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Hilltop reporter Matt Roach with hand raised
at an Underoath show.
Photo courtesy of www.underoath777.com
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Alternative Ministries: Piercing the Darkness
by Matt Roach
It's a muggy late August night. You are surrounded by hundreds of people ranging in age from 12-30. All are dressed in black, sporting different hairstyles and colors, with chains hanging from their pants. Some, not all, are pierced in places that you did not even know existed on the human body. Tattoos seep out beneath shirtsleeves and protrude above collars. A hint of marijuana smoke and alcohol fills the air, with the occasional aroma of bad hygiene. Four members of a band stand on stage blasting the loudest possible noise as the lead singer screams at the top of his lungs. Suddenly a fight breaks out…no wait. It's just people dancing in the pit. Bodies are flying through the air, crashing into one another like cars in a demolition derby. Never once does the band skip a beat. In fact, the lead vocalist hands the mic to a kid in the front row, then plunges himself into the middle of the crowd in a move reminiscent of a summer camp swan dive. The mic is immediately surrounded by a swarm of sweaty kids, each bellowing out word for word where the lead vocalist left off.
Some might misinterpret the above situation as being some sort of occult activity. However, that could not be further from the truth. Actually the exact opposite is true. All four members of the band are professing Christians. On this particular night in Columbia, South Carolina, the hardcore bands Zao, Underoath, and Dead Poetic minister to the crowd through screams of anger and passion. This was the final tour for Zao, whom many label as a pioneer in the hardcore music scene.
Bryce Cooley, Webmaster of www.christcoremusic.net
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Although the message is still the same, Christian ministry today is packaged in many different forms. Non-traditional forms of ministry such as skate ministries, music ministries, surfing ministries, tattoo ministries, or body piercing ministries, are taking the message of Christ to the world via methods never before used.
"There is a new breed of Christians and youth pastors out there with a heart for kids in general. Not just the clean cut kids, but the punk, the hip-hop kids, hardcore kids, whatever", said 20-year-old Bryce Cooley, creator of www.christcoremusic.net. Cooley lives in Rancho Cordova, CA, and his site is dedicated to bringing the message of Christ's hope through different styles of music.
Christians in the hardcore music scene are carrying out one of these alternative ministries. The hardcore music genre began in the early 80's and has been steadily evolving ever since. Today's hardcore bands bring influences from many different cultures. Most play a punk or metal style, but with more intensity and heaviness. Bands today are a lot tighter and heavier than earlier hardcore bands.
Hardcore music is "quietly" expanding in the nation's underground. Hundreds upon hundreds of hardcore bands practice in abandoned warehouses, basements, and even bedrooms. Bands play anywhere and everywhere they get a chance with as many as 25 to hundreds of people in attendance. Rarely if ever will you see a hardcore video on MTV or even MTV2 due to the fact that hardcore music is not seen as being a marketable product. Nevertheless hardcore shows occur all across the world, especially in the US. Up and down both coasts and throughout the Midwest, kids file into tightly-packed areas to experience a live show.
A bystander who has no understanding of hardcore music may say, "What makes the band so angry?" True, most hardcore music is angry and aggressive, but mostly it is driven by passion. "I don't think my lyrics are as much praiseworthy as others might be; it's not a crying out type of thing," said 19-year-old Brandon Rike, lead vocalist for Dead Poetic. "It's more like me revealing myself and laying myself out on a line, and people may be able to relate to that and relate that to their lives."
Brandon Rike, lead vocalist for Dead Poetic. Photo courtesy of www.deadpoetic.com
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Hardcore band members who profess to be Christian rarely if ever use foul language in their lyrics. However, the lyrics differ from traditionally labeled "Christian music" in that they are not saturated with biblical undertones or Christian messages. Popular Christian Rock song titles such as "Jesus is Just All Right With Me", and "Our God is an Awesome God" give exact ideas as to what to hear in the song by simply reading the title. Many times this is untrue in the hardcore scene. The bands write their own music, their own lyrics, and often these songs have deep personal meanings. It's not uncommon to see a lead vocalist crying on stage after a particular song brings back memories of a lost loved one or a personal struggle. "We're just trying to be lights in the middle of the darkness," said Rike of Dead Poetic. "Today I think that people are trying to be a light bulb in the midst of other light bulbs."
