LaRosa Johnson {dot} com

As I’ve been working on a series of articles for Trailblazin Ministries, there’s a thought that has remained in the back of my mind that keeps tugging at me. In many ways, I think it’s part of the reason why I’m working on this current series of articles. I don’t want to give the article away, but I do want to share that thought that’s been in my mind.

It’s pretty obvious that I frequent message boards, especially those that are a part of the Christian hip-hop community. One of the things that I’ve noticed, at least that I’ve finally started noticing, is that people listen to a lot of Bible teaching online. They are watching YouTube clips of sermons, downloading sermon podcasts & listening to them, or purchasing them from all different kinds of ministries. I’m not going to knock that because it’s a great thing and I do it myself; I’m actually an advocate of taking advantage of technology in this way.

Here comes the disconnect: these preachers are typically the only ones that we ever hear about. “Did you check out this latest Paul Washer clip?!” “Have you heard that Mark Driscoll sermon?” “Man, that MacArthur sermon was on point!” And the comments go on. I’m glad that these people are getting fed by these ministries and great men of God; but, how often do they talk about the teaching that they’re getting from their local church & pastor? I don’t hear enough about that. I’d love to read and hear about what people are getting fed from their own pastor, instead of someone they’re simply listening to online. I think this should especially be the case if they’re at a church where people can get access to the teachings online to share it with others. Personally, I love sharing what I’m learning at my local church and would love it if other people took the opportunity to listen from time to time.

I can’t help but wonder if some of this is a form of “sanctified idol/star worship.” Because our pastors aren’t preaching to thousands a week, we think lesser of them, and would rather talk about the big name preachers that everyone knows about & follows. Of course, I can’t judge people’s motives & intents, nor do I want to; all I’m saying is that I’d like to see more balance and people giving their own pastors some love, instead of always talking about the “big names.”

This made my night, and even made my head stop hurting (at least for a little while). Thanks guys!

http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23youknowyouachristianrapper

Goodnight!

…or do I?

Just a real quick blog tonight. I want to share a thought I’ve had on my mind recently.

I know without a doubt that I have the pastor-teacher gift, I’m thoroughly convicted of that. With that comes an innate desire and passion to want to study the Word of God and take it to the deepest depths that I can possibly take it to. I enjoy studying the Scriptures, breaking down the Greek and Hebrew, reading reference works, and so on. In a lot of ways, because of the gift that the Spirit has given me, it’s a given that I should have such passion. I honestly can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing than studying; it’s the only thing that satisfies me.

It is that satisfaction that brings me to my thought. Is it wrong of me to think that others should have that same passion? Of course, I know that the answer is yes, at least on some level; it’s wrong for me to think that all believers should have that desire for the Word. Not everyone will have a desire to delve into the original languages and read church history, and that’s fine. Sure, they should have some level of passion for studying the Word, but I doubt for most it’ll be anywhere near the level of desire that I or other pastor-teachers have. But what about those that really don’t have a desire for the Word at all, to the point where they rarely read their Bible? What’s up with that?

I think a lot of this thinking, for me, stems for the article I wrote over @ TM about holy hip-hop music. Because of my gift, am I looking “too deeply” at the music and expecting too much for other listeners to do the same thing? I mean, I can listen to an album and tear it apart (i.e. Excelsius’ album Liberation that I’m doing the study guide for), but I wonder if others are even interested or equipped to do the same. For me, it comes easy and is second nature almost. But am I wrong to think it should be for others? Maybe so.

I don’t really have an answer other than that; but it’s some food for thought that I’ve been chewing on. At the very least, I gotta stay focused on grace and exhibiting that in my life.