I agree, this has been a great discussion. I have so much I could say, but I'll keep it short.
The purpose of any ministry in the Christian church is to point people to the Way, the Truth and the Light: Jesus. If it is not doing that, it is not of God, plain and simple. I think it is o.k. to do things like cartoons for kids, raps for teens, etc. to drawn them to Christ, but after a while they have to get off the bottle and get some meat of the Word. I believe those things (cartoons, raps, etc.) can DRAW you to Christ, but they won't help you GROW with Christ.
Can contemporary Gospel point people to Jesus? Certainly. One of the things I love about Fred Hammond (who has some slamming bass beats in his music) is that his lyrics are from the WORD. Scriptures be all up in his music (ebonics!)
Can Gospel rap point people to Jesus? Yes it can. At my church's annual "Community Impact Day" we had a Gospel rapper who did an excellent job of rapping the Word.
Are there contemporary and rap gospel musicians that are not living up to the standards that they should and compromising the Word? YES!! Those are the folks I have problems with! T
The other problem I have is those "inspirational" singers who refuse to say JESUS. The Winans, who I don't recall anyone mentioning, used to be good about having some song that said things like "HE loves me" "HE does this for me, HE does that for me, etc." with out ever saying the name JESUS. One song, that escapes me right now, I remember thinking that it was a man/woman love song until I realized that it was CeCe Winans! That, to me is unacceptable. Once thing that you can's say about Stompin' Kirk, no matter how you feel about him, is that you have any doubt in your mind who he is talking about. I did have an issue w/ Mr. Franklin though when he was at some awards show and when he sang that part in Stomp that says "He gets me high...up to the sky...(or something like that)" he put 2 fingers up to his lips like he was smoking a joint!! I was like
I could not believe he did that and I sure hope he has repented!!
Now, regarding the comment about single mothers getting their children blessed. My church's policy is to bless any child that the parent or parents want blessed, but you best believe everyone, especially if you are not a regular member of the church or not a traditional family you are going to get some words from the Pastor. Now, don't get me wrong, these are not condemning words, 'cause only you and God know what you have repented for, but he is going to talk to you about your situation, YOUR relationship with the Lord and what the entire ceremony is about. It's not just a casual thing about let me buy my child a cute dress and parade him/her in front of the church. One of the most touching moments I have experienced in church was when a teenage member of the church and her boyfriend brought their baby to the church to be blessed. You know the tongues were wagging about that one! The father was not a member of the church, and after he got the words about his responsibility and what he needed to do the young man's conviction was so strong that he gave his life to Christ.
One last thing about secular singers singing gospel songs, especially those that have "questionable" lyrics. I think all of us who proclaim the name of Jesus, famous or not, must be mindful of the contradictions in our lives. On threads like this folks are proclaiming the gospel and gotta Word for someone and on other threads are talking about all kinds of lewd and lascivious things (that they have participated in no doubt!) We never know who may be listening to us, watching us, etc. The Bible says that we should live our lives so that we are not a stumbling block to any one, and while I can appreciate the struggles that we go through and know that each and every day that we take a breath we will also sin, we (whether DMX or Kirk or any other Christian) must do everything to make sure that our behavior is not a stumbling block!
That's it for me!
have a great Labor Day weekend everyone!! I know I will!!