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“The Shopping Spree is ending…”
Tommy Kyllonen aka Urban D.

The days after Thanksgiving and before Christmas represent the busiest shopping season of the year. It’s shopping insanity. People getting up at 3am, waiting in long lines, arguing over the last video game system or the new Elmo…even stampedes and real fist fights. This year people actually got killed. It seems each year it gets a little bit more intense and the retailers always try to push the envelope a little bit more in their marketing efforts to get us to spend more. Even with gas prices almost $2 cheaper this year, and dozens of flat screen TV’s for under $1,000… people aren’t spending like before. They can’t.
Experts say our economy is in the worst state since the Great Depression. How did we get here? For years Americans fell for “The Sales Pitch!” What were they buying into? They were purchasing a false reality. Over the past few years the average American spent $1.22 for every $1 they earned. Simple math will tell you that won’t add up forever. It hasn’t just been individuals, but even the country as a whole. The U.S. government has passed the $10 Trillion mark in our debt. The dollar hit its weakest points in history this year. Even Jay Z has been flashing Euros in his newer music videos… the Benjamins are so yesterday! So, here’s Americans living in the richest country in the world and it’s still hasn’t been enough – they have to spend beyond their means because they’re still not satisfied. The banks have over lent and the people have overspent and now everything has collapsed. It seems we can’t appreciate what we’ve been blessed with. I did a song with my man Surreal called “Appreciate” from the Un.orthodox album and the first verse talks about this mentality:
We always look to what’s next, but what about now / We grind long hours by the sweat of our brow / The system’s so foul / Got us thinking we need it / Work more, spend more, got us thinking we’ll beat it / But the cycle’s repeated / We get so conceited / It gets me heated / So I heeded the callin’ / I’m not called to be ballin’ / But, that’s the freight that most hip-hop is haulin’ / And it’s appaulin’ / From that point of view we’re all broke / King Solomon said riches are just like smoke / They’ll vanish / But most of us live so dope – compared to the rest of the planet / But, some of ya’ll starin’ at me like I’m speaking Spanish / I don’t have 3 houses and 9 cars, but I think I’ll manage / I think I’ll get by / Like Christ said it’s easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye / I appreciate…
So here we are – The Christmas season a time to give and receive and appreciate. Many of us go way beyond what we can really give just so we can try to impress others. We just charge it or take money from somewhere else. Many people find themselves getting deeper and deeper into debt. That dude King Solomon had some words of wisdom about debt. Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender.” In the original text of Hebrew that word “servant” also means slave or bondage. Many people have become slaves to their debt and they are in some serious financial bondage. If you’re reading this and you are a Christ follower…that’s not how we’re supposed to be rolling. We’re supposed to be the ones that are setting the example and learning to exercise that fruit of the spirit; self-control, even when everyone else is flossing and spending beyond what they really have. But it feels good to spend doesn’t it? Yes, it can…but when we over spend we find ourselves falling into these traps that effect many other areas of our lives. It can effect our stress levels, our relationships, our time with God, and if you’re married – your spouse and your whole family. This is the kind of stuff that can wreck families. It does every day! This is the kind of stuff that pulls people away from God’s plan for their lives. It even pulls people out of full time ministry…or any ministry at all. Talented MC’s drop the mic because their personal finances are in disarray and they can’t continue to fund their music. Thankfully some also step away knowing they’re not in the place to be a leader and a role model until they work on some of that personal stuff. But, it doesn’t have to go down like that.
This season represents the greatest gift that we could ever receive – the creator of the universe sending his only son to be the sacrifice for humanity so they could get reconnected back to him. That’s what it’s about. It’s seems we’ve lost the essence of that in the midst of the shopping spree madness. Think about that…then think about what Jesus says in Matthew 6:21 – “The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.”(Message Bible) This article isn’t about “not” Christmas shopping…it’s about keeping things in perspective. It’s great to go out and spend within your means and get some things for the people you have relationships with and the people you love and care about. But, consider the most important relationship you could ever have – most of us here would agree that’s with Christ. What are we doing for him? What are we getting him? This is the celebration of his birthday right? Imagine going to a huge birthday party and everyone brings gifts for each other, but the person with the actual birthday doesn’t get anything, or they get the scraps or leftovers. That’s what happens every year at Christmas. Many that regularly give to God’s kingdom give much less in December and the months that follow because they spend it on everyone else and he comes last. Some stop giving at all, because God isn’t factored into the celebration one bit. So again think about Jesus’ words “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I encourage you look at your shopping budget and this year plan to give your greatest gift to a solid church or solid organization that is pushing God’s kingdom forward…after all this is his party right?

