Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 15, 1994 TAG: 9407150061
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By BETTY HAYDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Bob Anderson, who founded the center in 1991, said children of all ages and their parents are invited to attend.
The event starts at 6 p.m. with free and discounted food. Families can play volleyball, basketball and ping pong or try to sink someone in the dunking booth.
Reality Check, a Christian rap group formerly known as Color Blind, performs at 7 p.m. The group describes its style as "hip hop funkadelic jazz for the soul."
Lyrics, like ones from the song "Praise On," are often in slang: "Abstract be the style that I be bringing/Jazzy be the riff that I be singing/Anointed by the lyrics I be saying/Daily on my knees do I be praying."
Rod Shuler, Nathan Barlowe and Chris Blaney formed the group in 1992 when they were students at Liberty University. They said they wanted to share their Christian beliefs with teen-agers.
"Our concerts are just a fun, crazy experience ... to wake you up ... to tell you what Christianity is all about," Barlowe said in a news release.
The group also strives to provide an alternative to secular rap, rock and hip hop. They want to help teen-agers who have problems such as drug and alcohol abuse.
"There are very few things that these kids have been through that one of has not experienced," Blaney said. He said he experimented with drugs and alcohol and had several problems with the law before becoming a Christian.
Providing a safe haven from the lures of drugs, alcohol and premarital sex has been Straight Street's mission from the start, Anderson said. The band's message reinforces the center's goals.
Benjamin, a group with a single on the contemporary Christian chart, follows Reality Check at 8 p.m.
Benjamin, made up of graduates of Indiana's Anderson University, also focuses on the youth audience by using its rock and pop style to communicate with teen-agers.
"For years, rock 'n' roll - and a lot of pop - has been building barriers between kids and their parents," said Benjy Gaither, band founder and vocalist. "The music of Benjamin is in the business of building bridges."
Gaither, the son of gospel singers Bill and Gloria Gaither, has been a Christian since childhood.
He took piano lessons from then college student Sandi Patti who became a successful gospel singer.
In college, he met the other members of the band and started writing songs.
According to the group's news release, they aim to hit teen-agers with a straight forward message that will help them develop a strong personal relationship with God. The group targets Christian teens who have grown up in the church but don't always follow the church's teachings.
After Benjamin performs, families can continue to socialize until midnight.
Anderson said that the center does not push Christian beliefs on teens but does lead them in the right direction if they have questions about a particular denomination.
Admission to Saturday's celebration is free, but an offering will be taken to cover the bands' expenses.
For more information on the center on Franklin Street, call Anderson at 381-5031.
by CNB