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Hip Hop – 'A Voice for Justice'

By Stan Friedman

CHICAGO, IL (March 24, 2005) - Church property may "abut a street," but far too often churches are failing to reach people "on the street." Instead, "There's a vast gap between the church and the street," said Pastor Phil Jackson on Saturday in addressing North Park University's symposium, "Hip Hop: A Voice for Justice."

Attendees were broken into groups for a lengthy discussion, during which they were asked to discuss where they found justice issues in hip hop (the accompanying photo shows a group of students with Precise). They also heard from a panel of speakers, to whom they were able to address questions.

The biggest injustice discussed, however, was the refusal of much of the church to use culturally relevant means of ministry, including hip hop, that have proven effective in reaching people who otherwise might not give the Gospel a hearing. "Every other week, we're having to bury cats, then there's more wounded people, people being harassed by the police," said Jackson, who pastors the Evangelical Covenant Church plant known as The House in Chicago and served on the panel. "We've got dudes who can preach their brains out, but can't do ministry."

"There's a lack of urgency," Jackson continued. "There's not a zeal for the people. There's a heart for 'churchianity,' but not Christianity."

"We have to figure out what is culturally sensitive and what is essential to the Gospel," said Kaziputalimba Joshua, North Park Theological Seminary professor of justice ministries and director of the Center for Justice Ministries. "The church has to do its work with attention to the sounds and the voices that are coming from the street. If the church is going to reach the street, it must be as diverse as the street," Joshua observed.

Included on the panel were Corey Red and Precise, a New York hip-hop duo who are supported by a label run by Covenant Pastor David Holder. Corey Red and Precise have the street credentials, with the former giving his life to Christ when he feared he might die from a knife wound that punctured a major artery.

Precise suggested that the church keeps away people from the street by not meeting people at the street, as well as having "a preconceived idea of how they should look." He laments that the church too often is concerned more with the outer appearance of those entering its doors than with the condition of their inner life. "Let's let God be God," Precise said. "Decently and in order, yes, but let's not have our ideas on top of that."

With reference to hip hop that often is played on the radio, Corey Red told the audience, "You're smarter than what they're rapping about." The duo lamented that while some churches are saying good things about Christian rap, they aren't using it or supporting it so that it can be noticed. Programmers at secular radio stations ask, "Why should we play you when your own people won't play you?"

"God's not sending us to make rap conversions," Precise said during an interview, explaining that if people do not like hip hop, that is fine with them (the duo). They just want an opportunity to reach those who do. Winners of a 2002 Holy Hip Hop award, the duo has shared the stage with well-known artists such as Yolanda Adams and Mary Mary. Their album, Resistance Iz Futile, has received positive reviews.

The symposium was followed by an evening of hip hop from various groups and individuals at The House, which raised nearly $1,000 that will be directed to Covenant World Relief to assist people in Darfur, Sudan, according to Ginny Olson, co-director of the Center for Youth Ministries. The audience also viewed a video from the nationally broadcast PBS program Religion & Ethics Weekly that focused on the church in February. To read more about hip hop and view the PBS video, visit PBS.

To learn more about The House and its ministries, visit The House.

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