REVIVE US AGAIN: A REASON AND A SEASON FOR REVIVAL!

[NOTE: This is a reprint of my sermon from Sunday, July 10, 2005, after REVIVE US AGAIN: THREE (3) NIGHTS OF POWER, a revival series. When things really started to get "weary" in my spirit, I asked the Lord for a sign. The same day, I went outside to my Jeep, and there was a dove on the roof of the building beside our church parking lot. That dove returned EVERY DAY for 3 weeks, and left THE DAY BEFORE THE REVIVAL, when it stormed. The dove has not returned since.]

GET UP UNDER THE ‘TENT’
Psalms 91

“LORD SEND A REVIVAL!”

Those words got uttered for various services in the season before mega-churches and an edifice on every street corner in the urban city. Truly a revival is not an urban phenomenon. A revival, or a tent meeting, would come through rural areas, where renowned pastors from the larger neighboring towns would travel and bring a word to the local townspeople. Also, churches that were growing or on the move would hold revivals when they didn’t have a large enough sanctuary to house people for an ongoing series of worship services, and a tent meeting provided more space.

When mother called out to God to “send a revival,” it also meant often that times felt troubled and she needed a renewal, an uplifting, a few ongoing nights to tarry with the Lord, so that she could run on to see what the end would be. Those successive nights of praise and prayer, singing and shouting, would give her power. Sometimes it was a different preacher each night. Sometimes it was the same pastor, on fire nightly, bringing a word. Whatever it was that called the people into revival, once there, they knew that fire would fall, because the presence of the Lord was there AND because they had asked for it. They had asked for the power and the majesty of God’s anointing to come on through and bless them, in the fields and in the land; that’s when they didn’t always have a church building to go to revival in on a nightly basis.

Yet, we do.

Here, with 4 walls and ongoing ministries, we still call for Revival. Why? Because somebody needed some sanctuary. Why? Because somebody needed some strength. Why? Because somebody needed a hiding place.

Go with me to Psalms 91 and let’s see what the word of the Lord says about a hiding place:

(Read Full PSALMS 91)

I’d like to offer you a word today, to close out this week of Revival, and that word is:

GET UP UNDER THE TENT!

Let’s read these first 4 VERSES together. Listen to them and see if you can hear what the Lord, through David, is saying to us about Sanctuary in the Lord.

He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord He is my refuge and my fortress; my god; in him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shall thou trust; His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.



Let’s spend a moment, if we can with that word:

DWELLETH.

To dwell means to reside, to exist in a given place, to fasten one’s attention on…See you can’t just do a spiritual drive-by with God and expect to be blessed and feel safe. You can’t just be a Christian on Sunday and then try to slip from under in by Wednesday night. You can’t put on the whole armor of God when you get in trouble and wiggle out of it when its feels like too much to carry all day, every day. You’ve got to be willing to LIVE there—UNDER GOD’S WING, IN THE SECRET PLACE, SAFE, PROTECTED AND EMPOWERED.

And while you are there, secretly safe, you get tried and trained, so that you can indeed walk in the world, on a daily basis, with that whole armor on and KNOW that you are protected. In order to DWELL, to live freely, under the wing of the Most High, you have got to come to God knowingly and WILLINGLY and prepared to submit yourself and renew yourself and help yourself.

First, up under the TENT, you have got to be REPENTENT:
Read verses 5 and 6

Then, you have got to be RESISTENT:
Read verses 7 and 8

Then, you have got to be CONSISTENT:
Read verse 9 and 10

Then, you have got to be PERSISTENT:
Read verses 11 through 13

Then, and finally, you have got to be INSISTENT:
Read verses 14 through 16



When you are living with God, you know that NO hurt, harm or danger can trouble you!

When you are living with God, you know that nothing can bring you down or take you off the mark.

When you are living with God, you know that you know that you are supposed to have goodness and mercy following you all of the days of your life, as you what DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER!

When you live with God, not visit God, not stop by God, not call on God, but when you LIVE WITH GOD, you know that you are safe.





Get up under the tent:

THE REPEN-TENT
THE PERSIS-TENT
THE RESIS-TENT
THE CONSIS-TENT
THE INSIS-TENT!

Get up under the TENT and know that God will guide and protect you, lead and direct you, walk with you, be with you!

