Having an ENCOUNTER with God

Day 1 after an amazing time of teaching, worship and encouragement with the Freedom Culture Team at the Hillsong United ENCOUNTER Conference 2009 in Miami. The place was literally filled with thousands of people hungry to hear the message of Faith, Hope & Love which seemed the themes throughout the main teaching sessions. Of course any Hillsong event you can bet will be filled with Music, Creativity, Teaching and a passion to praise God. This being my third Hillsong event, I felt God so much differently in time past. I really felt that I had an ENCOUNTER with God.

To be honest, it was not like this deep revelation as you would think but I sensed several things that God wanted to do in my life that I was not allowing HIM to do because I was not having personal encounters with Him on a regular basis. I must admit I fall short in this area of deep solitude time with the Lord and have been feeling that God wants to do more with me but I'm not making time for Him to do so. I want go off the handle by just blaming the busy schedule I have but truthfully, if I can make time to Twitter, Facebook and Blog...I can make time to have FACE-TIME Encounters with my God.

As Pastor Brian Houston explained: An ENCOUNTER is a collision with the unexpected. Usually an encounter is referred to as a hostile, violent or even emotional struggle between two people in an unexpected manner. When I hear that, I cant help but to reflect on the struggle it is to have these encounters with God and how Satan (The enemy) thrives on stealing that encounter time with the Lord. Think about how many times just this week something came up that pulled you from devoting more, or someone said something to you that threw your day off, or we entertained a negative thought that could have robbed our seed of faith that we are believing God for.

Having an Encounter with God will be a struggle because the enemy knows that when we get in God FACE-BOOK (His word that reveals His face) that we will be transformed into the image His son and that spells conflict for the enemy! God desires that you and I Have Encounters so that we can expect the unexpected from our Lord! That's in your face FAITH! God wants to fuel us up with His presence so that as we live our lives in a world that doubts God He can reveal Himself as the God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-faithful & all-loving.

I challenge you today to have a God ENCOUNTER!

Having a Nehemiah Experience

If you have never read the book of Nehemiah, then I advise you to immediately once your done reading this blog-posts to spend some time reading the story of how God used a simple cup bearer name Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and write one of the most powerful leadership books today.


Nehemiah's heart was broken from the news brought to him about the City of God "Jerusalem", and the condition and destruction that served to reflect the reproach and shame upon the citizens. Nehemiah had an experience in his life in which God placed a burden on his to respond to the ruined city and rebuild it. Is it possible that God chooses a man or woman who seems to be the unlikely candidate to bring a revolution & rebuilding to their city?

The answer is YES! God uses this man, which by the way his name "Nehemiah" means (Yahweh Comforts) to bring hope, justice and peace to a City that had been desolate for over 100+ years. I must admit that I am challenged by this story to become a stronger person of prayer to find the essence of what really burdens my heart for my city? What will I do in my actions to reflect the burden place upon me, as well as other leaders whom I network with? How will I handle the criticism, as Nehemiah did, and continue to build in the midst of opposition? How will encourage, empower and lead a revolution in South Florida to build something through Freedom Culture that will please God!

Yes I had a Nehemiah experience, how about you?

Becoming a Partner with Freedom Culture

Hello Freedom Culture: Today I made my first genuine attempt to ask friends, partners and followers to join me in our efforts to begin raising support for our Freedom Culture Plant/Launch for the 2010. I can't begin to tell you how exciting it is to envision what Freedom Culture seeks to be in South Florida. As we are building relationships with people, we are inviting people to join our launch team and dream with us what God has laid on our hearts for this community. Maybe that's YOU!

There is so much need that one message will not cover all that it will take to make this dream become a reality. From Sound equipment, a trailer, resources, staffing, rental expenditures, funding to help with cost expenditure.......The list goes on and on.

The Good news is this! Along with the regular giving of my wife and I to this mission, as well as commitments from a partnering church planting organization (Northwood), we had our 1st commitment today from someone who is seeking to offer support for the next year. We need your prayers & generous partnership support to raise the funds needed to reach our community and successfully plant Freedom Culture. We are also in process of funding from our ECC partnership and partnering churches that also believe in this vision.

Please prayerfully and generously consider partnering with Freedom Culture? That means maybe you can make a commitment for the next year of $50-$100 a month ($25 a week) or a one time donation...Either or every dollar counts and goes toward helping us dream out this vision.

If your interested in becoming a partner, email me at: benny@freedomculture.org or

Freedom Culture Inc.
P.O. BOX 170806
Hialeah, FL 33017

Thank You so much for taking the time to connect with this vision!

