September/October2013
Bold Right Life Created by Kierra Sheard to inspire young people to live for Christ and to care about their communities.
Great Controversy An exciting new web series, which describes an overarching conflict that exists from heaven at the beginning of all time, extended to the last days of earth’s history.
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* iPress ft. Izzy & Adaeze * Designed by God * Healthy Meal Planning * Him & Her Series on Relationships * What Are You Thinking?
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BACK2BASICSMAG.COM
JULY|AUGUST 2013 CONTENTS
Twitter @back2basicsmag facebook.com/back2basicsmag
volume 2 | number 3
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B2B Team Founder & Publisher Brittany N. Winkfield Web Designer Marcus Winkfield webmaster@back2basicsmag.com
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Promotions Director Aaron Roston aaron@back2basicsmag.com
opy Editor C Ramona Davis Audience Development Director Donald Rolle Office Manager Donnette Roston
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Writers Stephanie Jones Photographers Hannah Banks Advisory Board Tracy Augustin Philip Baptiste Ramona Davis Kymone Hinds Marisa Jackson Tim Olaore Donald Rolle Terri Roston Michele Solomon Samuel Thomas Scan here to visit the website!
What will come of this blatant disobedience? The nectar fresh on her lips will impede on her innocence… Flesh of my flesh this is what He made for me After all she came from me If she dies I will be incomplete If not in bliss we’ll be together in defeat So I eat As the juice runs down my cheek I notice standing unclad by the glory is my rib and I feel the sudden shame of what we did We need to cover up let’s use leaves from this fig We hear God in the garden so we hid And then He called out to me I had to answer the call of my Master
My Father My Creator Even though I feel like a traitor I heard you coming I panicked and hid I didn’t want you to see me naked And I could tell he knew which fruit I had tasted Who told you you were naked? Could it be? You have tasted the tree? The one fruit in all the garden I said not to eat? And when I speak I appoint her as the leader Knowing it was really my place to lead her What have you done? The serpents’ the cause of perfection undone Her answer uneasy And with a sin stained soul I walk towards judgment. www.back2basicsmag.com | 5
inspire 2 aspire
Leading and empowering young people
Adaeze
@Adaezemusic
[pronounced “uh-daisy”… like a flower] is one unique young lady.
Born in London, England along with her three older brothers, she was brought up in a healthy Christian home by her loving parents. By the time she was 2 years old, her family moved to Tulsa, OK, which is where Adaeze discovered her love of music from a very young age. Inspired by her oldest brother Zo to begin playing piano, Adaeze also began writing songs. Her first song she wrote was entitled “Eternity,” the title track for her new debut album that released November 21, 2008. Having recorded the entire album in closets-made-into-recording-booths, Adaeze also produced the album. All of this was done within a span of one month. God sure does know what He’s doing when He changes plans. Now Adaeze dreams bigger than she ever has, knowing that she sings for the God Who can do exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20), as she sings in her song “I Can Do Anything.” www.back2basicsmag.com | 6
inspire 2 aspire
to maximize their God-given talents
Izzy
@its_izzy
[short for Israel] is the definition of fresh talent.
Born in Nigeria and after a “Road to Damascus” experience, Izzy explains how God called him to leave Nigeria in the heat of his rise to fame. Izzy came to America on a mission that he would do something positive and live in purpose. Izzy discovered that his gift was not actually music. His real gift is the ability to get things done and music was the tool that he had. This has fueld Izzy’s passion to inspire people to use their passions in practical ways to live their passion. Izzy’s latest project is called Night of Wonder (N.O.W.) “This is not a concert. It is an epic night glorifying the God of wonder.” N.O.W. will promote everyone at the same time to take positive steps forward. Stay tuned for more details about N.O.W. taking place on November 16, 2013 in Nashville, TN. www.back2basicsmag.com | 7
Marriage: A Gift From Eden We are to love each other more than we love ourselves, and we are to love God more than anything else. Through marriage, God can teach us to love others more than ourselves. A couple has been dating for quite some time. Everything seems to be going well. They love each other and spend a lot of time together. All in all, everything appears to be perfect. So he proposes. She says yes. And they begin to prepare for their wedding. Finally, everything is ready for the big day. The wedding invitations have been mailed, the flowers chosen, the tuxedo rented, and the wedding gown tailored to the bride. But then, in the middle of all the last minute preparations, one half of the happy couple sees the other half entering a hotel with another person. When confronted, the offending person admits that this has been going on for a while.
