The Vision

In 1990, God gave me a vision. He showed me a vision of young people all over the world and how that they were being led astray by music. In more detail he showed me that the white youth of America were being lead astray by the Heavy Metal and Hard-core Metal music fad. Many young people became victims of this satanic move of darkness upon the music industry. Suicide, pornography, drugs, and parental defiance was portrayed as being “popular”, or the “in thing” by this perverted music style. Heavy Metal and Death Metal artists sang perversions and pushed these horrible values upon the white youth of America with little resistance from the society. The end result was suicide, Satan worship, and drug use by our youth and the loss of many souls. The white youth of America are still suffering from the influence of metal artist to this day.

In the same vision, God showed me that Heavy Metal music was not reaching the black youth of America and that the enemy had a greater plan in store for us. He showed me that the enemy was creating a new type of music that would reach far beyond the color barriers that Heavy Metal could. The enemy’s plan was to create a form of music that not only influenced the Black youth of America, but it would reach the White, Hispanic, and all other races and influence them to act and behave in total rebellion to God and to their parents. The music he showed me that would surface is what we now call Hip Hop. The music that is performed by today’s Hip Hop artists is similar to Heavy Metal’s influence. Gangsta rap and Hip Hop artists have bridged the gap of Satanism and the occult that once divided the races, and now has produced the most popular, culture driven music ever. Many of these artists distort the Bible and Christianity by claiming to be messengers of God and some even claim to be Christ. New female and male rappers have began to use sexual perversions to sell millions of records that promote hard-core pornography to young teenage girls and boys. We as a church must be aware of the danger of music laced with sex, violence, Satanism, and drug use. God showed me that this music would introduce young teenagers to sexual relationships without the consent of their parents. It would take the place of their parents as role models and form a nation of fearless young people that would be rebellious to society and to God as well… I guess the saddest part of what God showed me was the relationship of this Hard-core music and the music of our church! God showed me that the enemy would not only pervert the secular music, but that he would even begin to involve these perverted artists with Christian music. God showed me an outburst of Christian music that would promote these sinful artists by including them on Christian albums. They would use these same secular producers and artists to produce Christian music.

Also, these perverted artists would use Christians on their albums to validate them and their lifestyles! I never thought that it could happen, but it is happening!! Christians have began to not only listen to and purchase this corrupt music form, but has welcomed these secular artists into the Gospel and Christian music industry. Many choirs and groups have cloned lyrics, musical phrases, and clichés from this perverse music style and has placed it in their songs hoping to win the favor of the world. But the end of it is the promotion and support of the artists that are destroying our youth of today. Don’t misunderstand me, there is nothing wrong with bangin’ beats and hype music, (we have plenty of it on our projects), as long as the message is in line with God and his word. But taking music and phrases that was once sinful and explicit, and adding it to God’s music is not supported in the scripture. God doesn’t need what it took drugs, sex, and violence to create, in his music. Homosexuality, adultery, and fornication have swept across our churches and the music industry in such great numbers until hard-core secular music almost has a place in the lives of some modern day believers. But the end is deception and deceit. The enemy is on the prowl and he is going for big numbers seeing that these are the last days and his days are numbered.

The best part of the vision that God gave me was the solution!! Someone has to uphold the standard that God has given us in his word. We must be separate from the world in order to reach the world. We must be examples of true Christians in order to win the lost. We cannot appear to be lost or conform to the world’s standards because we want to appeal to them. Our God is not an alternative, but he is the true way. EX Ministries is called to uphold that standard! We believe that Gospel music can be attractive to the secular world without using samples or artists of the secular world’s music. We must offer a solution to the rising, money making schemes that lead millions of teenagers and young adults into spiritual bondage by promoting what is evil and perverse.

The world needs the gospel’s message of hope without the influence of the secular industry. Remember, “secularized” Christian music will only draw people to the secular, but the Spirit of God will draw them to Jesus Christ.

-G. Craige Lewis