What’s Gospel About It? (Part II)

For years, I was a Copywriter at a multicultural advertising agency. Our goal was to target ethnic audiences (primarily African American) with marketing messages that were culturally and socially relevant. Often, I would bring a brilliant ad concept to my Creative Director, present it confidently, and wait for the response. Quite often, he would ask, “What’s Black about it?”

For my Creative Director, “I’m Black and I wrote it,” was never a sufficient answer. While those were particularly frustrating and grueling years, the one thing I learned from multicultural advertising was how to speak to a specifically targeted audience. So no less do I expect my Gospel music to speak to me directly as a Christian. I expect it to reflect the Word of God, to somehow convey the “Good News” (which is where we get the term “Gospel”), or be a psalm of praise and worship to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Just because an artist is Christian and they’ve recorded a great song, it doesn’t necessarily make their work Gospel, in my opinion.

More and more so-called Gospel songs are being picked up by Urban Contemporary radio stations. But at what price? In an effort to please everyone, many artists are compromising the Holy One. Many of the songs that cross-over from Gospel to Urban Contemporary fail to directly mention Jesus in the lyrics, or leave plenty of room for “interpretation.”

One might argue that these songs have the best chance to reach wider audiences and attract new believers. While many often quote Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:22, “…I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” They miss the important point that follows in the next verse, “I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” Not for glory, not for fame, not for a few million dollars more in the next recording contract.

Is your Gospel playlist truly Gospel? Leave a comment!