Spiritually Dead Gospel

I like Gospel music. I once went with my friend to her grandparents' church and had like 4 straight hours of Gospel music...and I was the only Asian there. A little Kirk Franklin every once in a while is fun. But the thing I like about Gospel music is that the people who sing are singing with everything. It's like watching them worship God with every fiber of their being. Every inch of them believes the words that he or she is singing about God. You watch Gospel singers and they are using every ounce to worship God. That's what I love about Gospel music. It's passionate worship.

Last night I got invited to go to a Gospel concert by a friend from church. My friend used to be a part of this Gospel choir and had showed me a DVD of last year's concert. She wanted to know how their pronunciation was. The conductor came to church one Sunday to ask me to help her with some pronunciation. So last night, I drove to town to go to a Gospel concert.

I'm sitting there with my friend and I asked her, "If these people don't go to our church, where do they go?"

"They're not Christians. The band members are Christian, but the singers are not. They just like the sound."

So I asked my friend, "If these people aren't Christians, why do they like Gospel music?"

"Do you know Whoopie?"

"Whoopie Goldberg?"

"Yes! In Sister Act! Japanese people love Sister Act. Sister Act brought Gospel music to Japan. It is a great movie because it shares the Gospel!"

I had no words. I'll be honest--I haven't seen Sister Act in a long time, but I'm pretty sure Whoopie doesn't give a Gospel presentation anywhere in that movie. I don't remember Whoopie sharing Jesus and telling of His redeeming love and grace.

I watched the choir walk out on stage. I was a little confused--not going to lie. They weren't choir robes per se. It was like a mumu and a kimono got mashed together with an African print. And they all had a combination of cornrows and extremely teased hair, like they tried to all have afros. They obviously had darker toned foundation because no one in Hokkaido can be that tan with the amount of sunlight, or rather lack of sunlight, that we have.

My friend smiled proudly and asked, "Don't they look like Gospel singers?"

And I didn't have words to say. If they came to America like that, we'd call them racist. But here in Japan, in a homogeneous country, it's totally okay because they have no idea. Everything inside of me was churning and wrestling with itself. Because as an American, it was wrong. But because I live in Japan, it's okay.

So I sat there for an hour and a half heartbroken for these people. They sang in English and had no idea what they were singing. They just liked the sound. I watched them sing and sway and clap. They were very enthusiastic and dramatic. Except this one lady in the front center. She hardly swayed, barely clapped, and didn't smile the entire performance. They were singing "Since He Changed Me" by Kevin Davidson & Marque Walker. How can you sing, "I will lift my voice/ Sing unto the Lord and bless His name/ I will clap my hands/ Praise Him in the dance and give Him praise" without smiling? It's spiritually dead Gospel. And it killed me to watch.

And then God got me. I was watching these people sing songs they couldn't understand, but I could. They sang, "I Really Love You" by Lamar Campbell, and I had tears in my eyes. "I thank You for all that I am, for giving me courage to stand/ And when I am weak, You hold my hand/ To tell me that I really can/ I'll praise You for all that You are, I wouldn't have made it this far/ So I want to take the time to say, that I really love You." All the doubt and loneliness and junk I've been feeling for the past couple weeks just left. When is the last time, I sat there and told God how much I loved Him, how much I really loved Him for saving me, for redeeming me, for loving me? It convicted me. My heart broke this Gospel choir because I thought, "What if they knew what they were singing? What if they knew the God to whom they sing?"

The blood of Jesus restoreth my soul

From the crown of my head

To the sole of my feet

I find peace in knowing of Calvary

Because the blood of Jesus restoreth my soul

"The Blood Restoreth My Soul" -- Michael Green
(Link is to Youtube video of last year's concert performance)