3. A snapback hat doesn’t mean regeneration has not taken place.  Let’s admit it.  Our “view” of holiness is tainted.  We judge it externally, even though God judges the heart (I Samuel 16:7).  Imagine we did a spiritual version of a police line-up.  If we were asked to pick out the holy person, we’d all pick Homer Simpson’s neighbor, Ned Flanders, the media’s poster child for evangelicals.

We would not pick the hip-hopper any more than Samuel would have picked David.  However, an external appearance that says hip-hop does not automatically mean unholy.  That’s the beauty of the new covenant.  God uses the gospel to break through hearts; whether that heart is covered in a hip-hopper’s hoodie, a hunter’s army fatigues, a businessman’s shirt and tie, or a homeschooling mom’s paint apron.  As one artist put it, Jesus is for Everybody.