Uplifted Studio in Kisii, where Duke and his band members record their music.
Gospel music in Kenya
by Eric Bosire • 9 November 2023
Christian musicians have been subjected to lot of criticism, especially on social media platforms, which raises the question why is the work of God under jeopardy. Is it that gospel musicians are not doing it well, or what is going on? The best way to find out what’s happening was to hear from them.
I met Duke Mogaka, a lead vocalist at Kisii Pentacostal Church and also a member of Tribe of Grace Band. Duke started by saying that music is very broad, there are those who do music as a ministry they have been called into, and there are those who do it as an income generating venture. Given a platform, the two will serve differently. “Those who have been called into the ministry, have a greater purpose and have an assignment to accomplish, and those doing music for money only, will want the money to come in by all means possible,” said Duke.
Duke stated that a music minister has a master he or she is supposed to please and that is God, but the other people who do it as a career thing, theirs is to please the people of the world. A music minister should uphold integrity and character, because there is something they are carrying and they are sharing it to the world.
According to Duke, some singers have moved from gospel music to secular music, because to them gospel music does not pay, they see more money on the other side. “This is where people get it wrong, gospel music does pay, just that some standards got to be followed. You don't just focus on the aspect of appreciation or money coming in, but on the assignment you have been given, and in that way God will make your ends meet, by opening doors where you'll get platforms, through which you'll build yourself and more people will want to hear from you, in doing so you'll get paid,” said Duke.
“People who walk out of gospel music ministry are not grounded in the faith and in word, prayer and most importantly in character,” noted Duke. Anybody can sing, it’s just a matter of moulding the voice and getting the right key, but true gospel music demands the character of God which is holiness, love, patience. When you don't possess the character of God, you can sing, but you won't reflect Him. Your singing won't make an impact on people.
“As gospel musicians, we are a vessel that God uses to reach out to people to change their lives and so when a person gets out of the ministry then the vessel is contaminated,” said Duke. As far as he is concerned, if the oil is contaminated, it cannot find buyers, it cannot find people who'll want to receive it. Purity is important in gospel music ministry: “We have to hold ourselves in purity, so that the oil can flow, because whatever is pure and genuine people will not deny it, results will be undeniable.”
The conduct of most gospel music ministers does not portray godliness, especially in choice of words and also in dressing. Duke relates this to them lacking mentors. A mentor is there to direct you, it’s like Moses or Aaron using the staff to guide the children of Israel on the right path. When you have a calling, a gift, you must have somebody in your field of work, who has gone ahead of you and has experience to guide you and let you know the do's and the don’ts, because they have traveled on that path and understand it better in one way or another.
Therefore, those gospel music ministers who have gone astray don't have mentors and lack vital requirements to hold on. A mentor will give guidelines on what the ministry of Christ dictates in the scriptures and in doing so helps a musician sing the right songs in a right manner. “When I mess things up, my mentor will tell me out rightly, Duke, whatever you are doing is wrong and I'll listen to him and correct,” said Duke.
According to Duke, secular music is any music that does not have God, if God is outside the picture, that is secular. As a gospel musician if your music doesn't have God then it's not gospel music. “I am not saying in the context of mentioning God's name in the song, I am talking about content, the lyrical part of it. What message do the lyrics communicate and say? Do they talk about God? Do they glorify God? Do they honor God? This will help us define whether the music sung is gospel.”
It has been witnessed on several occasions, some members of praise and worship team in the church serving secular interests outside of the church. On this issue Duke said that they are in a spiritual warfare between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. When that is in play, every kingdom has its own weapons and therefore if you are a believer and you don't understand the kingdom you are in you will not know what is required of you and so when the enemy comes, anything he throws at you, will become a distraction. Anything the enemy will try to lure you with becomes enticing. It is important as a believer to know where you stand.
Duke continued and said that when you become a believer, two things happen, the inner transformation and the outward manifestation. When you are transformed inwardly it has to manifest outwardly.
