   |
|
  Hip hop artist Sean Slaughter writes regularly-appearing column for Gospelflava.com on the wide-ranging topic of Gospel hip hop. October 25, 2003 Welcome to Hip-Hop as I see it. If you ask most MC's if they do rap or Hip-Hop (HH), most will say HH, because it entails the whole lifestyle and not just rapping. Some will even be as bold to say (me being one of them), "Yo son!, I am Hip-Hop"! But now I ask you this, do you minister or are you ministry? Think about it, you have people who are in Holy Hip-Hop (HHH) who don't walk the walk, but in their concerts they minister and even save souls. So who are you? This is the reason I ask. There is a perception in the church community that the highest calling is a preacher or pastor. That is why you have so many Bishops, Apostles and whatever. So many in HHH, or in any genre of Christian music for that matter, feel that they "graduate" when they become preachers or pastors. People like Donnie McClurkin or Urban D seem to gain a newfound level of respect when they assume pastorship. And of course, there is nothing wrong with this. But there are many people who quit their jobs, close their businesses and put aside their dreams for the "call to the ministry", which usually means to work in the church. And I'm not knocking ANYBODY who feels this call, because it is a legitimate call. But who says you can't have a business or job AND be full time in ministry? I met a dude one time who felt he was being called to the ministry. He was a successful psychiatrist who saw people everyday, five days a week, yet felt he had to become a pastor in order to "minister to people". He had the perfect opportunity right in his lap, listening to people and helping them with problems, but his perception was wrong. He wanted to be a minister instead of being ministry. On the flip side, I met a pastor who is a dentist. When asked how come she didn't quit her dentistry, she replied she could win more souls as a dentist than being a pastor. And the people she did win to God, she would suggest they come to her church! She is ministry! As we all know, monetary success in HHH is good, but not the greatest for those trying to support a family with it. So along with the concerts we do and CDs we sell, how come we can't also strive to be in business for ourselves? Entrepreneurship, my friend! Whether it's real estate, multi-marketing, investing or whatever, you can have a successful Hip-Hop ministry, as well as a successful business and still be a full time minister. Your clients, prospects or business affiliates can be your congregation, of course, as long as you're still doing business successfully. Also, being an entrepreneur takes the stress off of you to rap anywhere for "promotional reasons" and eases the burden when people want to pay you 10 bucks for your HHH ministry. You can truly say yes and no to the things God wants you to do and doesn't want you to do. You don't have to feel the pressure to take the date because the electricity bill is due. That is bad place to be in ministry, because you're ministering out of fear and not out of love. So buck up younginz! We're called to be kingdom builders, so let's build this kingdom in all aspects of life. Imagine how effective and high quality your HHH ministry could be if you had a little change coming from a business you started? Robert Kiyosaki, who is an author, multi-millionaire investor and Christian, once said that you'll never be financially successful doing one thing, but doing many things and bringing in small streams of income that add up to lot. Wisdom son! Previous Freestylin' Columns: June 2003, July 2003, September 2003
October 25, 2003 |
              |