Amy Grant, Bill Gaither, Brandon Heath and More to Celebrate Hall of Fame Inductees Bebe and Cece Winans at GMA Honors May 5

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Amy Grant, Bill Gaither, Brandon Heath and More to Celebrate Hall of Fame Inductees Bebe and Cece Winans at GMA Honors May 5
Brandon Heath (Photo: AP Images / Mark Humphrey)

Brandon Heath performs the song ‘Give Me Your Eyes’ at the Dove awards in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, April 23, 2009. The song won the award for song of the year. The Dove awards honor Christian and gospel music.

The Gospel Music Association announced a star-studded lineup of presenters and performers such as Amy Grant and Brandon Heath who will help celebrate this year’s Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductees at the GMA Honors on May 5.

Hosted by Olympic Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton, the second annual GMA Honors will recognize today’s trailblazers in gospel music while also inducting influential individuals and organizations into the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Presenters and performers will also include President and CEO of Capitol Christian Music Group Bill Hearn, Founder and Senior Pastor of Christian Cultural Center Dr. A.R. Bernard, and six-time Grammy Award winning singer Bill Gaither. Bishop Joseph Walker III of Mt. Zion Church and “American Idol” star Chris August are also set to appear at the GMA Honors alongside Melinda Doolittle, Point of Grace, The Martins and Steve Green.

As previously announced, this year’s Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductees include BeBe and CeCe Winans, Mark Lowry, Roland Lundy and Twila Paris. Furthermore, the GMA Honors at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena will recognize Bishop Paul S. Morton, the founding bishop of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International, as well as The Bridge, which was founded by Candy Christmas, and Passion founded by Louie and Shelby Giglio. Lastly, Porter’s Call is also being recognized, along with its founder Al Andrews.

The GMA Honors will take place on Tuesday, May 5 at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena. The awards show will air on JUCE TV on Friday, June 5 at 7 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ET and Saturday, June 6 at 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET. For more information, visit the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame website here.

Source : Christian Post

Russell Moore Calls on Church to Embrace ‘Refugees of the Sexual Revolution’

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Russell Moore Calls on Church to Embrace ‘Refugees of the Sexual Revolution’
Russell moore (Photo: The Christian Post/Sonny Hong)

Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, speaks at the 2014 SBC Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland on Wednesday, June 11, 2014.

Christian Post Report – Speaking to the largest Latino Christian organization in the world Tuesday, Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said that the sexual revolution will fail and the Church must be prepared to embrace those “refugees of the sexual revolution.”

Moore stressed the importance of using the right tone to defend the truth of the gospel.

“The sexual revolution cannot keep its promises. We will have an entire generation of people asking ‘is there more to life than this?’ Just as Jesus says that there is a thirst for more than water, we must be the people who can speak to those who are the refugees of the sexual revolution.

“The people that can’t speak to them are the people that are shouting at them and the people who have given up on the Gospel.”

  • Russell Moore
    (Photo: screengrab, NHCLC)
    Russell Moore (left), president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, speaking at the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference’s convention with an English to Spanish translator (right), Houston, Texas, April 28, 2015.

Moore’s message was delivered to the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference’s convention, a three-day event in Houston, Texas.

Recalling the story of the Samaritan woman at the well from John’s Gospel, Moore stressed the importance of authentic Gospel repentance and forgiveness. Moore focused much of his remarks rebutting the claim that the Church will be left behind if it does not adapt to cultural norms and pressures on human sexuality.

“Some people are saying in order to reach the culture around us,” said Moore, “we have to stop talking about what God teaches about marriage and sexuality.

“They tell us if we do not give up what the Scripture teaches on marriage, we will not grow and we will not flourish in the years to come.”

Moore continued to defend the biblical and traditional view of marriage, saying, “If we hold to what the Scripture teaches, that marriage is between one man and one woman, and that marriage pictures the union of Christ and His Church, they will tell us that we are on the wrong side of history.

“But the Christian Church started on the wrong side of history. In the first century the right side of history was the Roman Empire. The right side or the wrong side of history isn’t what’s important, what matters is who is at the right hand of the Father, he declared.”

The theme of NHCLC’s three-day event is “From Survive to Thrive.” Other conference speakers include former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and former Florida governor Jeb Bush.

