This letter was drafted with those in mind who have the talent, skill and desire to be put on the map with the best of them. Particularly those who feel the tug from two very different groups of people, the church – and the world – each pulling for the allegiance (time, talent, energy and resources) of any individual within reach.

Let me first say this, if it is merely the church, and not the Lord of creation you feel pulling for your allegiance, it's probably safer for you to side with the world. I say that because only the one who calls you to service will reward you, and it is evident that this world rewards men better than the church. But the Lord is able to reward far better than the both of them combined – forever times eternity.

Believe it or not there are two worlds in question, each battling to have their version of reality established. The world is presenting it's case for what is real – while the Lord is presenting His case for what is real. With each conversation, in every activity, with everything that we put our hands to, we reinforce one of these two realities.

Throughout the past, there have been some major disagreements between God and man, such as, "What can man do to his body without offending God?" or, "What can a man do with another human being without being subject to judgment?" But the largest of these disagreements is this, "Can mankind live without God?" Of course to this question we'd say, "No," but this world has been on a mission with it's actions trying to prove otherwise. Much like the boyfriend and girlfriend couple that breaks up (you know how we do it), every time we see an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend, we go out of our way, often embarrassing ourselves trying to show them how well we're doing without them or how much we don't need them. Well, ever since God and man broke up (through Adam) we've been embarrassing ourselves trying to show God and convince ourselves that we're better of without Him. We say we're not better off without Him, but check how with every one small step for man, with every giant leap for mankind, we strive to be an independent planet, a self-made creation. (A SELF-MADE CREATION is a CONTRADICTION OF TERMS yet that's what WE STRIVE TO BE.)

Since none of us were there to see it when God and man broke up, we just read about it and experience the effects of it. We who weren't around to see it have to either believe God's side of the story or man's. You'll be surprised and hopefully saddened when you see how often man's side of the story gets told and how seldom God's side of the story gets told. Imagine you were going out with someone, and the two of you for some reason broke up, and no one, not even your friends would hear your side of the story, only their's.

That's why we call this world secular, because God does not come first and most times He does not come up at all. We say this because there are certain facts that are important to God:

The fact that man is sinful – meaning that man has the deadly problem of putting his own will and ways and wants before God's will.

The fact that God did something about man's deadly problem, so that anybody who would admit to their own unrighteousness, and trust in the death of the only One who is righteous (Jesus the Christ who died our place) to pay for their sins – any who does that can LIVE, because of God's love.

But that's not all, by His power God also raised up from the dead Him who died in our place, so that anyone who gets down with Him could get back up with Him. If you fail to bring up these points that are important to God, you send a message to this world, to believers and to God. This world wants to prove that they can make it without God and they're looking for anything to back up that hope, be it music, T.V. shows, special events, movies, new inventions, whatever. And when your program starts and finishes without bringing the Lord and His concerns into the picture, the world says "thank you." Thank you for helping to build up our library of secular resources. They'll count you as one of their own, and though you'll thank God for your success, God's side of the story will remain untold.

The severity of the matter is much more than we are led to believe – take singing for example. There is nothing wrong with singing, it's who you're singing for that will determine whether or not heaven will cheer for you or whether earth will cheer you on. The problem with that is you can't have both sides cheering for you at the same time, and since we can only hear earth when they cheer and not heaven, we tend to try to please earth. Why can't heaven and earth cheer at the same time? Well, have you ever watched a basketball game, and let's say you didn't like either of the teams that were playing. So if one team blows out the other team it makes no difference to you. But let one of those same teams be playing your favorite team, and you'll find yourself disliking that other team when before you didn't care whether they won or lost.

Well that's kind of how it is with God and man, once you realize that every thing you do is a shot in one of two baskets. That life is not just a big game of roughhouse, where it doesn't matter who shot or in what basket. Once you realize that there are only two teams on the court, you'll begin to dislike anyone who opposes your team, the singer or rapper or dancer or actor or politician you otherwise wouldn't care about might become an opponent of yours once you find out whose team they're on, and determine whose team you’re on.

Now let's go beyond the team and talk about the team members, the individual players. No doubt, you've got skills, but the issue is not only "how well" but also "who for?" God's purpose for letting planet earth see another day is not some high unknowable one, it is very tap-into-able. As a team player, if your purpose for getting the ball / mic and stepping onto the court / stage is different from God's purpose for letting you see another day, then something is wrong. You've made yourself an opponent of God and His agenda. Take for example, Michael Jordan – an extraordinary ball player. But remember when he came to your town, it didn't matter how dope he was, the fact remained, he's shooting in the other team's basket. But suppose Michael Jordan was to come to your hometown and announce that he was gonna play for your city's playgrounds and recreation centers, but in the N.B.A., he was still gonna play for the Chicago Bulls. He'd be rockin' and rollin' in the playgrounds and rec. centers, but if your home team were to play against the Chicago Bulls, who would you cheer for? Jordan had a CONTRACT with the Chicago Bulls. He was bound by law to play for them. That’s about the equivalent doing your career thing for real with the world instead of for the LORD, then telling Him "but LORD I'll still play for your church league, I'll sing on one of your choirs or something." Why should the church cheer for you if you take off the LORD's jersey (which by the way is not a choir robe) and put on the world's jersey to play for real?

The normal swing of things in church would lead you to believe that God just loves Himself a good choir. Some people think "just as long as we give God some that ol' choir flavor He likes, He oughta put up with us no matter how much we do our thing for real with the opposing team." But the truth is, there is very little in Scripture to make us comfortable with the idea of just doing the choir thing. God is already in the church, it's the secular world He's out to invade. We will not do this by switching jerseys, but by keeping the LORD's jersey on and representing. The church is not hurting for (lacking) choirs or choir members, the world is not hurting for singers or rappers, but what there is a shortage of is heavenly-minded people who are out to use their fly skills on the real court in the real game of life to advance God's squad.

Our point is this: GOSPEL music has not been GOSPEL for a long time. It's been churchy, it's been down home, it's been pioneered by blacks. But the one thing that it often lacks is THE GOSPEL. People don't understand, there is so much potential for the man or woman who opts to be the microphone through which God tells His side of the story. A story that's got everything; action, drama, suspense, romance and a happy ending (for some). The God of the Bible tells us that He had so much love for this world that in order to save it from itself, He gave His Son to be a payment for the sins of the world, since the only way to pay for sins is through the shedding of blood. After God and man broke up in the garden of Eden, God went out of His way, from heaven to earth, just to win us back. If He's won you back, won’t you join us in echoing God in His side of the story? Then you'll have the message and the method. Most people just have the method down, but they don't have the message, some others only have the message and no method. You're in a position to have both. But remember it's the message God has promised to back, not the method.

Don't let the money issue stop you from playing for God's team in the big leagues. When Jesus' disciples asked Him about food, clothing and shelter (Matthew 6:26,33), He told them not to worry about those things. He said "the world scrambles around for those things, but you" He told them, "you work toward the establishing and advancement of God's kingdom and all these other things will come with the job." It's like getting government funding for a project that benefits the state. Pause, think about that. Selah.

If any of this hits home with you, don't represent Christ because it now feels like one of your Christian chores. Wait until the idea of serving Christ becomes a joy for you rather than a burden. Don't do it because it's popular now, wait until you fall in love with the message to become a messenger. Ask yourself, "If I were to echo God, what would I be saying." If you’re speechless, check into the matter, find out what He's really saying.

If you know what He's saying, REPRESENT.  REPRESENT!