Conversational Evangelism
Although the beliefs of these bands all connect to the Christian faith, you do not attend these events as if you were attending a church event. There is little to no pulpit evangelism and no altar calls. Successful ministry takes place through one-on-one conversation at the bands' merchandise tables, in the hallway, or next to bathrooms.
Rike says that a lot of his ministry is initiated in conversation. "It's not that we have a hidden agenda. When we are talking to people we don't have a goal in mind that by the end of the conversation we want that particular person to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. We are going to talk to fans just like we talk to anybody. I'm a Christian and that doesn't mean that God is always going to come up, but sometimes He will. If somebody wants to talk to us about our faith, we are more than happy to do that, but we do not have hidden agendas. We're not about Bible beating," said Rike.
Many hardcore bands hold down day jobs to survive. They travel the country on slim budgets and sleep wherever they can lay their heads. Bands consist of everyday people living everyday lives experiencing everyday problems. "I'm a human being and I have problems. Just because I'm a Christian does not mean that I don't have problems just like everybody else," said Rike. "There are still kids out there that have the same problems that I have, so through my lyrics I can offer a piece of me that they can relate to."
Culture Barriers
Contrary to popular belief, Rike says, God is present in these types of situations. In Matthew 18:20, Jesus says, "For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them."
However, others feel differently. Terry Watkins wrote an article for Dial-the-Truth Ministries entitled "Christian Rock: Blessing or Blasphemy," in which he gives his opinion of the music industry being used as a tool for God . "Who but a (sic) SPIRITUAL IDIOT would think a holy God gave the rebellion of rock'n roll…you'd have to hear this ungodly noise to believe it! Its deep growling sounds come straight from hell! When it's rock - it ceases to be Christian. If you're listening to Christian rock - STOP! If you're in a church feeding you this garbage - GET OUT! There's only one "Christian rock" and "THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST" (1 Corinthians. 10:4-'for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ')."
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Dead Poetic Lyrics
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Webmaster and music lover Bryce Cooley responds, "We need to stand firm in our faith; did Jesus worry about making people feel uncomfortable?" He says ministry as a whole is not and should not (ever) be confined to old time traditional religious practices. Countless numbers of alternative forms of Christian ministry are taking place worldwide. Jesus very clearly states in Matthew 28:19, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
Joe Dillon, a former missionary in South America and current pastor of Woodland Hills Baptist Church in Asheville, NC, has given his congregation the option of attending a traditional worship service or a more upbeat contemporary worship service. Dillon said that it is unfortunate that the more traditional churches and Christians shun these forms of alternative ministries. "It's not their culture, it's never been their culture and people don't deal well with fear, and so they see that as a fearful thing, rebellious youth with body parts pierced. And they see that as rebellion against God because that generation didn't rebel in that way. They may have had their own forms of rebellion." Rebelling against mainstream culture, or any culture for that matter, does not mean someone is shut off from the gospel of Christ, he said.
Chandler Brownlee. Photo courtesy of www.christiansurfers.com
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Some churches do recognize the hardcore music scene as a platform for ministry. "I love it when I see churches putting on shows, whether hip hop, alternative, hardcore. That is definitely one thing that draws kids," said Cooley. "Our church put on a show and like 425 kids came. I know a lot of them were not saved; that was a blessing."
Woodland Hills' Dillon notes that most Christians, from the beginning stages of discipleship are taught to "Go against the flow." Unfortunately when Christians do exactly that and go against the mainstream cultural society, they are looked upon as perverting the Christian faith, he says. "A lot of what people are doing is confusing culture with Christianity. And a lot of Americans in the traditional church are not able to disconnect from their culture to see Christ."
Chandler Brownlee is the National Director for Christian Surfers of America. Much of his ministry takes place on the beaches of St. Augustine, FL where he lives. "There's more to Christianity than old-time religion," said Brownlee in a phone interview. "There are two types of churches. There's the more traditional ministry model that won't embrace anything other than their mainstream culture, which is organs and pews, which is what they are used to. And there are other churches that will embrace these surf ministries, skate ministries, music ministries, kids with tattoos and body piercings because they see it."
Common Bonds
The problems and questions begin to arise for some ministries when they actually become innovative in order to minister to the needs of certain people. Pastor Dillon of Woodland Hills said, "the method that Jesus used is called incarnational ministry. What incarnational simply means is that God came to where we are at. He didn't call us to where he was at, so Jesus took on flesh, he dressed in the common man's robes of the day, he spoke in a Galilean dialect, he used illustrations that were very understandable to the people he was ministering to."