Source : Christian Post

Christian Boy Was Set on Fire and Killed by Pakistani Muslims for His Faith in Jesus, Watchdog Group Confirms

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Christian Boy Was Set on Fire and Killed by Pakistani Muslims for His Faith in Jesus, Watchdog Group Confirms
Nouman Masih (Photo: British Pakistani Christian Association)

Noman Masih died on April 15, 2015, in Pakistan due to burns suffered from an attack by two Muslim men five days prior.

Noman Masih, the 14-year-old Pakistani boy who was burned alive by a group of Muslim youths earlier in April and died from his injuries was targeted because he admitted that he was a Christian, watchdog group International Christian Concern has said.

The group shared Masih’s own words from his hospital bed: “I have neither enemies, nor a dispute with anybody in the area I live. My tailor master asked me to go to the nearest market for some work and, on my way, [a] few men stopped me, asking my name and religion. I gave them my name and identified my religion as Christian. It was Friday prayers time and not many people [were] on the road.”

The boy added: “Suddenly they started beating and abusing me. I tried to rescue myself, however, [I] couldn’t. One of them threw kerosene oil and [the] other set me on fire. With the help of the locals around I managed to stop the fire, however, [I became] unconscious.”

Masih suffered burns to 55 percent of his body, and despite the hospital’s efforts he died from his injuries on Wednesday, April 15.

Christians are often targeted by lynch mobs in Pakistan, but also by the government’s anti-blasphemy laws, which are designed to protect Islam but are often used by Muslims as a way to falsely accuse and arrest religious minorities.

Asif Masih, the boy’s uncle, added in the ICC report that Christians have little hope in the South-Asian country.

“Being Christian [means] being persecuted daily in this country. This is no longer a country for human being[s] or for liv[ing] a dignified life. There is no protection and no rule of law,” he said.

Wilson Chowdhry, chairman of the The British Pakistani Christian Association, told The Chritian Post following Masih’s death that the boy had issued “Christian forgiveness” to his attackers before he died.

“He just said that he forgave them. That’s more like a Christian forgiveness, but he didn’t want his attackers to prevail and enact their crimes on anybody else. He was just being very magnanimous in a Christian way saying, ‘I have forgiven them but I want them to go through the justice system,'” Chowdhry told CP.

“You can imagine what it was like for him to have kerosene poured on him and being set alight,” Chowdhry continued. “He was very vocal in the fact that he didn’t want that to happen to anyone else, especially at the moment when Christians are under some very extreme tension.”

Ataurehman Saman, a human rights defender and publications coordinator at the National Commission for Justice and Peace, added that the incident “speaks volumes about the lofty claims and statements of the officials regarding [the] protection of minorities in Pakistan.”

Saman added that it “reflects the prevailing hatred for religious minorities that has been allowed to flourish in the society by design, through media, [hateful] sermons and textbooks.”

He warned that other such attacks on Christians are likely to occur if the government does not take “affirmative, positive, productive and concrete steps to tailor the torn fabric of our society.”

Source : Christian Post

Egypt Sentences 71 People to Life in Prison for Burning Christian Church

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Egypt Sentences 71 People to Life in Prison for Burning Christian Church
Undated file photo of Egyptian prisoners. (Photo: Reuters)

Undated file photo of Egyptian prisoners.

Christian Post Report – An Egyptian court has handed out life in prison sentences to 71 people for burning a Christian church in in the Giza province village of Kafr Hakim in 2013.

CNN reported that the people were part of a mob that chanted for Egypt to become an “Islamic State” as they torched and looted The Virgin Mary Church in 2013, following anti-government unrest. Christians were heavily targeted in Egypt following the fall of former President Mohammed Morsi, which later led to the Muslim Brotherhood being outlawed.

Reports said that 52 out of the 73 defendants were tried in absentia, with 21 already in prison. Two minors were additionally given 10 years in prison and fined the equivalent of $1,300.

Reuters noted that the verdict can be appealed.

Hany El-Sayed, a defense lawyer for some of the defendants, said: “There is no proof against the defendants … even the church’s priest said he didn’t see any of the defendants after the incident.”

