It has been a real blessing to my soul to witness the magnet of the gospel drawing people from different backgrounds together to promote and enjoy the unity of the gospel. Organizations like The Gospel Coalition and Together for the Gospel have been a great auxiliary to the church in this regard through their example, conferenecs, and resources.
This past week, here in Omaha, I was able to enjoy and likewise be refreshed by this same unity and clarity around the gospel. The subject was the same but the cadence was different.
I am talking about the Unashamed Tour featuring artists from Reach Records. Artists such as Lecrae, Trip Lee, Tedashii, Sho Baraka, DJ Official and Pro joined together and are touring the US. They are promoting this same gospel ecumenicalism (unity around the gospel) that the associated conferences, speakers, and websites do.
I found this to be so refreshing for a number of reasons:
1. Gospel Clarity & Depth: You cannot miss this. Everything about this concert was gospel. The lyrics dripped grace and mercy. The base thumped the glory of Christ. The interludes between songs were all about Christ and him crucified for sinners. You cannot attend this concert, listen to this music, or read what they write without concluding that these guys are not your typical hip hop artists. They are exactly what you would expect a rapper to be if he was drastically changed by the grace of Christ!
2. Gospel Humility: People remark that it is something special that Al Mohler and Mark Dever share a stage together or the headline of a conference. I don’t really get that as I expect them to go around serving the church by preaching Christ. However, these guys are artists. They make records and are making their living based upon sales. They could each be out on their own tour and raking in their own cash. Instead, you have multiple guys who are very talented sharing the stage together, rapping eachother’s songs, and encouraging one another. This was refreshing to me.
Further, hip hop does not lend itself to humility. At least not traditionally. However, these guys are different. They use their talent that they might decrease and Christ increase. It is obvious and refreshing.
3. Gospel Quality: What I mean by this is the ‘product’ is not cheesy. So many times the Christian subculture rips off something ‘worldly’ then repackages it with its Christian font and language while marketing it to Christians. This is neither cheesy nor repackaged. It is uniquely Christian! It drips forth our identity in Christ! It thumps the gospel. I love it.
4. Gospel Impact: I am greatly impacted when I hear these songs that are so clear, carefully arranged, and powerfully delivered. I stood in the midst of a few hundred people and my face was wet with tears as I heard Trip Lee rap The Invasion–Hero. It was awesome. He made Christ to be the hero; the great rescuer of our souls, the coming king, and eternal fascination and joy of all the saints!
Then Tedashii preached the gospel for 20 minutes at the conclusion of the ‘show’. He was so biblical, clear, relevant, humble, and passionate. It was refreshing indeed.
I attended this concert as a dad. I had my two sons and their friend. To see them reciting the words, these heavy words—water logged by the gospel, was a joy.
Needless to say I am encouraged by what is happening. As a guy who grew up listening to a hip hop that was a true broken cistern leaking filthy water, I am truly thankful for the way these guys are redeeming this medium of music.
For your own good and for the support of these artists, check out the site for remaining locations on the tour. I also recommend checking out their work on Amazon. The prices are reasonable and you will certainly be blessed (Lecrae, Trip Lee, Tedashii, & DJ Official.)
Here is Trip Lee’s video on the Invasion…
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7piEIaJvIo]