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I realize I'm about 15 years late in making the following statement, but... I like dc Talk.

Expected responses to that statement include "Who?", "Oh my word," and eye rolls a-plenty. There will also be a few horrified looks and at least one or two bemused shakings of the head.

See, dc Talk was a Christian rap group. Near as I can tell, they had their heyday in the 90s, a time when I would have fallen into either the "horrified" or "bemused" reactions myself, depending on who was telling me about them. The words "Christian" and "rap" don't belong together, right? I'm not going to get into a whole debate on that topic, as there's no way to answer it satisfactorily for people on either side of the debate (so please don't focus on this aspect of it in the comments!). Those who've been reading for a long time, though, will know I have an affinity for certain types of rap, and there have been a few people here and there who've seen me "perform" such things as "White & Nerdy," "All About the Pentiums," "Vice," and "Nightmare on My Street." I don't get into "gangsta" even a little, and have no interest in cuss- and deragatory word-filled music.

But I'm getting off-topic. My point is that I've picked up a couple of dc Talk albums recently and have been enjoying them. In fact, the ringtone for my "Church people" caller group is the opening bars to "Jesus Freak," which, incidentally, makes me giggle.

This weekend I found a used copy of "Free At Last," their third album. And while titles like "word 2 the Father" and "Jesus is just alright" activate my Skeptic's Eyebrow, I still find some good stuff here and there. For instance:

Pullin out my big black book
Cause when I need a word defined thats where I look
So I move to the L's quick, fast, in a hurry
Threw on my specs, thought my vision was blurry
I looked again but to my dismay
It was black and white with no room for grey
Ya see, a big V stood beyond my word
And yo thats when it hit me, that luv is a verb

Say what you want about "Christian hip-hop," but this is an important for anyone to remember, church-goer or not: "love" isn't just a verb, it's an action verb. If I love you (as a friend, family member, or whatever else), I'll show you that I love you, I won't just say it. That's not just me doing things for you, that's me reacting correctly to you, me wanting the best things for you across the board, and me making things less about "me" and more about you.

I've been back at church for a few months now after being "away" for a few years, and I'm finding that my perspective's changed. I have the privilege of attending a church that stresses "real world Christianity," and I'm learning that it's what I do, not what I don't do that makes the difference. And the thing that I need to do the most is love others.

Jesus said it this way: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34, NIV)

dc Talk says it this way:

Back in the day there was a Man
Who stepped out of heaven and He walked the land
He delivered to the people an eternal choice
With a heart full of luv and the truth in His voice
Gave up His life so that we may live
How much more luv could the Son of God give?
Here is the example that we oughtta be matchin
Cause luv is a word that requires some action

There's pretty much only one response I can have to that:

Word.

Labels: love, music