Morsi himself was sentenced last week to 20 years in prison for carrying out unlawful arrests and torture during his time in power. It was the first verdict Morsi has received since he was brought down from power, and is one of several trials he is facing.

Morsi could have received the death penalty for the more serious charge of inciting the killing of protesters, but was cleared by the court.

Retired Field Marshall Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who won the presidential elections in 2014, has been hailed by some Christians for protecting them and helping bring an end to the violence that swept the nation in 2013.

“Many Christians, and even Muslims, think that Sisi saved them from the Islamic groups and he is the hero and savior that we are all waiting for. In Egypt you have to choose from two choices: Military or Islamist. So, if I am Christian, for sure I’ll choose the military even if I don’t like them,” Mahmoud Farouk, executive director of the Egyptian Center for Public Policy Studies, said at the time.

There has been a serious clampdown on Muslim Brotherhood members during Sisi’s reign, and the group has been forced to go underground. Thousands of people have been jailed for participating in the group, while hundreds of others have received death sentences for taking part in the bloodshed during the 2013 unrest.

Source : Christian Post

ISIS Indoctrinates In The Cradle

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ISIS Indoctrinates In The Cradle
ISIS Indoctrinates In The Cradle

 A photo believed to have been taken by ISIS members of a baby lying beside a gun, a hand grenade, and an ISIS birth certificate has been released online. The photo’s caption warns that the child will grow up to be a threat, pointing to the vast youth indoctrination program that the terror group is running in the region.
“By showing the birth certificate, and the fact that the group are indoctrinating babies, I think ISIS are indicating they will be around for a long time,” a terrorism expert at the Australian National University told Daily Mail Australia.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/isis-photo-of-baby-lying-beside-gun-and-hand-grenade-released-caption-warns-child-will-grow-into-a-threat-138293/#2Iygm4z6SgRlpvoh.99

Source : Christian Post

‘A.D. – The Bible Continues’ Returns Sunday with Increased Violence, Persecution of Early Christians

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‘A.D. – The Bible Continues’ Returns Sunday with Increased Violence, Persecution of Early Christians
Roma Downey and Mark Burnett Preview 'A.D. - The Bible Continues' Episode 5

Roma Downey and Mark Burnett Preview ‘A.D. – The Bible Continues’ Episode 5

After four episodes, “A.D. – The Bible Continues” is returning to NBC this Sunday with a brand new fifth installment revealing more about the early church, including extreme brutality against Christians.

The latest episode of “A.D.” will follow Claudia (Joanne Whalley) who struggles with her husband Pontius Pilate’s (Vincent Regan) brutal methods and must decide the fate of 10 women’s lives. Furthermore, Sunday’s episode will see Peter and John arrested again, but the pair survive trial thanks to the aged priest Gamaliel. Also, in a violent turn of events, a young Christian, Stephen, is stoned to death for his cries against the Temple.

Offering a recap of the season so far, series co-creators Roma Downey and Mark Burnett pointed to the death and resurrection of Jesus as well as the coming of the Holy Spirit. Then, the famed husband-and-wife team offered a glimpse at what viewers can expect this Sunday.

“Now, full of the Holy Spirit, Peter, John and the rest of the disciples share their new faith, which is beginning to sweep over Judaea,” Downey previewed.

Chiming in during the clip, Burnett added, “In each episode of ‘A.D.,’ the apostles and their followers are met with increasingly brutal resistance and widespread persecutions to destroy them and of course the message itself.”

“A.D. – The Bible Continues” episode 5 will air on NBC this Sunday, May 3 at 9 p.m. E.T. The encore of last week’s Episode 4 will air directly before the new installment.

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  • “A.D. – The Bible Continues.”
    (Photo: Courtesy of NBCUniversal MediaVillage)
    A photo from episode 5 of NBC’s “A.D. – The Bible Continues.”
  • "A.D. - The Bible Continues"
    (Photo: Courtesy of NBCUniversal MediaVillage)
    A photo from episode 5 of NBC’s “A.D. – The Bible Continues.”
  • Stephen in "A.D. - The Bible Continues"
    (Photo: Courtesy of NBCUniversal MediaVillage)
    A photo from episode 5 of NBC’s “A.D. – The Bible Continues.”

