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  Hip hop artist Sean Slaughter writes regularly-appearing column for GOSPELflava.com on the wide-ranging topic of Gospel hip hop. April 22, 2008 The music industry for the Christian Rap Artist is growing. There are many more opportunities to minister in rap than ever. Churches are now more open to hip hop music, community outreaches are calling Christian rappers for their services, and rappers are hitting the streets, detention centers, prisons, military bases, and colleges. There is a lot of activity happening. But when is the rapper seeking God? I know there have been many times when I got so busy doing God's work, I neglected the God of the work. Now, I am not talking about the rappers who could care less about what God wants. These artists want to blow up... for Jesus. Yeah, it's confusing. They want fame and celebrity in Jesus name. Most likely it's because they could not make it in the secular realm. But no, I am talking about those who love God and pursue excellence in their craft, but then by coasting and succeeding on natural gifts and are no longer spiritually directed. Here is the danger of being an empty rapper (or a hollow minister): The premature succeeder is usually a fast learner, able to acquire expertise with minimum effort. He is usually blessed with good health and abundant energy. He can talk his way into or out of anything, it seems. And he may conclude that he can do just about anything he sets his mind to, because things appear to come easily to him... my observation is that somewhere in his early thirties, indication of possible trouble will begin to show in the life of the naturally talented fast starter... he may start to see that the slower but better-conditioned runner are beginning to catch up. (MacDonald, 2003, p. 107) Did you get that? Maybe this is why so many ministers as of late (TBN, anybody), have fallen. Somewhere along the way the public life became more important than the private life (the spiritual life) and it began to show after years of perceived success. But the one who is maintaining His private life, seeking God, and ministering from the inside-out, will not only have the enduring power to finish strong, but he will not be ministering as an empty rapper.
April 22, 2008 Column Archives. 
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