Gospel "Less" Music

Let’s start by asking a question. If someone had a steady hand would you allow them to perform brain surgery on you? The obvious answer is no. I use the same argument as it relates to Gospel Music. Just because someone has a beautiful voice by no means deem them qualified to be worship leaders, or even release gospel albums. I have seen some of the most criminal acts being performed on the Word of God by those who make gospel music. Just as the surgeon has to meet qualifications such as med school, a medical board and residency, I believe that a gospel music artist should do the same. Just because someone has musical talents doesn’t mean that should be leading music within the Church (I wanted to reiterate this).

The sad reality is this. I know people who either lead worship, or are involved with the most visible people group within the church behind the pastor who should be disciplined for their lifestyles. Growing up, I knew a guy who had three kids by two different women being the key musical figure in the church I grew up in. Because of his talent people overlooked his sin (they overlooked everyone’s). Those in the forefront of our local fellowships should be examples of Christ first. This should be an automatic DQ! I am seeing whoremongers, adulterers, man and women who are divorced and remarried without biblical grounds, and other related individuals being encouraged instead of admonished, just because of a musical gift.

Next we have people who may meet the moral qualification but have no clue of what the Gospel is. So they sing songs, that are man centered instead of understanding that when we Worship, we are to be worshipping someone. That someone is not we but our God, through Jesus Christ. I hear songs like “Falling in Love with Jesus” (though my worship leader song this Sunday and he is solid as it relates to morality and the Gospel) and we are calling the fellowship together to sing this song? This is a man centered song. We offer nothing to Jesus at best we are singing to one another, at worst we are singing to ourselves. When the Corporate Body comes together we should be humbling ourselves in reverence to our Lord and not singing self-help songs that offer up nothing up to our Savior. Just because the melody is nice and it is an emotion grabber, this should not be how we choose songs for us to worship. I would sometimes rather sing from a Hymnal versus singing man-centered songs. These great man and women of faith understood the Gospel and understood what it meant to worship God. Many of the songs we sing today are from professional singers who are making a killing regurgitating self help garbage that only leads us to more self-centeredness versus a proper view of ourselves in light of the glorious Gospel. That is why we have churches packed with people who believe that they are relatively good, and that goodness is what is going to get them heaven. They believe that “God wants them to be happy” and God’s greatest joy comes from us getting what we want. I personally believe that a non-believer should be extremely convicted by what we sing in worship, not moved. He should here about the cross, atonement, sacrifice, our need of the Gospel, and are hopelessness of attaining that in and of ourselves.

Finally, I want to address professional Christian music artists. It is very rare that you would find anyone of African American decent that has a Christ Centered Album. Kirk has a few songs, but overall it is hit and miss. Fred Hammond is a modalist who believes sitting under Jakes is what is going to help him mature and get some sort of spiritual blessing (Elijah/Elisha). Israel songs makes me want to skip through the field with flowers behind my ears, Yolanda Adam does songs with Kanye and Bone so enough said there, Donnie McClurkin is singing at a TBN praise-a-thon, Juanita done lost her mind, Hezekiah is mentoring Puff Daddy, P-Diddy, or whatever you call him, Mary Mary sings an entire song about Heaven and Jesus is the only person they don’t want to see and my man William Murphy is busy speaking in tongues through his entire album, and is constantly singing Word of Faith hogwash. I don’t know their motives so I will not go there. I do know for sure that a lot of these individuals I listed are millionaires, (J Moss with his Bentley in his videos). Nothing wrong with being a millionaire, but I will ask, how many Wilberforce songs would you play in a club (remember Stomp), or how many of hymnals do you know will get national airplay (Smokie and Donnie Mack) in the middle of heavy rotation? None! Why because they boast about Christ and His accomplished work on the cross. Last year the song of the year was “The blessings of Abraham” by Donald Lawrence. It is a massacre performed on the promise made to Abraham and his future seed. This dude somehow equates this seed to faith and twists faith to be something you just need to speak and wah lah God becomes an instant genie.

I believe we have to become more critical, more people are duped by gospel artist than word of faith preachers everyday (as a matter of fact most of them work hand in hand, remember Kirk went from having R. Kelly on his album to Jakes, I don’t know which is worse). We have to start drawing a line in the sand, and telling these artist and churches, if they will continue to compromise the Gospel we will have to go our separate ways. Currently there is a muddy mixture which is bound to get someone drowned.

What is the Greatest Evil?

My pastor Jim Elliff on Wednesday has been taking us on a Puritan journey. I really never knew much about Puritan's aside from the fact that I knew they were very isolated-sin fearing people. I have recently listened to some reenacted sermons by John Bunyan which were very insightful and had the great opportunity to read some Puritan writings by Samuel Bolton D.D. and would love to share some insight that has helped me a lot in my relaxed view and tolerance of sin.

I never in my life have read anyone(recent) who views sin the way these people do and it was revelatory for me to see sin through this new view in which it has really helped me see my depravity in light of a Holy, Righteous, and Just God. How much so has sin become common place in our life, actions, conduct, and attitude. Sin, now think without a shadow of a doubt is the greatest evil unmatched forever. We have in our culture become so numb to sin that when we see it-it does not make us cringe as it should. Our love for God should make us have a unmatched hatred toward sin to the highest possible degree.

One sin and one sin only separated us from God permanently if it were not for the Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ-The Great Mediator, High Priest, Wonderful Counselor, Great I AM, and The Righteous One. I will forever love Him with all my heart, mind, and soul. I think of all the Jehovah Witness', Mormons, Muslims, and other cults and feel sorry for them because they honestly think they can bridge the gap between God and men by doing futile works. See what Isaiah says about this.

Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousnesses [are] as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

In the Hebrew filthy rags as I am sure you already know are speaking about menstrual rags from the monthly cycle of a woman. Women you know how filthy that is and men who have been around women or who are married know how disgusting it is. This is how our human righteousness comes before God if you are not saved through the blood of Christ.

Isaiah 30:1 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:

Here is a quote from Bolton in his paper. "They add the sin of their righteousness to the sin of their unrighteousness. They cover a blot with a blot-they add sin to sin, dung to dung" You see-without the work of Christ we are hopeless. Imagine trying to run full speed and try to jump over the Grand Canyon or better yet trying to leap from here to the moon with no assistance whatsoever-just your feeble legs. Impossible right! Even more so trying to reach God without Christ. Bolton also quotes Gal 3:17 And this I say, [that] the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. He says: to show that we must not work that we may be justified, but be justified that we may work.

Bolton says that all the righteousness(aside from God) that enveloped the angels in heaven before the fall was not enough to outweigh that of one sin that got them cast out of heaven.

"The least sin deserves and draws down an infinite wrath which neither you, nor all the angles in heaven, are able to stand under. The damned bear it in hell. They bear it and cannot bear it. They are slain with it but cannot die. Ever consuming, never consumed. And therefore, how much are you bound to CHRIST! who has borne sin, a greater evil than all other evils, and with sin, all the torments, wrath, and justice due to sin.

Praise God for His mighty works!! Read this wonderful Psalm 32


Blessed Are the Forgiven

32:1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,whose sin is covered.2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted awaythrough my groaning all day long.4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;my strength was dried up [2] as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to you,and I did not cover my iniquity;I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is godlyoffer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;surely in the rush of great waters,they shall not reach him.7 You are a hiding place for me;you preserve me from trouble;you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;I will counsel you with my eye upon you.9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,which must be curbed with bit and bridle,or it will not stay near you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

What does Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Jaleel White all have in Common?

They are all actors. Jackson and Sharpton care no more about blacks than White cares about Laura. He was an actor (Steve Urkel) and so are the two men who are supposed to be the face of the “new” civil rights movement (yeah right). This became apparent after the Jena Six issue became a front runner in every National and Local newspaper. You may want to know my utter disgust with ol’ Sharpie and J.J, and it will be obvious before the end of this post, but just to give you an idea, I believe they take advantage of blacks in bad situations for publicity not for the concern of black America. Let me tell you why.

We are having an epidemic in Philly right now. I believe last week the 303rd person was murdered. The murder rate for blacks in philly is 6 times the national average. 30 in 100,00 versus 5 in 100,000. The national black murder rate is 19 in 100,000, 4 times the national average. Now while Mr. Sharpie and J.J are parading around the cameras, getting Don Imus fired, blacks are expiring brutally by the hands of other blacks. As I saw tens of thousands of blacks march on the Jena 6 issue, I haven’t seen a finger being raised nationally against this epidemic. We are dying by our own hands, while simultaneously prisons can’t be built quick enough to house us. Is no one concerned about that. I don’t see these clowns, nor many churches coming together to pray and seek God’s will on this. I guess keep the monkeys in the concrete jungle and let them kill each other off, right? Blacks are busy debating who has the hottest album 50 or Kanye, and we have a national program in place for people to slim down, but forget slimming down, how about trying to stay alive while walking to school. Earlier this year I believe a 28 year old woman was shot and killed trying to get her daughter out of the way of gunfire. We have the elderly blacks locking their doors and not coming outside to even sit on their porch. They are prisoners in their own homes. This shouldn’t be folks. This is unacceptable. Our young people are dying and we are caught up in some plumb foolishness.

So where is Al, on BET, where is Jesse, who knows. While the NAACP is giving out awards for best show, our young men and women are dying and being convicted for life prison terms. You see why the young adults can care less about Civil Rights? We don’t see things getting better through what these people are doing. Why invest my money in these institutions that are only a shell of their former selves? Why should we care about Sharpie and his perm or Jesse and his illegitimate child? Where is Oprah folks? She is building schools in Africa and had the hip hop issue on her show, but what about her own back yard? Things aren’t much better in Chicago either. Ah, but there is hope folks.

Hope is in Jesus Christ. The black church has an obligation to support and come along churches in Philly who have a heart for this. The Gospel is the answer folks. However, that Gospel has to be lived out. We are commanded to provide for the widows and orphans. This stuff takes money and we may have to give up our daily Starbucks to send money, if that is only $20 per month. I will be in the process of researching some churches up there that may need financial support in order to transform their communities. I will post it here in the near future. Instead of building those Gym or aerobics centers in our church (why not go to 24 hours and meet non-believers anyway?) how about we invest that in training up leaders to make an impact for our Lord Jesus? We have to step up folks, if anyone knows of churches holding it down post it here and we can get some type of network started. These people need us, the people who want to see change and are trusting God needs us. Jesus says “what you do to the least of these you have done to me”. Let’s build His Church.

How Should We Treat Our Children Who are Non-believers?

I have been listening and reading stuff from the guys at www.ids.org for over a year now. They are New Covenant Theologians who have a passion for Reformed Baptist Theology. I absolutely love these guys, they have been such a blessing to me. Here is a paper they wrote on how to deal with your nonbelieving children in the context of Church. They bring up some very interesting points, that I really never even considered. Here are a few.

1. We should not let our children lead worship (you know children choirs) unless they are believers.

2. We should not treat them as believers (i.e Lord's Supper, serving in the ministry, and other church related functions).

3. We should not let them lead prayers, for they are nonbelievers (unless of course that is a prayer of repentenance)

These are just a few. I had a few objections that I emailed them about and I am waiting for a response. As for now let me know what you think. God bless.