Get up under the tent, because you were called to this week of revival to get out of being PARKED ON LIFE’S HIGHWAY. You realize that you have been idling and trifling with your power and your joy and your peace and peace of mind and you want to drive on, walk on, move on to see what the end will be.

Get up under the tent, because you are finally ready to GRIP IT! STRIP IT AND RELOAD…you want a new thing, in you, for you and all around you.

Get up under the tent, because you are WANTING, WAITING and WILLING to move in God and let God move in you!

GET UP UNDER THE TENT because you have finally come to a place where you are sick and tired of being sick and tired and worn and weary and you cried out LORD, SEND ME SOMETHING NEW! SEND ME A SIGN THAT THIS IS WHERE I AM SUPPOSED TO BE! SEND ME A WORD THAT IS JUST FOR ME! SEND ME A MESSAGE THAT WILL SHAKE MY FOUNDATION AND CHANGE MY MIND!




LORD, SEND A REVIVAL!

WELL, HERE IT IS, PEOPLE OF GOD!!! NOW, WHILE STORMS ARE RAGING, TAKE REFUGE UNDER THE TENT! WHILE HAIL IS FALLING AND HELL IS CALLING, TAKE REFUGE UNDER THE TENT! WHILE DARKNESS LOOMS, TAKE REFUGE UP UNDER THE TENT!

LIVE HERE!

DON’T JUST RESIDE HERE, BUT HERE, UP UNDER THE TENT YOU CAN HAVE LIFE AND THAT MORE ABUNDANTLY! THERE IS A DIFFERENCE INDEED BETWEEN LIVING HERE AND RESIDING HERE!

SHE THAT DWELLETH IN THE SECRET PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH SHALL ABIDE UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY! ONE OF THE DEFINITIONS OF ABIDE IS TO CONTINUE TO BE SURE…OR FIRM! IF YOU ARE UP UNDER THE TENT…IF YOU ARE UP UNDER THE WING…IF YOU ARE THE SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY, YOU HAVE GOT TO KNOW THAT YOU KNOW THAT YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE SAFE. SAFE TO SOAR! SAFE TO DANCE! SAFE TO MOVE AND HAVING YOUR BE!

WHEN YOU LIVE SOMEWHERE AND ITS YOURS, YOU AIN’T AFRAID TO JUST WALK AROUND AS OPEN AND NAKED AS YOU PLEASE! IT’S MY HOUSE AND I LIVE HERE! IF I WANT TO SHOUT IN MY HOUSE, IT’S MY HOUSE! IF I WANT TO SCREAM, IT’S MY HOUSE!

UP UNDER THE TENT, WHERE YOU LIVE AND MOVE AND PRAY AND FAST, YOU HAVE GOT TO LET EVERYTHING ELSE GO!

HERE, YOU DON’T NEED ANYTHING ELSE, BUT THE KNOWLEDGE THAT GOD PROMISED THAT GOD WOULD NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU!

SAFE!

NOTHING CAN SEPARATE YOU FROM MY LOVE!

SAFE!

I AM NO RESPECTOR OF PERSONS!

SAFE!


I MADE YOU AND NOT YOU YOURSELF!

SAFE!

YOU ARE FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE!

SAFE!

UP UNDER THE TENT!
UP UNDER THE WING!
UP UNDER THE SHADOW!

THERE, SAFE, THERE, PROTECTED, THERE, PAID FOR, THERE, BLED, SUFFERED AND DIED, THERE, REDEEMED, THERE, RENEWED, THERE, RESTORED, THERE, EMPOWERED, THERE, THERE, THERE, UP UNDER THE WING OF THE LORD, YOU ARE WELCOME!!!

NOW ACT LIKE YOU KNOW AND GO LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE, WHILE YOU ARE DWELLING IN YOUR BEST SKIN…SAFE!





REVIVE...REJUVENATE, RENEW, REJOICE, REJOLT... GET UP AGAIN AND ACT LIKE YOU KNOW!

Power, Rev. Kev

THE LEGACY AND LAUGHTER OF LUTHER VANDROSS

Luther Vandross and My Favorite Singer, Miss Natalie Cole


Luther Vandross and I met during an interview. But we connected over Divas.




