After showing a music video by T-Pain with suggestive lyrics, the pastor posed a question to the group of Baptist teenagers: "Is it all right to be a Christian and listen to this?" asked the Rev. Tracy Samuel from South Carolina.
The response was varied, reflecting the lively discussion Tuesday on the second day of the annual Congress of Christian Education of the National Baptist Convention USA, the oldest and biggest black religious group in the nation.
The workshop, Hip-Hop Culture and Christianity, was among the forums held Tuesday in Detroit's Cobo Center aimed at young Baptists. They're an attempt, say organizers, to keep youngsters in the church and to deal with the influence of pop culture.
In Samuel's session, the group discussed a wide range of issues, from how to dress in church to how to spread the gospel.
"You and I got to get out and be real" in order to spread the Christian message, Samuel said.
Kedryck James, an 18-year-old Baptist from Charleston, S.C., who attended the session, said he is an active member of his church; this is the sixth Baptist convention he's been to.
But because he has dreadlocks, he said he sometimes gets looks inside his church from some parishioners who don't think his hair is appropriate. Still, he said that didn't prevent him from being part of his church choir."I dare you to keep me from praising the Lord," James said.
Noelle Washington, 16, also of Charleston, goes to a Baptist church but says she likes nondenominational churches because they focus more on the youth.
With Baptist churches, "they're like tradition, tradition" and not as willing to try new things, Washington said. Still, she and other teens said they liked the closeness of Baptist churches.
"It's like you're with family," said John Miller, 16, of Charleston.
Source: Detroit Free Press
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