“It’s our prayer that this show serves as a catalyst for furthering the gospel and encourages you to be bold in your faith,” Downey noted during this week’s preview.

After each episode of “A.D.,” fans can tune into NBC’s first-ever digital talk show, “Beyond A.D,” hosted by Jason Kennedy. New guests are featured each week to discuss the television series, but this Sunday will see Pastor John Gray of Lakewood Church, comedian Ron G and the Christian rock band The City Harmonic join the show.

Source : Christian Post

A Subtle Snare

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And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
— 2 Corinthians 11:14

Christian Post Report – When I was a kid, I collected snakes. I am not really sure why, but I used to be fascinated by them. I had all kinds. I would read books about snakes. I would go out looking for them and bring them home. And I was bitten by snakes many times. I discovered that you never really know what a snake is thinking. Snakes aren’t expressive creatures; they are cold-blooded reptiles.

  • Greg Laurie
    (Photo: rever Hoehne for Harvest Ministries)
    Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California and Harvest Orange County in Irvine, California, shares the Gospel with a sold-out crowd of 19,000 for Harvest America at the American Airlines Center and Victory Park in Dallas, Texas, Oct. 5, 2014.

Snakes are nothing like dogs. You know where you are with a dog at any given moment. When a dog looks at you with his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging, you know he is a friendly dog. But if the dog shows his teeth and the hair on his back is standing up, then you know he isn’t happy. You always know where you stand with a dog.

But you never know with a snake. A snake has the same expression all the time. A snake will suddenly bite you, and you won’t even see it coming.

In Genesis we’re told that “the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made” (3:1). Notice that he didn’t show up and say, “Hi, I’m the Devil. Maybe you have heard of me? I hate God, I hate you, and I want to destroy you. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out. I have some ideas.”

The Bible does say that Satan was a serpent, but it doesn’t say that he slithered. He slithered after he was cursed (see Genesis 3:14). We don’t know what he looked like, but there was something fascinating, interesting, and appealing about him. He was somehow attractive, and sin is always attractive.

The Devil may be wicked, but he isn’t stupid. He comes with subtlety.

Copyright © 2015 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000

Used with Permission

Source : Christian Post

Infant Boy Miraculously Rescued From Nepal Earthquake Rubble After 22 Hours of Being Buried Alive

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Infant Boy Miraculously Rescued From Nepal Earthquake Rubble After 22 Hours of Being Buried Alive
Rishi Khanal (Photo: Reuters)

Rishi Khanal who was pulled out from a collapsed residential building following the April 25, 2015 earthquake, speaks to a security guard at a hospital in Kathmandu on Wednesday.

Christian Post Report – A 4-month-old baby was rescued from a destroyed building in Bhaktapur, Nepal, on Wednesday, after being buried alive nearly 22 hours after the earthquake hit the country, while a 28-year-old man who had given up hope of being found was also rescued after surviving 80 hours under rubble.

The baby boy, named Sonit Awal, was reported to be in stable condition, miraculously without any internal injuries. His rescue has brought hope and good news to the area flattened by a 7.8 point earthquake that has killed over 5,000 people and could possibly have killed close to 10,000.

“I had some hope but by yesterday I’d given up,” Rishi Khanal, the adult man who was also rescued, told the The Associated Press. “My nails went all white and my lips cracked. I was sure no one was coming for me. I was certain I was going to die. There was no sound going out, or coming in. I kept banging against the rubble and finally someone responded and came to help. I hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink so I drank my own urine.”

Khanal was also rescued by a Nepali-French search and rescue team. He had been trapped in the room of an apartment building with three dead bodies and no access to food or water. Rescuers were surprised to find Khanal, given that he was on the second floor and had five floors collapse upon him when the earthquake hit. He managed to keep yelling for help, and officials were able to pull him from the destruction after five hours’ work.

“It seems he survived by sheer willpower,” Dr. Akhilesh Shrestha, the doctor who treated Khanal, said.

