I'm reading this book right now titled "It Takes A Church To Raise A Village." Interesting and inspiring as it is, I have read across a particular soft topic that I wish to address here on Facebook. I'm not afraid to tackle controversial issues and I know some will totally disagree with me, but that's cool. Here's the exert from the book..."We must reach them (the youth) and speak to them in the language they understand. We may not like the language they speak or the music they listen to, but if God chooses to reach them with Christian rap music, then we must learn to speak that language. We must make our faith relevant to them.........We will only reach the village youth when we learn to communicate in their terms. Music is simply a form of communication, and we must learn how to communicate through the form that they have chosen."Let me first begin by saying that before I got saved, I listened to any and everything I wanted to listen to, from Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Silk, R Kelly and whoever else. But when I got saved, it didn't take a choir singing an urban song with a hip hop beat to spark my interest in God. I think to say that the church has to change their style of music to cater to a young generation that grew up on hip hop & r&b is stupid. Jesus said that (paraphrasing) "My sheep hear my voice and will not hear a stanger." All I'm saying is that when the call of God is on your life and when you hear that call, it won't matter whether the song you hear at church that Sunday is a hymn or a contemporary beat. People keep saying you gotta do this and do that to win young people. Jesus hung with sinners, publicans, the scribes, and the pharisees, but I do not recall him ever changing his language and the way he communicated with them to cater to them. In fact, he spoke a lot of the time in parables because He knew that those who were His would gain that understanding of what he was saying...a language that others who didn't belong to him couldn't comprehend. He didn't have to comprimise, becasue He had the understanding that those who were His would hear his voice and follow him. So in a nutshell, I'm not downing gospel music and how it has changed over the years to cater to the hip hop generation, but when you start using it as a remedy to win souls, I think your focus is diluted. The Lord knows them that are his and he's not changing His voice, to get souls. Those that will hear the call of God WILL hear. That's what I'm confident in. When folks is going through their worst circumstances in life, I'm sorry, but I don't wanna hear no bump, bump, bump. I wanna hear somebody singing "Dark clouds may rise, stormy winds may blow, but I'll tell the world, wherever I go that I found a Savior. And He's sweet I know." But hey...we can agree to disagree. I still love you.
Love for everyone,
Ms. Pinky
9 comments:
This is so true Faith and I totally agree... I'm saved and nobody had to sing a rap song and all the rest for me to go to church and give my life to Christ. Jesus has a standard and if i want to be saved I am going to come up to that standard, plane and simple. The Lord knows if you are one of his then u are going to change your ways and start to live the right way. Everybody's trying to dilute the power of God...
When people say that they have to sing rap and r&b to reach this generation, are u trying to tell me that God doesn't have enough power to come and get me out of my mess? that he has to use what the devil created? I rebuke that now, because the God that I serve and have come to love with all my heart is more powerful, omnipotent, loving, and has more wisdom than that... his foolish is wiser than all that mess!!
I don't want to praise God with the same music that I used to praise the devil....When my soul is seeking and yearning for God I don't want to be...
...boppin' my head to some random beat, but i want it to be a holy ghost filled song, "I know He reached way down and saved and me!!!!"
All I know is they didn't change it for my mom and dad, so don't try to deny me the fulness of the gospel of Christ...i want it in its ENTIRETY......so whatever u had to do that's what I want...and if its anything less, its not worth my time...i got somewhere to go and its going to take the POWER of God to get me there...
I love u guys
Jenny
Well, thank God for some folk with sense. It is amazing how those who don't have the Spirit of God, all of a sudden know what He thinks. There is no way in the world that rap has or can get anybody to God. I mean sure, I might sound extra hard, but it aint going to work. The problem is not that God has to change to reach them or that He does not have enough power so He needs our help. The problem is the Body of Christ, who is the church, us. We have lost the power that God once delivered unto the saints. We no longer look like the image God created us in. God did not lose His power, we lost His power. Because of this we have lost our influence and power to draw.
What we have to understand, is that we are the only picture of Christ that is on the earth. People are walking by us cause we don't look like our model. Christ was around those who were not like Him and did not understand Him, yet he never conformed to their ways. Because of our lack of faith in what we believe,the world...
... has more influence over the church, than we do over them.
....I don't know why I posted that one line. But we got to get back to our place of power. I am so afraid that we are getting further and further away from truth. I seen a clip of Tonex the other night and he has really lost his mind. He made the statement "There it is church, I am worldly". Now sure he and his followers will say, that he means hes out to get the world for christ. However those with the Spirit of God and Holy discernment can see the spirit behind him. The sad thing is the church has become very worldly. Now I have to say that there are some who are abusing Holiness. Yes some are abusing Holiness to preach their own view of the folk they don't like. They only call out the folk who strugle with the things they don't strugle with. Some like Pastor G. Craig Lewis of Truth Behind Hip Hop. Holiness is a hard whipping, but it also carry along with it love. Stop calling folk out and help them get delivered. And stop calling out the homosexuality and start calling out your lies
I agree with u all as well. Like Faith said, if u are one of His sheep, you're going to hear His voice. When I wasn't saved, I was goin through some things as we all were. I thank God HE brought me into a ministry where I can know that there is another life and another way where I don't have to be like everybody else. Their is a way where I can live clean, saved, and holy and not change or compromise. I don't feel as well that HE has to use the devil's goods and sounds to pull me in but HE has a sound like nothing that u have ever heard before. I just had this conversation with someone last night. It was a song that an artist came out with that was originated off of a wordly song. They tried to explain to me that the song wasn't "overtly" worldly already. When the artists describes the song they say that I know ya'll heard this from somewhere and that proves that if u in the church and saved, the only other place u heard it was when u wasn't saved. Anyhow, I totally agree with u all.
See that's why I love yall...not 'cause you agree, but because you understand and can testify for yourself what the truth of the matter really is. Praise God!!!
"We must reach them (the youth) and speak to them in the language they understand.”
St John 10:26-27: 26But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
“We may not like the language they speak or the music they listen to, but if God chooses to reach them with Christian rap music, then we must learn to speak that language.”
Romans 12:2: 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
“We must make our faith relevant to them.........We will only reach the village youth when we learn to communicate in their terms.”
Revelation 20:12: 12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
“Music is simply a form of communication, and we must learn how to communicate through the form that they have chosen."
Matthew 7:14: 14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
The author of this book clearly isn’t rooted in the word of God. This passage begins with, "We must reach them (the youth) and speak to them in the language they understand.” St John 10:26-27 clearly proves that nothing needs to be changed in order for the Lord to reach his people. Next, this author says, “We may not like the language they speak or the music they listen to, but if God chooses to reach them with Christian rap music, then we must learn to speak that language.” Romans 12:2 instructs believers not to comform to this world. All Christian rap music is, is music that passifies the flesh. The word calls for us to “mortify the flesh.”
The author also says, “We must make our faith relevant to them.........We will only reach the village youth when we learn to communicate in their terms.” Our faith is already relevant to everyone because it says in the book of Revelation that we all have to be judged. This passage is concluded with, “Music is simply a form of communication, and we must learn how to communicate through the form that they have chosen.” When it comes to right and wrong according to the perfect will of God, we don’t choose anything. The path to life is already laid out for us. It is up to us to follow it.
Izzy
Well Amen Pastor Izzzy!!! Thanks for the scripture back-up. I concur!!! You got a lil' somethin in dat big belly of ur's after all...LOL
LOL Faith u was almost there and u had to end it on that note
I know...I couldn't help ma-self!!!
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