When you are a member of the praise and worship team in the church and you involve yourself in secular things then there is a problem with your transformation inwardly because when there is that inward transformation the desires of the flesh are suppressed, crushed and destroyed and you begin to have the desires that please the kingdom of God. That is what Paul says in Philippians 4:6-8.
The enemy, as Duke puts it, is working overtime and he is trying to remove people from the Kingdom of God and therefore he is targeting those that draw the presence of God to the people, the singers. That is why you'll find someone is in the praise team and during other days he or she is in the night club taking alcohol. The temptations are there but we have been given a way out in the word.
“Gospel music ministers have to be on the lookout there are three things the scripture says categorically, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and pride of life, this are the things the devil puts in our way but we can overcome them through prayer, word and fellowship,” said Duke. Duke is seeing a shift coming because people have begun to understand the true ministry of gospel industry. “When this shift will come, there will be collateral damage, in the sense that, people who are clothing themselves in sheepskin and pretend to be doing gospel music ministry, but are not genuinely doing it, they'll find themselves outside the bracket. The shift will dwell on authenticity and how they are grounded in the faith. We will confirm whether one is doing the music as a ministry given by God or for other benefits.”
Pastor Benson, a praise and worship pastor at Grace Revival Church in Kisii, also echoed a few sentiments about gospel industry in Kenya. He started by saying that gospel music is an enabler of the gospel to spread. It should be an enabler of the gospel that is of God. There are musicians that are born again and mean it in their music, and there those people who came to Christian music so that they may get money and fame.
According to Pastor Benson, the rise of gospel musicians who are not genuinely born again, is on another level and that is why the industry is marred with a lot of controversy. “You'll find a powerful gospel singer converting to secular music. For example, we have two musicians, Bahati and Willy Paul, who started off very well as gospel musicians, but along the way, because they wanted fame, money and worldly possessions, they abandoned gospel music.”
On the other hand, pastor Benson noted that we have those that are doing the music in spirit and truth. They have stood the test of time to spread the gospel through music. Some have served since 1970 up to now, they have held on to Jesus. As a servant of God a gospel musician should not focus on the things of the world rather on spreading the gospel of Jesus through music.
“Some Kenyan gospel musicians have lost the salt that they are called for because they have involved secular things in their ministry. You find a gospel musician being a brand ambassador of an alcoholic drink. It is not right at all,” said Pastor Benson.
Pastor Benson’s desire is that as they sing, it should be genuine and the songs should preach to the world and bring change to the hearts of the people. Many have commercialized their gifts, like for instance if you want to invite some gospel musicians, for a conference or any other church meeting, they give very high quotations with no option of reducing. If you are truly called of God, you don't give very high quotation.
Pastor Benson said that the Bible is very clear that, freely were we given and freely should we give out, because God gave the gift of singing freely. A gospel musician should not charge people when invited somewhere to minister. If he or she ministers well, God will make people stand with him or her and appreciate the musician with money.“We have seen God lift those that have persevered the storm and stuck on the true gospel. Some have had the privilege to perform internationally,” said Pastor Benson.
From what I have learnt from Duke and Pastor Benson is that gospel musicians should first of all seek God and be rooted in prayer and word. They should also practice patience because patience is a virtue and a fruit of the holy spirit. Those who use gospel music as a source of income, if they do it in spirit and truth they shall rip handsomely.
Singers left gospel music and joined secular music, because they could not uphold being pure and genuine. It became a challenge to them but the moment a gospel musicians put themselves as vessels, then things will work out. The scripture backs this up by saying that any vessel that cleanses itself from the latter is made perfect for the master's use.
Next: Does the Government really care?, by Eric Bosire.
Notes:
About the author:
Eric Bosire is a Kenyan Journalist. He is based in Kisii.
About the image:
Photo by Duke Mogaka.
Suggested citation:
Eric Bosire: Gospel music in Kenya. MissionField News (ISSN 2813-2270)
https://missionfield.news/2023/22_Gospel-music
2023-11-09.