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Reflections: After the Altar Call a year later…

Hello World,

My Delta line sisters with copies of my book at the release party…

A year ago today, a long cherished dream came true…My first book, while officially released on Feb. 14, 2012, was presented to friends, family members and supporters on Feb. 10, 2012 at my book release party…It was the visual culmination of a lot of behind-the-scenes hard work…I worked hard to get a book deal…It took me 7 years…I worked hard to secure interviews with one of my favorite Christian celebrities Sherri Shepherd and Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, the first female bishop of the A.M.E. church and the granddaughter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated founder Vashti Turley Murphy. I worked hard to get women from all walks of life to share intimate details of their lives and about their personal relationships with God so that other women would be encouraged. I labored in prayer to God because I wanted the book to blessed by the Holy Spirit. I planned out my marketing and promotion time line six months in advance of the book release to make sure I could get as much publicity as possible. If you want to know more, read this “I’m Bout It Bout It aka Marketing & Promotion Month 7 (And It.Don’t.Stop.).” I.WAS.DRIVEN. And I could go on and on…And I have had some good results regarding best seller lists, various accolades, etc.

But a year later, while the best seller lists, various accolades have meant a lot to me, what matters most is this…And I haven’t shared this story before…On the night of my book release party, I was a little perturbed that the venue where my party was held wasn’t entirely shut down for my party…I guess that’s neither here nor there a year later…But anywho, needless to say, there ended up being a few guests at my party that were not expressly invited…LOL…Remember that happened in the family reunion cookout scene in the movie “Poetic Justice?” Anyway, as I was trying to make sure that all of the various elements of the book release party were coming together from the door prizes, to the food, to the entertainment, etc., a woman came up to me and asked me if could she speak with me. I realized that I hadn’t invited her so I wandered what she had to say so I replied, “Yes.” Apparently, she had gotten a copy of my book and wanted to speak with me about it. She told me that she had just prayed that morning about knowing more about God because of some things she was going through, and she felt that my book was the answer to her prayer…I.WAS.DONE.

I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t thought about that woman in a while, but it came back to me this week as I was reflecting on my first year as a published author…I’m human…I love praise and accolades and there is no doubt that I want to sell lots of books and all of that…but I’m also a Christian…If this book has only helped one person develop a personal relationship with God, then it was worth all of my hard work…Of course, I want to reach more than just one person…but each and every one of us are precious to God…Read the Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Parable of the Lost Coin if you don’t believe me…

So I have a request today, if my book has helped you to develop a personal relationship with God, e-mail me at jacqueline@afterthealtarcall.com and let me know…

Any thoughts?

 

 

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Passion 4 Christ Movement aka P4CM presents “RHETORIC 2013,” a spoken word and poetry event…

Hello World,

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

  1. 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).
  2. 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.
  3. 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).
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

Any thoughts?

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Spelman College’s WISDOM Center Celebrates 10th anniversary with Ministry Conference & Book Launch

Hello World,

As the last few days of January slip by, I hope your year is off to a wonderful start…If you need some divine inspiration to chart a path for the rest of 2013, a visit to Spelman College this weekend may be in order…

The school’s WISDOM Center is celebrating it’s 10th anniversary beginning this weekend and continuing throughout the year. This year-long celebration, entitled “A Legacy of Women in Transformational Ministry, will be inaugurated on Friday, Feb. 1 with an awards ceremony featuring the official launch of the center’s new anthology, “If I Do What Spirit Says Do: Black Women, Vocation, and Community Survival,” followed by a book signing. The anthology includes essays by theologians, religious scholars, preachers and community leaders who presented during the WISDOM Center’s 2006 global conference. The evening will conclude with the Wisdom Café,  which will feature spoken word artists, and jazz, and gospel selections by faculty, staff, alumnae and students.

On Saturday, Feb. 2, the center is hosting it’s one-day ministry conference “Finding Your Way Home: Transitions, Transformation and Triumph,” which promises to include women pastors, clergy wives, lay leaders and students for a series of workshops and discussions that will explore issues such as life/work balance, resources for inner strength, overcoming personal challenges, transforming the mind and spirit, and the personal and family struggles of women in ministry. Some of the workshop titles are: Dream a Bigger Dream, Understanding and Balancing Our Roles as Women of Faith, and Overcoming Brokenness, Betrayal, and Bitterness. Some of the speakers will be: Reverend Renita Weems, Ph.D., co-pastor, Ray of Hope Community Church, Nashville, Tenn.; Beth-Sarah Wright, Ph.D., independent scholar and first lady of St. Paul Episcopal Church, Atlanta, Ga. and Lisa Williams, founder and executive director, Living Water for Girls, Atlanta, Ga.

Finally, on Sunday, Feb. 3, the weekend will culminate with a worship service at Sisters Chapel with brief sermons presented by three Spelman alumnae.

The events are open to the public. To learn more about the schedule and to register, visit this link. To register youth (ages 11-18), call 404-270-5729 or e-mail SistersChapel@spelman.edu.

Any thoughts?