Controversy – Godinterest

December 7, 2017January 15, 2024

24 Lecrae Quotes that Will Challenge How You Practice Faith

He performs to packed venues all around the world, he has sold millions of albums and he has countless fans that hang on his every song. Most people reading this could tell their own stories. He has that effect on people.

Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979), might be best described as a poet. Someone with a rare gift to channel his mighty intellect and generous spirit through an artful, unparalleled mix of wit, and spectacular clarity using rap music.

Born and raised by his single mother in Southern Houston, Texas. As an American Christian hip hop recording artist, songwriter, record producer, and actor Lecrae is the president, co-owner, and co-founder of the independent record label Reach Records.

Reach’s mission is “changing the way people see the world.”

Experiencing abuse and neglect during his childhood, Moore used his ability to rap as a source of significance. Lecrae eventually turned from drugs to alcohol consumption and a party lifestyle and became a “misfit of a person.” Moore currently resides in Atlanta since relocating there from Memphis in 2009 and is married to Darragh Moore, who also handles the business portion of his career. The couple has three children together.

Lecrae is one of very few artists operating in the Christian genre to hit No. 1 on the Billboard. To date, he has released seven bestselling albums, two mixtapes and won two Grammy awards and a Billboard Music Award in the process and landed a global distribution deal with Red Distribution/Sony Music for the record label he co-owns, Reach Records.

Critics are uncomfortable with Lecrae’s recent music because it is no longer a monologue preaching an agenda.

“Lecrae engages with culture and dialogues with the modern secular world and is looking to break mold of a Christian rapper.”

Lecrae isn’t alone. Artists like Propaganda, Andy Mineo, John Givez, JGivens, Beautiful Eulogy, Trip Lee, KB, Jackie Hill Perry, Social Club, and Tedashii are engaging culture and bringing restoration to hip-hop and the world through great music.

Here are some of Lecrae’s most powerful quotes that can help re-inspire the way you live your faith.

“Why live for the approval of men when you can have the approval of their Creator? What can they give you that God can’t?” – Lecrae
“Suppressing your hurts is like not tending to a bullet wound. Eventually, you will bleed out. Don’t numb pain, express it.” – Lecrae
“Live like someone died for you.” – Lecrae
“If people throw stones at you, pick ’em up and build something.“ – Lecrae
“The less time you spend with Truth, the easier it is to believe lies.“ – Lecrae
“Life is like a dice, so watch the ones you’re rolling with.“ – Lecrae
“We fear circumstances so much because we fear God so little.” – Lecrae
“If I’m wrong about God then I wasted my life. If you’re wrong about God then you wasted your eternity.“ – Lecrae
“People will hurt you. But don’t use that as an excuse for your poor choices, use it as motivation to make the right ones.“ – Lecrae
“Prayer doesn’t bend God’s arm but it’s guaranteed to bend our hearts toward His will. Worry less. Pray more.” – Lecrae.“ – Lecrae
“Christians aren’t people who never sin or always do the right thing. We’re people who live in continual repentance.” – Lecrae
“Don’t follow your feeling. Just follow the word.” – Lecrae
“I’m not a Christian because I’m strong and have it all together. I’m a Christian because I’m weak and admit I need a Savior.“ – Lecrae
“Better to have a small role in God’s story than to cast yourself as the lead in your own fiction.“ – Lecrae
“God gave you your own race to run, stop comparing yourself to other people. They have their race and you have yours. Run hard and don’t quit.“ – Lecrae
“Some work hard to acquire money only to find in the end that money acquired them.” – Lecrae
“When you’re worrying you’re not praying. Stop worrying start praying.” – Lecrae
“Believe the best about people. Pray for their shortcomings. You are not the standard. We all need grace.“ – Lecrae
“Character isn’t who you are when life goes your way. Character is who you really are when the bottom falls out.“ – Lecrae
“God is never late, we’re just impatient.“ – Lecrae
“Don’t waste your time explaining who you are to people who are committed to misunderstanding you.” – Lecrae.“ – Lecrae
“A man who is too afraid to admit his fears is a man who won’t overcome them.” – Lecrae
“God is not bothered by your persistence. Keep asking.“ – Lecrae
A controversy has been brewing in Christian hip-hop and at the center of this controversy is rapper Lecrae and the record label he co-founded, Reach Records.

