Christ and hip hop

i'd like to comment on the music that i play on my site. the first song that's playing is by a group called the cross movement. i support this group by buying and listening to their music cuz there's no question that they are trying to reach souls for God and their music doesn't try to hide the fact that they are Christians. Jesus Christ crucified is what they preach and there's "no shame in their game". since being introduced to their music i've stopped listening to secular music and they've inspired me to strengthen my walk and to be more in the Word.

that being said...i read an article about them written by rondy long of exministries and for one, he misquotes a song or takes the lyrics from a song out of context. the song is called "hip-hop-cracy" and the song is about the state of hip hop today and its negative influence on the world today. one line from the song is “And when that last tic-tocks, I’m (God) coming to your block to see what you did with my Son and with my Hip-Hop!” . that line refers to God giving us the abiility to make music and what we do with it. hip hop being one form of music. rondy seemed to think that that line makes it sound like Jesus and hip-hop are equal. here are the lyrics within context:

Now if Hip-Hop is gonna be true to life
I'm tellin' you Hip-Hop’s gotta be true to Christ
‘Cause as the Hebrew writer cites,
That His creative endeavors made all things and holds all together
So that kick and snare that jerks your spine is ‘cause God made noise work by design
So it’s Divine and not by chance that you can make a hot track or do a little dance
Or write a little rhyme
Ain’t that crazy?
Words whose sounds matched that stimulate the mind
And what if you can write a verse?
How you paying homage to music’s Maker with punchlines of curse?
And the stanza’s that modern man does are full of vanity, vulgarity and propaganda
But I guess that’s this age –
We Thugs and Fools
We even stick God up and saying, “Run the jewels!”
But God ain’t the type to just lay down flat and put His hand behind His head and turn His back
He’s the type to look right back down your pipe
And see the Cross in the crosshairs of your site
And be like, “Oh you sticking me up? No you’ not…
I’m loaning you my stuff, but you on the clock.
And when that last tic-tocks, I’m coming for your block
To see what you did with my Son and with Hip-Hop!”
So woe to all men who have abused the craft with unjustified math and filthy cash
“Will a man rob God?” No indeed
But that’s the sin and attempt of Hip-Hop-cracy


rondy believes that hip hop is music is influenced by demons. and i guess my question would be...what about rock music and the culture that comes from it? new age jazz?? r&b?? etc...what kind of spirit is behind these genres?? should christian rock be abandoned by christians? what about when "christian music" takes on the forms of these othere genres? should christians only sing songs you find in hymns??

at any rate, he also thinks that this group is promoting hip hop. i disagree. i believe what they are trying to do is reach a subculture that seems to be getting ignored by the church. they are reaching them through a language that is familar to them. but still telling them about the love of Christ for us.

nowadays there are alot less parents in the inner city taking they're kids to church. there are alot more single parent/broken homes and they are not turning to God. the family structure is not what it should be and respect for God is hard to find. they are turning to drugs and alcohol to fill that void. their heros are the rappers they see on video and hear on the radio and they want to immulate them. most rap music today promtes promiscuity, violence, drugs and the worhip of money.

the cross movement and other artists/groups like them are trying to show kids that idolize these rappers and the life style they promote that there is another option. some kids have such little biblical knowlege and no one to guide them towards God. some of these kids feel like the church won't accept them as they are. these guys are trying to tell them that God loves them just as they are and that they don't have to wear a suit to be loved by God. they don't have to change how they dress, change the slang they use (obviously if its offensive to God it must change) and change who they are to be accepted. they use hip hop to reach these kids but that doesn't mean they feel that is the only way to reach them. but right now rap is what they listen to and what they are influenced by. hip hop being a way of expressing one self. parts of hip hop are style of dress, slang and other elements. i commend them for going into a very competitive, very hard industry and preaching Christ.

rondy talks about a young man who came to Christ and changed they way he dressed, got himself nice and clean-cut and respectable and raised his grades in school after getting saved. and he did this without being told to. and that's great, but we're not all the same.
I Samuel 16:6-7 6 "When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD." 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." This is what God told samuel when he was to choose who would be the next king of Israel. saul was looking for someone who had a certain appearance. God had him go to jesse of bethlehem to pick the king. jesse brought all of his sons before samuel except one, david. and none of them were who God was looking for. david is who God wanted. the bible says that david was "ruddy with a fine appearance". he was young and handsome, he did not have the rugged experienced look of man ready to take over and become a king.

i believe when paul says "therefore, if any man is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!" II Corinthians 5:17 , he's referring to that inner man. not necessarily his outward appearance. when someone has changed from the inside, it shows. when there is something different about you its evident and how you dress does not always indicate that. and i have a good example. people who lived in my apt complex noticed something different about me but couldn't put they're finger on it. then i pointed out that i don't swear. now i'd been around them for quite some time, i dressed similar to them but they could see that something was different. maybe its the word hip hop that is causing the problem. i dunno.
its laughable though.

by what rondy writes, it seems that the church is saying you can only come in if you look and act like they do. no baggy jeans, t-shirts and sneakers allowed. cross movement is reaching out to the youth. they are going to them where they are. who else do we know that did that? the cross movement preaches Christ crucified and in a language this culture understands.

ok, i'm tired. enough on that for now...time for bed.