Freedom Culture Coffee House Hangout

South Florida, were are so excited about our 1st Coffee House Gathering this Sunday at "It's a Grind" Coffee House In Miramar, FL ( 12703 Miramar Pkwy Click for directions). The event kicks-off This Sunday around 6pm till about 8pm with awesome group of people from around the Miami Dade/Broward County area's coming to hang out, enjoy some coffee, socialize with new people, connect with Freedom Culture and support the cause of Community Partnership for Homeless.

You can expect some live DJ music by DJ. Mr.E & spoken word poetry by Yannick of Soul Movement Crew, Maeve of Arts of Color, Live comedy by funny-man Monte Benjamin and a brief intro by Benny Salas on the Vision of Freedom Culture.

We are also asking for your support in raising a donation of school supplies for the children of Community Partnership for Homeless. With the upcoming school year, many children who are residents at the 2 emergency shelter locations (Downtown Miami & Homestead) need your help

and support. We will be collecting: Book bags, pencils, pens, markers, erasers, notebook, folders, paper, pencil boxes and other school necessities. If you would like to make a financial donation to CPH, click here.

We are launching Coffee House events every 1st Sunday as social gathering for the community, share the vision of Freedom Culture. We look forward to meeting you at one of our event gatherings or come-unity group gatherings. Please connect with Benny Salas or Freedom Culture on Twitter, Facebook or for more info email us: info@freedomculture.com

Social "Not-Working"

It's not often will you hear a post a like this, or at least I've not heard of one that will address the issues of balancing your social networking time along with the other million-and-1 tasks you have to do in a day! Go back to the days of MYSPACE.... Remember that? Yeah, I still haven't deleted my account yet, not sure why I haven't but nonetheless that's my goal for this week.

Anyways, when MYSPACE came out I recall spending so much time trying to get my profile page to look "HOT" as I scrolled through all my friends’ pages reading comments and so forth. Of course that got played out real quick and then FACEBOOK came along. I sat on it for a while but then it took off and I got HOOKED.... Again! Then to join the craze of bloggers I had to up it up-1 and begin blogging to share my thoughts on issues and topics I felt were relevant, personal and close to my convictions. Now we have Twitter! (WHEW).......(UUGGHHHH).....Does it ever end or will it ever end?

It's called Social Networking and thousands upon thousands; maybe millions of people are social networking everyday. Why else would Twitter and Facebook crash and freeze up! Think of the amount of time, energy, focus and concentration the Social Networking-Sphere has and will cost you in the long run. I along with the many social-networkers have a good reason for being addicted to posting a thought, Tweet or Blog to develop our organizations or get our name out there. Let's be honest for a just a moment and rate yourself on how much do you social network on a regular basis?

(1 2 3 4 5)

1-not so much

2-few times a day

3-Just enough

4-More than enough

5-all day

I must confess that I am a 5 and if I'm not balancing my time correctly I could very well be off the Charts! A conversation I had with my wife about these issues took place a few months back when I was basically living like a zombie. Every time my phone alerted me that I got a message, email, text or Tweet I had to answer it no matter where I was! It flat out pissed my wife off and for very good reason I might add. My attention to details, conversation, small things, personal time and family time and most importantly God time was sucked by the need to know what everybody else is doing and for everybody to know what I was doing.

This is Blog-fessional (Confessional Blog) where the conversation came up again after having spent quality time with my wife she asked me to engage in more conversation with her family and my opportunity to show her that I’m a changed man (Work in Progress still), didnt turn out good for me as I blew it! To busy trying to be excited about the (ADVERTISEMENT COMING) The Aug. 2nd Coffee House Gathering at It's a Grind Coffee House @ 6pm in Miramar, Fl.

My attempt to justify why I was messaging details only revealed to me that I was being selfish with my time and not honoring relational time with my family. It raised a Red Flag as I just had a conversation this past week with a good friend whose marriage is suffering and in restoration and healing due to the Social Networking disease. Is social networking bad? No! Yet when it’s where you find validation, acceptance, friends and identity then it can become unhealthy. I mean we are in a time where we can reach the world at the touch of a click or push button…..Amazing! Not so cool when it’s becomes your mistress or is the only time your intimacy happens for you.

Here are changes I hope to implement in my social networking sphere:

• Don’t compromise my relational time (My God, My wife, My Church, My Friends).
• Shut my phone/laptop off for meal times, devotional times, reflecting times and rest times.
• Don’t set everything to alert! May have to disable a few of them, actually already did. Easier said than done, because supposedly everything is important…NOT TRUE!
• Create a specific time to answer important things and specific time for non-important things.
• Work, Ministry, Education & Study time must come first! Am I offering the bulk of time building my future or my social networks??? (Big Challenge)
• Be cautious to not get arrogant and prideful with followers.....Keep my integrity in Check!

