Simply Shekinah

When I was in high school, which seems like a million years ago, I would always hear the youth in my church say how boring it was to be a Christian. I must admit that sometimes I would agree. The music consisted of old gospel hymns, the Christian rappers didn’t know how to connect with their audience, and no one talked about what was REALLY going on in the world. I always believed that if you don’t like the problem, you must become the solution, so I did. I began to develop the idea of creating an urban Christian magazine geared toward young men and women who were ready for a change. I didn’t want them to shy away from Christianity because they couldn’t relate to the artist or the people.

 

When a friend and I were discussing ideas, we created the name “Genesis: the NEW generation.” Over the years the name stuck with me until I was asked to construct a blog for my visual design class. Being the journalist I am, I researched the name Genesis to see if it had been taken by another publishing company. I was ready to move forward with my dream. Sadly, I stumbled upon a magazine with the same exact name. I refused to allow a name to stop me from reaching my goal.

 

I searched for inspiration through music. I listened to artists such as Lecrae, Mali Music, and Shonlock ready for a light bulb to go off! As I listened to Shonlock’s previous album I was stuck on the song “Avert.”  The message of the song was a to turn away from your sins in order to become a new being. I expanded on the meaning to create the name for this blog, and in the future, my magazine.

 

The definition of Avert means to turn away, but in order to turn away you must stand out and be different.  The artists presented have took that chance and turned away from the norm. The norm meaning secular music, peer pressure, or anything stopping you from being different and making a difference. Don’t just listen to the music, listen to the message. Once you hear the message you will fully grasp the meaning of what it means to AVERT.