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 Jesus Walks GospelFlava.com's Gerard Bonner writes this editorial, Jesus Walks, a piece that calls us all to re-examine our motives and perpectives with regard to who's giving glory to God. In this unpredictable music business, one never knows which direction the tide will shift. That's true in Gospel industry as well.  As with anything, it can take just the right moment, the right song, or the right event to alter the course of the industry or change the direction that we're moving. Regardless of the genre, for some strange reason, change cannot happen without its share of controversy.With that said, perhaps the hottest topic in Gospel music today has little to do with known Gospel artists. Rather, it's about who's singing the Gospel outside the box, and it's impact. That impact is reverberating throughout the entire music industry. As we entered the summer months of 2004, Billboard's top Gospel album was the eclectic double-disc from Tonéx, which took the entire industry Out The Box (see album review). This revolutionary project has been a regular in the upper echelon of the charts since its release, which is a first for Tonéx and artists of his sub-genre in Gospel. This summer has also seen three artists, independently and, in some cases collectively, seriously challenge the way we view the gospel in its musical presentation. Let's examine this and bring some clarity to what's really going on. This summer, hip hop superstar Kanye West debuted the second single from his College Dropout release titled "Jesus Walks". Unlike most secular artists, West didn't choose to put this song on the proverbial "B" side of the project. This song is track 7 of a 21-track project that has been a regular on the Billboard top 100 charts since its release in February 2004. The single currently sits at the #7 spot on  Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles charts. For those unfamiliar with the song, West talks about the state of the world and openly admits his need for Jesus. He also acknowledges the fact that this track most likely wouldn't get played on radio as "you can rap about anything except for Jesus".Also this summer, R&B superstar R. Kelly released his latest offering, a double-disc set, titled Happy People/U Saved Me, which has the first disc as a mellow R&B offering, and the second disc an inspirational CD. Again, this is a most unconventional move in a secular setting and the impact is most interesting. The lead single from this project is the title track, "U Saved Me", which is in heavy rotation in both radio and video outlets and happens to be at the #19 spot on the Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles charts. Oddly enough, on the same day that R. Kelly dropped his new project, Mase made his return to the hip hop game official with Welcome Back. For those unfamiliar, Mase left the hip hop game in 1999 after accepting Christ in his life. He publicly retired from the rap game and went into full time ministry. In 2004, he's the pastor of S.A.N.E. (Saving a Nation Endangered) Church International and has returned to the hip hop scene...with a secular project. So, what's happening here? Are Kanye West and R. Kelly qualified to let the Gospel message come out of their mouths? Since Mase is a pastor, shouldn't he use his skills to enhance the holy hip hop game? What's really going on here? These are real questions that are being asked on the streets, on the Gospelflava.com message board, and in the church at large. The truth of the matter is that we, as a body of believers, need to be very careful how we treat these situations. We need to be reminded, for one, that the Word is powerful.  It is the Word that saves, delivers, and sets free. It is the Holy Spirit that attracts the unsaved and converts them to know Christ. The messenger is not nearly as relevant as the message. When you dissect the lyrics from "Jesus Walks", you hear Truth. The Bible tells us that the truth shall make us free. It never said that the truth was dependant upon the messenger. Think about it, we don't ever really direct our anger about the contents of a particular piece of mail to the mailman, do we? No, we direct it to originator of the message. If that's the case, why then would we have issues with West or Kelly declaring the Word of the Lord? Perhaps it's because we don't feel as though West and Kelly are qualified to speak God's Word. After all, some of us have made it a big deal to classify mainstream artists who perform Gospel music as hypocrites because their lifestyle doesn't match up to what they sing about. Remember that the same measure that we use to judge others will be used on us. So, we must ask ourselves if the life that we live matches what we sing, teach, or preach about? For most of us, we are a work in progress. We just happen to be fortunate that the eyes of the world are not pointed on us. If they were, what would we look like? But really, that's not even the point. The Bible tells us that everything that has breath should praise the Lord. There was no stipulation or condition on that scripture. There were no prerequisites to making this true. So, that alone qualifies anyone to sing God's praises. Some say that it's confusing to see these artists do what they're doing. Well, check out these lyrics and see how relevant they are: Or here to convert atheists into believers I'm just trying to say the way school need teachers The way Kathie Lee needed Regis that's the way ya'll need Jesus" from Jesus Walks", Kanye West
