? How can we love with out reverence for the one who created humanity? Where are we being led if our leaders don't have the will of God attached to their vision? Whose side are you on, God's side or the USA? The Bible says if we are ashamed of Him in front of this sinful and adulterous generation He will be ashamed of you before the Father! (Mark 8:38)
     Furthermore why does he not want the black national anthem sang during the convocation ? This is a sign of self hatred and an effort to comply to the political correct agenda that America has adopted. I can't believe that this is happening before my very eyes, and the people in charge are going for it. This is an example of " spiritual wickedness in HIGH PLACES" UDC is a historically black institution. Why should the president be ashamed of the black national anthem. Is he ashamed of his roots and heritage? Now I'm sceptical about the whole motive behind changing the face and mission of UDC. Was the tuition hike a ploy to get rid of undepriviliged students (black) who can't afford a decent college education and to attract more white and foriegn students to change the "face" of UDC? So now what we have here is gentrification and secularization of our black institutions! What's next ? Soon they may be telling us that we can't have our annual Christmas concert!! Who's gonna speak up about this?

I wanna talk about something that I've seen in many churches today that saints are afraid to mention. (But I'm not)

     Why does the church give more praise to pastors than to God? They are treated like rockstars and celebrities. In my opinion, the church is the culprit. There are some congregations that will do things just to please the pastor like buy them cars, private jets, homes etc when there are people in their neighborhoods or even in their congregations that need food and shelter. In my opinion that's just being reckless and a showoff. I just don't agree with this.
     I believe kingdom work should be first and foremost before a pastor or Bishop gets earthly posessions. Are we in ministry for the money or are we in ministry to help people?
     Also, I have a problem with leaders who do not worship with their congregation. Why is it that some pastors only come in the service to preach and then leave right after they preach? Don't they need the worship experience like everyone else ? Pastors and leaders should be the example of the importance of coporate worship. Again I hold the  church responsible for not holding the pastors and leaders accountable.
     I know I'm gonna ruffle some feathers with this one but the church needs their feathers ruffled. We have become to comfortable with religious ritual and traditions. It seems that some congregations follow trends of man than the will of God. We are so concerned with being the 'hippest" church on the block with the best dressed and best dancing members. Where is God in all of this? These things are not helping anyone. We need to get back to reaching out to our communities by stimulating educational, spiritual and economic empowerment. What good is a big gigantic church edifice in the middle of a run down, poor community if its not helping the community its in? We gotta stop worrying about what kind of car the pastors are driving and what kind of suits we can buy them and use that money in the community and for people that really need it to get on their feet. It really doesn't make much sense. To me that's saying to the neighborhood, "We are better than you, don't come here unless you make a lot of money" The church is supposed to be the spiritual hospital not a social club for the elite. I believe this is why some people don't respect the church as a "sanctuary" and a safe haven.          
     Come on saints, we need to rethink about how and why we do certain things in the church.

 

     Why are there black isrealites standing on the corner of 7th & H NW using the Bible( Word of God ) as a weapon of hatred against whites? More so , why are they calling George Bush and Clinton faggots? I thought God was a god of love? They are cursing people with the Word of God (the Bible)? They are using scripture for their own false doctrine. The Bible warns us of these false prophets and false doctrine. (Mat 7:15, 24:11) Hearing this hatred preached from the Bible really turns people off from receiving any REAL and God sent instructions from the Bible!    
      Many preachers are guilty of doing the same in the pulpit when they use the Word of God to make congregations feel guilty for not giving the offering they want them to give- $50, $100 lines in the church. Also using the Word to control their members, which turns the church experience into a CULT! Uhhh remember Jim Jones? You know what happened there!
     I know we have freedom of speech in America but listening to a group of black folks condemn another race with the Bible is just another one of Satan's devices of perversion and deception. Isn't that what black people suffered for 400 years? So why would we use racism against racism? The Bible does say "Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you" (Luke 6:27) Thats a true sign of a follower of Christ. When we add or take away from the Word we really are cursing ourselves ! (Rev 22:18-19)
     That's why we must STUDY, KNOW and APPLY the Word of God for ourselves ! "Study to show yourselves approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed but RIGHTLY dividing the Word of TRUTH, BUT SHUN PROFANE BABBLINGS: for they will increase unto more ungodliness" (2 Tim 2 15-16) WOW! I guess they didn't read that part of the Bible huh?

