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About the Book


"The School of the Seers" by Jonathan Welton is a guide to understanding and developing the prophetic gift of seeing in the spirit. The book explores the biblical basis for the gift of prophecy and offers practical steps for increasing spiritual discernment and vision. It covers topics such as spiritual sight, dreams, and visions, and provides tools for interpreting and applying revelation from the Lord. Overall, it encourages readers to deepen their relationship with God and grow in their ability to hear and see His voice.

Lecrae Moore

Lecrae Moore Lecrae Devaughn Moore, or simply Lecrae, is an American Christian rapper, songwriter, and record producer who performs both as a solo artist and as the leader of a group named ‘116 Clique’. He had a troubled beginning in life but all that changed after he found his faith at 19. Heavily influenced by 2Pac Shakur, and motivated by his new found faith, he ventured into a musical career. He and his friend Ben Washer set up their own independent record label ‘Reach Records’ and through it, he released his debut album ‘Real Talk’ in 2004. In the following years, he brought out six more studio albums, three mix tapes, and two EPs as a solo artist and three studio albums, one remix album, and one EP with his group. He has received six ‘GMA Dove Awards’, two Grammys, two ‘BET Awards’ and more. Lecrae is very active in the community and in 2005, he established ‘ReachLife Ministries’, the mission of which was to “bridge the gap between biblical truth and the urban context”. He is a vocal supporter of the preservation of responsibility and believes that fatherhood should be considered as a value to be installed among men in the United States. He has authored several op-ed articles on race relations in the modern-day America which were published by ‘Billboard’. Childhood & Early Life Lecrae Devaughn Moore was born on October 9, 1979, in Houston, Texas, USA. His father had always been absent from his life and later became a drug addict. He was raised by his poor but hardworking mother and grandmother. He attended services with them at their local church but the initial response to religion was indifferent at best. Growing up, he lived in San Diego, Denver, and Dallas. He suffered sexual molestation at the hands of a female baby sitter when he was eight, and according to Lecrae, it left a long-term negative impact on his views on sexuality. In a life full of abuse and violence, hip hop provided him with a refuge. Besides 2Pac who he admired for his rapping skills, he also looked up to his uncle who introduced him to a life of crime. He began doing drugs at 16 and soon started dealing as well. He kept a Bible with him that his grandmother had given him as a good luck charm. The turning point in his life came when he was arrested for drug possession. The officer let him go upon Lecrae’s promising that he would read and follow the Bible. He thus started visiting the church again. Upon an invitation from a friend, he also started attending Bible studies. He was once involved in an accident where he wrecked his car but he himself came out unscathed. This incident further strengthened his belief in Christ and he devoted his life fully to his faith. He returned to his college, the ‘University of North Texas’ and volunteered and sang at a juvenile detention centre. Career Six years after his conversion, Lecrae Moore released the album ‘Real Talk’ (2004) through ‘Reach Records’, a label he had founded with his friend Ben Washer. It reached #29 spot on the ‘Billboard Gospel Album’ chart after being re-released in 2005 by ‘Cross Movement Records’. In 2005, he formed ‘116 Clique’ with other artists who had signed with ‘Reach Records’. The group owes its name to the Bible Verse ‘Romans 1:16’. They debuted with ‘The Compilation Album’ in the same year. They have since released three more albums, ‘The Compilation Album: Chopped & Screwed’ (remix, 2006), ‘13 Letters’ (2007), and ‘Man Up’ (2011), and one EP, ‘Amped’ (2007). He was nominated for a ‘Stellar