Here's where we need to really be careful. Instead of asking if it's OK for these artists to share the gospel, we need to ask ourselves why is it that these are the artists whose songs carry this message are making such an impact? The truth of it is that God's Word has to get out. Like Jesus said, the fields are white with harvest. There are so many people hungry for God. People are tired of the way that they live. They are tired of wars, poverty, and the other ills of life. They want a solution. We, the church, we have The Solution. But too often we're not willing to share the Solution with the world. We want exclusivity on the message of Christ. It was OK for someone to share Christ with us but it's not OK for us to share Him with someone else. How is this true? It's time for us in the Gospel community to look at ourselves again. How many songs do we write with the intent of reaching the world? We spend more time trying to appease and please the church than we do looking to win lost souls. We try to win the world our way. In doing so, we alienate the world. Some of us would rather take the Gospel and hide it in the four walls of the church. We offer people music that we think they'll like and we find ourselves afraid to deliver the message of Christ to the people who need Him most. We replace His name with fun words like "He", "Him", and "Love". You know what's funny? "Jesus Walks" and "U Saved Me" are topping the charts using the name of Jesus. We as a body have to learn to be a bit more honest with ourselves and each other. The U Saved Me disc is so powerful because of the brutal honesty that Kelly shares. He doesn't try to ignore his past. He confronts it head on looking for answers. He even admits to the difficulty of believing God in the midst of difficult situations. We are afraid to admit to the difficult things of this walk. And so, it's the honesty of Kelly and West that appeals to people. The Bible tells us that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. It's time to start sharing our testimony. That, coupled with the truth of who God is, will win the lost.  We don't realize it right now, but we're in the middle of a test. It can be easily argued that R. Kelly is a type of Apostle Paul. What do I mean? Well, look at this. Before Paul was converted, he was a staunch opposer of the Christians. He gained a reputation as one who persecuted Christians. Yet, when he was converted, God sent him to Ananias, and Ananias was sorely afraid to deal with Paul because of his reputation. The early church that Paul approached was fearful for the same reason —all they could see through their eyes was his past. We have to be careful that we don't become the 21st century Pharisees. We weren't there when Kelly was knocked off of his proverbial horse. We don't know what God has done in him. All we know is his past. We can't judge him on his past. We have U Saved Me as a chronicle of where he is now. And, if he never does another Gospel project again, a listen to this project will easily tell you that he's a changed man. So, where does that leave Mase? One might say that as a pastor, Mase has a responsibility to tell the world about Christ. That's a valid point, but you must realize that there's more than one way to witness about Christ. When we got saved, did we leave our jobs? Now what relevance does that have to anything? Simply put, when we got saved, most of us went back to doing the same job we did before we got saved. The difference was found in our conduct, language, and perspective. The same thing has happened with Mase. He has returned to the game that he left and things have changed. The album is a clean album and is subtly laced with biblical truth. Never once does Mase deny who he is or Whose he is. He just went back to his old job with a new outlook. That witness has just as much, if not more power than him spending thirteen tracks spitting holy hip hop. The same is true about R. Kelly. In listening to the Happy People disc, it's a much different offering than the R. Kelly of old.
And if that's not enough, West has now produced a remix to "Jesus Walks" featuring Mase, that includes a powerful altar call at the end of the track. And this track is being played on secular radio stations....altar call and all. The Bible tells us this: "God blesses those who realize their need for Him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them." Matthew 5:3 (NLT) So, what's happening? The Word is going out to all of the nations. You need to ask yourself will you join the revolution and speak out for Christ? Will you ask God how He wants you to represent Him and how to reach more people for Him? It's not our job to judge the lives of these individuals. Only God knows their hearts. Instead, we should be in prayer that lives are reached with the message of Christ. After all, it's the message, not the messenger, that saves. And that message is that Jesus is the answer for all of life's struggles. Now...when the name of Jesus is on secular radio stations, MTV, VH-1, BET, and all other media outlets, what are we to do? We're to celebrate and realize that Jesus Walks.... And that's what's happening....
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August, 2004 |
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