The Gospel Remix: Reaching the Hip Hop Generation

by Ralph C. Watkins, Jason A. Barr Jr., Jamal-Harrison Bryant

Each generation brings new challenges and opportunities to the church. One such challenge/ opportunity facing the black church today comes in the form of the hip hop generation. Hip hop is DJing and MCing, break dancing and rapping; street art, street talk, and street smarts. It has its own language, its own look, its own consciousness. Hip hop is a culture and an identity, and for many African American churches, hip hop and its generation are both disturbing and frightening.

Church leaders are
How do we understand and reach this generation?
How can we as African Americans embrace something that makes us look so bad?
Can one live hip hop and still be a Christian?

Ralph C. Watkins and his fellow contributors address these questions and more in this timely and important new resource. They offer sociological, theological, and biblical perspectives and respond from their experiences creating The Gospel Remix in their own congregations and communities. In addition, they provide candid ministry profiles of the hip hop pastor as prophet, father, peer, and model professional.

148 pages, Paperback

First published January 30, 2007

About the author

Dr. Watkins (PhD, The University of Pittsburgh) is the Peachtree Professor of Evangelism and Church Growth at Columbia Theological Seminary.

Dr. Watkin’s work and research centers around building 21st-century churches. His writing and research is done with congregations as they partner to be faithful to the call of being the Body of Christ. He is presently working on ways the Church can use multi-media approaches and web 2.0 strategies to be effective at evangelism and discipleship.

Reviews

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting reading; not directly relevant to my situation but food for thought as to helping generations speak to each other.