I’m sure there are more ideas you and I can come up so feel free to add. I want to stress that I’m not saying that you don’t social network, I’m just challenging you to think about this issue in your personal life and what this may look like! Maybe you think I’m too extreme or not extreme enough, but I just want to be healthy in my life that’s all. If you have to Google your name to see how many time you pop up, it's a sign you have social networking disease.

New Blog Added "Live-Out Loud"

I just added a new Blog called: "Live-Out Loud." The Purpose of this blog is to address the social issues in our culture that cause for voice to speak up on. I along with others will be posting on this blog along with links to other blogs that deal with issues and concerns of interest. All matters will not be addressed, yet this will be a culmination of a variety of issues that deal with Social Justice, Compassion, Morality, Ethics. Politics, Faith, Life, Music, Arts & Culture. Please be Patient as the site is under Construction.

Not sure if that will be the pic for the Blog yet. This is just a Test Page. May switch to WORDPRESS.

Popularity Screws Over Morality!

I debated about writing this blog but than I came across a great posts on FACEBOOK by April R. Silvers thoughts on this matter and I felt that anger rise within me to say something about how that made me feel. Besides it’s my blog anyways….lol.

Last Sunday night I tuned into the 09' BET Awards after coming home late from a speaking engagement that I had to be at and so I caught the last 30 mins of the show, expecting to hear or see a final tribute to Michael Jackson. What I got was anything but a tribute to Michael Jackson but a reality check of how trashy mainstream media will go to keep their popularity alive.

Here’s what my Tweets from twitter page looked like as I was watching this garbage and conversing with some friend about what was on the screen:

@LaSportsanista why do u want 2 cancel
BET is str8 up GHETTO!10:13 PM Jun 28th from twidroid

MAXWELL is singing mine & @sharonsalas song.10:15 PM Jun 28th from twidroid

@LaSportsanista yeah I know. BET awards needs major facelift. Unfortunately the stereotypes seem to fit.10:21 PM Jun 28th from twidroid

@LaSportsanista Another perverted lil'wayne song! I don't hate him, just his message, hope some guy doesn't treat his daughter that way10:30 PM Jun 28th from twidroid

BET awards should be ashamed of themselves for that last performance..Lil'wayne trash music10:32 PM Jun 28th from twidroid

Lil'wayne just trashed women then brings his kids on stage for a song....Wow! Pray God spares HIM! God heart just broke over that stupidity!10:36 PM Jun 28th from twidroid

@waynesutton I agree!10:37 PM Jun 28th from twidroid

@mileycyrus sorry the world had to hear lil'wayne song disrespect you. Keep be'n a positive role model becuz lil'wayne isnt .10:49 PM Jun 28th from twidroid

If you didn’t have the discomfort of watching Lil’ Wayne performance then I’d advise you to search it and see why everybody is buzzing about his performance for all the wrong reason. The song “Every Girl” flat out degraded women as he rhymes (which In my opinion he sucks at) about basically having sex with almost every girl he can have sex with. You could barely hear the song because almost every other word was “Bleeped” out! Sounded more like someone trying to tune a radio and not being able to pick up a signal…It was that bad!

Worse than the bleeping, worse the performance, worse than anything was him bringing little girls, even his own daughter on stage while he was performing the song! WHAT! Are you kidding me! Yes, he’s basically pimping and treating his own flesh and blood child as one of his many HOOCHIE girls he rapping about. I decided to not post the full Lyrics because I don’t want that nonsense on my web page but here are a few bars from his song:

“for free suites I’d give Paris Hilton all-nighters,
in about 3 years holla at me Miley Cyrus”

I could only imagine what his daughter’s thought as their Idol Hannah Montana is be sexually assaulted by their father on live TV. I do apologize for the long post but I make no apologizes about the stupidity and filth people would display to demoralize women in the name of Lust! Let’s be honest, lil’ Wayne has not been the 1st to do this and will not be the last either.

The moral fabric of family values, purity, integrity, respect and Godliness has been on the decline for decades and with each foothold the enemy can influence a person to desire after their flesh will only put us in jeopardy of what’s to come. Of course it never seizes to amaze me when these artist are esteemed and honored by society they never forget to thank God for it, yet they have just wounded the heart of God!

Heartbeat of HOPE!