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Can you imagine something like this happening to you? How would you feel if you were to see your beloved in such a situation? Yet this is often what happens between Christ and His church. The Bible compares Christ’s relationship with His church to marriage. However, when we read the Bible and when we look at the church today, we find occasions when God’s people have been unfaithful to their Groom. Ezekiel 16 provides us with one such example. Many couples would give up on their future marriage in such circumstances, but Christ does not. Although His wife (the church) is painfully unfaithful to Him, He longs for her to return to Him.
Thankfully, Christ’s endeavors are not in vain. When He returns to earth, He will gather His bride to Himself. “ ‘Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear’ ” (Rev. 19:7, 8, NIV). From then on, their marriage will be pure. She will be ready to go with her Groom rather to a hotel with one of her former lovers. This marriage, Christ’s marriage, will be celebrated by all of heaven and for all eternity.
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Boldly living Right, getting ready for Life
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t 25 years old, Kierra has become one of gospel’s most powerful female vocalists, and her maturity and musical skills are on display more prominently than ever before on her latest CD titled Free. Produced and written by Kierra and her brother, Kierra exudes both humility and confidence over her new project. Producer J Drew Sheard II (JDS) and gospel super producer, Donald Lawrence are also featured. “It’s interesting to see how God is using this business to bring my brother and me even closer together. He pulled so much out of me that no other producer has done, and that’s what makes it so much more exciting.”
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Not only is Kierra doing music and reality television show on BET, she created a youth organization called Bold Right Life (BRL), to inspire young people to live for Christ and to care about their communities. She started the group in Detroit, where she holds an annual conference at her father’s church. Now in its sixth year, attendance at the conference has nearly doubled, growing from 800 to more than 1,500 young people who attend each year. Bold Right Life, which shares the name of Kierra’s third album, provides encouragement and opportunities for young people to do outreach and ministry at places such as group homes and juvenile centers, and to put on benefit concerts for people and organizations in need of support. Young people today are often blinded by what man has perverted and do not have supportive families or the resources necessary to offer them positive alternatives or assistance. The motive for Bold Right Life came from Kierra’s travels in her career. She wanted to be hands on with young people after seeing that there’s so much the world has to offer and knowing there was not much the church was offering to this new generation. Kierra wanted to give people who are in the church, who want to be saved and live a Christ-like life something to contribute to that side of living right. BRL is something different for people who are on that narrow path wanting to go to heaven and love Jesus with their lives. “I wanted something that’s fun with high energy for myself as well.” The Hillsong conference was an inspiration for Kierra to start BRL, She recalls the young people being so on fire for Christ. “The great thing about this conference is that you don’t feel any judgement in the atmosphere whatsoever.” The name “Bold Right Life” came from adjectives that describe things that we’re passionate about and things that we love. “I sat down with a friend of mine named Kiesha Burns who helped me come up with the title and we basically wanted to push the message of being bold and standing out, not being afraid of being set apart.” “My dream for the BRL Experience is to one day have it be in an arena with Jesus at the center as the absolute focal point. I believe we can fill arenas with people of my race, African Americans, who are on fire for Christ, willing to pray and do something their fathers never did. I want to empower the people of where I come from, getting to a place where we are knowledgeable on the Bible, not the traditions and religion and doctrine.” Kierra describe success as fulfilling your purpose in life. “A lot of people do not know what they are on this earth for. If you’re not living up to your purpose then you’re just living.” “When I dream something and when its in God, its a dream I don’t forget.” It’s accomplishing something God has given you, living up to God’s standards and being in His will. A self-proclaimed “daddy’s girl,” Kierra also has always had a very special relationship with her mother. From the first moment they were on stage together, with Karen Clark Sheard both leading her daughter through the song and marveling at her performance, Karen has guided and supported Kierra. She helped to navigate her through high school and college, as Kierra was trying to balance school and a blossoming career. “My mom is a huge influence on me and my career,” says Kierra. “She is the complete package. I can honestly say that I would not be here singing without her support. Both of my parents have really taught me what it means to be a disciple, which is to do ministry and spread the Gospel and to meet the needs of the people. I want people to see from my music that I’m a servant of the kingdom, and I want it to bless and change lives.” www.back2basicsmag.com | 11
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We’re living this life for the life that is to come.
