Amy Hagberg  

When you think of Gospel music, reggae probably doesn’t jump to the top your mind. But for the last 20-plus years, trailblazer Mark Mohr’s band, Christafari, has been traversing the globe sharing the Gospel with their unique island-influenced music.

Raised in a Christian household, Mohr strayed from his faith…far away. He found himself in a world of drugs, alcohol, and a compromised moral lifestyle. He was put through chemical dependency treatment countless times, ran away and was picked up by the cops. Nothing worked... nothing that is, until he stopped fighting and relinquished control of his life to God.

He felt God impressing on his heart to start the first gospel reggae band in America. It would be a counter-cult, drug aversion ministry that used the conscious sounds of reggae to bring the lost into the Light. Now an ordained pastor, Mohr has brought Christafari’s unique brand of Gospel reggae to nearly every state and some 50 countries around the world. Mohr has been spotlighted on numerous television shows, including CNN Headline News, MTV News, TBN, BET, and The 700 Club. He’s also been featured in Billboard, CCM Magazine and The Beat. Christafari has performed at two Olympic Games and even played for the president of the United States.

Most Christian artists face challenges performing for mainstream audiences, but the pushback Christafari faces is often extreme… even deadly. Reggae fans are often Rastafarians. Rastafarianism is a religious movement, particularly among black Jamaicans, that employs the ritualistic use of marijuana, forbids the cutting of hair, and deifies Haile Selassie, who was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to
1974, as a god.

On yesterday’s show, Mark shared several examples of how the band has been targeted on their worldwide travels, but one incident was especially disturbing. “On the Reggae Sunsplash tour, the Rastafarians took issue with what I was preaching ... I took a stand against their god, Haile Selassie, and stated bluntly that he was a godly man, but not the returned Christ.

One Rastafarian artist didn’t like that too much and tried to stab me. As he lunged forward with the knife three times, I moved away with a clearly supernatural power. I know I can’t move like that! It was definitely God; there were probably angels grabbing me by the belt and physically pulling me away from my assailant.”

That just sounds like too much danger for this small-town girl, but it is a risk Mark and his band willing take to share the Gospel. “God chose me to have a ministry platform because I am not worthy to. In my own strength, I am the last person in the world that should be singing, much less pioneering the genre of Gospel reggae music. But that’s how God works – He chooses the most unlikely and undeserving messengers to proclaim His simple message…by no means do I deserve to be a voice in the reggae industry. You could find more raw talent in any 10-year-old Jamaican boy than in me. But I believe God chose me so He could receive all of the glory. And I pray that my life gives Him the glory He
deserves.”

Bottom line, friends, if you want to enjoy well-produced, high-quality inspirational music you need to support your favorite artists. Buy their albums (don’t pirate them from friends) and go to their concerts. More importantly, pray for them. It’s a battlefield out there.


If you’d like to hear my interview with Mark Mohr, visit my Internet radio show GOD UNPLUGGED.  There are dozens of amazing interviews with recording artists, athletes, actors, and authors in the archives.