March 30, 2016July 1, 2022

Heathrow Airport Expansion – Exploring the Controversy

LONDON – The debate over the £19 billion scheme for the third runway at Heathrow airport has been a long-running row which has grown into fierce opposition within the last couple of months.

We shall not be moved, Heathrow Airport management has stuck to its original course of action, while ignoring constant protests and public discontent and insists that expanding Heathrow will provide the growth, jobs, experts, and connections to make Great Britain greater still.

Sir Richard Branson Urges Heathrow Expansion, and Says “Britain Is ‘being Held Back Massively”.

The billionaire founder of the Virgin Group has accused politicians of neglecting to back the expansion project at Heathrow because they are more concerned about their own jobs rather than doing “what is right for the UK”.

The entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson urged the Government to be ” bold and brave on big infrastructure decisions like this”.

Hounslow Council, on the other hand, has been accused of “throwing in the towel” over the Heathrow expansion after it promoted the “opportunity of a third runway”. In response, Hounslow Council leader Steve Curran stated its stance on Heathrow had not changed but said it needed to be prepared if the government approves the recommendation for a third runway later this year.

Meanwhile, twelfth century St Mary the Virgin sits right in the middle of flight paths in the village of Harmondsworth, Middlesex and under blueprints for the expansion of the airport, most of the buildings in the village will be demolished but the 951-year-old grade II listed church will be spared. Protesters say there would no longer be anyone to use it.

Worshippers have already prayed at a Service of Hope that the Government will reject Heathrow’s expansion plans.

Amid mounting concerns and opposition from the whole community Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary predicts the government will ditch the £16bn plan for a third runway at Heathrow.

“Trying to Expand Heathrow Is like Trying to Build an Eight Bedroom Mansion on the Site of a Terraced House. It Is a Hub Airport That Is Just Simply in the Wrong Place” – Justine Greening

London Mayor Boris Johnson has been a vehement opponent of Heathrow expansion and has said
that the New Heathrow runway will negatively affect public health. In his report ‘Landing the Right Airport’ presented in March, Boris Johnson evaluated damages caused by the new runway to be between £20bn to £25bn during the next 60 years.

Both Zac Goldsmith and Sadiq Khan, respective Conservative and Labour candidates to succeed Mr. Johnson are also on the bandwagon and are campaigning against a third runway. This controversial debate has also resulted in Downing Street issuing an instruction to ministers asking them not to discuss the proposed third runway at Heathrow airport.

The North West Runway Will Be Two Miles (3,200m) Long, Making It Big Enough for Any Aircraft in the World to Use It

The commission, which was ordered by the government coalition, stated that the Heathrow expansion is ‘the best answer’ to easing the pressure on the UK’s crowded air terminals and that it will not increase noise above current levels, but will generate up to £147 billion in GDP impacts over 60 years.

Furthermore, if the plan for the third runway is approved, it will provide 740,000 flights a year, putting it on equal footing with Paris, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam.

A decision on whether to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport has been delayed until summer 2016, the government has confirmed.

March 29, 2016July 1, 2022

33 of the Most Inspirational Leadership Quotes for You to Live By

We’ve all seen quotes designed to motivate or inspire us. Well, according to a new study, people who post these ‘inspirational’ quotes also have lower levels of intelligence. However, Godinterest disagrees, and see’s some quotes as universal nuggets of wisdom. You know the ones – those quotes that give you “Aha!” moments of inspiration or meaningful insights into your personal and professional lives. These are the ones you want to print out and place on your fridge so you’ll see them every day.

This collection of inspirational quotes features some of the all-time classics you may know, as well as some lesser-known ones you’ll love too. If you have any quotes you would have added, feel free to share in the comments section!