I still remember the gathering of executives and camera crews at The Sony Club (the posh and very executive restaurant/space at the top of the Sony Building). The President, VPs, publicists and other officials were gathering to make the Superstar know that he mattered. The anticipation and expectation of "Songs," his 1994 collection of remakes, was supposed to be Sony's "breaking" Luther fully into the Pop realm. Everyone was busy and on their best behavior, because Mr. Vandross had a certain level of...expectation. Everyone was worried about the lighting, the food, the positioning of the chairs and every minor and major detail, awaiting the arrival of Mr. Vandross. This was only my second interview in the "Lyrically Speaking" series that I did for BET from 1993 to 1996, and Luther was the biggest male star of our times. I was freaking out! I had sent him ALL of my questions. I had worn my best suit. I hadn't eaten for a week, and now I was seeing why. Mr. Vandross had a certain level of expectation.

Then it happened.

There was a buzz around the elevator area at the front of the Club and I knew that LUTHER VANDROSS had arrived! The buzz was Legendary and of Hollywood proportions. People were aflutter and walking and talking simultaneously, each with the simple hope of being the One to make Luther Vandross happy. He was somewhere in the midst of the diluge of people and I had yet to "see" Luther, but I could surely tell that He had arrived.



As the mass of stylist, makeup artist and overall entourage parted, THERE HE WAS! LUTHER! LUTHA! LOOFA! As a boy from DC, and a child of the Quiet Storm, I felt like royalty had just walked into the room. It was LUTHER VANDROSS and he was more than I expected and yet, not. I expected class. I got in it the manner of his intelligent and warm introduction and acknowledgement of my questions, received and approved. I expected style. I got it in the manner of his exceptional Versace top and a Gucci suit so sharp I had to tell him. I expected handsome. I got it in the manner of a tall, chocolate brown man with strong cheekbones and large hands and a smile that would have made one uncomfortable to speak but unable not to do so. I expected attitude, just by the way that the people around him were trembling. However, I got warmth and charm and a quick "Those shoes are fabulous! Are they Italian?" to my shoes, which was the beginning of a beautiful conversation. As I replied truthfully "I got these for $18 dollars at a shop in Adams Morgan in DC," Luther's mouth fell upon and he snapped "You Lie!" and it was on!

We talked about his lofty and powerful career.
We talked about his humble beginnings.
We talked about his feud with En Vogue (in detail that I have NEVER revealed!)
We talked about Anita and The Sounds of Blackness and his fabulous tours.
We talked about love and life and style.
We talked about his work with Patti LaBelle and Aretha Franklin and Roberta Flack and Dionne Warwick and the like.

That's when we bonded.

I played a game of "Name That Diva," where I would simply say the name of a female vocalist and Luther would say what he thought of them.



Nancy Wilson.
Patti.
Diana Ross.
Chaka Khan.
Aretha.
Rachelle Ferrell.

With each name, Luther had something detailed and dynamic, loving and laudable to say about each. It was like talking music with my best pal, who could do it all day, because we loved The Ladies With A Song!

But I hadn't mentioned by own personal favorite, and that was on purpose. Luther was on record as a HUGE Aretha Franklin fan who had carried actual albums to school with him. Luther was also on record as having watched his grades plummet when word hit the world that Diana was leaving the Supremes. So I knew that Luther and Diana and Aretha were Inseparable and since Inseparable was about Natalie and Natalie and Aretha and Natalie and Diana hadn't been the best of buddies, I thought that the mention would bring ice to our otherwise warm cup of tea. But I had to find out for myself. And so, I said:

Me: "Natalie Cole." Luther: "Let me tell you something. I think she is the most underappreciated Diva of our times. She's had more than one highly successful career. She's a Survivor. She's gorgeous and I just love her! She's a fabulous fabulous singer!"




WHAT?! I WAS IN LOVE! Luther and I bonded over Divas and afternoon tea with Bille Woodruff (reknowned director of ALL of Toni Braxton's GOOD videos and HONEY and BEAUTY SHOP!).

So I understand, as a music insider, as a music appreciator, and as a person, the loss of Luther Vandross. But what remains of him is unforgettable. Every note, every riff, every buglebead and light show of him will remain for us to revere and remember.






