Joy on the Subway
For those who aren’t familiar with these guys, the group is called Naturally 7. They use their voices to make the sounds of brass instruments, drums, electric guitar solos, and all kinds of harmonies and rap. This clip is an amateur video shot on a Subway of them doing a remix of an old Phil Collins song. I don’t know about you… but I’m blown away by these guys.
There are three things that really blow my mind about these fellas. 1) Their talent. These guys have an amazing talent. It’s unique. And they aren’t afraid to use it. 2) They’re using their talent in a “normal place.” They’re not on a stage. They’re just bringing what they have to the public. 3) Their joy. Watching these guys fills me with joy. They’re having so much fun and their joy is spreading contagiously to those around them (like the one lady who looks like a fish as she starts bobbing her head).
This got me thinking. If anyone has a reason to be joyful, it’s us. Christ followers. Our God is the God of joy. In fact, God is the most joyful being in the whole universe. Our joy is just a small fraction of the joy that He experiences. As Christians, we experience His joy as we grow deeper in Him. But often times, we get bogged down being ‘serious’ all the time. So we don’t genuinely smile as much. Or laugh as much. Or just play as much. But that’s wrong. We should be the most joyful people on the planet because we know the Creator of Joy!
Finally, this made me think about how we share Christ with others. Well… people are hungry for joy. The world is so serious. Economy. Natural Disasters. Family trauma. Sickness. Fear. As Christians we have the opportunity to share the Joy of God with others.
Our definition of evangelism was from John 1:14: “hanging out with normal people in normal places to show them God’s personality and offer them Christ as salvation and truth.” I don’t know if these guys are Christians or not. But we can learn a lot from this video. What if we used our talents to show the Joy (personality) of God in normal places (like a Subway) with normal people (like the fish lady) so we could then offer them the God of all Joy – Jesus Christ. That’s worth chewing on…
What do you guys think? Post a response!
February 2nd, 2010 at 3:08 pm
Awesome!! How in the world does that guy in the black coat not turn around to such amazing sounds!!! I think we need to get on the light rail in Charlotte and do this… who’s in?
February 3rd, 2010 at 6:02 pm
i think what they were trying to do is show evangelism by going to hang out with normal people in a normal place so in my opinion they do believe in christ.Also they do got very good talent and like nate said they was not trying to be famous with what they were doing they was just being normal.
February 4th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
I think also that they were trying to show evangelism. Becasuse they were on the subways (normal place) and they were showing that christ was in the air. My favorite part is how they were getting all those people to look at them and i dont think they were looking at them because they could beat box but because of how they were rappin about the lord. i think they were following by Mark 16:15 which says “go into the world and preach to everyone about the bible”
February 4th, 2010 at 6:25 pm
Wow.that is amazing.i love how they were all sitting down at the beginning and then by the end they were all bouncing around and they had like, half of their car thing dancin’ with them.and,i love the original song by P.Collins so this is really cool.
anyway,i think that if we(as christians in general)were to do something like this the effect it would have on others would be,as Nate likes to say,”Radical”.but i,like a lot of people out there can not sing alone(unless i am mowing)and i can not dance,at all.so, i think that if i did,it would achieve the opposite of evanglism, but in a group like Naturally7(or Teleios, ahem, joni)i think that it would be better for all the members,so they aren’t alone, that way f one doesn’t know the answer to a question their buddy can jump in and save them.So solo is ok for some people but for others evangelizing alone might not be their strong point.all the guys in the band had their own thing they did and,i am guessing, that if one guy had just stopped, it wouldn’t have sounded so good.even Jehovah’s Witness goes out by two’s and three’s and four’s.ok,i’m done.no more from me.c u next week:)
February 4th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
I’ve heard that song a gabillion times and have never really liked it. Until now! That version was awesome! Maybe that’s how it is for many who hear the gospel. They’ve heard it so many ways they don’t like…and then one day a normal converstation in a normal place w/ normal ol’ you and me and something clicks…they hear it differently and want to hear it again. I don’t know about y’all, but I’m gonna Youtube this group to see more. Maybe the next time I talk about the Lord in public, someone will go home and dig into the Word for more too. (and seriously, how loud is the man in the black coats ipod that he didn’t turn around once!?!)
February 4th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
life is a gift so we (Christians) should live life to the fullest. We also should use that to lead lost people to Christ.