John Piper invited a rapper to perform at Bethlehem Baptist?!?

John Piper had a rapper perform at Bethlehem Baptist and it started quite a firestorm of responses about Christianity and it's compatibility with rap and other forms of hip hop. Curtis "Voice" Allen wrote an article, which is a very good read, in regards to the controversy he was a part of for performing at Piper's Church. The article shows he handled a wide variety of malicious attacks very humbly. If you don't have time to read the entire article, the following quote I found very powerful, and it was a quote that helped him deal with abusive criticism. The article was entitled "The Cross and Criticism," by Alfred Poirer and was found in a 1999 issue of the Journal of Biblical Counseling.

"In light of God's judgment and justification of the sinner in the cross of Christ, we can begin to discover how to deal with any and all criticism. By agreeing with God's criticism of me in Christ's cross, I can face any criticism man may lay against me. In other words, no one can criticize me more than the cross has. And the most devastating criticism turns out to be the finest mercy. If you thus know yourself as having been crucified with Christ, then you can respond to any criticism, even mistaken or hostile criticism, without bitterness, defensiveness, or blame-shifting."

In case you want to see the song he performed before the congregation, you can view it here. Personally, despite my general dislike of most rap, I am thrilled that Curtis is living in his neighborhood and his subculture unashamed of the gospel, and is speaking clear biblical truth through his music. He is a great example of being a light in the darkness. :) I hope you have time to listen to his song and read through the article he wrote.