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How I get Back2Basics:
1. Having people around me who are on the
same path and who know the Bible. 2. Constantly praying throughout the day asking God to make sure my motives are pure, growing and not being stagnant. 4. Reading my word and having the Holy Spirit in my conscience. ~Kierra Sheard CLICK TO PLAY
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www.boldrightlife.org
ScriPic, Inc. is a Christian media production company with the intent to revolutionize Christian content. ScriPic believes the reality of human nature is far more profound than has been depicted in most traditional Christian entertainment. The company is determined to show the unmitigated truth: that we often have to wrestle with our nature daily. ScriPic founders, Ron Toussaint and Marc Thevenin are lifelong best friends and phenomenal musicians (pianist and drummer respectively). They share a deeply rooted love for God and the arts, which has evolved into their creation of this media production company. Ron calls Chicago home, which was instrumental in affording Great Controversy’s production team the opportunity to film at a number of gorgeous Chicago locations. The Baha’i House of Worship, a registered national historic landmark, is one such site. ScriPic was granted the distinct pleasure of being the first media production company to film inside this striking location. This was just one of many occasions that has facilitated ScriPic, whose aim is to “change the world, one frame at a time,” to maintain the standard of quality their work has become synonymous with. Great Controversy is loosely based on a book titled The Great Controversy, authored by Ellen G. White, which describes an overarching conflict that exists from heaven at the beginning of all time, extended to the last days of earth’s history. The film follows the journey of fictional character, Jakub Voss, as he faces his own great controversy.
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Season 1 Great Controversy Episode 1: Pilot "The War Within"
CLICK TO PLAY
For more information, including the Great Controversy trailer, visit: www.scripic.com or www.facebook.com/GCseries. www.back2basicsmag.com | 15
Dr. Marc C. Thevenin Jr.: Co-Founder mthevenin@scripic.com
Ronald Toussaint: Co-Founder rtouss@scripic.com Together they share a vision that will revolutionize christian content. ScriPic, Inc understands that in order to reach this generation, you must master the ability to reach its culture.
Designed By God
by Mark Andrew Paterniti, Taylor, Michigan, U.S.A.
Preface: The Holy Spirit can help break down the barriers in our relationship with God and the barriers in our relationships with one another. The greatest demonstration of the power of the gospel is not necessarily what the church says but how the church lives.
“Love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35, NKJV)
Without this love, all our talk about revival and reformation will come to nothing. We live in an action-oriented world, and it seems that simplifying our lives has never been more complicated! Doesn’t it seem that there’s always work to do and no time for rest? Answer the following questions as honestly as you can to determine if you need to rest: Do I wake up tired? Do I feel stressed when functioning in my normal day-to-day activities? Is it difficult to find joy? Do I get the kind of rest my body needs? At Creation, God established a pattern of work and rest, which is a model for believers. For six days God worked to bring order to our world. But on the seventh day, after He had finished all His creative activity, He rested. God demonstrated that rest is appropriate and right. We need to take care of ourselves, and when we do so, we have more strength for revival and reformation. Jesus showed us the importance of rest when He sat wearily beside a well after a long walk (John 4:6) and when He slept in the back of a boat with His head on a pillow (Mark 4:38). He also rested when He and His disciples got away from the crowds (Mark 6:31, 32). If the Lord rested from the work of creation and from His earthly ministry, we need to rest from our work as well. Our times of rest refresh us for times of service. Schedule some “slow down” time this week. In the normal course of providence, God works in and through creation, not despite it. For this reason, some answers to prayer are difficult to prove with certainty. We believe a prayer has been answered not because of any scientific criteria proving it, but because we have faith. Most of the ways we encounter God—nature, the Bible, the Lord’s Supper, the church, other people, service— include things we can touch. God’s own state, though, is the realm of spirit. Although we may ask God to intervene directly, it should not surprise us if He responds in a more hidden way in cooperation with our own choices. An alcoholic prays, “Lord, keep me from drink today.” The answer to that prayer will likely come from the inside—from a stiffening resolve or a cry for help to a loyal friend—rather than from some marvel like the magical disappearance of liquor bottles from a cabinet. Whether God supernaturally intervenes or is giving us the power to obey Him, we trust His character. We see a true partnership, intimate and intertwined.
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God and My Confusion I’m here to tell you that I hate being confused. I try so hard to understand my world, but sometimes I just don’t see God’s hands at work, I don’t see Christ’s victory, and I don’t see all of God’s people looking like winners. Why do humble, suffering, righteous people have to bear additional heavy blows? Why do abusers and neighborhood destroyers get away with their evil work? Why is my life so hard so often? David was confused sometimes too: “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” (Psalm 13:1,2). God chooses not to explain everything. He chooses to let us struggle sometimes. He chooses to not provide us with extensive advance information, advance supplies, or constant hand-holding. What he does do is invite us to look at his track record of promise keeping. What he does do is point us to Calvary, where the war was won. What he does do is invite us to trust that he will make the littler things fall into place, each at just the right time. His time. “I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me” (Psalm 13:5,6).
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