“The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable.” – Denis Watley
“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” – Stephen A. Brennan
“Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” – Fitzhugh Dodson
“Goals are dreams with deadlines.” – Diana Scharf Hunt
“You must have long-term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short-term failures.” – Charles C. Noble
“Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination, and disregard for obstacles and other people’s criticisms, carry out your plan.” – Paul Meyer
“The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.” – Benjamin Mays
“Progress has little to do with speed, but much to do with direction.” – Unknown
“The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Goals help focus you on areas in both your personal and professional life that are important and meaningful, rather than being guided by what other people want you to be, do, or accomplish.” – Catherine Pulsifer
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” – Zig Ziglar
“It doesn’t matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going.” – Brian Tracy
“The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience but how he stands at times of controversy and challenges.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” – Horne, Lena
“Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.” – William E. Channing
“Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.” – Henry Ford
“It’s not whether you get knocked down. It’s whether you get up again.” – Vince Lombardi
“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” E- Eleanor Roosevelt
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Ryun
“Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purposes.” – Kenneth Hildebrand
“People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” – Wayne Dyer
“The surest way not to fail is to be determined to succeed.” – Richard B. Sheridan
“A determined person will do more with a pen and paper than a lazy person will accomplish with a personal computer.” – Catherine Pulsifer
“There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.” – Ella Wheeler Wilcox
“It was courage, faith, endurance and a dogged determination to surmount all obstacles that built this bridge.” – John J. Watson
“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” – Og Mandino
“You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” – George Lorimer
“We will either find a way or make one!” – Hannibal
“That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.” – Unknown
“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
“Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” – William Feather
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier

March 3, 2016December 6, 2022

Fighting Gender Discrimination in The High-Tech World

New research suggests that tech-savvy women might face gender discrimination in jobs at high-tech firms, partly due to mismanaged projects.

It shows gender discrimination is still as prevalent in the UK as it was 20 years ago, and comes as International Women’s Day will be celebrated this week on March 8, for the 103rd year.

The book “The Recruitment, Retention and Advancement of Technical Women: Breaking Barriers to Cultural Change in Corporations” by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, a Palo Alto-based nonprofit organization focusing on the role of women at high-tech firms.

“More than a Quarter of Women Have Experienced Some Form of Gender Discrimination in the Workplace, a New Study Shows.”

Tech firms typically rely on a “hero mindset” to save poorly organised runaway coding projects. As a result, employees with family responsibilities (generally considered to be women) are left out, the report said.

The Research Also Suggests out of 1,500 Office Workers in the Uk, 26% of Women Felt That Having Children Held Them Back in Their Career

The research also suggests that there is evidence of bias against women in recruitment and job assignment in places where high-tech corporate cultures thrive on this “hero mindset” that “rewards a ‘last minute’ crunch where 24/7 work becomes necessary to ‘save’ a project.” However, these environments fail to acknowledge family responsibilities and flexibility needs, the report said.

This fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants workday culture represents a pattern that’s grown mainly because an organization poorly defines project management and requirements.

For example, Silicon Valley’s sometimes frantic fire-fighting pace and in-your-face communication style produces many technical cultures that often “leave women feeling isolated and crushed,” notes the report.

The study also reflects what 59 senior business and tech managers — both men and women from companies like Cisco, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, Google, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft and Symantec — shared during a closed forum organized by the Anita Borg Institute. According to the report, it’s common in the high-tech world to find the modern equivalent of the “good old boys network” that tends to hire “people who are like them.”

Technical women these days are “still a rarity,” said Dr. Carolyn Simard, author of the report. She added that in the United States, women earn just 18 percent of computer science degrees in college. That figure is sharply down from the 37 percent observed in 1985. Yet technical demand is still expected to grow as much as 32 percent by 2018.

The Institute published a second report titled “Senior Technical Women: A Profile of Success,” which surveyed approximately 1,800 participants from seven unidentified high-tech firms in Silicon Valley.

It found that women now hold about four percent of the senior-level technical positions at high-tech firms and an estimated one-quarter of all tech jobs. On higher levels, women are more likely to end up in a managerial position compared to men (36.9 percent of women compared to 19 percent of men), who are more likely to hold “individual contributor positions” in technical coding jobs.

The second study also found that men and women in technical jobs value most of the same attributes for success, such as being analytical, questioning, risk-taking, collaborative, entrepreneurial, assertive, working long hours and being sociable.

Far more often than men, women generally have “primary responsibility for the household,” the study showed. However, senior-level tech women are much more likely to have a partner who holds primary responsibility for the household and children (23.5 percent of partnered senior women) compared to entry or mid-level women (13.4 percent). Senior-level tech women are also more likely than their male counterparts to forego a partner and children because they believe they might hinder their careers.

To improve work-life balance and stop any perceived gender bias against women in the high-tech world, the Anita Borg Institute is pushing a few ideas that will generate debate and controversy.

“The Equality Act 2010 Makes It Unlawful for an Employer to Discriminate Against Employees Because of Their Gender.”

