I had a picture in my mind like a small pile of tinder and an unused match in my hand, in a huge dry forest. The tinder represented people I knew and the match was my own voice, lifestyle and actions. The forest was society and culture. It crossed my mind that if I lit the match and if the tinder caught on fire, the forest might soon be engulfed in flames, and the light just might be seen by the whole world. So I prayed, "God, let me light the match," and I got to work...

In September 2000 The Christian Herald published an article that began with this statement: "This past summer, Toronto's mayor, city counselors and law enforcement officers debated how to clean up the city¹s rave scene. A group of Christians are one step ahead of them, throwing dance parties with no drugs, no weapons, no drinking, no smoking, no sexually provocative clothing and no one being wheeled out on a stretcher." We didn't just not invite drug dealers and gangs in - we actively kept them out. We only hired performers that promoted positive lifestyle messages in their music and our rave flyers stated clearly "no drugs, no weapons, no markers, no bad attitudes" and "R.O.A.R." (right of admission reserved) or "come clean, free your mind, leave the drugs at home". We threw our events in safe venues with reasonable security, from community centers to church basements to clubs, and most of the time we served non-alcoholic drinks. We were all about the music, atmosphere, artistic and social experience, and a fun and safe time with our friends.

It wasn't that I'd never been exposed to the drug culture. The first people who invited me to raves when I was fourteen were drug dealers. Half my friends in high school were partiers or used drugs. Some of my most powerful memories in high school were when my friends died young from preventable accidents. When my friend's boyfriend died of an asthma attack when he was high on acid, a week after we were hanging out at the mall eating French fries and talking about music. When a close friend died as he choked on his vomit drinking alcohol. A new friend I'd just met at a house party, a week later died instantly when he hit a hydro pole driving drunk, seriously injuring six other people in his car. Four teenagers driving back from a soccer game died in a car accident after a few drinks. Two of my cousins died young - one was hit by a drunk driver in his little sports car, the other one commit suicide by heroin overdose and hanging himself. My close friend's brother and friend's housemate both died by accidental drug overdose. A schoolmate committed suicide. My first boyfriend attempted suicide with and because of drugs. I have more stories than I could ever tell here... but today I will focus on my own.

The increasing violence in our culture saddens me. I am saddened when I see on the news that a 15 year old stabbed a 12 year old in Toronto's club district late at night. I am saddened by increasing gang violence in Toronto, the underground illegal gun trade, the number of shootings and innocent bystanders dying for no reason. I am saddened as a woman every time I feel violated by song lyrics, record covers and flyers that depict women as objects to be raped. I am saddened that I don't feel safe DJing in any of the clubs in the nearest small city to where I live, and that I nearly died in a preventable accident in the last year due to a friend's struggles with drug use. I am saddened that I have been almost raped on more than one occasion. I am saddened by a culture with rampant drug use and addictions of every kind, and an increasing desperation in society, especially in youth, and also in adults. I am saddened that so many people who should be responsible adults are living lives overshadowed by the party and drug cultures, spending much of their time up to no good, yet consider their own lifestyles to be "normal" and even "status quo". I am saddened that some people look at my recording studio as something to be stolen to pay for their next stash of drugs. I have been lied to, taken advantage of, and people have stolen money from me for drugs. I am angry, I feel violated, I trust no one.

But in the midst of every situation, in the good and in the bad, we are always faced with a choice. Will we take what life has handed us or not handed us and turn it around into something good? Or will we use excuses to not deal with situations? Or worse, will we perpetuate the violence in our own lives and the lives of those around us? Not making a clear choice is - unfortunately - making a choice, and usually not a good one. It is so easy to choose, and stand by our decisions with our actions, and God has granted each one of us with the ability to choose.

When I was in high school I met someone who changed my life. This person was the most Christ-like person I'd ever met. He didn't work in a church; he didn't have a regular job. He had gone to school for music, but in the real world he ran a youth drop-in center and spent all his time talking to teenagers, getting to know them, visiting them at school, buying them lunch, starting up bands and playing out, and going into high school assemblies with huge movie screens depicting extreme sports athletes, heroes and ordinary people asking teenagers to think about important questions and choices in life. He never once preached at me or told me what to do or to believe. He just made himself available as a shoulder to cry on and a friend to confide in. It's quite possible that he is part of the reason I didn't commit suicide as a depressed young teen myself. This man was without a doubt the most influential person in my life, and his example will never leave me. And now in my own lifestyle, personal direction and choices, because of him I can understand the power of one person who chooses to walk a Christ-like lifestyle, and one person's ability to influence hundreds of peoples' lives each year - and how that influence carries on in their lives and the people they in turn influence, perpetuating to change more lives and bring hope to more people, over and over and over ad infinitum.