Award’ for the ‘Rap/Hip-Hop/Gospel CD of the Year’ for his second solo album ‘After the Music Stops’ (2006). In 2008, he put out his third studio album ‘Rebel’. In his fourth studio album, ‘Rehab’ (2010), Lecrae talks about freedom from inhibiting addictions and habits. Both Lecrae and his album received accolades in the 2010 ‘Rapzilla.com staff picks’, being hailed as the ‘Artist of the Year’ and the ‘Album of the Year’, respectively. His fifth studio album, ‘Rehab: The Overdose’ (2011) was a direct follow-up to ‘Rehab’, both being highly conceptual works. While ‘Rehab’ was about the victory over addiction, ‘Rehab: The Overdose’ focused on attaining "grace, love, peace and hope" in Jesus. He won his first two Doves because of this album, one for the ‘Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year’ and the other for the ‘Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year’ for the track, ‘Hallelujah’. ’Gravity’, released on September 4, 2012, was his sixth studio album and had 15 songs with a total runtime of 57 minutes. It peaked on the ‘Rap Albums’, ‘Christian Albums’, ‘Gospel Albums’, and ‘Independent Albums’ charts. Lecrae released his first mixtape ‘Church Clothes’ on May 10, 2012, through digital download for free. It was followed by ‘Church Clothes 2’ (November 7, 2013), and ‘Church Clothes 3’ (January 15, 2016). He has also released two Extended Plays till date, the EP version of ‘Church Clothes’, and ‘Gravity: The Remix EP’, both released in 2012. He has collaborated with the likes of Trip Lee, Tedashii, Canon, Mali Music, and Ty Dolla Sign. ‘Columbia Records’ signed him in May 2016, in a contract between them and his label. His most recent work, a track named ‘Hammer Time’, which is a collaborative effort with 1k Phew, was released on June 23, 2017. On May 3, 2016, he published his memoir titled ‘Unashamed’ through ‘Broadman & Holman Publishers’. It debuted at #19 spot on the ‘New York Times Best Sellers’ list. Philanthropic Works In 2011, Lecrae, through ‘116 Clique’ and the ‘ReachLife Ministries’, instigated the campaign ‘Man Up’, focused on providing guidance to young urban males on fatherhood and Biblical manhood. In March 2015, ReachLife was deactivated and ‘116 Clique’ shifted its attention to contribute to ‘Peace Preparatory Academy’, a Christian school in Atlanta. In May 2013, he worked alongside several other celebrities on a media initiative named ‘This is Fatherhood’. Jay Z, Barack Obama, Joshua DuBois, Lecrae himself, and others have appeared in the initiative’s promotional public service announcement videos. Major Works In a career marked by successful artistic ventures and awards, Lecrae’s greatest musical achievement is unarguably his seventh and the latest studio album ‘Anomaly’, released on September 9, 2014. It was the first album in history to debut at #1 on both ‘Billboard 200’ and ‘Top Gospel Albums’ charts. It was also certified Gold by the RIAA. Awards & Achievements Lecrae Moore received a Grammy in 2013 for the ‘Best Gospel Album’ for his sixth studio album ‘Gravity’. He won his second Grammy in 2015 for the ‘Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song’ for the track ‘Messengers’ which also featured the Christian pop band ‘For King & Country’. He was named the best gospel artist at the ‘2015 BET Awards’. In 2017, he was the recipient of the ‘BET Best Gospel/ Inspirational Award’ for the song ‘Can’t Stop Me Now (Destination)’. On March 14, 2016, he was conferred with an honorary doctorate from ‘Canada Christian College’. Personal Life & Legacy Lecrae Moore met his wife Darragh at a Bible study when they were both teenagers. They have three children together, two sons and a daughter. The family resides in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2002, he was informed by his then girlfriend that she was pregnant with his child. The couple had an abortion, a decision which he has regretted since. The incident was the subject of the song ‘Good, Bad, Ugly’ from ‘Anomaly’. Trivia Lecrae portrayed the character Dr. Darnall Malmquist in the 2014 independent film ‘Believe Me’.

