Although some churches are trying different “seeker friendly” ways to bring in more people into their congregations, especially youth, at the Third Annual Pastors and Laity Conference in Los Angeles, CA it was apparent that Gangsta Rap is not an acceptable form of ministry to some.
Attending the event at West Angeles Church of God in Christ, Pastor Michael Battle, president of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, spoke out against the negative imagery and values brought out by Gangsta Rap and its degradation of black youth.
A passionate Battle stated, "The church ought to say, 'If you can't do more positive rap, shut up and get the %#!! out,’” according to the Los Angeles Times.
The crux of the debate is to what extent a church should go to in order to appeal to various segments of the population? Most ministries agree that new methods are needed but are not sure of how far Christian culture can extend into popular culture.
The Bible charges Believers to become fishers of men. Dem Unknown WarriorZ, a sextet of African American Christian singers is using the crunk sound to bait hip hop youngsters and is finding some success but others claim the youth are merely responding to the beat and not the message.
Bennie "Preacha" Foster, the leader of the group, feels he is remaining true to the call to reach.
"The bait youngsters are eating is hip hop. So we take that music, dice it up, we put some Jesus flavor to it and save souls in Jesus' name. That's how we do it."
On the other hand, the pastors expressed that working together dialoging about issues, expressing the positive values needed for the youth, and speaking out against the black community’s destructive trends would help empower the community to move toward positive change.
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