Fla.vor Fest 2008 is just around the corner! This will be the 9th annual Fla.vor Fest @ Crossover in Tampa. This year's conference features 20 workshops in 5 tracks, 4 general sessions and 2 festival concert nights featuring close to 50 artists on 2 stages! Plus Crossover's innovative services (Thursday Night for Teens and Sunday's 3 services for all ages).

If you want to impact those influenced by Hip-Hop for Christ - this conference is the place to be! It's for pastors, youth pastors, youth workers, church leaders, MC's, DJ's, breakers, music promoters, and serious fans that want to make an impact.

Speakers include: Lecrae Moore, Efrem Smith, Tommy "Urban D. Kyllonen, Tim Tradeau, Spec, DJ Rhino and many many more...
Artists include: Lecrae, Tedashii, Lisa McClendon, shai linne, Rawsrvnt, R-Swift, Mars Ill and many many more...

For details on: schedule, workshops, concert line up, hotel and registration check out:

www.flavorfest.org

Shouts from the African Tour

We arrived in Abuja, Nigeria late on Saturday night. It took us three flights – Tampa to Detroit, Detroit to Amsterdam, and Amsterdam to Abuja. We were pretty beat. Spec and I arrived to be speakers at "The Global Glory of God Conference" at "All Christian Fellowship Mission" church. There was a group of 15 of us from America, Brazil and Poland. We crashed last night and slept good! We attended a church service this morning at ACFM at 9am. Both of us have never been to Africa before – so this service was an unforgettable experience. They had some singing in some other languages, they did a few songs we know and they had this guest group from another city that played all these drums and native instruments and danced for a hot minute. It was really dope to watch them worship God in their indigenous format. They were passionate about their praise. One of the leaders then announced this guest artist they've all been waiting for as the crowd got louder and louder. I was shocked to find out he was talking about me. Spec and I went up and greeted everyone and briefly shared what Christ had done in our lives. The crowd was very receptive as we did a song. They then promoted the concert we were doing this afternoon.
Everyone then went back to the hotel we were staying at to eat lunch. We went to this restaurant in the hotel where they had a buffet. I was shocked when I saw the bill was over $10,000…what? Well that was in their currency, they transferred it over and I was still shocked as lunch was $87. Well, it looks like we'll be eating a lot of power bars from my suitcase…lol.
Some officials from the church came to pick us up and we went over to the spot where the concert was going down. They decided to rent out a large theater instead of doing it in the church. It was crazy to see the place packed out with people excited to see some Christ-centered hip-hop. I got to have some great conversations with some leaders and youth back stage. Nobody had heard of any of the American Christian hip-hop groups. Only a few gospel artists like Kirk Franklin and Marvin Sapp had been to Nigeria to perform. Christian hip-hop was all new to 99% of the crowd.
The Nigerians were definitely live as they participated and had a great time. Spec and I rocked a set and then I shared from Luke 15 where Jesus tells the story of the Prodigal Son. I weaved in some of my story and also remixed the story as if Jesus was telling the story in 2008 in Nigeria. People were engaged and God got his shine. We prayed with people at the end and got to kick it in the front lobby as people gathered around for pictures and handshakes. It was an incredible day and the week is just starting. Tomorrow starts the conference where Spec and I will be doing some workshops along with the rest of the team from Highlands Fellowship Church in Virginia. I really miss my wife Lucy (she finally joined my space - she's in my top friends!) and my 2 little girls and my church fam…but I know this week will fly and we'll be home quickly. Please keep our health and our safety in your prayers as we teach Nigerian pastors the rest of the week!
Grace and Peace!
Urban D.

