This unit has surveyed the various ways that the church and culture can relate to one another. The unit started with the framework suggested by Niebuhr's Christ and Culture and moved out from that to consider other models and frameworks. Several of the resources in the unit centered on the black church, both as a distinct social and religious culture within the larger American culture. This practice activity asks you to apply what you've learned in this unit to analyze one particular example of a culturally relevant, "contextualized" church, the "Hip Hop Church."

 

To complete this activity, you must:

• Read the article linked below (approximately 27 minutes to complete)

  • Ralph Watkins, "The Underground: The Living Mural of a Hip-Hop Church" in The Gospel after Christendom: New Voices, New Cultures, New Expressions, ed. Ryan K. Bolger (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2012), 231–39.

• Write a 250-word response that answers the following questions (approximately 60 minutes to complete):

  • Which of Niebuhr's five paradigms in Christ and Culture does the Hip Hop Church most resemble?

  • How is the hip hop church related to the black church as a social and religious center?

  • In what ways is the hip hop church an example of contextual theology?

• Share/post your response in the Private Facebook group.​

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*** Estimated time to complete learning activity (including reading & response): 90 minutes ***