A holiday at sea...

Open Letter to CHH fans

Hey guys, this was gonna be a Facebook status but I decided to make it into a blog.

I used to think that artists who didn’t talk about Jesus all the time in their songs were just compromising. Then I asked myself, why is music the one activity other than the pulpit where Christians have to talk about Jesus all the time or they are compromising? No one has beef with a Christian saxophonist. Or a Christian painter who paints what he sees. Why can’t a Christian just want to make music? Why do we judge their hearts?

The above was my status. To elaborate further, music is an art form. We all know this. And those who take an interest in any art form are creative types who want to express themselves. Here’s a question: When it comes to the arts of any kind, must a Christian only preach the gospel message in every art piece? Your answer to this question will determine a lot of what you accept and don’t accept as art. If your answer is, “Yes. The gospel is prominent in a Christians life so it also must be the ONLY thing communicated in the Christians art”, if that is your answer then cool. I can respect that thinking. I do not agree with it, but I can respect it. If your answer is “No, but since they are a Christian, all their art must comes from the perspective of the Scriptures (Biblical Worldview)”, if that is your answer then I would agree.

Now, I think most of my friends if not all of my friends would agree with the second answer. So why do we feel so uncomfortable with a Christian musician who decides to write about many things and not just the gospel? Christian culture accepts this in every other art form except music. I do not understand why. I do know that I used to be the same way. I REALLY questioned ANY artist who didn’t demonstrate Lyrical Theology in their music. But as I started to take design classes and art classes I started to realize that I was painting many pictures and designing many logos that had nothing to do with the gospel or at least didn’t blatantly break it down. Simply, I wasn’t being consistent. Then the news came out about Sho Baraka’s new direction in music, and I was forced to think through my mindset towards music. You see, Sho basically has said that he wants to break free of the “gospel” industry mold and rules. You see, the gospel industry has certain things they want you to talk about and other things they don’t want to hear. He decided he didn’t want every song to break down the gospel. But rather hit many different issues since the gospel affects his view of them all. After reading through the mostly negative comments about his decision, I realized that the same thing I had a problem with musically is the same thing I was willing to do in other art forms. I was a hypocrite.

Here’s one example, I don’t think many of us have a problem with a Christian acting in a secular TV Series or secular movie so long as said actor doesn’t do anything unbiblical. They are obviously not reading a script thats breaking down the gospel. They are just acting and making a living. So long as they don’t do anything unbiblical. I think that is ALL out mindsets. What about Christian basketball players? Should they ONLY play Christian B-ball leagues (that league would probably suck, lol)? Or if they are in the NBA, must they break down systematic theology every time they break for the hoop? I think we can all agree that this is ridiculous thinking. We all work secular jobs. Our bosses more than likely are not Christians and yet we work for them and with them. And we are okay with this so long as our job doesn’t make do something unbiblical. So why do we give so much beef to Christian musicians who are making music outside the “gospel” industry?

I guess my main point is that I see inconsistency with our judgments in this area and I just want us to be consistent. I want us to think through these things. Lastly, I think some people have a problem with a Christian artist who stops making “gospel” music to make more general music. We feel like since they switched they must be compromising. I want us to be careful of thinking this because we are making a judgment on their heart. And we are NOT the judge of mens hearts. God see’s the heart, not us. If an artist wants to expand and make different kind of music, they should. So long as they stay Biblical in their lyrics, what’s the problem? If we have a problem with an artist’s decision, lets pray for them and not assume they are compromising.

If you have any critiques or rebukes for me don’t be shy. lol, I’m not perfect in my thinking and I’m just wanting to grow. I by no means have all the answers. These are just my thoughts. Thanks for reading guys.

Grace and peace.

Posted on: 17th August 2011 - 12 notesReblog