Category: Spoken Word

Bearing Fruit

Posted on by Derrick Engoy in Art, Culture, Leadership, Life, Poetry, Spoken Word, Youth

This year’s Youth Development Academy, created by Sharefest, is in full swing. We are entering day three of a month long journey to instill values into the next generation toward helping them discover how they can be agents of change in our world and our society. It has been an amazing couple of days thus far and I am truly looking forward to the rest of the summer.

I am back with the team after taking a five month hiatus and it has been exhilarating and rewarding. My involvement, of course, is teaching a creative writing class to middle school students. The goal of the class is to help students discover their voice in the midst of injustice through creative writing tools and leadership development. The process, however, and helping students find their voice isn’t always easy. In fact, you really never know if they are retaining the information and are embracing the journey. 

At times, even, it feels like the students could care less and you never really know if you are bearing fruit.

That’s until, of course, you have a conversation with a high school student who took the class five years ago as a middle school student and it changes your entire perspective

The student, after some friendly banter, wanted to confirm if indeed I was the creative writing teacher who taught the class five years ago. I confirmed said inquiry and she went on to tell me that it was because of the creative writing class that she took as a wee little middle schooler that she was inspired to start writing poetry.

FIVE YEARS!!!

It goes to show that you really never know who you are influencing in the moment. Our inspiration and encouragement goes a very long way. You may not see the fruit tomorrow or next week or next month, but as we plant seeds, we can rest easy knowing that the watering is happening, nutrients are being cultivated and the fruit is growing just waiting to blossom in its time.

Stewardship

Posted on by Derrick Engoy in Art, Culture, Life, love, Poetry, Spirituality, Spoken Word

I was blessed with the opportunity, last week, of sharing poetry at Biola University’s Wednesday Wisdom Chapel. This particular chapel is specific toward inviting speakers whose specializations and experience bring biblically-based wisdom for Christian engagement in the arts and culture, reconciliation, missions and evangelism, justice, relationships, spiritual formation and other relevant topics.

The staff and students were wonderfully welcoming. They were ridiculously receptive to my pieces. And they were equally encouraging toward my poetic craft.

Not only did I feel a sense of affirmation, but I also was reminded of why I’ve chosen to fully embrace this particular gift and actually do something with it.

Stewardship.

We’re all blessed with a gift, a talent or an opportunity to do good. I believe God places us in situations where we can make lasting change that can truly make a positive impact in our world that’s slowly falling apart. And, since He’s all about redeeming and reconciling all things that has been lost, God is constantly looking for ways to situate us in positions that can transform others into the amazing potential that usually lies dormant within.

But we have to embrace these talents. We have to utilize these gifts. We have to take the initiative to steward well the opportunities that we’ve been given to make a difference. And, in doing so, the world that’s ripping at the seams will truly be sewn back together.

Writing poetry and performing Spoken Word is my constant attempt at stewarding the gift God has given me. And whether it’s encouraging other believers to think about their faith beyond the world religion we know of as Christianity or reminding the non-believer that they are equally loved by God, poetry has given me a platform to compassionately encourage others toward renewal and reconciliation.

I’m excited to see where stewarding this gift will take me. I imagine it’ll catalyze me toward amazingly irreplaceable moments upon moments of goodness.