The church is in the Wild

Human beings in a mob

What’s a mob to a king?

What’s a king to a god?

What’s a god to a non-believer?

Who don’t believe in anything?

We make it out alive

All right, all right

No church in the wild

Lyrics from the song “No Church in the Wild” Kayne West with Jay-Z featuring Frank Ocean

A couple months ago the tune to this song got stuck in my head.  Rap music has never been my genre of choice when it comes to music, but I heard this song played a lot and wanted to know the name of it and discovered that this song had some theology in it. 

I will warn you, this song is very colorful and there is a reason I am not going into all the words of this song.  However, as colorful as it may be it does lament the wild that seems to be our world at times or for some a constant reality.  Perhaps, “no church in the wild” could be lifted up as a lament psalm of sorts as it asks the question, “I’m wondering if a thug’s prayers reach.” There seems to be a genuine thirst for God when questioning the existence of God while at the same time wondering if one’s prayers are heard.

In a song that is played in pop culture, questioning the existence of God and critiquing (to put it nicely) organized religion; Christians should take this lament seriously and ask how we could minister to some of the pain described in this song. 

Saying there is “no church in the wild” is flat out unchristian.  There is no place the church will not go!  If our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ descended into hell (or the dead) then what we proclaim each week is that there is NO place in this universe our God will not go to save us. And guess what?  There is no place on earth our God won’t send His church. 

In Scripture we discover how God was with the Israelites in the wilderness and we know that God is with us when we find ourselves in the wilderness.  As a missionary church and congregation we must prayerfully ask where God will send us next so those who find themselves in the wilderness may know the God who is revealed to us in Christ.  What’s a god to a non-believer?  Who don’t believe in anything?  A question we ask ourselves more and more in a post-modern age.  How do we share the Good News of Christ and talk about the love of God to someone who doesn’t believe in anything?  We share the Good News by serving the needs of those who find life to be in the wilderness, we be the Church in the wilderness!