The Hip-Hop church is the brain-child of several people, but was started by the Rev. Phil Jackson. Phil Jackson grew up in the inner-city and saw the need for a church that was part of the neighborhood. He noticed that the youth were disconnected from the church and saw that they needed something that was part of their world.The CD that I listen to I did not really like all that much, but the Rev. Phil Jackson had a lot of good points. The church is in my home town of Chicago in the Lawndale section. It is one of the suburbs that is really bad. The church is in a great place to be -doing great ministry in a tough neighborhood.
The church has a simple strategy: using hip-hop - not just the music, but the culture itself to get teens to come to church. The people that lead are very dynamic - using hip-hop and R&B as worship for the service and outreach.
The material below is pulled from the site and talks about the mission etc.
Mission
To present the gospel of Christ in a real, practical, wholistic and relational way in order
to transform the lives of youth living in today's hip-hop culture.
Vision
The House will be an aggressive, Christ-centered, urban, youth-driven, culturally-relevant, biblically accurate, -empowering, family-friendly hip-hop ministry that will cultivate and empower youth living on the Westside of Chicago with a sustainable faith.
Outcomes
1. To ensure that every young person living in North Lawndale hears the Gospel in his/her context
2. To disciple every young person who is reached by the Gospel
3. To establish a juvenile ministry that impacts incarcerated youth with the gospel
4. To teach youth academically through tutors and technology
5. To establish an enjoyable, youth-friendly, culturally-sensitive, yet biblically accurate youth hip-hop worship service
6. To connect students with mentors who will walk with students through life, providing a Godly example.
Core Values
1. Our focus is on the person Christ, not on ministry activities...(I Corinthians2:1-2)
2. Our spotlight is on people, not on programs...(Luke 4:17-19)
3. Our impact is on the wholistic message of Christ...(Luke 2:52)
4. Our goal is that everyone reached matures as a Christ-follower...(Matthew 28:19-20)
5. Our leadership is a team committed to forming a more complete body of Christ...(I Timothy 4:12)
6. Our desire to more youth from mere exposure to truth to a life filled with an experience of truth...(Acts 2:42-47)
7. Our method of ministry is spiritual reproduction, not spiritual addition...(Galatians 2:20)
Challenges Faced
The local church reaching youth living in at-risk communities is and can be a complex task. One of the issues that makes connecting with youth more difficult is the perception of the church in the eyes of the urban community. The concept of the church in the mind of youth living in at-risk communities is non-relational. Inner city youth feel that the church is only concerned about those in church and not the community at large. They feel that churches do not relate to them, both the structure of their services and in their outreach efforts.
Therefore, the need to establish a church that is relational, people and community focused or cultivate worship experiences that are culturally sensitive and biblically accurate is imperative. Our desire is to build a church where we can accomplish both of these goals.
So all in all this church has a mission that is very close to something that The Salvation Army can to do, and is doing in some parts. I really like the idea that they are getting kids into their churches by giving them the culture they are part of in church. I would like to try something like this with the whole Punk and Hardcore culture. This is a great ministy I just learned more about it from the net than the CD.
Some Additional Links:
1. PBS's Religion and Ethics Weekly report: Church Hip Hop
2. Phil Jackson's bio sketch
3. Christianity Today's Hip Hop Kingdom Come
4. NPR's Sexism, Hip Hop and Mysoginy
5. Holy Hip Hop
6. Efram Smith and Phil Jackson's The Hip Hop Church
7. Bikari Kitwana's The Hip Hop Generation
2 comments:
Kyle,
Thanks for sharing what you learned from Phil Jackson's presentation at CCDA 2005.
What Phil Jackson and the folk at Lawndale Community Church are doing is a fantastic model for how Christian community capacity development works when considering the challenges of contextualizing this work to youth culture.
They have been receiving quite a bit of media attention (as the links highlight) and are worth exploring as a model of how to effectively incorporate hip hop into our community work in The Salvation Army.
Do you think that hip hop is a redeemable culture - particularly when considering the rampant mysoginy that is prevalent in hip- hop? How has "The House" coped with this challenge?
I am curious to know how older Christian African-Americans would respond to this contextual expression of church - particularly when considering that there is a generational divide when it comes to the culture which surrounds hip hop...
Steve
Well Steve to answer your comment. I know that there are taking all negitative parts of the culture out to make it for a lack of better word more Heatlh living for the kids and teens. to show them that church can bbe fin and cool and down to earth. And Hip Hop can be church.
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