Spread The Word by STW Magazine

On the 4th May 2009 thousands of gospel fans, both from the UK and abroad, flocked to London’s Wembley Arena for the biggest gospel festival ever to take place in the UK, to celebrate with key artistes in the gospel arena like Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary, CeCe Winans, Ann Nesby, Chevelle Franklyn, Martha Munizzi, Coko and Smokie Norful. Plus support from: Jahaziel, Witness, Singing D, Rachel Hylton and Rebecca. Oraclez World Gospel Festival & Awards Gospel Concert was a phenomenal success and this month Music Zone wanted to find out more about Michael Koos, the man behind the event.

MZ Michael first let me congratulate you on the

wonderful success of Oraclez, the UK’s biggest gospel festival ever. How do you feel about its success? I feel really pleased and thankful for the event & the whole team that has made it possible.

MZ How long have you been a Christian and how were you converted? I became a born-again Christian two and a half years ago. It’s difficult to say ‘how I was converted’ but, I must give credit to my Pastor, Pastor Jennifer Brown. I think she probably came into my life at a time when I most needed direction and a sense of purpose.

MZ You’ve been described as being a serial entrepreneur. What are the many hats you wear? Well I wouldn’t say I am wearing many hats now as we are concentrating on developing Pure Genius Entertainment. It is our ambition to make this a major player in Gospel entertainment not only by putting on memorable shows like Oraclez but, supporting and nurturing new talents through giving them the exposure on our shows and also in the long-term, nurturing and developing their talents and skills through production/ management. MZ How long exactly have you been in the music business? I’ve been in the business for as long as I can remember; my father was in the business long before I was born so it was probably no surprise I would become involved. I’ve worked for notable recording companies like Island Records & Tuff Gong. I have produced a number of notable artists like, reggae legends Dennis Brown & John Holt as well as R&B artists Dru Hill & Morris Brown. Can you tell us more about Authentic Real Music (A.R.M.)? AUTHENTIC REAL MUSIC was formed in 1993 under the original name A.R.M The founding members were myself, Anthony Brightly and Robert Smith. We proceeded to organise prestigious top class events. After three years of working together Anthony decided that it was time for him to concentrate on his other business venture and redeveloped his night club “Chimes Music Complex.” The following year Robert returned to Jamaica to fulfil his dream of completing his holiday resort. I was left with the choice of whether to fold the company or continue. I decided to continue. I also had to decide whether to work with the name A.R.M. or change the name, I decided to continue with the name but give it a new meaning, and that’s where Authentic Real Music came in. Over the years A.R.M. Events has worked with a

variety of organisations such as BBC 1Xtra, The BBC, The Voice Newspaper, The New Nation, Oceans, Jet star Phonographic, Palm Pictures, VP Records, the Mean Fiddler and Dragon Stout. The fusion of expertise at A.R.M. Events ensures that creative solutions can be developed each and every time by capitalising on our in-depth understanding of many diverse markets.

You are the owner of Pure Genius Entertainment which brought us Oraclez’ World Gospel Festival & Award Ceremony. How was P.G.E conceived? As mentioned previously, my profession was as a music promoter via Authentic Real Music. However, as ARM concentrated on promoting secular music specifically in the reggae arena, this left me at a cross-road as to how this would fit into my change of direction. Once again, it was my Pastor which came up with the solution. Music is my life, it’s my love and it’s what I know. It is very much a vehicle through which we can bring people together, so she reassured me that that was where my talents lay and how I can use my skills to do God’s work. The seed of Oraclez was hence formed. It took a year for that seed to become a reality following the establishment of the company which is made up of three Directors including myself, operated with a team of professionals all of whom are able to contribute their own specialist skill to make it a success as seen in our first venture – Oraclez world gospel Festival & Awards.

Will there be more of Oraclez? The simple answer to this is a resounding yes. We are already putting our heads together to make Oraclez 2010 even better than 2009.

Having many years of experience in secular events, how did you find organising such a large gospel event? Well, I took this on in the same way I would organise any other music event – albeit on a much larger

MUSIC ZONE MICHAEL KOOS scale. The most difficult thing, if you can call it difficult, was getting the confidence of the gospel community who, it would be fair to say, was a little sceptical. PGE is a new player in this field so it was incumbent on us to prove ourselves as being truly committed to Christianity and in wanting to do something positive for the glory of God. I think we have done this now and Oraclez 2010 should be even bigger and better.

MZ What is the driving force behind Michael Koos?