As Aretha and Patti, Dionne and Stevie, Usher and Cissy and Cicely and Roberta all gathered to say goodbye to him, we are reminded of WHO LUTHER VANDROSS REALLY WAS. He was classy man who came into this world and into the industry of music to make a change. His girls--Diana, Dionne and Aretha--had all had a bad turn of lack in their careers and along came Luther and "GET TO IT" and "HOW MANY TIMES CAN WE SAY GOODBYE" and stunning background vocals, to make a change. His niece took the podium to tell us that "Uncle Ronnie" (Luther's middle name was Ronzoni, yes like the Pasta!) had made them all "fabulous" and unafraid to be so! Luther Vandross was demure and refined and discreet and dignified, in ways that Black Folks and Music had forgotten about long ago.

Luther Vandross came along to remind us. To remind us that class isn't only a place in school and discretion was only for parental advisories. Luther was a man of good measure and he poured it out in wonderful portions to us all.

I will always remember that everytime I saw Luther, we would share this exchange: "Hello Mr. Vandross." "Well, Hello Mr. Taylor." And we would talk, briefly, but very joyfully, about the latest NATALIE, WHITNEY, ARETHA, PATTI, CHAKA, GLADYS, DIONNE moment and hugged and that was that. We would say Hello at industry functions and in the BET studio and he was always the same. Warm. Real. Sweet. Dignified. Funny.

All the talk about whether Luther was or wasn't is so about trying to forgot who he already was. Luther, with his fabulous shows and great suits and astonishing voice and professionalism and epic need for perfection was ALL about a NEED TO ACHIEVE THE BEST! Yes, Black people have LIVED AND BREATHED in that "twice as good to be half as successful" mentality and have since slavery. Yes, the pressure on Black Gay Men can be TWICE as lofty as that.

But Luther was already too much!


He worked the stage.
He adored his Divas.
He cared for his family.
He honored his friends.
He loved his craft.

Luther--STRONG, POWERFUL, GIFTED, CLASSY--was NEVER TOO MUCH!

He was just what we needed and we thank you LUTHER RONZONI VANDROSS for stopping by and cleaning up the mess that was R&B and returning her to DIVA STATUS!


Love Always,
Rev. Kev

MEET ANTHONY ANTOINE....THE MAN OF MY DREAMS!......... AN ARTIST FOR OUR TIMES!

MEET ANTHONY ANTOINE//artist, activist, father, friend, son, sex symbol...and, TODAY...DREAM LIVER...

With the release of "CLOSETS ON FIRE," Anthony Antoine is living right smack dab in the middle of his dreams.

While many would try to suggest modesty at the arrival of such an achievement (as would Anthony, by the way), he worked on this dream on purpose. In high school, he and two (2) female classmates performed as "THE REASON," as in "You know WE are THE REASON you all came!" So, its funny, but very sweet to find him reduced to tears now that The Day ... This Day has arrived. But "it is such a blessing. I have been trying to sit still, be still and take it all in and I just can't. It's very overwhelming, but I worked hard to be here and here I be."

Anthony has really be working on this dream. He wanted to have a story to go along with the dream, so he just upped and left The US of A for London, a la Madonna's voyage from Flint, Michigan to New York City. So, I guess no one told Virginia-living Anthony Antoine that he could have just moved on up to LA, DC or NYC himself, but he wanted a FABULOUS STORY to tell. So, off he went. To the UK, which was home to Soul II Soul, Lisa Stansfield, The Brand New Heavies and the land of rhythmic dance music and lovers of true soul. He went there and worked at his craft. "I got to work with Ronny Jordan and so many other artists there. I recorded there as 'Truth Anthony' and did a lot of hip-hop styled stuff, because they just could not wrap their brains around the fact that I was tall, Black and American and didn't rap. So, being who I was, I rapped. And it was a blast!" He recorded several demos in his six years (1987 - 1993) there, but soon, America called him home and his struggle with his sexuality took him in. "That was a rough period. I didn't expect it and it just really took me through. But, as you can tell, I made it through that struggle, but not without a lot of prayer and just time, with me, to consider this new me."

And, as is so Anthony Antoine, when he got connected to himself, he REALLY got connected. "I felt like I had to be an activist. It was just in my blood." He would attach himself to the HIV/AIDS Outreach program in the cities where he lived and he wasn't scared to hit the street for the cause!


