Trailblazin Ministries Blog

Faith

Out With the Old?

Written by LaRosa Johnson
Thursday, 15 March 2007
Filed under: Faith, Holy Hip-Hop, Ramblings

The other day I was thinking about something, and I thought I'd share it with the world, after taking some time to talk it over with my friend Antoine. As most people know, I've been a holy hip-hop & Christian rap fan and supporter for about 8 or 9 years now. In that amount of time, I've heard it all, from good to bad, new school to old school, east coast to west coast (and everything in-between). I've listened to emcees that spit more doctrine in their rhymes than most pastors give you in a year's worth of sermons, and I've listened to others who don't even make mention of the name of our Lord. And blah blah blah... You know the spill... I'm a Christian rap fan, plain and simple.

Again, as you all know, I've been reforming what I've known to be doctrine and gospel for years and discovering, really for the first time, what the true gospel is all about. As a result, I've tossed out a LOT of old books, tapes and videos that I feel that I can no doctrinally agree with and are off in their teachings. When I did that, my mind began to venture towards the music I listen to. You see, I try to listen to and support a wide variety of Christian rap music, and because of that, I end up listening to artists who hold to some of the same values as those pastors that I have chosen to stop listening to. That's when I got to thinking and asking myself if I should be continuing to listen to artists whom I no longer can agree with doctrinally, especially when you consider that I run a ministry website that has a large focus on this brand of music.

The way I see it, these rappers are essentially preaching when they are on the microphone, just like any pastor would, and what they are speaking is being taken into my spirit just as would the teachings of a pastor. Now, this is a question with many levels to think about: 1) I know some artists who have these doctrinal views, but don't necessarily "preach" them in their songs, but I know they hold to it, 2) others do preach their doctrinal views in their songs, and 3) some have MySpace pages and have heretical/false teachers in their top friends lists. I'll try to deal with each individually and then bring it back together as a whole.

First are those that subscribe to the doctrine, but don't necessarily teach it in their music. If that is the case, then I honestly can't say that I have a problem with their music. If I can listen to it with no problems and not have anything "get up my nose" then it's cool. What reason do I have to kick an album to the curb if I have no qualms with it, even if I don't agree with them doctrinally? I don't have any reason to do so. It's kind of like the talk that's been going on in Christian rap circles: in the essentials unity, in the non-essentials grace. If a rapper and I can agree on the essentials on the faith, then I will always consider him a brother in Christ and we can differ on the non-essentials; and the same goes for the music. If we can agree on the subject matter in the music, then we can walk in unity, even though we have our differences. Plus, who in this world will I agree with 100% all the time anyway?

The second case is those who adhere to the doctrine and then teach it in their music. In this instance the rule from the first still applies. If I can agree with you on the subject matter that is being spoken of, then we can walk in unity as brothers. But the road begins to separate at this point because now I'm talking about when they present their views on the album, and not necessarily on a whole album, maybe just on a single song. How am I to handle these artists and their music? Do I still support them, even if I think they're wrong? Do I keep the CDs, give them away, or do I just toss them in the garbage? I'll hold off on answering this because it directly ties into the third point. I will say that it's a tough call because we are still brothers in Christ, but can I or should I support financially or by recommendation an album that I cannot agree with? A tough question, indeed.

The final piece lies in what I found the other day when checking out a few artists' MySpace pages who were in my friends list. There was one artist in particular who had pastors & teachers such as Benny Hinn, Kenneth & Gloria Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Paula White, etc. and others who I believe to be preaching a different gospel, or at least a highly twisted and self-serving form of it. I won't get on that, as it's an argument for another day. The point is this, how can I knowingly endorse an artist, whom I may or may not have supported loudly in the past, who endorses the teachings of pastors that I cannot agree with? If I were to go with my gut, I just can't do it because I know what's at stake; it's more than unity and friendship, it's about lost souls finding the true gospel, and not some twisted form of it that may still lead them to hell.

That last sentence just about sums up how I feel about the whole situation; I cannot just idly sit back and allow myself or my ministry to support ministers who follow a faulty doctrine. While talking to Antoine, I came to the conclusion that I have a ministry to run in Trailblazin Ministries and I have people all over the world who are using my site as a source of doctrine and spiritual growth, and I have to be careful what I allow to be fed to them. Much like a shepherd looks after his flock, I have to keep them from the wolves that come in the form of false teachers and false doctrines, even if it may mean burning a few bridges in the process. For example, I have always loved Tonex with all my heart and have yet to hear a song of his that I have not enjoyed, but I can no longer support him. In his albums he frequently chooses to speak in tongues (I really don't think that should be done on an album, but that's another story too... respect your fam that doesn't agree with you on that) and even insisted on his Out the Box album that the infilling of the Holy Spirit is manifested with tongues, and so on. I just can't get with that, among other things. Shoot, to stay with him for a minute, the brother even had a song called "Speaking 'n Tongues" where the hook was in a "tongue." Nevertheless, I have chosen to remove his reviews from my site, as well as many other artists & authors that I no longer agree with.

I know I may burn some bridges in the process, but that's okay when I look at the eternal value of things and what it means for those who are using my site & ministry to learn about God. I have decided to toss my CDs in the trash that I no longer agree with (I battled this one for a while, especially with Tonex as there were many that I could've made a few dollars on because they were so rare). From now on, I will thoroughly examine my music closely for doctrine and spiritual content. If it isn't doctrinally sound or doesn't line up with point #1, then it doesn't get covered on the site, nor will it be kept in my music collection. This is all about Christ and representing Him in a light to where He alone gets the glory. Sound doctrine is a must and there isn't room for anything else. It's holiness first 'til we're under the earth!

To artists: if your review gets taken off or you get booted from my friends list on MySpace, now you know why. If you have issue, please hit me up via my contact form here or @ Trailblazin Ministries and we can chat over email or phone.