When the Church Becomes Your Party

As Horace Clarence Boyer, author of The Golden Age of Gospel, says, "There is no doubt that 'today's gospel is not your mother's gospel,' so we should be thankful that we have Deborah Smith Pollard's When the Church Becomes Your Party to serve as our interpreter." That is indeed true, although Pollard also says her goal is "to reflect the sacred yet celebratory intentions that exist throughout the gospel music community despite the wide variety of sounds, performance styles, and controversies that often surround them." Indeed, Pollard fulfills that goal as she explores "what's going on right under our (upturned) noses," with "muscle t-shirts, tight jeans, cleavage" and "preachers in disguise" (holy hip hop artists). Rating: four out of five stars.