Andre Jebbinson, Staff Reporter
Dwight Gordon, finalist in the 2006 JCDC National Gospel Song Competition. - CONTRIBUTED
JAMAICA REPUTEDLY has more churches per square mile than any other country, yet deviance is running rampant in a make-believe holy nation. Dwight Gordon, a contestant in this year's Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Gospel Song Competition, believes Christians are not doing enough to address the paradox.
"Being a Christian, I realise that our ministry is under attack. People can do a lot more to bring back this country," he said.
He said that the Church has a problem with presenting the Gospel. "We need to be on the road with the people. Notice how companies do their marketing. We don't know how to talk to people. We need to be out there non-stop campaigning," he said.
HEALING MESSAGE
Gordon is back in the competition after appearing as a back-up singer for last year's runner-up, Joycelyn Peart-Lawson. He feels it now is time to get the healing message out. His entry, Restore My Life, deals with the ills that plague Jamaica. It is a calling for the servants of God whose lives have been broken and want to come home. "I am patiently waiting in hell where no peace abides" is a line from the song that Gordon said was inspired by personal and general conditions.
"Nowadays you see funny man a church and married man a fool round with other women while dem wife deh a back bench. We need restoration. This song is for them," he said.
He said that while technical problems may prevent his song from winning the competition, his main aim would still have been met. He sees the competition as an avenue to get his pleas to hearts and minds across the island.
"They thought my concept would be too time-consuming, so we just did a quick thing. But I am not getting the feel I want from it. It is too much of a cliché," he said of the production. He is, however, confident that his song will get placed somewhere in the top three.
MOST LIKELY TO WIN
Clive Warren and Marvia Simms seem to be on the lips of most of the contestants as the two most likely to cash in on the $1 million jackpot. Gordon also expressed the same sentiment. But he remains steadfast, as he will continue his quest to make Jamaica a better place.
The 29-year-old is a part of the band Perfect Love, which seeks to melodiously "create a nice environment." He is also choir director, musician and engineer for the Church of God of Prophecy in Spanish Town. Music is no joke for Gordon, as he is now a private piano tutor and set to receive a high achiever award from the School of Music, Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.
"I want to focus on a solo career because I want to see what I know can happen," Gordon said.
