thoughts and ruminations while in exile (1 Pet. 2:11)

Over the last few days, I have spent some time listening to the Wade-O Radio Show. For those who don't know, this is a radio program where, from time to time, Wade (the host of the program), will have different Christian artists and pastors on the program where they will talk about a variety of issues. Usually it has to do with an individual artist's album coming out, and in addition to talking about their new album, Wade will also bring up other topics of importance in the Christian hip hop world.

In listening to a few of the interviews, one theme that kept reoccuring was the issue of division within the Christian hip hop community. To be specific, it was the issue of theological division. I do not mean to blow this out of proportion, I am only at outsider. Though I listen to Christian hip hop, I am not an artist; so I hope I'm not getting in over my head.

From what I can tell, most of the division seems to be over those artists who attend churches that preach the so-called prosperity gospel, and those that do not. Once again I must reiterate, it could be deeper than this. As an outsider listening in, however, this is what I can see. As is evident from listening to artists like the Ambassador, Flame, and shai linne, and groups like Christcentric, doctrine is important. Not only this, but each of the artists, and the record labels involved, are known for either being explicitly Reformed in their soteriology, or at least learning and recommending books by authors such as R. C. Sproul, John Piper, and John MacArthur.

In an interview that Wade did with Fred Price Jr., Price was very candid about being quite upset with Crossmovement because he had heard that they were not supportive of his father's ministry, Fred Price Sr., as well as Creflo Dollar. He specifically mentioned not liking that Flame (though he couldn't recall the artist's name at the time) recommended reading John MacArthur's Charismatic Chaos, and Hank Hannegraff's Christianity in Chris.

Towards the end of the interview, however, both Wade and Price called on those who disagree doctrinally to come together and discuss their differences so we can all understand each other better. I would love to see something like this take place. The question is, if something like this were to take place, what would happen afterwards? What would be accomplished at an event like this, and where do we begin?

We must admit our theological differences

If we are to get anywhere, we must admit that there is a problem. As I see it, the issue is one of biblical interpretation. What affects one's interpretation of the Bible more than anything is one's approach to the Bible. That is to say, what a person believes before he or she begins to read the Bible will greatly impact one's interpretation of the Bible. Each of us (whether we realize it or not), approaches Scripture with our own presuppositions and biases. Therefore, before we can discuss individual passages, we need to outline our approach to Scripture, i.e. are we approaching Scripture from a dispensational or a covenantal perspective? If the issue is one of tackling the so-called prosperity gospel, we need to outline what we believe about Jesus' overall message.

This is not the place for me to do a full blown critique of the so-called prosperity gospel. I have done that elsewhere. As believers, we all need to be willing to have our views examined. It can be very difficult to admit that we were wrong. I cannot say for sure if this "meeting of the minds" will happen, but I would certainly look forward to something like this taking place.