Now, after undergoing surgery to amputate his leg, Khanal is resting comfortably in a hospital in Nepal. Reports state that the hospitals are woefully full of people who survived the earthquake, which affected areas in India, Tibet, and Bangladesh.

nepal quake (Photo: Reuters/Navesh Chitrakar)

A man runs past damaged houses as aftershocks of an earthquake are felt a day after the earthquake in Bhaktapur, Nepal April 26, 2015. Rescuers dug with their bare hands and bodies piled up in Nepal on Sunday after the earthquake devastated the heavily crowded Kathmandu valley, killing at least 1,900, and triggered a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest.

Stories such as those of Awal and Khanal bring good news to an area suffering from a shortage of basic supplies. It’s extremely rare for people to survive in such harsh condition, and now doctors are concerned that there could be an outbreak of disease in the wake of finding so many dead bodies and having a shortage of clean water.

“In the next few days or weeks, I am sure that there will be an outbreak of epidemics,” Guna Raj, who works for an NGO specializing in providing santitation, told Reuters.

Source : Christian Post

American Idol Finalist and Believer Clark Beckham Doesn’t Want to Be Limited to Christian Music, Doesn’t Think God Wants Singers to Be Isolated to One Genre (Interview)

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American Idol Finalist and Believer Clark Beckham Doesn’t Want to Be Limited to Christian Music, Doesn’t Think God Wants Singers to Be Isolated to One Genre (Interview)
Clark Beckham (Photo: AMERICAN IDOL XIV: Clark Beckham. CR: Michael Becker / FOX. © FOX BROADCASTING CO.)

Clark Beckham is a hopeful on “American Idol XIV”

Christian Post Report – Each week Clark Beckham subjects himself to judgement and criticism in the music competition that made names such as Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia Barrino and Jennifer Hudson famous. Still, that’s a small price to pay for the up-and-coming Christian “American Idol” XIV hopeful who has plans of cementing himself as a secular music artist while being a light for God.

Beckham, 22, is deeply rooted in his faith as a graduate of the Christian college Lee University and underwent a life changing experience being touched by the Holy Ghost. Now that he has made it into the top five of the coveted American Idol competition, the singer-songwriter and musician has showcased his range as somebody who can fit into multiple genres.

For some time, he battled with the idea that a devout Christian such as himself must sing Christian contemporary music if he reached a level of success where his voice could inspire a multitude of people. These days, Beckham is confident in his calling and spoke to The Christian Post about why he decided he did not feel the need to fulfill people’s expectations for the type of music he is supposed to sing.

“I know through a lot of confusing years and prayer trying to figure things out, a lot of people said ‘you’re a Christian and you do music that means you sing Christian contemporary music.’ You lead worship,” Beckham told CP. “But I don’t think God wants us to be isolated. I don’t think He wants such a distinct wall between church and secular.”

The singer admits that the word secular can be “scary” for some people, but is looking beyond people’s expectations for him.

“I want to write songs and sing songs about this world, about people, about this life that God has created through redeemed eyes. That’s what I want to do,” Beckham said. “I think He created music, and I think He likes good music. I don’t think we should be separated, I think we should go out into all of the world even musically.”

Beckham’s decision to become a musician did not happen overnight. At the age of 18, he thought it was the right time to try out for “American Idol.”

After graduating high school, he was preparing to attend Lee University in what should have been one of the most exciting times of his life. However, Beckham was dealing with the end of his parents’ marriage, after relying on them as a unit throughout his adolescence.

“I’m an only child and all of my friends’ parents were getting a divorce but my parents were perfect, you know? I thought my parents were never going to get a divorce, that kind of thing,” Beckham told CP. “So when they did, it was right after I had an incredible moment at a church youth camp. I felt closer to God than I ever have.”

That intimacy with God helped the singer to recognize that his desire to appear on “American Idol” as an 18 year old when the talent competition came to Nashville was not in line with God’s will at the time.

“I said, ‘God if this is something you want me to do’ and He very clearly said, ‘No’ to me,” Beckham recalled. “At the time He said, ‘no I don’t want you to do that right now.’ I tried to figure out what He meant by that.”

During this time, Beckham had to reconcile with the fact that he was grieving his parents’ separation. One day, the young musician decided to sit on his bed and pray to God for help during his broken moment.

