Southern Baptists and Hip Hop: No, I'm Not Making This Up

Just go here and see what I'm talking about. Russ Moore, dean of the 4400-student Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the flagship Southern Baptist seminary, interviews the Christian rapper Flame while guest-hosting the Albert Mohler radio program. For those of you who know little about either of these worlds, let me be your trusty guide and say that they do not often intersect--especially on a nationally syndicated radio program with thousands of daily listeners!

The conversation is fun and informative. Flame shares a good deal of his background, including the tidbit that he was once a "gangsta" rapper (think the sort of stuff that celebrates extreme violence and that sort of thing). Now, however, Flame raps about such diverse topics as hermeneutics and the Trinity. His stuff is not lightweight--trust me on that one. If you have a nice little stereotype fashioned in your mind about hip-hop, check out his music, and see if isn't challenged.

The interview raises the issue of Christians and their identification with secular music. Flame points out that many rappers, though fallen, accurately portray the realities of life in hard places, namely, the inner city. It struck me as I listened to this conversation that there is a real need for Christian art that doesn't simply speak the gospel in familiar musical forms. We need artists who produce music--and all kinds of art--that honestly depicts life in a fallen world, such that non-Christians naturally connect with our music (as much as this is possible, of course--I have no triumphalist social intentions).

How does the fall affect the world? What does brokenness look like in various places? I'm not just asking for "testimony" songs ("I was blind in these ways," and that sort of thing), but excellent storytelling and realistic exploration of themes of a fallen creation. Furthermore, we need stories that don't skip to the answer--the gospel--and leave things there, but that celebrate in majestic songship the reality of life with Christ. I'm thankful that Flame (and others) have begun to make headway in these areas. Here's hoping for many more artists like him, and much broader acceptance within the evangelical community of beautiful, honest, God-glorifying (though not necessarily stereotype-conforming) art.

The Week-est Link, June 20, 2008: New England Pastors

1. I don't know if you saw this from a few days back, but a New England pastor named Josh left a moving comment on my blog about small churches. Here it is in its entirety:

"I am a New England pastor, and I would wholeheartedly agree with your assessment. The pastors in my association are good men who devote a lot of time to their people. Most of us are bi-vocational, because our churches are too small to pay us full-time. Were any of us to go to other parts of the U.S., we would probably see more tangible results because of the myriad differences in culture. However, we are doing what we can up here to fulfill the commissions given to us. To say that results are the measure of success, instead of fidelity to the Gospel, is probably well-meant but really quite wrong. Results cannot be the be-all end-all for churchmen if our ministries are to be cruciform."

An elegant testimony, and a true one. Thank you, Josh (I don't know him to my knowledge) for commenting. Are there any other New Englanders who want to chip in? Or, is there anyone else out there who labors in a small church as a layman or pastor who would like to comment? I'd love to get your thoughts.

2. My buddy Jed Coppenger, a PhD student in Systematic Theology at Southern Seminary, wrote a stirring tribute to his dad about ten days ago. Read it both to enjoy Jed's reflections and to shape a little bit of your vision for your own family and the families in your churches.

3. An interesting piece from a New Yorker blog about how Barack Obama failed to act with chivalry toward Hillary Clinton during their debates.

4. Get Coldplay's "Parachutes" album for a stunning $1.99. Thanks, Vitamin Z, for the link.

5. Are you weary in your faith? Do you need some music to lift you up? Then pick up Sovereign Grace Music's new cd "Come Weary Saints". You will find several tunes that encourage you and direct you to the promises of God. The first song, "Hide Away in the Love of Jesus", is alone worth the price of the album. It is literally one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. Click the link to hear lengthy samples of the songs.

Have a great weekend, all.

The Week-est Link, May 16, 2008: FreeRange Kids, Adorare Mente, & the White Board Sessions

1. Spotted a terrific article in the LA Times the other day about a parent who rebelled against overparenting and let her nine-year-old find his way home on the New York subway. The author, Rosa Brooks, makes the case for letting kids be kids, and play as such. Also, check out a great site called FreeRangeKids that advocates a more hands-off model of parenting.

2. The first edition of the Southern Seminary student journal Adorare Mente is now online. It looks like a really helpful issue. I edited the church history section and selected an excellent paper by SBTS MDiv student Trevin Wax on the Marburg Colloquy, which featured debate between Luther and his follower, Zwingli, on the Lord's Supper. Check out the whole journal.

3. Tremendously helpful and insightful piece by Presbyterian historian Sean Lucas on the pastorate and PhD studies. (HT: JT) If you are an MDiv student and are struggling to figure out what to do on this issue, join the club. Don't be discouraged--this is a tough area. I want to blog about this more in the future (and have in the past), and hope to offer my own little bit of advice on the matter. Fundamentally, know this: it is a great thing to get lots of training before entering the pastorate. We need a small, select group of academic theologians; we need a huge, gifted, well-trained, gospel-driven group of pastor-theologians. Young, gifted seminarian: think hard about this last sentence.

4. Have you heard about the White Board Sessions? Neither had I til I saw a fleeting notice of them at the 9Marks blog. Sounds like a really interesting time. Dever paired up with some emergingish guys will make for some fun, I predict...

5. New Death Cab for Cutie album is out. My buddy Doug Hankins is currently letting me listen to it, and it sounds amazing eight minutes in. If you don't know about Death Cab, give them a listen--thoughtful, evocative music.

Have a great, God-saturated weekend, all.

The Week-est Link, February 22, 2008: Mohler, Carson, and One Powerful Song

1. Andy Naselli, a friend from TEDS and PhD student in New Testament (and D. A. Carson's research guy) blogs about the online history of Southern Seminary that I worked on a few years back. I'm linking to it here because Andy lays out the site's content in a really helpful way. If you've never looked at the site, I encourage you to--a number of us worked hard on the site to make it excellent. The seminary archivist, Jason Fowler, a personal friend, did terrific work in pulling it together, writing some content, and finding great photos for the various content pages.

2. This is a great article on how children's play has changed in the last few decades. The aforementioned Andy Naselli passed it on to me by email. Pretty depressing. I'm thankful that my parents strongly limited the amount of tv that my sister and I could watch. We were forced to use our imaginations, and we did. Some of my fondest memories from childhood are simple times in the backyard. How many kids--and Christian kids, shockingly--will never develop such memories?

3. Great Collin Hansen piece on the new book by New Testament scholars D. A. Carson and Greg Beale on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. There is such confusion on this subject. I attempt on my own little corner to push for healthy, full-canon biblical exegesis, but I am just a little fish--a minnow, perhaps. It's great to see a couple of sharks publish some meaty stuff on this important topic. Collin is also a TEDS student and is one of the best young writers around--make sure to get his new book when it comes out.

4. Future historian of eminence Matthew Hall blogs thoughtfully as ever about new studies in Mormonism. I'll have to think more about this before I comment, but it is interesting to observe the mainstreaming of Mormonism.

5. Al Mohler on a recent report of America's most sinful cities. His comments: "In reality, the whole world is a Genesis 3 world -- a fallen world inhabited by sinners. Sin is a universal problem and every single human being is a sinner. Put sinful humanity in close quarters, and sin inevitably multiplies." So true. It's fun to think about the morality of towns versus cities. Maybe a post for another day.

6. If you want to be edified and lifted up, you need to get this cd and listen to the song "Oh Lord Your Love." It is stirring and inspiring, and it never fails to direct my thoughts to the hope and joy that I have in Jesus Christ because of His death and resurrection on behalf of his church. Great work by Caedmon's Call.

Have a great weekend, all.