Getting Crunk for Christ

Strange Fire

Well, this is certainly good news for the church. All across the United States, our young people are giving Glory to the Most High as they "Crunk" it up for Christ. In fact, many churches have set-up Christian Youth "Crunk" Ministries to encourage our children in this awesome move of God. If you haven't seen it, then you sure have missed out as our young people's bodies twitch, convulse, and jerk to music. It is like watching a Holy Spirit-inspired Epileptic fit!

A few of these insane asylums....oops, I mean "churches" have the following to say:

"Crunk 4 Christ is to have an uncontrollable enthusiastic praise for Christ that demands a response of his power and Glory. Crunk 4 Christ (known as C4C) is a youth outreach project...[it] serves as a venue for unconventional methods of praise and worship promoted by Youth and Young Adults. "


Even Catholics are getting Crunk, "Speaking to a radio audience every Monday on Q100-FM, he [Father Ricardo Bailey] is known as Father Crunk, a play on the urban term for high energy hip-hop and high-energy people. “Do you have any idea what ‘revive’ means?” he asked the audience. “Revive, my dear friends in Christ, … means get crunk with Jesus.”"


The Fire House's (appropriately named) dance ministry mission is, "To Preach the Gospel through DANCE and Win Souls to Christ. Also, mentor the youth and let them know you can still get crunk and dance for the LORD."

Can we still get crunk and dance for the Lord? Does the Bible indicate that we can offer whatever we want to the Lord and He will just accept it?


"And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD." Leviticus 10:1-2

The nation of Israel was celebrating the dedication of the temple. God gave specific instructions about how they were to worship before, and offer sacrifices unto, Him there. Leviticus 9:6 says, "And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the LORD shall appear unto you."

They did as God instructed. God's Glory appeared. Holy fire came forth to consume the sacrificial offering. The people shouted for joy and bowed down in worship before their awesome God. However, Nadab & Abihu's took it upon themselves to step up and make their own offering to God, one He had not commanded.

Immediately after they were killed, Moses says to Aaron, "This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace." Leviticus 10:3

At this statement, Aaron could not question God's judgment; he held his peace.

Why were Aaron's sons killed? Because the worship God commanded required that His Holiness and His Glory be at the forefront. The whole congregation was bowed down in submission to, and out of respect for, God. Yet Aaron's sons - driven by self-interest and a desire to be exalted and seen - decided to approach God's altar with their own version of a sacrifice. They were not led by God's Spirit, who was calling the people unto reverence. They were led by an opposing spirit which had them at odds with God. The difference? The sincere worship was glorfying God while the false worship was glorifying self.

Who is being glorified when our children get "Crunk"? In case you do not know, getting "Crunk" refers to someone becoming extremely excitable and crazy by using a combination of drugs and alcohol. They get crazy drunk, i.e. Chronic (marijuana) + Drunk (or Crack + Drunk, Coke + Drunk, etc.) = Crunk.

Sadly, a number of these ministries use Ephesians 5:18 as a justification which says, "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit." I am sure that Jesus Christ, who was filled with the Spirit beyond measure, was a Crunking All-Star. Can't you just picture Him now, having a Crunk-Off with the Apostles?

Why would a church use such a worldly term to define a youth ministry? Well true to form, they have simply taken what the world was doing, slapped it on an altar, said this was being done as unto the Lord, and now everything is "all good". Nevermind that the so-called pioneer of "Crunk", a rapper named Lil Jon, says that he was inspired to create this genre based on his experiences in Atlanta strip clubs (New York Times Interview, November 28, 2004). Gives a whole new meaning to the term Harlot Church.

The worse thing about this is not just that the youth are bringing demonic practices into the church, but that the "leadership" is encouraging their demise. Embedded below is a perfect example of this idiocy.



This "song" is performed by someone named Lecrae and is called "Represent". The chorus starts off with:

Represent! Get Crunk! Represent! Get Crunk! If you know you're repping Jesus go ahead and throw it up.

Throw up what? My lunch? Because that is how nauseating it is to look at this. What is it that makes man think he can improve on what God has done? We have entire churches rejoicing over new and improved ways to draw people to Christ, that are more about entertaining the flesh than glorifying Jesus.

"Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)" Philippians 3:17-19

These are the enemies of the cross. They do not preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" Matthew 16:24 No, they say. Telling people about Jesus, about God's love, and how He has given His life to save us from our sins is just not crunk enough to attract the younger crowds. God just didn't understand that these generations would need something more than the Gospel to come to Him.

Let's get this out in the open. We are not talking about being holier than thou or not being able to relate to people (of all ages). We are talking about not downgrading the Gospel. Not trying to sanctify the filth of the world. Not being used as a tool of Satan to bind our young people under the guise of witnessing.

This is beyond simply being foolish and silly. It is no small thing to teach prospective or young Christians that they can take the debase things of the world and continue in them as an offering to God. A friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Even the world is mocking the church! In a secular article entitled, "A New Form of Worship", one young blogger had this to say:

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't "crunk" a combination of getting [messed up] and drunk? Seriously. Talk about missing the point. I guess we'll all get stoned, grab a 40 and head to church. This got me to thinking, though. Were churches latching onto other trends before this? Were they all "getting grunge for God" in the early '90s? Were the "jump, jivin' and wailin' for Jesus" during that 6 months when swing made a comeback in '97? "Discoing for the divine savior" in the late '70s? I'm just curious, here.

There are lots of possibilities that don't even need to apply to churches and music. Especially in a religious town like this. Need to drum up some traffic for your clinic? "Liposuction for the Lord!" After all, Jesus had much better abs than Buddha, now, didn't he?"

Even this young man can see that there are some things which are just not appropriate in church. He has the audacity to accuse church leadership of pimping the people in order to increase numbers...and he is absolutely right!

Look at how your "youth ministry" witness is being perceived by the very people you claim you want to reach. Now when the world starts calling the church worldly, we really have a problem. It is a shame when the people outside of the church understand the things of God more than those inside.

I would really be interested in hearing from these so called ministries. How does Crunking prepare the youth to live for Christ and be witnesses for Him? How does it bring someone to repentance and convict them about the need for Jesus as their Savior? How does it teach Christians about Godly living and maturing in the faith? What happens when you take the spirit of whoredoms and bring it into your church?

"What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." I Corinthians 6:16-17

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." Galatians 5:22-25