When we become a Christ-follower a huge part of our following deals with inviting others to join us on the journey. But, most of us begin to forget this over time as eventually all of our friends are also Christians and soon we're not really inviting anyone else at all. Our faith communities can quickly become a place that is just for "us". What would an unchurched person from your job think of your church if they visited? Really? Try to put yourself in their shoes. How would they be greeted? Would they relate to the music and understand the words of the songs? What about the language in the prayers and the topic and application of the message? Would they be able to connect? They should.
We all say we want to be more like Christ. That's who we're following, right? When we look at Jesus' teaching he was always connecting with the unchurched. He was an incredible teacher that knew what illustrations and what language to use to engage with people in his culture. They gathered in thousands to hear him as they hung on every word. In his day there were two main languages used. One was Classical Greek, which was used by the intellectuals, as it was the preferred language for reading and writing. The other was Aramaic, which was the common street language of the day. Which one did the Son of God use? Aramaic. He knew how to talk the talk with the average person in the marketplace.
In Matthew chapter 9 Jesus invited a tax collector to join his crew. Tax collecting was a pretty shady business back in this time as there was a lot of corruption. This invited tax collector named Matthew was so excited that he went and invited all his tax-collecting buddies to come hear the wisdom of this guy Jesus. Matthew threw a big house party and Jesus and his disciples showed up to mix it up with this group of mob-like characters. I'm sure their language and mannerisms were quite colorful. It didn't faze Jesus. That's what he was about. He was un.orthodox. The religious leaders of his day got all-uptight and challenged him for hanging out with these types of people. Jesus quickly shot back and stated he wasn't there for the healthy, but for the sick. He was there to invite the outsiders not hold hands and sing cum-bye-ya with the insiders. As Christ followers we say we want to be more like Christ, but that can be uncomfortable at times. It can cramp our style. It can be inconvenient. But, who are we really following? Who are we inviting to join us? - Tommy Kyllonen aka Urban D.

2008 is here! Many of us are glad that 2007 is over as it was a tough year. We're glad to close the door on the old year and open up the new one. We're hoping it will be a better year. But is that the best we can do? Just hope it will be better? Well, some people do make some moves as January is that month where there are a couple of places that a lot of people go: The health club and CHURCH. People are trying to get their life in order physically and spiritually. Many of us like to make some "Resolutions" or goals at the beginning of each year, but usually by the end of the January things are quickly getting back to how they were in December. Many of us lose that motivation that was so strong just a few weeks before. What happened?
Think about your goals for 2007. Which ones did you reach? Which ones didn't you reach? Why? Do we ever pause and just think about the whys? In our LOUD, busy, A.D.D. world we usually don't pause and reflect enough... let alone pray. Do we ever reflect and ask God about why we had a good day or why we didn't have a good day. Yes, some circumstances just come up, but a lot of it can also be pointed to our choices. Many times those choices just boil down to our attitude. Our attitude can make or break a day... a choice... and even a resolution.
There are some doors in your life that need to be closed... permanently. Our problem is we may close them for a little while, but eventually we start to reach for that handle and then we crack them back open...just a little bit though. The next thing you know it's wide open again, and that alone can slam some of the new doors closed. We're quick to complain why things aren't happening in our lives. But, are we are we really doing our part? Can God really trust us with those doors we think need to open? It may be some other doors all together... or some different ones we need to walk through FIRST. We need to seek our creator's wisdom and direction.
David was a cat in scripture that was in tune with God's direction. God was leading him to all the right doors throughout his life as he eventually became the king even though it seemed like it would be impossible. But, there were some seasons in David's life as he was King when he chose to open some of the wrong doors - doors of lust, lying and murder. He and his people paid for it dearly. There are serious consequences when we open the wrong doors or when we choose to not close certain doors in our life. But, there is hope. There is still air in your lungs and your heart is still pumping as you're reading this blog. There is a chance to still change and follow God's direction and seek the doors he has for you. David changed. He repented. It was said of his life that he served God's purposes to his generation.
I pray you will seek God's direction in this new year and open the doors he has for you and close those that he doesn't.
If you are in the Tampa Bay area I invite you to come check out our new series "Doors" in the month of January as we discuss this topic in-depth! www.crossoverchurch.org