I have spent the last 5 days in the Minneapolis, MN area on a Church Planting retreat with a few Freedom Culture leaders, my wife, Rubin & Janyl and new Coach Ed Arroyo of C4, that was hosted by the ECC. This informative training was to better equip leaders and church planters with the tools to plant healthy, thriving churches that will lead people to a relationship to Christ through the movement of Church Planting.

It will be hard to recap all that was processed throughout the week but I will share with you some key things that really spoke to my heart about why we need to plant Freedom Culture as a Multi-ethnic, relevant church in So. Florida.

Plant a Church because........

• People are seeking community through relationships, not just through events.
• You genuinely care more about people than your social profile or ministry status or talent.
• If your not about reaching people where they are at, your not ready for the HARVEST.
• You understand that people need to BELONG before they can BELIEVE.
• The Church is about RELATIONSHIPS & PARTNERSHIPS...You need both!
• The call and mission of Christ compels you not the fall & lack of vision you've seen in others.
• With the "AL's" in Mind: Biblical, Missional, Devotional & Connectional.
• People have Agenda Harmony with you. If their a problem now, they'll kill the dream & vision in the long-run.
• Strong leadership stool sits on these three types of legs: Spirituality, Strategy & Chemistry.
• You see the Church bigger than your church planting ideas. Build the KINGDOM!

I'm sure there is a lot more information and strategic ideas I could have share but these were a few thoughts that really impacted my time out here.

Musically Declined!

"How do you like your Hip-Hop Music, some like it holy, some like it polluted"..... spits a verse off a Christian Hip-Hop artist album who has identified the cultural stance on Music as somewhat tainted to ears of the hearer's. Hip-Hop Music, along with other types of genres have changed and shaped the the minds of many people both young and old in such a way that it's more than just about making music, its about creating a world or image that's people strive to live out! For someone like myself who really has never owned nor given Country music the time of day, I have seen that sex in Music in no different in country than that of T-Pain and Jamie Foxx saying "Blame it on the aaaa-lcohol." It's just packaged & sang a little different.

Music plays a major role in the direction and cultural view in our society. we got our dance moves, fashion design, language...You name it! I recall when I was teaching abstinence education in the public Schools that I would throw out a verse of a song like.... "I don't see nothing wrong" .....Of course all the kids would say "With a little Bump & Grind"

Listen if you come across this blog and you sing, dance, or whatever it is you do...Young people are watching and they will follow whatever you allow or agree with, regardless...So get over it, we all have or create influence one way or the either...The question is what will you do with it!

Of course I'm not a music bashing and just because I'm a pastor doesn't mean that I think all music is of the Devil or evil or shouldn't be listen to because it's your choice.......as the saying goes "Garbage In, Garbage Out." I actually enjoy a lot of pop culture music and other types such as Jazz, Hip-Hop, Contemporary music and mostly Worship Music. I think as a society we have to regain a sense of respect for the art of music and not be afraid to re-learn the art of being a critical thinker to determine what's acceptable and what's not!

The issues that I have is these mega-stupid-stars...I mean Superstars who portray these false images to our culture as if what their singing, Rhyming or displaying in these raunchy videos play not role or has any affect on the listening audience.....Are you kidding me! Fine make music, but please let's make sense and try to maintain the dignity and integrity were hoping for this next generation to live by, because if we keep going this direction with pop culture of reality TV shows and American Idols (no pun intended), we will be setting up our next generation and kids for failure and false hope!

Team Blueprints

Here's a Run-Down on what I was able to take away from our weekend with Don Davenport of the ECC & Freedom Culture team members Sharon, Rubin, Janyl, Jason, Rene, Nancy, Marcos, Marcella.


A few thoughts on Team Building:

• Build the team with God leading the charge and with leadership modeling it!


• Build the team with patience, perseverance & self-sacrifice.


• Build the team with people who are sold out with you for the greater cause.


• Build the team with one person at a time, no matter how long it takes.


• Build the team with the understanding that people, leaders will fail..but God will never fail


• Build the team with the openness to allow others to lead in area's they are better in


• Build the team with the expectancy that we are about creating HOPE for people


• Build the team with confidence, motivation & encouragement...momentum is essential


• Build the team around the cause, vision & need to plant/launch Freedom Culture in So.Flo


• Build the team around relationships that create community for others to engage & connect.


• Build the team through constant prayer for God to open doors to meet the right people.


• Build the team with realistic goals and achievable benchmarks..and stick to them.


• Build the team with CRAZY-FAITH to believe that one-day it will reach it's full potential.


• Build the team with the understanding that "Your Not" the only team on the field. Learn how to Play the game w/ others!

Now if you do these things will your team succeed? Not sure, but find what works and what doesn't for your team and work it the best way you know how!