If Rap Star Ja Rule Came to Your Church ... 3 Important Things to Know

 Have you ever wondered how people outside the church perceive the church? 

You must watch this five-minute interview with Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum rap star Ja Rule.


 
Ja Rule talking about "I'm In Love With A Church Girl" from HillsongNYC on Vimeo.

Also an actor, Ja Rule appeared The Fast and the Furious and The Cookout among other movies. The rapper, whose mother was a Jehovah's witness, talks about going on a church tour to promote the new movie I'm in Love With a Church Girl.



As Ja Rule toured churches, he found himself having the same experience fairly regularly. He describes it like this:

"Once I started going back into the church with the movie and stuff, I just didn't feel like I was welcomed. I go into the church, and they say, 'Come as you are.' But do they really mean it?" 

However, one church struck him differently.

"I go into a church right here in the city in Urban Plaza," Ja Rule said during a recent interview. "It's called Hillsong. They have a pastor called Carl Lentz. From the moment I walked in the church, I said OK, 'this is what they mean by "Come as you are.'"

Ja Rule then went on to explain what made Hillsong different. Now, I don't know what churches Ja Rule visited or much about Hillsong. I do know that these three factors will be key in determining how churches relate to those outside the church.

• The church proclaims the true gospel. It always goes back to the cross. Jesus Christ, the God-man, willingly left heaven, became man, lived perfectly, and then died a substitutionary death. It's not about if you're good or bad. It's about if you've been restored to God through the cross. The gospel changes hearts of people from all cultures, including hip-hop.  

• The church can navigate culture. The church that can reach people from different cultures successfully eliminates the cultural barriers between people and the clear presentation of the gospel message. In other words, the church navigates the cultural issues in such a way that a visitor can focus on the gospel rather than how different he or she is from the congregation. If people come to your church and are more concerned with navigating "church culture" than being restored to God through the gospel, it may be time to to some serious study on the gospel and culture.

• The church is on mission. This church isn't surprised when someone like Ja Rule enters. In fact, they've been praying and preparing for those outside of the church to come investigate. The pastor's sermon considers this. There will be points in every sermon where the pastor specifically speaks to visitors as well as church members. Members in the church are also prepared to engage vistors.

After my wife showed me this video and I started working on this blog, a pastor that i deeply respect, Thabiti Anyabwile, also wrote a blog on the topic. You can read his blog here. 

I write these blogs in hopes that they will be conversation starters. I would love to back from you. If you're a hip-hopper, what has your church experience been? If you're an active member in a church, what has been your experience engaging different cultures?

Chris Lassiter is a husband to Emily, father of five, and a Young Life leader in his hometown of Staunton, VA. He has written for the The News Leader, HipHopDX.com, Rapzilla.com, Young Life Relationships and other publications. Recently, Moody Publishers published his first book, You're Grounded. You can read about it here.