The Ever-Changing Package

Derrick-Lewis Noble

Who is singing that mess?" he gasped.

My response was "That's Woody Rock-- it's a couple of years old … and it's not mess."

"Everybody clap your hands, everybody jump for joy, everybody make some noise, if you love the Lord …"

"Get that hip-hop stuff out of there, Derrick. I'm trying to stay in the Spirit."

Trying to stay in the Spirit?

I wanted to say with a smirk, "Hey, bruh, you're in my car … in the passenger seat … riding for free; don't raise a fuss, leave the driving to us."

Actually, I really wanted to navigate the stormy waters of a theological discussion with my friend centered on this dangerous notion of hopping in and out of the Spirit much as one would do with a pair of Fubu shorts … but I've learned to choose my battles.

Instead of becoming defensive, I became inquisitive:

"And what is your definition of real gospel music?"

He proceeded to give me an almost comically verbose answer, ending with "No one has made an authentic gospel record since James Cleveland died, except maybe for Shirley Caesar."

And he was quite serious.

We are the best of friends and, I must admit, he and I have argued like this since we met as young preachers walking the hallowed halls of the Morehouse School of Religion. He was preaching at a church in my city, and naturally I volunteered to take him back and forth from his hotel to the host church so that we could catch up on old times.

So there we were -- right in the middle of another one of our … um … "discussions."

Our upbringings are quite divergent. His preacher-father raised him in church, and his home reverberated with the sounds of Rev. C. L. Franklin, Mahalia Jackson, The Soul Stirrers, The Sensational Nightingales, and countless other gospel quartets. From an early age, it had been instilled in him that all other forms of lyrical expression were "the devil's music." I, on the other hand, was also raised in church, but my musical exposure ranged from The Love Center Choir to Andrae Crouch and The Disciples to Dizzy Gillespie to Al Green (both pre- and post-grits) to Luciano Pavarotti to Earth, Wind & Fire; and I loved all of it.

But on this day, as I gingerly steered my car down a rain-soaked highway, I began to give serious contemplative attention to a subject that has for years been a divisive matter in the evolution of gospel music … a struggle that continues to this very day.

Is there an actual, God-ordained dichotomy between so-called traditional gospel music and so-called contemporary gospel music? Is one real while the other is merely some type of worldly hybrid, or is this simply a case of wrapping an age-old message in a modernized package?

One has but to take a cursory glance at the history of gospel music in order to see that this is no new discussion at all. The late Thomas A. Dorsey often lamented the fact that he was barred from singing in churches because his new hit song sounded too much like a blues record. Today, that same song, "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" is heralded as traditional, old-school gospel. Andrae Crouch, who initially came under fire for his music that contained too many elements of pop and rock for gospel music purists, is now considered a standard-bearer of gospel music. Many of his compositions have deservedly found their way into hymnbooks, though I wouldn't hold my breath for hymnody to embrace his work on Madonna's "Like A Prayer." Even John P. Kee, whom my former pastor so lovingly described years ago as nothing more than "a club singer in sheep's clothing" is viewed by many as now being part of the "old guard."

Are you beginning to notice what I have noticed?

As the hours morph into days, as days yield to weeks, as weeks grow up to become months, and as months lose their identities with each passing year, the musical landscape changes, and gospel music evolves into something different than it was yesterday. What one generation considers being "the real thing" doesn't always carry over to the next generation. What is considered radical when measured by the standards of one age-bracket is regarded as mainstream by another.

This is not your father's Oldsmobile!

It sneaks up on you, actually. While sitting down to dinner just last week with close friends of mine, I was asked by their teenaged daughter what my favorite gospel albums were. Actually, she said "CDs," but I was born in the 70's so I still say "albums" from time to time (maybe one day I'll forgive recording technology for displacing my 33 1/3's and 45's, but I digress). Actually my list was rather varied. My top five were:

1. "Love Alive I" by Walter Hawkins and the Love Center Choir;
2. "Purpose By Design" by Fred Hammond;
3. "Hymns: In The Garden" by Kirk Whalum;
4. "Live in London" by Andrae Crouch & The Disciples; and
5. "God's Property from Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation."

The only one with which she was familiar was Kirk Franklin. Her top five list included artists such as T-Bone, Flame, and Cross Movement. Just as I opened my mouth to say, "Hey, but they're not …" -- I caught myself, chuckled and said, "Great list. I'm so glad you don't listen to gangsta rap and bump-n-grind music. You know, I kinda like Cross Movement."

Our grandchildren will undoubtedly one day consider Woody Rock, Dawkins & Dawkins, and Salvador as old-fashioned. These generational discrepancies are, I believe, the real issues behind this ongoing debate. If gospel music is true to the Creator, then the package will change as the times change, but the foundational message of the unconditional love of Jesus for an annoyingly imperfect world remains unchanged, unscathed, and untroubled. Since none of us is untouched by the seed of imperfection, then we all ought to be careful about putting on our Holy Hats and determining for all posterity whose spirituality is "real" and whose is not. The last time I checked, I wasn't God. I don't even come close to qualifying for that job … and neither do you, my friend.

But is there some type of line in the sand that can be crossed in the name of contemporizing our musical presentation? Is there some amorphous state of musical existence known as "too far"?

Allow me to suggest that there are some non-negotiables that make our music "gospel" music. To the anticipated chagrin of some modern-day purists, none of these essentials has anything to do with musical style, beat, or the formality or informality of the clothes the musicians or singers wear while ministering. I'm convinced that none of those factors matters to God as much as they matter to some of us. For me, the three non-negotiables are:

• Music is gospel music only when it flows from a heart that has truly had a life-changing encounter with the Holy One. Singing about the Lord without intimately knowing the Lord about whom you sing may be an exercise in vocalizing, but it is not ministering the gospel through song.
  
• Music is gospel music only when it is based upon scriptural truth. If your lyrical ideas have no biblical foundation, then they become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal … and nothing more. And, finally and perhaps most important …
  
• Music is gospel music only when the message is very clearly about God as revealed in Jesus the Christ. To simply say, "You are my reason" without boldly calling the name of Jesus is to leave our music devoid of the greatest power under heaven and earth. The world doesn't need a weak witness filled with enigmatic pronouns such as You, He or Him. The name of Jesus is a strong tower. It is the only name in history that God has highly exalted; higher than any hurt, any problem, any dysfunction, any pain, any sin, or any impossibility. I agree with V. Michael McKay and Daryl Coley: "How dare we fail to call Your Name, Jesus!"

As long as the message is clear and the vessel is sincere, then we should not haggle about the ever-changing package in which the message is wrapped. With Jesus as its center, gospel music retains the power to change our world for the better. Call the Savior's name!

---

Derrick Lewis Noble is pastor of a new church start, Impact United Methodist Church, 4700 Highway 365, Suite A, Port Arthur, Texas, in the Texas Annual Conference. The church's website is www.impactumc.org. He has been cited as one of the top twenty young preachers in America by The African American Pulpit Magazine. He has published a number of articles concerning worship in the Black church in a web-based magazine for the gospel music industry, GospelFlava. He may be contacted by e-mail at [email protected].

Copyright 2008 by Derrick Noble. Published by the Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church. Congregations may reprint this resource for local church use, provided the copyright of the author is acknowledged and this website is cited.