Stage selfies

I've seen this come up in forums online, and have been discussing it with many people personally. I have seen selfies used in classrooms in school with the teachers and other staff as well as for family gatherings, so I hope this will inspire and bring a lot of clarity of how/when/where to use these as a means of communicating a message of love...

I've grown up on stages and performing for many people since a child. 

In elementary I went to a Talented and Gifted school in Harlem where I spent lots of time acting; being in art class; playing in the school band; etc. and in High School as I was rapping and doing spoken word poetry my mentor Jive Poetic would teach us all about making people feel included with your performance.

This included things like eye contact, pointing at people in the audience and other gestures that would make them feel as if they were on stage with you. I also learned a lot of voice projection, etc...

I say all of this to say that I've been doing this for a long time, and anyone who not only has seen me on stage but speak in classrooms and direct large groups of children can tell you the way I command the crowds. A lot of techniques with voice, and gestures are also things I have noticed I have gotten even from family members like my mother and father; plus I really have gotten the art of story telling from my Grandfather(who I speak about on "Another Beautiful Day")... This man has traveled the world and had all kinds of jobs and careers in every field and inspires me very much.

As I came to grow and understand my mission in this world, I've used these inclusion techniques(sometimes consciously and other times just naturally) in order to make people feel like a part of the message rather than just telling it to them. In my classrooms and with youth groups I am a big fan of interactive activities that can teach through active participation the things I wish for this group to learn. I am also one to ask more questions to lead to an answer rather than just give the answer.

Stage selfies is just another step in this. I have found that many young people(I sound like I'm some old guy saying this. ROFL) since this is all they know and are usually taking these daily don't respond until I get them in a "selfie". From shows I have seen kids comment and point themselves out as well as friends from the crowd, and even closing out youth group activities these selfies with the kids give them a sense that you care and wish not only to be seen, but also for them to be seen.

There are so many who's voices are never heard. In the past year I have had kids confess to me great issues in their lives that they never felt comfortable telling anyone and for their privacy as they are growing I won't post them here. Some from parishes I work with personally here in the Bronx and others I have met in my travels performing, touring, and teaching. I believe it is because of my approach of "inclusion" that many have been moved to open up.

I end this post in saying this... I founded all is love which has a mission to create a complete culture of love. This is a community not of those who glorify themselves, but rather those who really seek the best interest of the other. It is a culture of service and sacrifice.... And so I would rather post stage selfies with the crowd than those of just myself all the time.

Each opportunity to minister is simply an opportunity to love. It is a shared experience as the spirit moves through all of us, bouncing energy and ideas off of one another. It is my job to showcase not me, but this community of love.... And sometimes that may be through stage selfies.

- The Symbol

- All is Love