Former ReachLife outreach director BJ Thompson concerned about Christian hip hop

BJ Thompson, who got the second 116 tattoo ever, has been around Christian hip hop for over a decade.

Pre-Reach Records, he regularly rolled with Lecrae into a juvenile halfway house in Roanoke, Texas to minister. Post-Reach conception, Thompson spent time as an outreach director for the label’s non-profit arm, ReachLife Ministries.

Today, Thompson runs a marriage ministry, Build A Better Us. But while his work is no longer directly associated with Christian hip hop, few have spent as much time as Thompson as close to the subgenre as an observer. This has given him a unique perspective on the scene, which he told Rapzilla at Legacy Conference 2015 he’s excited about overall, but a concern exists.

“Something that’s unique about Christian music or Christian culture is that you can be a representative in Christian culture and not really know Christ,” Thompson said. “And so one thing that concerns me about the new generation of artists is that we’ve made the platform, the spotlight of Christianity more attractive than Jesus himself.”

Follow @bj116 on Twitter.

David Daniels
David Daniels
David Daniels is a columnist at Rapzilla.com and the managing editor of LegacyDisciple.org. He has been published at Desiring God, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, CCM Magazine, Bleacher Report, The Washington Times and HipHopDX.
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