P4CM (Passion for Christ Movement), the same movement that brought you Janette McGhee, who is better known as “MissTerious Janette…ikz” and her epic poem “I Will Wait For You,” is back with a web series premiering TODAY. The Conversation – hosted by comedian and actress Yvonne Orji –will explore topics from both the single and married perspective on what to look for in a spouse, communication in relationships, gender roles, being single & waiting and much more. (Incidentally, Orji has been cast in Issa Rae’s comedy pilot “Insecure!”) The first episode is entitled “The List” and will include conversation about what is on the list of qualities of an ideal man.
Below is a promo for the web series, and subscribe to the YouTube channel to see all of the episodes!
P4CM hopes that in exploring these topics, we will be able to foster a safe, freeing and insightful dialogue and become a resource for both singles and marrieds alike to receive godly advice for having healthy, holy and god-honoring relationships.
Circa 1997 when “Love Jones” debuted, I became obsessed with spoken word and poetry for a while, traveling to all of the hidden spoken word and poetry joints in the A, dating a man who knew how to spit fire and even crafting a poem or two myself…(I even gave one of my poems to the poetry goddess Nikki Giovanni, and she wrote me back…Read about in “He Just Was Not That Into Me…aka Nikki Giovanni likes me…so there…”) This was all in my early ’20s…While I don’t fancy myself a poet anymore, I still love the art form, and I love to discover new poets whose words and delivery can take you there…
I first discovered Janette McGhee, who is better known as “MissTerious Janette…ikz” (pronounced mysterious genetics), a dynamic Christian spoken word artist and poet who wrote and performed “I Will Wait For You” in 2011. In this poem, she beautifully captured the absolute angst a Christian woman feels as she attempts to wait for the man God will send her rather than just trying to make any ole man the one…She performed this poem in the P4CM (Passion for Christ Movement) Lyricist Lounge…Read about in “Living Single – The Panel Discussion, The Poem & The Show.”
And below is an awesome poem entitled “Ready or Not” by Janette…ikz and Ezekiel performed at a PC4M event. This is the official description of the poem – “Christ is coming back for a bride without spot wrinkle or blemish. This poem by Ezekiel and Janette…ikz asks you if you’ll be Ready or Not. All to often though, we try to do the cleaning and the planning when we Christ should take the lead. We say let him lead and the wedding day will be just as it should be… all for His glory.”
Well, PC4M is preparing for RHETORIC 2013, the ministry’s latest spoken word and poetry event, and are looking for submissions…Below are the details for submitting an audition video if you are interested…
RHETORIC Objective and Guidelines
The objective of P4CM’s RHETORIC (formerly Lyricist Lounge) is to glorify God in and with our craft of spoken word; edify and challenge believers to grow in bearing the image of Jesus in our thinking, our attitudes, our emotions, our speech, and our action; and minister to the lost the hopelessness and consequences of sin and their utter need for Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It is these objectives–the supremacy of God’s glory, bearing Christ’s image, the Gospel, and the excellence in our craft–that have made our event the largest Christian spoken word event in the world.
RHETORIC Guidelines
All poems are to be in agreement with P4CM’s Faith Statement and not emphasizing controversial doctrines (e.g. predestination) or non-essentials (e.g. spiritual gifts).
All poems are to be free of offensive and obscene language. If approved, you can use normally offensive language that may be purposed in the context of the poem (e.g. Jackie Hill’s poem on being a stud; the use of “nigga” in debunking it’s cultural coolness and showing it’s racially degrading nature; “rape” and its affects; etc). The use of this approved language is never to be promoted, but understood in light of the poem’s context. If an approved offensive term can be changed without affecting the purpose of the poem, then changing it to something non-offensive will be encouraged.
Every poet (open mic and featured) will take a year off in-between RHETORIC performances (e.g. on 2011, off 2012, on 2013, off 2014, etc). If we ever have RHETORIC more than once a year, it would be at least one RHETORIC off (unless otherwise noted).
Poem lengths are as follows: Open mic artists must have poems lasting 5 minutes or less. Featured poets poems are to be between 5 and 10 minutes.
Every poet who performs will need a pastoral reference. This only applies to those poets selected to perform. A pastoral reference is not needed for an audition submission, but be prepared to provide one in case you are selected. This way we have a referral from your pastor (or two or more of their local church leaders instead) saying that your life matches what you are ministering, that you’re active and involved in the life of your church, and under someone’s leadership/authority and accountable.
Creativity
As long as each poet agrees to and are within these guidelines, you have the artistic freedom for selecting and writing a poem to be performed.
Enter Your Audition Video
If you’d like to audition to be an open mic poet or you have a suggestion for a featured poet, email a link to a YouTube or Vimeo video to rhetoric@p4cm.com. We will not open attachments or links to video only on Facebook. Please send us the poem you’d like to perform. We prefer video not audio because it helps us see your potential stage presence so send us your best performance with the best recording with good audio. Do not send an edited video. Please just send a live performance. We plan to finalize our poets by early April and we’re constantly ranking and evaluating them so please submit your poems as soon as you can for consideration. We’ll get back with you after we’ve looked at all of the submissions and go from there.
It’s the first day of June which means that half of the year is over…Wow…I’ve have said this before, but I will say it again: Time flies the older you get…Anywho, you may be wondering where I’ve been for the last week or so…Actually, my family and I traveled to the Annual Christian Women’s Retreat which was held in Springfield, Illinois over the Memorial Day weekend. We made the 10-hour trek on Thursday and traveled back on Sunday. Last year, the retreat was held in Atlanta where I was the keynote speaker.
This year, I was asked to speak on a panel on singleness which I was wasn’t too excited about for a couple of reasons: I’m kind of tired of thinking about it all, and I don’t feel like I’m the poster child for model singleness anyway. But I did what I was asked to do…And I’m glad I did for a couple of reasons: It gave me the opportunity to comprehensively reflect on my single journey and clarify why I’m finally ready to move on to a married journey, and I was able to meet some new people at the conference that I hope to stay in touch with as I continue to attend the Annual Christian Women’s Retreat.
One of the women I met reminded me about this dynamic, Christian spoken word artist and poet that I had heard about a few months ago. Janette McGhee, who is better known as “MissTerious Janette…ikz” (pronounced mysterious genetics), wrote and performed this awesome poem about waiting for right man that God brings instead of trying to make any ole guy the right one. The poem is titled, “I Will Wait For You.”…Take a look…it is worth the time to check it out…
Apparently, the 31-year-old spoken word artist and poet performed this poem at the at P4CM (Passion for Christ Movement) Lyricist Lounge earlier this year…I know this word isn’t in rotation anymore, but her poem was dope..her lyricism was reminiscent of the artistry that was old school hip hop before the bling bling and uninspired misogyny took over…I would go on, but that’s a topic for another day…
If you want to know more about this talent, read an article about her here and check out her website!
Any thoughts?
P.S. The new show “Single Ladies” premiered on Monday… I forgot to watch, but I heard it’s off to a not-so-good start…What y’all think?
