by Mark Jefferson<\/p>\n
Hip-Hop titans Jay-Z and Kanye West interestingly decided on \u201cNo Church in the Wild\u201d as the first track on their long-anticipated album, Watch the Throne. I want to explore this understanding of \u201cthe wild\u201d within two critical realms of African American life, Black churches and Hip-Hop culture. It\u2019s not my desire to exclude or diminish other religious traditions; I want to speak directly to the context I know best, my own.<\/p>\n
As a young scholar, ordained Christian minister and avid Hip-Hop head, I once found myself in a very interesting conversation about my doctoral work in religion and Hip-Hop culture with a middle-aged, African-American pastor of a large congregation. He says to me: \u201cI don\u2019t allow that type of stuff in our church, especially in the pulpit. I don\u2019t see what value Hip-Hop adds to me or the church. People don\u2019t come to hear about Kanye but to hear about Christ.\u201d His approach, an either\/or understanding, is a clear example of why Christian ministry is often classified as culturally and socially irrelevant. It ignores the critical fact that \u201cthe wild\u201d is not only located outside the walls of Black churches but actually inside as well.<\/p>\n