(DEBUT SOLO CD) But the music kept calling, even while he was working fabulously and diligently with Adodi Muse (THE GAY NEGRO ENSEMBLE in which he was performing when I first laid eyes and heart on this Adonis of A Spirit!)
"I knew that I still wanted to record and that it would happen. But so much else was happening. I was loving my work with Adodi Muse and I was a father (Dana Lee, featured on many of his UK demos and is sangin' her butt of on "I GOT THE MOVES" on "CLOSETS", is his lovely daughter VOGUE's mother). I didn't lose the fire, but the focus shifted. Oh, but when it returned, it was like an unscratchable itch. It would not leave me alone." That lead to a mix tape, a few extended singles and finally "SONGS FROM MY CLOSET," which served as a prelude to the work that being released now. "'Songs From My Closet' was really about having to get SOMETHING OUT and NOW! I had done 'Dante's Got A Man' (a single that mirrored Chante Moore's sister cry!) and I was really feeling a groundswell call to GET BUSY!" And busy he got! Recording over the next two years or so, Anthony Antoine, who doesn't reveal or record under his last name, but had to tell him so that I could imagine its hyphenation with mine (LOL), is clearly the parent of two children. "This is definitely a labor of love and pain and sweat and tears, but it's been worth it. DAMN! This feels really good."

PERFORMING WITH KELLY PRICE, meeting "Idol" SHEILA E., cuddling up with "would be" girlfriend RAPPER TRINA, have all happened BEFORE NOW, so what will the world look like with such songs as "ASS" and "DONTUEVA" being unleashed upon the world?!
"I don't know?" Anthony laughs, "but I'm excited to find out. I really am proud of this project, this cd, my cd (he says like he's still getting used to the idea). Some of these songs are so personal and some are just for the fever of it, for the kids." Some indeed, like "CURIOSITY AND THE HENNESSY" will surely catch people's immediate attention. The song, a sensual ditty about a brother whose cool in his skin and sexuality and his ongoing saga with a cat who is loving the sex of him, but scared of the love of him and blaming it on...The Hennessy. "It's a song that's about brothers who can do the do with a little something in them, including getting a little something in them. And, at the same time, it reminds me of a period of time when my vocal chords were healing. So, this song is really special to me. It's sexy and my producer Jimmy George (of Wave Motion Sound) really PUT IT DOWN!" Other songs, like "HOW TO TELL IF YOUR MAN IS ON THE DOWN LOW" and "SANCTITY" (performed with Duncan Teague and malik m.l. williams of ADODI MUSE) are a melding of his activism and his artistry, birthing his gift!

(WITH SUPERVOCALIST EXTRAORDINAIRE RACHELLE FERRELL), Anthony Antoine is ON HIS WAY!
"I have been waiting for this day, this project, my entire life. I'm ready now. I feel like I'm doing my thing and my thing isn't doing me. I feel like everything has come together and its time."

Anthony Antoine is the Man of My Dreams. It's not a simple physical or emotional reference. I'm not even talking about what you think I'm talking about, as it relates to his presence. When I say that "He Is," I mean that I have been waiting for this man, dreaming of this man, my entire life. A brother--tall, handsome, confident, loving, true to himself and his spirituality, sensuality, sexuality and his being--who would step forward and BE. Working for 15 years in the music industry, I have seen glimpses of him before. A brother who was confident, but behind the scenes, or willing to be sexual with me but never out to the public or who was on fire in his sexuality, but not palpable to the aesthetic of the mainstream of our culture, i.e. too much queen for the Kids!

But then along came

Anthony Antoine

.

Sexy behind words and committed beyond measure. He is an Artist for OUR Times! We--Black Folks, Gay Men, Lesbians, DL cats, Same Gender Loving Men, Men Who Have Sex With Men, Music Lovers and Listeners, Diva Adorers, us all-- have finally got the opportunity to support one of us.

BUY THIS CD!

Buy it because he's cute. You did that with others before (Hello Horace Brown, Glenn Lewis, D'Angelo, Maxwell, Christopher Williams, et al.) and got luckily surprised and entertained by the sonic exchange. Buy it because he's a supporter of us (Hello MARTHA WASH, RU PAUL, CE CE PENISTON and OF COURSE, LA BELL OF THE BALL, Miss PATTI LABELLE). But most of all, BUY IT BECAUSE HE IS ONE OF US! (Hello....HELLO! Hello Anybody, because we haven't REALLY been here before!). He's not afraid or ashamed. He's Anthony Antoine.

