Trailblazin Ministries

Christcentric - Reformation

Written by LaRosa Johnson
Wednesday, July 12, 2006

It's becoming more and more apparent that in the world of Christianity, that there is a lot going on that does not line up with the Scriptures. You've got an infinite number of sects and cults within Christianity teaching false doctrines, and even those that are teaching a correct doctrine are falling short in many areas as well. Taking this into mind and wanting to spark a reformation of the Christian faith, just like Martin Luther, the hip-hop crew Christcentric has released their newest album aptly titled Reformation. The Christian community is in a place that is leading many astray, and Christcentric's purpose with this album is to bring the body of Christ back to the foundational doctrines of our faith, as well as challenge their hip-hop brethren to check themselves and what they're spitting on the mic.

Keeping the title of this album in mind, you immediately know that this project is going to be laced with the message of the gospel and sound doctrine that is seeking to bring life for all men. Well, that's exactly what you're getting with Reformation; it's an album full of mellowed out beats over which solid Christian truths are spit in a manner that both convicts the sinner to repentance and encourages the believer to seek out the truth contained in the Holy Bible.

The album starts off with a brief introduction titled "The Light in the Darkness" which serves to explain the purpose and intent behind this album. This introduction goes on to explain how God gave man over to their sinful nature, but that even with that God sent His Son to die for us. It even goes on to give a little spill about Martin Luther and how he sparked the reformation against the Roman Catholic church that dominated during his day. Next is the title track "The Reformation," over which Evangel goes on to lyrically tell the story of how Martin Luther took on the Roman Catholic church and sparked the Reformation by posting his 95 points of contention. This track is a solid history lesson by which many can learn about church history and how today's churches came to be.

With these first two tracks serving as the foundation for the Reformation, the remainder of the album seeks out to "Kick the Truth" of the Scriptures so that believers and unbelievers alike would grasp the fundamentals. With tracks like "Sufficiency of Scripture" believers are challenged with their state of mind when it comes to the Scriptures; it challenges the notion that the Holy Bible has become no more than a left behind novel, but proclaims that the Scriptures need to be a fixture in our lives instead of something that gets downplayed so that we can mingle with the world. "Oracles of Christ" is a track that calls out all the Christian rappers by letting them know that their lyrics should be proclaiming the truth of the gospel instead of getting caught up in the life of being a rapper.

Moving right along, you can see that this album is taking you on a walk through the Scriptures. This is even more clearly seen in tracks like "Who Do Men Say That I Am?," "Saul of Tarsus," and "Powerful Parables." "Who Do Men Say That I Am?" is a solid track that takes you through Christology 101; it tells you from start to finish who Jesus Christ is, even going so far as to explain His deity and purpose. If you wanted to know who Jesus is, all you would need to do is listen to this track. Along the same lines, "Saul or Tarsus" is a re-enactment of the conversion of Paul from his former self, Saul of Tarsus. With this track, you get a clear understanding of how Paul came to know Christ and why is was so active in his ministry. And just like the title would suggest, "Powerful Parables" is just that; it's Evangel speaking telling the parables of Jesus in lyrical form. This is probably one of my favorite tracks on the album because it is absolutely beautiful.

Just like with "Sufficiency of Scripture" and "Oracles of Christ," Christcentric continues to speak out against the wrong thinking and false doctrines of the church. With the track "Cliches," the crew speaks out against the word of faith movement and all of the other cliches that are used in church jargon. This track serves as a warning to all Christians to check out what it is they're saying and to make sure that it lines up with the Scripture. They go so far as to even break down why they are knocking down all of these false cliches. All I can say is that this is a very powerful track, and is one that you should really pay attention to when you listen to this album.

Man, this album is solid from start to finish. I don't think I've ever heard a Christian hip-hop album that laid out the Scriptures and doctrine like this album did. With the purpose of sparking a reformation, I can definitely say that Christcentric achieved their goal. You can't walk away from this album without gaining some form of biblical knowledge and understanding. I really respect Christcentric for putting out an album like this, and for doing it with excellence. The production was condusive to getting the message across and the lyricism was hard-hitting. I recommend that every Christian hip-hop fan have this album in their collection; and I even challenge you to take the time to study everything that's spoken about in this album!

For more information on Christcentric or to purchase their album, check out their website @ Christcentric.net