I suppose I would say my driving force is my family and the pursuit of excellence. I get immense pleasure from producing high quality events which are appreciated by patrons. It used to be putting on creative shows which pushed the boundary of secular music hence ARM being the first reggae promoters to put the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Orchestra together with a reggae artist like John Holt. Now, PGE wants to bring that same innovative approach to gospel. I believe this is my best way of using my God given talent to serve the Father.

The general response to Oraclez has been astounding, how has the response of the artistes such as Chevelle Franklin, Cece Winans, Kirk Franklin and Martha Munizzi to mention a few been? The feedback we have received so far from all the artists have been a positive and encouraging one. They are all keen to come back and their support and comments have been heartening to all of us who are involved in the venture.

MZ What other ventures is PGE undertaking?

At the moment we are concentrating on establishing Oraclez as the number one gospel event but we do have plans for a number of exciting ventures. We are putting together ideas for an annual gospel talent competition which we are calling ‘Gospel Quest’, launching a gospel cruise, and of course as stated, Pure Genius Entertainment will work with new UK talents.

MZ Final words for STW readers…? Our final words are one of thanks to all your readers who have made Oraclez 2009 such a successful venture. Without your readers and supporters in general, we would not now be looking forward to next year with such optimism. All we would urge is that if you missed this year, Spread the Word and make sure you do not miss out on the blessings and enjoyment which were in abundance at Oraclez 2009. Keep checking our website www.oraclez.com for up to date information and to take part in the active forums which give everyone the opportunity to send us their feedback. MZ Thank you for your time.

How can I lose my belly fat? This is a very common question

and a much-shared desire among people of different ages, shapes, and sizes. I could answer that question in an instant by suggesting some really great fat-burning exercise, and a list of foods to stay away from. I will deal with that question in another installment of Health Wealth. For now, I’m going to share with you some of my own personal experiences, and some very key facts I learned when I lost 5 stones in only 2 months. What I’m going to share with you helped me develop an empowering and realistic mindset, which is necessary to achieve your goals. Let me start by saying that the basic fat-loss rule always applies and that is “Calories in verses calories out.” In 2006 I weighed 20 stones. For most of my life I was overweight. A lot of people didn’t think so. In fact, the majority of people who saw me just thought I was hench! The truth is, after many years of carrying around excess weight, one learns a few tricks on how to hide it. That’s another subject so I won’t go there now. Throughout my life I tried to lose fat many times. The 6 million fat-loss attempts syndrome is not exclusive to Oprah Winfrey (forgive the exaggeration). There were few occasions when I lost fat unintentionally. On one such occasion I was a Kwik-Fit fitter. I had a really busy couple of weeks running around fitting exhausts, breaks, tires etc. I missed quite a few breaks and sometimes ended up taking a working lunch.

One Sunday morning I was getting ready for Church. I took out my favorite shirt that I hadn’t worn in a very long time because my neck grew too big. It was silk and had a gold and diamond chain, which covered the top button. In order to wear the chain, the top button had to been fastened. I liked that shirt so much that I resigned myself to wearing it with the top button open,

however, on that Sunday; I really wanted to look my best so I decided to fasten the top button even if it choked me! To my surprise the button fastened with ease! I was both confused and overjoyed because I was going to look sharp! I tucked the shirt into my trousers and did the usual twirl to make sure my swagger was tight. Yet another surprise! My butt had shrunk! I jumped on the scale and realized that I lost over a stone in 2 weeks. The celebration was short lived because I didn’t know how to maintain the results. Whenever I went on a diet I always gauged my progress by what my belly looked like and how much I weighed. This is a common mistake and counter productive because when you don’t see the results you want to see, when you want to see them, discouragement quickly sets in followed by comfort eating and you know the rest. However, when I eventually learned how to get my results and maintain them, I discovered that there are some very clear tell tale signs that I was moving in the right direction and achieving my fat-loss goals. These signs are not exclusive to me so you too can expect to experience similar results. The fact is belly fat is very stubborn and usually the last to show visible results. My advice? Look for these signs first: • Face getting narrow/thinner. • Arms getting smaller and more defined especially around the shoulders. • Collar bone more pronounced. • Lose fitting shoes, shirts and Jeans, trousers, and underwear. • Lose fitting watch and jewelry. • Pants sagging around the butt area. If you are eating well and drinking plenty of water, you will also notice improvements to your skin, mood, stool (improved odor for what it’s worth), general strength, vitality, and other areas. For a more accurate method of gauging your progress and feeding your motivation, buy a tape measure and measure you neck, chest, waist, around your shoulders, biceps and triceps, butt, thighs and calves. Also, get a fat caliper. It takes measurements from a few areas of your body and gives you a reading of you body fat percentage. For help in achieving your personal transformation, email Norman Joel Sealy at njsworld@yahoo.co.uk.