Un.orthodox - Tommy Kyllonen aka Urban D.
Written by LaRosa Johnson
Thursday, 07 June 2007


I remember about a year and a half ago, a friend of mine purchased Efrem Smith and Phil Jackson's book The Hip-Hop Church, which gave a break down of the history of hip-hop and gave details on how the two were able to start their own hip-hop ministries to reach today's culture. It was a very insightful book, as it provided a lot of the knowhow for putting together a similar ministry, and making sure that Christ was always at the focus. Fast forward to today, and now there is an all new book being released that is furthering the groundwork that was laid by Smith and Jackson and speaks to a crowd that is intrinsically influenced by the culture and lifestyle of hip-hop. Enter Tommy Kyllonen, who is better and more affectionately known as Urban D., holy hip-hopper and pastor, with his book titled Un.orthodox: Church. Hip-Hop. Culture. Following in the footsteps of The Hip-Hop Church, Kyllonen basically picks up where Smith and Jackson left off and shares his tale of starting his own hip-hop ministry and building it to become one of the most innovative and unorthodox churches in the nation.
What makes this book different from The Hip-Hop Church? Even with similar formats and content, the two books are vastly different, especially when you consider the level of intimacy that each author has with the hip-hop culture. In contrast to Efrem and Phil who were only fans and influenced by the culture, Kyllonen was more entrenched in the culture by taking part in the art of emceeing, which he still does to this day under the moniker Urban D (shortened from Urban Disciple). That alone, brings a whole new depth to the book as a completely different outlook on the culture of hip-hop, as well as growing up and being influenced by a different region during the hip-hop era. You then get Tommy's own experience in creating a hip-hop ministry, which is different from that of Smith and Jackson. With all comparisons aside, this book has a place and a purpose at this point in time for this generation. Let's see what Tommy Kyllonen has to say in his book.
Again, the title of this book is Un.orthodox, which is a look at the culture of hip-hop and showing how it can be transformed and used to create a ministry that is set to influence those who are affected by and a part of the hip-hop culture. The book is broken down into three distinct divisions: church, hip-hop, and culture. The church portion of the book focuses on Tommy Kyllonen's story and testimony from his unorthodox roots to his current position as a Christian hip-hopper and pastor of a church. It is in this section that you'll get the brief story of how his grandparents & great grandparents immigrated into the country and became Christians, to his growing up in Philadelphia as a PK (preacher's kid); from there you move on to his days as a youth pastor and eventually becoming the senior pastor of Crossover Church and turning it into the hip-hop ministry that it is today. The hip-hop section talks about just that: hip-hop. You get a very exhaustive history of the roots of hip-hop in the Bronx during the 70's to the 80's where it began to become commercialized by mainstream media, and eventually becoming the empire and culture that is today in the twenty-first century. The final section, culture, then deals with the urban culture and how we can reach out to it. It is here that you, the reader, get a new perception for what urban culture is all about and how we can take this and use it in a ministry setting to preach the gospel, teach, and worship. Indeed, we see how Tommy was able to go combine an unorthodox life and an unorthodox culture to create an unorthodox approach to ministry; essentially, that is the breakdown of this book and what you'll be sure to find in it.
Depending upon your involvement in the urban hip-hop culture and your understanding of it, that will determine how useful this book will be for you. For someone who doesn't know much at all about hip-hop and the urban way of life, this is an invaluable tool because it offers both a comprehensive history and explanation of the culture, and then showing you how to integrate them into an effective ministry. For the person who is involved in the culture already (like myself), the history portion of the book isn't as necessary, but the ministry portion of the book is just as priceless, if not more than just the laymen who doesn't already know about hip-hop. Not to be forgotten is the first section, as Urban D's testimony is genuinely a powerful one of how God can use ordinary people to do big things, which can be an encouragement to anyone who reads it. Another thing that makes this book interesting to read is the plethora of quotes and snippets from his songs that are put throughout the chapters, showing that his rhymes directly correlate to the message that he is trying to get across in this book.
There are also many valuable resources that are contained in the appendix of this book. Kyllonen provides a lot of sample material that comes right from Crossover Church and how he runs things there. In the book, you will find: service outlines (a time line for how the service should/could run), a list of sample sermons and series that are from an urban perspective (all of which he has taught at his own congregation and are available for purchase @ crossoverchurch.org), and a full list of resources. The resources include a full list of books, websites, magazines, and events that all relate to Christianity and the urban Christian culture (maybe in a future reprinting we'll get listed under the devotionals section LOL). With this full list of materials, you will definitely have everything you need to get an urban hip-hop ministry started in your area.
Overall, I was very impressed by the content that Tommy Kyllonen provided in Un.orthodox, and I feel that it is an invaluable resource for anyone that is even remotely interested in getting involved in urban ministry or has a desire to reach those who are a part of urban culture. Personally, I was inspired by this book and feel a great desire within me to get a ministry started in my local area. God has truly blessed Urban D and Crossover Church, and this book is simply a testament to that and a sign of what is to come in the future both nationally and locally. Hip-hop is in for a reformation, a Christian reformation!
Also, don't forget to check out the CD+DVD of the same name that was released simultaneously with this book; check out our review of it by clicking here: Urban D. - Un.orthodox.

