I’m just back from a refreshing and edifying time with saints at New
Word Alive. New Word Alive is a family Bible conference held each year
in North Wales. If you’re in the U.K., I can’t recommend it enough for
its focus on the word of God, evangelism, and Christian fellowship. It
was a joy to take part.
Of course, spending a week at a largely internet-free campground in
North Wales means you’re a little out of the loop when it comes to the
goings ons of the Christian world. And when it’s the world of Christian
hip hop, the cultural black hole is even more pronounced. I loved the
saints at New Word Alive, and the worship was wonderful, but there
wasn’t much boom-bap happening.
So, I was a little surprised to see some of the internet brouhaha over shai linne’s new single, “Fal$e Teacher$.”
In the single, shai takes aim at a host of prosperity gospel and
word-faith teachers. It’s not the first time he (or others for that
matter) has critiqued such teaching in his music. In response to the
single, Bradley Knight, son of Paula White, posted an open letter to shai in defense of his mother’s ministry. Christianity Today picked up on the issue. Lisa Robinson at Parchment and Pen offered reflections based on her years inside prosperity congregations. Mark at Here I Blog added some source support for the song’s denunciations. Those were the first 4-5 entries in my quick google search. I’m sure there’s tons more opinion out there!
The back and forth has conjured the usual questions about whether
private conversation should have happened first, whether public
criticism and naming names is appropriate and under what circumstances,
and whether Christian unity and charity ought to rule out polemics. Continue at Thabiti Anyabwile
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