Dillon spoke of "a good friend who's a street minister and he's in his 40's and he's still got a pony tail down his back, because God has called him specifically. He spends his summers in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. And if he walked up with a coat and tie the kids would just blow him off. But when he walks up they think, 'oh man, he's going to deal us some drugs, or he's one of us'. But he understands. He came out of the drug culture. He came to Christ addicted to heroin. So he, better than anybody else, can minister to those people."
No doubt most alternative forms of ministries are far beyond the casual mainstream culture. Kids today are more likely to respond to somebody who can relate to them-whether it be clothing style, tattoos, piercings, hobbies, or music preferences-than someone without knowledge of their interests, said Dirk Helmling.
Dan, Lead Vocalist for Zao at Furnace Fest '02. Photo by Chris Rushing, courtesy of www.hardcorechristian.com
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Helmling founded "2911 Ministries" based out of Mars Hill, North Carolina. He sports an earring in each ear and travels the country speaking at youth gatherings and church services. The name of his ministry refers to Jeremiah 29:11-"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
"It's just a speaking ministry," he said. "It is different and it is alternative. But it's a calling, just like being a youth pastor, or music minister, or pastor is a calling."
The Christian Image
Perhaps one of the biggest issues raised in these forms of ministry would be why the piercings and tattoos? Many Christians debate the statement made in Leviticus 19:28, "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD." However, just before this passage in verse 27 it says "Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard. " By taking a look at the other laws in Leviticus, it is fairly clear that Christians no longer practice them, as they no longer apply. These are laws from the first covenant, which Jesus replaced with the new covenant. "Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law." Galatians 3:23-25
As surfer disciple Chandler Brownlee expresses it, "I don't have any tattoos, but I have friends that do and I know that there are many people that they can reach that I would never be able to. I think it's just about being who you are. It's not raise a child up in your way, it's raise a child up in His way. Love them for who they are. So many times I think we are trained by our parents, some parts of the church, or society to try and be somebody else; that if we just get honest with ourselves and say this is who I am-and we realize who we are-we can start reaching other people.
"Most churches will tell you to quit surfing because it's secular. They say, 'you have become a Christian, now it's time to leave those childish things behind and stay in the church.' What we at Christian Surfers say is, 'God made me a surfer; He has given me a love for surfing, and that is a tool for His kingdom. And if I surrender surfing, my lifestyle, my image, or whatever it is, he can use that to reach people. It's not an image thing where I'm like, 'hey, I want to reach surfers and try to reach them.' Just act like who you are."
Says Helmling, "It's shallow, ignorance, tradition, religion, all those things combined that if you have long hair or don't fit the mold, don't wear a tie to church, or don't read the King James Version of the Bible, then there's something wrong. And that is horrible. And no matter what you do you will always be fighting that. Even when you're forty you'll be fighting it. I'm 32 and have been doing this for a long time and it's still an issue. But I've realized that I'm always going to do something that people don't like, but God is more interested in my heart. He doesn't care about what I look like on the outside. No matter what I do, there are going to be people who don't get it."
Dancing in the Pit. Photo by Mark LaFay, courtesy of www.hardcorechristian.com
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Brandon Rike has been dealing with confrontation from traditional-minded Christians for some time. He said, "We've all got to realize that we are going to disagree. We've got to accept disagreement. And a lot of people are turned off by disagreement, and then we all fall apart. We are going to disagree. We need to overcome that. We have to swallow our pride and realize that people are going to have different opinions. Some opinions you are not going to change. We need to stop bickering amongst believers. We need to get out there and go to work."
As the music ends inside Uncle Doctor's in Colombia, South Carolina, on this excitement-packed night, the house lights come on. Beer and water bottles litter the floor. Trash bins are filled to the hilt with hundreds more. Black spots on the carpet represent old chewing gum that has been walked on hundreds of times over. There is not a dry body in the house. You are drenched with not only your own sweat, but also the sweat of the hundreds of people around you. Your brain struggles to regain its sense of direction as you scramble for the exit. Your ears have a continuous ringing that will not go away for days. Emotionally you are drained. You look over and see that Rike is surrounded by a group of kids all wanting to talk about life, death, and music. Who knows, maybe a seed is being planted. As you exit the front door a peace comes over your body.
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