Entertainment papers carry ads from companies looking for extras and models. I think that's exactly what we need: models, in fact role models. People who will live our lives in an exemplary fashion for others to follow, from our hearts, minds and souls, regardless of what business we are in. Sharing from our own personal journeys as we learn and grow each day, as we follow and learn from Christ, and our own role models too. Good role models are out there for us if we will search for them. For example, a pastor called Tommy Barnett is reaching his entire city for Christ, by building a church with weekly altar calls, running free buses into the inner city, sending out people to personally invite new people from every neighborhood, and teaching every new believer how to share Christ with their friends. Some new believers within one year have grown so much in Christ that they are ready to lead their own Bible studies and teach others about the life changing truth that has transformed their own lives. His ministry reaches deep into the inner city touching gang members and their neighborhoods, criminals, drug addicts, the homeless, children growing up in the ghettos, teenagers, and regular families. His son has a similar ministry in Los Angeles reaching out in the inner city. Four times a year huge outreach theatre productions casting hundreds of people in costumes, with video and special effects, attract new people from across the city for Easter and Christmas and stories such as real life gang violence. There is even a biker church, and every possible form of ministry popping up, as ordinary people turn their hobbies and pastimes, social events, abilities, ideas and everything they have into an opportunity to share Christ with their friends and neighbors. Masters Commission and an increasing number of discipleship schools are opening up to teach young adults how to live for Christ as true leaders. Youth for Christ is a social organization that reaches out to youth on a personal, individual level to "Love Them Until They Ask Why". Billy Graham is a clear example of how to share the gospel of Christ. Tons of books can be found that teach us how to do things, how to think, and how to live our lives, including the Holy Bible which is available everywhere. Lots of musicians who are Christians are getting out there with their own stories to share. There is no shortage of role models out there for us to find and learn from - now the real question is - will we be choose to be role models ourselves in our own circles of influence? Will we live as Christ did? We all influence our friends, workplaces and society - and it's up to us whether that influence is good or bad, and how we spend our lives and what we do and think about each minute and each day.

One of the most underrated truths in society is that you are what you think. You are what you read, you are the music you listen to, the media you pay attention to, the people you hang out with, and everything that influences you - processed through your own thought patterns and your ability to take those thoughts captive and control their direction - because your thoughts will then control you, and everything you do, consciously and unconsciously. There are no excuses. You have the ability to change the course of your life, by your thoughts and actions, and the lives of everyone around you by your influence. Feeding your mind the right constant diet, making right choices and spending your time wisely can impact your world more than you will ever know. What you spend your time thinking about will automatically influence others around you. That is part of the reason why prayer and reading the Bible each day can be so powerful. As you renew your mind and focus on the truth of God, it literally changes the way you think, the direction of your life, and how you influence everyone around you. As God's truth cuts to your heart, the changes in your lifestyle and attitude will be apparent, and will open doors for you to share God's love and truth with others.

Jesus said to his disciples, "The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." (Matt. 13:11) Romans 1 describes the progression of sin and mankind turning away from God: "...although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened... since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind... they have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity..." But Jesus promises "seek and you will find" (Matt. 7:7) and "the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). Participation in sin has a blinding effect on individuals and entire cultures, and as we participate in sin, we lose our knowledge of truth and our ability to discern right from wrong. That's why it is so important to take the truth that you know and apply it in your life, and continue to seek to discover more truth, and as you learn, grow and put what you learn into practice, you heal your mind and life, and day by day become the Christ-like person you were intended to be. Through this process we can also help to bring healing to others around us, as their eyes are opened to the truth they can see in us. Influence through proximity (friends) and through mediums such as radio, the internet, CDs people listen to, books, even single songs, and every form of art can affect the way people think and may influence their choices and direction. I can personally attest that a radio song prevented me from taking my own life twice as a teenager, as I contemplated my suicide for that evening I heard the words, "Hold on for one more day, things will go your way". Crime rates continue to rise as the next generation is inundated with messages of gang violence, drugs, murder, promiscuity, gun crime, dishonesty, manipulation and what some call 'seven deadly sins' (pride, greed, envy, anger, lust, gluttony, sloth). If we do not stand up for truth, we will lose the truth we have and our freedom, and become engulfed in bondage and the consequences of sin as an entire culture... just look at places in this world who do not have truth and freedom and blessings found in Christ to try to imagine what that may be like. The word I would use to describe an existence without Christ is literal hell. While on earth we still have God's grace and the ability to choose as individuals and as nations.