Special Shout-out of LOVE from Anthony Antoine to MICHAEL SMITH, his executive producer, greatest musical supporter and dear friend! "YOU REALLY MADE THINGS HAPPEN FOR ME AND I APPRECIATE YOU!!!"

MY GOD, HE'S SEXY

!

AND HE'S LIVING HIS LIFE, ON PURPOSE, WITH PURPOSE! "I just really feel like this is the fulfillment of my journey thus far. It's so amazing to be able to say that. I am on my journey and my journey has lead me, right now, here now, to this perfect moment. I'm surprised by it. I'm humbled by it. But I asked for it and here it is! God really is good and really pays attention, even to the things we don't think we say."

He's the Axis Of What I Desire for Everyone. He's the Embodiment of What I Speak and What I Do.

Anthony Antoine is Anthony Antoine and that's all he's been called to be.

Live Your Life On Purpose and Get What You Came For!!!

(GO TO http://www.cdbaby.com/anthonyantoine3,html to BUY HIS NEW CD "CLOSETS ON FIRE" and go to http://www.AnthonyAntoine.comto read more about this amazing artist and supercool brothafriend!)

Love and Power,
Rev Kev

UNCLUTTERED LIVING meets CLARITY equals PURPOSE!

The Spiritual Preamble
Lyrically Speaking

 


I have been rummaging through my thoughts and I cannot remember which song/lyric did it! When was the first time I listened to a song on the radio or at a friend’s house and thought “Hmm, that sounds like it would make a good sermon?” As long as I can remember, however, I can think back on ‘hearing’ God in secular music.

Okay, wait! I think I might have it. I remember listening to a powerful vocalist from the 70s (I believe it was Loletta Holloway) sing:
“I May Not Be There When You Want Me, Baby!
I May Not Be There When You Call Me, Sugar.
I May Not Be There When You Want Me,
But I’m Right On Time!”

I recall thinking to myself… “Oh, she gon’ get in trouble cuz that’s from the church!” And it took me a minute before I could reconcile church upbringing, soul music and lessons placed in the soul. But that’s odd…It’s called SOUL MUSIC. I do believe that somewhere between Aretha Franklin’s return to the church in 1972 with AMAZING GRACE and the gospel-influenced intro of Natalie Cole’s rousing “This Will Be,” composed by her preacher-husband/producer in 1975, I felt God present in secular music. Even as I travel back in my mind to the first time that my mother took my brothers and me to Carron Baptist Church, as punishment for a week of bad behavior, I remember Sister Delores Waldo singing “A Deep Center Peace.” She took my breath away and I wanted to go back, to that place where God seemed so present and real; tangible and available.

I remember my Momma coming home and catching me ‘shouting’ to Natalie’s PARTY LIGHTS from her 1978 “Natalie…Live!” album. Momma yelled at me because while she may have thought that I was simply dancing around, I am clear, as I was in that very moment, that something God-like was happening as I shouted to that foot-stomping tune and had church all by my li’l 12-year old self.

As I moved into ministry in the early 1990s, I walked into that stage of my life with a strong sense of music that had only heightened while at BET in many capacities—from Music Researcher and Record Label Liaison, later to Producer and Talent Coordinator and ultimately Supervising Producer for Specials & Series. My Pastor in DC, the Bishop Rainey Cheeks, would call me his “pop-culture preacher” because I always thought, and was taught, that you have to make the word come alive and be new for people and sometimes that includes the unconventional. I still recall that my first sermon as a Student Clergy was not only a song title [“It’s Getting Kinda Hectic, But I Got The Power” (by Snap!)], but it included references to Endora from Bewitched, Wonder Woman and Clark Kent. But the congregation got it! As I talked to them about understanding that we are imbued with wonder-working power by the blood of Christ, they laughed, cheered, co-signed and they got it.
* * * *
I had begun writing this book in 1997 and stopped. However, I knew, as the new millennium unfolded, that UNCLUTTER was about to come to fruition. I knew because I was starting to hear God in the music again—deeply, passionately, poignantly and real. I remember sitting at my desk and listening to Musiq Soulchild sing …
“Love.
There’s so many things I’ve got to tell you
but I’m afraid I don’t know how,
cuz there’s a possibility that you’ll look at me differently.”

