You may be aware that a panel at a recent NCFIC event
unanimously denounced reformed rap (Lecrae, Trip Lee, Shai Linne, etc.).
Of course, they don't really know what reformed rap is since one panelist spoke
about having Toby Mac on his iPod. You can find the video from the panel
discussion here.
As you might imagine, this has created quite the stir in the
blogosphere among evangelicals. It has elicited blog and Facebook
responses from at least three presidents of SBC seminaries, Paige Patterson, Al
Mohler, and Danny Akin. In fact, the pastor of an SBC church that is in the
NCFIC network, Voddie Baucham, has made clear on Facebook his dismay over the
statements of the panelists. You can find the blog posts by Paige
Patterson and Al Mohler here and here.
I enjoy the work of guys like Lecrae, Trip Lee, and Shai
Linne. I am thankful for these brothers. As I sit here typing this,
I am wearing my Lecrae t-shirt that my wife bought for me on my birthday.
My intention here is not to address this controversy directly.
What the controversy did for me though is cause me to think
about another issue. The argument made by many of the people responding
to the NCFIC panel goes something like this, "God is using reformed rap to
reach people with the gospel so it must be okay." This is a very
pragmatic argument. I have no doubt that the first part of that statement
is true. God IS using reformed rap to reach people with the gospel.
However, the second part of the statement, though true in my estimation (i.e.
reformed rap is okay), does not necessarily follow from the first.
The first biblical example that comes to mind is the story
of Joseph. Isn't the story of Joseph so rich with application?
Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt. A few chapters later in
Genesis, we discover that following a period of great abundance, a famine is to
fall on the entire land. Pharaoh responded to this news by putting Joseph
in charge of storing up enough food during the years of plenty to feed the
people during the years of famine.
Then in Genesis 42, who showed up in Egypt to receive some
grain? That's right, Joseph's brothers. The ones who had sold him
into slavery were now asking him for food. What we discover is that this
was all according to the sovereign plan of God. Joseph's brothers had
committed a great evil by selling Joseph into slavery. However, what
Joseph's brothers intended for evil, God intended for good by preserving the
line of the Messiah from starvation. Joseph's brother, Judah, was the
many times great-grandfather of Jesus.
Does the end justify the means? I think not. It
was still sin for Joseph's brothers to sell him into slavery. We cannot
say that something must be good just because God takes it and uses it for His
glory. As I have said already, God IS using reformed rap for His
glory. I even agree that Christians ought to embrace reformed rap.
However, I am not comfortable with the way many are making the argument.
It matters not just that our conclusions are right. Our arguments must be
right as well. Pragmatism must not rule the day. I will explain the
reason for my hesitancy in my next post.
Well done Adam! Joel Beeke announced a statement of apology regarding his statements, and pointed out that when asked that question, he was thinking in terms of a Sunday's worship service. I think that makes a critical distinction, since I would also answer differently in that case. The fact we have to consider is that music always stimulates emotion (that's the point of music!). We have to ask, what kind of emotion does that music stimulate? Is it godly, or anger, agitation, etc. For a worship service, we have to be especially careful that the emotions correspond appropriately to the words we are singing. Anyhow, Beeke stated that he wants to deliberately distance himself from any comments made judging the motives of the musicians.
ReplyDelete