I have a quick question,
How much of the Gospel rap is actually for unsaved folks? How much Gospel Music is for unsaved folks? I used to work with a youth ministry back home that was not affiliated with any specific church. One of the things that we used extensively was music. We had all sorts of hip-hop from biggie and Tupac to T-bone and the "Gospel Gangstaz"
( gospel rappers). The kids (who were "saved" and "unsaved") really were NOT feeling the gospel hip-hop
. They just did not associate God with a "bumpin' beat". They didn't even listen to the gospel hip-hop we had. A more effective evangelical tool was they way we used to analyze the Tupac and Biggie songs in light of scripture, they then began to relate to God on their level. The gospel hip-hop really led to more confusion for the unsaved kids, though the saved kids related to it okay. Most Gospel music is for believers period. It seems that the music inspires and/or entertains believers and really isn't that effective of an evangelical tool. Whether its Thomas Dorsey, Mahalia Jackson, Mary Mary or Kirk, it has mainly been for believers, not unbelievers.
One danger I see is that people will begin to see gospel music just as another genre' of music like rap or pop. This happens because many gospel artists are not critical enough nor are the theologically sound in their songs. I have a friend of mine who is a Muslim who was actually sang in the Gospel Choir at his College!!!! He said he was in it because of the women
. He said whenever they mentioned Jesus, he would simply not say His name or anything that had to do with a Trinity. The people in the choir knew he was a Muslim, but didn't care, I guess they thought singing would change him, it didn't, and most times songs will not convert an unbeliever. It would be things like this that would disturb me more than there being gospel rap. How can you call your gospel music an evangelical ministry with unsaved folk delivering the songs? Let's be more critical ya'll when it comes to "music ministry" or just call it what it is "Christian Entertainment for Christian folks".
Blackwatch!!!!!