Ridiculous situations the bestselling book by Raina T. Shaw

“Become the woman God pre-destined you to be and live each day with passion and purpose!” “Break the cycle of negative relationships by understanding what has defeated you in the past.” “Reconcile with who YOU are in Jesus Christ and abolish self-limiting beliefs and fears of being alone.” “Commit to a faith-determined life of abundance and real love.” This book will help thousands of women eradicate their self-limiting beliefs and finally attract and sustain long-term, healthy relationships, love, happiness and success they want. Page after page, RIDICULOUS SITUATIONS is a tour de force of laughter, tears, confessions and repentance. Raina candidly reveals compelling “truth” in unique form and provides the secret to real joy and success. Find our more about the author

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by Ewan Denny Their focus is on trading, making sales, taking money, giving change and moving on to the next customer. It’s all about them and not about the customer. Today I am going to get you to think about your business in a new way. I am going to get you to think about running your business from the point of view of the customer and not from your point of view.

hatever business you are in, whatever your product or service, there is one thing that you will need if you are to survive. And that is customers. You need enough customers buying from you, consistently, in order to make it in business. Without customers you die.

If customers are so important, then why do we often see companies failing to treat them properly? Why do we see such poor levels of customer care? Why are most people not loyal to a particular business but will buy their products or services from anywhere? The answer is that the majority of companies that you see on the high street, are in the business to make money and not to serve people.

You see, if you run your business from your point of view, you will do things that are convenient to you but if you run your business from the point of view of the customer, you will be interested in their needs, and you will serve them. And when people feel that you care about them and are looking after their needs, they will appreciate it and come back repeatedly to buy from you. So the next time a customer walks into your shop, don’t think “here comes a customer, let me try and make a sale” but instead, say to yourself “here comes a customer, how can I help him to get what he wants.” This simple mental shift in how you operate, will result in a remarkable transformation in your business. I have seen it happen over and over. The trick is to help people to buy and not to sell to them. It is easier to lose a customer than to win one. According to the Institute of Customer Care, three quarters of prospective business is lost on the customers first contact with the organisation. Some of the main reasons for this are: lack of courtesy, inferior service, mistakes and

Adopt the right sales attitude and win more business!

errors, negative attitudes, untidy appearance, poor teamwork and a lack of confidence in management. Whenever I walk into a store to browse around, I get a little annoyed by the over enthusiastic sales person who approaches me immediately and tries to sell to me. I don’t want to hear their well rehearsed sales patter at this point, I just want to browse around to see what’s on offer. I tell them that I don’t need them at this point but if I do I will call them. What I really mean is leave me alone, I will come to you if I need you. Some take the hint and walk away and others stand uncomfortably close just waiting for me to ask them a question. What is going on here is that the sales person is just looking for a sale. He is focused on his needs. He doesn’t care about me. He just wants to sell me something. I on the other hand, have my own needs and none of them are being addressed here. So what do I often do, walk out and try the shop next door.

that makes the customer satisfied and not on making a sale. Selling creates a sale, helping people to buy creates customers. The difference is all in the attitude. In selling the attitude is trying to make the customer buy what we have whereas helping people to buy means looking at it from the opposite point of view ie what the customer wants or needs and seeing if we can match it with what we have. If we don’t have it, we can order it, make it, or refer the customer to another shop. When we leave the customer satisfied, they will return. It’s no use making a sale which will leave the customer dis-satisfied. Help the customer to buy what they want and help them to feel good about it. A salesman should say to himself “I want to help as many people as possible” and not “I want to make as much sales as possible.”

Ewan Denny’s book ‘The Marketing of Jesus Christ’ can be purchased from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other leading stores.

Does this sound familiar? Has it happened to you? The truth is that this happens every day in shops all over the country. And its not just shops of course, poor customer service happens in all types of businesses in all types of industries all over the country. A salesman’s primary objective is to help customers which in the long term will be far more profitable than making sales which is short term. So you should focus on things

For business advice or speaking engagements contact Ewan Denny on 07962 630 724

dren’s teeth are set on edge.’