“I said ‘God, You said that You would fill everything in every way, that You are all in all and blessed are those who mourn … You said that.'” Beckham recalled praying. “‘So God I need You to be the comfort of a mother that I don’t feel anymore, and I need You to be the warm safe feeling of a father that I don’t feel anymore.’ I’m telling you, instantly I felt the Holy Spirit come into the room and embrace me.”

The moment that followed was life changing for Beckham and fulfilled a need and purpose that “American Idol” never could.

“The only way I can explain it is it felt like He just came and God wrapped His arms around me. At that moment I was whole when I should be broken and empty,” Beckham told CP. “And He did what He said He would do. He filled me completely.”

A sense of peace enveloped the singer who said he became “obsessed” with the Holy Spirit ever since. He became free from past addictions, sins and struggles ever since.

Still, Beckham is the first to admit that he makes mistakes. However, waiting on God’s approval to audition for “American Idol” was not one of them.

Four years after God told him no, Beckham’s friend revealed that God told him to relay the message that God’s “no” at 18 meant “not yet.” Now, Beckham is in the top five of the music competition and insists that his strengthened spiritual foundation is what will carry him through the strenuous music competition and beyond.

“No matter how much I mess up if it’s on a stage, spiritually, morally … no matter how hard I fall one thing remains. That’s His love and His mercy,” Beckham told CP. “It transcends the mercy of ‘American Idol,’ it transcends the mercy of America voting. I might get voted off but no matter what I do for the rest of my life, God will never vote me off. So that’s something that I’m grateful for.”

Source : Christian Post

Kirk Franklin Is Defending and Commending Fellow Gospel Star Erica Campbell’s New ‘Trap Gospel’ Sound

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  • Kirk Franklin
    (Photo: Reuters)
    Kirk Franklin performs during the concert “Rebuilding the Soul of America – One Year Later,” dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, in New Orleans, Louisiana, August 29, 2006.

Kirk Franklin is defending his fellow gospel singer Erica Campbell for her decision to create a new sound called “trap gospel.”

Christian Post Report – Campbell, the Mary Mary singer who has ventured into solo music territory, released an album remixing of much of her debut music with Help 2.0 last month. One of the singles she has been pushing is called “I Luh God,” which blends God centered lyrics over trap music production.

While some may be weary of the new sound fusing gospel and trap music, veteran gospel music artist, writer and producer Kirk Franklin came to Campbell’s defense when appearing on NPR recently.

“I just commend her efforts, man. I think that trying to make a message that’s old as many millennia and try to make it culturally relevant, it’s always a tough job,” he said. “I always try to remember the heart of the person doing it and I am very, very good friends with Erica. She has a great heart for God, she has a great heart for ministry and I just believe that the heart always wins.”

Trap rap “is defined by the content of its lyrics, but it also comes with a trademark sound: booming 808-style sub-bass kick drums, twitchy sixty-fourth-note hi-hats, dive-­bombing tom fills, and chilly cinematic strings,” according to a Chicago Reader report.

Franklin fused hip-hop and gospel music with his 90s hit “Stomp” featuring Salt-N-Pepa star Cheryl “Salt” James, and he spoke to NPR about some backlash he received as a result.

“It’s very hard when you hear churches talk about you,” Franklin told NPR. “Some people start to question your heart, and when some people start to question your motives, it could be very hard for you because you’re in your early 20s and you don’t really understand what all the fuss is about, because you’re doing just what’s real to you.”

Franklin has garnered numerous Grammys, GMA Dove Awards and Stellar Awards. The musician has mastered the art of creating quality gospel music for two decades and insisted that the most important quality in the music is sincerity.

“It should reflect wherever we are and our personal spiritual growth with God. If that’s not our top priority, then our artform is going to be very shallow,” Franklin previously told The Christian Post. “It should not be just for the sole purpose of the artform itself…if it’s that, we’ll suffer. We have to make sure people can feel the sincerity of our own testimony and our own journey so they know this is something that is really real for us.”

Franklin previously told The Christian Post that he believes gospel music should be in tune with the culture of the world instead of focusing solely on the church.

“People don’t live at church, they live in the real world. So music has to reflect that how people live, what they’re doing as they go through their trials in life,” he told CP. “So I just hope and pray that we’re always able to tap into that and be that voice for people.”

Source : Christian Post

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