Check out Trailblazing Ministries site for lots of great resources, devos, reviews, and news relating to hip-hop ministry! (www.trailblazingministries.com)

Back in June I flew out to Texas to meet up with legendary hip-hop icon Kurtis Blow and his crew to do some ministry. I had met Kurtis in Atlanta in January and we had talked on the phone quite a bit since then. I was looking forward to building with Kurtis and getting to know him better and see him minister in person. My man Ricky B. picked me up at the airport in "The Van" along with Chris Flow, Noah, General X, and John. Ricky B. and Chris Flow are the other members of Kurtis Blow and The Trinity. We drove about an hour and a half to this spot in Oklahoma, checked in the hotel and ate some dinner and went straight to the concert. The event was held in this outdoor park and it had been raining on and off all day so it was muddy and pretty nasty. The sky was still looking ugly and it did start raining a little bit when Gen. X was opening up, but everybody was praying and the weather held up. Despite the weather and some sound issues we all pushed through and represented. Kurtis got there a little later as he was flying in from NYC. They rocked a few songs, but then it got cut off due to an approaching storm. It was dope to meet some cats that had been listening to my music since "Godzhouse.com" - that's taking it way back! Several of these dudes had all my old music - so it was good to meet them in person and encourage them in Christ.
We got some good sleep that night and the next day we were off to Tulsa to The Lord's Kitchen. This was the best show of the weekend. It's a cool spot as they feed people from the community a free meal and then they come in for a concert event each Friday. Several hundred people gathered at the spot and again we met some real cool people that were truly representing the heart of Christ. Everybody in the crew did their thing on the mic and Kurtis gave an invitation to accept Christ at the end and madd people came up to the front. It was a great night... but it was about to be a really long one - we left around 1:30am and drove all night packed in the van (8 of us with all the equipement and merch) as we drove to Killeen, Tx. At least I got a window seat, but it was still madd uncomfortable. Needless to say we was beat on Saturday, but we still all repped at the show and had good attitudes. That night we all went out to see Fantastic 4.
General X is the biggest promoter I've ever seen. Everywhere we went he was passing out flyers and selling his CD. We went to the mall and this cat sold like 7 CD's right out of his pocket - he was straight hustlin! He's a funny dude! Sunday we drove out to Houston Texas and had 3 concerts that day. It was a long day... but, it was all good. The best event of that day was at night when we were at the community center where cold cuts puts on his youth ministry. The whole Houston scene was there - Tre- 9 and Ras were there doing some new music. I also got to meet my man Phil from Rapzilla.com - he was there all the way from Belgem!