Why do "church folk" have a problem when an anointed musician gets a gig playing with a secular artist? Well I have two views on this issue.
     The first side of me says ...I'll tell you why, because they are narrow minded in their thinking. If church musicians are anointed to carry the Spirit of God to the nations then why would all of them need to only play in church! If musicians are as "preachers" then there are some musicians whose call is to go out and bring people to the Lord with their gift by showing the Spirit of God in the secular realm, just as any other believer should in the secular realm. (i.e... job ,workplace) Proverbs 18:16 says "A man's gift makes room for him,and brings him before great men". This does not mean just in God's kingdom but also men whom the secular realm consider "great" as well. Therefore our purpose as musicians is to show these "great men" of the secular world that they are only great if they are in the will of God.
     The other side of me says... anointed church musicians need to sanctify their gift for the edification of the body of Christ. This side of me says we shouldn't "throw our pearls to the swine". We should use our gifts to help God speak to his people. Just like David in 1 Chron. 15-17 when he appointed Levites, skilled musicians and singers, to worship before the ark of the Lord. But I believe everyone has a different purpose in the kingdom of God. Not every preacher is supposed to be behind the pulpit, not every musician is supposed to be playing in a church (all the time). Again musicians have a weapon that can persuade a sinner to come to the Lord and be saved. How do you think most people are drawn to the "church"(Building)? Through the music! They either like the way the choir sings or the hot soloist that sings a sermonic solo during the service. So some musicians have to go out to draw folks in, others need to play in church to draw folks to the Lord. In my opinion, I think more church choirs should be on the front lines singing in the secular realm (clubs, go-go, bars)to win souls, just like in 1 Chronicles 25 where the musicians, a part of the army and where given duties and separated for service by David, were able to defeat the Ammonites in 2 Chronicles 20 by obeying David to "position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you" All they had to do was sing and the Lord set ambushes against the Ammonites in their favor. Hallelujah!
     I believe we need to get back to this powerful anointing like in the days of old! Let's consecrate ourselves for the service of the Lord like David and the Levites!

Some musicians don't realize the responsibility and power they have with their gift. Whether we know it or not, musicians are vessels through which the word or God is proclaimed, in another word...PREACHED! The Bible says, Faith (One of the spiritual gifts) comes by hearing, and hearing by the WORD of God, and how can we hear without a PREACHER and how can you preach unless you are SENT (anointed) (Romans10:14-17). Well the definition of preaching is "to proclaim". To proclaim is to tell forth something.... in this case the WORD OF GOD, not just behind a pulpit or yelling and whoopin' at a congregation, but also through music. So if our purpose is not to proclaim the Word of God or the Spirit of God we are again practicing witchcraft and sorcery! Music has been used to "proclaim" alot of things in history...ie. the conditions of hardship in the hood, baby mama drama, political commentary, the need to incite violence and revolution, love, lust, sex, the justification of immorality. These things do not proclaim the solutions to the world's problems they just state them. Music should give a solution to these problems, (to bring the gospel of peace and good tidings Romans 10:15b) and it is Jesus the Christ, who died and rose again to save the world from these things.
     Why is it that we celebrate Christmas without really celebrating why Jesus was born? We have desecrated the true meaning of Christmas and Easter for that matter. I know it seems I'm getting off the subject but I'm not really because it all ties into why we use things that God has given us for the wrong reason...(for our own benefit). When we should offer praise and adoration to Him for even giving us gifts and talents.
     Also I have a problem with the climate of the music community or more specifically, the jazz community in that there's always some cats trying to outplay one another to get a high profile gig. Even as I was coming up on the jazz scene, I got pulled into a spirit of competition. I was going to jam sessions to see "who's head I could chop off" on stage. HOW STUPID AND BARBARIC! If that's the reason why you play music then you will be severely disappointed when you get those gigs. I have friends who have played in bands of the most revered musicians of today and they were disappointed in the way they were treated and payed.
     Again if whomever you are playing for or with doesn't have the right spirit in what they're doing then it will manifest in other ways! This is why I haven't really been eager to "go on the road " with anyone. If I don't believe in the music that is being presented or the spirit of the leader then I'm staying home!

     Music is a powerful weapon and a dangerous one in the wrong hands. It appeals to the senses but also carries spirits. Music has the abilty to change the atmosphere of any given place (earthly or spiritual), just as David did for Saul with his harp. (1Samuel 16:14-23) . So music IS a spiritual gift according to the work of David because it prophesies and heals.
     If music is played with the wrong spirit behind it or if anything is done with the wrong intent it's is SORCERY! In the book of Acts (8:9) when Phillip was full of the holy spirit performing miracles, a man named Simon who was a professed sorcerer told Phillip he would pay him if he would touch him so he (Simon) could do those same miracles. Phillip told him to repent because his heart wasn't right in the sight of God! Simon then asked Phillip to pray for him!
     This is an example of how dangerous gifts and talents can be in the wrong hands. For example today’s rappers with degrading and blasphemous lyrics. This music can be a weapon of mass destruction if we allow our children to listen to this garbage! The Bible says life and death lies in the tongue . This is not just a physical life or death but a spiritual one as well. A person’s actions began in the spirit of the individual and then it manifests through words or deeds. This is why we must be aware of what we allow our spirits to intake.
     When an artist's spirit and heart are not of God's spirit ie… (2 Tim 3) Lovers of themselves, lovers of money, disobedience to parents, lovers of pleasures rather than God, seducers of gullible women, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.. This means saying "I wanna thank God" at the Grammy’s but you nor your music reflect the spirit of God ! That's deception and trickery from Hell! Lucifer himself was an angel created to worship God with music but he began to love himself more than God so God kicked him out of heaven. (Isaiah 14:12)
     It's hard to indict an artist (in earthly realm) for having Satanic music because music is intangible just like spirits! You can’t see music or words but you can FEEL them! It appeals to the senses. That's why it's a spiritual weapon, we can't fight spirits with our flesh but we have to fight back in the spirit! (Ephesians 6:10- 19).  We have to use our gifts to pull down strongholds of doubt, depression, anger, greed, degradation, racism, discrimination, hatred, selfishness etc. We as artist have a responsibility to do this, not to promote ourselves as the greatest thing since sliced bread!
To whom much is given, much is required. The gifts and talents we have are given by God so we have to be held accountable for how we use them! Being a musician is SERIOUS business.