What Does It Mean to Be Real

Nobody likes a fake. Even in our airbrush culture, we despise counterfeits and crave authenticity. Everyone wants to be real. But what does it mean to be real? No one really knows. Or so it seems. Try an experiment. Listen to people talk about what it means to be a Christian. Do you know what you will hear? Lots of competing answers and plenty of confusion. Perhaps you recall when 2012 presidential hopeful, Senator Rick Santorum, claimed that President Barack Obama’s policies were based on “a different theology.” Reporters, of course, pounced on this juicy piece of journalist red meat. “Did Senator Santorum,” they asked, “have the audacity, not of hope, but political incorrectness, to call into question the president’s claim to be a Christian?” When Senator Santorum was pressed, he gave a politically savvy response: “If the president says he’s a Christian, he’s a Christian.” End of story. Next question, please. His answer satisfied reporters, and thousands of others following the story. It was as if he said, “To profess faith is to possess faith.” And what could be less objectionable, or more American, than that? But one wonders what Jesus thinks of what Santorum said. More Than Mere Talk Is it enough simply to  say  we’re real, or should we be able to  see  we’re real? And if so, what should we see? Are there marks of authentic faith we should see in our lives, or in the lives of others? And what about the watching world? What should they see in the lives of real Christians? Now, more than a decade into the twenty-first century, the evangelical church faces huge challenges to its ministry and mission — radical pluralism, aggressive secularism, political polarization, skepticism about religion, revisionist sexual ethics, postmodern conceptions of truth. But perhaps the greatest threat to the church’s witness is one of our own making —  an image problem.  Many outside the church view Christians as  unchristian  in their attitudes and actions — bigoted, homophobic, hypocritical, materialistic, judgmental, self-serving, overly political. Several years ago, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons showed this in their book  Unchristian , which landed like a bombshell on a happy-go-lucky evangelicalism, causing many of us to do some serious soul-searching. The evangelical church’s image problem doesn’t bode well for its future. In fact, the data suggests that evangelical Christianity is declining in North America. Despite the church’s best efforts to appeal to the disillusioned, we continue to see alarming trends. Droves of people, especially from younger generations, are leaving the church and don’t plan to return. This has driven some to even predict the end of evangelicalism (See David Fitch,  The End of Evangelicalism? ). One True Soil The reasons for this discouraging state of affairs are complex, not cookie-cutter. But we know one thing is certain:  When Christians are confused about what it means to be real, the spiritual decline of the church will follow. In our increasingly post-Christian culture, where confusion about what it means to be real abounds, and where distrust of organized religion has reached an all-time high, the church needs to  get real . We must clarify for ourselves, and for a watching world, what it means to live a life of authentic faith. While Christians are confused about what it means to be real, Jesus is not. “Thus you will recognize them by their fruits,” he says (Matthew 7:20). You know you’re real if you bear fruit, he tells us. Fruit is the telltale sign of authentic faith because fruit doesn’t lie. “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush” (Luke 6:43–44). Jesus underscores this point in his famous parable about the sower (Matthew 13:1–23). The parable itself is straightforward. A farmer sows seed in a field, and the seed represents the good news of the kingdom. It is sown on four different kinds of soil, each representing a different response to the message of the kingdom. Simple enough, right? But here’s the punch line:  Only one type of soil bears fruit. Counterfeits Exposed The seed sown on the first soil hardly gets started. Satan comes and snatches it away. But what’s even more troubling is the outcome of the seed sown on the second and third soils. Why? Because both respond  positively  to the message, at least initially. These seeds appear to take root and begin growing into something real. Yet as the story continues, we learn that neither seed bears fruit. Neither lasts to the end, and thus neither seed is real. Some of the seeds fail to develop roots, and they don’t persevere when life gets hard and their faith is tested. All we see from this seed is a burst of enthusiasm, but no staying power. Perhaps this is someone who got excited about fellowship or forgiveness, but lacked love for Christ. They only have the  appearance  of being real. Over time, their faith proved counterfeit. We assume the third seed had a similarly joyful response to the message. Yet this soon dissipates because of revived interest in the things of the world — a career promotion, a new vacation home, saving toward their 401(k) plan. These concerns choke any fledgling faith, and the person falls away. New People with New Lives Why does Jesus tell his disciples this sobering parable? Why such a blunt story about the distinction between authentic and inauthentic responses to his message? Evidently, Jesus doesn’t equate professing faith with possessing faith, as we so often do. Instead, he warns his disciples that only one things matters — bearing fruit Although provocative, I think Jesus’s point is simple.  Real is something you can see.  There is a  visible difference  between real and not-real Christians. It’s not enough to  say  you’re real; you should be able to  see  you’re real. Real faith is something you can see. Being real is more than regularly attending church, feeling good about God, or “accepting” Jesus as your Savior; it goes beyond being baptized, receiving Communion, reciting the creed, or joining in church membership. As important as these things are, being real runs deeper than these things. Real Christians are new creatures. Physically, they won’t look different than others, at least not in the way they dress or keep their hair. Yet real Christians are radically changed — they’ve experienced a new birth, received a new heart, and enjoy new desires. Which makes them altogether new people who live new lives. And it shows. If you’re real, it will reveal itself in your life. Real Christians bear the marks of authentic faith in ways that can be seen, heard, and felt. When you know what you’re looking for, you can see the marks of real in their lives — and in your own.

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