By the 2nd listen, I was in tears, because I was hearing “Lord” in place of each “love.”

I was sure that God was speaking through that song, because it only fortified that saying “GOD IS LOVE AND LOVE IS FOR EVERYONE” that is the benchmark credo of Unity Fellowship Church, where I was now ministering.

And then, Jill Scott came along and sang about “The Way” that you love me and this time, the lyrics just morphed and changed and I was singing the song with the same melody and chorus, but completely different verses. And then I knew. It was time.

God has been talking to me, daily. From birds to Beyonce, from the book of Matthew to the music of Maxwell, I knew that I had to finish this work and get it out to the people, for the people are hungering for a new perspective on God and as Auntie Mame once said “The world is a smorgasbord and most poor suckers are starving to death.” I knew that I could no longer be silent and hold onto this pot of gold that seems to stream through me in music and movies and moments walking down the street. The more that I preach/minister—Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Newark, Washington, Baltimore; at churches and on panels—the more that the people get it and seem to find God and understanding brand new.

 


I have written UNCLUTTER, first and foremost, because I had no other choice. I had to be obedient. I had God smacking me upside the head, waking me up at night, talking to me through songs on the radio and just constantly revealing that this word had to be finished. Secondly, I had to write this because I like people and have passed on a word through 15 minute exchanges and 5-hour counseling marathons and people seem to always be willing to go higher, but just didn’t think that this ‘high’ was accessible to or available for them. I hope, through this work, that someone will be willing to dig deeper and go into the dark and unspoken places. Then, maybe they can let this word shine a light within them or even light a fuse, and that light will give them all the fire that they need to clear cobwebs and clean up messes and make the space that is their lives livable.

Hopefully, because music can dig so deeply, you will first be able to relate to these lessons because the title will recall a song that is special or relevant to you. Then, underneath that façade, perhaps you will remember the LYRICS to that song and how much they apply—sometimes bad, sometimes good, all the time true—to YOU! Some of the song titles/lyrics are immediately familiar and known; others may seem completely foreign, because they are. Those are compositions that are being culled from my soul. You will hear them under different guises and in different arenas at another time and space—some recorded, some as poems, some as sermons. But now, we have other matters to which we must tend.
* * * *
Section One: DELVE, the first 33 Revelations, speaks to going within and searching, seeking and sorting out those things that you say to yourself about yourself. It’s about removing the junk that you can live without! It’s the truth of who you believe yourself to be and the stuff that pushes your engine along. This section speaks to the real conversations that you have WITH yourself ABOUT yourself. Delving will allow you to tell the truth, the ‘hole’ truth [as in that when leaks out your joy] and nothing but your whole truth, because it is work that you and only you can perform. It will make you go within and purge those things, those voices, those ideas that slow you down and slug you along, making your journey less prosperous and more weighted. And then you will be able to move into…

Section Two: DISCOVER, the next 34, which goes deeper into the truth of Truth and God’s awesomeness to unfold what God really brought you here to do and to be. DISCOVER is about fresh waters and new perspectives and self-realizations. God made you for a reason and that reason wasn’t to be dogged or doubted or dragged along or to simply observe. You have been bought with a purpose and that purpose will reveal itself when you give it room to grow and develop and breathe. The Law of Physics says that “No two things can occupy the same space at the same time,” so in order to make room for the New Thing in God that will become you, you have got to be rid of the old things that you have been telling yourself. And then, its reconstruction time, which leads us to…

Section Three: DESIGN--The final series of 33 lessons is about building yourself up again, with this new information, this new perception of self that will allow you to walk sweetly and with blessed assurance into the magnanimous blessings that God has for you. It would be a diabolical Lord who would bring people onto a planet to simply be poor or unloved or worthless. God Made You and God Don’t Make No Junk. But maybe you have been storing up junk along the way and it’s time to clean house and clear heads of old thoughts and cleanse hearts of old pains and processes and begin to Walk In The Light.

 


Love and Power, Rev. Kev!