One recommendation suggests that because there is evidence that women are eliminated in the hiring process at the resume review level, companies might consider “that all women candidates should at least get an interview.”

With backing from firms like HP, Google, Facebook, Intel and Intuit, the Anita Borg Institute even suggested that it might be possible to create a software tool designed to weed out any unconscious bias against hiring or promoting women in the tech world.

This “software tool for detecting bias” was proposed at the Institute’s forum. It can use language recognition to zero in on everything from performance evaluations to letters of recommendation that exhibit gender bias. An online tool like this can be found at Harvard’s Project Implicit.

“We envision building on such research to create a system where specific language can be fed and analyzed for the existence of bias,” the report said. “Using machine learning and text analysis methods would help organizations and individuals address the existence of bias before the damaging language is formally used in recommendations or evaluations.”

Additionally, the software would be a “high-impact diagnostic tool for calibrating organizations with regard to hiring and promotion decisions.”

April 21, 2001April 24, 2020

Kirk Franklin Architect for a new American Musical Genre

Kirk Franklin has, without a doubt changed modern music more than any other artist in the last two decades. He has been called the architect of a new American musical genre. The 48 year old minister incorporated contemporary Hip-Hop music with traditional gospel choir arrangements to reach out to the youth with a positive and uplifting message.

Franklin was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. He began playing the piano at the age of four. By the time he was out of kindergarten, he was singing and playing on the church gospel circuit. At the age of seven, he was offered a recording contract. Thinking that he was too young, his aunt declined the offer. At age eleven he was appointed a minister of music at Mount Rose Baptist Church. He began to write, arrange and re-arrange Christian music. “My first triumph”, recalls Franklin, “was turning Elton John’s “Benny and the Jets” into a gospel tune.” At nineteen he did his first home recording and in 1992 he began to realize he was a new gospel sound. In choosing the artists that comprise The Family, he handpicked seventeen of the richest voices in the area.

In 1993, after much prayer and reflection, he with a brand new fledgling label, ‘Gospo Centric’. In January 1997 Gospel Centric was named the number 1 Gospel label in the country, fielding five artists and eight in the top 20. In seven short years, Kirk Franklin became a musical superstar. He broke barriers, crossed musical boundary lines, and achieved success unknown to any other gospel artist at that time. For the first time in history, a gospel music debut album sold over 1,000,000 copies. His first album went double platinum. Kirk and the Family has remained top of the Contemporary Christian, Urban, R&B and video charts. His debut album established Franklin as the leader of a new gospel music by expanding the genre to encompass contemporary R&B and Hip-Hop. The base for this new genre has grown exponentially. His second album, Kirk Franklin the Family Christmas sold over 500,000 in weeks.

Franklin’s latest project scheduled for a late spring or early summer release features youth group 1 Nation Crew. The CD is just as diverse as the members of the group, which is multicultural and is expected to cross-cultural barriers around the world. The group recently performed a single from the CD on Morning America. Franklin and his wife Tammy live in Arlington and have two children; Kerrion, and Kennedy.

Has Kirk Franklin gone too far? He has drawn some controversy with his Hip-Hop hit flavoured tune with a gospel message. Entitled ‘Stomp’ Featuring Salt and Pepper.

Steve Jones, a reporter from USA Today reported on March 21^st, 2000.

‘Kirk Franklin says the debate over whether ‘Stomp,’ the phenomenal funk-driven, hip Hop flavoured hit, is truly gospel music, is still simmering. He’s undeterred in bringing his messages of Salvation and uplift to young people by using the beats of the streets. He says he’s on a mission to counter the negativity found in some of today’s popular records, but he can’t do it if he doesn’t get kids’ attention first. “I’ve got kids, and I had to throw some of my son’s (R&B and rap) CDs away,” says the father of three.’

Franklin says ‘we are trying to make testimonial messages from the church more accessible to everybody’.

But is this really the right way?

I believe music is important to God because it informs apart of the worship and is continually rendered under him in heaven. Now some of us are going to be shocked when we get to heaven, it’s going to blow are minds, you hear some people saying, they ain’t gonna do that in heaven. As Christians we use music to express praise, and to awaken a devotion, and gratitude to God. Satan has devised numerous counterfeits to deceive us into worshiping him. See the devil wants us hang up on music, whiles souls are perishing, he wants us to be in the church arguing about the style of music. Some are critical about the beat, but have not won one soul to Jesus.