After Pentecost: “Guest Blogger” Mos Def

We continue our series “After Pentecost.” Exploring the life of the Christian in “Ordinary Time”. Todays perspective is brought by Mos Def…. sort of.


 I would post a ‘re-mix’ of something Mos Def said back in 1999.


He was originally talking about Hip-Hop, but I thought it might also speak to the Church. I replaced “hip hop” with “the Church”. Hey Mos Def, if you’re out there, I hope this is cool with you. Let me know.


From Fear Not Of Man [Explicit] by Mos Def

A lot of things have changed
A lot of things have not, mainly us
We gon’ get it together right? I believe that
Listen.. people be askin me all the time,
“Yo Mos, what’s gettin ready to happen with [The Church]?”
(Where do you think [The Church] is goin?)
I tell em, “You know what’s gonna happen with [The Church]?
Whatever’s happening with us”
If we smoked out, [The Church] is gonna be smoked out
If we doin alright, [The Church] is gonna be doin alright
People talk about [The Church] like it’s some giant livin in the hillside comin down to visit the townspeople
We (are) [The Church]
Me, you, everybody, we are [The Church]
So [The Church] is goin where we goin
So the next time you ask yourself where [The Church] is goin ask yourself..
where am I goin?
How am I doin?

Til you get a clear idea

So.. if [The Church] is about the people
and the.. [The Church] won’t get better until the people get better
then how do people get better? (Hmmmm…)
Well, from my understanding people get better
when they start to understand that, they are valuable
And they not valuable because they got a whole lot of money
or cause somebody, think they sexy
but they valuable cause they been created by God
And God, makes you valuable
And whether or not you, recognize that value is one thing you got