Monday afternoon I headed back to Tampa, and I was happy to get home to my wife and my two little girls. I had definitely missed them as I was gone for 5 days and usually my trips are only 2-3 days. It was a good experience - Kurtis was a down to earth dude that was definitely about spreading the gospel. We had some good convos over the trip. The crew had an open date they were trying to fill on Sunday July 1st... so we hooked it up that they would come down to Crossover in Tampa. We took some video footage from the tour and got a shout out from Kurtis and the crew sharing that they'd be at Crossover on July 1st. With less than 2 weeks to get the word out my man Elijah edited the video and they showed it at Crossover on Sunday July 24th in all 3 services. People were amped and the word of mouth was spreading. Spec also made up a flyer for the internet and the local secular hip-hop website posted it up on the front page (tampahiphop.com).
Sunday July 1st was definitely a day to remember at Crossover! We were continuing in our series "Heroes" where we were highlighting some Old Testament heroes of the faith. I spoke that day on Abraham "A father's faith". Kurtis and his crew did 2 songs in the 2 morning services and I interviewed him during my message as he shared about how it was back in the day, how he met Christ, and what he's doing today. It was a big encouragement to people as they were excited to see him. I finished the story about Abraham's faith and just how far he took it... all the way to the point of being willing to sacrifice his only son Issac, but God came through and provided as he was only testing him. That was some serious faith for Abraham! It proved that he truly loved God... even more than his own son. We ended off the message showing Lecrae's new video as people were able to reflect. After that an invitation to accept Christ was given and over 40 people responded throughout the day!
Sunday Night Vibe at 7pm was really the highlight of the day though. We recently started this 3rd service to reach cats that can't come Sunday mornings due to work... or they just can't get out of bed :) We knew some new people would be there, but we weren't sure how many. The morning services were pretty packed. Sunday night was so packed we ran out of seats! We had worship and jumped straight into the message where Kurtis again was interviewed - it was dope to be able to speak to an audience that was nearly half unchurched! For real - cats came out from the secular community and they were really feeling it. DJ Sandman from 95.7 the beat was in the house in the second row along with his sidekick hypeman Deacon. Kramtronix from Tampahiphop.com was in the front row. DJ Charley Chase from the legendary Cold Crush Brothers was there with his whole family and some friends. DJ Knucklez was there from 88.5, Concept from the hip-hop show RawVibes was in the house as well. There were also a ton of B-Boyz in the place as well. There was even a former heavy weight champ there - Tony "TNT" Tucker was there! It was humbling to see a lot of people respond to the message and the invitation. They had never seen it presented like that or been in a spot like Crossover - it also planted a lot of seeds and broke a lot of stereotypes!
After the message we had Noah from Kurtis's church in Harlem come out and warm it up - he's a nice MC with a great voice. Then Kurt and The Trinity came up and did their thing. The crowd wasn't totally sure what to think of his new stuff at first as some of it has a southern feel as the other 2 members are from the south, but they were warming up to it... and then when he got into his old school set - forget about it - the crowd was going bannanas! It was definitely a great night that had a lot of people talking about it, and several of them have been back to Crossover since then. Big ups to Kurtis Blow and The Trinity for coming through! I pray the Lord continues to lead them and guide them and use them wherever they roll.