What people don't understand is that everything has a source, whether good or bad. Where there are drugs, there are drug dealers and ties with organized crime. In Canada, if you buy illegal drugs, you pay for the underground illegal gun trade, guns designed to kill people. Drug dealers kill each other over money as a way of life. Gang members steal and lie naturally, and violence is their way of life, including gun crimes. Most have lengthy criminal records. Most junkies are very good at hiding their drug habits. Don't believe what people tell you! Steer clear of the wrong people and don't get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. I nearly died myself several months ago, in the wrong place at the wrong time, and no one would help me. When music, media and so-called friends try to tell you that drugs, weapons, promiscuity and violence are a good thing, whether they realize it or not, they are doing the sales and marketing for the illegal drug, prostitution and gun trades that tear apart our society and economy and hurt people. If you let these elements into your parties and social gatherings, don't be surprised when people get pulled into crime, form habits and addictions, get in car accidents or other accidents, get dangerously harmed or worse in fights, pick up STDs, and in the midst of everything become depressed, and caught in lifestyles not beneficial to anyone including themselves. These are natural consequences of these choices. Yet people from every level of society and every walk of life are involved with these habits and lifestyles, either because they don't know the truth or because they don't care.

Being a Christian is a heart choice, and a lifestyle choice. Knowing the truth, and applying the truth in action, is what will heal our minds and our lives. God gave us the truth in the Holy Bible, and teaches us how to live through the example of Jesus Christ, and through specific instructions and stories throughout the New Testament. He has given us everything we need. To know Him, and to live as Christ, will bring healing to us and bring the truth to people around us. Spending time with God every day, through prayer and reading the Bible, as we grow in relationship with Him. And as we learn the truth, putting it into practice (James 1:22, Matt. 7:21-27). "This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did." (1 John 2:3-6) Some churches don't teach how to have a relationship with God and how to walk as Jesus did. But all that is found in the Holy Bible, and if you read it, you will know the truth.

We have power to reverse trends of violence in culture, or at least offer a clear alternative to people. We have no shortage of resources. We have knowledge of truth that holds power to change our lives and others. We have power through prayer, faith, and obedience. Twenty-five percent of Americans make up the most powerful force in the USA, known as Christians. People who work for good will find themselves supported by friends, family, churches, schools, social organizations, police, courts, media, communities, neighborhoods and local businesses. We have money and the ability to make money. We have our consciences and the common thread of humanity. We have our lifestyle examples, the ability to speak out and reach out, the power of positive peer pressure and real love in action.

Artists are a powerful voice to culture, and artists can influence more artists, media and culture. We can dialogue and come up with solutions. We have technology to speak to the entire world. We have our voices. As artists we can influence society, we can influence the media, we can lead people, we can lead the culture. Each one of us holds the power to influence and change our world. If a tiny acorn can become a huge oak tree in time, your work and what you do and say can influence a nation, your entire generation, and many more generations to come. Never underestimate the power of influence and truth and what a single voice can accomplish, and even more, what people who come together for a common purpose can accomplish. Never underestimate how far your influence and example may reach, especially if you pray and live for God.

And the subject of God is becoming a rising trend in entertainment. After the success of The Passion of the Christ, even atheists and practicing homosexuals are writing books and creating films to sell to Christians about our own faith. We may as well take the reigns and be the ones creating the culture. Other trends in culture are about violence, such as films depicting young people plotting murder. Now is the time to use our voices, gifts, time and abilities, using every good opportunity we can find to speak out in love and truth, and to live for Christ, as He gave Himself for us. Jesus said, "This is my command: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (See John 15:9-17, John 14:34-35) If we were to live each day as if it were our last opportunity to make a difference in our world and to share God's love and truth with people, we might begin to understand how Christ gave Himself for us. "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor. 13:13)