In those days people will no longer say, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ Instead, everyone will die for his own sin; whoever eats sour grapes - his own teeth will be set on edge. “The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 31:29-34. Personal relationship is a phrase thrown around alot by christians but do we really understand the full implications of what that really means? Our opening text (which is also stated in Hebrews 8:10 and Hebrews 10:16) describes the new way (covenant) that God has ushered in through Christ Jesus, where, in contrast to the law, He deals with us on a personal basis.

Personal Responsibility no longer say, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the chil-

First of all we can no longer blame our sins (failings) on our parents, Grandparents or ancestors. We are all personally responsible for our own failings. In the new covenant generational curses are now null and void! Therefore we can blame no-one but ourselves. The flip-side to this is that if we are responsible for our own failure then we are also responsible for our own success! In other words the ability to succeed or fail is now in your hands. Personal responsibility is not about faultfinding, it’s about getting in the driving seat and taking charge of your life. It is important for you to realise that you are NOT the product of your environment. You are the product of the DECISIONS you make in your environment. God has given you the power of choice.

Personal Laws (convictions) I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts To truly understand the importance of personal convictions we must look at what it was like to live under the law. In his letters, Paul spent a considerable amount of time addressing the transition from living under the law to living in the new covenant. Man (in his fallen state) cannot obtain salvation through adherence to the law. This is because the law was designed like a chain link system where if you break one command you break them all. No man is able to keep the whole law. The purpose of the law is to make sin known. You would not know not to covet if the law did not say ‘thou shalt not covet’. The law acted as a guardian and tutor to protect and train up the spiritually immature (Galatians 3:23-25). When you are bringing up a child you first teach right and wrongs in very black and white terms. You do not give much explanation to why something is good and bad; you just outline rewards

and consequences (blessings and curses). This is what it is to live under the law. As the child grows and has more understanding then you give more explanation to why something is right or wrong. When they are adults their adherence to what you have taught is dependent upon them ‘internalising’ your values and beliefs. Where the law addressed man’s actions, the new covenant addresses his belief through faith. Unlike the law, living by faith is not a chain link system, therefore failure in one area of your life does not bring about total condemnation in God’s eyes. There are many new testament believers who still have the old testament mentality. The expectation that we as Christians should be able to obey ALL of God’s law. This expectation gives licence to criticise and judge believers who break one law as if they have broken all laws and are therefore looked upon as going to hell! This behaviour has been passed on in the church from generation to generation preventing many from experiencing the true power and freedom of living by faith (Matthew 23:13). The law did not take into account strengths and weakness - it was one size fits all. However your faith is tailor made. That is why Jesus said many times when he healed people “be it unto you according to your faith.” Faith grows as you grow. Like a child growing to maturity, faith is where we internalise the principles and lessons that we have been taught. This is where laws are written on our hearts. What is written on your heart becomes your conviction. You are more likely to adhere to your convictions rather than external laws. As a matter of you cannot act from faith unless you are true to your own convictions (Romans 14:23 amp.) Man cannot live by external laws unless they are heavily imposed on him. God desires ‘free will’ submission which can only be achieved when His laws become your convictions. That is why He now writes them on the hearts of men instead of tablets of stone. He does an internal work to get external results. However this is not something done instantly. It is a process done over time. Although there are laws and doctrine that we all adhere to collectively, not all believers believe in

the same thing, or indeed have to! God deals with us on a personal basis according to our personal assignment (Galatians 2:8). Hence we have personal laws. One believer may have the permission to do something that others are forbidden to do. Although he may face criticism, it is before his own master (the Lord) that he shall stand or fall (Romans 14:4). Personal laws come with the personal grace needed to fulfil them. God is not a respecter of persons, all of us are treated on this basis. Therefore we all must discover our unique assignment and the personal laws that comes with it.

Personal Journey When He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth (John 16:13). As previously mentioned, there is a process to writing laws on our hearts. This is done by the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us and guides into all truth. Truth is more than just laws and commands, it is a journey of self discovery with the Holy Spirit as your guide! That is why the bible is full of people who have been on that journey, revealing their strengths and their weakness, their success and their failures. The lessons they learned through their experience have become the truth we hold so dear. When faced with challenges David declared “some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20”7). In the midst of affliction Job said “though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him” (Job 13:15). Even Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, having been humbled said “now I praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (Dan 4:37). You cannot say these words with any conviction without going through a personal experience with God. If this article has been a blessing to you in anyway please email pearls@ministryinart.com THANK YOU.

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