"Read all about the hip-hop gospel" - Dalia Wheatt - TBT - June 10th, 2007

"Tommy Kyllonen has this message for churches seeking to attract Generation Y: Don't be cheesy. Kyllonen, 33, is a Christian hip-hop artist and head of Crossover Church, a non-denominational congregation on North Orleans Ave. in Tampa. Since becoming lead pastor in 2002, Kyllonen aka Urban D. (for disciple) has helped Crossover earn a reputation as the hip-hop church.
Of Crossover's 500 or so members, many are young adults attracted by it's rap concerts, street ball league, Splinter Skate Park and Fla.vor Fest conference. Aspiring emcees slip demos to Kyllonen like he's Russell Simmons. Visitors may come for the novelty but often wind up joing Bible Studies and even taking leadership roles at Crossover.
People wanted to know how Kyllonen did, so he wrote a book.
Holy Hip-Hop: In Un.orthodox: Church. Hip-Hop. Culture. Kyllonen recounts his days as a preachers kid in Philadelphia and explains how faith and street culture coexist at Crossover. The gist? don't water down the gospel, but don't water down hip-hop either.
'You gotta stay up; you gotta be a student of the culture', said Kyllonen, who typically preaches in jeans. Crossover's creative team keeps tabs on what's happening in Hollywood, online and networks like MTV and BET, Kyllonen said. 'Not that we watch those things all the time or buy secular rap albums. Nah, we don't do that. But, we still try to keep up with... what's current to talk about.'
That can mean preaching sermon series like MySpace... is God invited? and The Hustle... is it worth the grind?
Saying no 'in love': as do more and more places of worship, Crossover incorporates video clips, live dramas and raps into its services. The church encourages members to use their talents for God, offering classes to hone skills like break dancing and deejaying.
But keeping church cool also means knowing when to say no.
'Everybody and their grandmother wants to come and rap at Fla.vor Fest,' said Kyllonen, whose latest album, also titled Un.orthodox, was released on EMI Gospel last month. 'So there's always people sending me demos, and some of them are great. And then quite honestly, some of them are pretty bad,' he said with a laugh.
Crossover Church holds Sunday services at 10am, 11:45am, and 7pm, with childcare available at each. For more information on the church, visit www.crossoverchurch.org."

Urban D. - "Un.orthodox" Review - by Paul Turner
* Published by Interlinc (Resource company to over 8,000 youth ministries)

"Urban D. raps from a unique perspective. He's the pastor of an Un.orthodox Church called Crossover which reaches the hip-hop community. Urban D. has been in the game for 10 years plus and he brings the maturity and experience of pastoring an inner city church to this album. he steps to the mic and the pulpit in his new album aplty named Un.orthodox.

Any rap fan will like this album, but there is enough hook and melody to soften the blow for the rap player haters in your group. This album will be great to play as background music when you are not using every song to supplement your messages.

'Hustle' bursts over you like the Florida sun where Urban D. is located in Tampa and I swear I could smell Latino cooking filling my office while I was listening. With a shepards heart Urban D. reaches out with 'Sorry' and shows us by example how to reconnect with God when we have blown it. there is a short altar call which could be included as a closing part of a service or Bible Study. 'Temptation' and 'Culture' are great analysis' and well rapped topical studies. Both include the dangers and solutions of how not to be sucked in by either. 'Peter' and 'Purpose' are both great stories. Peter is a great character study about how God uses this one life to show how we can be used despite our similar inconsistencies. In 'purpose', urban D. relates the trajedy of losing their first child after trying so hard to become pregnant. Although God is blessing his ministry he shares how God uses all things for purpose, even loss. The title track 'Un.orthodox' and 'Church' makes the rebel in all of us stand up, cheer, and reflect. Passionate lyrics call the Body of Christ to let go of the traditions of men and set a new standard of life and practice our Christian walk.

So, after listening to all this heavy subject matter set to light Latino beats what is one to do? Easy, slap on your Salsa shoes, hit the 'Okay' track and dance wildly around your office or home. Fruit on your head is optional!"